~*~* Tera hone laga hoon *~*~
PART 2
Armaan was driving the car home while Bharti and Jiya sat in the back. Jiya snuggled a little closer to Bharti and Bharti put her arm around Jiya.
Jiya: "Can I ask you something?"
Bharti: "Sure you can"
Jiya: "Now that you're coming home with us, will you play with me everyday?"
Bharti: "I will"
Jiya: "And will you help me with my homework?"
Bharti: (smiling)"I will try my very best, but I can't promise that you'll have the right answers"
Jiya: "And will you and Dada take me to school every morning and will both of you tuck me into bed at night?"
All this while Armaan was watching them in the rearview mirror and smiling at his Jiya's sweet innocence. After this last question Bharti caught Armaan's eye in the mirror and smiled at him.
Bharti: " Of course we will"
Bharti kissed Jiya on the head and looked out the window. She felt a feeling that she had not felt in a while. She felt utterly content.
Armaan: "Okay, we're home."
Armaan opened the door for Bharti and Jiya and closed it once they were out of the car. When they got to the front door Armaan asked Bharti to wait just a bit for him. He returned in a few minutes with a kalash of rice and he placed it down at Bharti's feet.
Armaan: "I'm sorry, I don't really know what other rituals must be done. And I didn't want all those ladies coming here, I thought it would just make things uncomfortable.."
Bharti: "Thanks Armaan and this is perfect"
Bharti tipped the kalash over and entered her new home. She looked around and was quite surprised with what she saw. It was very simply and beautifully decorated with flowers and a welcome sign. Then her eyes came to rest on something which brought tears to her eyes. On the lounge wall hung a large black and white photograph of her, Armaan and Jiya. She couldn't remember when exactly the photo was taken, but she thought it looked like the perfect family photo.
Jiya: "How do you like my gift? This is my gift to you and Dada for your wedding, even though I had to take Dada's help in making it.."
Bharti: "Jiya, it is..I'm speechless. I love it"
Bharti gave Jiya a big hug and Jiya stretched out her arms to Armaan and he too joined the family hug. Armaan noticed that Bharti was slightly uncomfortable and he broke off from the hug. Armaan excused himself to go and fetch Bharti's bags. Jiya pulled Bharti along and gave her a mini tour of the house. When Armaan returned, Bharti asked him if he would mind if she went to go and change out of the wedding attire and Armaan told her to do whatever she wanted that would make her comfortable. Bharti went off to Armaan's room to change while Armaan told Jiya to go and get ready for bed as it was late and it had been a very eventful day.
When Jiya got out of the bathroom she was surprised to see Bharti sitting on her bed.
Jiya: "Aap yahaan?"
Bharti: "Did you think that I'd forget my promises so quickly. I'm not sure what your Dada is doing, but I'm here to tuck you in."
Jiya: "Thanks Bharti aunty, it means a lot to me.."
Bharti: "Look Jiya, you don't have to say thanks for everything, It's only my pleasure to do whatever I do for you. As they say in the movies, "no sorry and no thanks" We can just apply that too, what say?"
Jiya: "Sure"
Jiya sat on the bed next to Bharti and Bharti brushed her hair and then tucked her in. Bharti asked if she wanted to read any of her story books, but Jiya said that she was just too tired. Bharti kissed her and said goodnight and told her that if she wanted anything to just call for her or her Dada. Bharti then switched off the lights and walked out the room leaving the door slightly open before going to look for Armaan.
She looked in the lounge and the kitchen, but there was no sign of Armaan. She looked in some of the rooms and then went to check in his room. There she found Armaan re-arranging his cupboards and moving things around.
Bharti: "Hey you, what are you doing so late at night? You must be tired..."
Armaan: " I'm just moving some of my stuff so that you have place for your clothes and everything..sorry, I should have done it earlier. But it looks like you didn't bring that much. I was expecting many more bags of clothes and make-up and shoes, you know.."
Bharti: "You know me Armaan, I am not your typical woman. Anyways I have kinda given up on those heels. As you know, I keep on falling in them"
Armaan just smiled upon Bharti saying that and blushing and he remembered all those moments. He had to admit, he loved being there to catch her every time she fell. Armaan and Bharti together quickly tidied the room and put Bharti's stuff away.
Armaan: "Do you want a cup of coffee?"
