SS: Keeping Khushi: Thread 6 Part 59 Pg 110 - Page 59

Originally posted by: rulama

Smita, 😊

Here is my interpretation to Part 57.

LEVANT BLANC, the wind that brings good weather, is what that has approached the Raizada Mansion.

We see the change in the attitude of Mami who has accepted Payal as her Bahu and has understood her very well.

"Good mothers know that their relationship with each of their children is like a movable feast, constantly changing and evolving"

~ Sue Woodman

Her relationship with her son has evolved so much that not only has she accepted Payal but is ready to have a hearty laugh with her husband imagining the behavior of her son and daughter-in-law

"Mamiji giggled.

Mamaji asked her, "Kya baat he, Manno?"

"I bas thinking of Akash Bitwaa and Payaliyaa. And their honeymoonwaa!"

Mamaji stared at her.

"The night will be over in their Pehle Aaap, Pehle Aaap, Hello Hi Bye Bye!", Mami laughed, clutching her stomach.

Mamaji joined in"

The direction of the wind has changed and is bringing good weather. Laughter is reining here.

"Happiness is like a kiss. You must share it to enjoy it"~ Bernard Meltzer

The next morning during the late breakfast Arnav Singh Raizada and Kushi were trying to tell the family that she was in the family way. The family got worried at their half sentences. After much stuttering by both, Arnav Singh Raizada told his Nani that she will soon get to see her great grandchild. This heralds celebration among them.

He cleared his throat, and said, "Nani, you... you will get your great grandchild soon."

He quickly bent his head & took a sip of his coffee.

Nani stared at him with her mouth open for a few seconds, and then let out a joyful cry, "Chotey? Khushi Bitiyaa?"

The rest of the family caught on, and they jumped up from their seats, and hugged Arnav & Khushi. Anjali was teary-eyed with happiness.

"Thank God, thank God.", she chanted.

"A small baby! Chotey's chotey!", Mami did a glad dance around the room.

"Thousands of candles can be lighted from a single candle, and the life of the candle will not be shortened. Happiness never decreases by being shared"~ Buddha.

Anjali ordered her Chotey not to go to office that day but to take Kushi to her gynaecologist, get her checked up and also to find out and let them know all the precautions that needs to be taken during pregnancy to ensure Kushi's legs do not pain. Kushi smiled seeing the love showered on her. Mami too was happy that her Payal being a doctor would be of help. She asks NK to marry a doctor too. Then two of them can look after Kushi. NK gave a dry smile that was observed by Arnav carefully.

The life of Raizada's had been one of turmoil all along. With the advent of Kushi in their life, things started to take a u-turn. Now with the announcement of the addition of a youngest member to the family the atmosphere changed. The wind bringing the change has blown. The usual solemn and sober breakfast was filled with gaiety.

Akash and his bride who had reached Shimla the previous night, had been pleasantly surprised to see the cute cottage of Kushi. Tired by the two day continuous ceremony they had gone in for an early night. When they went for the sight-seeing they were too shy even to hold hands. But a brush with a vehicle brought Payal into the arms of Akash and the ice was broken. This set the tone for their romance.

Here too the wind that brings the good weather blew breaking through their barrier and helping them to enhance their relationship.

Arnav Singh Raizada, though a ruthless businessman and perceived by others as a khadoos and akhdoo, is very sensitive and attuned to the feelings of his brothers, all thanks to the influence of living with Kushi. Seeing the unhappiness quietly oozing out of the effervescent NK he orders his trusted lieutenant, Aman to collect all the information about Aarti who had been deputed for the wedding by the Mishra's. She doubles up as a mechanic too was the additional information given to Aman.

"What happened, Boss? Did she steal something? Is it a police case?"

Arnav sighed. "She did steal something, but it is not a police affair. I can't file a report saying that NK has lost his heart to her."

Aman laughed. "I will see to it at the earliest, Boss."

Here we see the change that Arnav Singh Raizada is trying to bring into the life of his brother, NK. He who was filled with apathy towards marriage, with the advent of Kushi in his life, is now trying to help NK with his love life.

The change in the wind is seen not only in helping his brother but also in his attitude. We see him sharing a lighter moment with his deputy which previously was unheard of!

