Part 38 on page 32
Armaan takes Ridhima out to see the Zamfir concert with his dad. Aman (Armaan's dad) pretends to be an uncle and an old friend of Armaan's to put Ridhima at ease and to get to know her better. Ridhima, still feeling guilty about Anjali loses her cool when she discovers the truth and has a fight with Armaan. Post a conversation with Aman, full of remorse, she apologises to and makes up with Armaan. She finally decides that Armaan needs to know the truth and decides to tell Armaan about Anjali and their exchange in the common room.
PART XXXIX
"Ridhima?" Armaan asked gently as he gently moved her away to turn her around and face him, "we do need to talk...not just about tonight but also-"
Ridhima nodded as she wondered where to begin and how to tell him. "Armaan....I ..I am sorry...I..allowed my insecurities and my guilt-"
"Guilt?" Armaan looked a little surprised, "this has to do with Anjali, doesn't it? I told you sweetheart-"
"I know you did...and the ring...I love you for that" she stood on tip-toe to give him a quick kiss, "it was a wonderful gesture....even more reassuring because it was unexpected and uncalled for....you have no idea how much it meant to me Armaan...and it will always mean much more to me than a formal commitment will...it has nothing to do with you or your actions or a lack of commitment on your part..." as she hesitated and looked down, Armaan slid an arm around her waist, pulling her close, leaving her no choice but to look up at him.
"Ridhima...is it so difficult to talk to me?" he asked tucking a loose strand behind her ear. As she shook her head mutely, "then talk to me, sweetheart....a relationship where communication and honesty is missing, is doomed from the start-"
"Anjali is so in love with you!" Ridhima said baldly, even before Armaan could complete what he had to say. He was right. There was no space for subterfuge, lies, even white ones, between the two of them...she had to trust him, trust herself and their relationship to weather this. By not being honest and upfront with him so far, she may have spared Anjali some heartache and humiliation but she had been very unfair to Armaan.
"I know...you think that Ridhima and you may well be right...but I have said that no matter what, it is you whom I love...why are you allowing your fears about Anjali's emotions come between us...that's for me to deal with and I will" Armaan sighed.
"No you don't understand...Anjali's feelings - I don't think so! I know so!" Ridhima said vehemently as she struggled to free herself of Armaan's hold, "She TOLD me herself, for God's sake!"
As Armaan stood still looking a little bewildered, Ridhima continued, "she broke down in front of me Armaan...made me realise that if it hadn't been for me coming in your life, maybe, just maybe, you both could have been together...I have never seen her like this Armaan....broken and willing to bare her insecurities in front me...she's spent the entire last year building her dreams, hopes and aspirations around you and in one shot everything has been destroyed...and I have been responsible for that..."
"But Ridhima-" Armaan tried to intervene but Ridhima couldn't stop, "I could see her helplessness in her eyes Armaan...her tears were not an act...I could see the hurt behind them..she didn't fight with me or try and warn me off..she...she almost pleaded with me for her happiness...do you have any idea what that did to me?" she stepped back out of Armaan's embrace in her agitation.
"Ridhima-" Armaan tried to calm her down
"...it's been playing on my mind Armaan...I know what you said about each one needing to bear their own crosses and this has been mine to bear....her tear stained face and her broken admission has been gnawing at me...I feel so responsible...and then this morning when I interrupted the two of you...it was deja vu...yet again I had come between the two of you
" she took a deep breath, failing to notice that Armaan had become silent and had made no attempt to pull her back, "..the look on her face Armaan, froze me in my tracks...the beseeching look, the pain, the fear that I might have told you....it was there for me to see and I could not bring myself to tell you anything or let you know why I was upset.... it meant a lot to me Armaan that you held me back but I couldn't ..." and as Armaan remained silent, "....I know I behaved like a fool but try as I might I couldn't get rid of the guilt...you know even when we were with your dad, I couldn't help wonder if Anjali had met your dad, how would she have bonded with him...." seeing the surprise on Armaan's face, "I know...I know it's stupid but sometimes....sometimes I am like that...I can't let go....and my irrational behaviour, that over-reaction to the subterfuge...I guess I was taking out my anger at myself, at the circumstances on you....I am sorry...I am so sorry Armaan" she whispered, "I can be so stupid sometimes...will you forgive me" she looked up at Armaan, "Armaan?"
