Loving You Like I Do

"Ketu, pass me that folder, won't you?" Kuhu asked holding out her hand without looking up. It was a pleasantly warm afternoon in Rajkot, so Kuhu and Ketki had chosen to sit in a shaded area of the courtyard to finish their work on Ketu's wedding planning. The sun filtered through the leaves of the large trees they sat under, while the cool breeze tickled their noses. Ketki passed her the folder, and Kuhu began to rifle through the pages absentmindedly.

"Bhabs, I'm thinking that we can finalize this color scheme for the mandap," Ketki said confidently. When she didn't hear a response, she looked up from her computer to glance at her sister-in-law, only to find her lost in her own thoughts, slowly flipping through the contents of the folder.

"Bhabs? Kuhu Bhabs!" Ketki said, gently shaking her by the arm, jolting Kuhu out of her reverie.

"Huh? Oh, sorry Ketu. That color scheme looks good, I'll forward it to the decorators," Kuhu said. Ketki noticed a layer of tension in Kuhu's voice, and chose to snatch the folder from her hands and close the laptop in front of her.

"Wha-? Ketu!" Kuhu exclaimed with indignation.

"First you have to tell me what's wrong," Ketki said, crossing her arms.

"Nothing's wrong," Kuhu said thickly, immediately getting defensive.

"Oh, c'mon Bhabs, it's plain as day. Something's bothering you."

When Kuhu didn't answer, Ketki put two fingers underneath her chin and lifted her face so as to see her eyes. To Ketki's shock, Kuhu's large brown eyes were swimming in tears.

"Okay, something's definitely wrong." Ketki scooted her chair closer to Kuhu's, taking her hand in hers, and cupping her face with her other hand.

"Bhabs, we share everything with each other. Tell me what's bothering you. Maybe I can help?" Ketki said softly.

Kuhu sighed, running a hand through her curls. "It's probably nothing."

"Well then, all the more reason to share, no?"

Kuhu hesitated. "It's about Kunal..."

Ketki chuckled. "I'm not going to go snitch on you to him, if that's what you're concerned about."

Kuhu shook her head, rubbing her eyes. "It's just that... I haven't talked to him in ages. It's been three months since he left for work, and the last I talked to him was a week ago."

Kuhu paused to keep her voice from shaking. "Ketu... Ketu, what if he's lost interest in me? What if he's lost interest in our marriage?"

Ketki was shocked to hear her say this. "Bhabs, the Kuhu I know is incredibly self-assured and confident. You would never lose faith this easily. And the last I heard from you about Bhai, you were completely fine. Tell me the truth, did someone say something to you to make you feel this way?"

"Well, Jasmeet chachi and Mumma called the other day and..."

Ketki immediately understood what would've happened. "Bhabs, I know you may not want to hear this, but your chachi and mumma aren't always right. They may want the best for you, but they worry. A lot. Sometimes too much."

"I know, but I can't help but think that they might be somewhat right? Chachi was saying that Kunal could've forgotten about me if he hasn't talked to me in a week. And Mumma? Mumma even said that she hopes that what happened with her and Papa doesn't happen to me!" Kuhu blurted out. She instantly slapped a hand over her mouth, horrified that she had blurted that out.

Ketki looked at her sympathetically and took Kuhu's hands into hers. "Bhabs, don't you think you should talk to Bhai before jumping to all of these conclusions? All due respect, but your chachi and Mumma don't know much about your relationship with Bhai. You do, though, because it's your relationship."