Chapter next 18
PART I
Get 'em together
San –I see… so this is how it is…although nick had told me that they usually disagree.. I really was shocked to see the full fledged war b/w those two. I do think it wud be great if we can get both of them together… They do look made for each other. So does any1 has a plan? No?
A –Beta.. We have tried a lot of thing…. They don't even want to be in the same room as each other.. Getting them to like each other now seems to be impossible….
Kaveri –Yah… If we ever try to send the two of them together somewhere they wud refuse flatly and be completely forward about the reason being intense dislike for each other….
Sid –They refused to go and pick up Nick
Sam –Again refused to go pick u from the airport.
Nick –And yesterday refused to go buy the ritual ingredients from the market together…
San –Well maybe we should throw them so much together.. I mean. At first, let it be like Sam bhaiya, Sid bhaiya and Kaveri bhabhi with them.. Them just bhabhi with them and then just two of them… Something like that….
A –I understand what u r trying to say… But it won't help coz this time their fight is really big…. There had been times in the past when they had been out together and had come back in an amicable mood…
San –Well… I don't know then…. If only one cud call cupid on contract and ask him to shoot some love arrows….
Kaveri –Well cupids don't exist, I guess it's up to us to figure something out for the two of them…. Doesn't any1 have any plan? Anything at all?
San –How ab…. Ummm….. Well uncle why don't u ask them to work on some case together?
A –Tried that yesterday… She says she doesn't have the time to spend arguing with an amoeba head and he says that he doesn't want any brainless armature's help. Sigh…..
Nick – Well… Then why don't we se-
<<<Raised voices as heard from adjoining room>>>
>>Just go and hide u ugly face somewhere else! I don't care to see it nor the man I see it with!
>>Why don't u just get lost?!! Just Go back to the sh*thole where u were dumped by ur parents!!!
>>CRASH!!!!! THUM!!!!>>SHUT THE FU** UP!
>> Huh!? U think u can intimidate me with that! U think u can mess with me?!!
>>Why wud I care to do anything with a who** like u?!!
A sec's silence and a slapping sound… Everyone rushed in the room to see Kashish standing in angry pose.. Her legs placed wide and firmly on the ground, her hand balled up and held tightly at her side by force…. While Sujal stood in front of her his one hand holding Kashish's elbow in a crushing grip, whole stance was like that of a murderer, blackest loath written in his eyes and yet he was holding his own cheek with his other hand a sudden astonishment mixed with raw fury in his eyes.
Apparently Sujal had been shaking Kashish from her elbow for her insulting statement and Kashish had slapped Sujal for his last statement…. Both looked like two wild animals in a furious duel of life with their shackles raised…… Sujal dropped his hand from his own cheek and the same moment Kashish jerks her hand away from him.
A –KASHISH!!! SUJAL!!!! What r u 2 doing??!!!!!!!! What just happened?!
Kashish and Sujal continued murderously glaring at each other.. Oblivious of any one else's presence.. Oblivious of the whole world.
Nick rushed to grab hold of Sujal, while Kaveri grabbed Kashish.
K (Hissing to sujal eyes furious with anger) –Don't u ever dare to touch me again! Get it?!! NEVER!
S (Equally furious teeth baring expression) –Trust me I wud gladly cut off every part of me that ever came in contact with ur stinkin self..
Before any1 cud react, or K could say anything Sujal jerked his arm away from Nick and stomped off. Every1 immediately turned their attention to Kashish then but she too was in no mood to talk. Kashish placed a hand over her mouth and ran to her room, ignoring every1 calling after her.
***
Kashish locked the door of her room and slumped down against it. Her mind was too numb to think. She had no idea what had happened and how had it come to this. All she felt was deep pain slashing her heart… breaking it into innumerable pieces…. Kashish felt devoid of any hate and anger it had all drained away leaving just raw, agonizing pain behind….. Why did his words matter so much? Why oh! Why? She held her head in her hands and started sobbing ceaselessly in spasm… It didn't matter now…. nothing mattered now… I just wanna crawl away o someplace where I know no1 where I can just peacefully cry myself to death. Just cry for once without pretending to be strong…… just cry till eternity…..
***
Every1 looked at each other in astonishment. Nobody really knew what had happened b/w s and k. no1 has ever seen them behaving like this… like some stone age savages…. Nick decided to go and call on Sujal to find out what was wrong…. While it was decided that perhaps it wud be best to let Ashoke talk to Kashish…
Nick tries calling S's ph. But S didn't take his call and apparently he hadn't gone back to his own house after he left Nick's, so Nick just waited at S's place for him to return from his wandering drive. Hoping that he wouldn't do any thing more rash.
