Back to the Future - A short story

Sep12
            Sandhya looked around. All was in place. The mansion was lighted up. The multi colored hues of lights were enhancing the beauty of the Bungalow. The vast expanse of garden with flowering shrubs were immaculate . The pleasant smell of night queen brought back memories of her childhood. She remembered with fondness the open areas of the military cantonment where her father used to serve. Her father traveled all over the country. Every two to three years it was the same . Just when she was developing new friendships the packing would start. The truck was loaded and then it was a new school, new friends and a new location. It had its own advantages. she more or less traveled the entire country, developed lasting friendships and learnt new customs and traditions. The only thing constant was the family and similarity of the cantonments. They ( the cantonments) looked uniformly similar. At every cantonment there was a Sadar Bazar. a club and lot of other children who were in the same boat as she was sailing in.
         
            A remonstrance to the waiter who was mixing up the knife and forks , rearrangement of flowers on the table so that they did not obstruct the guests from each others view and the place was ready to receive the guests. She looked impatiently at her watch. Father and daughter were as usual still not  on the horizon and it was time for the guests to arrive. she dispatched a servant to tell them to hurry up - not that it would make any difference - they always came in after the guests. Having sometime on hand she took the weight of her aching feet. She mentally made anote to spend a little more time at the gymnasium. She had not put on much weight but the extra time spent at her office was telling on her figure...
         
            Her thoughts rolled back a few years . In keeping with her family background she decided to join the forces. At first it was all very novel to her . The carefree days of training, immediate settling of any sort of indiscipline and plenty of money at hand to indulge in whatever took her fancy. She was on the top of the world or rather the world was at her feet. Posting at remote location did not really bother . Then she met her husband. They were both undergoing training at the same location. The affinity was immediate. Before the course was over they were a familiar couple. He a dashing fighter pilot and she an administrative officer . The combination worked well. Soon it was wedding bells and a daughter Hariyali. She doted on her daughter and was content with life. There was however a problem. Spending time together in spite of the best intentions was not always possible - what with both of them being posted at different places - the maximum time being not more than two years at a stretch. This seemed unfair and more often than not, very frustrating. After ten years of serving the nation without complaint she decided to hang her boots for the chance at a more stable family life. In preparation to attack the civil life she decided to undergo a course at ASCI.
         
            ASCI was offering a certificate course in business management and it fell in neatly with her plans of pursuing a civil career.  The first day was quite a shock as all the other officers were very senior. The only saving grace was one other officer who was her age group and who was also planning to leave the services as he was proceeding to foreign shores. The six months sped by and again she was at the cross roads. A job meant that she would again be separated from the family. Her entire being rebelled at the idea of further staying apart from her darling daughter. She took a considered decision (after completion of the course at ASCI)of pursuing further studies in the place of her husband's posting. But as the time went by and her daughter grew up it was only natural that a job was what would keep her sanity. With her qualifications she was snapped up in a multinational company. Her organisational skills learnt in the Services coupled with her qualifications gained along the way stood her in good stead and slowly but surely she climbed the corporate ladder . Today was the party to celebrate her breaking the male bastion and becoming one of the top honchos in the company which she had served with the same dedication she had when she was in the forces. This party was a celebration of this fact. What made it memorable was that most of her coursemates from the ASCI were joining her to toast her success.
         
            Her thoughts were interrupted by a warm embrace round her neck by Hariyali who was breathless and excited at the prospect of an evening full of fun and frolic and dancing. Both Mother and Daughter loved to dance. She turned around to see her husband following her daughter at a sedate pace. Seeing them both Sandhya suddenly felt relaxed and knew in her heart that all was going to be all right. Neither the present nor the future held any threat to her...