As Armaan continued to remain silent, Ridhima moved closer, slowly lifting her hand to caress his cheek, "Armaan? Say something please? I know I should have told you....but I just felt that Anjali didn't deserve the humiliation-"
"And I did? Deserved to have the woman I love not be honest and confide in me? What is it about me Ridhima that doesn't inspire confidence?" Ridhima cringed at the hurt she could see in Armaan's eyes, "tell me Ridhima, I need to understand...since when did Anjali's feelings, her reactions and responses become far more important to you than mine?"
"Armaan...I...you are taking this the wrong way...I didn't-"
"Maybe I am...you are right, maybe I am all screwed up...maybe it's too much to ask but that's the way I am Ridhima...such a big thing and you chose to suffer alone rather than share it with me? Knowing you, I can imagine what you must have gone through which makes it all the more hurtful that you chose to shut me out of your life when you needed me the most. Then where do I fit in your life Ridhima?" Ridhima shook her head vehemently, taking his hands in hers, trying to lessen his sense of rejection, "I am sorry" he said taking a deep breath, " I know this is not about me or how I feel...it's supposed to be about you...but it should not be..it's supposed to be about us...about confidence that inspires honesty...about how much faith you have in our relationship...in me...in my ability to be able to understand....you could appreciate the eternity ring but completely lost the depth of feeling and commitment behind it...I could understand if I was an uncaring jerk, but whatever else I might be guilty of, my love for you, my concern and care, my commitment to you has been absolute"
"Armaan..." Ridhima quietened as Armaan freed his hands from her grip and walked to the window. In the silence that ensued, she cursed herself for not having told Armaan the truth earlier. But wasn't he over reacting, just as she had? This seemed to be a night of histrionics worthy of the great Bard himself, she sighed, with Armaan and her taking turns at being centre stage! Romeo and Juliet, nay Othello ' the incongruity of her thoughts, given the circumstances, struck her as a semblance of a smile, involuntarily, flickered across her face.
"What?" she was shaken out of her reverie to find a petulant Armaan scowling at her, "What part of what I said was amusing?"
"Nothing...." she smiled softly, struggling with the amusement that her thoughts afforded her. She realised she was close to getting hysterical ' their conversation and the events preceding, were just beginning to sink in, she suspected. "I am sorry Armaan, it wasn't you...I think I am beginning to get hysterical....it's just that...we seem to be taking turns tonight..." she explained as he raised his brows questioningly, "at throwing temper tantrums.... I just thought..." she giggled a little, "...that they were performances that the Bard himself would have approved of..."
She let out a sigh of relief as a smile turned his lips, even as he struggled not to. "I am sorry Armaan, I really am...you are right...I should have told you earlier...but it arose out of some hare brained idea of sparing Anjali any more hurt...and this terrific guilt that I have carried around for a while....I forgot that I owed you...no owed US something too....but cross my heart and hope to die ' never ever again..." and as Armaan looked at her unrelentingly, "please...."
As she stood looking at him earnestly, Armaan wondered at this child woman who stood before him. Only she, in the middle of a fight, could draw completely incongruous parallels and find them funny! But wasn't that why he was in love with her? He had to admit, she had a point ' he had just over reacted ' big time ' much as she had done earlier in the evening. However, he had meant every word of his outburst ' it hurt him to know that she preferred to fight her battles alone rather than have him by her side. Something that had upset her so much, that had made her so insecure ' she preferred to let it bother her than confide in him.
"Ridhima..." he held out his hand to pull her in front of him. When she would have hugged him, he held her back, shaking his head, 'we still need to talk....you are right...I over reacted...but the way I reacted doesn't take away the truth of what I said and what I feel....I wish you had told me this earlier...I am going to talk with Anjali" he quietened her with a shake of his head when it appeared she was about to interrupt him, "I have to Ridhima...I chose to ignore this earlier cos I didn't want to believe it...who knows if I had ever given it more thought, things may have been different, but I always thought we - she and I - both knew the score and that we were just friends... be as that may, I need to rectify that now...I gave Anjali the space that she asked for because she is a dear friend and I believed I owed her that at the minimum....but not now....not when it unsettles you to this extent ...not when she involves you....dragging this is going to cause everyone even more unhappiness..."
"Armaan-"
"You know Ridhima that night in your father's den, I had an inkling your restlessness had something to do with what had transpired between Anjali and you...I tried asking you, but you chose not to confide in me..."