Ashoke banged k's door ceaselessly an ordered her a zillion times to open it. But their was no response all he cud hear was her sobs. He was torn to hear his precious daughter crying and not being able to do anything about it. Never before he had wished so feverently for k's mom to have been alive… Ashoke had no idea what had happened and although he was a fair person and believed in listening to both the sides first.. Right now, hearing his daughter wailing from the other side of door he felt like hacking sujal for doing and saying whatever he did.
***
Sujal wanted to get away. Away from everything. Away from everyone. He had no idea why he did what he did and whatever made him say such terrible things….. Oh yes, he condemned her… He hated her and wanted nothing to do with her since he had seen her yesterday with Piyush. She hadn't known of his presence but he had seen them departing hand in hand, her sitting inside his car with a sweet smile.
Why did he care what she did? It was none of his business now. None of it. Then why did it sting him so much to see her with him. To see her day in and day out and know that he had no claim to her….
Sujal checked in some obscure hotel under a presumed name and locked himself in the shabby hotel room with few bottles of whiskey. Tonight, he wud just let himself go. So that tomorrow he may have some semblance of priority, some control over himself, some power to resist his temptations…
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CHAPTER 18
PART II
Get 'em in the same house
Sujal decided to skip going to his office. He had no case to attend so he just worked from the small hotel room, leaving a word with his secretary to tell Mr. Ashoke Sinha that he deeply regrets his behavior last night and anything further on the matter, he wud personally discuss when he is ready for it. He avoided all calls of frnds and…… family and buried himself in useless clerical work. In the evening he finally got out of the hotel. He went to gym and had a rigorous workout for 4 hrs. In the end it was the trainer who had to wrench him away from the punching bag and push him out of that place. Sujal finally, unwillingly, cautiously went to his home and snuck into his room avoiding letting any1 know that he was back. His vision of Kashish and Piyush walking out of restaurant together hand in hand and sitting inside his car still clear as the yesterday and as on the night before when he had actually seen them.
***
Kashish got up at 3.30 am. Put a few formal clothes in her bag pack some snacks and her car keys and got out of the backdoor in her sweats. She drove to the community park around 4.30 a.m. and jogged till 7.30 a.m. went to her office early. She took a bath and changed her clothes in the cramped office bathroom, which was generally used after getting soaked up in a corpse's blood. She told Jake to call up her father and let him know that she was here and asked him not to entertain any calls for her. Every1 observed the thoughtless actions and the aimless movements of her body… They were no different from that of a zombie. No has ever seen her in such a state and hence decided to lay off and let her sort out whatever was disturbing her.
In the evening she volunteered for the night shift and escaped facing every1 at home and their questioning glances. Kashish talked to 2 ppl on ph today:
First she put a hasty call to her father to assure him that she was alright and well and had to cut off the call abruptly when her dad started asking too many ques about Sujal.
Second was with Piyush. He had called her up and used his position as states Prosecution Attorney to get his call through to her. He talked of their date/business dinner on the night before yesterday and told her how much he had enjoyed it and if they cud go out again on the coming Saturday to discuss the missing index finger Case…….Although after going out twice with him, Kashish had made it clear to Piyush that he didn't interest her romantically and she wud not go out on dates or dinners with him, only friendly lunches were available. Piyush had made her go out on dinner with him. And he made her do it under the guise of discussing some case with her and wud usually questioned her dedication to her work if she wud try and refuse.
Thankfully there was a family function on Saturday at her place so this time she was able to escape his torturing presence.
But these two ph calls were the least of her worries and occupied only the smallest part of confused, clogged mind. All she cud think of was Sujal and the girl wrapped around his arm. She had seen them when she had been out with Piyush 2 days ago. She had seen them from inside P's car just as they had been leaving. The sight had revolted her and had made her want to rush up to them and to drag that girl away from him, rip of the arms with which she was touching him and finally drown her alive in the huge formalin tank kept in the laboratory for preserving corpses. She knew she always had a little prob of jealousy… Guess now she wud have to learn to deal with that. She had known that she wud be angry at him and call him names coz she was jealous but she hadn't known that he wud accuse her of the vilest of things. Why had he done that? Why had he done everything? From the day she had got back after completing her studies, why had he tried to make her life miserable by doing all that he had done. From the moments of absolute bliss when they wud be alone, to the long hours of agonizing fights, insults and ignorance…… Why? Kashish imagined Sujal as she had seen him on their last encounter and remembered his words clearly.
'Why wud I care to do anything wit a who** like u'….. Remembering those harsh, insulting words rendered her defenseless to her emotions and made it impossible for her to coldly analyze the situation any longer. She locked her self in the shabby office bathroom again around 1a.m. ;to stop the tears and regain her semblance. She remained there till morning 7. a.m. unable to do both.
