SunEclipsers just for you!: In Fairy Land - Page 19

Originally posted by: SValeCalGal

qui sont vous et qu'avez-vous fait mon cher cher ami sur ce forum pendant le mois dernier ou ainsi ? ? J'ai besoin d'une rponse a.s.a.p

D'accord .. attend s'il te plait .. j'explique toute demain .. OK?

Of necks and pains

'We'll look for a car for you after the monsoons .. it will be difficult to teach you how to drive in all this wet - OK?'

'You're going to teach me to drive?! ... You?! Oh joy!!!'

'Ah! You'll love it! In the meanwhile if I'm not able to take Goofy to the vet or the parlor, I'll get Mom to send Ghanshyam with the car.'

So that's how it was. Things could not have been better.

Abhi was teaching Goofy to fetch the newspaper. Occasionaly, Simi would go out to get it. She did on that one morning when it was raining cats and dogs (except Goofy).

'Abhi, where are the umbrellas? '

'Uh .. where they always are ..'

'No .. they're not there .. I mean the one that is broken is there .. is the other one in your car?'

'It's not broken anymore. I fixed it. Go ahead and use it'

Oh he had fixed it all right.

She walked out to the little porch to open it before stepping out into the rain to make a mad dash for the newspaper (which came packaged in a plastic bag to keep it from getting wet).

A rain of confetti came down her! All over her hair, night gown, arms, face .. everywhere!

The prankster in him would not be that easily suppressed. She would have to take matters into her own hands.

'WHAT HAPPENED TO YOU??!! Was there a party outdoors??!!'

'You could say so', she said as tersly and calmly as possible. He was chuckling.

'Just you wait Abhi Taneja, just you wait .. you'll be sorry but your tears will be late!'

He sang out 'The rain in Spain .. still stays mainly on the plain .. just as I will remain .. in your lovely neck a royal pain!'. And he chuckled some more.

Would his tears be late? He did not have long to wait.

Later in the morning, when he was at work, she was going to put away his freshly laundered, starched, and ironed Kurta Pajamas into his armoire.

'Oh .. wait .. oh Abheeee Taneeejaaa .. you're in for a treat', she soliloquized softly. She threaded a needle and very carefully and impeceptibly sewed shut the pajama legs. Of every pair, just in case he did not reach for the one on top.

He came laughing silly at her ingenuity. His pajama in his hands.

'OK! OK! Good one! Could you clip it for me now please?'

She grabbed it, pursing her lips and giving him a very knowing look. She did not say anything walking away with her head held high. He followed her .. chuckling.

He left her in peace for a couple of weeks. She was able to invite her friends over for lunch. Lalita, Sarita, Sudha, and Akiko came. She felt a little teary when Sudha described how her pregnancy was affecting her body chemistry. She - Sudha - also told them that a friend of hers who lived overseas had sent her an e-mail describing coming across an intriguing and compelling explanation of why women had morning sickness during pregnancy. It had long been attributed to hormones. But it did not make any sense because any change in hormone should then result in sickness. Margie Profet a biologist predicted that it must provide some benefit to offset the cost of lowered nutrition and productivity. Ordinarily, nausea is a protection against eating toxins: the poisonous food is ejected from our stomachs before it can do much harm, and our appetite for similar foods is reduced in the future. Perhaps pregnancy sickness protects women from eating or digesting foods with toxins that might harm the developing fetus. Most plants have evolved dozens of toxins in their tissues: insecticides, insect repellents, irritants, paralytics, poisons and other sand to throw in herbovores' ears. Herbivores have in turn evolved countermeasures, such as a liver to detoxify the poisons and the taste sensation we call bitterness to deter any further desire to ingest them. But the usual defenses may not be enough to protect a tiny embryo.

