The Forbidden Daughter (22 page)

But then Harish would excel at most anything. He was an exceptional man with an exceptional mind—and a heart of gold.

So, what was his personal life like? She’d been thinking about it a bit lately—in fact, too much since she’d become aware of him as more than just a doctor and acquaintance. What did he do after he ate dinner with his family and went home? Did he read, or watch TV, or was he so exhausted that he went straight to bed? What kind of a house did he live in? What were his tastes in food, movies, books, television?

Mainly, why wasn’t he married like most men his age?

As she slid into bed a little later, she forced her mind back to more mundane things and made a mental list of all the tasks she had to complete the next day. Running a business had its share of headaches.

Priya, nearly asleep now, stirred beside her and mumbled something.

Isha kissed the little girl’s head. “I’ll take care of you, baby,”

she whispered to her daughter. “You and your sister won’t starve.

I promise you that.”

Chapter 19

July 2007

Isha observed the foursome sitting on the floor. Milind and Arvind had their brows furrowed in thought while Priya sat cross-legged, her hands cupping her face, equally contemplative.

The fourth person was Harish. He sat with his legs crossed like Priya while he explained something to the three children.

In the midst of the four individuals sat the chessboard, with its handsome polished finish and each piece a finely crafted specimen made of teakwood. The set had to have cost a lot of money. Isha had no idea what those things sold for, but she felt a little guilty each time she looked at it. Harish shouldn’t have bought such an expensive gift for a little girl.

Every Thursday evening, since Priya’s birthday some months ago, the boys and Priya got a lesson in chess from Harish. All three kids had latched on to the game. Harish had explained it so well that even Priya—especially Priya—had been riveted.

They’d started to play for about two hours each week, and from what Harish had told Isha, the children were picking up the game much faster than he’d anticipated. “Priya is an extremely bright girl,” he had said. “I don’t want to say this in front of the boys, but she’ll be ready to beat them in a few months.”

Isha had smiled indulgently. “Oh come on, you’re just trying to make a mother feel good.”

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“No, honestly,” he’d assured her. “She’s very good. The boys are bright but their attention span is short. It’s typical male behavior at that age. Priya, on the other hand, concentrates on the game, so she has a deeper understanding of the logic.”

At the moment, the children played as a team of three against Harish.

Diya had been fed earlier and put to bed, leaving Harish and the other kids to pursue their game in peace.

Since the little one had started to crawl recently, it was hard to keep her away from the chess game. She enjoyed scattering the pieces and putting them in her mouth, driving the older children crazy. Harish always laughed about it and managed to save the game.

“Time for dinner,” announced Isha, knowing full well the youngsters were having too much fun to think about eating.

The kids had only a half day at school, so they could finish their homework in the afternoons and devote their evenings to learning the intriguing game of chess. But Harish usually came directly from his clinic on Thursdays. The poor man needed a break.

“Already?” asked Priya, not bothering to look up from the chessboard. “But we just started.”

“You started over two hours ago, pumpkin. It’s getting late and Doctor-kaka has given up his entire evening for you kids.

It’s time to stop,” Isha said, her hands on her hips. Sternness was not one of her strong points, but she had to try her best.

Priya was not beyond taking advantage of Harish’s kindness.

The boys rolled their eyes and groaned dramatically.

“Do we
have
to stop? Mummy’s not picking us up for at least an hour,” protested Milind.

Harish was the one who rose to his feet and put an end to the complaints. “Yes. We all need to eat.” He patted the crew-cut hair that stood at attention on Arvind’s head. “Chess needs a lot of brain power. If you don’t get proper nutrition, then you can’t play well. So let’s all feed our brains to make them work efficiently.”

The kids moaned some more and reluctantly went to the 160
Shobhan Bantwal

bathroom to wash their hands, then gathered around the table.

Isha glanced at Harish. “Why don’t you stay and eat with us?”

“Thanks, but my family’s expecting me.”