***
Every1 in the house was in n better condition than these too. Too many questions and scolding's were waiting to be delivered but the perpetuators of the crime never came home for 2 days. On top of it, the big function/ party of introducing Sanskriti to the whole society was also just 2 days away. The party included a ring ceremony and other rituals which wud make Sanskriti and Nick officially engaged couple.. Since Sanskriti had no siblings and cousins it was decided that Kashish wud do all the honors of the brides sibling and Sujal wud do the same for Nick <<like bridesmaid and groomsman in an engagement party>> But everything seemed kind of impossible now…. The future couple wasn't even sure if they were gonna get engaged or not…
***
Sujal sat down with Nick and Sid in front of him in Ashoke's study. Although he should be afraid of sitting with two very protective brothers of the sister whom he had insulted, all he cud really think of was, all the time he had spent in this room with Kashish and that she too, was near him right now, somewhere in this house sharing the same roof with him. The thought filled him joy as well as loath.
Sid –Are u even listening man?!
S –Huh? No, sorry… I .. I was just… Never mind…. Wud u please repeat?
N –(getting angry)Oh! So now u don't even listen! Why u no-good…
Sid –Nikhil calm down.
S –I am sorry Nick. Sid bhaiya.. I …. I am sorry.. for everything.. I should go. I have caused enough worries, trouble and disgrace.(Getting up to leave)
Sid pushed him back in his chair and looked him straight in the eye. His eyes were glittering with some strange emotion hard to comprehend.
Sid –No u don't. Now, u are going to shut up and listen to me without interruption. Yes u have been impertinent and u have left no stone unturned in trying to hurt the ppl of this house.
Sujal looked down with shame and disgust directed at himself. In his impetuous moments he had not only forgotten about kashish, he had forgotten about the feelings of all the other ppl in the house. I wish I cud crawl away to some black void….
Sid –U have done enough of that, now no more. Tomorrow is Nick's engagement and u will be present there. U will be acting like the perfect friend, step brother and a groomsman.
S –But nobody wants me to be-
Sid –U will remain quite until I am done speaking. Nick. Go get his suits, so that he can chose which one he wants to wear then see if it needs fitting. (Nick leaves reluctantly)Sujal. u r expected to show a model behavior tomorrow, for.. everyone's sake.
Sid (kinder, brotherly voice) –Look man I don't know what's up b/w u and my sis. I think it wud be wise for me and every1 else not to interfere in it right now. We'll, all of us, even dad, are giving u and her time and space to sort it out. But from on u do it more civilly. If u feel that u cannot absolutely tolerate her and there is nothing that can be done to bring reconciliation then I request u not to be here when she is around. U are a part of this house too so I won't and nobody else wud tell u to leave us alone and not bother us. All we are saying is that u try and maintain some decorum and decency.
S –Thank you..
Nick –Hey! I am back. O.K, I have 3 suits. Which one do u wanna wear?
Sid (voice grim again)–Now as far as tomorrow is concerned it is too late to change plans, so u will have to attend and perform ur duties standing besides Kashish… U owe that to Nick, to dad and to all of us. It's the least u can do for us. It's the first thing we have asked for. Call it emotional blackmail if u want.
Sujal realized his grave error. In my vicious fury I had only seen k's mistakes and faults. I have no right to be angry at her for them. Who is she to me after all and for that matter I to her? No one. On top of all that I have hurt every1 else too. The least I can do now is make tomorrow enjoyable for Nick, he deserves it. I don't want him to regret ever introducing me to members of this house. I don't want him to regret our friendship. I don't want uncle to regret his trust his pride in me. I don't wan to throw it all away for that tramp, that …. No use calling her names…….
S –I am sorry. I made u worry and caused u distress through my despicable behavior. I wud gladly do all my duties tomorrow and participate in the function because nick is not like my step brother but because he is a brother to me. U don't have to call it blackmail Sid bhaiya. I don't call it that. And I am sorry I stooped to the level that u had to call it that either. Forgive me bhai?
Sid smiled at sujal and held up 2 suits for him- Only after u choose which suit u gonna wear.
S looked at around and suddenly felt light and joyous. He saw Sid smiling at him and felt a strange confidence and determination coming back to him he looked at Nick's left out, forlorn, ignored face and experienced the old mischief of teasing his best friend….
S –Hmmmm now that's difficult. Considering whatever I wear I'll look better than the groom…. Then if his fianc ditches him for-
Nick (very angrily) –Shut up!!!! Don't u dare question Sanskriti's char-
S –Oh then well u choose the suit. I think I'll trust ur judgment. I am sure sanskriti's company has improved ur taste and choice.
Nick –Fine I will. Wait a min are u saying that I made bad choices earlier?
S –No I am not saying that u are….(fighting hard to stop the grin coming to his face)
Nick looked belligerent, while Sid stood behind Nick holding his stomach in silent laughter. Apparently as always Nick was a bit late in recognizing a he was being played on.