Profet synthesized hundreds of studies, done independently of each other and of her hypothesis that support it. She meticulously documented that (1) plant toxins in dosages that adults tolerate can cause birth defects and induce abortion when ingested by pregnant women; (2) pregnancy sickness begins at the point when the embryo's organ system are being laid down and the embryo is most vulnerable to teratogens (birth defects - including chemical) but is growing slowly and has only a modest need for nutrients; (3) pregnancy sickness wanes at the stage when an embryo's organ systems are nearly complete and its biggest needs are for nutrients to allow it to grow; (4) women with pregnancy sickness selectively avoid bitter, pungent, highly flavored, and novel foods, which are in fact the most likely to contain toxins; (5) women's sense of smell becomes hypersensitive during the window of pregnancy sickness and less sensitive than usual thereafter; (6) foraging people (including presumably our ancestors) are at even higher risk of ingesting plant toxins, because they eat wild plants rather than domesticated crops bred for palatability; (7) pregnancy sickness is universal across human cultures; (8) women with more severe pregnancy sickness are less likely to miscarry; (9) women with more severe pregnancy sickness are less likely to bear babies iwth birth defects. [1]

He was in the study when she got ready to get into bed. She pulled back the cover and slid her legs towards the bottom end of the bed. They would not go past half-way. What was going on?!! Of course, she had forgotten about the pranks. Her mind simply did not work that way! She pulled the cover back all the way. This is what he had done. He had taken the bottom part of the sheet and put it under the top part of the mattress. Then he had taken the top part (which had a more decorative border) pulled it down and then folded it back up so that the top end was where it would be if the bed was made normally. He replaced the pillows and made up the bed like it was before. She quickly remade the bed before he was ready and sat on her side reading her book as if nothing had happened.

'Good night Abhi', she turned off her light and turned over to sleep. Except her mind was now in offensive.

She let a couple more weeks elapse. He had a really important meeting in the morning and since Simi was typically asleep when he left the house at 6:30, he set the alarm to wake him up on time. She waited until he was sound asleep. Then she changed the clocks in the house, his watch and hers to be one and a half hours ahead. It was raining hard again which is why he did not notice that it was not as light as usual as he drove to work. He found the parking lots to be almost empty, and barely a soul in the building. He looked at the clock on Usha's desk and his own .. then his watch. It took him a little while before he realized what she had done.

He called her, laughing hard!

'OK! OK! Mrs. T!! Truce!!'

'I think I have just come to appreciate Newton's Third Law of Motion .. Mr. T .. so, if I were you, I wouldn't mess with me anymore! Have a nice day! And I'll see you later!!! Bye!!!'

Love and Marriage

He was turning away from gazing at the shop window when coming towards him he saw Malati. She had not seen him, but it was too late already. His heart skipped a beat. Not from the beauty she exuded but from utter fear. She was dressed in white loose harem pants with large patches of red tie-and-dye. The sleevless top with a sufficiently plunging neckline - to cause cardiac arrest in most mortal men - would have revealed plenty had it not been for a black scarf wound around her neck that afforded just the slightest whiff of modesty. On her feet were black gold and Punjabi juttis. She saw him and her heart skipped several beats - only from the beauty he exuded.

'Abhi', she said softly as she reached him, then reached out her arm to touch him. He almost recoiled.

'What a surprise! What a lovely surprise! I did not realize I had missed you quite so much!', she continued playfully. He continued looking away. She, just as resolutely, continued to reach out to touch him, blocking his way has he tried to silently walk past.

Unlucky Abhi! Little did he know that this was the unluckiest day in his life in quite a while. For across from them, coming out of a shop, was none other than Anita. 'Hello! What's that all about?', she thought. He was already walking away but was not out of reach as Malati grabbed his hand. He brushed her off and walked off. 'Wait! Who is she?! Looks awfully familiar! This has distinct possibilities!', continued Anita. A forlorn Malati turned around and walked into the shop oblivious of the curious eyes that wondered about this mini-drama. Anita was, however, a far more receptive Taneja that day.

She sauntered into the shop and slowly walked up to a Malati who was examining shoes .. examining shoes of her own along the way.

'Hello! Don't I know you?!'

'Uh .. no .. I don't think so!', smiled Malati.

Then it came to her! Of course! This woman had been a couple of years Anita's junior at LSR! Had even won the Miss LSR beauty contest!! What was her name?! Malati! Malati Pandit! Yes!

'I do! I do! You're Malati! Malati Pandit! You would not remember me from our LSR days! I was in third year when you were a fresher! I remember you as Miss LSR .. after that fantastic singing of yours! And how do you do it??!! You're even more ravishing! Still breaking hearts?!'