“Why don’t you ring them and say you’re invited to eat here?” She wasn’t sure if it was a good idea, but Harish had started to become a part of their household. He had gradually gone from being pediatrician to grown-up friend, as well, for her children and Sheila’s.

Kumar and Sheila seemed to like him a lot, too. In fact, they had recently switched from Bajaj to Harish for their children’s health care, which seemed to please the boys immensely. So it looked like Doctor-kaka had somehow wound up becoming an uncle of sorts—a true
kaka
. He was
almost
family.

He looked hesitant about her invitation, like he wanted to accept, but didn’t quite know how. He took off his glasses and wiped them with his handkerchief before replacing them. “I’m not sure it’s a good idea.”

“Oh, come on, Harish, you’ve been so good with the children. The least I can do is offer you a simple meal.” So far, all he’d accepted from her was an occasional cup of tea and a snack to tide him over until dinner.

The kids joined in with their pleas for him to stay, so he pulled out his mobile phone and called his mother.

Isha put an extra
thali
on the table, and they all ate together.

The children chatted steadily with Harish. He looked completely at ease conversing with them. Isha was happy to remain mostly silent, especially since the boys were behaving so well.

There hadn’t been a single food fight or argument between them.

As she finished her meal, Isha realized she’d thoroughly enjoyed the evening. It felt like a family meal, just like sitting around the dinner table when Nikhil was alive.

Then another thing struck her. She hadn’t been thinking of Nikhil much, at least not with the kind of heartache she used to suffer when images of him flitted through her mind. Her body didn’t yearn for him as much, either.

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It looked like her brain and heart had finally begun to accept Nikhil’s death and the fact that she had to move on—what was often referred to as
closure
. It was up to her to carry on his legacy, to make sure their children were well taken care of.

Nikhil would have wanted his girls to have the very best they could afford, and she was determined to do exactly that.

But what bothered her were her mixed sentiments about Harish. He fitted so well into their lives. In some ways it was a blessing, but in others it was disturbing. Was she being disloyal to Nikhil by enjoying the company of another man? And that strange sense of euphoria when she was in Harish’s presence—it wasn’t right for her to experience anything like that, was it? According to tradition she was still the grieving widow.

She studied the three angelic faces with their matching hazel eyes focused on Harish’s face. She hadn’t been able to use the word
enjoy
in a long while. Simple
chapatis, dal,
rice, and
palak-batata bhaaji
—potato with spinach curry—hadn’t tasted this delicious in some time.

When the boys were ready to go home, it was their chauffeur that showed up because Sheila and Kumar were attending a party. The house suddenly turned quiet after Milind and Arvind left.

When it came time for Priya to go to bed, she looked plead-ingly at Harish. “Doctor-
kaka,
will you read
Harry Potter
to me?”

“I’d love to read
Harry Potter,”
he replied, gazing longingly at the books on the table. “I haven’t had a chance to read a single one in the series yet.”

Isha gave him a grateful smile. He was giving her a precious half hour to catch up on her work.

He sat on the sofa while Priya settled herself nearby and listened to him bring to life the adventures of Harry Potter.

Isha occupied the chair across the room and picked up her sewing, but she stole frequent glances at those two. She observed Priya looking at Harish’s face with the same rapt adoration she used to reserve for Nikhil. At the same time, Priya’s thirsty mind 162
Shobhan Bantwal

absorbed the story like a sponge. The child rarely missed a single detail in any story. Harish was right. Priya paid close attention to the things that captured her imagination.

With a sudden heavy heart Isha realized what Priya was doing. Her little girl was subconsciously looking to replace her father, the man who’d read to her, hugged her, and kissed her good night. It brought back a flood of memories of past happy times, and Isha quickly averted her eyes and went back to her sewing, lest her emotions get out of hand.

Harish had chosen to read to Priya in the drawing room instead of the bedroom, implicitly letting Isha know that he had no intention of encroaching on their privacy. And for that she was grateful. He was a gentleman.

After reading a few pages, he sent Priya off to bed, assuring her that he’d see her again the following Thursday for their weekly chess game. Isha and he watched with some amusement the child reluctantly drag her feet toward the bedroom.

