You Are Not That Bad

Part 13: You Are Not That Bad

Pooja wanted to introduce her friend Simran to Meera, so she waited for Simran’s arrival.

“Poo, let’s go to our class,” Meera said.

“Wait, I want to introduce you to someone interesting,” Pooja replied.

“Who is that?”

“My friend Simran.”

“Your friend joined here too?”

“Yes. She got admission on a scholarship.”

Just then, they heard someone call, “Bhabhi.” Meera turned around and immediately recognised Rahul’s voice. The other students looked at Meera in surprise. Who could expect Mrs. Arjun to be so simple? Pooja understood that as a senior, Rahul warned the other students that Meera was his “Bhabhi.” He came over with a group of friends.

“Hi, Bhabhi, welcome to our college!” Rahul said.

“Thank you, Nanne,” Meera replied.

“Guys, this is Mrs. Arjun, my Bhabhi.”

“Namaste, Bhabhi,” the guys said, joining their hands in a respectful greeting.

Pooja was stunned by the respect the boys showed Meera.

“Namaste…” Meera smiled back at them.

“Don’t forget, Rahul is here for you. Call me if you need anything,” he added.

Meera nodded in acknowledgement.

“I didn’t see you at home this morning…” Meera asked Rahul.

“I didn’t even get out of bed then,” he laughed. “All the best, Bhabhi.”

As he was about to leave, Pooja blocked his way.

“I’m here too,” she said.

“Excuse me, I’m a senior here, so you should respect me,” he teased.

Pooja playfully punched his stomach. “Is this respect enough?”

Meera chuckled along with Rahul’s friends.

“I will never expect your respect.”

With that, he ran off with his friends. Just then, Pooja saw Simran arrive barefoot.

“Where are your slippers?” Pooja asked.

“I threw them at a guy who teased me,” Simran replied.

“Did you start your job on the first day?” Pooja questioned.

“What can I do if they start their mischievousness on the first day?” Simran retorted.

“Meera, didn’t I tell you about my interesting friend? This is Simran. (Looking at Simran) Simi, this is Meera, Mrs. Arjun.”

“Hi, Meera,” Simran said, extending her hand. Meera shook it firmly.

“Did you hit someone with your slippers?” Meera asked, noticing Simran’s bare feet.

Pooja chuckled. “She often does that.”

Meera was bewildered. “Often?”

“Yeah…”

“What if they hit you back?” Meera asked.

“She’s a boxer and a state gold medallist,” Pooja stated proudly.

“Oh…” Meera gulped at this revelation.

“Let me know if anyone misbehaves with you. I’ll take care of them,” Simran said, putting an arm around Meera’s shoulder.

Meera nodded in agreement. “Did you throw both of your slippers?”

Simran laughed. “No, I threw the other one in the dustbin because it was useless.”

“Just as Arjunji said, I should learn to be brave from Simran, I suppose,” Meera thought.

“Let’s go,” Simran said, and they stepped inside their classroom. Meera touched the entrance, bending slightly before entering as if she was entering a temple.

The students looked at her with curious expressions. She felt something stir in her stomach upon seeing miniskirts and low-cut tops for the first time. She tried to cover her eyes with her hands, but Pooja grabbed her hand to stop her.

“If you start closing your eyes for this reason, you’ll never be able to open them again. Relax,” Pooja reassured her.

“Won’t they feel shy?” Meera asked, bewildered.

Simran chuckled. “Of course, they feel shy. That’s why they wear at least this much.”

Meera dropped her jaw in shock while Pooja laughed.

“Get used to it, Meera. This is common here,” Simran said.

Meera nodded in acceptance.

As their classes began, Meera felt like she was sitting among aliens. She couldn’t understand anything; the lectures were entirely in English. Professors taught in English, and students asked questions in English. All she could do was take notes from the board. By the end of the day, her courage was almost drained.

She emerged feeling overwhelmed. Arjun’s driver, Krish, was waiting to take her home. As she got into the car, she reflected on what Arjun had advised her that morning: she could learn something new from everyone, but how could she learn English? From whom could she learn?

---

Our Mansion

Meera was helping Nisha and Sanjana cook, lost in thoughts about college, Pooja, Simran, the girls in revealing outfits, and the challenging English language.

Everyone gathered for dinner. Arjun hadn’t arrived yet because he was stuck in a conference.

“Meera Beta, take your seat too,” Granny urged.

“No, Naniji, I will eat with Arjunji,” she said, eyeing her favourite aloo-puri.

“Meeraji, Chintu will be late today because of a meeting with a foreign client,” Sanjana informed her.

“It’s okay, Sanjanaji. I can wait until he comes.”

“Meeraji, please don’t embarrass him. If you pressure him like this, he might start leaving work early,” Dev suggested.

“It would be better if Chintu did come home early,” Nani said.

“Exactly. Let Arjun come earlier, at least from now on,” Ganga added.

“No, Jeejaji, he doesn’t need to come home earlier for me. Let him finish his work first. I can wait,” Meera replied firmly.

“Please try to understand, Meeraji. Don’t be stubborn,” Sanjana said.

Meera remained silent. How could she eat before Arjun did? Didn’t her Amma advise her against it?

“What are you thinking? Come on, eat,” Sanjana urged.