'I'm so sorry! I'm not recalling ..'

'I'm Anita Sethi .. I was Anita Taneja then .. say .. I did not know you knew my brother .. I mean .. Abhi Taneja! I just saw you talking to him!'

She saw Malati blush. Oh! This had more than potential! Anita was in bull-dog mode!

'I know him only as my husband Vikram's friend. They were in college together', she looked away not knowing if this was friend or foe.

'Say! Why don't we go over and have some coffee! It's so wonderful to see that we're all family friends without even knowing about it! How exciting!!'

So Malati was shanghaied by Anita .. she had more than met her match! They would soon be inseperable friends!

He forgot all about the incident. Bigger avalanches had to be seen to on the work front. The Singapore Government had come through with their request for proposal and Mathur Pharma. was to be at the forefront of bidding for the contract. That kept him busy almost day and night! The car purchase and driver training had to be postponed until after the proposal was sent off. They had a little over a month to put things together. Smack in the middle of things, he learned that the Indian Defense Services Contract had been awarded to the competition! Not only was there heart rending disappointment, but Abhi and Vishal would get raked over the coals by 'upper management' for the reason behind the loss.

He returned home a broken man that Monday.

Simi could tell something was horribly wrong. He explained the situation to her and this time two heads were not better than one at overcoming the anguish.

'Abhi! Your Seema Chaachi called. They've fixed the date for Gitanjali's engagement. It's on Saturday. They needed to get things going because Suresh has had to cut short his visit .. apparently he's needed back at work in New York. It will help get your mind off things.' Gitanjali was his father's first cousin Vidur Chaacha's daughter. She and Suresh had been going out for a number of years. It was time to formalize things.

'OK. But I'm pretty sure I will be working on Saturday, so let them know that we may be a little late. Or you can go on ahead with Mom.'

'No. I'm not going to inconvenience Mom. We'll go together. Try and see if you can make it back in time.'

He did make it back in time after all. All spruced up in a sedate Kurta-Pajama and sleevless jacket, he had to wait for Simi to finish getting dolled up. She had grown to be pretty conscious of looking her best. Today she was in a gorgeous lime green diaphanous antique Chandheri with a gold border and a butis on the body. Her brocade blouse had a sexy plunging back and front. These were things Anusha was giving her on an incremental basis knowing that she preferred traditional fare to designer saris. There was also the solid gold one with a red border that had the an exquisite floral pattern in green and gold. That would wait for another occasion. She wore the diamond solitaire earrings and a multi-strand short necklace of peridot beads. Her hair was put up in a casual chignon and rhinestone hair clips held her hair in place. Low heeled gold sandals and a lovely plain silk clutch completed her ensemble. With just the right amount of makeup, it was enough to shake him out of his worry, even if briefly.

The guests were all rolling in to the Chaacha-ji's home in Sunder Nagar. A large home all festooned with lights. The park across from the house was set up with a tastefully done up Shamiana for dinner and drinks. It was enormous fun to run into all his cousins, uncles, and aunts. Anusha greeted them and could not stop gushing at how lovely a couple they made. She was so flattered that Simi was wearing one of her gifts. His father remained aloof. As did Anita. Anuj came over and gave his Simi-di a hug. He and Abhi engaged themselves in conversation. They were both still at it as Simi went off to see what was happening with Gitanjali. Then, Anuj shocked Abhi with a very warm hello to .. none other than Vikram and Malati Kaul!

'Hey Abhi! I think you already know Vikram! Turns out that Malati and Anita know each other from college days!'

'Heeeyyy Abhi! How're you doing yaar?', said Vikram.

'Hi Abhi!', said Malati and moved close to give me a kiss on his cheek. What a good friend! It had been such an eternity since they had seen him! Where was Simi?! She was so dying to catch up with her! Then she walked off to say hello to Anita. Many a head craned as she walked past. A vision in red. It wasn't that she had set out to deliberately eclipse the bride-to-be!

By now, Anita was fully aware of Malati's liking for her darling brother and Malati was fully aware of Anita's dislike of Simi. The Kaul's being invited was a very well orchestrated 'coincidence'.