"I am sorry Armaan" she sighed, "I wish I could undo-"
"Forget it...I should have joined the dots when Anjali did not come in the next two days and you were unsettled..and that stilted exchange...but neither Anjali nor you, it appears were willing to let me complete a conversation" he smiled wryly, "but the longer you ignore a wound, the more it festers" as Ridhima finally nodded in agreement, "Ridhima...you are my priority, no matter what you feel, think, say or do...but you need to understand for yourself, what is it that being in love means to you? Where do I fit in your scheme of things and your idea of a relationship?"
Ridhima would have responded but Armaan shushed her, "Don't react, just think over it....but just remember, no matter what, I love you sweetheart" before he climbed over the window sill and was gone.
*****************
Ankit twirled the pen absentmindedly as he sat in the council room, going over his conversation with Anjali. He had never intended for anyone to know how he felt about Ridhima but how he had let his guard down and let it slip, he never knew...and now Anjali knew....strangely enough there was a relief in talking to someone about it...Anjali and he had talked for a long time, finding solace in each other's helplessness...
Though he thought his was a Hobson's choice - on one hand was a woman he had slowly and unwittingly fallen in love with and on the other hand was one of his best friends...was there really a choice? However, somehow, talking to Anjali ' it was like a dam had finally burst open..everything that he had buried deep within had found expression and he could now understand why Anjali found it so difficult to let go....why she had urged him to not give up without putting in a fight for what was important to him...and while he had brushed that aside that time, he had to admit, there was a small part of him that kept urging him to tell Ridhima how he felt..he didn't know whether she loved Armaan or not...what if she did not, what if she just found him attractive and enjoyed Armaan's company, he would have lost his chance at happiness...
So lost was he in this turmoil that he startled when Atul clicked his fingers under his nose bringing him back to reality. He grinned abashedly in response to Atul's raised eyebrows. "Nothing...I was just..."
"You looked very pensive" Atul remarked, "want to talk?" as he offered him a bread pakoda, "Ganapathy's special, laced with cholesterol and fat, you are sure you want it?"
Ankit grinned and bit into the greasy pakoda, "I wish all choices were so easy"
"They usually are Ankit, if you are brutally honest in assessing them...though of course, it's easier said than done" Atul remarked as he wiped his greasy hands on some tissue, "see how clear was the choice to give in to temptation?"
"Atul" Ankit making up his mind, "what if the choice that you make gets you at a crossroad...where on one side if you give in to what you want to do, you may end up upsetting possibly more than one person ...but if you don't, you end up hurting yourself when you have done nothing to deserve that hurt...so should you chose one individual who has done no wrong and doesn't deserve to be hurt or should you chose the others cos there are more than one involved? Single vs plural?"
"Single child conundrum" Atul remarked as he settled back in the chair.
"Its a choice faced by the rail man who sees a train coming on a track where lots of kids are playing" he explained as Ankit looked at him quizzically, "he has the choice to shift the train to another track where one of the kids in the group has moved cos he has seen the train coming and despite his telling the rest of the group, the remaining kids are too busy playing to move. So should he allow the group to get killed or the single child?"
"But why the single child? He did no wrong...in fact-"
"Exactly...he in fact is the kid who did everything right but the decision for the rail man is to choose between a single child or many children irrespective of who is right. It's a difficult decision but maybe, I don't know, but just maybe, sometimes an individual needs to be sacrificed for the larger good. Just like you have to make a choice between hurting more than one person and hurting yourself."
"But that's so unfair to the kid who made the right choices!" Ankit protested, " What if you are in the right and have done no wrong...why should you suffer?"
"If you truly and honestly believe that you shouldn't suffer then go with your instincts" Atul responded.
"I want to, but it's such a difficult choice..." Ankit mumbled, lost in thought again as he wondered whether this debate within would ever subside.
"Yes, it is" Atul agreed, "that is why its a conundrum"
*************
"Anjali" Armaan called out as he saw Anjali heading out of the common room, "I need to talk to you"
'Sure Armaan, but can we talk a little later? I need to compile and give the Dean a corporate wise breakup of confirmed sponsorships and the confirmed speakers-"
"Now" Armaan said firmly as he held her elbow and guided her back into the common room, "we've been skirting around this conversation long enough"
"Armaan?" Anjali asked hesitantly, sure that he could hear the thudding of her heart. She wasn't ready for this conversation yet. She didn't want to hear about Ridhima and him. But wasn't she being an ostrich again? She couldn't run away forever, could she? Just wishing it were not so was not going to make it disappear, 'Common room?" she questioned hesitantly "freshers....."
Armaan cursed himself as he wondered at his own stupidity, this was not a conversation that one had in public view, "Library? First floor?"
