Sunita hoped that her secret fears and guilt would not show at the dinner table that evening. She was grateful to little Jaya for maintaining a lively three-year-old flow of chatter throughout the meal, diverting her husband's attention. After they had eaten and Sunita was clearing off the table, Vishal suddenly announced that he was going out.
"Meree pyaree Sunita, mai jara dho ghante ke liye Bar jaake aatha hoon. Tumhe koyee itraaz tho naheen naa darling?" he asked, smiling at his wife.
Sunita felt a stab of disappointment. She did mind when Vishal went to the small bar on the edge of town. Even though she knew it was just his way of unwinding now and then, she knew from experience that he would stay away much longer than a couple of hours. He would come home late with the smell of beer on his breath when he fell into bed. Although he never actually got drunk, he always came home exhausted. Too exhausted to make love to her even when she waited up for him. Sunita secretly wished that the man she married would turn to her for release from his tensions instead of to a local bar. Then maybe she would not need a vibrator either.
But Sunita did not voice any of her thoughts. Playing the role of the sweet and agreeable wife, she smiled sweetly. "Mujhe kyee itraaz nahee, Vishal, darling" she told him, carrying a stack of dishes to the sink. "Tum din bhar kaam karke thuk gaye ho ge, thodee dher baahar jaake aaram karne se tumharee sahat ke liye teekh hogee."
Looking pleased, the burly man with the black wavy hair gave her a quick hug. "Tum bahut achee ho, Sunita," he said, kissing her cheek. "Tum jaise patnee ke saath mai bahut khush kismet hoon, aise kitne mard lucky honge! Ek raat ke liye baahar jane ke liye, Aur marad log to apnee patneeon se bheek mangte hain. Phit bhi, unki patniyaan, unhe jaane bhi diya tho pasand nahee kartee hain."
I resent it, too! Sunita thought to herself, running water into the sink. I'd much rather you stay home and unwind in bed! But she kept a pleasant expression on her face while pouring dishwashing liquid into the sink.
"Mai Jayaa ko sulaa ke jaa tha hoon," Vishal offered, leading their raven-haired daughter by the hand. "Phir tum aaram se bhait ke TV dekhna." He started out of the room, then turned, remembering something. "Are haan, Rajesh kaa TV baahar mere van me hai. Jaane se pahle andhar laa ke rakhungaa. Kal subha aake Rajesh, uska TV le jaayega."
Sunita heard the delighted innocent laughter of their daughter as Vishal made a game of getting the child into her night clothes. But she did not smile at the lighthearted sounds of their playfulness. Instead, she felt a flicker of annoyance the way she always did whenever her brother-in-law's name was mentioned. She disliked Vishal's younger brother intensely. Although she managed to conceal the intensity of her emotion from her husband, Sunita felt certain that his nineteen-year-old brother Rajesh sensed the animosity that Sunita harbored toward him. She did her best to be polite to her husband's tall, lanky brother but she had to force herself to do so. Everything about Rajesh disgusted her. The way he leered at her when Vishal wasn't looking, the way he took advantage of his older brother's good-natured generosity and affection. Sunita had lost track of the amount of money the boy now owed them. Whenever she mentioned the unpaid loans to Vishal, however, he merely laughed and shrugged his shoulders.
"Rajesh tho abhee bachaa hai," he always apologized. "Kabhee kabhee, mera paisa chukana bhool jaata hain. Koi badee baath nahee."
Maybe it didn't mean much to Vishal but it mattered to Sunita. She just didn't like the way Rajesh used his older brother, ignoring him for weeks when he was caught up in his own activities, then showing up again with a phony grin whenver he needed something. Whether it was a time-consuming favor or a quick loan, Vishal always indulged his younger brother.
"Haan, mai Rajesh ko thoda sa bigaad tha hoon," Vishal once admitted after shelling out the fine for his brother's latest traffic violation. "Par, mere maa baap marne ke baad mai ne Rajesh ko apne hathon se badaa kiyaa hai, Sunita. Abhee bhee mujhe aisa lagtha hai ki mai uske liye jimeevaar hoon."
But Sunita felt that young Rajesh would stand on his own two feet more if Vishal didn't keep making things so easy for him. Like fixing his television set. Sunita was certain that Rajesh would forget to pay his brother for services rendered. Just as he always forgot to repay loans. It wasn't as if Rajesh didn't earn good money on his graveyard shift at the factory. Rajesh shared a small studio apartment with a friend named Sunil and still had plenty of money to spare after expenses were met. But Rajesh squandered his paycheck on good times, always running to his older brother when things got tight and his wallet was not quite so well padded.
And now he was coming over tomorrow morning. Sighing heavily, Sunita hoped that he would not sit around and gab, keeping her from her work. She liked to make the best possible use of the hours that Jaya spent at the nursery school so that she could play with her daughter in the afternoon. Well, if Rajesh looked like he was going to park himself all morning, Sunita would just have to invent some excuse to get rid of him.
Sunita had the dishes done by the time Vishal returned from their daughter's bedroom. "Jaya sone kilye tayaar hai. Tum dono aaram se TV dekh sako ge," Vishal said with a smile when he joined Sunita in the kitchen. "Mai Rajesh kaa TV andhar rakhe, Bar jaake aatha hoon."