'The Kauls are here', he whispered to Simi when he caught up with her.

'What???!!! Where???!!!'

'Never mind where .. looks like it's Anita's doing'. They mingled as best as two utterly miserable people could. This was supposed to have been a relatively happy affair despite the knowledge that Anita and his father would have to be tolerated.

He needed to use the toilet and walked back to the house. People were crawling all over the place. He knew his way around the house of course. Anita had been watching him and seeing him head out, she motioned to Malati to join her. They followed him without being noticed or arousing suspicion. Just two friends going about their business and enjoying themselves. Anita showed Malati into the bedroom who's adjoining bathroom he was using.

He came out into a dark bedroom but was so preoccupied with work issues that he did not wonder why the lights would have been turned off. He walked to the door which had been just was unpredictably shut. It would not open. He just tried again when he felt arms around his waist pulling him in. He felt them run down his waist. He froze momentarily, then he swung around to see if it was who he suspected. His eyes had grown accustomed to the dark, and it was Malati. Then he lost it! He really, really lost it as an inchoate anger rose up in him. She wanted him did she??!! She really wanted him, is it??!! OK!! He pulled her roughly towards him in a crushing embrace and began kissing her harshly. He felt her melt against his body. That was enough to rouse him. Just as suddenly, an inchoate confusion and fear replaced his anger. He stopped and pushed her away hard. Then he turned on his heel and hissed at her 'Stay away from me you witch!!!!'. The doors opened quite effortlessly this time as he stormed out. He did not notice Anita in the shadows.

Simi had never seen him so ashen and dejected. She wondered if he'd like her to fix him a plate. No. He did not want to eat anything. Not surprising given that there was so much eating him. But how was she to know?

The festivities were going to end with Sangeet for family and close friends back in the house. Anita had already arranged for Malati to sing. She was an extremely talented and accomplished singer with years of formal training. He stood against the wall. Simi was at a distance from him. Malati's dulcet tones rendering a sexy number filled the air mesmerizing the audience into a silent hush. He silently motioned to Simi to join him. She walked over slowly past the other standers-by. He held out his hand and pulled her close. He put his arms around her and pulled her in even closer .. with a sigh he put his chin on her shoulder. She put her arms over his and relaxed herself back into him. Soon he hid his face in her back completely torn with what had transpired. If Malati was singing as sweetly as an angel, her words directed at him, he was neither aware nor acknowledging it.

How was he going to explain this to his wife? He would have to explain it to her. He did. Half broken with grief and guilt!

'Oh Abhi! My sweetest, sweetest Abhi I'm so sorry for you .. hush! No one and nothing is coming between us .. ever .. I love you .. I really, really do!'

On Ethics

'Usha, this is Rakesh Shukla. Could you see if Abhi has time on his calendar today?! It's absolutely essential I see him today! It doesn't matter how late it is!'

Abhi was up to his ears, and then some, in meetings all day. The Singapore proposal was rapidly coming together and they would meet their schedule of having it all wrapped up the day before it was due to be delivered. He and Simi had been two ships passing each other in the dark. For weeks now.

'Rakesh, he does not have time until almost 6:30 this evening. How long did you want with him, and what should I say is the topic?'

'Put me down for 1/2 hour. It's related to the proposal, but it's also personal.'

'OK! You're on!'

He came promptly at 6:30 p.m. and had to wait. Usha told him that Malhotra was in the office discussing the financial aspects of the proposal. Hearing that, he made himself scarce, asking that she get hold of him on his mobile phone as soon as Abhi was available.

He cooled his agitated heels at his desk. She finally reached him at 7:15.

'Abhi!'

'Hi Rakesh! What's up!'

'Malhotra was just here was he?'

'Well .. yes .. why? What's the matter?'

'I think I know why we lost the other contract. Industrial espionage'

'What are you talking about?! Who's been doing espionage?! Do we have a mole?!'

