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Part 9
Amit yelled "Maan" to get Maan's attention. Just when Maan heard his name he also heard her name at the other end of the hall. He waved to Amit signalling not to worry and walked in direction of her name. Could it really be her, was he hearing voices now? Could it be that Geeta was in the same dorms as Gaurav?, these questions ran through his head. While he attended Harvard, the females and males were not housed on the same floors. It seemed times had changed. He kept on walking.
"Geet" Kate yelled, "where do you want me to put Geeta's snacks, there is no more space in the tiny cupboard" Geet wasn't listening, she could have sworn she had heard his name, she was sure. Could it be? She signalled Kate to do what ever she thought best and started walking in the direction that she had heard his name.
When they finally saw each other, the world disappeared around them, only the two of them existed, 18 years had been too long. They kept on walking towards each other until they were only a few inches away from each other, they just took in the sight of each other for a few minutes, time had stood still for them, neither one seemed to have aged. She looked like she was in her 20s, no one would have guessed she was in her mid 30s. The years had been kind to Maan too, he was still the handsome looking man she had left behind. Their first words after all these years were uttered together softly"you look exactly the same as you did all those years ago"
They broke out of their daze when they heard Geeta calling out to her mom to complain "Mamma you bought too much food, Kate Masi has tried to jam as much as she could into the cupboard but it wont fit." She was walking towards them, they quickly composed themselves for her sake.
Maan smiled, she looked and sounded just like Geet. Once she got to them she looked at her mom and complained."Mamma, why aren't you in the room, we need to know what to do with the extra stuff you packed?"She then noticed the gentleman standing close to her mom and looked at him questioningly.
Geet thinking on her toes said,"Sorry meera baccha, I just ran into this business associate of mine from India (pointing at Maan), he is here helping a family friend move in today, I was just talking to him. Its been a really really long time since we last saw each other and I lost track of time. I didn't mean to leave you"
Geeta was still waiting to be introduced, so as Geet looked at Maan, taking her signal, he offered his hand and due to years of habit said,"Hi, I am Maan Singh Khurana, it is a pleasure to meet you."Geet winced and he too got ridged as soon as he realized what he had done.
Geeta, shook his hand and said "Hi I am Geeta Khurana, what a coincidence, we have the same last name." Maan thinking quickly replied,"Yes, we do, Khurana is a medium-ly common last name in India, I know at least 9 other people with the last name Khurana., you should be glad that you live here where it is unique" Geeta laughed at Maan's answer.
Geeta smiled at her mom and said, "He seems nice, why don't you go catch up for old times sake, I am sure I will be fine here with the others." Geet smiled at her daughter.
Once Geeta had left she noticed Maan's eyes had welled up, he was trying to say something but as he tried to speak his voice cracked. He couldn't say the words and Geet slowly put her hand on his chest to give him strength. He was overwhelmed with emotion. Grasping the look in Maan's eyes, Geet, called out to Adi. Adi came right away and on seeing Maan he knew what had happened. He asked Maan in what room the Mehras were and if they needed anything. Maan softly told him the room number and that they were hungry and thirsty.
There was enough extra food and drinks in Geeta's room to feed a small army. Adi took the food and drinks to the Mehras and apologised for Maan's absence. He told them that there had been an important development and that Maan's attention was required completely for that matter. The Mehras told him that they understood that in business you never knew what would happen and that they were just glad that Maan had helped them out in the first place.
Geet held Maan's hand and took him outside to the Jeep. She didn't want him to regret crying in front of everyone, later. She made him sit in the passenger side seat and got into the driver side. She put her seat belt on and asked him to do the same, he obeyed quietly. Before leaving, she called Kate and said"he is here, Geeta just met him and I need to talk to him; take care of Geeta until I get back" Kate didn't ask any questions she knew who 'he' was.
Geet started to drive, after about 5 minutes she pulled into the parking lot of a restaurant and looked at Maan, he was still eerily silent, she got out of the car went over to the passenger side and opened the door. She didn't know what to do next, her instincts took over; she turned his head so that he faced her and gently kissed him. Her kiss spoke volumes, one tiny kiss divulged to him what he meant to her, he felt joy, gratitude, serenity, hope, pride and love. She was joyous for seeing him, she felt gratitude for all that he had done and had put himself through for her sake, she felt serene being close to him, she felt hopeful and she was proud of their love.
