CHAPTER: 26 Prosperity
"Do you like big families, my dear?" the grandmother of Shashirekha asked Tulasi, her eyes twinkling.
"Oh, yes, I love them so much! It's so beautiful how you all live together!" Tulasi replied, her innocent heart warmed by the sight.
Shashirekha, ever the schemer, quipped, "Grandma, let's just get her married into our family, like, to one of our relatives! That way, she'll always be with us, and she loves big families, no cap!".
Tulasi was utterly shocked. "No, no, nothing for me, no thanks!" she exclaimed, quickly making her exit.
Shashirekha persisted, grabbing her, "Come on, Tulasi, you love a big family, right? Most people don't, but you do! Look, I have uncles, brothers, all with amazing jobs! You could literally stay with us forever!".
Tulasi, firmly, "I'm telling you, I don't want anything! I'm not marrying anyone!". She escaped to the kitchen, watching the aunties cook, but her mind drifted to Abhi.
"Does Abhi have a big family?" She suddenly remembered his brother and father visiting at the hospital. They came often, she recalled. "Is that it? Is there no one else for Abhi?" she wondered. She made a mental note to ask him next time. But then, a thought struck her, "OMG, what if he asks about my family? Nope, better to keep mum".
She suspected Abhi wasn't too fond of his father, though. She recalled his father's visits: a whole entourage, some of his father's people looking like office workers, others like security guards, all standing around silently waiting for Abhi's father's command. Abhi would never miss a chance to make his father wait for him at least an hour. After that eventually call his dad in, but only for about five minutes before his father would storm off, leaving Abhi fuming for the rest of the day. Yet, his father would still keep visiting. Sometimes, after his father's visits, Abhi's room would literally be in shambles, things broken. "Why is he so mad at his dad?" she wondered, her innocent heart aching for him.
"Can you cook, dear?" an aunt asked.
"A little, auntie, but you're amazing!" Tulasi replied, her sweet nature shining through, and she joined them, learning as she went, spending the evening immersed in their company.
That evening, they all went to the Mysore festival. It was a new experience for Tulasi. She wore a mask, nervous about photos getting uploaded to the internet, "OMG, no social media exposure for me!" she thought. She, with her friends and Shashirekha's family, enjoyed the festivities. People tried to take photos, "Tulasi, take off your mask, we can't see you!" But she insisted, "No, no, I have a dust allergy! You guys go ahead".
"What's with the mask? Please,"Sasi's relatives teased.
But Tulasi, "Seriously, I don't like photos . But I can take pretty good ones.you stand I will take photos". So, she ended up being the designated photographer. While she was at the festival, Abhi called once. Amidst all the noise of grand festival and laughter, she couldn't make out a single word he said.
Abhi, on his end, could only hear her frantic "Hello? Hello?". He cut the call a while later, his heart aching, missing her terribly. Tulasi, too, found herself scanning crowds for tall figures, wondering "Is that Abhi?". Her eyes darted to every car that looked like his, hoping to catch a glimpse. "Oh, how I wish Abhi were here," she sighed to herself.
The next day was a marathon of pujas – saffron ceremonies, then other rituals. Tulasi, the innocent devotee, fasted and performed countless pujas. "Tulasi, why are you doing so many pujas, dear?" Shashi tried to pull her away.
"No, no, I want to do all the pujas with the aunties! Its good for the lady's husband if we do this Pooja, my mom used to tell me about this. And if ther is any bad to be happened to husband it will be removed,he will be prosperous ." Tulasi insisted, her pure spirit unwavering, dedicating her entire day to prayer.
Abhi called again that day. Caught up in the puja, she couldn't talk, so she handed her phone to her friends, who explained her holy marathon. Abhi missed Tulasi terribly. He was drinking and smoking like there was no tomorrow, but it was all "no cap" ineffective in erasing her from his thoughts. The maid's words echoed in his head, "You should have gone with madam, sir".