This chapter is for those of you who were wondering what ever happened between Arnav and his in-laws. We know the disastrous way he had left things with them at the start of Love Story on Page 3. Sure, by the end of that tale, the Guptas had relented and actually allowed him to re-marry Khushi--but what happened next between all these different folks? Read on!
CHAPTER FOUR
Khushi had just come from a very relaxing afternoon at her Bua-ji's house, where she had gone to spend the day with her parents, who had come up from Lukhnow for a short visit. Her hair had been oiled and massaged by her mother, and a lot of superstitious advice about pregnancy and babies had been poured into her ears by her childless Bua-ji. Even her sugar cravings had been tended to by her Babu-ji's incomparable jalebis. Now, she was home, and wondering, where was her Arnav-ji? She knew, and had been reminded several tines, that she was to let him know immediately when she arrived at Raizada House, that she was home. Her Babu-ji had reminded her of this very important detail even as she stuffed a container of his sugar free sweets into her bag for a feast later on.
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Khushi smiled to herself, the warm container of sugar free sweets a reassuring presence in her hands. Babu-ji had fully recovered from his stroke. Now he was back on his feet, and handling the sweets store back home in Lukhnow, just like he had done for so many years. This return to the halwai business was mainly because Shashi Gupta wanted to keep his hand in, and serve his tasty sweets to his long time friends/cum/customers, and not because he needed the income. Even Shashi Gupta was a little cowed by what Arnav Singh Raizada might decide to do if he ever thought that his adored father-in-law was working in his store for the money, and not because he damn well felt like it.
Shashi Gupta was well aware that Arnav Singh Raizada would do something crazy, but effective, if he thought Khushi's family was in financial trouble, or if he thought Khushi's Babu-ji was straining himself in any way. He had already emotionally blackmailed them into accepting the deed to their house and had arranged the return of their own mortgaged farmlands. From these profitable lands, and now freed from the burden of the mortgage, the Guptas enjoyed a healthy income. Shashi Gupta's sweets store was now more of a hobby than a means of supporting his family.
Of course the Guptas had fought their son-in-law tooth and nail on this, but they had finally lost to that manipulative businessman.
Arnav Singh Raizada had been both cunning and cruel, telling them in heart-rending detail about how their pregnant, emotionally vulnerable daughter tossed and turned every night, worrying about their finances. Arnav had made them cry tears as he described how he (a pathetic orphan with no father or mother) felt when his help was rejected by Shashi Gupta, the only Babu-ji he now had. He made them feel horrible as he spoke sadly about how afraid he was for his unborn child, because of the stress that the Guptas' reluctance was causing to his child's mother.
When, finally, Arnav had said that he would not be able to guarantee that their crazy Khushi wouldn't decide to start a business during her pregnancy to help them out, the Guptas had given in. They had accepted their son-in-law's manipulations all in Khushi's name, and were now back to being comfortably settled, as they had been before Payal's first wedding and wiped them out.
Shashi Gupta, being a wise man, didn't poke the bear called Arnav, and allowed himself to relax, and spend much more time with his daughters. He had once tried to complain about her husband's high-handed behavior to Khushi. His daughter had then proved that she was truly Arnav Singh Raizada's wife by giggling loudly and refusing to stop her husband from using such crude blackmailing techniques on her own family.
And there, the matter had ended. Khushi could see her Babu-ji whenever she wanted, her Babu-ji could spend his days in comfort, and Arnav could congratulate himself on taking advantage of an old man's love for his soon-to-be-born grandchild and getting his way.
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Bua-ji had some cause for complaint against her Arnav Bitwa as well. Arnav Singh Raizada had gone over her head and had arranged for Bua-ji's pension and given her the papers to her little home. Arnav Bitwa had done extensive repairs and renovations to her house in Lakshmi-nagar as well, but these he had done with Bua-ji's full knowledge, and with her reluctant support. The methods he had used to get that support from her had finally taught Bua-ji exactly why Arnav Bitwa was such a successful business tycoon at such a young age. Haridwar Business School had apparently refined his worst traits.
Arnav Bitwa had pointed out that Khushi visited Bua-ji often, and she was the world's clumsiest woman.
What would Bua-ji do if her pregnant niece slipped and fell because of water dripping from the ceiling?
How would Bua-ji feel if that voracious foodie went hungry because the gas was not turned on and the rations were missing?
Would Bua-ji explain to her Arnav Bitwa why his wife was unable to take a soothing bath at her home in the afternoon?
Would Bua-ji kindly tell her Arnav Bitwa why his poor wife had to suffer when she sat in Bua-ji's living room because of the heat?
Why would Bua-ji hurt Khushi this way, by not letting Khushi's husband fix Bua-ji's house, get her a water line, a generator to handle power-cuts?
Why was Bua-ji doing this? Did Bua-ji hate her Arnav Bitwa?