Anjali nodded. At this time of the evening, very few people would be using the library. The freshers usually lounged in the common room while most of the second year students would have finished their reference work. As she followed him quietly, she wondered how Armaan would react. Would he be very angry? Accusing? Or would he be very hurt and disappointed in her behaviour? She always knew this would happen one day. Ridhima must have told him all about her outburst, she couldn't keep it to herself finally, could she? The next moment she admonished herself at her pettiness. Of course Ridhima would tell Armaan, if they were indeed a couple why would Ridhima choose her over Armaan? Maybe it was time that she faced her worst nightmare instead of running away....in any case, it wasn't as if Armaan and her friendship was the same any more...there had been a strain, a hesitancy, an awkwardness that she sensed which had never been there before...or maybe it was just her imagination fuelled by her guilt and her anguish that made her feel so....but there was no mistaking the determined firmness in Armaan's grip as he propelled her towards the library.
As he stood facing her in the library, for a moment Armaan's resolve wavered. She looked so woebegone and vulnerable, but he needed to have this conversation with her, he sighed, for her sake, no, for all their sake's.
"Anjali-"
"Armaan, I know what you are going to say....I know we should have talked earlier..I just...it's just that I .....I know I have been trying to bury my head in the sand hoping the storm would pass.....I know I shouldn't have said that to- "
"Anjali!" Armaan cut short her babbling, holding her by the shoulder, 'stop babbling....look, we need to talk....a conversation that we started many times but never ended completing-"
"I love you Armaan" he stopped short as Anjali cut through his conversation. There she had said it. What did she have to lose except her pride, but was that really worth much when there was so much more at stake, she wondered...or was she just hoping against hope....would a declaration really make any difference? Wasn't she too late already? But she wouldn't go away without once letting him know how she felt.
Armaan looked at Anjali, momentarily taken aback, wondering how to react. Ridhima and Atul had warned him about this, and if truth be told, in the last few weeks, he had begun to suspect this was the case but to have Anjali clearly enunciate her feelings still hit him. It was one thing to have inkling about something but to have your worst fears come true.....
He had been lucky, the woman he had fallen in love with, loved him in return...it must be a wrench to love someone and watch them fall in love with someone else and to know what you desired would never be yours...how did this happen? They were good friends, buddies, pals, confidants but lovers? He had never once thought of Anjali as anything other than a friend then how had this happened? Don't be stupid Armaan, he admonished himself, when had you planned on falling in love with Ridhima, it had just happened. How he wished things could have been different but he couldn't grudge Anjali for feeling what she did.
"Armaan?" Anjali asked hesitantly as Armaan seemed lost in contemplation. She hadn't expected him to be ecstatic. On the contrary, she had expected him to lose his cool but he seemed to almost be empathetic...did he? No, that's wishful thinking Anjali, she admonished herself, stop building castles in the air, "Armaan...I know you what you must be thinking...I didn't plan on this happening Armaan, it just did...I have no idea when and how I fell in love with you....we were friends and then....it slowly crept on me...don't even know when I realised that you meant much more than that to me....that I couldn't foresee a life which didn't have you in it....which is why I never objected when people thought of us as a couple...it was, in a way, a fulfilment of my deepest desire and I was loath to destroy that phantasm....and I hoped....I hoped that the fact that you didn't get all het up about it, meant that the thought wasn't repulsive to you...I knew you were very fond of me and liked me a lot.... and ...and I guess I hoped over time that would translate into a much stronger and deeper bond..."
"Anjali, I wish I could undo what happened..." Armaan said remorsefully, "maybe I should have objected...I SHOULD have set the record straight....if I had maybe we wouldn't be here...maybe you wouldn't have fallen in love..."
"No Armaan, I don't think it would have made any difference...some things are just meant to be....falling in love just happens...who would know it better than you?" she smiled tremulously, "yeah, it would have meant heartbreak much sooner but it wouldn't have changed the way I feel...I fell in love with the person you are, not because people's thinking influenced me.."
"Anjali, I wish I could say something that would make this better but there is no other way to say it...I...you are a very dear friend Anjali and I care what happens to you...I hate to see you like this...I wish I could do something to take the hurt away, but -"
"But you don't love me!" Anjali words were tempered with a resigned smile, "You know it's surprising, it doesn't sound so earth shattering now that it's been said? In fact, it's almost a relief to hear you say that? I have been living in fear, running away from the inevitable in the hope that if I wouldn't face it, the truth will not be out there...but now...now I don't have to run away anymore..."
