Chapter #89

Forget bad things happening in threes; that seemed a mere triviality when on opening the door to her flat, Sonal came face to face with an imposing looking police team. It was then that she truly began to comprehend that things were possibly about to fall apart all around her.

 

The three officers on her door-step were quite intent on speaking with her and the fact that she had been about to leave hadn't dissuaded them. A minute of her time, she was asked for; just a formality in their investigation.  She had held her handbag close to her side in an unconscious attempt to keep what was concealed inside it near, and then stepped aside so that the Inspector and his two subordinates could enter. Her first thought was that somehow this was result of the earlier fallout at work, but in actuality it was much worse. They were here to question her about the attack that had occurred at the Tripathi residence.  As a frequent visitor to the home, perhaps she could provide some detail before unknown. Of course she agreed, and then had gone to pour a glass of water just to secure some time to compose herself. As far as she knew it was unlikely that they could have made the connection between her and Abhi, but she knew she still had to be careful.

 

Home early, after being asked to leave the office; she had bemoaned the fact that, for the first time, no explanation had been satisfactory enough to appease Mr. Patel for her suspected actions of removing the Sarla S proposal from the stack that Laksh had received to disburse to Rachna Tripathi.  The situation had brought to mind the issue of Banaras Beauty not receiving the invitation in the first instance, something that had formerly been overshadowed by her accident. However, now that Laksh had shown her no mercy by reporting that she had personally offered her assistance in his task, and a connection between the two incidents had been made by their employer; Mr. Patel had suspended her on paid leave until such time that she be called back to the office. She had been about to depart when an assistant came and relieved her of her office keys at the bequest of their boss. Sonal had gulped before plastering a smile on her face, and handed them over without resistance. Her cooperation would surely go in her favor and allow her a foothold to bluff her way out of this situation later on, she thought. She was thankful that she had, had the time to remove the original proposal from her files; at least its discovery,  would not be a concern. However she still needed to rid herself of the document. Burning it would be the safest method, she decided; although her paranoia would not allow her to do it in her home. She would take a drive to an abandoned location and do the needful.  As she had gathered her belongings she was thankful that her company car had not been confiscated as of yet. She would just rid herself of this, and then await her summons back to the office. Surely with a lack of evidence she would be given a reprieve. Hopefully she would ride this storm out, and once in the clear, refocus on supplanting her son as the Tripathi heir. Her work problem was just a blip in the larger scheme of things. However when her mobile rang; her second problem of the day manifested itself in the form of the one person she had purposively sought to avoid.Of course he would want something of her.

 

"Sonal Madam?"

"J-Ji Inspector," Sonal replied, blinking back to the present. "What is it that you would like to know?"

 

*********

"Where the hell is she," Abhi mumbled, as he scanned his surroundings once more for Sonal. She wouldn't dare dismiss his earlier summons, not when he had enough evidences on her to cause all manner of problems for her. And yet she was nowhere to be seen. It would be the last straw if she did had the audacity not to show up. Looking at his watch, he decided he would wait a while longer before he went to her home. Right now she was the only one with access to the Tripathi home and for that alone he needed her. Finally after what seemed a lifetime, he saw her car pull in to the vacant lot. With this one last bit of Intel, he would accomplish what he had to do, and then begin a new life: the one he always deserved with the woman he loved.

**********

Naomi stopped midway down the stair-case, evidently not happy with her progress. Her brother's sigh was loud enough to be heard over the music playing in her ears. "I promise Stef, this will be the absolute last time; then you are done...please?" She saw that her sibling may be losing patience and smiled endearingly up at him. "I love you Stef," she added.

"You're lucky I like you kid..." the tall man staring down at her muttered and then grinned at her  and then turned and guided her back up the steps.

 Amidst the controlled pandemonium of furniture moving and decorating which denoted the home as wedding central, the family gathered downstairs smiled indulgently at the young woman glowing with excitement. The men in particular, who, with one exception, had at one point or another in the last twenty four hours been commandeered into the task now undertaken by the bride's brother, silently commiserated with Stefan's suffering.

"Has anyone figured out what the music will be, yet," Kabir wondered aloud.

 They turned as a group to Rachna in expectation that if anyone knew it would be her.