When NK went to Mishra's to meet Aarti the receptionist wondered who this person was who referred to her Boss by her first name. Coming to know his name she informs Aarti about the visitor. Aarti from her cabin, noticing him taking in the ambience of the office, told the receptionist to inform him that she is out working and take the message. When NK gets this message he feels deflated.

"When everything seems to be going against you, remember that the airplane takes off against the wind, not with it" ~ Henry Ford

He writes a message with a box to be given to Aarti and leaves the premises.

"I can't change the direction of the wind, but I can adjust my sails to always reach my destination"

~ Jimmy Dean

Aarti on receiving it sees the box is filled with sweets and reads the letter.

Aarti,

Khushi Bhabi is pregnant. I just wanted to share the good news with you. And to give you the sweets.

I hope you are well. And missing me. At least a little.

I am going to be a chacha. Don't you want to be Khushi Bhabi's baby's chachi?

This gesture of NK brings in a lump in her throat. She is touched. She sees the determination in NK. She had heard from him that he'll not rest until he marries her, but seeing him pursue her brings in an unknown emotion in her. She is touched that he wants to share his happiness with her.

"O, wind, if winter comes, can spring be far behind?" ~ Percy Bysche Shelley

Here too the change in the type of wind has set in. From the cold winter winds to the cool soothing spring winds - the wind that will bring good weather

That night Aarti offers the sweet that NK brought to her mother

"Khushiji is pregnant. NK, her devar, brought this to our office."

This news elicits a smile from her mother, who takes a peda from the box and shares it with Aarti. Aarti too smiles seeing her mother smile.

"A smile is a curve that sets everything straight"

~ Phyllis Diller

Seeing her mother smile she has realized that the direction of the wind has changed. The fair weather wind has approached. She is able to reach out to her mother who had become a basket of nerves before!

Anjali who had gone to the temple was engrossed in her thoughts about her Happy World! Looking forward to the new arrival who would call her Bua, happiness of her Chotey with Kushiji, happiness of Akash, Payal, Nani, Mama, Mami, Baba and his children, Babuji, Amma and Buaji! Basking in their happiness she felt her world was complete! But still she felt a small string pull at her heart!

"Absence diminishes mediocre passions and increases great ones, as the wind extinguishes candles and fans fires"

~ Francois de La Rochefoucauld

Thinking her pain to be one among the crowd, masking it up, head bent she started to walk down the steps only to have her path blocked. Looking up she saw a pair of eyes smiling at her!

"Happiness is like a butterfly, the more you chase it, the more it will elude you, but if you turn your attention to other things, it'll come and sit softly on your shoulder" ~ Thoreau.

She saw the Prince of her Dreams, Her Anand, Her Happiness, the one to whom she had given her heart, right in front of her making her nerveless! He who had rejected the proposal made on her behalf was asking her whether she was tired of waiting for him!

The wind had brought in good weather to Anjali Singh Raizada too.

PICK OF THE DAY

Today every instance has been of utmost importance to the person concerned as well as the family. Still the most poignant of them was

Anjali looked at him with wide eyes and an open mouth. The thali dropped from her nerveless fingers. He caught it deftly.

"A..anandji...i...", she whispered.

He smiled at her. "Got tired of waiting for me, Anjali?", he asked in his low, husky voice.

At last all her prayers are being answered. Anjali who has suffered a lot all through her 30 years of life, with a bad leg, with a broken family, betrayal of her father, broken heart is finally getting a shot at her own happiness. She had made it her goal to be happy, deriving happiness, from the happiness of the people close to her, around her.

"Sunshine is delicious, rain is refreshing, wind braces us up, snow is exhilarating; there is really no such thing as bad weather, only different kinds of good weather" ~ John Ruskin

She had seen how with the advent of Kushi into the family, wind had turned from the cold arctic wave to the cool Mediterranean wave, bringing happiness to all.

"The fragrance of flowers spreads only in the direction of the wind. But the goodness of a person spreads in all direction" ~ Chanakya

Now with Anand coming in the picture, her hopes of having a shot at that elusive happiness have sprouted. Her Happiness, happiness of the only daughter of the family, means happiness to the entire Family.

Without her happiness, all happiness in the family remains incomplete.