He looked at her and got out the car, once out, he hugged her tight, so tight that Geet had tell him he was hurting her, he loosened his grip and apologized. Somethings would never change, he would always forget how strong he was and end up hurting her and would then feel guilty.
He looked at her, he bent down and kissed her. He was finally home. He beamed from ear to ear. Seeing him smile and return to some normalcy made Geet feel better, she was not used to being the strong and reliable one, that was his role.
She suggested they go into the restaurant so that they could talk, he didn't want to move, he just wanted to stand there with her in his arms, but she insisted, she was sure he hadn't eaten anything all day. He didn't argue, he followed her; he would have followed her to the edge of the earth if she had permitted.
They sat down ordered their food and once they were served, Geet finally asked the question,"Maan, why are you here?"
Maan looked her straight in the eyes and said "I am not going to lie to you, I am here to see my daughter on her first day at Harvard, the truth is that you weren't supposed to see me. I had to help an old family friend's grandson settle in and once I was done I was going to follow you around and see you settle Geeta in from afar."
With tears in his eyes he took a deep breath and continued "I just wanted to be there today, I have missed so much, I didn't get to see her grow up, I wasn't there when she got hurt for the first time, I wasn't there when her first tooth fell out, I wasn't there on her first day of Kindergarten, I was not allowed to be there for any of the important moments in her life. I wanted to be here for this one." and finally with some emotion that could only be described as being between pain and pride he said "she is my daughter too."
Geet was in tears, she had seen the torment in his eyes, she knew that her being away from him was difficult for him, she just hadn't realized the extent of the hurt it had brought him. It had been difficult for her too, staying away from him but in this instance she had recognized that it had been twice as difficult for him; she only had to deal with being apart from one person, he on the other hand had dealt with two losses.
She had stayed quiet while he answered her question. She wanted to atone for her keeping him away (from them) all these years, however before she could, he stopped her in his usual way, he put his hand on her mouth and said "Chup."
He had to lighten his heart after all these years, he felt it was necessary for him to be heard; for her to hear him. He had let her speak the last time they were together, today was his turn. He continued, "I know it was important for you to stay away and to keep her away from all the mess and hurt, she is an intelligent person like you and I know it would have been difficult to answer her questions, so I am not angry at you. I am angry at fate. Today I couldn't even hug you when I saw you because if she had seen us, she would have had questions, I couldn't even pull my own daughter into my own arms and tell her how proud I am of her" he paused and then continued "I couldn't give her advise like every other parent gives their child on their first day away from home. This is not fair."
He swallowed hard and consequently said, "Geet we can't keep on living like this, we are meant to be together, there is not Maan without Geet and you know that there in no Geet without Maan."
"Come back to me Geet, come back with me Geet.", he pleaded.
Geet shook her head signalling a 'NO.' She couldn't come back with him to that house where there were so many bad memories of bad people. She knew that Dadima was still alive and she didn't deserve to have her life turned upside down at the age of 88. She also knew that Dev and his wife came often to visit Dadi and she was a 100% sure that even after all these years she could bare to see their faces.
She did however tell him that they would spend some time together in the next few days and come up with a better compromise unlike the one made 18 years ago where it was totally up to her to decide their future lives. As for now they had to return to Harvard, to avoid any suspicion from Geeta. He could stay with her until they left Geeta under the pretense of a business associate.
Maan agreed with her, this was better than nothing and it was more than what he had in the last 18 years.
She held his hand as they payed the bill and walked out of the restaurant hand in hand.
Once in the Jeep, Maan started to laugh as he saw her get into the driver side seat. Geet looked at him annoyingly but Maan wouldn't stop, he asked,"Geet do you remember how you destroyed my tent and almost killed me with my Jeep." "That's the thanks you gave me for saving your life." He continued to laugh. Geet looked at him and muttered "Dusth Danav"
After a second she too started laughing she told him how Geeta had learnt to say "Mujeh bakshado" just like Maan when she was irritated and wanted something from Geet. She told Maan that Geeta did however use the phrase sparingly unlike him. "She even says the words exactly like you, adding an 'a' in between baksh and do"Geet proclaimed.
Geet drove them back to Harvard telling Maan other little funny stories about their daughter. Once they got to Harvard, Geet kissed Maan and said "I waited long enough to do that and I am not sure how long I may have to wait again" Maan leaned in closer and kissed her with such passion that once they separated Geet had to take deep breaths to come back to earth.
The got out the car and pretended nothing had happened, they waked at least a foot apart from each other and went to Geeta's room.
