Words of Silence: PAGE 202 Oct 25 2006 - Page 6

Chapter Two

Angad's eyes closed even tighter when Sana opened the blue curtains of his messy room. "Now, this does look like a room of a twenty-four year old boy." she sighed as she first picked up Angad's towel and then his old books from the floor. "Wake up!" she yelled as she walked out of the room for the third time that morning.

Angad opened his eyes and glanced at the football shaped clock on the wall in front of him, singed by his favorite player on the USC football team, Matt Liner. He had graduated when Angad was a sophomore in college, but the two years he did play with him left Angad with some great experiences. Angad admired the man a little too much when it came to football. Matt was a close friend of Angad even today while he played NFL as a living.

His vision was still blurry so he rolled to the other side of the bed and grabbed his cell phone to check the time. It was nine-thirty. "Hmmm… I can slip in another hour or so." He was about to close his eyes when he saw six year old Sia running into the room and them jumping up on Angad's stomach. "Oh! Meri maa!" Angad yelled as she laughed sitting on him.

"Sorry Chachu, Mom told me to come wake you up." She looked down at his at his, at the moment green eyes, which matched with his dark green vest he was wearing. Angad had these hazel eyes that changed colors with the colors he wore, and when in the dark, his eyes were a mixture of a green, brown, and blue. And, Sia here adored his eyes. She was absolutely 'Fida' over them.

"So, Ms. Sia, do you mind getting up?" Sia got of him and Angad sat up pushing his wavy brown hair back.

"Chachu, do you have a girlfriend?"

Angad looked at her confused, "No, I have girlfriends!" Sia giggled as Angad got out of bed and grabbed his towel. "But if this gets out to anyone I promise I won't come to give flowers to your grave yard."

"That's mean!" she yelled throwing a pillow, weakly, from her tiny hands at him.

Angad picked her up and swung her around in his arms, mocking what she had said earlier. "Come on Miss, leave from here so I can take a shower. I'll see you in sometime and tell you how mean I really am."

"You are mean!" she said pulling his ear. "You haven't given me my birthday gift."

"Oh my stupid Sia, I haven't finished unpacking. And, you're going to love my gift I got you."

"I better," she kissed his cheek and ran out of the room yelling behind her. "Breakfast in thirty-minutes or Naanu will eat you for breakfast instead."

Angad rolled his eyes annoyed, "that's all he can do is, make my life a living hell!"

*********

Angad skipped down the stairs now dressed in a, Lake Eaton, cream color Abercrombie & Fitch shirt, with the number nine on the left side, upper corner. Angad loved the number nine; he had played with that number on which ever team he had ever been on. It was perfect for him.

Sana and Kiran watched the youngest Khanna walk down the stairs in style. There was something classy about the way he looked. He was dressed so casually, yet the way his legs moved down the stairs.

Sana nudged Sahil who looked up at Angad skipping down the stairs. Sia hid her smile behind the juice glass, but her eyes couldn't help but echo the beautiful smile.

"I think Angad is in love," Sana told Sahil.

Sahil looked at Sana in disbelief and then at the extremely happy Angad. "You're mad. Angad Khanna makes girls fall in love with him, he never falls in love with them."

Dev Khanna cleared his throat as he walked into the room. Dev placed his hand on the chair when Angad stepped beside him. "Morning Dad." he reached towards the apple when Sana slapped his hand.

"Angad, this isn't the time to be getting down stairs." Dev Khanna answered to his polite and cheerful greeting. "You have graduated college already you should join us at the office now." No one had an idea, expect, Sahil and Sana that Angad had already accepted the job at K.B. Homes. His contract was singed for the next eleven months, and nothing could be done to terminate it.

Angad gulped as he heard his father continue to lecture about their Khanna Empire. Sia continued to giggle seeing Angad's tensed face.

"Sahil," Dev said in his still stern voice. Sahil quickly stood. "You will attend the meeting's taking place in San Francisco this year. Study the file carefully, I want no mistakes."

"Yes Dad."

"Good, I'll see you at office." Angad, along with everyone else let out a breath when Dev Khanna walked out the house and shut the door behind him.

"So guys, what's new?" Angad asked sitting down beside Sia. "And, my princess Sia, you need to find a new way to greet me every morning. It's getting painful now. You're getting fat like Sana."

Sahil smacked his arm while both Sia and Sana hit his head. Kiran simply laughed as she watched her kids, and granddaughter laugh. Angad looked at his mother and stood up. Sana watched Angad hug his mother tightly for the first time since he had been back in town.