“No. Amma advised me to wait for Arjunji.”

“Let me talk to your mother. Now, please come and eat,” Sanjana insisted.

“Please, Sanjanaji, don’t compel me,” Meera said softly.

“Sanjana, why are you forcing her? Let Chintu handle this,” Granny interjected.

Sanjana nodded and began having dinner. After they finished, they sat in the living room, chatting, while Meera went to her room to go through her lessons.

Suddenly, Arjun hurried inside and approached them.

“Di, did Meera have dinner?” he asked.

“Do you know she will be waiting for you?” Sanjana replied, surprised.

“Yeah, that’s why I rushed back after my client meeting,” Arjun said.

“Please ask her not to do this, Chintu. No matter how hard we tried, she didn’t listen to us,” Sanjana urged.

“It’s okay, Di.”

“It’s not okay, Chintu. I know you won’t be punctual. Why should she wait for you?”

“I’ll try to come home earlier. If I’m going to be late, I’ll let her know.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah, she doesn’t know about my job and business yet. She’ll understand in a few days.”

“But she listens to you. You should make her understand.”

“No need for that, Di. It feels nice knowing someone is waiting for me,” he smiled.

“But you never wanted me to wait for you,” she pouted.

“That’s because there’s a poor soul called jeejaji in the picture. I didn’t want to face his curse,” he teased.

Sanjana playfully hit his shoulder, and Arjun laughed.

“Go and get fresh, Chintu. Meera must be hungry,” Granny said.

Arjun nodded and rushed to his room. He paused at the entrance, hearing his wife’s murmurs.

“You shouldn’t have allowed them to enter India, Devi Matha,” she lamented.

Arjun was confused about whom she was talking with Devi Matha?

Meera looked up and continued, “If only you had stopped the British from coming to India, we wouldn’t have English here. I’d be happier studying in my Hindi” she said sadly. “Or else I should have been born in England. Do you know that even a vegetable seller speaks English there?”

Arjun couldn’t help but laugh at her frustration. So this was her problem in college? He decided he needed to address it. He stood there thinking for a moment before entering the room. Meera saw him and smiled.

“Hi, how was your day?” she asked.

Meera sighed. “You were right, Arjunji. Delhi is completely different from Lucknow. English is everything here. It feels like the alphabet is dancing in my head.”

Arjun chuckled, “Yeah, everyone speaks English here.”

“Not just talking, they laugh in English, walk in English, even cough in English,” she pouted.

Arjun laughed, “Do you want to learn English?”

“Can I?” she asked, looking a little sad.

“Why not? I also studied in a Hindi-medium school. Look at me now—I can speak English!” he lied.

“Really? How, Arjunji?” Her eyes lit up with excitement.

“I joined a spoken English class. You can also join if you want to improve your English skills.”

“Thank you, Devi Matha! No, thank you so much, Arjunji!” she exclaimed, sitting on the bed with a smile, her hands joined in gratitude to Devi Maiya.

“Why didn’t you have dinner?” he asked.

“I was waiting for you.”

“Did your Amma tell you to do that?”

“Not just that.”

“Then why?”

“Because you are my husband, that’s why.”

“But I don’t think all wives do this for their husbands,” he replied, folding his arms.

“That’s because I’m Meera,” she stated proudly.

Arjun adored her when she said her name. He then went to the washroom to freshen up, keeping his eyes on her the whole time.

After dinner, Arjun returned to their room while Meera started cleaning the dining table. He took Meera’s notebook from her bag and flipped through it. Then, he opened his laptop and looked up her Hindi lesson terms. Now, he felt prepared. Meera went to the washroom to change and came out wearing her night suit.

“Meera, how are your subjects? Is it easy to understand?” he asked.

“I told you, Arjunji, everything is in English here. How can I possibly understand?” she pouted.

“Give me your book. I will explain it to you in Hindi.”

“Will you really do that?”

Arjun nodded in agreement. Meera took her book from her bag and handed it to him. He pretended like he was reading it for the first time and began to explain the concepts in Hindi using a simple method. He could see the relief on Meera’s face; she looked genuinely happy.

“Any doubts?” he asked after finishing.

“I wish you are my professor because none of my professors teach in Hindi.”

“Don’t worry. I’ll teach you every day.”

“Are you sure?” she was excited.

“Yah…”

“Thank you so much, Arjunji.”

“Welcome. Now go to sleep.”

Meera sat on the bed while Arjun was about to lean back in the recliner. She called him hesitantly, “Arjunji…”

“Yah?”

“You should sleep on the bed from now on.”

Arjun was taken aback for a moment.

“Why... suddenly?” He wanted to understand her reasoning.

“Because you’re not that bad,” she said innocently.

Arjun suppressed a chuckle. “Oh, really?”

“Yes, you seem to be good.”

“Thank you for the compliment,” he smiled.

“Will you?”

Arjun nodded in agreement and joined her on the bed, delighted by this unexpected turn in their relationship. Unsurprisingly, he couldn’t fall asleep right away.

Meera had none of the hesitation or suspicion that she had displayed on their first night. She fell asleep within seconds, which felt like a reward for Arjun. He gently held her hand and closed his eyes peacefully, taking the first step toward a deeper connection in their marriage.

To be continued…