Part 20: Remembering
Khushi sat in her office the following day, reading the article about their organization in the paper. Just like she wanted, her name or her children's name wasn't included anywhere. She was referenced to as 'The manager' of the organization.
Following that article was an article about a group of people who were trying to attempt to break the world record for the largest formation of skydivers. Her heart hammered in her chest at the word 'Skydivers'.
Her mind quickly turned the pages of the book of her past and stopped at one of her cherished chapters. Her weekend getaway with Arnav.
Arnav's work kept him busy enough on the weekdays. He did try to come back home as soon as possible to make sure he spent time with his wife. However, after their wedding, the idea of them going on a honeymoon had never cropped up.
"I'll talk to Arnav when he comes back! This is not done!" Payal complained to Nani and Akash.
Khushi just smiled. "It's really okay. It's not a big deal..."
"It is a big deal! When Chotte comes back, I will talk to him. You two should go away for a few days and spend some time together. You've only been married for a month!" Nani explained to Khushi.
"Nani...you know he's only working so hard to make the company more successful...and as far as I'm concerned...He spends enough time with me. I don't feel like he's neglecting me because of work. When he's not here, I have all of you to give me company!"
"That's the point...you two wont get to really know each other if you're constantly surrounded by family." Akash teased. "You two have to go for a trip."
"We are going." Arnav's voice boomed in the living room.
Khushi held her breath and turned to look at him. To her surprise, he had a gentle smile on his face.
"I was just going to talk to you about that today. I've rescheduled all of my Friday's meetings. Aman had put together a trip plan for the three days. We will be back by Sunday night." He said taking a seat next to Khushi.
Khushi was dying to ask him about the sudden plans but she saved her questions for when they would be alone. Once they got to their room, however, they started packing right away. After several minutes, Khushi finally found a chance to ask him.
"So when did Aman plan all this?"
"We actually started planning last week. I wanted to surprise you but since they were bugging you with all those questions...I decided that it was best to mention it then." Arnav answered without looking at her as he packed a few t-shirts into his bag.
Khushi put her bag of toiletries she'd been holding into the bag and looked at him. "I'm still surprised." She smiled sweetly when he looked at her. "You're going to take a day off from work for this?"
He tilted his head sideways and raised an eyebrow. "I'm just trying to change con numbers four, five, and six on your list." Her eyes widened and cheeks flushed red. Arnav held up his index finger. "Con number four was that I'm unromantic." He held up one more finger. "Con number five was that I'm not fun loving." He held up the third finger. "Con number six was that I spend too much time in the office."
Khushi averted her gaze and blushed a deeper shade of crimson. He smiled at her and went back to packing his suitcase. Once both suitcases were packed, he put the luggage by the door and started heading towards the washroom.
Just then, to his surprise, Khushi grabbed his hand by the wrist. He turned to look at her questioningly.
"Thank you." She said in a quiet voice.
"For what?" He questioned.
"For doing this." She nudged her chin towards the luggage. "I know how much you love work and for you to take time away from it...I really appreciate it."
Arnav breathed out and cautiously put his hands on her shoulders—unsure of how she might react. "The only reason why I spent long hours at the office was because I didn't really have anything to come back to at home. Now I do. I have a wife at home who waits for me. I have a reason to be home. As far as this weekend is concerned...I did it for us."
He didn't explain further and she didn't prompt him. She knew how difficult it was for him to put his feeling into words. For him to have said all that must've taken a lot of effort on his part. The fact that he was making an honest effort—just like she was—was enough to satisfy her.
The next day, the couple bid the family goodbye and drove off towards the airport. At the airport, Khushi realized that they weren't taking a regular flight—they were flying in a private plane. Khushi looked at Arnav wide-eyed as she started boarding the giant vehicle which had a stylish 'AR' painted on its tail wing.
"How come I don't know that you own a plane?" She asked as soon as they took their seats.
Arnav shrugged. "I don't find it necessary to brag about it. You know about the chopper though, I'm sure."
She nodded. She did know about the chopper. She had travelled in it with Akash for a couple of fashion shows. In an hour and half the pilot announced their landing. Khushi was too engrossed in her conversation with Arnav to look outside. But when she did, she was surprised at the amount of snow on the floor. Back in Toronto, the snow had melted away and the temperatures were slowly returning to above zero degrees.
