48
Vanquish Your Foes (Use Blackmail as Required)
Nayna hesitated a little when she and Raj walked hand in hand into his parents’ lounge. Not only were his parents there, so were his grandparents as well as Navin and Komal. All of them silent and stiff as they watched a documentary on television. No one talking, a hundred angry thoughts unsaid.
Jitesh Sen was the first to see them in the doorway. His face lit up. “Geeta,” he said. “Look.”
Her smile luminous, Sangeeta Sen turned off the television and rose. “You sit,” she ordered her healing husband when he went to get out of his armchair.
Then she came over and cupped Nayna’s face in her hands. A kiss on each cheek, then a hug. Whispered words in her ear. “He will love you always. My Raj doesn’t change his mind about the people he loves.”
Nayna’s eyes burned. Nodding as the older woman pulled away, she swallowed the knot in her throat. Raj hugged his mother; after that, he and Nayna went to greet his father. When they announced their engagement was back on, Jitesh and Sangeeta burned with joy.
But Raj still had something to say—this time to his grandparents. “We’ll be getting married,” he told the older couple. “Whether you want to be a part of our lives is up to you.”
“Hold on there, Raj,” his grandfather said, waving his cane. “Would you truly cut off your family for this girl?”
“If you force me to,” Raj said, utter resolve in his tone.
“Well, I suppose you know her much better than we do. If she makes you act like this, she must be some kind of woman indeed.” He thumped his cane on the ground. “Kushla, I’m too old to get into a feud with my eldest son and his son. And you know you don’t like Dhiraj’s flashy new wife.”
Raj’s grandmother sniffed. “Well,” she said to Nayna, “I hope you don’t think this means you’ll always get your own way in this family.”
Nayna wove her fingers through Raj’s. “My future husband is a stubborn man. I think we’ll be having a few disagreements.”
Raj scowled down at her, but she laughed and leaned her body against him. When he looked at his grandparents again, he saw his grandmother’s face had softened. She wasn’t a bad person underneath the stern demeanor. She’d be all right once she got to know Nayna.
“I was just looking out for the family.” Komal’s voice cut through the warmth, a serrated razor.
Raj didn’t trust himself to speak. Thankfully, he didn’t have to.
Nayna bristled. “Since when does looking out for the family mean being vicious and destructive?”
Komal stood, her entire body rigid. “You can’t speak to me like that!”
“Sure I can,” Nayna said, calm but unbending. “You gave me that right when you poked your nose into my business.” Temper in her eyes. “You can’t sow seeds of pain and anger between Raj and me, or with his parents. But if you try, I will kick your posterior all the way back to the hole you crawled out of!”
Raj was attempting not to smile. His grandfather wasn’t even doing that much—he had a full-out grin on his face. “Kushla! This one is like you!”
His grandmother sniffed again. “At least she knows how to be loyal.”
“What, she’s perfect and I’m not?”
“Jesus, Komal, let it go.” Navin sounded tired. “I asked Komal for a divorce,” he announced to the room. “That’s why she did it.”
Komal turned on her husband, all fury and wet eyes. “Why does she get to have the happiness?” Pointing at Nayna. “Why can’t you love me like Raj loves her? What is so wrong with me that you have to go out night after night without me?”
Navin stared at her, stricken. “There is nothing wrong with you,” he said. “I was just immature when we got married and I made mistakes and then you got so angry and I couldn’t fix it and it was easier to avoid the problem and then it got worse and worse.” Thrusting both hands in his hair, he stared at his wife. “I don’t know what went wrong with us, K, but you know it’s gone wrong.”
Tears rolled down Komal’s cheeks. “I loved you so much. And for your information, I never cheated. Not even when handsome, rich men hit on me while my husband wasn’t around.”
Navin swallowed. “I didn’t either. I just… I wanted you to be jealous, so I pretended.”
Nayna’s fingers squeezed Raj’s. When he angled his head down toward her, she whispered, “Masala picture, complete with dramatic reconciliation. Aditi is going to be so mad she missed this.”
Raj would always be angry at Komal on some level. That type of breach of trust wasn’t forgivable in his book. But when his brother got up and took her into his arms, he silently wished them luck. “Drama’s fine for the movies, but loving you every day works better for me.”
Nayna’s eyes welled up. Pretending to punch him on the arm, she said, “Ditto.”
