Chapter 41

Geet arrives at the house with her bag packed, noticing Diye (lamps) lit outside. She asks Nancy, who works for Payal, why the lamps are burning. Nancy explains, "Payal's mom says Geet is coming back from a long journey, like a celebratory Diwali welcome."

I stand outside. Geet gives me an annoyed look as she walks inside, where the house is filled with delicious aromas. I notice Geet looking hungry and smiles. I am thinking she might not get home made food, heads inside, but when she does, Payal's mom smiles and says hello. Geet smiles back, though she's not really in the mood.

I sits on the bed as Geet enters with her bag. Payal picks up a cigarette box and starts smoking.

"Welcome, wife," I smirk.

Geet starts coughing from the cigarette smoke, sets her bag down, and coughs again, her face showing her annoyance. I watch her with amusement. Geet glares at me, I eventually start coughing myself and puts out the cigarette, tossing it into the trash.

"Why does her gaze make me feel so scared?" I wonder, unable to understand her feelings.

Payal's mom enters and says, "Geet! Did you know? I've invited over today Jay and."

"Chipsy?" I responds angrily.

Geet notices the expression on Payal's face, just as Chipsy's voice sounds from behind, "Did you miss me, Payal dee?"

"Don't talk to me! You adopted a child and then forgot about me!"

Chipsy, holding a one-year-old child, has his husband Ranjeet following behind with a bag.

Ranjeet puts the bag down and says, "Jaanu (Darling) at least do some work. ever since I started working, Jay's done nothing."

Chipsy hands the child over to Ranjeet, saying, "I'm a house husband! Why should I do anything else? And honey, handling a child isn't easy."

I joke with Chipsy, saying, "How cute! Starting with the fun right away? Just stop it," tugging on his ear.

Taking the child from Ranjeet's hands, I say, "How's Tanish? He's grown so big."

"Yes, but he's quite the troublemaker! He doesn't stay in one place," Chipsy laughs.

Then, Payal's mom picks up Tanish, gives him a kiss on the cheek, and says, "Oh, my little one." Geet watches with a smile, though her thoughts wander back to the empty home she lives in. Her uncle and aunt don't remember her either. Hearing all the noise, Geet's eyes nearly fill with tears.

Payal's mom brings Tanish over to Geet, encouraging her to hold him. Geet, though smiling, looks uncomfortable, as if she's never held a child before.

Chipsy, noticing this, jokes, "Should I call her Bhabhi or Jija JI ('sister-in-law' or 'brother-in-law')?"

Ranjeet laughs, saying, "Honey, is that really Geet? I can't believe she's here."

Chipsy reaches out to touch her feet. "Hey do not! NO Aashiwand." she says.

Laughing, Chipsy responds, "I'm the Devar (younger brother), I can joke around."

I chide Chipsy, saying, "Leave her alone, she just got here."

Ranjeet asks, "But how did all this happen? Geet's back? Did Payal learn some magic?" He laughs, while Payal's mom goes to the kitchen. Tanish is asleep, Chipsy takes him to lay him on the bed, while Nancy brings Ranjeet a glass of water.

I say, "Ranjeet, relax! we'll talk tomorrow."

Ranjeet gets up and leaves, giving me a look as if something is amiss.

After closing the room door, I said to Geet, "I'm sorry you had to act this way. If you want, you can reveal the truth. I'll handle it."

Geet pulls a towel from her bag and says, "Where's the washroom?" Her angry face shows she's not in the mood for conversation. I feel a bit nervous since the room is small for her, and I don't have a double bed. How will Geet adjust? Everyone will be here tomorrow, but what about tonight? I can't sleep on the couch. my back pain is killing me.

Geet impatiently says, "Payal, hurry up. I have other things to do."

Forgetting to speak, I just point towards the door. She opens it and goes in, while I pick up the cigarette box and light one up before she comes back.

Geet exits the washroom and, seeing me smoking, grabs the cigarette from my mouth and asks, "What brand is this?"

I'm so flustered I forget the brand. Geet takes a puff and coughs, saying, "Not bad, Payal. I'll start smoking too. You can teach me."

Embarrassed, I say, "You? Smoking?"

"What's wrong with that?"

Angrily, I reply, "It's bad for your health. You won't smoke."

I take the cigarette box and throw it in the trash.

Geet, holding the cigarette she took from me, extinguishes it and says, "Keep this with you. Whenever you feel like smoking, just look at it."

took the cigarette. Just then, Chipsy arrived and gave me a tight hug, lifting me up. "Payal, it's been so long!"

"Put me down, you troublemaker!"

Chipsy said, "It's nice to see you and Geet together. Bhabhi (Sister-in-law), maybe you can help Payal kick this cigarette habit too. Look, she still has it in her hand."

Geet told Chipsy, "Cigarettes aren't a bad habit."

Chipsy replied, "The way she smokes, it's definitely bad. Before you left, she used to give everyone lectures against smoking. She hated it, but now, she does everything she used to despise. She doesn't even write anymore."

"Stop complaining! This problem started because of you. Chipsy, if you hadn't told that lie to everyone, I am a lesbian, I'd have left already."

