Part 30
(All pics credited to uploaders!)
Arnav sat back, weary beyond words. He had been working non-stop for two days, driving his team hard. Sketchy meals had not helped, and he was ready to droop. He looked at Akash, who had his specs in one hand, and the fingers of the other hand pressed against his eyes.
"Enough for today. We can start early tomorrow."
The collective sigh of relief was hushed by the sound of rustling papers as the group of employees left the room.
The family was waiting for them. They had wanted to collar Arnav the moment he had crossed the threshold, but Arnav hadn't crossed the threshold till very late. And he had left very early the next day. He had gone directly to his office from Lucknow, and for two days, his family had been trying to pin him down.
Mama, Mami, Nani, Di, and Payal sat around them as Akash and Arnav had their very late dinner.
"Chotey! How is Khushiji?", Anjali asked with a mischievous look in her eyes.
"Fine." He blushed slightly.
Mami tittered. "How will she be? The bridewaa will be the same colour as our Arnav Bitwaa ijj now."
"Mannu, don't tease the boy... Alone. Give all of us a chance.", said Mamaji.
Nani said, "Finally, happy times are here. May Devi Maiyya keep our family happy and safe from evil eyes for ever."
"Haan, Naniji.", said Anjali. "Chotey, tell us about the house."
"It is a nice house."
"Chotey!", Anjali was exasperated. "What is its name?"
"Gomti Sadan."
Mami asked, "What does it looks like? What ijj its figure?" Arnav looked at her, unable to understand. "Its figure? Its lookwaa...", she explained.
"It is an old house. Big. Airy and windy. It has a courtyard. Ladies come to visit Buaji & Amma and sit and talk there."
"Khushi Bitiyaa is running her shop there?"
"Haan, in the first 2 rooms. One is the shop. The other is the kitchen. Khushi takes orders in the third room."
"Does she have anyone to help her?", Mamaji asked, concerned.
"Munna and Krishna."
Payal asked concerned, "Are they good boys, Arnavji?"
"Very good. They love her. And work very hard."
"It has been so long since we saw Khushi Bitiyaa...", lamented Naniji. Anjali seconded her. "Our house seems silent without her."
The interrogation continued. Getting information from Arnav was like squeezing blood from a stone. A torturous process. It took a long time, but the final picture emerged to everyone's satisfaction. They understood that the pace of life in Lucknow was a slow one, giving him ample time to relax... That Buaji and Amma loved him to bits and spoiled him silly... That Babuji was getting better and enjoyed spending time with Arnav... That he loved all of them... That Khushi had finally accepted him with an open heart. That he had laid his heart and past open before her and that she had accepted him, the whole him, warts and all, with open arms. And that he was counting the days when he could marry Khushi... His family was thrilled. Anjali's eyes filled with tears of happiness. Chotey had finally found a home.
Nani and Mami were filled wih nostagia. Sitting in the courtyard under the sun, chatting with the ladies of the neighbourhood, making lamps for Diwali, going to the temple nearby with friends, having the mehendi lady come home to decorate their hands, bargaining with the bangle seller, having tehri and halwa poori... These were pleasures of a past they had been forced to give up. The sweets that Khushi had sent with Arnav reinforced this sense of loss and the desire to go to Lucknow at the earliest.
"Chotey! When are you returning to Lucknow?"
"Hopefully on the 25th."
"We want to come with you.", said Anjali.
"Haan, Chotey! I can't wait any longer. Let's go to Lucknow."
"Yejj, Saasumaa. Why wait till Navember 1?"
"Yes, Bhai. Let's go together. I can travel between Delhi & Lucknow as and when needed."
"Yes, Bitwaa. Let's all go. We will be of some help to the family, and our Payaliyaa will be happy too...", said Mamaji.
They all looked at Payal's face, flushed with happiness.
"Let me see...", said Arnav.
"Yes, Bhai. We need to wind up the negotiations for this project before we can leave."
Khushi called him daily at night. Not that she didn't want to call him during the day. Her fingers itched to press his number and hear his voice. But his phone was always switched off during the day as he was in one meeting or the other. If he got a moment free, he would phone her. Night was the only time when he was available to talk or text at length.
How are you?
Tired.
You are working too hard, Arnavji.
I need to finish this in 4 days.
How are the others?
Missing you.
There was a silence.
Are you missing me, Khushi?
Silence.
No? Then maybe I should stay away some more time.
Arnavji!, came her cry on cue.
Haan?
Don't you dare. You can't stay away for more than 4 days. Please come back soon.
So you are missing me, came the satisfied drawl.