"I missed you Mom," he whispered with a tear glistening in his eye. Althought, Angad didn't share the warm relationship he used to share with his Dad anymore, he didn't want to spoil anything with his mother. Angad knew his Mom would support him in everything he did, and if she didn't it would be because of his father.

"Chachu!" Sia called loudly. Angad left his mother who wiped his trickling tears. "You look like a girl when you cry."

"Really?" He picked her up again, "How many times have you seen me cry?"

"Um… today for the first time." She grinned like a brat.

"She's you're niece for a reason," Sahil said standing up now.

"I'll get your breakfast Angad," Kiran told him as she proceeded towards the kitchen.

As soon as she disappeared Sahil kissed Sana's cheek, "Oh hot!" Angad teased them.

"Shut-up Angad!" Sahil threw an apple at him. "We'll see after you get married."

"Angad Khanna doesn't plan to get married for at least twenty years still."

"You'll have white hair by then," Sia told him cheekily. Sahil laughed and kissed his daughter.

"Explain to him. I'll see you guys later. Angad if you return late tonight I promise you I'll tell Dad."

"You wouldn't!" he said biting into the apple now.

"Try me!" he said giving him a strict look.

"Fine! Twelve?" he asked.

"Eleven, Angad."

"Eleven-thirty!" he continued protesting.

"Mom!" Sahil yelled.

"Fine, Eleven." he gave in.

Sahil threw him a winner's smile. "Sana keys please." Sana walked behind him out the door laughing.

"Let's follow them," Angad told Sia, still holding her in his arms.

"No, that's bad manners."

"Oh you shut-up!" he slightly hit her head and followed.

"Why do you bug him, Sahil?" She asked him as he threw his briefcase on the back seat.

"He needs to learn Sana." Sana noticed the tone of his voice. "We have pampered him too much and…"

"Sahil he's still young." She kissed his cheek and hugged him. "He still has a few years."

Sahil held her back under the shinning sun in the beautiful driveway of the Khanna House. "I know… and now on a lighter note how about dinner tonight?"

"Sahil, I wonder, how Angad will treat his wife."

"I pity her, now you pity me and say yes for dinner."

"How about lunch?"

"Works for me," He looked down at Sana and gave her a quick kiss. "Bye."

A few minutes later Sana walked in to hear a giggling Angad and Sia on the breakfast table."

"Mommy," Sia called.

"Yes Jaan?"

"Can we have lunch together today?"

Angad laughed as he sipped his juice. Sana twisted his ear and made him stand up, "Angad I'll kill you. You're really a bad influence on my daughter."

Angad couldn't help but laugh at the furious Sana. "Ok, I'm sorry." He wrapped his arm around her shoulder, "But still, how about I take you out for lunch today? I'm sure I won't be as boring as Sahil."

"Oh Mr. Flirt, stop flirting with me, and you are the most boring person to be around." She answered annoyed.

"I was joking." He pulled her closer again, "Now on a more serious note, you guys need to stop thinking about getting me married."

"You, my sweet, brother-in-law, need to stop spying on Sahil and I."

"Whatever!" He left her side and finished his breakfast. "I need to tell you something Sana."

"Ah! Now you come on the point." She sat down beside him and asked Sia to leave the place and get ready for her dance classes. "What's up?"

"Sana, how do I tell Dad that about my job?"

Sana sighed, "I don't know. But what I do know is that he's not going to be very happy when you tell him."

*********

"Kripa!" Faith yelled from the other side of the hospital corridor.

Kripa turned around angry, "Shut the hell up!" she said in a loud whisper.

"Sorry," Faith hugged Kripa. "How was your day?"

"Alright until just now." She smiled sweetly, "how about your day?"

"Well I was expecting you for the surgery," she said disappointed.

"I know, Faith but my appoints over-flew, and with Rishab leaving I'm over-loaded."
"Oh! So the man told you?" Faith asked and then decided she just spoke too quickly.

"Yes," she pulled her ear. "I'll get you for that later today. I have to go for my rounds now."

"Then dinner at your house?"
"Alright, wait in Rishab's, now my cabin."

Faith waited for Kripa in her cabin while she went around the hospital for her last rounds of the day.

Just like she had planned everything had been perfect. Her patients loved her as a doctor, and she loved them back. The staff welcomed her in Rishab's position without a complaint.

When time had come to inform the hospital that Kripa was taking over Rishab's place, everyone would gossip. Or that's what Kripa had concluded. She had enough tensions in her life to have rumors about Rishab and her flying around the city.

Rishab Richand was a well known man in the county, and around other places in California. They had a history of perfect doctors and medical researchers in the family. He had the burden to continue the flawless image his ancestors had put in play much before him or his father.