"Where are we?" She asked, afraid that she hadn't packed for this weather. What she didn't know was that Arnav had already planned for this.
"Thunder bay. Our first stop." He said leading her towards the exit.
On their drive to the hotel, she stared out of the window the entire time, surprised and stunned by the beauty of the enormous amounts of snow. Arnav looked at her childlike reaction and simply smiled to himself.
Once at the resort, Khushi only had enough time to get dressed in a snowsuit and don heavy snow boots. She was glad to see Arnav outside of his business mode. He seemed just as excited about this trip as she did. He could hardly contain his excitement as he—unintentionally—put an arm around her shoulders and ushered her out to their car.
"We have no time to sit around! It's going to be a busy two days, Khushi! There is so much to do!"
"Where are we headed?" Khushi asked, still confused at all the rush.
"You'll see. I don't want to ruin the surprise."
A few minutes later, Khushi found herself holding a giant rubber tube and gaping open-mouthed at the steep hill she was standing on top of. She saw the two people in front of her hop onto the tube on their bellies and kick off with their toes.
Her eyes widened as their tubes picked up speed and they disappeared around the corner. He had brought her snow tubing!
When it was their turn, Khushi put the tube down on the floor and gingerly sat in the tube, clutching the handles with all her might. She squeezed her eyes shut but heard Arnav put his snow tube next to hers.
"It's no fun if you keep your eyes closed." He teased.
She pouted but didn't open her eyes. Arnav chuckled lightly and reached over to grab one of the handles on her rubber tube. She looked at his hand clutching the handle and moved her hand to make sure he got a better grip. She looked at him thankfully and he smiled back.
Then, when she least expected it, the instructor gave them a big push and their tubes started sliding down the ice-sleek slope. Khushi's expression was frozen surprised until they turned the seventh corner and she saw the steepest hill they would encounter on this 'adventure'. Her hand instinctively let go of the handle and she grabbed a hand full of Arnav's sleeve in her hand.
She giggled and screamed down the hill and when they finally came to a stop, she burst out into laughter.
"That was amazing!" she exclaimed. She got up a little too quickly, slipped on the icy surface. With a yelp, her butt hit the floor. She burst into laughter at her own fall which amazed Arnav. He continued to watch her with a goofy smile.
"You're allowed to laugh if you want. That was pretty funny." Khushi said to him, still giggling.
Arnav chuckled lightly and offered her a hand. She stood up and brushed off the snow dust off of her clothes. At her request, they slid down the hill a few more times until Arnav finally put his foot down.
"I know you're really enjoying this but I have something else planned for today too. I'm sure you'll like that just as much as this, if not more." He said ushering away towards their next destination.
They were back in their car, driving away when she turned to him with a puppy face, making him feel bad.
"Stop that. I swear you'll like this adventure too. If you don't, I promise I'll bring you back here." Arnav stated honestly.
Khushi gave in at last. She figured that she might as well approach the next adventure with an open mind considering what an amazing time she had at the previous one.
Once again, they got off at some kind of resort with lots of surrounding snow. Here, the snow was deeper than the last place. As they walked closer to the cabin which looked like a barn, Khushi saw the slope behind it and saw people sliding down—in a different manner than snow-tubing. She turned to him in a whiff.
"We're skiing?"
Arnav scoffed. "No. I have something else planned."
A few minutes later, she was handed a snowsuit and a helmet. She raised an eyebrow at the equipment in her hand but went and got ready anyway. She held her goggles in her hand and made her way back to Arnav. He put a gloved hand on her back and led her towards an exit. A few meters ahead, there was a ski lift which was taking riders high up into the mountain.
She openly admired the beauty of the location with its bright white snow and dark-green evergreen pine trees. When they got off at the other end of the lift, they walked through yet another cabin.
Arnav held the door open for her while she walked out and then froze in the doorway when she saw what was awaiting her. A Snowmobile. Before she had time to say anything, Arnav was already seated behind the controls, waiting for her to take her seat behind him.
She couldn't deny that she was disappointed a bit. What's so fun about driving around in a snowmobile anyway? She'd rather go back to the other place and take a couple more slides down the hill. She took her seat behind him anyway and immediately realized how close they would be for this 'adventure'.
Arnav turned his head to the side. "You better hold on tight."
