The Woman My Grandmother Loved.

Chapter Fourteen

"When I saw you, I fell in love and you smiled because you knew."

William Shakespeare.

"She knows," Anita repeats as she listens to Becky go over her meeting with Usha. It sounded unreal because she had just had a lovely conversation with Usha before coming over to Becky's. It hadn't seemed at that time that Usha even had an inkling of what was going on. She had always seemed so preoccupied with the coming and goings of her friends that she hadn't even cared much about Anita. But now it seemed that Usha had been observing her with more stealth than Anita had ever assumed the woman possessed.

"She knows and Jha knows. Anita, are you certain that things are going to be alright for you?" Becky asks worriedly knowing the lengths the girl's mother was capable of going.

"I'm not worried about it now. Usha would never tell on me and I don't think Jha cares about the fact that you're a woman as much as he cares that it's not him in your place." Anita says, the words making her feel much better when she said them out loud. "But they're only quiet because it's not long before I'm going home. And once I'm back, both Jha and Usha will ensure that I stay there."

"They don't want us to contact each other," Becky says, the reality of the situation appearing more clearer than it had before.

"And Usha doesn't want you here as well," Anita says, the reason behind Usha's act of benevolence hitting her now. She silently curses herself for having spoken about Becky's interests in front of Usha.

"She wants me in a different country." Becky says, "Oh my goodness! She's going to tell Mrs. White if I don't." She exclaims suddenly.

"Did she tell you that?" Anita asks her, her eyes widening.

"She didn't. But it was the way in which I saw her coming out of the office laughing with Mrs. White and then later Mrs. White told me that she had been asking about me. She asked me if I had been in any trouble lately." Becky says, putting two and two together.

"I'm so sorry," Anita says, burying her face in her palms, wishing the earth would swallow her. What was happening? She had assumed that Jha would be the last of her trouble but Usha was a curveball she hadn't seen coming.

"It's not your fault." Becky says bravely and then adds, "Sounds like I'll be off to Greece in September. It's awful how it feels right now; when there was a time I wanted this more than I wanted anything else."

"I am so sorry that she ruined it for you. I'm so sorry that I ruined it for you!" Anita exclaims, feeling miserable as she hears Becky's words. Usha had no right to have interfered in what she and Becky shared. Had she ever interfered with Usha's affairs? Or Pradeep's inconsistency for the matter? Her anger towards Usha only increasing.

"It isn't your fault. You didn't see this coming." Becky says, shaking her head. "But it has arrived and now we must deal with it."

"How are you so calm about it?" Anita asks, raising her face to look at Becky.

"I don't feel very calm. But there's not a lot we can do about this. Besides, we needed to have this conversation at some point, didn't we? We might as well thank Usha for bringing it to the table for we cannot avoid it now." Becky says, running her hand through her hair, taking a deep breath as she does so.

"I don't know what to say, Becky," Anita admits, looking at her tiredly.

"I don't either. But some things must be said, mustn't they?" Becky tells her gently.

"I love you, that's what I'm saying," Anita whispers, her eyes welling up with the thought of the imminent separation.

"I know." Becky smiles sadly, "I love you too."