22.You & Me - Sandhya
“Here it is Uma! Now this boutique is all yours” said Thulasi with a beaming smile as she handed over the documents to Uma.
“Thanks a lot Thulasi. I don’t know how to express my gratitude… But are you sure?”
“Yes, I am hundred percent sure! Right from the beginning you have been the life of this boutique and it makes sense to hand it over to you…”
“Oh Thulasi!”
Uma got up from her seat and hugged her friend. Thulasi smiled and said,
“Relax Uma… You deserve it…”
“Thanks again Thulasi… I don’t know what to say… I will never ever forget this help…”
“Come on! It was you who helped me and my family when we were struggling…”
“Whatever help I offered to you is nothing compared to what you have given back to me Thulasi…”
Thulasi smiled and kept quiet.
“So what is your plan now?” asked Uma looking at her friend.
“No big plans Uma… Whenever I get time I will visit your boutique and I hope you will be fine if I come here and create new designs…”
“Is there a need for you to ask this, Thulasi? You are always welcome…”
“I know Uma…”
“Then?”
“Then what?”
“Thulasi! What about your marriage? So far you have been shying away because of your responsibilities… Now with god’s grace you have got your money back… there should be no issues with Kavya’s marriage… I am also sure aunty will be safe and comfortable now… Now it’s time for you to think about yourself and your future…”
“Future…” said Thulasi with a sigh.
“What happened Thulasi?”
“I am in a big trouble Uma…” said Thulasi and explained Krishna’s condition.
“What did you tell him?”
“I asked him to give me some time to think about it…”
“What about Kavya and aunty?”
“pch… They are actually happy!” said Thulasi in an irritated tone.
“Ha ha ha! I can understand that… And I am very much impressed by Krishna too…”
“pch… Uma!”
“Ok forget about Krishna… May be its time you spoke to Dinakaran sir…”
“What are you talking about Uma?”
“You know what I am talking about…”
“No… I have no clue…”
“Thulasi, don’t try to lie to me… It’s very obvious…”
“What is obvious?”
“The chemistry between you and Dinakaran sir”
“Pch… Only chemistry? What about physics and mathematics?”
Uma gave a cold stare at her friend and said
“Come on Thulasi don’t play when we are talking about a serious matter…”
“Hmmm…”
“Don’t tell me that you are not aware of this… everyone knows about this... The way he looks at you… The way he helps you… He adores you Thulasi”
“Pch… Yes he keeps helping me! Don’t keep boring me like this Uma…”
“Thulasi, think about it this way… We both owned this bouquet and you remember, we used to work for more than sixteen hours daily… Even otherwise how much time we got to think about other things? During work days, I don’t think we were able to spend more than one hour or even thirty minutes to talk to our family…”
Thulasi could remember the old days… The days when she used to leave early in the morning and reach home so very late… Kavya whining about not getting a chance even to talk to her…
“True Uma… Some days we don’t even get thirty minutes…”
“Yes… Now think about someone who owns multiple businesses like Dinakaran sir… How busy he should be? You remember how many times Seetha amma has told us about him not having food on time…”
“Hmmm…”
“But still he spent too much time for you… He helped us to expand our boutique… He gave us financial freedom… He spent his time and money to help you get your properties… He also helped you in all legal matters…”
“Yes that’s true…” mumbled Thulasi.
“Now why should he spend so much of his precious time for you Thulasi?”
“…”
“Don’t tell me you have never thought about this… I can understand you reluctance… But now you have the right opportunity… Talk to him Thulasi!”
“Talk about what?”
“Your future!”
“But what’s my future has to do with him?”
“Thulasi!”
“No Uma, he helped me and my family… Yes accepted, I am not denying it… But that doesn’t mean that he loves me or I should love him…”