Suddenly there he was, his shape filling the doorway. Even though she couldn't see his face, she knew by a thousand little things that it was Ajay. The attendant at the door didn't stop him, sensing someone important. Usually, she was not supposed to let men into the Ladies' Waiting Room.
Right now Lata's relief at seeing Ajay was greater than her fear of facing him.
Divendra wasn't coming back. She had known that for about two hours now. She supposed that she had known it for a long time. Handsome young men like him were more interested in boring, little housewives’ jewellery than in the mousey housewives themselves. She couldn't break down in front of all these women. Some faces were envious, others openly hostile, while the majority were simply curious.
One of the older women had even offered her an orange, but she had declined, even though she was starving. She had to maintain an aloof exterior, or else... She could always go out of the Ladies' Waiting Room and buy some sticky, germ-filled samosa to eat. But what if Divendra came back and missed her, even though a part of her knew that he wasn’t coming back. Ever.
Ajay just waited in the doorway. Tension stretched across the room. Gradually, there was silence, as all eyes looked from her to him, as if at a tennis match.
Lata got up casually and took the first few steps towards him. He just turned and led the way, as good Indian husbands were wont to do. She followed docilely as always, keeping up the appearance of a good Indian wife. Not a word passed between them.
A big part of her was relieved. Glad to escape all those faces with dignity. She would have died rather than admit that she hadn't known what to do, where to go, in front of them. At least these women knew how to go about getting a railway ticket. She had never lined up for any ticket in her life. She would either be frightened to death by all those uncouth people around her or get sick from their sweaty smell.
Instinctively, she craned her head, trying to track the coolie thinking, he had disappeared with the luggage. She suddenly realised that there was no coolie, for the very simple reason that there was no luggage. That shock brought her back to the present. How could she face Ajay, the servants who knew everything, and everyone else?
***
Before she could panic completely, they had reached the car. It was easy to ignore the driver and get in the car, as if nothing had happened. Ajay got in beside the driver, not turning even once to look at her. She sank back weak with relief. At least one part of the nightmare was over.
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