Page 20 of The Unwanted Husband
Soon, Isha heard another twin. The boy had learnt how to walk and he zoomed over to where his sister was, as if curious about the commotion.
“Isha, I’m so happy they are used to you now. You should bring them here soon.”
Isha chose to only nod instead of telling her aunt it was not feasible to bring the kids to America. It would be a burden for her aunt, even if she was willing to take care of them. It was best for them to be in India, especially if Ashok had family to support him.
For the next ten minutes, Isha watched her aunt interact excitedly with the twins. To her surprise the kids were responding with their babbles and her aunt was stoked to spend time with them.
She finally ended the call and went downstairs with the kids and their nannies. Ashok was nowhere to be seen. She was glad the kids didn’t have another meltdown like they did a few days ago. No one knew why they were so upset and after that episode, they woke up from their nap like nothing happened.
After what happened, Isha felt slightly comfortable around the kids. Their large roly poly eyes didn’t scare her anymore. They found a way to coexist. They didn’t look at her like she didn’t belong there. She minded her own work while they played around her in the same space.
The work that she was doing for her job back in San Francisco and very little progress she made in identifying the lawyer who had worked with her father during the lawsuit.
Nothing turned up on the internet and she didn’t know how else to locate the lawyer who might or might not have the paperwork from a case that was filed over a decade ago.
How the heck was she supposed to do something like Ashok said? Easy for him to say!
*****
Later that evening, she was in the backyard, working on reviewing a contract. She was glad she was able to keep her work moving without impacting her clients in San Francisco. She was in the middle of updating the legal language when she felt movement.
She looked up to find Ashok walking toward her, his dress shirt casually untucked from his dress pants. She had seen him that morning in a hurry dressed in a suit.
“Hi,” she said, putting away her laptop. There was never a time he had approached her without needing to discuss something with her.
He nodded in response and stood a few feet from her. “I spoke to your aunt.”
Isha wanted to roll her eyes knowing exactly why her aunt would have called Ashok. The kid’s birthday party.
“I don’t think it’s a good idea.”
Ashok looked at her for a long moment. “I agree it’s not a good idea to celebrate in San Francisco but we should celebrate here. Have your family visit.”
“No.” It was the last thing she wanted to do. Have a celebration with her family around and pretend like nothing has happened.
He sat in a garden chair opposite her. “What do you mean, no?”
She took a deep breath and let it out. “You heard me. I do not want a celebration. This is not the time for it.”
“So, when would be a good time?” His question felt like a dart.
Never, she wanted to yell but she suppressed that urge.
“Not now.”
His body language indicated he wasn’t going to let go. “When?”
She fell silent. They were talking in circles at that point and she didn’t see a need to prolong.
“I’m not in a state of mind for a celebration. If you ask me when I would be, it might be never. I have nothing left to celebrate. I have no intention to create memories that will only be demolished by the next big tragedy I’ll need to handle.” Her tone was extremely mellow and her voice was only slightly louder than a whisper.
His long silence gave her hope that he would understand why she didn’t want a celebration. That was broken in half a second when she saw him shake his head.
“This,” he paused like he was choosing his words. “This is not about you. It’s about the kids.”
“That’s BS.” She spat. “They will not care if there was a party for their first birthday.”
“They will when they are older and since you aren’t planning to be around to see them grow up, I can understand why you don’t think it’s a big deal.” He stood up like he was done having the conversation. “It is important for me to celebrate their key milestones.”