That is why LEVANT BLANC, the wind that brings in good weather, good Mediterranean weather holds good!

That's it for today!

Hope you like it.

ADDENDUM

I must compliment you for the choice of name.

After all the struggles in life, Arnav finds his kushi in Kushi and Anjali her anand in Anand!!!

Way to go siblings!! Way to write Smita!!!!

"The night will be over in their Pehle Aaap, Pehle Aaap, Hello Hi Bye Bye!", Mami laughed, clutching her stomach.

🤣

i cant top laughing...

btw...i hope Aarti jaldi maan jaye..😃..i cant see NK bhaiya sad sad...😭

i m happy for anjali too...gr8...uska Hero wapas aa gaya...!!!!

aaisa toh sirf kahaniyo me he hota hai...

Part 58

Anjali stared in to Anand's smiling eyes for a moment more. Then she threw her arms around his shoulders, hugging him for all she was worth.

She forgot that she was in a temple, that there was a crowd of people staring at them, that he was holding her thali, that she had never touched him before, that they had never, not even once had a conversation in college, that he had never admitted to loving her...

All she knew was that Devi Maiyya had heard her prayers, and had made the impossible possible for her. That her 10-year wait was over. That she would never let him go away from her sight again.

Tears wet his collar as she clung to him, clutching the back of his head with her hand, burying her fingers in the overlong, lush, curly hair. Anand shut his eyes, trying to hide his pain at her grief. Pain that he had caused. He slowly rubbed her back with his free hand.

When her anguish fell to manageable levels, Anand took hold of her hand and led her to sit on a bench in the temple courtyard. He placed the thali by them.

Anjali caught hold of his hand, and slid along the bench to sit close to him, her thigh against his.

Anand bent his head to hide his smile.

Anjali, curved her free hand around his arm as though to keep him anchored to her, and leaned against his shoulder.

They sat silent for long, listening to the sound of the pigeons, the bells, and the chanting...

Finally, Anand said, "I am sorry, Anjali. I know I hurt you when I refused your proposal ten years back." He was nothing if not direct.

Anjali clung harder to him, turning her face to hide it in his white kurta-clad arm.

Anand sighed. "It is a special kind of hell to have what you long for offered to you, and then have to refuse it."

Anjali looked at him, unable to understand his words.

"Three days before Arnav & your Mamaji came home with the proposal, my father had been diagnosed with cancer. Inoperable cancer. Fourth stage."

Anjali gasped.

"His treatment was priority number one. I had to raise the money for that. I had to pay for my sisters' education, take care of Amma, hold my family together. I also had to finish my course and get a job."

Anand looked at Anjali.

"It was as though the sky had fallen on my head. One moment, everything was normal. The next moment, everything went crazy."

Anjali nodded, biting her lip, pressing his fingers to give comfort.

"Then I didn't have the freedom to marry, to seek my own happiness, how much ever I wanted to.", Anand confided.

Anjali understood. She nodded.

"The hospital providing good care at subsidised rates was near my Buaji's house. So I made arrangements to shift my family there. We were packing to leave when Arnav & Mamaji came with your proposal." He sighed. "I wanted to say 'yes' to marrying you, and 'no' to the offer of financial help. But my condition at that point of time...I could not afford a wife. My focus had to be on my father and my family's future."

Anand did not have to explain. Anjali nodded, hugging his arm.

"I knew you would cry." He paused to swallow hard. "I knew you would be very, very upset. I... I hoped your family would support you, help you go on... That was all I could do. My only comfort was that I knew Arnav wouldn't let you fall..."

Anjali nodded, unable to make a sound to save her life.

Aman said, "I am sorry, Sir. The agency has drawn a blank."

"What the!"

"No employee of Mishra's that the agency managed to question, knows anyone called Aarti."

"How can that be? NK asked the Mishra's for a seventh car, and she came with a Benz. She is an employee there."

Aman shrugged.

"How can she get hold of a Benz if she is not an employee of Mishra's?"

"That is right, Sir."

"And why should she meet our need for an extra car if she is not an employee of Mishra's?"

"Right, Boss.", said Aman.

