Page 12 of That Same Old Love

“I know I will get a good job as soon as I’m done with my finals. And I promise to repay you for everything,” he told her determined.

“Rajeev, stop. Don’t. It’s not like I worked too hard for that money or am broke. It was the money I inherited from my grandmother. It was sitting in my account for a long time, and what best way to use it than on someone’s education or helping someone you love.”

Her grandparents on her father’s side had passed away when she was way too young, so she never knew them or remembered them. Her mother’s mother had been a force to reckon with. Her grandmother had been widowed after five years of marriage and had to single handedly raise her two children.

Her grandmother had been very progressive for her generation and had managed to make a fledgling business that her husband left behind into something big in the next few years.

Her grandmother’s son and daughter had a very stormy relationship with their mother. She never gave them any money and expected them to work their way up or in case of Mahi’s mother, save the money her husband earned.

Her grandmother even had a very rigid will written that divided her money equally amongst her two granddaughters that would be released to them when they turned twenty-one. Even after that, the money could not be transferred in large amounts into anyone else’s account.

Mahi’s mother had been resentful and called her mother a miser and a vengeful person. Mahi had met her grandmother only a handful of times as she never went to the village often,where her grandmother ran a fishing business. But the few times her grandmother visited her, she remembered most of their interactions.

Mahi’s grandmother’s last words to her before she passed away were eerily significant.

“I might have done a bad job raising both my children, but it was the best I could do at that time. There were a lot of debts on my head, left by a gambling as well as an alcoholic husband. My priority was to first keep the roof over our heads and food in our bellies… Maybe I should have spent more time with my children. Well… your mother is a housewife, but is no ideal mother either.

I am not proud of what you have become now, Mahi, and I can see a disaster written in your future. But people learn from their mistakes, and you are still young. I hope someday you will rise above your mistakes and make me proud.

I remember being just like you when I was your age—self-absorbed and destructive. And then life happened to open up my eyes soon. Just remember to never be scared, and to be a strong woman who can stand on her own feet. Always, and I mean always, remember that you can rely only on yourself and no one else. Whatever money I have left you, use it wisely, either on selfless causes or on your betterment.”

Mahi had been nineteen at that time. She was annoyed with her grandmother’s assessment and dire predictions. She was so sure that the world around her was simply waiting to be conquered by her. But it didn’t happen that way.

One thing that had kept her sane and made her feel like a human again, was the fact that she could use the money in her account to spend on Rajeev’s education. Her aunt had insisted that she didn’t need help. But Mahi still offered and bought some gifts or new uniforms and then later covered portion of hishigher education fees without having the need to take out any student loans.

“Ma had been so thankful to you. Even though she worked her fingers to bone, stitching and tailoring, we couldn’t have afforded the good education I had without your added help,” said Rajeev.

“I was more than happy to help. Okay, now enough sappy chit chat. Let’s go visit Kamala aunty. What are the visiting hours?” she asked.

“Until seven in the night. But ma doesn’t like anyone staying for more than thirty minutes long. She feels like she’s imposing herself on people’s lives and doesn’t want to feel like a burden.”

“Yeah. That sounds like something Kamala aunty would say,” said Mahi fondly. “Give me a minute. I’ll be right back.”

After changing into a light-colored thin cotton dress, Mahi grabbed her ID cards and other things that she would need for later. “Okay, let’s go.”

When she sat in Rajeev’s car, she noticed that Ananya’s red car was no longer parked outside.

* * *

Ananya parked her car at Srishti’s school parking lot and took a deep breath. She didn’t know how she was supposed to feel. She wasn’t a helpless nerd anymore. She had everything, a handsome loving husband, a smart and beautiful daughter, an extended family, and she was also a successful author and an active blogger.

Being an adult, she had to deal with seeing a lot of unpleasant relatives or people on a regular basis. She knew how to handle them like a pro and always maintained good relationships with everyone. But Mahi was an altogether a different kettle of fish. Mahi wasn’t someone who could do any real damage to her anymore, but that didn’t mean she would leave her husband or her brother alone.

She was shocked to see that her usually stern and rigid brother of all the people, warming up to Mahi, and inviting her into his home for an intimate breakfast.

During their college days, whenever Mahi got into several scrapes, she was able to use her charm on boys and men of all ages. Whether it was someone from their neighborhood or a professor from their college, they eventually gave in to the flattery.

Well,I am not a man and Mahi cannot charm me or bother me in any way.

Ananya down at her dress, she calmed down, knowing that she looked good. She was still five feet nine inches tall, but no longer painfully thin or gawky. Her body was kept toned by running two kilometers each day, and her waist length plaited hair until she cut in shoulder length fashionable layers.

She always made sure that she was well dressed, even though she worked from home, and didn’t have to. It hadn’t always been that way for her brother and her. They didn’t dress in the mostfashionable clothes. Mahi didn’t let that fact go unnoticed and had humiliated her repeatedly.

Her brother didn’t care about his clothes or what people said about him behind his back, but he was always protective of his sister, especially when Mahi and the gang terrorized her.

Her brother in turn was teased and called ‘Tarzan’ by Mahi and her gang because they felt he looked like a savage and avoided human interactions. He, in his usual style, ignored their teasing, since his head was always filled with complex calculations or some or the other computer programs.

Shaking away her thoughts, Ananya went inside the school and was soon directed towards the teacher’s conference room. As soon as she entered, she was surprised to see her husband already waiting there.

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