“She’s a bundle of curious energy. I’m sorry she’s made you the target of that,” Isha said to Harish.

“Please don’t ever apologize for Priya or Diya,” he chided. “I happen to like your children very much. And I like Milind and Arvind, too.”

“You really mean that, or are you being polite? Every mother likes to think her children are special, you know.”

“But your children
are
special. They’re both delightful.”

“I’m afraid I
have
to agree.” Isha gave him a pleased grin.

“Priya seems very interested in science, especially medicine.

The other day, she asked me some really interesting questions about heartbeats that wouldn’t normally captivate a child her age. She’s fascinated by hearts and stethoscopes.”

“I noticed that when you let her borrow yours in your office.

She talked about it for several days after that visit—something about how the chest makes interesting sounds.”

“Maybe she’ll pursue a medical career when she grows up.”

Startled, Isha stared at him across the room, her needle and thread poised in midair. Wasn’t that what the
sadhu
had hinted at? Something about Priya being a healer?

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He looked wistful. “I wish I had kids like yours.”

“So why don’t you get married and have some of your own?”

“Maybe I should.” He held her gaze with a contemplative expression. “I hadn’t given it much thought until I started to spend time with your children and Kumar and Sheila’s. I’m beginning to realize I’m missing a lot in life.”

“Then do it, Harish. Do it soon. God gave Nikhil very little time with his child. He never even got to see Diya, let alone hold her and enjoy her. One never knows what lies ahead in life. Live yours to the max while you have a chance.” She shut her eyes for an instant. “I wish I’d spent more time with Nikhil, taken some interest in his business, traveled, laughed more with him, and even just talked. If I only knew then . . .”

“I’m really sorry about Nikhil. I’m sure it’s hard to lose someone you cared so deeply about.”

“I’m slowly learning to accept it as my
naseeb
.” Destiny.

“It’s all part of the long grieving process,” he said wisely.

“Acceptance takes time.”

“I’m realizing that. But the hard part is coming to terms with the fact that someone deliberately set out to kill him. If it were an accident or illness, one can accept it as God’s will . . . But premeditated murder is difficult to live with.”

His brows rose high. “Good Lord! It was deliberate?”

“Yes.”

“How do you know that?”

“I’d suspected all along that Nikhil’s murder was intentional, and it was later confirmed by the police. Nikhil must have gone to the superintendent about Dr. Karnik’s illegal abortions and—”

At once realizing what she’d said, Isha skidded to a stop. She had no business bad-mouthing one doctor to another, especially in a close-knit community. She couldn’t risk tarnishing Karnik’s reputation, even though she had some sort of proof sitting in her home at that moment. If Karnik ever found out about it, she’d be in grave danger.

“Abortions?” Harish’s eyebrows snapped together.

“It’s nothing. Please forget I said anything.” Oh dear! He looked like he was determined to find out more.

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“No, I want to hear this,” he insisted. “My family and I have had our suspicions about Karnik and a few other ob-gyns in this town, but this is the first time I’m hearing about it from someone else.”

“Why do you have suspicions?” She had never thought of Harish as a suspicious sort.

“It’s a little beyond coincidence that some obstetricians seem to have mostly male births amongst their patients. Nature isn’t that selective, unless it’s given a helping hand.” He leaned forward in his chair, his gaze firmly fixed on her face. “Tell me . . .

please.” When she shook her head, he said, “I promise not to tell another soul.”

She turned it over in her mind for a second. She knew his sister-in-law was an ob-gyn, and she didn’t want to point fingers at anyone in his family. Also, although there was no doubt that the man who sat across from her was trustworthy, she didn’t know if it was safe for him to know such things. Knowing dirty and dangerous secrets about his fellow doctors could be both uncomfortable and risky for him.

In the end she decided to tell him all. She’d come to know him well. He was the persistent type and would find out the truth one way or the other. “You have to swear you won’t say or do anything that might end up hurting you.”