Bharti yawned and nodded. She followed Armaan to the kitchen, but he just told her to sit down and relax. Bharti sat down on the sofa and thought about everything that had happened today while absent-mindedly playing with her mangalsutra between her fingers. She looked down at it and really couldn't believe that she was actually a married woman. Well, she has some mornings when she wakes up and still can't believe that she's a woman! And now she's a married one, but she was glad that Armaan was her husband..it could have been worse. But that KK keeps on creating new problems for her to face and now she'll have to face them without Payal. She just sighed and laid her head back, closing her eyes.
Armaan arrived with the mugs of coffee and couldn't help but be mesmerized by the sight of Bharti peacefully sitting there with her closed eyes. He couldn't believe that Bharti was actually his wife. Yes, things didn't happen as he had thought it would, it was not a "normal romance", but then again you could only expect the unexpected with Bharti. He knew from the first time he saw her that she was special, but he never thought that he would fall in love with her and that too so quickly. He never expected to feel the way he did about Bharti. She was definitely an independent woman, confident and even feisty, but he always felt this urge to protect her and be by her side. Maybe that's why he always went to her whenever she needed his help or was in some problem. He had all but given up on love because it was so difficult to meet the type of woman he was looking for. He wasn't just looking for a partner, a wife..he was looking for someone to be Jiya's mother. That was probably why he never introduced Jiya to any of the women he met, and over the years he had decided to just concentrate on Jiya and being everything she needed. He loved her so much it hurt and he didn't want her to ever lack anything. He always tried his best and he knew that she loved him and was happy, but he couldn't miss the emptiness in her eyes sometimes. After all, a little girl needs her mother and that was something Armaan could never be . . . But he was so happy now that they had Bharti in their lives. She may not be the "conventional mother", but she loved his Jiya dearly and he could see that. He could also see how happy Jiya was with her and all of this just made him love Bharti even more. He suddenly realised that he had been standing there for a while and he didn't want the coffee to get cold. He wiped the edge of his eye before the tear could run down his cheek and sat down next to Bharti.
Armaan: "Bharti?"
Bharti: "Oh hi..you know I have realised that it is actually quite tiring getting married, lets try not to do that too often, ok?"
Armaan: "Yeah sure, two times is enough for me.."
Bharti: (biting her tongue) Oh sorry, I didn't mean it like that..
Armaan: "Don't worry, I'm just joking. Here, have your coffee"
Bharti: "Thanks. Hmm..nice coffee, I can definitely get used to this"
Armaan and Bharti sat there drinking their coffee in a comfortable silence, each being lost in their own thoughts. After they finished their coffee Bharti offered to wash the mugs since Armaan had made the coffee. Once the washing up was done Armaan asked if he could talk to Bharti about something. They sat down on the sofa again and Armaan took Bharti's hand in his and she flinched a little, but left her hand there. This just made Armaan think that it was even more important to say what he was about to.
Armaan: "Well, Bharti as you know we're married now and we are husband and wife, but we're not like the usual husband and wife and..Okay I'm probably not making any sense. What I'm trying to say is..lets take things slowly. This is all as new to me as it is to you and I really don't want you to feel uncomfortable about anything or forced to do anything that you don't want to. We are friends before anything else and we will always remain friends. So lets just try to be comfortable with each other and we'll take things as it comes. And Bharti, I just want you to know that you can trust me...and I'll always be here for you "
Bharti: (looking deeply into Armaan's eyes) Thank you Armaan, this means a lot to me and I know that I can always count on you.
Bharti moved her hands from Armaan's hands to his waist and moved herself closer to him. She put her head on his chest and hugged him. Armaan was taken aback for a second, but then he put his arms around her and hugged her tightly. After a while both of them broke off from the hug while still holding hands.
Armaan: "You're tired, why don't you go to bed. I just have something to finish up. And let me know if you need anything."
Bharti just nodded and Armaan leaned foward and kissed her on the forehead.
Armaan: "Goodnight Bharti. "
Bharti: "Goodnight."
Bharti went to Armaan's room and got into bed, only then realising just how tired she was. She didn't even realise when she fell asleep. She woke up sometime during the night and looked across the bed to see it empty. She sat up in bed wondering where Armaan was and looked around the room to see Armaan sleeping on the small sofa next to the bed. She got out of bed and walked over to him, smiling at how innocent he looked. She took the throw that was folded on the bed and gently covered him with it and kissed him on the forehead before climbing back into bed.
Bharti: (still looking at Armaan) KK, maybe this whole situation will be difficult, but I know I'll somehow be able to handle it because I have Armaan with me...
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Shiv Shakti