It had been a long day and Geeta was exhausted, it seemed Harvard was going to be hard. She looked at her watch and signalled everyone in the room that it was time to leave. Kate and Devi hugged Geeta first, they knew they were going to not get a chance later. Pinky and Adi too hugged her and stepped out of the room. Finally Geet hugged her tight and wouldn't let go. Kate and Devi had to pry her off of Geeta. They had to literally drag her out Geeta's room. Lastly Maan gave Geeta a firm hand shake and after wishing her all the joy and success in the world he left the room.
Geeta closed the door and sat on her bed thinking today was the first day she was without her mother. She didn't know what she would do all alone but she knew she had to figure it out fast. It has been a long and hard journey getting into Harvard and she was not going to ruin it. Another thing that came to her mind was her mother's expression when Mr. Khurana had introduced himself. There was something odd about that look, she had never seen that look on her mother's face. Also her mother who never left her alone on important occasions had so readily accepted her suggestion to go catch up with Mr. Khurana. Geeta was puzzled, however she decided she would try to figure out what had happened another day. Today she was just going to enjoy her new digs. She took off her shoes, plugged in her earphones, flopped on the bed and relaxed.
Geet was crying after leaving her daughter. She didn't know what to do next. Maan held her once they were away from Geeta's room, while their friends surrounded them just to be safe, they felt protective and shielded the two of them from the world.
Adi decided that it is important to give Geet and Maan some space and told Pinky that they would stay in a hotel and not at Geet's home when they returned to NYC. Kate and Devi got into their car and finally Maan took back the role of caretaker from Geet, he put her in the passenger side seat, buckled her in and got into the drivers seat. He then drove away from Harvard like every other parent who had just dropped their child off.
Spoiler
"Maan, where are you going?"
Now keep on thinking what is going to happen😈
Ok, all you greedy little Maaneetians. 😉
I hope this super long part made you all so very happy.
Didn't Mommy teach you not to be greedy and to share? Well I know she did so now that you have gotten a really long part; it is time to start sharing your opinions. Leave lots and lots of comments.
Don't make me sad by not sharing your comments. You don't want to make me cry, do you? 😭
My next update will be in a few days, that is of course unless you all convince me to update sooner.
Enjoy
Amit yelled "Maan" to get Maan's attention. Just when Maan heard his name he also heard her name at the other end of the hall. He waved to Amit signalling not to worry and walked in direction of her name. Could it really be her, was he hearing voices now? Could it be that Geeta was in the same dorms as Gaurav?, these questions ran through his head. While he attended Harvard, the females and males were not housed on the same floors. It seemed times had changed. He kept on walking.
"Geet" Kate yelled, "where do you want me to put Geeta's snacks, there is no more space in the tiny cupboard" Geet wasn't listening, she could have sworn she had heard his name, she was sure. Could it be? She signalled Kate to do what ever she thought best and started walking in the direction that she had heard his name.
When they finally saw each other, the world disappeared around them, only the two of them existed, 18 years had been too long. They kept on walking towards each other until they were only a few inches away from each other, they just took in the sight of each other for a few minutes, time had stood still for them, neither one seemed to have aged. She looked like she was in her 20s, no one would have guessed she was in her mid 30s. The years had been kind to Maan too, he was still the handsome looking man she had left behind. Their first words after all these years were uttered together softly"you look exactly the same as you did all those years ago"
They broke out of their daze when they heard Geeta calling out to her mom to complain "Mamma you bought too much food, Kate Masi has tried to jam as much as she could into the cupboard but it wont fit." She was walking towards them, they quickly composed themselves for her sake.
Maan smiled, she looked and sounded just like Geet. Once she got to them she looked at her mom and complained."Mamma, why aren't you in the room, we need to know what to do with the extra stuff you packed?"She then noticed the gentleman standing close to her mom and looked at him questioningly.
Geet thinking on her toes said,"Sorry meera baccha, I just ran into this business associate of mine from India (pointing at Maan), he is here helping a family friend move in today, I was just talking to him. Its been a really really long time since we last saw each other and I lost track of time. I didn't mean to leave you"
Geeta was still waiting to be introduced, so as Geet looked at Maan, taking her signal, he offered his hand and due to years of habit said,"Hi, I am Maan Singh Khurana, it is a pleasure to meet you."Geet winced and he too got ridged as soon as he realized what he had done.