"I have absolutely no clue; all I've managed to get out of her is that it will be her princess moment for her and her father; so I'm guessing drama is on the cards." She smiled as Sareena scampered downstairs ready for her fitting, unwittingly interrupting what had looked to be another attempt by the bride to be to finesse her entrance.

Vihaan snorted when Naomi lowered her head and then held one finger up to her brother. "Bhai, I can't decide if Bhabhi is a perfectionist or borderline OCD; either way you are going to have your hands full in three days. I hope you are ready for it."

"They can't pass fast enough," Rajeev answered distractedly, never taking his eyes from the second floor. He then moved over to the now vacated spot where the mandap would be erected soon. He waited and was rewarded when Naomi, on hopefully her last promenade, caught sight of him, and began her descent in time to the music only she could hear.  Everyone stood in place to see if, at last, she would be satisfied. Her broad smile spoke for her. Evidently the missing factor of her numerous tries had been her groom.

 

"Oh hello; are you the wedding planner perchance?"

 Near the door, Jack looked up from his IPad where he was vetting the identities of the workers who were expected over the next couple of days and greeted the newcomer. She was instantly recognizable, and mentally he calculated how long Sareena had been in Rachna's workshop. Naturally she would need to stay out of sight for as long as Sonal remained here.

"You could say that I am involved in the planning of sorts.  I'm Jack, by the way," he responded disarmingly. He looked at the elegantly wrapped gift the visitor held. "Are you here to meet the bride," he queried. "If so you are lucky, both she and Rajeev are home." He looked behind him for the couple. "Robin can you call Naomi and inform her that a visitor has come to meet her?"

Sonal studied the beguiling man for a second, and then nodded. "Oh if she's busy I can just leave this here, and visit Kabir in the studio," emphasizing  her familiarity and that she belonged, to the stranger.

"Of course not," Jack responded. "If you have cared enough to bring a wedding gift, then I am certain that Naomi will wish to see you. Ah, here they are," he said as the couple approached. "If you would excuse me," he then stated, leaving the couple to their unexpected visitor.

***********

"Let bygones be bygones: who did she think she was kidding," Naomi spat out as she stood and reached for the gift that Sonal had placed on the coffee table between them, when she had met Naomi and Rajeev under the semblance on wishing them well in their upcoming nuptials.  Whatever the embellished box held; it was definitely going into the trash. "And did any of you notice that she didn't even inquire about Sanjay? She is still scheming and I won't give her the satisfaction," Naomi avowed.

"Stop: don't touch it, Pretty Eyes."

Startled, Naomi looked up to see Jack approaching with Rachna and Sareena in tow.  He reached inside his jacket and pulled out a pair of surgical gloves, and began putting them on. "Did either of you touch it," he asked Rajeev and Naomi. For once unconcerned by the bodyguard's use of the hated pet-name Rajeev instinctively pulled Naomi back away from the present, alarmed by Jack's reaction.

"Calm down; I don't believe it's dangerous. However it is probable that she may not have been the only one to handle the gift... and a fingerprint check could provide another piece of evidence connecting her to Abhi. Frankly I wouldn't be surprised if he is the actual conferrer of it."

Naomi nodded and sat back down. Rajeev followed her lead and wrapped one arm around her.  "I can stay if you need me to," he began.

She shook her head, and looked at him with slight smile. "Absolutely not; I want you to go and have fun this evening. It will be great for all of you men from both sides of the family to have some great bonding time, and I don't Vihaan to be disappointed after all his planning..."

"Nay Bhabhi, it's okay..." Vihaan interrupted.

"Fine," Naomi conceded. "All of you can stay and get mani and pedis with we girls, and then practice your dances for tomorrow evening." She shook her head in disgust. "Really guys, promise me you will not let this stop you, I will be really unhappy if you do. Go Rajeev, enjoy your bachelor party; go let loose and listen to my brother's stories of what a brat I was when I was little, and how he had to save Rachna and I when we were in university the UK. Even if you aren't interested, I'm sure KT is."

"Definitely," Kabir responded, "Better to be forewarned, Rajeev," he baited his friend.

"Besides we have Jack," Sareena said adding her two cents into the conversation, "And that's all the testosterone we will be able to contend with tonight anyway."

**********

"Tera Pyar Pyar Pyar Hookah Bar...Tera Pyar Pya Pyarr Hookah Bar...Tera Pyaar Pyar Pyar...Hookah Bar Bar Bar...Tera Pyar Pyar Pyar Hookah Bar.. Oh... oh... oh."