She placed her hands on his shoulders lightly. Arnav started the mobile and drove off and headed up a small hill marked by small orange cones. When they were almost at the top, Arnav warned her to hold on tight but she didn't take it seriously.
She regretted it the very next second when Arnav's snowmobile picked up speed and shot down the slope. With a yelp, she placed her hands around Arnav's waist one by one and held on for dear life. Her move must've alarmed him because in the next couple of seconds, he lost control over the speed and now they were going even faster than before.
Khushi felt adrenaline rush into her veins as the path started twisting and turning, sloping up and down repeatedly. She was amazed at how coolly Arnav manoeuvred the vehicle on the twisted path. The confidence with which he looked ahead at the road and how he sat straight-spined and strong on the vehicle was kind of sexy to Khushi.
With every lurch of the mobile, she felt herself push into Arnav's muscled back and felt herself blush. After about fifteen minutes on this adventure, Khushi found herself enjoying every bit of it. The thrill and excitement of the speed, the feeling of rushing past heaps of snow and leaving it flying about in dust behind them, the warm adrenaline in her veins—all summed up to an amazing time.
She found her spirits sinking as he slowed down on a long stretch of flat ground. The area was at least as big as three football fields. He took her arms off from his waist and got off. He lifted off his helmet and Khushi was floored by the look on his face. She felt her stomach explode in a burst of butterflies and he shook his matted hair free. She forced herself to stop staring at him when he looked at her.
He jerked his head towards his seat, gesturing for her to drive. She shook her head and took off her own helmet. Arnav crossed his arms and frowned at her. She still looked horrified. She glanced between him and the controller.
"Hmm. I thought I married a woman who liked challenges." He challenged her openly.
She looked at him with a raised eyebrow. She quickly took the seat behind the controller to prove him wrong. With a smug smirk, he took the seat behind her. With help from Arnav, Khushi learnt how to drive the insane vehicle.
Once they got back to the resort where they were staying, both were too exhausted from the day's activities and fell asleep in minutes. Much to Khushi's annoyance, Arnav woke her up an hour past midnight. She moaned and groaned as she changed and walked out of the resort room.
They boarded his private jet again and flew off to their next destination. Still exhausted, both spent majority of their flight sleeping. In fact, Khushi was so tired that she was still half asleep when Arnav helped her out to their car.
Khushi completely woke up after she had a chance to freshen up at their hotel room and have a healthy breakfast.
"So where have you brought me now?"
"You didn't realize it all the way here?" Arnav looked at her seriously.
Khushi gave him a bored look. "No. I was too busy catching up on my sleep because you woke me up at one in the morning."
Arnav gave her a sheepish smile. "I guess we'll keep our location a surprise then...but when you dress to leave, make sure you dress for the beach."
"The beach? But its winter time and there's all that sn—" She cut off mid sentence when she realized that there was bright yellow sunlight pouring into their room from the window.
She gasped and put her coffee cup down before rushing to the window. She looked around the snowless city they were in now with her mouth slightly open. The green trees were swaying in gentle breeze. People were in summer clothes riding bikes or walking around on the street below.
"I had Payal Bhabhi pack a few summer clothes from your closet...you should have a few outfits. Now go and change, we're getting late!" He said impatiently.
Khushi controlled the urge to give him a big kiss on his cheek and skipped merrily to the washroom. When she was showered and changed, she stepped out and was surprise to find that Arnav was gone.
"Gone to check today's plan. Be back by 11" Said a note that he'd left on the mirror.
Khushi had just finished brushing her hair when Arnav stepped in.
"Khushi...everything's set. We'll head down if you—" He cut off mid sentence as he took in the sight in front of him.
Khushi stood in front of him in a pair of black shorts which ended a few inches above her knees matched with a green camouflage patterned tank top. Her hair fell in loose waves and her face glowed without any help from any make-up product.
Arnav couldn't stop his eyes from giving her a thorough scan from head to toe and he was sure she noticed him looking at her. But he didn't care. Ever since he'd met her, he had either seen her in business casuals or Indian suits and sarees. This was a new change for him and he loved it. He'd always seen her in the light which described her beautiful, cute, and sweet. Today was the first time he was seeing her in a light which invited adjectives such as 'sultry', 'hot', and even 'sexy'.
"Should I change into something else?" She questioned, mistaking his stare as his disapproval of the outfit.