"I am sorry Anjali" Armaan said softly holding her by the shoulders forcing her to look at him, "but to me you have and will always be a very dear friend..I have never once thought of you in any other light" taking a deep breath he continued, "Anjali, there is something else that we need to talk about...I am -"
"You are in love with Ridhima, aren't you?" Anjali questioned. Armaan was surprised at the almost clinical, dispassionate way she said that. He nodded his head slowly as she continued in the same clinical tone, "its strange isn't it, I have been denying that this could be for the last few weeks even when it's been staring me in the face, but there it is....you...you love Ridhima... I thought we enjoyed each other's company, had the same interests...were the same kind of people ......I thought you cared about me...we spent a year together, sharing our hopes, dreams aspirations...perfect base for a relationship, wouldn't you think so? Yet it took just a few weeks spent with Ridhima for you to fall in love with her? How Armaan? Why?"
"Anjali, you said it yourself, didn't you? Love just happens...there is no reason, no grand design behind it...I didn't set out to fall in love with Ridhima...far from it..... when, how and why I don't know myself... but there is something about her that draws me to her and clichd though it may sound, she completes me....but ....be as that may, reality is that I love her...and I am-"
"And to think I went and bared my soul to her" Anjali laughed self derisively, "told her how I felt about you...what you meant to me...what it would do to me if you were not a part of my life...what a fool I was, wasn't I Armaan? And she never ever once said anything...not once....it must have been amusing to see me pleading and break down...knowing-"
"Stop it Anjali" the strident tone of Armaan's voice stopped her, "even in your anger at her, you can't seriously believe that she would ... she's never reacted no matter how harsh you have been with her, no matter how strong the provocation.....I will not allow anyone...." he paused for a moment look at her, "to hurt or upset her.....for what its worth, though it upset her tremendously, she didn't tell me, despite my asking her time and again...she allowed her guilt to override and intrude on every other emotion..even our relationship...even when I wanted to tell everyone, tell YOU about us, she stopped me, she didn't want you to get hurt-"
"But I did, didn't' I?" stung by Armaan's defence of Ridhima, Anjali cried out.
"Yes you did, and believe me I wish it could have been different...but if anything, the blame for it lies at my door...we spent a lot of time together, I allowed those rumours to go unchecked, I was insensitive enough to not realise the way you were beginning to feel and I fell in love with her...why blame her? Even if she didn't feel the same way, I would still have fallen in love with her...it would not have changed anything between us Anjali...she has no bearing on my relationship with you..."
"She is very special Armaan, isn't she?" Anjali looked at him wonderingly, "so special that you can't even hear a word against her...it's been like this ever since she's joined school, hasn't it?"
"Yes, she is" Armaan acknowledged, "Anjali, please-" he reached out to try and calm her as she shut her eyes in distress.
"No Armaan, I want to know..." Anjali stepped back, shaking off his hand, "What the hell is so special about her? You always rush to her defence.....no one can say anything to her...no one can hurt her....even that day when we were talking about the guillotine...you can't see her getting upset, can you?"
"Dammit Anjali, I love her-"
"Of course you do, why didn't I see it before? Why Armaan?" Anjali cried as tears finally came, "What is it that she has which I don't have Armaan? Something that I have yearned for, that's been my most fervent desire, that I have hoped and prayed for, is hers, just like that" she clicked her fingers, "What is it about her that everyone falls in love with her? Why her?" she cried piteously, "I want to know Armaan, what would it have taken for you to fall in love with me? I want to know-"
"Stop it Anjali" Armaan said firmly as he shook her hard, "stop doing this to yourself! You are a wonderful person and a great friend...I wouldn't change a thing about you ...but some things are just not meant to be" as Anjali began to cry, helpless, he pulled her into a hug, "I am sorry Anjali..." he stroked her back as sobs racked her frame, "so sorry"
As her sobs subsided, he prised her away from him, "look at me Anjali..please....I-"
"Don't Armaan...don't say anything....least of all sorry....it sounds so empty ..I feel like screaming right now.....yelling...wanting to know where it was that I went wrong...why did this happen to me...throw something at someone....destroy something just as something has been destroyed inside me.....I just...I just want to hit out at someone..."
"Try me" Armaan said gently
************
"Rahul...." Ridhima called out as she saw Rahul walking out from the council room, "Rahul, have you seen Armaan?"
"I am really hurt Ridhima!" Rahul complained as he waited for Ridhima to catch up with him, "the only time you seem to have time to talk to me nowadays is when you are asking me about Armaan!"