 

It wasn't that the singing was overly loud as much as how off key it was being sung that woke up Rachna later that night. Clearly a good time was had by all of them, or if not all, definitely by her husband. She lay, one hand over her mouth containing her laughter, listening as he fumbled around in the dark. Finally when it seemed that he wasn't making much headway she reached over and turned on the bedside light.

 

"Aacha, my beautiful wife has awaited my return anxiously," Kabir slurred, beatifically grinning at his better half. Rachna got up and went to assist him in his effort to get undressed. "Of course, I did," she agreed as she began helping him to change into his sleeping clothes. It proved difficult, and once an exasperated sigh escaped her lips. Her husband it seemed was more content reliving his night than settling for bed, but the sigh did get his attention.

"Oh ho, am I in trouble Beautiful?"

"That depends; have you done anything tonight that would get you in trouble, Kabir Tripathi?"

 For a minute, he looked like a fish on dry land gulping for air. "There was music, Rachna," he confessed.

"Aacha?"

He then began counting his fingers. "And I may have had a few sips of..." He looked at his wife's raised eyebrows " Well maybe they were glasses...but" he insisted with a shake of his head.. "There was n-no dancing for me." He patted his chest. "I told the boys that I only dance with my Rachna," he continued looking very proud of him-self.

 "Thik hai," Rachna, responded. She walked to the wardrobe to retrieve something for her husband to wear to bed.

"Music, drink and conversation, that was my night" Kabir stated and then fell silent.

Her back to him, Rachna smiled.

"Aacha, Rachna...I was very relieved to learn that Vihaan Agarwal is no longer in love with you...h-he has finally discovered that it is okay to officially move on."

She turned with a start.

Misinterpreting her shocked expression, Kabir began lecturing her. "Vihaan is a good man. He owned up to the mistakes of the past and is ready to see what destiny has in store for him. He is the best bother and Devar our friends could wish for. And... he has great taste in music.  Hookah Bar is my new favorite...and Rajeev's as well."

"Oh is it," Rachna asked tersely. "Well it appears that all of you had a very musical night."

"Aacha, Vihaan and Rajeev even recreated their dance from your engagement. I...I may have joined in once or twice, Rachna. But that was a dance with the guys; not with the hired..."

 Rachna threw the t-shirt she had collected hitting her inebriated husband squarely in the chest. "Bas, Kabir, I don't want hear anymore. Wait, please, at least tell me that Uncle- that Naomi's father wasn't in attendance."

"Nay,"

Rachna folded her hands. "Thank God."

"But Stefan is a chip off the block for sure and very protective of his sister. And believe it or not he can be grumpier than Rajeev. He... is the ultimate older brother," he mumbled before softly breaking out in the chorus of his news favorite song again. He allowed his wife to lead him to his side of the bed.  His voice faded as he started to drift off. "I warned him, you know. I told Rajeev that perhaps tonight wasn't the best time to want to apologize to his khadoos brother-in-law for seducing his baby sister." He closed his eyes, leaving his stunned wife in the lurch. She reached to shake him, but he spoke before she could touch him. "Too bad he didn't listen. "

**********

The unique feature of Cartier's Love bracelets were the locking mechanism that utilized a special screwdriver as the only way to remove the bangle. After he had placed it on her wrist, Naomi had asked him to keep the tool, so that only he would be the one to remove it. It was a surefire way to gauge her feelings at any given time, she had teased him, so the fact that he had awoken to the message on his mobile to bring the screwdriver with him this morning, did not bode well at all.

"Chill Bhai; you're using too many brain cells this morning. Here take this," Vihaan said as he passed Rajeev the cup of strong coffee.

 

The air was surprisingly crisp, as they sat on the balcony of the hotel suite they had secured the night before. Actually it had their parents' idea to keep a bank of rooms for their guests attending the almost all day affair at the hotel, and it had only made sense for the brothers to return here after the bachelor party the night before. Maa had been a star in arranging all of their necessities: they would be ready to tackle all of the events from Haldi to Sangeet.

 

She should have arrived by now, and he knew that the first thing Naomi would do was to check out the setup for the function to ensure that everything was as she had envisaged. It could be the best place to meet her, away from their families who would busy readying themselves for the mid-day start they had been advised of. He took up his phone and quickly messaged her, not trusting him-self to speak in Vihaan's presence.