“I think we need some privacy.” That was Navin, about to lead Komal out of the room.
“Wait.” Raj’s mother stood up again. “First, I wish you both all the luck in mending your marriage. I’ve only ever wanted happiness for you.”
Both nodded.
“But something else needs to be said,” Raj’s mother continued. “I was too angry before to do it. I’ve calmed down, but I still cannot believe our daughter-in-law would disrespect us by going to my in-laws after we specifically made our feelings on the matter clear.” Her voice was cool, calm. “Is this what your parents taught you, Komal? To talk behind your elders’ backs?”
Eyes swollen, Komal shifted restlessly. “I’m sorry. I was angry and sad and I struck out.” She swallowed hard. “I won’t ever do it again.”
“No, you won’t,” Sangeeta Sen said, a tone in her voice that had Raj paying intense attention. “I wish I could trust you to keep your word, but just as Navin has to win back the faith of his family, that’s a trust you’ll have to earn. Until then, I’ll just say one word: Taveuni.”
Komal went sheet-white under the brown of her skin, swaying on her feet. Navin grabbed her before she fainted, held her upright.
In the silence that followed, Raj’s father scratched at his head and said, “Isn’t that the island off the coast of Vanua Levu?”
No one answered.
When Komal could speak again, she blurted out a string of words. “I won’t say anything else and I’ll tell my friend who saw Madhuri not to say a word either.” She was all but hyperventilating.
“Just in case you have another spike of meanness and temper,” Raj’s mother said, “you should know that I’ll be sharing what I know with Nayna in the next few minutes—and I’m going to tell Raj too. Remember that the next time you want to make trouble for them.”
Then she turned toward him and Nayna and, voice as scarily calm as it had been through the entire exchange, said, “Come on, I have to tell you Komal’s secret.”
A whimper of sound from Raj’s sister-in-law.
49
We Told You So (and Two Weddings)
Nayna sat curled up in Raj’s lap, his gorgeous, warm, naked chest cradling her while she fed him ice cream and ate twice as much herself. He stroked her thigh, her legs bare—she’d pulled on lace panties after they’d made love but hadn’t bothered with pants. Up top, she wore a simple camisole. Raj was wearing his boxer briefs and nothing else.
Vanquish Your Foes (Use Blackmail as Required)
Nayna hesitated a little when she and Raj walked hand in hand into his parents’ lounge. Not only were his parents there, so were his grandparents as well as Navin and Komal. All of them silent and stiff as they watched a documentary on television. No one talking, a hundred angry thoughts unsaid.
Jitesh Sen was the first to see them in the doorway. His face lit up. “Geeta,” he said. “Look.”
Her smile luminous, Sangeeta Sen turned off the television and rose. “You sit,” she ordered her healing husband when he went to get out of his armchair.
Then she came over and cupped Nayna’s face in her hands. A kiss on each cheek, then a hug. Whispered words in her ear. “He will love you always. My Raj doesn’t change his mind about the people he loves.”
Nayna’s eyes burned. Nodding as the older woman pulled away, she swallowed the knot in her throat. Raj hugged his mother; after that, he and Nayna went to greet his father. When they announced their engagement was back on, Jitesh and Sangeeta burned with joy.
But Raj still had something to say—this time to his grandparents. “We’ll be getting married,” he told the older couple. “Whether you want to be a part of our lives is up to you.”
“Hold on there, Raj,” his grandfather said, waving his cane. “Would you truly cut off your family for this girl?”
“If you force me to,” Raj said, utter resolve in his tone.
“Well, I suppose you know her much better than we do. If she makes you act like this, she must be some kind of woman indeed.” He thumped his cane on the ground. “Kushla, I’m too old to get into a feud with my eldest son and his son. And you know you don’t like Dhiraj’s flashy new wife.”
Raj’s grandmother sniffed. “Well,” she said to Nayna, “I hope you don’t think this means you’ll always get your own way in this family.”
Nayna wove her fingers through Raj’s. “My future husband is a stubborn man. I think we’ll be having a few disagreements.”
Raj scowled down at her, but she laughed and leaned her body against him. When he looked at his grandparents again, he saw his grandmother’s face had softened. She wasn’t a bad person underneath the stern demeanor. She’d be all right once she got to know Nayna.
“I was just looking out for the family.” Komal’s voice cut through the warmth, a serrated razor.
Raj didn’t trust himself to speak. Thankfully, he didn’t have to.
