Maan
stood in the main hall of Khurana Mansion, dressed head to toe in black,
greeting guests as they arrived. They all came to celebrate his birthday.
Initially Maan had been against another party – as if the mockery at the Teej
functions had not been enough. However, Dadi Maa insisted and far be it for
Maan to deny anything his Dadi Maan wanted. She reasoned that they celebrate
his birthday with full flair because it was his first birthday after he'd
gotten married.
Married. What
a joke!
His
entire family kept telling him that after his accident he'd lost a year and a
half of his life. Of course, it was the year and a half that he had found, fell
in love with, and married Geet. They threw pictures and videos in his face to
make him believe it, yet he could not. His mind had maybe, on some level,
admitted to the fact that he was in fact married to Geet. It was the only thing
that explained why his family was so drawn to her and so in love with her. It
was the only thing that explained how his family seemed to stop functioning at
her disappearance. However, his heart – his heart couldn't accept the fact that
she was his wife, that anyone was his wife. His heart couldn't accept the fact
that the mangalsutra she wore around her neck and the sindoor that adorned her
forehead were all in his name.
He
simply couldn't warp his head around the fact that he, Maan Singh Khurana, had
given himself to someone considering his past. After the heartbreak he'd
endured he had sworn off women. He hated women, he hated love and he definitely
hated marriage. He had promised himself that he would never let anyone close
enough to his heart to make him feel those powerful emotions again. Yet here he
was, married – happily married they said. Of course, it didn't help matters that
his so-called wife was none other than Geet.
From
the minute he'd come home she had crawled under his skin and irritated the life
out of him. He hated the fact that his family was so dependent on her and so in
love with her. He hated the fact that she waltzed around the house like she
owned it. He hated the fact that he couldn't tell if her love and care for his
family was an act or truly genuine.
As
if on cue, something glittering caught his eye. As he turned his head towards
the stairs, his eyes locked on her descending figure. She was dressed in a
simple orange saree, her hair left loose in curls, and kept her makeup and
jewelry to a minimum. Under the shining lights of the room she looked
absolutely regal.
These
past few weeks he had made it a point to not look at her. From the glances he'd
seen of her he knew she was attractive. He also knew that if he really took the
time to study her, he'd discover she was beautiful and he couldn't let that
happen.
He
watched as she made her way towards Dadi Maa, greeting people and chit chatting
as she went. It was only when Dadi Maa had pointed in his direction and she'd
looked at him that he looked away.
He
frowned and mentally cursed himself for getting carried away like that over
her. He had made a plan to keep away from her during the party lest he be roped
into doing things like dancing and cutting the cake with her. All of which, he
had no desire to do.
Of
course his plan went down the drain as Dadi Maa approached him with Geet in
tow.
"Maan beta," she called.
"Ji Dadi Maa…" Maan
answered.
He
looked at Geet through the corner of his eyes as she came and stood next to him
in the spot where Adi had stood only seconds ago.
"Aap dono yahaan guests receive kijiyeh, hum
khaane ka intezaam dekh kar aate hai," Dadi Maa said.
"Aap taqleef kyun lehti hai…main dekhti hoon," Geet said
almost instantly.
Geet
was just about to step away when Dadi Maa called out ot her.
"Nahin beta, hum dekh lenge…aap yahin rukiyeh…Maan
ke saath,"
she said.
He
saw Geet turn her head to the floor and caught a slight blush that crept onto
her cheeks. Dadi Maan gently stroked Geet's cheek before disappearing towards
the kitchen, taking Adi with her.
So
Maan stood with Geet by his side as guests, business associates and other
family members continued to come. While he greeted everyone with a handshake,
he noticed she greeted everyone with her hands folded together and a smile.
Everyone
handed him either a bouquet of flowers or other various gifts. Initially he
didn't know where to put them.
"Dijiyeh…main rakh deti hoon," he heard her
say softy.
Turning
to her, he saw her extend her arm out causing her bangles to chime at the
sudden movement. He hesitated for a moment but eventually put the items in her
hands. As her finger tips brushed against his hand, he felt static run through
his body.
He
thanked the powers that be for sending another wave of guests which spared him
from thinking about her feather light touch against his skin.
"Happy Birthday Maan beta," he heard an
elderly lady call.
"Thank you……" he said
uneasily.
Maan
stared at the lady, unable to place her.
"Namaste Aunty," Geet said.
"Namaste Geet beta," the older
lady said. "Kaisi ho?"
"Main tik hoon. Aap bataiyeh…aab Kiran kaisi hai?" Geet asked.
Maan
stood there confused as to how Geet was having a conversation with this lady
and who Kiran was.
