11 Chapter 11

Since papa didn't want any of the money she earned, Sneha had saved a lot of it. Even though papa had offered to help her pay for her home décor, she insisted he didn't spend a penny on it. After searching the internet for what she wanted, she had her carpenter build all the designs she liked and gladly used her own hard earned money. Each and every piece of furniture was her choice and everything spoke of elegance. She kept the house neatly organized; even the bathroom towels were arranged in a neat pack. All of their things were kept in place in such a way that it was almost impossible not to be able to find them.

She loved arranging her home and for a pleasant change, she realized she loved her home more than her hospital and her duties. She wanted to go on and on with the décor but the house in City M couldn't fit anymore. When she could do no more with her décor, she started arranging the vegetables in the refrigerator or at times would arrange the various knives and spoons to keep her busy.

People gave them a large number of gifts for their wedding and she hadn't had the chance to open them yet. 'Why do people have to give such gifts? Instead, they could have just given cash,' she pondered! She dreaded opening them because she would have to find a place to keep them all. Out of curiosity she opened one to find a golden, grotesque looking lamp. She ended up giving that to the guard of the building below for his night duties. The guard was so happy that every time she or Rohan came out of the lift, he would say 'Good-day Sir!.' He didn't distinguish between sir and ma'am, as everyone was sir for him!

Sneha had no desire to see what else they received and stored all the gifts. She thought maybe she would ask Rohan what to do about them or even imagined she would open them with him. This was becoming her dream now, one that was far, far from reality.

Rohan shattered her thoughts when he came inside and told her, "Come to my office at about 11 a.m. and we'll come back home together at noon."

All of a sudden Sneha didn't want to go and shuddered at the thought of meeting Rohan's colleagues. 'What will they think about me? Will they be good to me? How embarrassing this is going to be?' were some of the frightening thoughts franticly running through her mind.

He sat down next to her on the sofa. The odour of her mild rose perfume tickled his nose. 'She is so girly!' he thought. 'Everything about her is so feminine and dainty, how does she survive in this world? Does she even do anything that upsets people?' His thoughts were interrupted by the occasional news reporter on TV who loudly cried, "The Nation Wants to Know!"

An hour passed while Rohan sat next to Sneha and watched TV with her. Even though he wanted to talk, he didn't know what to say so couldn't figure out much to say about anything. Sneha was intensely aware of his presence and a few more minutes of his proximity would make her into a bundle of wool. Rohan had not really interacted or sat next to her in the few short days of their marriage.

Sneha's mind was whirling. 'The incident at the restaurant was interesting. How can I continue that? How can I shed my inhibitions?'

It was like she was going through a list in her mind of all the questions she had that didn't make sense to her.

'Can't Rohan come forth and ask me any questions? Doesn't he want to know anything about me? What should I do? What are my plans?'

Doesn't he have any curiosity about me at all? Is this how an arranged marriage is? Even when two strangers meet they start talking about things because they want to know about each other.' A little shiver ran through her body as the questions kept coming unbidden and she snuck a quick peek at Rohan.

Why is it Rohan doesn't want to know about me? Is this marriage a mistake? Am I being forced upon Rohan? Did he want to get married at all?' All these questions were clogging up Sneha's mind and she just wanted to blurt them all out but she knew this might lead to their first argument, which was one thing she wanted to avoid at all costs.

'Talk to me Rohan! What do you want to know?' echoed through her mind as she screamed to herself. Her emotions overwhelmed her and she was on the verge of crying and wanted to go to her father. Instead, she asked, "Would you like to have dinner?"

"Ya."

She got up with a glum expression and went to prepare the dinner, tears welling her eyes.

Dinner was a silent affair with an uncomfortable, monosyllabic conversation; it was as if they were withdrawing from each other. The fact was, both wanted to speak to each other but couldn't find any words to start a conversation or the courage to try.

Rohan went to their bedroom after having dinner and waited for Sneha to finish cleaning the kitchen.