Chapter 2: Forgotten Pasts
"Arnav..."
"Hmm?"
"Get up..."
"No..." he whined, pulling her closer.
"You're going to be late..."
"I don't care."
She gasped, "Did Arnav Singh Raizada just say he doesn't care if he's late?"
"Arnav Singh Raizada is perfectly happy where he is. And anyway, it's all your fault that I didn't get any sleep last night," he replied, hugging her closer, if that was possible, and planting a feathery light kisses along her bare shoulder.
"Arnav! Akash and Payal will be here soon with Aman, get up!" she said, struggling to get out of his arms.
He pouted, then pulled away reluctantly to make his way to the bathroom.
"I'll get you back for this soon Mrs. Raizada," he yelled as he shut the bathroom door behind him. "Very soon," he reaffirmed, opening the door to glare at her again.
"And I can't wait," she said winking at him with an impish grin.
Arnav gulped down his coffee, "I'm late!" he said again.
"We've already determined that remember?" Khushi replied bemusedly as she sipped leisurely at her cup. "And I thought someone said they didn't care."
He glared at her over the rim of the mug, pausing only to shovel some toast into his mouth.
The door banged open and Akash and Payal arrived, with a crying Aman in their arms.
"Khushi!"
"Bhabhi! Your little devil is crying away and we can't manage him anymore!" screamed a frustrated Akash as he handed over Aman to his mother.
"Don't you dare call my son a devil Akash." reprimanded Khushi, "He's an angel I tell you, a perfect angel," she took her son, who willingly jumped into her arms, and placed a kiss on his forehead.
Aman fell silent almost immediately causing Akash and Payal's mouths to fall open. Khushi smiled at Akash, who turned to Payal with a frown, "Why can't you do that?!"
"Because I'm not the baby's mother," she replied pointedly, punching him in the shoulder.
"Ow! That hurt!" he complained, rubbing his shoulder.
"Good. That was the point." she replied with a sarcastically sweet smile.
"Ok Akash, you spend your time here, while I head to the office" said an annoyed Arnav, "There's a lot of work, and no one to do it."
"Can I come?" Payal asked hopefully.
"No!" Akash replied, cutting Arnav off, "you are staying home and RESTING. R-E-S...resting!
An annoyed Arnav placed a kiss on his son's forehead as he rolled his eyes, after giving a peck to his wife's lips he grabbed his remaining coffee and headed out the door.
"Wait! Arnav bhai! I'm coming with you!" yelled a panicking Akash, giving Payal a kiss he rushed after his bhai, who by then had disappeared from view.
The two wives laughed watching their husbands leave, "These Raizada men. They'll never change."
"Anyway Khushi, I'll head back home. You seem to be really tired," said Payal, seeing how Khushi could barely stifle her yawns. "Seems like Arnav kept you up all night," she continued, teasing her best friend.
"Payal. Shut up." retorted Khushi, who could only pretend to be angry as her cheeks turned a crismon red.
"Don't worry. Don't worry. I know how it is," replied Payal as the two women shared a look, "Raizadas!" they yelled out simultaneously, bursting out in laughter.
Khushi had put just Aman into his crib for his afternoon nap, and was beginning to make her lunch when the bell rang.
That's obviously not Payal, she thought as she headed towards the door, spatula in hand. It better not be that creepy salesperson again! What part of 'I don't want to buy the stupid lifetime supply of rugs' does he not get?!?
She opened the door angrily, ready to start screaming at whoever it was. However, the only sound that could be heard was the clanking of the spatula as it hit the floor.
"Sh..Sh..Shyam?" she whispered hesitantly.
"Hi Khushi," he replied in a distant voice.
"I...you..here...What are you doing here?" she managed to stutter.
" It's nice to see you too," he scoffed.
"I..That's not what I..." she stuttered again.
"Don't worry Khushi, I know you're happy to see me!" He pushed his way past her into the house, signature leather jacket swung over his shoulder. "Are you alone Khushi Gup-, sorry Raizada?" he asked. "The husband's not around?"
"How did you-"
"I moved to a different city Khushi, not a different planet. Plus I went to AR first." he replied breezily.
By then he had settled himself onto the couch; flipping through the magazines littered on the coffee table indifferently, he continued talking. "So he's the CEO huh? Owns the whole company and heads the menswear section? Nice," he laughed bitterly.
Khushi internally cringed at his tone, but maintained an unfazed look as she questioned, "Shyam, why are you here?"
"I want to sell you a mango tree! Come on Khushi! We used to be best friends! I-"
"Really, because as far as I know, we haven't talked for over five years," she interrupted, arms crossed at his annoying behavior.
He looked up at her, head cocked, "Aww, you counted? How sweet!" He got up off the couch, approaching her, "Khushi! Khush Khush, haven't you ever heard the saying, the past is the past? Come on, lets put the past behind us," he grabbed a resistant Khushi into a bear hug. Pulling back he continued, "and you can tell me how much better I am compared to Mr. Raizada."
"Shyam," Khushi said, pushing him away, "Shyam, what are you doing here?"
"I told you baby, I was in the city and-"
"Shyam. Cut. The. Crap. Why are you really here?" she cut him off swiftly, her annoyance with the situation clearly evident.
He pursed his lips, thinking. "Ok. So. I wasn't really just in the city."
"I figured."
"Look Khushi," he reached for her hands but she stepped back, causing him to raise his hands in defeat. Stepping back he fell back onto the couch, "Look, I was going through my stuff the other day, and I was like, 'Shyam you are an idiot! You let Khushi Gupta go!' And so I decided I would find you, and see if we could work things out..."
"You are an idiot."
He opened his mouth to speak, then closed it again, head hanging. Brushing his floppy hair aside he spoke again, "So I'm kinda late but we still love each other-"
Khushi was about to interrupt again when a wail erupted from Aman's room.
Shyam balked, as he turned to stare at her wide eyed "Wow. I am really late."
Rolling her eyes, Khushi walked past him to the nursery. He followed close behind, peering over her shoulder at the tiny bundle in the big crib, "O My God!" he said.
"Shyam! Leave!"
He raised his hands in defense, "Alright alright, I'm leaving!" he paused at the doorway, "I'll be in the kitchen, hungry you know?"
Khushi's mouth fell open, as she watched him go, What the hell was I thinking in business school? she thought as she rocked her baby. Once she finally got Aman to fall asleep again, she entered the kitchen to see Shyam had expertly finished not only making, but also eating the lunch she had begun before his entry.
"Shyam!" she said insistently, " as you can see, I'm happy as I am, and I definitely do NOT need you back in my life."
"Khushi darling," he replied brashly, "People don't need Shyam Jha in their lives, they want him." He continued speaking coolly, rummaging through the cupboards, "Khushi, don't you have anything good to eat? Like some pizza or something?"
"Shyam. Seriously. You need to leave the house. Now," Khushi answered as she pulled the plate out of his hand and closed the cupboards forcefully.
"Come on Khushi! Athithi Devo Bhava remember?" he replied, refusing to budge.
"Shyam. Manohar. Jha."
"Ok, ok, I'm going!" he headed towards the the front door, turning to walk backwards he added, "but only for now. And only of you promise I can meet the Mr. Raizada you left me for."
Khushi sighed, exsasperated, "Shyam please just leave, and not just my house, my life."
"I'm going now," he said, "but I'll be back," he continued imitating the Terminator, "This isn't the last you've seen of Shyam Manohar Jha, Mrs.Khushi Raizada."
41