Revenge

She was sitting on the floor, trying to teach their only son English alphabet. He has often wondered if her father has lied about her schooling. He said that his daughter was an English medium graduate.

He thanked his own brain that he did not marry this girl without a hefty package of dowry.

His blood boiled when he thought about her audacity, she could imagine that an engineer like him will marry her without any dowry.

She is pretty, knows the household chores perfectly; may be more than she should but her etiquettes are horrible. She is too unsophisticated, way too much. He was genuinely surprised that none in her school objected about these things.

She was studying in a convent in Dehradoon when someone brought the proposal. Her father was his father’s senior in office.

Both were thinking about proposals, he talked with her on phone a few times; they were regularly exchanging emails, chatted quite frequently. All of a sudden, out of blue she announced that she was anti dowry.

He decided to back off but his father said it was not possible for him to annoy his superior. There was only one year left for his retirement. So they decided to buy that time and if possible a little more.

Two years were still left before her graduation final examinations, so they told her parents that they will wait till her graduation. In the meantime they would not disturb the girl in any way. The boy and the girl will meet after her graduation exams.

He handed over his email id and cell phone to his sister. He was no longer interested in wasting his time with her.

She tried to size her down to friendship.

The girl did not get the message, she was a straight-forward girl, and thought that he too was the same. She believed in matured solution of differences, so she thought that if he had any problems with her he will just tell her and they will part their ways.

By the time the girl’s graduation examination was finished his father has retired and collected his dues.

To save their face they gave her father a strange offer, to get her married to his cousin; a demand-less widower with two small kids.

“I think my daughter is in love with your son.” Her father said.

“I know sir, but my son has fallen in love with another girl. He is not ready to marry anyone else.” His father said in a pleading tone.

“Well in that case I think we can’t do anything.” He said. After a little pause he added, “I had so many plans for her marriage, I have even short-listed the houses I have been thinking about giving her, of course she had to select one of them.”

“Her mother and I have been collecting her marriage gifts one by one, from the best jewelers and boutiques. We had so many plans for both of them. I even made arrangements of their honeymoon in Switzerland for a fortnight.” Her father’s face hung.

“Let me talk with that idiot. But your daughter is anti-dowry. Is not she? She told my son in the very beginning that she is absolutely against dowry. Not theoretically but literally.” He asked suppressing his excitement.

“Is there any reason that she should know that I have gifted your son these things, the house or the car or the expenses for his honeymoon? From when have we started to share everything with our kids?” her father asked.

He called him back a few weeks later to tell him that his son has changed his mind.

The marriage took place immediately after her results were out.

Four years have passed since that day. Her father’s family has moved to their ancestral home on the opposite part of the country after her father’s retirement.

The doorbell rang; she got up to answer it. It was his father; he coldly blessed her when she bowed down to touch his feet. That was very unlike him, he always treated her quite cordially.

He started to talk after she left the flat, to take the kid to school.

“Mr. Bhardwaj has bumped into your father in law’s daughter and son in law in England.”

“What? An impostor?” he exclaimed.

“No, she is his actual daughter. He sent me their photo. That girl has a strong resemblance with your wife but they are different.”

“Did you talked with her father?” he asked incredulously.

“Yes.”
“What did he say?”

“He said that as we thought we could decide who their daughter will marry, they got the same right earned through our audacity. So they got you married to his distant cousin’s sister. His distant cousin works as a household staff in my ex CEO’s home. His daughter, your wife worked for his daughter in law.”

“Can we sue them? Or at least can we throw her out?”

“On what ground can we sue them? They adopted the girl right before marriage. They have recorded all the exchanges in stealth, they will sue us if we harass her.” His father gulped.

Sharmishtha Basu
21.6.11