Chapter 67

 "Come little one, we have to go and introduce you to your father, and then see your Uncle Vihaan off,"  Naomi murmured  while she lightly rubbed her abdomen. "But you must be good and not have mummy feeling too out of sorts today. I have a lot to accomplish this morning with Aunty Rachna plus finalizing mommy and daddy's wedding. I promise you though we will have a good nap later in the day, alright?" She smoothed her dress, and took one last look in the mirror and then turned to leave her bedroom. If not here yet, then Rajeev should be arriving very soon.

Pari, who are you talking to?"

Naomi smiled brightly at the young boy who was somewhat dressed for the school day. "I'm just having a chat with someone very special, Sanjay," she answered while motioning him to come to her, where she re-buttoned his shirt and then tucked  it into the waistband of his shorts.

"There isn't anybody else here," he remarked.

Naomi smiled secretively, rather than answering her little friend. "There you are, now you look all put together. Oh," she exclaimed when he suddenly hugged her around her waist, whispered something to and then rested his ear against her tummy.

"Sanjay what are..."

"Naomi, have you seen...Sanjay, beta you mustn't dart away when my back is turned." Although she fought to hide it, the exasperation could be clearly heard in Rachna's voice.

Releasing Naomi, the youngster looked sheepishly at the new arrival. "Sorry, Rachna Aunty, I just wanted to see Pari this morning."

Rachna smiled, seeing that the little boy's clothes had been neatened, thanks to her friend. "Thik hai, but beta you must..."

"Sanjay buddy, why don't you head downstairs for breakfast, while I speak to Aunt Rachna."

The little boy readily agreed, and headed out of the room. He stopped in the doorway and turned back. "Don't forget to have your medicine, Pari."

Astonished, Naomi agreed. She was about to question what seemed to be Sanjay's developing preoccupation with her , before recalling her wish to speak to her friend.

 "Rachna, you do understand that KT put Sanjay next door to me, so that I could help you.  You have your hands full, both literally and figuratively," Naomi declared, while chucking the underside of her god-daughter's chin as she lay contently in her mother's arms. She smiled at the toddler's answering grin. "It makes no sense getting so agitated when you have the help available."

"But, not for much longer, though," Rachna countered. "You do recall that you will be leaving here in less than three weeks, right? And I doubt that once you are wed, that your husband will want you too far away from him." She transferred Aryia to her other side. "Actually after this morning, I would be surprised if Rajeev doesn't have all of your activities monitored, so I figured that I might as well take over from today. Since, at least for the foreseeable future, Sanjay will be with us then it's for the best that I oversee his care."

Naomi couldn't fault her friend's logic, and her respect for the amazing woman she was privileged to share a sisterhood with, swelled. "Okay Superwoman, I'll defer to your reasoning, but I think we should still aim for a resolution to all of this sooner than later. So..." she continued gathering her hand-bag, "Let's get this day started, why don't we?"

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"At last,"Sonal sighed as she stretched her leg, finally unencumbered of the restrictive leg cast.  She allowed the physician to examine it, vaguely listening as he spoke of the residual weakness that she may experience as a result of the extended confinement of the limb. The possibility of this was of minor consequence, what she had better concentrate on was the process now underway in which she would finally, through her son, get what should have rightfully been hers in the first place.  As expected, she had received an urgent telephone call from her attorney, insisting her attendance at his office. Hopefully she had affected the right amount of dismay at the news that Kabir was seeking primary custody of their child.  She had to ensure that she put up just enough of a fight to be seen as a mother determined to hold  on to custody of her son, but not enough that her lawyer pulled out all of the stops in her defense. She would manage him; she would have to, as she couldn't let anything stand in the way of her goal.

"Thank you so much Dr."

"Anytime, Sonal dear." He came closer to her. "I hope this doesn't end our association. After our short time in London, you cannot comprehend how wonderful it was to meet you again."

Sonal smiled hearing the tell-tale huskiness in the physician's voice. "I definitely plan on keeping in touch; once can never have enough friends so far away from home can they? You have my number right?"

"Memorized..."

"As is yours," she purred seductively smiling at the weakness of the opposite gender in the presence of a seemingly willing woman.  "I'm afraid I have to leave now, though," she added regretfully. She stood and leaned on the cane he had insisted that she use for a few days in case she experienced any weakness, and departed on to her next appointment.

Men, she thought distastefully after she had closed the door behind her.

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Kabir stood up from the dining table, and waited as Rachna tidied Sanjay again and handed the youngster his backpack.  

"Have a wonderful day in school, beta," Rachna wished him with a kiss to his forehead

"Thank you Aunty."

The couple watched as Sanjay rushed over to his sister in her high-chair to tell her good-bye. Kabir took the opportunity to approach his wife. "I have one meeting and then I will be back for the day. Perhaps you will feel happy enough with your presentation to give me a preview of how you plan on wowing everyone in a few days."

"I think I have a winner on my hands, Kabir; I cannot wait to share it with you." She reached up, and met his waiting lips for a sweet farewell kiss; and then another.