Geeta, shook his hand and said "Hi I am Geeta Khurana, what a coincidence, we have the same last name." Maan thinking quickly replied,"Yes, we do, Khurana is a medium-ly common last name in India, I know at least 9 other people with the last name Khurana., you should be glad that you live here where it is unique" Geeta laughed at Maan's answer.
Geeta smiled at her mom and said, "He seems nice, why don't you go catch up for old times sake, I am sure I will be fine here with the others." Geet smiled at her daughter.
Once Geeta had left she noticed Maan's eyes had welled up, he was trying to say something but as he tried to speak his voice cracked. He couldn't say the words and Geet slowly put her hand on his chest to give him strength. He was overwhelmed with emotion. Grasping the look in Maan's eyes, Geet, called out to Adi. Adi came right away and on seeing Maan he knew what had happened. He asked Maan in what room the Mehras were and if they needed anything. Maan softly told him the room number and that they were hungry and thirsty.
There was enough extra food and drinks in Geeta's room to feed a small army. Adi took the food and drinks to the Mehras and apologised for Maan's absence. He told them that there had been an important development and that Maan's attention was required completely for that matter. The Mehras told him that they understood that in business you never knew what would happen and that they were just glad that Maan had helped them out in the first place.
Geet held Maan's hand and took him outside to the Jeep. She didn't want him to regret crying in front of everyone, later. She made him sit in the passenger side seat and got into the driver side. She put her seat belt on and asked him to do the same, he obeyed quietly. Before leaving, she called Kate and said"he is here, Geeta just met him and I need to talk to him; take care of Geeta until I get back" Kate didn't ask any questions she knew who 'he' was.
Geet started to drive, after about 5 minutes she pulled into the parking lot of a restaurant and looked at Maan, he was still eerily silent, she got out of the car went over to the passenger side and opened the door. She didn't know what to do next, her instincts took over; she turned his head so that he faced her and gently kissed him. Her kiss spoke volumes, one tiny kiss divulged to him what he meant to her, he felt joy, gratitude, serenity, hope, pride and love. She was joyous for seeing him, she felt gratitude for all that he had done and had put himself through for her sake, she felt serene being close to him, she felt hopeful and she was proud of their love.
He looked at her and got out the car, once out, he hugged her tight, so tight that Geet had tell him he was hurting her, he loosened his grip and apologized. Somethings would never change, he would always forget how strong he was and end up hurting her and would then feel guilty.
He looked at her, he bent down and kissed her. He was finally home. He beamed from ear to ear. Seeing him smile and return to some normalcy made Geet feel better, she was not used to being the strong and reliable one, that was his role.
She suggested they go into the restaurant so that they could talk, he didn't want to move, he just wanted to stand there with her in his arms, but she insisted, she was sure he hadn't eaten anything all day. He didn't argue, he followed her; he would have followed her to the edge of the earth if she had permitted.
They sat down ordered their food and once they were served, Geet finally asked the question,"Maan, why are you here?"
Maan looked her straight in the eyes and said "I am not going to lie to you, I am here to see my daughter on her first day at Harvard, the truth is that you weren't supposed to see me. I had to help an old family friend's grandson settle in and once I was done I was going to follow you around and see you settle Geeta in from afar."
With tears in his eyes he took a deep breath and continued "I just wanted to be there today, I have missed so much, I didn't get to see her grow up, I wasn't there when she got hurt for the first time, I wasn't there when her first tooth fell out, I wasn't there on her first day of Kindergarten, I was not allowed to be there for any of the important moments in her life. I wanted to be here for this one." and finally with some emotion that could only be described as being between pain and pride he said "she is my daughter too."
Geet was in tears, she had seen the torment in his eyes, she knew that her being away from him was difficult for him, she just hadn't realized the extent of the hurt it had brought him. It had been difficult for her too, staying away from him but in this instance she had recognized that it had been twice as difficult for him; she only had to deal with being apart from one person, he on the other hand had dealt with two losses.
She had stayed quiet while he answered her question. She wanted to atone for her keeping him away (from them) all these years, however before she could, he stopped her in his usual way, he put his hand on her mouth and said "Chup."
He had to lighten his heart after all these years, he felt it was necessary for him to be heard; for her to hear him. He had let her speak the last time they were together, today was his turn. He continued, "I know it was important for you to stay away and to keep her away from all the mess and hurt, she is an intelligent person like you and I know it would have been difficult to answer her questions, so I am not angry at you. I am angry at fate. Today I couldn't even hug you when I saw you because if she had seen us, she would have had questions, I couldn't even pull my own daughter into my own arms and tell her how proud I am of her" he paused and then continued "I couldn't give her advise like every other parent gives their child on their first day away from home. This is not fair."