"Really, I didn't see you having too much time to spare either" momentarily nonplussed, Ridhima smacked him on the arm, "in fact, now that you mention it, my best friends have gone AOWL, last seen they were enjoying long romantic interludes-"
"Shut up Ridhima" Rahul grinned embarrassed, "nothing of that sort....we've just been spending some time together...you know...trying to get to know each other better" he ended self consciously.
'Close encounters of which kind?" Ridhima raised her brows questioningly, a wide grin on her face.
"Ridhima!" Rahul rolled his eyes in resignation, "right, just like you can't seem to stay away from your Scarlet Pimpernel"
"I wish
" sighed Ridhima, "you know Rahul, sometimes I can be really daft, get stuck on stupid things and I behave stupidly...I need to set things right with him..."
"I can understand...as I am beginning to discover, being in love brings with it, its own set of insecurities but don't let misplaced and unnecessary fears take their toll on your relationship... just let go and savour what you have got"
Rahul patted her on the head, "I saw Armaan and Anjali headed to the library...Anjali had mentioned that she needed to complete some stuff for the seminar, Armaan probably volunteered to help her."
As Ridhima seemed to hesitate, Raul looked at her impatiently, "Don't be stupid Ridhima, he loves you so if you need to talk to him, go do that!'
Mouthing thanks, Ridhima nodded as she walked into the library. Rahul was right, she was carrying this hesitation thing too far. Armaan loved her and she loved him and she needed to make him understand how important he was to her, Anjali be dammed. He had done everything possible to make her feel loved, cherished; now it was her turn...
Being directed to the first floor by one of Armaan's classmates, she stopped short as she saw Armaan holding Anjali who appeared very emotional. As she wondered whether to interrupt or not, she heard Anjali say "but I couldn't let go without taking one last chance....without telling you how I felt...if I hadn't, I would have always regretted not taking this chance at happiness". Armaan nodded understandingly, and then Anjali leaned forward on tip-toe and kissed him.
Ridhima recoiled from the scene as her shocked brain went over what she had just seen. Anjali was kissing Armaan? She had just heard Anjali and Armaan talk about "this chance at happiness" and they had kissed? No, Armaan had not kissed Anjali, Anjali had kissed him, but...but did that really make a difference? Did the kiss mean anything to Armaan? If no, why had he allowed Anjali....Or did talking to Anjali made him realise that he had made a mistake and that he couldn't hurt Anjali or let her go? As her befuddled brain struggled to deal with what she had just seen, she turned back to look at Anjali who was now standing a little away, "..Armaan.... but at least now let me express my feelings....don't grudge me this one indulgence Armaan...." .
Ridhima didn't wait to hear anything else. She needed to get away from here before either of them saw her and before Armaan tried to explain anything to her...she needed to be alone...to make some sense of what she saw...Armaan and Anjali...had she been right along? That she had been the interloper and finally Armaan had realised the fact too? "....but at least now let me express my feelings...."Anjali's words kept ringing in her mind as she ran down the steps wanting to get away....
***********
Part 39 finally...penned between late work hours and a petulant hubby...long long overdue...over a month and I am really sorry but life has been stretched to say the least.....and please, don't apologise for asking me to update, I should be the one apologising for the crazy delay on this one but I was just jacked for time....
Another apology is due cos I have also not responded to the comments that I got from all of you for the last part, so a big big apology but the choice was between responding and writing this part so decided to write the part instead.....but thanks so much, I read and loved each and every one of them and please please do comment cos that is what made me write this part even though I am struggling for time right now....
NJ, HUGS! Thanks for the wonderful PM, made my day! Will get down to responding...the pics were fab! Aarti, after promising to be around, you have disappeared again?
The single child conundrum is an actual exercise that we do while evaluating senior personnel for leadership qualities because leaders are often called on to make decisions which are not easy to implement. We use the tool to evaluate their clarity of thinking, emotional maturity and stability and decision making abilities.
Have seen a few more cities in Egypt courtesy work related travel....went to a local Hamam on one of these trips and while I think the Turkish ones are infinitely better, I felt like I had been cleaned, laundered, ironed and folded ' ready to wear! Egypt is indeed a fascinating country...the weather is starting to turn pleasant and the evenings are rather nice....
Please do comment including the so far silent readers, if any, lol! Hoping that I will, once again, see the old ones who might have forsaken the fic courtesy the long hiatus! If the part drags or is boring, blame it on my mood....lack of time and space have made me really grumpy!
Love you guys and miss you loads
Sam
Edited by bernard shaw - 16 years ago
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