"Go, "Rachna teased as he looked in no hurry to leave. "Sanjay will be late for school."

Kabir sighed, and looked at his watch, knowing that if allowed Sanjay would remain playing with Aryia until the very last second; just as he would choose to stay in his wife's company.

"Thik hai, Beta; it's time to leave now." He called to his child.

Hand in hand with his son, Kabir walked to the entrance and opened the door. He was surprised to discover the man standing there, about to ring the doorbell.

"Namaste Vihaan; I must say you are not the Agarwal that I expected to see so early this morning." He let go of his son's and shook their visitor's hand.

"Good Morning Kabir. Actually I had promised Daadi that I would stop by to say goodbye before I headed for the airport. As it turns out it was a good thing I did, since bhai has asked me to take Bhabhi along with me when I left."

"He was supposed to meet her for breakfast; she skipped eating with us for that very reason, and now he is not able to..."

"Nay Kabir, " Vihan moved to interrupt the other man, who seemed irritated by his brother's absence. "Nothing would keep bhai from their date, but he had car trouble this morning, so he asked me to drive my car to the airport and he would bring Bhabhi back in it. He told me he had called her, so I'm sure everything is cool."

Kabir nodded, satisfied with the excuse. "Thik hai. Well I do have to get going. Have a safe flight; and I guess we will see you in a couple of weeks then."

"For certain," Vihaan responded. He leaned down to Sanjay's level. "The London Eye will be waiting for you, buddy. We will definitely have to visit it, thik hai?" He ruffled Sanjay hair, and then smoothed it back in place.

"Bye Vihaan Uncle, see you in London."

Rachna looked up from her notes at the corresponding PowerPoint slides. The final slide, a creative collage of the final photoshoot, was exactly what she was looking for. It had the potential to make quite the impression on the right person, if they chose to study the image with a discerning eye.

"Rachna, I'm just going to replace this one with something a bit more generic for now since you are going to share it KT, but when I get back we will set in this one."

"Hmm, "Rachna agreed, as she flipped back and forth through the presentation.

"I hope it does the trick, "Naomi continued. "I was wondering though..."

Her hesitation made Rachna turn her attention away from the computer screen. "What?"

"I think we should question Sanjay...not outright though, just in the course of conversation."

"Nay, I think that is too risky. Suppose it gets back to Sonal. Despite what KT may think, we haven't got rid of her for good. I'm sure she will get access to Sanjay soon, and if it was to slip out then she will know that we are looking into her past."

Rachna stopped talking when the knock on the door came. Both women turned in that direction.

"You're not the Agarwal I expected to see this morning, Vihaan," Rachna called out when the door opened.

He laughed..."Did you and your husband rehearse that line, Rachna?"

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She couldn't believe that she had fainted dead away at her future mother-in-law's feet. 

She had just turned from taking her father-in-law's blessing and had stood up to repeat the action of giving her respect to Rajeev's mother. One second she had been there bending to touch her feet and then, on rising, spots had appeared before her eyes and then she had dropped in a heap on the floor.

Roused by the droplets of water sprinkled on her face, Naomi blinked. Holding her head, still spinning a bit, she attempted to rise from the bench that she had been placed on, and was assisted by Rajeev's father.

"Are you okay, beta?'

Her eyes cast down, Naomi nodded; she had no clue what explanation she could offer for this. Furtively she looked around; Vihaan was missing and it didn't seem that Rajeev had arrived yet.  She felt the hand on her forehead, testing her temperature.

"You're not on some foolish pre-shaadi fad diet are you dear?"

"Nay Uncle."

 A jumbo Styrofoam cup suddenly appeared in front of her. "Bhabhi have this; you will feel better."

"Vihaan what is that? She needs juice not a soft drink..."

"It's juice cocktail, Ma; just like you told me to get."

"Thik hai. Here beta," the older woman offered "It's mixed fruit juices."

"Ha Bhabhi; it's orange, pineapple and papaya, freshly squeezed."

Naomi's stopped just as she was about to suck the drink through the straw ; her action immediately  catching the eye of Rajeev's mother.

 The woman gasped, and stared fixedly Naomi; the two bright patches of red warming her son's fiance's cheeks, adding to her suspicions.

She took the cup away from the young woman. "This won't do, Vihaan. We have no idea of the quality of the fruits used to extract this juice.   Go and see if you can find some bottled orange juice; pure orange juice, no other fruits, thik hai?"

"Maa..."

"Now Vihaan." She turned to her husband. "Go and make sure he brings back the right one, please." She smiled her plea and watched her spouse leave before facing her soon to be bahu. "Have you eaten this morning, Naomi?"

"Just something light; Rajeev and I were supposed to have breakfast before we came to the airport."

"Aacha. Do you have any snacks on you?" She looked relieved when the young woman nodded. "Thik hai, eat them and then have the juice. We will have a proper meal when we go home."

 

"Are you okay today, Sweetheart?"