"Pehle se behter hai…magar abhi bhi thodi kamzoor
hai," the
lady said.
"Aur Piyush…complication ke vaje se usse kuch hua
toh nahin naa?" Geet
asked.
Maan
could hear the concern in her voice as she spoke.
"Bhagwan ke kripa se woh ek dum tik hai…saach mein
Nani banne ki kushi ki koi mol nahin," the lady said beaming.
With
that comment Maan figured that Kiran had to be the lady's daughter and Piyush
was her grandson.
"Sorry Aunty hum nahin aa paye," Geet said.
"Hum aana chate the magar…"
"Aare beta koi baath nahin, vaise hi tumhara Maan
bhi tho abhi abhi hospital se vapas aaya hai," the lady as
as she turned to Maan.
Maan
gently smiled at her as he caught the blush deepen on Geet's cheek when the
lady and referred to him as Geet's Maan.
"Nadira, finally aane ka time mila," they heard
Dadi Maa call.
Just
seconds later Dadi Maa joined them and immediately embraced the lady in a hug.
"Kya karoon," the lady
began, "Bache ko chodke aane ka maan hi nahin kaarta."
Dadi
Maan and the lady laughed whole heartedly.
"Aab tum batao Geet…" the lady
said.
"Kya?" she asked confused.
"Yeh hi…," the lady began as she winked
at Dadi Maa.
Already,
Maan wasn't sure he was happy with where this conversation might be headed.
"…tum Savitri ko kaab par Dadi banaoge?" the lady
finished.
Maan
closed his eyes and fought everything he had to not groan out loud at the
lady's insinuation. He knew what she had been about to say when she winked at
Dadi Maa but he hoped he was wrong. As he opened his eyes, he was shocked and
confused by what he saw.
Usually,
at comments like this, he'd seen the woman in question blush, begin to fidget
with their hands etc. Also, in situations like this, the future grand-parents
in question would only add to the teasing and insist on becoming grand-parents
sooner rather than later.
However,
that was not the case.
Instead
blushing and fidgeting, Geet was the polar opposite. He watched as suddenly her
face looked pale and her body became rigid, almost cold. He usually warm and
expressive eyes were cold and blank.
He
could have sworn he had even seen the glistening of tears when he heard Dadi Maa give a nervous and uneasy laughter.
"Baatein toh chalta rehga Nadira…pehle kuch kha
lo,"
Dadi Maa said.
Dadi
Maa put her hand on her friends arm and began to walk with her towards the
dining area where the food was set up. When she left, Maan didn't miss the sad,
knowing glance she gave Geet, or the subtle squeeze she gave to Geet's arm.
What was going
on?
He
stood silently, his eyes on Geet as she stood with her eyes closed and looking
as if she was having trouble breathing. She finally opened her eyes and looked
at him, her breath catching as she did so.
"Main…main abhi aayi," she said.
Without
another word, Maan watched as she disappeared into the crown. He didn't have
time to think about it because another wave of guests came in distracting him.
-------------
Maan
couldn't help himself as he scanned the crowd for her. He didn't know why such
an insane comment had upset her so much. He figured it was because she knew
that having children was not a possibility for them anymore. Maybe it was
because she knew that if she had a dream of becoming a mother, he wasn't going
to be the one to fulfill it for her. Maybe it was because a dream she'd had
came crashing down on her because the reality she faced now as different from
the reality she'd chosen when they had gotten married.
It
wasn't until fifteen minutes later that he'd seen her again. She came down the
stairs again, accompanied with her sister, Nandini. He watched as Dadi Maa met
then at the bottom of the stairs. She asked Geet something while cupping her
face tenderly. Geet nodded her head and gave Dadi Maa a weak smile. Dadi Maa
took her into a hug and they simply held each other for a few seconds. Then,
someone called to Dadi Maa making them break the embrace. After a few more
words to each other, both Dadi Maa and Geet went in separate directions to entertain
their guests.
As
he watched her mingle with their guests, he noticed that her smile didn't quite
reach her eyes like it usually. Also, it didn't go unnoticed by him that Dadi
Maa, Lucky, Dev and Nandini kept a close eye on her just like he had.
While
he stood talking to Mr. Chopra, an old client, a waiter spilled water all over
his clothes. Excusing himself, he headed to his room to get cleaned up. Once
there, he noticed that his coat was far too wet to wear out again, so he simply
took it off and decided to go to the party dressed in his black shirt and
slacks. He was just fixing the cuff on his shirt while walking down the hall
when he heard voices from behind a pillar.
"Geet yahaan aa," an unknown
voice called.
Finally,
Geet along with another woman dressed in a blue saree appear in front of him.
When she turned her face, he recognized the woman as Mrs. Payal Kapoor, the
wife of an old family friend's son.