'A mole?! Yes! We do! You need to get Malhotra off your projects! Listen .. I had a dinner engagement with family at Oberoi's last night. I saw Malhotra at a table with Venkataraman .. the finance fellow from Wellness Pharma .. that was much too cosy a setting .. there was a air of wheeling and dealing going on .. maybe it was nothing .. but I think we should not be taking any chances .. get Malhotra off the proposal, and re-do the finance numbers .. we're cutting it close in terms of time, but I don't think you want to risk losing this contract as well! You don't want to now be baked over the coals .. believe me .. that last interrogation with management will seem like a cake walk .. even if Vishal's father was there as a buffer!'

'Rakesh! If there was something subversive, why would they be meeting in such a public place??!'

'I know .. you've got a point there Abhi .. there's something .. I cannot put my finger on it! Maybe they were meeting in a public space for precisely that purpose .. to throw people off their scent .. I wasn't going to say this .. but I only overheard Malhotra speaking of you as a young whippersnapper .. I know I report to him .. but I really respect you not only as a person Abhi .. but as a manager as well .. I don't think this project woul d be this well off without you at the helm .. yeah .. Vishal is a smart guy .. but in an academic, theoretical way .. you are that too of course .. but you have great management and people skills that are indispensible .. I'm not sure the Mathurs really know your real worth .. but all that aside .. Abhi .. don't take any chances!'

'Hang on! Let's go see Vishal!'. They walked out to Vishal's office. He knew that Vishal was still poring over the proposal to make sure that not a single 'i' was left undotted, nor a single 't' left uncrossed. Usha had already left for the 'night'.

The three of them convened and went over Shukla's suspicions.

'Malhotra?! He's been with us for decades! I find it hard to believe that he would be sabotaging things! Not Malhotra!! The fellow's been our right-hand man .. forever!!'

'Vishal! Like I said to Abhi, maybe it's just my imagination, but there is too much coincidence here that would have to be explained away!'

'How would I explain it to Malhotra .. his being removed .. this late in the game? He's been a key player in the proposal .. what should I tell dad!?'

'You're in luck there! The guys on the second floor have been having a hellish time with their budget overrun .. send Malhotra there to head up a problem solving red-team .. it will flatter him .. and give us time to do damage control .. listen to me guys! I've got a pretty good nose for this kind of thing! Vishal, I think Malhotra dislikes Abhi and wants to see his head roll'

'Rakesh, is there anyway we can find out what Wellness had in their proposal that they won? Vishal - wonder if we can protest the win and have the situation looked into?'

'I don't know anyone at Wellness who we could recruit .. besides .. how ethical is that Abhi?'

'Well .. I'm not asking that we extract any Wellness proprietary information Rakesh! Just try and figure out if we've been taken advantage of!'

'Abhi .. that kind of protest is commonplace overseas .. I haven't heard of it being easy .. here in India. IF we lose out on the Singapore contract, I think we'd stand a better chance'

'I want to discuss this with Alka Talvar in Legal. If any one would know how to guide us through, she would! She's got a tremendous legal head on her shoulders!'

Malhotra was transferred under the guise of his expertise being in great need on Project . He was too astute to believe that something was not underfoot. He'd get to the bottom of things soon enough - even though after he discreetly questioned Usha she claimed to have left the office after his own and last appointment. For now, he would bravely go where he might not have gone before. He needed to let Venkat know that he could not be a source of well needed information for now.

Abhi needed a well deserved two days off after the proposal was completed and shipped out the door. Now it was wait and see and getting back to the Glaxo project.

He woke the next morning, feeling especially amorous and rolled over to ask her if he could make love to her. Not that he needed permission or it was an unsual state of affairs.

'Why? You're not feeling guilty about Malati .. are you?'

He looked at her silently, then just as silently rolled back, rose out of bed and walked into the bathroom to shower.

Something was rankling after all. After all was said and done, that show of understanding had been a knee-jerk reaction. Deep down, there was more than a shred of distrust and rancor. But she knew that that was something she would have to work out by herself. Feeling miserable, but hoping to assuage his hurt feelings, she crept behind him in the shower stall. A place that offered many possibilities for unrestrained ardor. Yet, in that lingering and sweet interlude there was more than one instance where Malati flashed before his eyes and more than one instance where she wondered if Malati flashed before his eyes.

