Page 32 of That Same Old Love

Samrat refused to feel guilty. “What? She coerced the job from me in the first place, and had it as a clause to sell her land for the senior community plan.”

Sidhu sighed. “I just hope you know what you are doing, Samrat. Anyway, I need to go check on a few things. Call me if you need anything.”

He felt a little annoyed that Sidhu could be so mature and level headed even after seeing Mahi.

CHAPTER 9

Mahi felt humiliated about what Samrat had done and didn’t want to stay at the party anymore. She was about to turn and leave.

Maybe it was a bad idea to come, even if she had wanted to apologize. She was getting to that part with Sidhu, until Samrat interrupted her.

She sighed and was heading towards the exit.

“Oh hi, Mahi. Didn’t think we’d find you here. What a… surprise. Remember me? I’m Disha.”

Mahi vaguely recognized that the woman in front of her was one of her juniors and also Ananya’s only friend in college. Mahi had barely interacted with any of her juniors in a friendly manner. She had only teased some of them mercilessly in their first year. Later on, in the second year, she left them alone, except for Ananya.

Disha didn’t look thrilled to see her either and barely cracked a smile.

“Well, I was about to leave. I just realized I had something due tomorrow,” said Mahi.

Disha smiled, although it didn’t reach her eyes. “Oh come on. Tomorrow is a Sunday. Whatever work you have can wait. Come with me and meet our college group. They can’t wait to see you again. Sort of a reunion, no?”

Mahi had a gut feel that it wouldn’t end well. But she was here to mend fences and apologize to Ananya and Sidhu. She couldn’t do that with Sidhu, so she had to try it with Ananya.

Mahi followed Disha who stopped at one of the tables with few other women who were already seated there, and one of them was Ananya.

Soon introductions were made. Ananya was about to get up, saying that she had to check on Srishti.

“Come on, Anu,” Disha said. “Srishti and her friends are preparing to get ready for their performance. We still have thirty more minutes, until the show begins. Let the kids have fun getting ready without our intrusion.” Then she looked at Mahi. “Oh I think the performance is going to be G-rated for sure. Thank god for that, considering we are in the cell phone videos and social media era.”

One of the women at the table looked confused. “What do you mean?”

“Oh, nothing. Mahi and her friends had performed during one of our annual day functions. Let’s just say the guests were… entertained well.” Disha’s tone meant they were anything, but entertained.

Mahi still remembered that day. Their college staff was pretty conservative and had some very strict dress codes back then. They wanted all the college function performances to be done only in Indian wear. Mahi and her five close friends decided to perform a popular upbeat ‘item’ song that needed a ton of practice and approvals. On the day of performance, right after Ananya and her group finished their synchronized classical dance; it was Mahi and her group’s turn.

To say people were speechless or shocked was an understatement. Mahi and her group were dressed in the most minuscule blouse that was barely a strip of cloth and wore a long ankle length lehanga baring the midriff with nothing else in between. There was absolute silence during their performance, followed by wild cheers from the boys of their college.

Their university deans and professors were left red faced. They suspended Mahi and her notorious ‘gang’ for almost two weeks. At that time, even though her mother showed her hell at home, Mahi felt it was worth the suspension. Her stuffy professors never made eye contact since then, and stopped preaching about evils of dressing in‘western clothes’.

Mahi missed her friends like crazy and wished there was some way to connect back with them. She couldn’t ask Sidhu for their details because he wouldn’t want to fondly reminisce and then give her their contacts. And Samrat had been mostly a loner back in college, and had only a handful of equally nerdy friends, who barely moved in her circle. Mahi had been snooping into social media and left some messages to some of her friends, but none of them answered back yet.

Disha was watching Mahi. “You know if one were the kind to judge, you would be considered a bad influence on a girl as young as ten, don’t you think? But since we are all enlightened women of the current century… maybe we won’t judge you based on what you did back when you were nineteen. Or should we?”

“Oh but wait. It wasn’t just at nineteen right?” Disha pretended to think. “You have a ten year old, too, right, Vani?” she asked one of the women. “Would you let your daughter meet and be friendly with a woman, who was with… say… I don’t know, maybe more than three men that we know of?” Disha looked at Mahi. “I think there were at least three, right? The college boyfriend, then the husband, then the man with whom there was an extra marital affair, and then I think there is a work in progress with a kind neighbor.”

Vani looked uncomfortable. “I don’t know… ”

Disha looked at Vani. “Oh, come on. You would still give that woman a benefit of doubt, and allow your adolescent child to engage with her in anyway? Hmm… pretty big minded of you. Okay, what if the woman did personal harm to the child’smother?” Then looking at Mahi, “Humiliated her countless times?”

Vani looked shocked. “What?”

Disha continued. “And what if that woman was once in a relationship with the said ten year old girl’s father and later cruelly dumped him for greener pastures? It wasn’t the girl’s father’s fault. His love was pretty blind and he had no guide dog to drag him away from the bitch he was in love with. But anyway, would you allow your husband’s ex-girlfriend to start a strange relationship with your daughter?”

“No way!” said Vani.

“And what would you do and say to the woman, if she shamelessly turned up to one of your family events by brainwashing your daughter for an invitation?” Disha asked in a dramatic tone.

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