He swallowed hard and consequently said, "Geet we can't keep on living like this, we are meant to be together, there is not Maan without Geet and you know that there in no Geet without Maan."
"Come back to me Geet, come back with me Geet.", he pleaded.
Geet shook her head signalling a 'NO.' She couldn't come back with him to that house where there were so many bad memories of bad people. She knew that Dadima was still alive and she didn't deserve to have her life turned upside down at the age of 88. She also knew that Dev and his wife came often to visit Dadi and she was a 100% sure that even after all these years she could bare to see their faces.
She did however tell him that they would spend some time together in the next few days and come up with a better compromise unlike the one made 18 years ago where it was totally up to her to decide their future lives. As for now they had to return to Harvard, to avoid any suspicion from Geeta. He could stay with her until they left Geeta under the pretense of a business associate.
Maan agreed with her, this was better than nothing and it was more than what he had in the last 18 years.
She held his hand as they payed the bill and walked out of the restaurant hand in hand.
Once in the Jeep, Maan started to laugh as he saw her get into the driver side seat. Geet looked at him annoyingly but Maan wouldn't stop, he asked,"Geet do you remember how you destroyed my tent and almost killed me with my Jeep." "That's the thanks you gave me for saving your life." He continued to laugh. Geet looked at him and muttered "Dusth Danav"
After a second she too started laughing she told him how Geeta had learnt to say "Mujeh bakshado" just like Maan when she was irritated and wanted something from Geet. She told Maan that Geeta did however use the phrase sparingly unlike him. "She even says the words exactly like you, adding an 'a' in between baksh and do"Geet proclaimed.
Geet drove them back to Harvard telling Maan other little funny stories about their daughter. Once they got to Harvard, Geet kissed Maan and said "I waited long enough to do that and I am not sure how long I may have to wait again" Maan leaned in closer and kissed her with such passion that once they separated Geet had to take deep breaths to come back to earth.
The got out the car and pretended nothing had happened, they waked at least a foot apart from each other and went to Geeta's room.
It had been a long day and Geeta was exhausted, it seemed Harvard was going to be hard. She looked at her watch and signalled everyone in the room that it was time to leave. Kate and Devi hugged Geeta first, they knew they were going to not get a chance later. Pinky and Adi too hugged her and stepped out of the room. Finally Geet hugged her tight and wouldn't let go. Kate and Devi had to pry her off of Geeta. They had to literally drag her out Geeta's room. Lastly Maan gave Geeta a firm hand shake and after wishing her all the joy and success in the world he left the room.
Geeta closed the door and sat on her bed thinking today was the first day she was without her mother. She didn't know what she would do all alone but she knew she had to figure it out fast. It has been a long and hard journey getting into Harvard and she was not going to ruin it. Another thing that came to her mind was her mother's expression when Mr. Khurana had introduced himself. There was something odd about that look, she had never seen that look on her mother's face. Also her mother who never left her alone on important occasions had so readily accepted her suggestion to go catch up with Mr. Khurana. Geeta was puzzled, however she decided she would try to figure out what had happened another day. Today she was just going to enjoy her new digs. She took off her shoes, plugged in her earphones, flopped on the bed and relaxed.
Geet was crying after leaving her daughter. She didn't know what to do next. Maan held her once they were away from Geeta's room, while their friends surrounded them just to be safe, they felt protective and shielded the two of them from the world.
Adi decided that it is important to give Geet and Maan some space and told Pinky that they would stay in a hotel and not at Geet's home when they returned to NYC. Kate and Devi got into their car and finally Maan took back the role of caretaker from Geet, he put her in the passenger side seat, buckled her in and got into the drivers seat. He then drove away from Harvard like every other parent who had just dropped their child off.
Spoiler
"Maan, where are you going?"
Now keep on thinking what is going to happen😈
Ok, all you greedy little Maaneetians. 😉
I hope this super long part made you all so very happy.
Didn't Mommy teach you not to be greedy and to share? Well I know she did so now that you have gotten a really long part; it is time to start sharing your opinions. Leave lots and lots of comments.
Don't make me sad by not sharing your comments. You don't want to make me cry, do you? 😭
My next update will be in a few days, that is of course unless you all convince me to update sooner.
Enjoy
Bade Achche Lagte Hain Naya Season
Cricket
