Tell A Thousand Lies (18 page)

Lata broke down again.

Murali
leaned against the door, his fingers thrumming against the back of his sleeping son.

“What?” My palms were damp.

Lata sobbed harder.

“Lata?” I asked, voice rising again. “Stop crying and tell me what’s wrong.”

“I am with child.”

Chapter 23

Can Things Get Any Worse?

L
ata, pregnant!

I gasped, though I knew this was coming. I felt my face go numb from the shock.

Srikar, then Geeta gave me questioning looks.

I shook my head.

“Pullamma? Are you there?”

“Uh, how... how did this happen?”

“The usual way.” She sounded belligerent.

“What about the… you know?”

“He ran away to the city.” Sobs started to come in great heaves. Struggling for control, she said, “If Ammamma hadn’t arranged my marriage behind my back, I wouldn’t have been so angry. Then I wouldn’t have fallen for that boy’s sweet talk.”

When I didn’t respond, her tone turned pleading. “Please, Pullamma. Help me get married to
Venkatesh
. Once I’m married, I’ll help you get away. Ammamma lost face in the village when I didn’t show up for the bride-viewing. If
Venkatesh
doesn’t marry me either…” She drew a shuddering breath. “After all, didn’t our elders say –
help arrange a marriage, even if you have to tell a thousand lies to do so
?”

I was incredulous. Was this the same Lata who hated the traditional sayings related to marriage and girls?
Tell a lie, beget a daughter
.
Bringing up a daughter is like fertilizing and watering a plant for someone else’s courtyard
. “Didn’t you say he ran away?” I said, trying to keep my voice down.

“
Jikki’s
parents will be able to track him down. After I’m married, I’ll convince
Venkatesh
to let me study further.”

With a newborn at home?
“What does
Venkatesh
do?”

“He works in a tea stall on the outskirts of the city.”

“Where will he get the money from?”

“Headmaster
garu
told me that fee-waivers are available from the government for needy students. He said he would help me get into a government sponsored hostel, so I wouldn’t have to worry about boarding and lodging.”

Why would a boy, who worked by the roadside for spare change, allow his wife to study? “This was before, uh, you know. These places take only unmarried girls.”

“If I get married, I’ll have my own place, which is almost as good. I’ll still be able to study.”

Lata’s naiveté overwhelmed me. “What do you want me to do?”

“Tell Ammamma about my situation,” she said in a small voice. “She will kill me if I tell her myself.”

><

A week went by, spent mostly in dodging Geeta’s relentless questioning. The rest of it went in trying not to think about Lata’s situation, about Kondal Rao’s demands to have me return, about Ammamma’s shock at Lata’s indiscretion.

I opened the front door for the milkman early one morning, ready to dart in if I spotted Geeta. Instead I found Headmaster
garu
, hand poised to knock. So unexpected was his presence at my doorstep I just stared.

“You won’t invite me in?”

“Yes, of course,” I said, recovering. “Please forgive my manners, Headmaster
garu
. Please come in.”

He stepped over the threshold and ducked his head to enter our house.

“Come in, come in,” Srikar said, hurriedly buttoning his shirt.

Headmaster
garu
waited for me to unroll the mat before settling on it. “Please forgive me for coming at this early hour.”

“No, no,” I said, waiting for more. This was no courtesy visit.

Headmaster
garu
took a deep breath. “I don’t come bearing good news.”

I wiped my palms against my sides, tense.

“What happened?” Srikar asked, trying discretely to rub sleep from his eyes.

“Elections are in a few days,” Headmaster
garu
said.

“We spent an entire day with him and Srikar’s grandmother,” I said. “In their own house. He would never put his grandson’s wife in such a position.”
Would he?

“Word on the street is that Kondal Rao is poised to lose. Even the idol trick didn’t help. He is a desperate man.”

“No…!” My voice sounded guttural, even to my ears.

Srikar put a hand on me in silent support. “Why don’t we let Headmaster
garu
finish?”

“It is what Pullamma suspects,” Headmaster
garu
said to Srikar. He sighed. “Kondal Rao is convinced Pullamma can help him reverse the situation. He wants her to come back to the village as a Goddess.”

That first time I’d been naive, thrilled by the power, the money, the adulation. Now I had much more to lose. My husband, my life with him. If I were to go, how would I return to him? I started trembling violently.

Srikar hurried to get me a blanket.

Despite the thick material, I was chilled to the bone. “But we are on talking terms now,” I said.

Srikar said nothing.

“Your grandmother,” I said. “Can’t we seek her help?”

“No, my grandfather will not listen to her. She tried to fight him when they were first married, but when she realized she had no influence on him at all, she gave up. She lives her life trying not to be tainted by his evil.”

“I need to... uh... bring up something indelicate,” Headmaster
garu
said, a flush crawling up his neck. “Lata’s... uh...”