She left for the University leaving him with his thoughts. And the leisure to reflect. Was he subliminally attracted to Malati and was only using the stress as an excuse?! Was he?! Before he could go on, he had to answer that question. It was long time coming, through anguish and it came back he did not know!! He really did not know! He might be!! Most anyone would! That was human nature. He held his head in his hand .. in agony!

Given the chance, would he stray?! Was he that shallow?! That untrustworthy?! Should he have been surprised that assertions aside, deep down Simi was resentful of his lack of control?!

'Goofy! What is happening to me??!! What manner of person am I??!', he groaned. Goofy whined.

A very human person. A very human person indeed. With human emotions that are pruned early by culture. Except for those who recognize and live by the dictates of biology. No wonder it was simple for Malati and Vikram and their notion of an 'open' marriage. In the end, there was no ultimate truth and he had to live with his own notion of good. It was one that did not allow him to indulge himself even if he was capable of being attracted to multiple women at the same time! He bloodied himself pretty good with the self-flagellation. It would be long while before he worked himself out of the confusion about who he was as a man and a husband. For now, he needed to unwind.

She suppressed her reflections on the way to the University.

'Simi, you want to take a couple of days off for an out-of-towner?' he asked later after she was home and matters domestic were in full sway.

'I cannot keep doing that Abhi .. it simply does not look good for me to make a habit of such things. Can't you just relax around the house? Goofy needs obedience training .. there hasn't been a father figure for him for weeks now!', she said, smiling. Goofy did not find that quite as amusing and whined. He was fast growing in all directions including being naughty. So far, she had had a few things chewed to bits, and he knew that all laps belonged to him. If she had her head in Abhi's lap, it had to go .. if Abhi had his head in her lap, it had to go .. only Goofy's could lay there .. with his ears flopped over .. his tail gently flicking non-existent flies .. up .. down .. up ..down .. yaawwn .. up .. down .. up down .. whimper .. up .. down .. up .. down .. sigh .. up .. down .. up .. down.

Well .. he'd be a house-husband and Goofy-trainer for a couple of days. He'd even have dinner ready for his wife for a change. If only Sridevi had known of his loony plans! Now she had Goofy and Abhi to deal with!! He asked her to take a day off, so he would not get in her way. He'd cook up a storm .. and Simi would not even have to clean up the mess storms leave in their wake. So, off he and Goofy went .. Goofy for his pampering session at the salon, and Abhi shopping for ingredients.

What was he cooking? He decided on Chinese .. he'd do Pancakes with green onion, a vegetarian hot-and-sour soup, kung-pao shrimp for himself since Simi was vegetarian, a stir fried vegetable medley, and steamed white rice. For dessert , since pears were coming into season, poached pears in a plum wine and ginger syrup. It all looked simple enough in the cook-book! Once you assembled all the ingredients it all came together pretty rapidly and easily! It was great fun .. and Goofy kept him entertained by enless bouts of chasing his own tail!

'Oooo .. delicious Abhi! I guess I'm going to have to keep you around a bit longer! It's too early to trade you in a for a younger model!!'

She told him to put his feet up .. she would clean up and put away the leftovers .. so off he and Goofy went off to the bedroom. Goofy jumped up on the bed and let Abhi pet him.

'Hey guy! Best get off the bed now .. you know mum doesn't like you being up here .. and you're leaving an unholy amount of hair as evidence', he whispered. He got a stare in return followed by a yawn.

'Come on fellow! Get off!! You're going to get me into hot water! Down Goofy! Get down!!'. Goofy wasn't budging! So he had to lift him up and set him down on the floor. But the floor was not a place for dogs of his ilk. So it was back on the bed, forcing Abhi to take extreme measures! He would have to bribe the dog! So off he went to get him some goodies. 'Well! If that is what he wanted, why had he been so long in doing the needful?', scoffed Goofy. Goodies were good, but a scratch of his tummy was even better! He rolled over on his back to make things easy! The bedroom doors were already open for Goofy to run out into the garden and make sure that he was still master of all he surveyed .. every bush, tree, and plant was part of his 'dogdom'!

Abhi had only just settled in when the home phone rang. It was a Neetu. A visibly agitated Neetu! She needed to speak to Simi-di .. right away! He went and handed it to Simi. He hung around and it was clear that something on the Girish front! Small wonder!