"I got such a good  bhabhi (sister-in-law), what else do you want?" Chipsy teased.

I glared at Chipsy, and he quickly ran off. I chased after him, but soon started coughing. Geet quickly brought a glass of water, offering it to me.

Chipsy left as Ranjeet called him. Geet gently patted my back and asked, "Are you okay?" Her worried eyes met mine, and I nodded.

I sat on the bed and reached for a tablet from a box. Geet noticed and asked, "What's that tablet for?"

"I just coughed, so I'll probably catch a cold."

Geet teased, "You think you'll get cancer too, so you start taking tablets for cancer too?"

"Yeah, I already do." I replied casually.

Angrier now, Geet snatched the tablet box from my hand and put it on the couch, tossing the tablet into the trash. "If you need any tablets, ask me first."

Geet started to leave, which made me worry. "If this cold gets worse, it could turn into a serious illness," I told her as she was walking out.

Geet paused and said, "If you keep fearing the future, you'll never live today. This might sound like a lecture, but think about it. I'm not here to explain every little thing to you."

"And if it happens tomorrow, I might die from this illness."

"Are you afraid of death?"

I nodded.

"And of me?" Geet looked at me with a piercing, intense gaze.

I nervously laughed and said, "I'm fine. The future doesn't matter. There's no need to fear it. whatever happens, happens."

Geet smirked and left. I looked at myself in the mirror, thinking, "There are no signs of a cold. Am I going crazy? I can't seem to ignore what Geet says. Why am I so scared?"

When I came back, my mom was feeding Geet, while Ranjeet and Chipsy were playfully bickering, and Chipsy was feeding Tanish. I checked my phone to respond to some emails, feeling like no one was paying attention to me. Everyone seemed busy. Nancy served my dad food, dad is smiling, but I was actually getting annoyed.

After eating, I got up and went outside, taking a walk in the garden of the society. I hoped Geet would notice me, maybe realize I was angry, or understand that I needed a bit of attention. But Geet didn't come.

Half an hour later, when I went back to my room, I found her asleep on the couch. I lay on the bed, unable to sleep. I was used to having a light on, but Geet preferred the dark. I kept sitting up and lying down until Geet woke up, drank some water, and saw me fidgeting.

She said, "Save your ghost talks for tomorrow. Go to sleep tonight."

I said, "I can't sleep," expressing my frustration.

Geet lay down on the bed. "Scared to be alone? Fine, now I'm here."

"Wait, not just alone. I sleep with the light on," I said,

she is switching the light on. She lay on the bed, but with her so close, how could I possibly sleep? The person I used to dream about every night was now right here. I always thought that if she were with me, I'd sleep with my leg resting on hers, but how could I do that now?

Geet sat up and said, "Why aren't you sleeping? You're ruining my sleep too."

Though she seemed annoyed, it didn't really feel like she was mad. I knew well that Geet's desire grew whenever she was around me. She used to be so flirty, but now, she felt like someone else. It was like something was stopping her from being herself.

I asked, "What happened between us... it was just because we were drunk, right?"

"Finally, you bring it up. So you do remember," Geet replied thoughtfully, without looking at me.

I paused before replying, "No... actually, yes, I remember that we did those things. I thought I was asexual, so I'm surprised I even did that. Forgive me."

Geet said, "Payal, it's not that big of a deal. Don't overthink it."

"How can I not? It was our first time... and... (I looked at Geet) you don't remember any of it?"

"I remember some things, like how you rested your leg on mine that night, and how you hugged me tightly. I remember I was drunk that night. I took off your clothes... that was all my mistake."

"It was our mistake... but besides undressing, nothing else happened. We just hugged and fell asleep."

"Why are you giving me all the details?" Geet said, seeming irritated, as if she was upset to listen nothing more happened, though she had been calm before.

"Okay, I won't say anything else. But Geet, that's the truth. You hugged me, and while drunk, kept staring at me and shyly hid your face before falling asleep."

"I remember we did kiss," Geet turned to me, meeting my gaze directly. I felt a bit startled. Why was she so insistent on proving something happened?

I took a glass of water and said, "Geet, a kiss is normal. Let's just go to sleep. I won't be able to sleep with you so close. Go to the sofa. your beauty mark on the back of your neck is distracting me."

Geet snapped, "So now you think like me? Where did the girl go who had less desires?"

"I've always been like this. I haven't changed, Geet. But there's something about you, now that's pulling me toward you like a magnet, something that wasn't there before. Being with you makes me restless."

"Why are you sharing all this with me? I don't want to know. Why are you being so honest with me?"

Geet got up and try to go on the sofa, but I grabbed her hands, making her lie down on the bed. I held both her hands so she couldn't move, holding them straight above her head.

"Do you really have no feelings?"

Geet wriggled her hands free and said, "You're hurting me. let go! Payal, is this way to talk?"

Looking into her eyes with tears, I said, "Because you don't talk to me. You're just pretending here. I thought you came for me—was that a lie?

Did you forget me so easily? Was it really that easy to let me go? Was it really that easy to forget me? bolo Geet! Am I nowhere in your heart? Just lie to me, Geet."