"NO!...I mean...no. There's no time for that...and...Well...you...I mean...this...you look fine." He stammered.
Khushi, herself, was surprised at seeing Arnav in a simple white polo shirt and black jeans. She wished he dressed like that more often rather than his business suits and track suits.
Just like the day before, they were on the road again and Khushi was stirring in her seat, too excited and curious to not ask where they were going but Arnav decided to keep mute about it. She had now figured out that they were in Florida. She tried to distract her curious mind by admiring the beautiful city.
*
"Oh come on. Just like you liked snow-tubing and snowmobiling, you'll like this too!" Arnav tried to convince her.
Khushi gulped as she looked skywards at the two small dots that were supposed to be people, harnessed to a sail.
"I've gone parasailing before, you'll be fine. I'll be with you the entire time." He said lovingly.
"You can kiss your arm goodbye." She frowned at him, giving in.
He chuckled and urged her towards their boat. She took Arnav's hand with authority when getting on to the boat and much to Arnav's surprise, she didn't let go.
Once their boat had travelled a fair distance from the shore, the instructors started harnessing the lovely couple to the giant balloon which would carry them skywards.
When the tethered rope started giving way, their balloon rose high up in the air until the boat was the size of a penny below them. Khushi was in a burst of giggles as her feet dangled in the air, her hair flew around in the wind, and her hand safely secured in Arnav's.
She had never imagined that she would be 'flying' in the sky quite so literally. The joy of being so free at that height with her life-partner brought her a sweet joy and she was highly disappointed when their balloon started descending towards the water again.
Once they'd left the beach, all Khushi could do was talk about her experience of her first parasail. Arnav added his comments and nods where applicable but otherwise just listened to her blabber away. He was waiting for her to ask him about their next adventure but she never did. When the car stopped, Arnav turned to her and noticed the inevitable excitement on her face.
"You know...I'm surprised you haven't asked me where we're going now." He said honestly.
Khushi shrugged. "Everywhere you've taken me so far...I've had a great time. I think I'm done asking you questions."
Arnav smiled and stepped out of the car. As usual, he held the door open for her. Within the next ten minutes, Khushi knew where she was and even though her knees felt weak with all the tingling, she didn't let it show on her face.
Her pretense however, didn't hold too well in front of Arnav. He placed a hand on her shoulder once they were harnessed.
"We'll be jumping together. It's not as scary as it looks, I promise. I've been bungee jumping a lot of times." He reassured her.
When it was their turn, the sun was hovering a small distance from the horizon. As they approached the edge of the platform, Khushi clutched his arm again. She panicked momentarily when he pulled her hand off of his arm but the feeling of safety was restored when he put his hand around her waist and pulled her closer. For her, his iron grip around her was more assuring than all the safety straps and locks she was donning at the moment. She looked at him gratefully and he returned her a dazzling smile.
"Okay, so your arms will go around his waist and you're going to clasp the wrist of one of your hands with your other hand."
Melissa, the lady working as the bungee jump instructor, guided Khushi's arms around his waist. Khushi was still standing a little distance away.
"No no. We don't want too much gap. You will stand so that the toes of both yours and his are in a straight line."
Melissa moved Khushi closer and it wouldn't be wrong to say there was no gap in between them at all.
"Your arms, buddy, will go around her upper back as securely as you can manage."
Arnav did as told. Melissa then went on to position their heads: Khushi' head turned to the left and resting on his right shoulder while his heard turned to the right and rested on her head.
"Whenever you're ready Khushi." He smiled teasingly.
Khushi took a deep breath in and let it out. Not having enough nerves to speak, she just nodded.
"On a count of four then." Melissa said. "One...Two..." And then Melissa pushed them off, clearly cheating them by two numbers.
Khushi let out a scream at the surprise and when they'd jumped to the end, the elastic recoiled and pulled them up a few meters and dropped them again. This time, Khushi was all giggles and Arnav was all smiles.
As they were just beginning to stop moving, Khushi turned to Arnav and their noses bumped. Instead of moving their heads back, neither moved an inch. Both of them, however, were definitely thankful for being up-side down—gravity had pulled all the blood into their heads which very effectively concealed their blushes.
Once they were still, the apparatus up on the platform had begun to pull them up again. The entire while Melissa was taking their harness off, the two couldn't help but smile widely at each other.
