‘So do I,’ she smiled.
‘Let me guess,’ he felt her belly.
‘Why are you in such a hurry?’ she caressed his head.
‘You know I’ve a double stake in that,’ he said, continuing to caress her, ‘as man and as a palmist. Well, what’s the news you’ve brought me?’
‘You tell me,’ she said.
‘Ladies first,’ he said, ‘if you please.’
‘Yes, to listen,’ she said, smiling.
‘How smart of you,’ he said visibly pleased. ‘Congrats, you’ve got the admission.’
‘Thank you,’ she kissed him. ‘What a coincidence it is! Roopa too has taken up the Annamalai University’s correspondence course in Personnel Management. She wrote that she started learning typing and shorthand as well.’
‘It’s nice to hear all that,’ he said, wondering whether it was a sign of his continued influence on Roopa.
‘Don’t you want to know how you figure in her mind?’ she said as though to tease him.
‘Isn’t it full of regards and all that?’ he said pretentiously, though characteristically.
‘Roopa writes that as her friendly half, you’ve influenced her immensely,’ she said heartily. ‘I think you deserve all her praises.’
‘It’s a relief really that she’s on the right track,’ he said feeling happy. ‘But why the long silence?’
‘It seems she wanted to write only after making some progress,’ she said, ‘why not you read it yourself.’
‘Oh, she has a beautiful hand,’ he said, as he gave the letter back to her.
A few days later, said Raja Rao to Sandhya, ‘Someone sounded me out about an assignment in The States, and I told him I would think it over, as I wanted to know your mind.’
‘Is that good for your career?’ she said with nixed feelings.
‘You know I had been there before,’ he said casually. ‘Now I’ve to look at that more as an opportunity for your exposure.’
‘You know,’ she said coyly, ‘the direction of my destiny.’
‘Don’t I know,’ he said as he felt relieved himself.
‘What’s this Western lifestyle is all about?’ she asked.
‘In the West,’ he said as if he were summarizing the essence of his observations, ‘they’ve a deep-rooted work culture, while the philosophy of life is better evolved here. For all their application of mind over things material, in matters of emotion, resilience seems to be conspicuous by its absence in them. Why, psychic care is the order of the day for the jilted lovers in their tender teens. Or it may not take more than getting the boot at the office for one to start fearing about losing his woman as well!’