A week later, Pallavi was looking at the accounts in the saree shop (yet again Baba hadn't come in, it was just Nikhil with her today), when she noticed that the date was June 8th. It had been almost three months since she had married Raghav. If she
Ashwini Aunty walked in, a long time customer, "Pallavi beta, I need a new sari, can you help me choose something?"
"Zaroor, what's the occasion?" Pallavi asked.
"Parso Vat Savitri Puja hai. You didn't know? I noticed that you're wearing sindoor and a South Indian mangalsutra, but even if your husband is Telugu, you have to keep up with your customs, beta. Doesn't matter if you're North or South Indian, yeh vrat aur puja bahut acchi baat hoti hai. Look at me, I've been married 25 years, yes my husband is a grumpy Telugu man, but main toh Marathi hun, main apne riti rivaaz kabhi compromise nahin karti. This is why my khadoos husband has lived for so long." Ashwini laughed.
Pallavi nodded, "Main toh bhool hi gayi" She helped Ashwini Aunty find a saree, but before she could leave, she asked, "Aunty, kya aap mujhe bata sakti hai, is puja mujhe kya kya karni hai?"
Aarti Aunty responded, "Why don't you just ask Sharda Ji, she's been doing the puja for years with us at the Marathi Women's Association, in fact, we're having a function the day after tomorrow for the puja, tum Sharda ji ke saath aao?"
Pallavi looked embarrassed, "Oh, I can't...meri Aai mujh se—teek hai, Aunty main zaroor aaungi."
When Ashwini left, Pallavi started chewing on her fingernails. She wanted to do the puja, she should do it. But should she go where she might run into Aai and Baba? Then she remembered Raghav telling her that she was his family now. She held her head up high and stopped biting her nails, so what if Aai and Baba would be there? She wasn't afraid of them, and one day or another they would have to forgive her. If they didn't, she too could be stubborn as hell. Besides, Vat Savitri was incredibly important. Then she worried about how much Raghav would make fun of her for this, she blushed thinking of him smirking while she spent all day fasting and then when she did his Aarti.
Nikhil, who had been quietly listening to all of this from the back of the store decided to talk to his mother. This was a perfect opportunity to get Aai to understand Pallavi and forgive her.
Pallavi took out her phone and started looking up the items she'd need for the puja, as well as the website for the Marathi Women's Association, so she could tell Amma, Keerthi, and Raghav where they'd be spending their afternoon and evening the day after tomorrow. Her mood was oddly giddy, this would be the first festival she would get to celebrate as a real wife, now she wasn't a widow anymore. She wouldn't have to stray far away from the festivities to avoid Kaku from saying something rude about her being a widow in front of Aai or Baba. Pallavi remembered fondly the last time she saw Aai do this pooja, in fact, before she got married to Mandaar, she saw her sister-in-law also celebrated Vat Savitri in Kohlapur.
"Nikhil, I've finished finalizing the accounts, I have to go to the market for some things and then I'm going to head home, so I'll see you tomorrow?"
"Ok Didi, bye, aap please apna kayal rakiye." Nikhil walked to her and hugged her, "I've been missing you so much at home these days, especially you waking me up in the morning with your old Hindi songs as you pray to Bappa."
Pallavi smiled, "I miss home too...but I guess it never really was my home, right?" She decided to leave before she started crying.
"No, don't say that," Nikhil stopped her, "I'll talk to Aai and Baba again, I'll—"
"No you won't. Koi zaroorat nahin. Nikhil, just because I love them still, just because I still know that all of you are my family, that doesn't mean I can force them to accept my love, right? And...at some point I have to accept that their love for me was conditional," Pallavi smiled and lifted Nikhil's chin when he looked down in embarrassment, "But that's fine, Nikhil. Koi baat nahin. At least for some time in my life I had you all, and if I don't get you all back, then that's God's will. And see, Bappa ko bataa tha mujhe aur log ka zaroorat padega, so he brought me to Amma, Keerthi, and—and Raghav." Pallavi smiled, hugged Nikhil again, and left.