Now, as he passed the title down to the very young, yet mature, Kripa Kapoor he was sure he had done the right thing.

Kripa wasn't sure. She didn't say she wasn't confident. She was simply… unsure.

"I just can't find the right word," she told Faith over dinner in denial to accept that she was scared. Scared to carry a burned of such a prestigious title right from the first day.

"Well Doctor Kripa Kapoor, don't try to find the word. You're human and you have a right to be scared."

Kripa picked up her empty plate and walked into the kitchen and washed it. She came back drying her hands with a towel, sat down in front of Faith with her water in her hand. "Faith, you know everything about me." Faith's eyes shifted from her food to Kripa's deep blue, accented with a sea green, rather a mixture of both.

Again, Faith shifted her gaze and concentrated on Kripa. "Words like impossible, unconfident, scared, unsure, blah, blah, blah." She stopped and looked at Faith again. "I left them behind for a reason. I've been deeply hurt Faith. So deeply that I don't think I can ever live the way I had dreamed when I was a young, carefree, fourteen years old."

Faith nodded her head upon listening to a depressed Kripa's, depressing words. "Are you confessing, telling me something," she looked up and brought at her hands together in front of her, and placed her chin on them. "Or are you telling yourself not to be scared."

Kripa looked up at her from her sparkling water in amazement. "Faith you know exactly what I'm trying to say." Fiddling with her glass she stood up and picked up the remote of the T.V. "I just told you what was on my mind."

Kripa waited for Faith to reply. But instead Faith walked into the kitchen to wash her plate. Kripa patiently waited for her to get back.

Ten minutes later, Faith flopped on the Olive Green, deeply cushioned sofa beside Kripa. She placed her arms around her and whispered. "When you were fourteen you were living in a dream like almost every girl. When you were heart broke, you came out of it. It was like a rude awakening. However, Kripa, that doesn't mean you can't love. It doesn't mean you're now perfect. Everyone makes mistakes, I have, and I learned from them." Faith looked up Kripa who was fighting her tears back. "Kripa, crying doesn't hurt, it helps." Kripa closed her eyes and titled her head, resting it on Faith's. "You need to breath like a twenty-four year old lady. You need to live like a young lady who is still exploring. You need to make mistakes Kripa. Many of them still. You're not perfect, no one is perfect. Not even god," her voice lightened and got cheery now. "He goofed up when he made you." Kripa's sad lips curved into a smile as she smacked Faith's leg.

"Let's end this now." Kripa said sitting up. "You tell me, who is you're latest boyfriend?"

"Well, I'm single right now."

Kripa lifted a brow at her, "are you?"

"Very much!" she laughed. "Well, actually…"

"I thought so." Kripa said standing up and walking to fetch herself a glass of water.

"Well, it's a platonic relationship."

"Aren't all?"

Faith rolled her eyes, "I'm still looking for Mr. Perfect."

"There isn't one," Kripa said sitting down beside her.

Faith rolled her eyes and looked at the clock. "I won't answer that, maybe the day you madly fall in love."

"It's not going to happen," she spat.

Faith kissed her best friend's cheek, "we'll see. I'll see you at the hospital tomorrow."

Kripa locked the door after Faith left and closed the lights of the front room. She sat down on the sofa once again and closed her eyes as her past flashed before her eyes.

She quickly opened her eyes and sat up. The tears in her dark eyes glistened in the darker room.

"I'm just glad I wasn't in love with him yet." she sighed as she smiled at herself. "Faith is right, everyone learns from their mistakes and I have learned not to love. I've learned not to use my heart but my brain. I've learned how to forget and forgive. I've learned to give love but I don't know what it feels like to get love." She closed her eyes again and stretched her head back to the wall. "And I'm never going to learn. I don't want to learn. Never."

********

"Now this is what I call excellence!" Dev Khanna said in his deep, rich, yet arrogant voice, as he threw the Press Enterprise on the rich brown table in front of his two sons. "This is excellence."

Sahil picked up the newspaper and looked at the picture of Rishab Richand and a young lady shaking hands with him. He glanced down to the caption and read it out loud. "The famous Rishab Richand ends the family tradition by handing his title down to the Yale graduate, Doctor Kripa Kapoor." He folded the newspaper and looked up at the father. "It sure is impressive. The man has guts to hand down such a great title to someone so inexperienced."

"Wrong!" Dev Khanna said as he stood up and turned the T.V on. Angad's eyes shifted to the very familiar face of Kripa Kapoor. Dev paused the T.V. with the remote, and looked at Kripa's smiling, proud face. "It's this young lady who deserves the applause."

Karan looked up at his father knowing exactly what was in his mind at the moment.