'She wouldn't tell me much beyond everything coming apart. She's coming over tomorrow morning. Abhi, can you stay?! It sounds really, really serious, and ultimately you'll have to get involved .. might as well hear everything first hand'

'Oh! Swell! I'm glad I came equipped with a giant shovel .. given all the shit I'm always wading through!!'. He noticed her hurt look so he added with a sigh 'Never mind Sims! I'll always be here .. by your side .. and hers of course'. He gave her a reassuring hug.

'Simi-di .. simi-di .. ', she gulped .. 'I don't know what I'm going to do!'

'What is it Neetu?! You had best tell us everything so we can make sure that whatever it is is taken care of'

'It's .. it's .. Girish ..'

'We guessed as much Neetu', said Abhi.

'Well .. it's .. it's .. '

'Well?! Neetu, you have two pairs of sympathetic ears here .. we're here to make sure you're OK! What is it??!'

'I'm pregnant!!'

There was the expected silence while everyone digested the news ..

'And? Are you saying that Girish is the father?'

She nodded a look of abject misery on her face

'Great! What does he have to say?!'

'Says I had best pass it off as Omi's!! And he said he doesn't know where I got the idea that he'd marry me! He's already married!!!', she wailed. 'Then he said, that in any event, he needs money, so if I don't come through, Nakul will be told all and he will demand a paternity test to establish he's the father! If I get an abortion, he'll still show Nakul pictures he's been taking of me .. as evidence!'

Simi walked out of the room in disgust and Abhi just looked at Neetu in silence. She was now clearly distraught and crying. Simi returned with a murderous look on her face! That's all she and Abhi needed now .. another set of problems!! She reminded herself that she had promised to be supportive, so she had to clench her teeth and take a deep breath.

'First .. I gather that you and Omi have not had conjugal relations for a while .. so you're going to have to rectify that situation if you want to keep the child. Or you exercise the second option of an abortion!! What's the matter with you .. weren't you taking precautions??!!'

'How much money does he want?', asked Abhi

'20 Lakhs!'

'20 Lakhs is it?! Good thing he doesn't do things by half-measures! Tell him .. he'll get it .. but I want every piece of 'evidence' he has .. every last bit .. in fact .. he'll get 5 Lakhs as starters .. after you've made the determination that he has returned everything, he'll get the rest!'

'What is it you want to do about the pregnancy?', Simi asked icily!

'Simi-di .. I want an abortion .. I could not bear to be reminded of my indiscretion'.

Abhi looked at Simi and shaking his head said 'I'll ask Mom to see if one of her doctor friends could help out .. I dont' want to involve the Gargs upstairs with this.'

'Hush! Neetu! Child! Don't cry! 'Abhi, could you make us some tea?'. She could not help but melt with a broken sister who clung to her for comfort. What other solace could she offer at a time such as this?

Originally posted by: hersheysv

The Agony and the Ecstasy

'Where are you going to find that kind of money Abhi .. plus .. Neetu is only an in-law .. '

'For me there is not even a blurring line between your family and mine.. but who said anything about me finding, much less handing over that kind of money? I'm going to break that rogue's back .. once and for all .. he's not going to be anybody's lackey .. certainly not Anita's .. by the time I'm done with him!' There was that unmistakable cold resolve in his voice that set him apart and she had come to recognze and admire.

He contacted his good friend Aditi Sharma - a top-notch investigative journalist at the TV station - to see what dirt Girish was involved in. While that was underway, he asked Neetu to get going on her end and demand return of the things that could leave her in a compromising position.

He knew that Girish would not be forthcoming and would be his own time producing the stuff. This, was actually fortuitous, because it would buy him time to uncover enough dirt to bury the scoundrel. For good!

While that was underway, his own birthday was approaching and it was time for Simi to confer with Anusha on what their game plan for this year should be.

'Simi, why don't you come over after class tomorrow. Vidya Mami will be here and we three can figure out the best thing for celebrations this year! Dad is in town but he and Anuj are leaving for Thailand day after, so I don't expect him back home until very late .. probably well after even I have gone to bed! How about Abhi swing by later to pick you up? It will give me a chance to see my baby boy too! I haven't see him in so long!'