I almost died of the humiliation. How could Lata have done such a thing? How would Ammamma ever look Headmaster
garu
in the face?

“I’m so sorry, Child,” he said. “I know this is very hard for you.” He was apologetic. “But Kondal Rao found out.”

The world seemed to stop. No sound. I saw Headmaster
garu
’s face, saw the motions his mouth made.

Srikar shook me gently.

I took quick, shallow breaths. Slowly, the sounds came back.

“He spread word about the... you know,” Headmaster
garu
was saying. The tip of his nose reddened. “And then he let your grandmother and Lata stew in the resulting scandal.”

Yedukondalavada!
Neither of them deserved this, even if Lata had done the unthinkable. The villagers might forgive a girl a lot of things, but premarital pregnancy wasn’t one of them.

“Then he went to your grandmother with a deal,” Headmaster
garu
said. “He would track down the boy –
Venkatesh
– and arrange a marriage between him and Lata.

“Provided?”

“Provided you went back as his Goddess,” Srikar said.

Headmaster
garu
nodded, eyes full of compassion.

My face felt numb.

“Is that why you are here?” Srikar asked.

“To take Pullamma back?” Headmaster
garu
said, shaking his head. “No, no. Pullamma’s grandmother refused the offer outright. She said she could never barter the happiness of one granddaughter for another.”

Oh, Ammamma!

“I wish that were the end of it,” Headmaster
garu
said. He leaned forward and put his hand on my head briefly. “Kondal Rao, in preparation of your return, has sent out foot messengers with shoulder drums. They’re walking the villages, beating their drums, announcing the return of their Goddess. They’re converging in on your grandmother’s house from all directions.”

“But I am married to his grandson,” I said, struggling for breath.

“Since when did that make a difference?” Srikar said.

“Your grandfather wants me to assure you that Pullamma will be free to return to her life after the elections,” Headmaster
garu
said. “He said that after all, Pullamma is the daughter-in-law of the house.”

Chapter 24

Ammamma in the City

“R
un away,” Ammamma said. She put her hand in blessing on my head, then on Srikar’s. “Take my granddaughter, and leave.” She stood by the door to our flat, the handle of her shoulder bag tightly clutched.

“Come in, please,” Srikar said. “Freshen up. Have some coffee. Then we’ll talk.” He held out a hand for her shoulder bag.

Ammamma stood still, lips pinched tight.

“Please,” Srikar said.

Ammamma shook her head, then released her grip on the bag before stepping into our house. Srikar helped Ammamma on to the mat. “Bless you, Child,” Ammamma said as she sank down with a sigh. “First time in my granddaughter’s house, and under such terrible circumstances.”

I handed Ammamma a steel tumbler of coffee, and sat down next to her. “You think he’ll really force me back?”

Ammamma turned to Srikar, tone urgent. “Don’t waste time, Srikar. Take my Pullamma and run to some remote corner of the earth. Disappear.” Her face showed lines that had not been there before.

“What would happen to Lata and you if we did that?” Srikar said.

“Leave us to our fate. We are already in the middle of a frightful scandal. It can’t get any worse. Lata will never be able to get married, but that can’t be helped. At least the two of you will be able to live your lives without interference.”

“The elections are still a few days away,” I said. “Maybe something will come up by then.”

“Headmaster
garu
visited me in the village last night,” Ammamma said.

“And?” Srikar said.

Ammamma seemed reluctant to continue.

“What is it, Ammamma?” Srikar said.

“I am so sorry, Child,” she whispered.

“What?” I asked, my voice coming out shrill.

“Kondal Rao’s threatening to anoint you
Graam
devata
if you don’t return to endorse him.”

I stared at Ammamma in disbelief. “Don’t you have to be an idol? Or at least be dead a few hundred years?”
Graam
devata
.
Graam
devata
.
Graam
devata
.
The chant pounded inside my head.
Graam
devata
.
Resident Goddess of the village.

“It is true that
Graam
devatas
are normally idols, not real people, but it’s not hard to whip up a frenzy and convince people. You, of all people, should know that, Pullamma.”

“A bottle of whiskey down Ranga
Nayakamma’s
throat, that’s all it takes,” Srikar said.

“I am the wife of his only grandson! What kind of a man is he?”

“I know you pretend to be unintelligent to please me.” Ammamma sighed. “Surely you can’t be that naive?”

 
“If my grandfather follows through on his threat, you’re doomed,” Srikar said. Since Headmaster
garu
’s visit, deep grooves had appeared on either side of his nose. “He might direct the villagers to search you out and bring you back.”

So they could install me as their
Graam
devata
! I shivered. If that happened, my destiny would forever be tied to that of the village. Then I might as well give up on my husband, any children, my municipal water connection.

I thought of Srikar’s grandfather that day in their village – laughing, smiling, joking around. Kondal Rao, the loving grandfather. Kondal Rao, the treacherous politician.