"Uff, kya hai Payal…tu itni utavli kyun hai?" Geet asked.
Even
from the distance that he stood, Maan could see that the light had finally
returned to her eyes. Whatever she was upset over had been forgotten and it
gave Maan an odd sense of peace.
"Geet…aaj main bohot kush hoon," Payal said.
"Woh toh dik hi raha hai," Geet said, "Aab
batayegi ke kya baath hai."
"Geet!!!" Payal squealed.
"Dekh Payal, mujhe bohot kaam hai…jaldi bata
varna…"
Geet threatened.
"Main Maa banne wali hoon," Payal finally
said.
Maan
held his breath to see what kind of a reaction Geet would have to that news. An
hour ago when the topic was babies was brought up, Geet had become a different
person, a sad person – a person that Maan didn't like seeing.
"Payal!," Geet squealed as she enveloped
the woman into hug, "Congratulations!"
Maan
breathed a sigh of relief as Geet remained just as up-beat and happy as she had
been at the beginning of the conversation.
"Vaise tujhe toh yeh baath chilla chilla ke kehni
chaiyeh,"
Geet said teasingly.
"Chup!" Payal admonished, "Abhi
toh sirf family aur kuch friends ko bataya hai."
Maan
watched as the girls simply smiled at each other.
"Main tere liyeh bohot kuch hoon," Geet said
hugging Payal again.
"Thank you," Payal said.
"Kaisa lag raha hai Mrs. Payal Kapoor?" Geet teased.
"Geet main bata nahin sakti ke Maa banne ka yeh
ehsaas kaisi hai," Payal said holding on to Geet's hand. "Tujhe
bhi bachoon ke bare mein soochna chahiyeh."
With
that, Maan watched as the smile disappeared from Geet's face as the blankness
took over her eyes and her body became rigid again.
"Aagar mujhe pata hota ka Maa banna itni amazing
hai toh saach mein…main teen saal intezaar nahin karti," Payal said.
Maan
saw Geet look way and give a completely fake smile to Payal as the woman
continued to babble on.
"Kya chal raha hai yahaan par?" Maan heard
Dadi Maa ask as she joined the duo.
"Dadi woh…woh…" Payal
stuttered blushing.
"Congratulations beta, mujhe Hema ne bataya ke aap
kush khabri sunane wali ho," Dadi Maa said patting Payal on the
head. "Kush toh ho naa?"
"Main mehsoon kaar sakti hoon ke mere andar ek
nanhi si jaan hai…aur woh ehsaas……shayad duniya ki saabse pyaari ehsaas hai," Payal said. "Hai
naa Dadi?"
As
Payal spoke about the feeling of having a child inside her, a slight movement
caught Maan's eyes. Since her bangles glittered in the light, Maan saw Geet's
hand find its way up to her stomach as she balled it into a fist grabbing the
sheer fabric of her saree in the process.
"Umm…woh…Payal beta tumne kuch khaya hai…iss halat
mein zyada dehr tak bhooka nahin rehna chahiyeh," Dadi Maa
said. "Nandini…zaara isse aachi tarha se khilana…"
It
was then Maan noticed that Nandini had been passing so Dadi Maa instructed her
to look after Payal making sure she ate properly. As soon as Payal and Nandini
were on their way, Dadi Maa put a hand on Geet shoulder.
"Geet beta…aap tik toh hai naa?" Dadi Maa
asked.
Maan
realized he wanted to know the answer to that question more than he thought he
should.
"Geet beta…" Dadi Maa called again when
Geet didn't respond. "Geet beta……"
It
took Dadi Maa literally shaking her to get Geet to respond. Geet turned and
looked at Dadi Maa for a few seconds before bringing her hands to her face.
From where Maan stood, it look like she was wiping tears, but he couldn't be
sure. Then, before he could think of anything else, he saw Geet turn and run in
his direction.
Unintentionally,
and completely automatically, he stepped into the hall from behind the darkness
causing Geet to come crashing into him. Instinctively, his arms wrapped around
her slender waist bracing himself as her body slammed into his. When she pulled
back, her hands were resting against his arms to balance herself.
When
she looked up at him he saw tears swimming in her eyes. From the closeness,
Maan could see pain, sorrow and grief in her chocolaty eyes.
"I'm sorry…I'm sorry…" she said as
she pushed against him to get to her own two feet.
He
stood looking at her as she tried to balance herself while holding onto him.
"I'm sorry…I'm sorry…" she repeated.
She
blinked causing the tears to cascade down her cheeks, one landing on his hand.
"I'm sorry," she said again, as she ran
off.
"Geet!" Maan called.
She
didn't stop, she just kept running.
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