Stay where you are I m coming to you.

 

Good Morning, Rajeev. How are you feeling?

 

Dammit, he thought; he was screwing up without uttering a word.

I'm sorry. Good Morning, Sweetheart.

 

Make sure you bring the screwdriver

 

Naomi surveyed the setup that she had requested for the outdoor function; today her family would be immersed in the colors and ambience of her soon to be adopted homeland. She spun around, feeling Rajeev's presence and began walking to close the distance between them.  He looked slightly worse for wear this morning, but that was to be expected, and frankly no more than he deserved.

"Sweetheart why are you out here alone," he asked, irritated that Jack was nowhere in sight.

"I'm not alone," Naomi answered pointing to one side.

Rajeev followed her direction and saw Stefan reposed on one of the many chaises set up in the hotel's garden for their event. If anything, his brother-in-law looked worse than he felt, although at least Stef had the foresight to wear his sunglasses this morning.  God, Rajeev thought, he should have had partaken of the coffee Vihaan had brought. Maybe he wouldn't be feeling as moldy as he did at the moment, and feel more capable of dealing with his fianc's testy mood.

"Where's Jack; I would prefer that he be here with..."

She had her arm held out when he turned back to her, and was looking pretty annoyed.  "Are you insinuating that my brother is lacking in this regard, Rajeev?"

"Nay, that's not what I meant..."

"Look never mind...can you just remove the bracelet, I have a lot to do and need to get it off before it's too late."  She paused and watched him. He seemed on the cusp of wanting to say something, and yet seemed hesitant - unsure even.  She peered over her shoulder at her hung-over sibling and then back to Rajeev. Men, she thought.  Both of them were lucky that she loved them, after the antics they had got up to the night before. Finally she sighed.

"Rajeev, you do understand how messy the Haldi ceremony will be and after that I will be having my mehendi done. I don't want to even chance anything happening to my bracelet. I promise before we leave to go home you can put it back on, but I..."

Rajeev exhaled and then hugged her. "Oh Sweetheart, you don't even want to know the thoughts that were running through my head."

"Too much alcohol would do that to you," Naomi responded. "It will cloud your brain, and loosen your tongue so that all sort of nonsense spills from your lips," she admonished, as she pulled out his embrace. She waited while he finally pulled out the tool and unbolted the tiny fitting. When he had securely placed the bangle in his pocket , she looked up at him. "Because I love you, I am giving you fair warning, that I will most likely be unreasonably upset if my day doesn't go perfectly, and  both of our families aren't blissfully happy for the two of us by the end of our Sangeet tonight. For that I need you functioning on all cylinders, you and that knucklehead of a Devar of mine." She then pointed to her brother. "Mommy will make sure that one is sorted, and I know that Rachna has Kabir well in hand this morning, but ultimately this responsibility is falling on ..."

Rajeev cupped his little Bridezilla's face, "I promise you Sweetheart, everything will be perfect."

"Are you sure, Rajeev? I have to admit that I've started getting a little nervous of things going wrong. You see this is the point in all the  tv serials when all the bad things start happening to eventually stop the wedding: the bride goes missing or another guy takes the groom's place. One time the groom actually stepped aside and sent his younger brother in his place..."

 "Sweetheart, this is real life. Nothing untoward will happen, thik hai."

Naomi nodded, happy to see that Jack had returned. "Thik  hai.  I've got to go now, as do you. I will see you in a couple of hours."

"I will be here waiting only for you, Sweetheart; ready to make this the first of many perfect days for you."

"Can you start by making up with my brother then: my day will not be perfect if my husband and brother are at odds. Just get it through your thick head that my brother will never, ever want to hear about our intimate matters - ever okay."

 

 Rajeev felt a lot better now that it appeared that he would come out of their encounter unscathed. Things could have been a lot worse considering how his night had evolved. As Naomi left with Jack, Rajeev turned his eyes in the direction of his brother-in-law; Stefan had been less than impressed with him last night. Knowing the extent of his influence on his sibling, Rajeev was grateful that Stefan hadn't labeled him a total cad and moved to stop the wedding. Oh God, he thought, now he was getting as dramatic as his bride.

 

One thing was for sure, Vihaan hadn't lied when he promised him a night to remember.

[NOCOPY]

crtkelly2016-05-22 20:44:11