Nayna bristled. “Since when does looking out for the family mean being vicious and destructive?”
Komal stood, her entire body rigid. “You can’t speak to me like that!”
“Sure I can,” Nayna said, calm but unbending. “You gave me that right when you poked your nose into my business.” Temper in her eyes. “You can’t sow seeds of pain and anger between Raj and me, or with his parents. But if you try, I will kick your posterior all the way back to the hole you crawled out of!”
Raj was attempting not to smile. His grandfather wasn’t even doing that much—he had a full-out grin on his face. “Kushla! This one is like you!”
His grandmother sniffed again. “At least she knows how to be loyal.”
“What, she’s perfect and I’m not?”
“Jesus, Komal, let it go.” Navin sounded tired. “I asked Komal for a divorce,” he announced to the room. “That’s why she did it.”
Komal turned on her husband, all fury and wet eyes. “Why does she get to have the happiness?” Pointing at Nayna. “Why can’t you love me like Raj loves her? What is so wrong with me that you have to go out night after night without me?”
Navin stared at her, stricken. “There is nothing wrong with you,” he said. “I was just immature when we got married and I made mistakes and then you got so angry and I couldn’t fix it and it was easier to avoid the problem and then it got worse and worse.” Thrusting both hands in his hair, he stared at his wife. “I don’t know what went wrong with us, K, but you know it’s gone wrong.”
Tears rolled down Komal’s cheeks. “I loved you so much. And for your information, I never cheated. Not even when handsome, rich men hit on me while my husband wasn’t around.”
Navin swallowed. “I didn’t either. I just… I wanted you to be jealous, so I pretended.”
Nayna’s fingers squeezed Raj’s. When he angled his head down toward her, she whispered, “Masala picture, complete with dramatic reconciliation. Aditi is going to be so mad she missed this.”
Raj would always be angry at Komal on some level. That type of breach of trust wasn’t forgivable in his book. But when his brother got up and took her into his arms, he silently wished them luck. “Drama’s fine for the movies, but loving you every day works better for me.”
Nayna’s eyes welled up. Pretending to punch him on the arm, she said, “Ditto.”
“I think we need some privacy.” That was Navin, about to lead Komal out of the room.
“Wait.” Raj’s mother stood up again. “First, I wish you both all the luck in mending your marriage. I’ve only ever wanted happiness for you.”
Both nodded.
“But something else needs to be said,” Raj’s mother continued. “I was too angry before to do it. I’ve calmed down, but I still cannot believe our daughter-in-law would disrespect us by going to my in-laws after we specifically made our feelings on the matter clear.” Her voice was cool, calm. “Is this what your parents taught you, Komal? To talk behind your elders’ backs?”
Eyes swollen, Komal shifted restlessly. “I’m sorry. I was angry and sad and I struck out.” She swallowed hard. “I won’t ever do it again.”
“No, you won’t,” Sangeeta Sen said, a tone in her voice that had Raj paying intense attention. “I wish I could trust you to keep your word, but just as Navin has to win back the faith of his family, that’s a trust you’ll have to earn. Until then, I’ll just say one word: Taveuni.”
Komal went sheet-white under the brown of her skin, swaying on her feet. Navin grabbed her before she fainted, held her upright.
In the silence that followed, Raj’s father scratched at his head and said, “Isn’t that the island off the coast of Vanua Levu?”
No one answered.
When Komal could speak again, she blurted out a string of words. “I won’t say anything else and I’ll tell my friend who saw Madhuri not to say a word either.” She was all but hyperventilating.
“Just in case you have another spike of meanness and temper,” Raj’s mother said, “you should know that I’ll be sharing what I know with Nayna in the next few minutes—and I’m going to tell Raj too. Remember that the next time you want to make trouble for them.”
Then she turned toward him and Nayna and, voice as scarily calm as it had been through the entire exchange, said, “Come on, I have to tell you Komal’s secret.”
A whimper of sound from Raj’s sister-in-law.
49
We Told You So (and Two Weddings)
Nayna sat curled up in Raj’s lap, his gorgeous, warm, naked chest cradling her while she fed him ice cream and ate twice as much herself. He stroked her thigh, her legs bare—she’d pulled on lace panties after they’d made love but hadn’t bothered with pants. Up top, she wore a simple camisole. Raj was wearing his boxer briefs and nothing else.
