-CHAPTER 2- “Beena! Beena! Are you sleeping?” Hearing her name, Beena lifted her head from her desk and groaned in discomfort - her neck felt like it had been bent out of shape! “It’s most unlike you to take a nap at work! You better hurry as Mr Santosh will be leaving in another five minutes.” “Oh my! Already? These wedding preparations are really driving me crazy. I better get going now. Thanks, Suchi,” said Beena, as she tried to ease her stiff neck muscles and rubbed her eyes to clear her blurry vision. She adjusted her sari, picked up the lovely bouquet of flowers which she had kept on her desk all day, and ran down the corridor to the office of the Guest Relations Officer. She knocked on the door and entered. “Sir, I just wanted to say…” “No, Beena. Before you speak, I would like to take this opportunity, on behalf of the Royal Hotel, to say a few words. Thank you for being one of the hotel’s most efficient staff members till date. We will miss having you here with us and wish you all the best for your future. We look forward to having your sister join us soon.” “Thank you, Sir,” said Beena, delighted with the praise. With a courteous handshake, she presented him her goodbye gift and left his room. Plain. Simple. Sweet. Mr Santosh and the rest of Beena’s colleagues organised a warm send-off for her. Beena cried as they got her to cut a farewell cake and gifted her a photo frame with a beautiful picture of her at work. The three years she had worked at the Royal Hotel would always remain a cherished memory for her. _________________________ “Darling, which floral arrangement do you like? What do you think of this one with red roses for the centrepiece?” Beena, who had been bombarded with questions of that sort for the last five months, replied to her mother monotonously, “I like what you like.” “Baby, your wedding is next week. Aren’t you excited?” “I am.” Then after a long pause she said, “But Mummy, what am I going to do when I shift to an unknown place across the globe, far away from you?” “Beena, don’t worry, dear. America is a land of opportunities, and settling there will be exciting. I’m sure it’s going to be even better than what we’ve seen on TV. You are going to make new friends, and most importantly, you’ll have Suresh with you too.” “He’s going to be at work, Mummy,” said Beena. “His new job in a multinational company in New Jersey will keep him really busy. But you’re right, a whole new world awaits me across the ocean, and I will be lucky to experience it with him.” Beena made a gorgeous bride, and she, Asha and Mrs Rani Kumar enjoyed every minute of the wedding celebrations. The following Thursday, the family assembled at the Bangalore international airport to see off the newly-weds. Numerous aunts, uncles and cousins hugged Beena, offering her advice and showering her with blessings for her new life in a different country. Suresh, her handsome husband, wrapped his arms around her reassuringly and looked into her eyes which were red and puffy from crying and whispered, “I love you, and I’ll take care of you for the rest of our life, Beena. Please don’t cry, darling.” Then he added mischievously, “Your kajal has been reduced to a mere smear. You better do your eye make-up quickly and look pretty again.” Beena managed a ghost of a smile before she moved to say goodbye to her sister. “Don’t forget to be on time when you start working at the hotel. You also have to get the tag of ‘most efficient employee’ from Mr Santosh some day.” Then she broke down into tears as she hugged Asha and said, “I’ll miss you, my little sister.” “Helen, thank you so much for everything you’ve done, especially over the last few days. Please look after Mummy for me. Bye.” “Don’t worry about Ma. You take care of yourself,” said Helen, and hugged her tightly. Flanked by Asha and Helen, Mrs Kumar stood like a solid pillar, with neither a tear nor a trace of sadness on her face, as Beena embraced her. She was a brave lady and continued to be so for her daughter as she embarked on this new journey in her life. “Mum….mmy,” she choked on the word, as her tears poured down her cheeks. . “Don’t be sad and cry so much, dear. We’re going to miss you too, but we’re going to stay in touch regularly on the phone. Besides, I’m going to visit you soon in your new home. Now, can we see that beautiful smile that we all love so much?” Beena composed herself, and she and Suresh picked up their bags and walked into the airport. They turned and waved at the large group who had come to see them off, and this time a smile illuminated her face.