"Oh no!!, So did Billy not get to propose to Clare? " asked Sarita, visibly saddened.
"What happened?" asked Shanta.
Gilly continued, "Well, Billy did get to pop the question to Clare, in front of Harold, his lawyer, and Dolly's family. But before he could get an answer, something happened. He had not anticipated the planning, preparedness and low cunning of Dolly and her son.
Dolly had, with her 'woman's intuition', got wind of the possibility that something significant might happen on Clare's visit to the West, when Billy sent an invitation for her and Karl to come along and be present. He had written saying it would be appreciated by both him and Harold. He wanted them all to be a witness to the proposal and its result, so that they could see things for themselves, He hoped that they would then respect Clare's decision without fuss and go along with it.
Dolly had planned ahead with Karl on the possibility of Clare marrying Billy and how they should 'defend and protect' Clare's 'interests'. They had quietly got themselves a lawyer and drafted a 'fair and just' pre-nuptial' agreement for Clare, with themselves as her 'guardians of this disabled girl that they have long raised together and protected'. They wanted to 'continue to be her loving carers' even if she were married to Billy or in case of a divorce. They cited Billy's extensive work commitments, long hours of work and travel to suggest that it would be best if they were living very near Clare, for 'as long as we are needed and of use to our special child'. The terms included quite generous provisions for themselves as 'loving carers, available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, all year around' . The costs this involved that were presented as ' tiny, miniscule amounts' that would barely make a difference to Billy's wealth. It was all made out to be a great gesture of 'self-sacrifice' and willingness to uproot themselves from their home and move all the way to the West just 'to be able to care for precious Clare until our dying days'. This was all in addition to the 'fair and just settlement' of a portion of Billy's wealth that Clare would get in case of a divorce or separation. Karl and Dolly generously offered to help her manage that burden too, if it came that.
In short, it was a way of ensuring Karl and Dolly never needed to work another day in their lives and could have the best lifestyle and leisure, hanging on to the coat tails of Clare who was supposed to be hanging on to Billy's coat tails! Dolly had thoughtfully and pointedly suggested to Karl that their house, for which the mortgage was now paid off, be written over to her son Bruce's name if Clare were to marry Billy. Clare would not be needing the house or be able to 'take responsibility' for such a 'burden'. Bruce had, with a great show of the spirit of sacrifice, offered to take on the responsibility of owning it, even though he did not apparently really want it. Karl, bamboozled and clearly under the influence of Dolly agreed, despite a tiny voice in his heart that questioned the fairness towards his own Clare, regarding her share of the house that she would have otherwise got. I suppose, he was so carried away by the huge, yet unfathomed fortune of Billy, a share of which Clare might get, that would be much larger than the value of his little house. He did not have the heart or will to fight Dolly on this. She seemed much 'smarter' in money matters and he deferred to her.
Dolly had desperately wanted to make sure that Billy agreed to her terms before Clare agreed to marry him. So, she was always alert to the possibility of a 'proposal' and wanted to pre-empt any such thing if possible or atleast get it agreed upon before the 'wedding'.
So, when Dolly's family and Harold's lawyer were all at Harold's bedside, the atmosphere was a bit different from their previous visits. It seemed there was something special about to happen.
As Clare sat next to Harold' bed holding his hand, Billy was seated near the foot of the bed. The lawyer was at the back of the room. Karl, Dolly, Bruce and his wife and kids were there too, seated at a table near by having some nibbles served.
There was a pause in the conversation between Harold and Clare. Suddenly, Billy stood up, went over to Clare, bent down on his knees. Clare dropped Harold's hand and turned towards Billy. Harold looked both and it felt like a sweet dream to him. There was a surge of love and happiness like he had not felt in a long, long time.
Karl, Dolly, Bruce and his family were all shocked. Dolly was the first to recover her wits and composure.
"Clare, I have been wanting to ask you this for sometime now. You know I love you very much. Will you marry me?"
Clare was clearly surprised and it took her a while to recover from the shock and realise what was happening. Even then, at first, she seemed to forget that she was expected to answer and that Billy was waiting. She felt a surge of happiness and numbness. It seemed an unreal dream to her.
Clare and everyone in the room were shaken out of their reveries or surprise by the sound of a cups and plates crashing down on to the floor and breaking. All eyes turned towards the harsh noise. Dolly was clutching her chest and swooning. She rolled up her eyes, thumped her chest and slid down from her chair on to the floor, pulling the table cloth with her. She let out a couple of loud gasping breaths.
Karl stood up, Bruce ran to her and tried to help her up. Billy quickly sprang up and dashed over to her. The nurse attending to Harold quickly flipped a switch on the wall and ran around Harold's bed to get to be by Dolly's side.
One of Bruce's kids screamed and the other ran towards the mother. Bruce's wife, took the kids and they all made way for the orderlies and nurses who rushed into the room in a minute.
Soon, Dolly was wheeled out in a stretcher over to another room. Clare too had gone over with Karl to be beside Dolly. Everyone wanted to know how she was doing and what had happened.
"They are still running tests and we will know a bit later," said Billy.
His interrupted proposal was now forgotten for the moment. Harold called Billy over.
"These things happen, Billy. But you can pick up where you left off. I think she will say yes," said Harold smiling.
Billy smiled back. He too took it philosophically and with a smile.
Dolly was found to be physically okay. It was determined that she perhaps had had an anxiety attack. Dolly soon insisted that she was not feeling good, deep down inside her heart. She wanted to 'go home' and be back in her comfort zone to recover. She put up a drama of 'the doctors here in the West don't seem to understand me. No one knows me like my own doctor, back home." That night they all went back East to their home taking Clare with her. Billy, out of grace, did not want to press Clare on the proposal right then.
"It will give her time to think about my proposal," he figured. I will try and ask her again as soon as possible. The cat was out of the bag now though.
Copyright (c) Kannan Narayanamurthy 2016
All rights reserved
No comments:
Post a Comment