'Ma! Either Abhi or I need to be home to let Goofy out .. well .. maybe I can ask Sridevi to stay a little longer .. Abhi will have to come pick me up a little early .. oh .. I suppose I can ask him to do that .. just this once .. I'll be there .. how about between 3 and 4?'

She arrived at the Taneja home in Golf Links after work and was warmly greeted by everyone from staff to family! She felt so at home even while wary that Abhi's forbidding father may arrive home to make her feel really ill at ease!

Discussions were animated regarding his birthday. Things were getting ironed out and everyone was excited. That's when Anita arrived. A rather inebriated Anita! Of late, she had taken to drinking and it was taking its toll on her marriage. No one other than Anuj knew the full extent of the damage and he, poor fellow, was too weak in combating her! If she wasn't out drinking with her latest coterie of friends, they were over at the house – partying!

'Hi Mom! Hi Vidya Mami! How are you?'. She bent over to kiss her mother.

'Anita! Why am I smelling liquor on your breath??!! Have you been drinking?!! This early in the day??!!'

'Oh! Shut up Mom! You're always so critical of me!'

Then she saw Simi who had not been in the room when she had flitted in.

'What is she doing here?', she snarled, her lips curled with contempt! She hated the sight of Simi. Not only had she been responsible for the falling out with Preeti, but so far, Anita and Malati had failed to make much headway in destroying the Simi-Abhi alliance.

'Don't speak about Simi like that Anita! Behave yourself! If you cannot, go back to your own house and do not return unless you can be respectful of people here!'

'Oh! You're going to take this witch's side??!! Against meeee??!! This woman .. this woman who stole your son from you and ruined his life??!! Why don't you just stay away .. you piece of ..', she snarled at Simi.

'ANITA!!! LEAVE RIGHT NOW!! I will NOT have you insulting Simi like this!!'

There was an embarrassed silence as Vidya Mami looked on .. thoroughly ashamed of her niece!

'I WILL NOT LEAVE!! This is my Dad's house!! Get this wretch to LEAVE!! NOW!!!!'

She raved on in this fashion with Anusha up in arms at her daughter's bad behavior. Simi stood in absolute silence, ashen from humiliation.. Vidya Mami finally walked up to her to hold her in her arms.

No one noticed Abhi's entrance. He saw and heard the commotion and in sielnce slowly walked up to Simi. He grabbed her hand and got ready to march her out of the house.

'Mom .. I think Simi has out stayed her welcome! ' He refused to acknowledge Anita's presence for that would have just encouraged her and he could not stand his wife being terrorized in this manner. Sorting out Anita would be Anusha's problem!

'Well, well! Look who's here! Mr. Valiant himself! That's right! Get out of here!! Gawd .. these people will drive me to drink .. Ramona! Ramona! Where the hell are you??!! Get me some ice!!!!!'

Abhi and Simi drove back home in silence. She was still stunned from the vituperation that she had withstood. Goofy was met my two very somber people. Abhi fed him, then let him out into the garden. Neither of the two of them could stomach much in the way of food. He finally wound his way back to the bedroom to find her sitting in bed making an effort to read and prepare for her classes the following day. He changed into his pajama, then came back and sat beside her, looking at her with love and compassion. He reached out and caressed her face then pulled her to himself in a hug. Still and silent. She was as raw as raw gets and with the numbness fading away, a distinct hurt was setting in.

They had the room to themselves having let Goofy enjoy the cool air outdoors. He hoped that his love making would help assuage some of the hurt she was feeling. The sweet taste, smell, and feel of her body still engulfed him as he saw her softly retreating figure after their enchanted interlude. The chiaroscuro of her curves as she walked away had a heady affect on him. Then, she gently faded into the dark of the bathroom. He rolled over to fall asleep.

He did not hear her but was gently awakened with the cool of a wash cloth and the smell of roses on his back. She had returned with a basin of cool water into which she had poured rose oil. He moaned very softly with pleasure letting her wipe him down. He felt her urging him to roll over. He surrendered himself to her soft touch .. reveling in the ecstasy of being with his lover.