Rajeev took the opportunity to speak to Naomi privately while his parents were bidding farewell to Vihaan. Something was awry, but he couldn't quite put a finger on it. She wasn't in a talkative mood, something he could put to being overwhelmed by his family's presence, but it was more than that. "We will talk when we go for breakfast, thik hai?"

"Nay, Rajeev," his mother interrupted. "Naomi and I have some more wedding particulars to go over. You will have to meet later."

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In a leap of faith,  Rachna allowed her husband to place the call to their lawyer's office and prepare her for the future he saw for her and her business.  If she was truly honest with herself,  for KT to show such  confidence in her abilities was totally overwhelming ; overwhelming as much as it was truly humbling.

On his return from his morning business, Kabie had immediately come to her studio and sat through her presentation. The beneficiary of her husband's design and business acumen, Rachna had fielded the questions he had for her and then awaited, anxiously his final assessment.

"Rachna, do you trust me?"

"Always; KT."

That was it; one single question, the only indication of his intent, not that it had actually hinted to his next course of action at all.

"So we are in agreement, you will have your peer on stand-by beginning next week. Excellent. We will expect the retainer billing before the end of the day, and will immediately remit the funds...Yes these are very exciting times for Mrs. Tripathi." In the midst of the one-sided conversation Kabir laughed. "Yes, well I'm hoping that my actions are perceived for exactly that, and that she will remember this act of kindness on her way to the top. Thank you again."

 Kabir wound up the conversation and disconnected the call.

"You will be assigned their most astute fellow in commercial law. She will be available to receive and review any contracts you will receive as of next week. I expect them to numerous and lucrative, so I want you to be fully prepared."

 He waited for his wife's reaction.

"Thank you, Kabir."

It wasn't her usual demonstrative way of thanking him, but he valued the love behind Rachna's simple, yet heartfelt words of gratitude.

"You are amazing, my love," Kabir whispered and he closed the gap between them and softly brushed his lips against hers. They stood there momentarily, satisfied just being in each other's company; a peaceful interlude to the bustle that usually defined their work days.

"Do you have much on this afternoon's agenda, KT?"

"A fair bit, but nothing that can't wait if my wife wishes for me to hold her a little longer," he replied hopefully. He smiled into her hair at her replying laughter.

"Silly man," Rachna answered, but made no attempt to leave his embrace.

Kabir sighed and closed his eyes.

"Rachna?"

"Hmm"

"It's awfully quiet; where is everyone?"

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The fact that Naomi hadn't been able to meet Rajeev  was of some consolation this morning, but Abhi still couldn't fathom what was happening inside the Argarwal residence. His efforts of disabling the coach's car the previous night had proved successful in preventing the pair from meeting, and somewhere in the time that Naomi had arrived at the airport with Rajeev's brother, the decision had been made for her to return home with her in-laws. Curiously, Rajeev had not returned with them. Something was definitely up, a point reinforced by the arrival of Kabir's grandmother to the Argawal residence not long after their arrival. He sat there, parked across from the property wondering how long he would have to stay. Not long it seemed, when his mobile vibrated and he took the call.

"Are you out of you mind?" he asked of the speaker. "Thik hai, I will be there in ten minutes."

Sonal wasn't out of her mind, but she also knew it would be a hard sell. It would be a complete departure from their plans, but it was the only way. Any adverse publicity would sink Kabir's chances of adopting Sanjay and the eventuality that her son would inherit the Tripathi estate would be lost. Her lawyer had said just as much. She dabbed some perfume on her pulse points, and then adjusted the opening of her silk robe. The doorbell rang and she went to it expectantly, knowing she had to do everything in her power in order to stop the plan in motion.

"Abhi," she welcomed him, her voice as sweet as warm honey.

The foolish woman; why would she ever think he would want  such an immoral woman like her, Abhi thought as he entered her home.

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Daadi slipped into the backseat of the auto beside the overwrought young woman.

"It's for the best, beta."

"It's wrong to leave without telling him. At the very least Rajeev should know..."

"Nay beta, Rajeev's mother is right;  for whatever reason, there is an unreasonable amount of attention on Rajeev right now. And you have been drawn into the fray as a result. It will not look well at all if this news is put into the public domain before you marry. Even an innocent discovery could be presented so scandalously. Never mind your families' reputations, will you risk even the remote possibility that your husband- to- be, be thought ill of?"

 Naomi shook her head. "But our child isn't something to be ashamed of Daadi; everyone is acting as if it is..." Naomi sobbed.

"Arrey, did you see shame in the faces of your in-laws, beta? I certainly did not. Nor did I see any trace of it on your parents' face. Shock: yes, but there was also concern and underlying excitement, beta . Everyone is very happy for the baby." She reached out and hugged Naomi.  "Beta, the time will go by quickly, you will be so busy with the final touches for the wedding that you won't even realize. Before you know it we will all be there in the UK to join you and your family. Plus I know looking back you will not regret spending  this time before your wedding with your family; especially now.  We will start packing your things as soon as we get back, thik hai?"

[NOCOPY]

crtkelly2016-05-26 20:47:50