Nick (hurt)–Oh! Am I? Yah u know what? That's right. I did have a bad taste earlier.. coz that's when I made friends with u! U haven't even apologized to me and now u are mocking my decisions!! Look at urself pompous lawyer!
Sid stopped laughing and Sujal looked away as the mood in the room tensed. Nick realizing the seriousness of his words an instant later started to apologize but sujal beat him to it
S –Ofcourse that's the reason. Well now u have said it, Sid bhaiya u have heard it. For all my bad behavior and language u must catch Nick and beat him to thin pulp for his decision. Coz I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for him and I couldn't thank him enough for it ever…
S winked at Sid and thumped Nick on his back…
Nick –Ok then how about the black one? Or do u want the gray? Sorry I didn't get a purple colored evil joker suit for u…Ha-ha
***
Kashish sat in her room knees drawn up to her chin. She felt ambushed with her father, Kaveri and Swayam standing there in front of her. They were confused and didn't know how to begin. Kashish had been the temperamental one in the family after her mother had died. U can rely on her to stay calm in the most awkward, frustrating or difficult situation. But she just had to totally loose control at the sight of disarranged bookshelf or a joke no taken well. Dealing with her was a bit difficult. No one knew which side her mood may swing with what word.
A –Beta….
K – I am sorry dad. And I also apologize to every1 else. I behaved ridiculously and made u all anxious over nothing.
Every1 felt a bit relieved atleast she wasn't angry…
Sam –It's ok Kashish. Sometimes in life u just lose it…
K (tightly)- I don't! I mean…
Kaveri –It's ok.. U don't have to explain we understand. Don't we, Sam?(poking him)
Sam –Ofcourse… I hadn't meant to say it that way.. I .. We understand… Umm.. Dad? say something pleaseeee
A –Aa… Hmmm yes yes… What we all are here to say is that… If there is anything u wanna talk about u can say it. We are not angry.. because we all feel that it's something very big and u are mature girl now(sanskriti had written down a few pointers for ashoke) and u are very much upset over what happened and its clear that u regret the incident. No one is going to ask u ques until u wanna say something urself.
K –Thanks dad.. U all are very understanding and patient… Look I don't myself know what exactly is wrong.. But for now let's just say that… There is nothing that I like about that man.. And I doubt if there is something he likes about me either… Sooo… I'll just try and avoid him.. And I think he'll try and do the same. Whatever happened .. It was.. not his fault.. I mean I don't know whose fault it was.. The way we fought But….
Sam –Hey.. Hey… Didn't we just say u don't have to say anything about it right now? we understand everything u r saying.
Sam goes up to K and places his arm around her. It was difficult for him to see his sister sad, depressed and sorry like this. Had it been coz of any1 else other than Sujal, he wud have murdered that rascal by now… but Sujal.. well he was kinda like his step brother by now.. and Sam felt that if this fight made K sad then it must have equally saddened Sujal too…
Kaveri –See u don't have to push ur self and pretend anything… U take all the time u need…
K –Thanks bhabhi.
K looked at every1 expectantly. No one had moved yet, it seemed as if they had all said what they wanted to say.. It meant there was something more to come and they were not sure how to bring it up
Kaveri –Soo…umm.. Did u get ur dress back from the dry cleaners after the alteration? If u haven't then I'll get it for u.
K –Dress? What dress?......Oh My God!!!!!!! It totally slipped from my mind!!! OH SH*T! Sorry dad.. But how cud I? I totally forgot!!
Kashish sprang up and quickly ran to her cupboard and started taking out all the clothes.. evry1 looked at her curiously… cautiously.
Sam –Umm what did u exactly forget?
K –About nicks function! That it is tomorrow!
A –U forgot that? How cud u?
K –No! No, what I meant was that I forgot that it was tomorrow in the sense that I forgot to give my dress for alter and dry-clean to be ready by tomorrow..
Kaveri –U mean u don't have a dress?
K shook her head miserably..
K –I don't have that dress and any other dress. My last brother is getting engaged and I don't I have a dress. Blast it all! I am supposed to act as Sanskriti's sole sibling too!!! What am I gonna doooo??!!! Bhabhi!!??? Help!!!
Evry1 looked at each other and breathed a sigh of relief and broke out laughing. Seems like K was back to normal and she had no problem in attending tomorrow's function and workings besides Sujal. That is, IF she remembers that part…
Kaveri (light, easy voice) –Kashish!! U r such a nut case!!! Ok. Every1 out now. Kashish get ready in 10 and we'll go shopping. I'll see u downstairs and I won't wait. Scoot!
***
Evry1 hurried downstairs in a happy mood. Seems like things weren't as bad as they had imagined it to be. Every discussed what to do next within 10 min then Kashish and Kaveri went for shopping to buy Kashish a dress for tomorrow….
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