"You'll get the DVD of your jump downstairs. Great job guys!" Melissa chimed as the two left the platform.
Khushi was stunned into silence by the exhilarating experience. Once they'd reached the entrance downstairs, Arnav picked up their DVD and then the two headed back to their car.
"I had no idea you were into extreme sports." Khushi was honestly surprised.
Arnav shrugged. "I didn't think I'd be into them either...it was Akash who got me started."
"And now you've pulled me into it. Seriously, Arnav...at this rate, I wouldn't be surprised if you have me skydiving next."
Yet she was surprised the next day when that is exactly what he did. They'd packed after returning from their bungee jump and they were to head home the next day but Arnav informed her during their drive home that they had one more stop to make. And as she had joked earlier, he had brought her to a skydiving facility.
"I thought you said you wouldn't be surprised." Arnav teased.
"Well, it was a figure of speech? I don't know but this is insane!" Khushi paused and Arnav looked at her uneasily. Then she turned to him and put her hand on his shoulder. "Let's do this!"
Arnav almost pulled her into a giant hug but held back the urge as the two made their way into the building. After hours of education on the process of diving, Arnav and Khushi made their way to their plane.
"Your seat will be over there..." Mark, the instructor and their videographer pointed out to Arnav.
Arnav took his seat and Mark turned to Khushi. "You'll be sitting right in front of him."
Khushi looked at Arnav and then back at Mark. "You mean...as in..."
"In his lap, technically. It is tandem skydiving..." Mark said coolly.
Khushi swallowed a lump in her throat and gingerly took a seat in front of Arnav. His legs cradled her on either side and she blushed a deep crimson. She momentarily wondered whether or not Arnav was aware that this would be necessary. She couldn't help but also wonder whether this was why he'd chosen this activity.
As the plane started taking off, the angle made Khushi slide towards Arnav until they were dangerously close to each other. Once they were parallel to the ground again, Arnav and Mark started attaching Khushi's harness to Arnav's.
Once they were ready, Mark guided them towards the exit. As Arnav and Khushi took their position to jump, Mark tilted Khushi's head back so that it was resting on Arnav shoulder.
"This will minimize the whiplash." He explained. "Okay then...three...two...one...and JUMP!"
At his countdown, Arnav and Khushi leaped out of the plane. Khushi let out a scream—somewhat scared, somewhat excited. Arnav let out a 'woo-hoo' as the adrenaline rushed in his veins.
Khushi yelped every now and then as they twisted, turned, and somersaulted in the air. When it was time, Arnav released the parachute and they slowed down. Khushi closed her eyes and with a huge smile on her face, lived the beautiful moment.
Once they landed, Mark detached their harnesses. The very next moment, Khushi squealed, turned to Arnav and wrapped her arms around his neck, embracing him. She expressed her joy in waves of unstoppable giggles. Arnav chuckled along with her as he wrapped his arms around her.
Mark made sure he captured all these special moments for the couple.
On their way back to their house, Khushi was looking out the window, daydreaming the moments she'd spent with Arnav and evaluating the changes in her feelings towards him when someone waved their hand in front of her eyes.
Khushi blinked and realized that she had been daydreaming about her past...the happy part of her past. Now, she stood in her office, in front of her children who were giggling at her.
"Mama...I'm hungry!" Aditya held his stomach.
Khushi glanced at her watch and realized it was near lunch time. She smiled at her son and headed out of her office with Adi and Amber.
Just outside of her office, when she walked out, Arnav put down the newspaper and looked at her. She glanced at the paper and noticed the same skydiving ad she was looking at.
"I'm going for lunch; can you put the list of my afternoon's agenda on my desk when it's ready?" She spoke normally to him.
"Yeah sure. It's ready. I'll put it on your desk."
Khushi gave him a very small, very controlled smile and walked away with Adi and amber who gave Arnav high-fives before leaving.
Arnav looked at the newspaper ad and smiled at the memories he'd been recollecting.
There you go guys! Once again, thank you for your wonderful comments and being so so patient with me. I truly appreciate all your love and support.😳❤️🤗
To make up for the delay, I've given you a happy and long part.😊
Please believe me when I say that I am trying my best to update this fan-fic as often as possible! As usual, I will leave with a promise to try and upload the next part as soon as I am able to.😳
Love,
Katie <3
Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi 2
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