Bua-ji had vehemently denied hating her Arnav Bitwa, and then, somehow, Arnav Bitwa had gotten his way. Bua-ji knew, though there was no way of proving this, that Arnav Bitwa was also the one responsible for the deliveries that arrived at Bua-ji's house every month--the enormous quantities of food and rations that somehow never seemed to come with a bill.
Bua-ji had last paid a utility bill for gas, electricity and general household repairs back when Khushi had been apart from Arnav Bitwa. Now, even after going to the various government utility offices to ask for her missing bills, no bill had arrived at her house for months. Mysteriously, all the utility services had been going on without her paying a penny for them. The officer would look at her file, smile at her gently, and assure her that the mistake was theirs, and it would be fixed. Only it didn't.
It was all very suspicious. Bua-ji fumed and fretted, but she kept quiet. Arnav Bitwa had said that he didn't want Khushi to be troubled about the Mystery--Of--The--Missing--Bills. Bua-ji knew her Sanka Devi, didn't she? Who knew what Khushi was capable of doing if she decided to get to the bottom of this raaz? Did Bua-ji WANT a pregnant, hormonal, more-than-usually-crazy Khushi to play "Detective-Detective" with that moron of an NK for a sidekick?
So Bua-ji bravely put up with the inconvenience of having a luxurious life-style and no worries about money to go along with it. One had to make sacrifices when one was Khushi's aunt.
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So, right now, well before she had to be, Khushi had come home. She sang happily, slowly making her way up the stairs, holding the newly installed railing, like she had been taught to do by her Arnav-ji. She couldn't see him anywhere, but she knew that if she let go of the railing, he would magically appear out of thin air to give her hell for endangering the free world with her stupidity. She sighed a little, wishing she could have finished that last plate of jalebis. But no. That might have made her as much as five minutes late in returning home to Arnav, and that, of course, was impossible.
Khushi would have loved to spend the night with her parents, sitting outside and drinking chai, being alternately scolded and coddled by her family, but she knew better than to suggest that. Bua-ji, for one, would literally have palpitations at the thought of another repeat of what had happened the last time Khushi had fallen asleep and missed her curfew. No one wanted a repeat of what had happened the last time she had tried to "overstay" by a few minutes at Bua-ji's house.
The neighbors still teased Bua-ji about the time they had sent the police to investigate the attempted break-in at her house. Everybody in Lakshmi-nagar had found out soon enough that the man sneaking into Madhumati-ji's house had gone there to get back what belonged to him-- his wife--and was supremely uninterested in what belonged to Bua-ji--her precious new television set.
They joked with Bua-ji that while her niece Khushi was a bit paagal, her niece's husband Arnav certifiably insane. The last time Khushi had been a bit late in returning home, Arnav had arrived at Lakshmi-nagar ten minutes after his wife was supposed to be safely back in Raizada House. He had been so upset, he had not stopped to think about his actions as he had peered into Khushi's old bedroom, to see that she was sleeping on her bed. He had not considered that people would think it slightly odd if he chose to enter Khushi's bedroom through the window, instead of the more customarily-used front door.
He had just needed to get to his Khushi.
Once in her bedroom, she had been sleeping so deeply, he had naturally not woken up a pregnant woman in the middle of her nap. And he saw no reason to alert the other random people in the house (people like Khushi's mom, dad, or aunt) that he was taking his wife home. She had overstayed her curfew, after all. It was Arnav's right to carry her away while she was unconscious. All of this had made sense to him, but it had not been quite so easily understood by the police officer who had been called by the frightened neighbors to Madhumati ji's door.
Thus, Arnav had carried Khushi out of her bedroom and had sauntered through Bua-ji's house only to be stopped at the front door by the police.
Khushi paused on her way up the stairs, even now, shuddering at the memory. No one would forget how Arnav had reacted when the stern police officer had asked him to put down the moti-si-larki, and go with them to the police-station to explain what he was doing. Who knew the English language contained such specific and crude descriptions of men's private parts, and what animals and which holes they could be used on?
No, Khushi would not be repeating that mistake again. So, today, her own parents had rushed her home, much earlier than she actually needed to return there. They wanted to make sure they didn't anger, worry or in any way hurt their Arnav Bitwa. They really didn't want to find out more about what Arnav Bitwa thought about police men who interrupted a husband and a pregnant wife, who called that precious wife fat, and who bothered the husband when his wife was sleeping, and too tired to walk to the car.
Khushi closed her eyes, having safely reached the landing. Slowly, as she always did, she allowed her senses to run free, to sense her husband's presence. And there he was..that dark figure facing her, right outside the glazed glass doors, right by the poolside. She would run to him, and he would catch her, envelop her into his arms. She knew he was there.
Right...THERE.
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CHAPTER 5: https://www.indiaforums.com/forum/post/67752211
Edited by napstermonster - 12 years ago
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