A little.
Only a little?
Haaan.
Sure?
Haaan.
Khushi, he whispered. I will demand payment for every lie you have told me. Just let me get back to Lucknow.
But Arnav did not return on the 25th as he had promised to. The days passed, one by one. Khushi worked day and night, Buaji and Amma pitching in.
The boys remained by her side, watching her become paler by the day. Arnav called Buaji and Amma every night, talked to Babuji, chatted with Munna and Krishna on the phone in the house at night, called and texted Khushi. But he did not say when he would be coming back. Khushi gave up trying to sleep, and spent the few hours she was supposed to sleep, lying on his bed, hugging his pillow, wearing his white shirt or hugging it to her chest.
Madhu's wedding passed in a haze for Khushi. All she remembered was making batch after batch of jalebis and other sweets and binning them to be delivered by the boys to Madhu's house and Madhu's tear-stained eyes as she left her home with her husband and in-laws.Without Arnavji by her side, Khushi felt as though she were viewing the world through a filter, through a semi-transparent curtain. Events around her failed to touch or interest her. Her mind was totally focused on a man sitting miles away, slogging to get to her at the earliest.
The men Arnav had arranged came promptly, and helped them in every way they could. The rooms were ready for the guests, beds were carried to the rooms and set up. Most of the purchases for the wedding were over. The dates for the sagai, sangeet, and mehendi were fixed, and Buaji notified Arnav and Naniji about them.
Khushi spent all the time she was not working or crying over his shirt making notes of the many expenses left. She needed more money. She went to Amma, and asked for a pair of kangans and a necklace belonging to her mother. She needed to sell them.
"Khussi, will you go alone with the gold and find a jeweller, Nandkisore! I wil do it for you. You concentrate on your work."
Buaji phoned Arnav to tell him of Khushi's plans to sell the jewellery. She got him on the fifth try.
"I will send you the money with an employee, Buaji. Don't tell Khushi."
"Shall I give the ornaments to him?"
"No, no. Please keep the gold with you. I will be coming over soon."
Within half an hour, an employee in casual clothes sauntered up to the kitchen and handed over a bag with an obscene amount in it to Buaji.
Buaji gave the money to Khushi.
"Buaji, this is far too much. Where did you sell the gold? Somebody has made a mistake..."
"No, Titliyaa, no one has made a mistake. I closed two fixed deposits that your Bhuphaji had opened in my name a long time back...", Buaji lied.
"Buaji, it is your money. How..?"
"Your money, my money? Have you grown up so much, Titliyaa, that you can argue with me over money? There is no your money and my money. You take this and see to the expenses."
Khushi returned from the market on the 28th to see two familiar cars parked outside her house. Her heart that had been beating sluggishly for the past 7 days, made up for it by thudding loud and fast. She ran in to the house to be embraced by a tearful Nani, a Di delirious with joy, a Jiji who couldn't express her happiness enough, and a pleased Mami. Mamaji smiled widely at her, and her Jiju looked thrilled to see her. Laxmi ran up to her, and Khushi hugged her. Her eyes searched frantically for Arnavji among the crowd, but couldn't find him. Nani was apologising to Babuji, Amma, & Buaji for arriving too early, and her family was expressing their happiness in having them here. She asked faintly, "Arnavji?" during a lull in the conversation.
Many sad faces turned towards her.
"Arnav Bitwaa ijj so bijjy that he couldn't come with us.", said Mami.
Anjali pouted. "We asked him to come with us, but..."
"You know Chotey, Khushi Bitiyaa. Nothing matters to him more than his work...", Nani said, a frown on her face.
"Yes..", said Jiju, looking uncomfortable.
"Looks like you will have to meditate like Parvati Maiyya did to get your Arnavji's attention, Khushi Bitiyaa...", teased Mamaji.
Khushi's lips stretched in a mockery of a smile.
After showing the guests to their rooms and serving them tea, she ran up to his room. She shut the door behind her, tears flowing down her eyes. She fell on to his bed, her face hidden in his pillow, sobbing, his shirt clutched in her hands.
She was so caught up in crying out her disappointment that she did not notice someone coming to sit by her on the bed. She felt a tug at the shirt she was holding. She clutched it tighter. She felt the next tug. She turned around to see Arnavji sitting by her on the bed.
(Thanx, UltimateBarun!)
"I am here. You don't need my shirt any longer, Khushi..", he whispered.
Part 31:
https://www.indiaforums.com/forum/fan-fictions/3001953/living-without-you-3-link-to-thread-4-part-41?pn=24
Edited by smitar - 13 years ago
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