RECAP Abanti is back from her honeymoon and Ishaani and she meet up for lunch. She tries to explain to her daughter about how she fell in love with Shayan, and why she had still agreed to stay on with Aditya for so many more years. CHAPTER 9 Aditya was having a bad day at work. It wasn’t really anyone’s fault but he found himself snapping at people needlessly, something unusual for him. His secretary had borne the major part of the snapping, having made the mistake of reminding him that it was Ishaani’s birthday. Do you think I need you to tell me that? But sir – you had asked me to – You don’t need to any more. He shut her up rudely, knowing very well that the poor lady didn’t yet know that her boss’s wife had left him. She would soon know. Everyone would soon know, as the six months would get over and the divorce date would be fixed. But as of now, only three months were gone and it was the first birthday in many years when he hadn’t wished Ishaani. He could call her up on her cell, in fact he had almost done it, but it seemed indecent of him to call her up when she was with the poet. The inability to call her up had left Aditya feeling irritable since morning and he even had a scowling competition with some fellow motorists during his morning drive to work. It was not as if he had ever done anything major on her birthday except perhaps during the first couple of years.  But every year, he had always been the first to wish her, at midnight. And he always bought her flowers, because he knew she loved receiving flowers. He missed her today and he knew why. It was because every occasion that they had spent together as a family had somehow been so special. Each birthday, anniversary and festival was a time to feel that they belonged. Yet, it was on an anniversary that he had broken her trust. ...if you go through the figures once before we submit the tender- Aditya suddenly became aware of an earnest voice belonging to a new recruit, an architect that the firm had recently hired. He tried to focus on the papers she was showing him, on the facts she was rattling on about, but the most that he could manage was to focus on her rather attractive appearance. Why don’t we discuss this over dinner tonight? Sir, we need to finalize this today- She looked startled. He realized that he didn’t even know her name. He wondered if he was eventually going to become a middle aged boss who made passes at his female employees. The thought briefly filled him with self-loathing, but he liked the thought that he was becoming a depraved individual. We can finalize it over dinner and send it tomorrow. Tell Rajiv that I said it’s okay to send it tomorrow. Okay sir. I hope you didn’t have other plans- Its okay sir. Where- He could already sense the change in her tone. She was readying herself for a good bargain. He dismissed her a bit impatiently, not sure of what he himself was trying to do. Ishaani met her daughters for lunch. It was actually Abanti’s idea and she managed to coax Diya along too. Diya’s first trimester was up and she was now feeling more relaxed about her ability to balance her pregnancy along with her job. She spoke to her mother occasionally but this was the first time they were meeting after she had come to know about her parents’ split. There was a bit of awkwardness initially but Diya soon hugged her warmly and wished her mother everything that would make her happy in life. Ishaani could sense that her daughters were really trying to accept their mother the way she was. The three of them were being together for the first time since Abanti’s wedding and there was much excited conversation over lunch. Later, as each of them went their separate ways, Ishaani felt strangely empty, like a mother hen who suddenly had no one to fuss over. The empty feeling stayed with her during the cab ride home, and she wished she could feel more enthusiastic about the dinner that she and Shayan were later going out for. The flat was thankfully empty for now as Shayan had a meeting with his publisher that he hadn’t been able to shift another day. She was glad that she could brood while having a leisurely shower, and then when the time came, wear a suitable mask of subdued excitement as they set out for dinner. Beneath the mask, her thoughts trailed off and she wondered if Aditya had forgotten about her birthday or remembered and not called. Perhaps it was not important, but she wished she knew. It was to be a special dinner. Shayan had just signed a rather lucrative book deal and he wanted to take her to Taj for dinner. She could see the childlike glee Shayan felt at his ability to dine in a place like Sonargaon. It probably felt like an achievement. She wondered if she also felt like an achievement for him and then looked at him guiltily, wondering if he had possibly read that unkind thought, for he looked a bit upset. She followed his gaze and understood the cause for the unease. At a table across the room, Aditya sat with a pretty young thing, obviously flirting, and obviously having a good time. Shayan caught her look. Do you want to go somewhere else? No, not unless you want to. It’s not possible that we’ll never bump into him anywhere. Shayan went back to scanning the menu but the evening was spoilt for him. And it took Ishaani a lot of effort to not let her eyes stray. Finally Shayan put down the menu. Let’s go from here. This is not what you and I enjoy doing. Let’s pick up stuff and go home, shall we? Ishaani didn’t really want to leave. She wanted Aditya to see her, to look silly at being caught flirting with someone his daughter’s age, though she wasn’t sure why it should matter to her. Shayan was already getting up and she too did the same. She wondered if Aditya would take the girl home after dinner.                             To be continued…