"Ask them to dig further, deeper. By the way, they asked at the main office of the Mishra's, didn't they? That is the add NK gave me when I asked him from where he had hired the cars."

"Ji. That's where they went."

The bells tolled, a gentle breeze played with the leaves of the banyan tree in the temple courtyard.

Anand sighed.

"We shifted to Buaji's house. It...It took 3 months. Three months of pain and struggle. Finally, Babuji passed away... Amma, my sisters, my Buaji..., I had to take care of them.

I sold our house in Delhi and a piece of land Amma had in Kanpur, and married off all my sisters. God was kind to us. They got three good men. Not very well-off. But with hearts of gold, and ready to take on the responsibility of their families.

I finished my course, and started working two jobs at a time. Then, I met a few of my old classmates. They were planning to start a business. A construction company. They wanted me to join them. But I didn't have the money to invest.

Buaji pledged her house, and gave me a good amount. Amma sold her remaining gold for me. When my brothers-in-law found out that I needed money, one pledged his land, the other took a loan from his bank, and the third sent me my sister's gold to sell."

Anand smiled at Anjali. "Their kindness and love made it imperative that I succeed. Because if I failed, I would take my entire family down with me."

Anjali nodded.

"I worked day and night, Anjali. The six of us bought an old house, renovated it, and sold it at a good profit. Then we bought a parcel of land, divided it into plots, built houses, and sold them."

Anand placed his hand over hers clinging to his arm.

"Anjali, three years after refusing your proposal, I returned to see you."

Anjali stared at him. "You came back? For me?"

"Yes. Just to see you. Know that you were fine. You were coming out of this temple with your Nani. You had lost weight. Your eyes were dull..." Anand sighed. "I was still not in a position to ask for your hand."

"I didn't see you.", lamented Anjali.

"I made sure you wouldn't. I... I continued to return to Delhi every few months to see you."

He took out his mobile phone, and showed her the pictures he had taken of her over the last few months. Anjali shopping, praying, coming out of Arnav's office with him, laughing with Khushi, standing outside Omkar, smiling at something Baba had said, smiling at the driver as he held the door open for her...

Anjali stared at him, unable to believe her eyes.

"Bitiyaa!", Jayesh Bhai called Aarti.

She stopped, and smiled slightly at him.

"Someone is asking about you."

Aarti lifted her eyebrows in surprise. "Male or female?"

"Male. He asked the security guards, the canteen boy, Krishna at the workshop... They came to me and asked me to inform you."

Aarti looked down.

"All told the stranger that they had never heard your name before."

Aarti swallowed.

Nitin came to her with a file.

"Thank you. Don't worry about this, Jayesh Bhai. I will manage it.", Aarti said softly.

He nodded. He knew she would manage it. "Thank you, Madam.", said Jayesh Bhai as he went away.

Aarti sighed. How many times had she asked Jayesh Bhai to call her Bitiyaa in public as he did in private. But he was adamant.

Nitin handed over the file, and walked away.

Aarti dropped the file in her car, and standing by her vehicle, pondered over the identity of her secret admirer.

The Sunflower wouldn't ask the security guard or the chai wala. He would walk right in, and ask at the reception desk.

Akash & Mamaji had no idea that their NK was interested in her.

Only Khushiji knew. But she wouldn't dress as a man and haunt her office. She was more likely to lay siege to Aarti's house with Buaji for company.

But she might have informed her husband, Arnav Singh Raizada. Aarti smiled. He wouldn't sneak around her office, asking the canteen boy and the security guard after her. It would be beneath him. So he must have hired somebody to do his dirty job for him.

His subordinates or a detective agency? Most probably, a detective agency. So that his search would be confidential, and couldn't be traced back to him.

Aarti stretched her arms, and arched her back, relishing the cool, evening breeze. She smiled wryly.

He had got nothing this time. Her loyal employees had seen to it.

But he would try again. His love for his brother would make him try again. Both to protect the Sunflower from heart ache and to grant him his heart's wish.

Now all she had to do was wait for Arnav Singh Raizada to make his second move. Then she would end the game. Aarti sighed as she slammed the door shut, and drove home.

Arnav strode into his bedroom, furious with the detective agency. He stopped at the sight of Khushi. She was hanging their clothes in the closet, singing in Raag Din Ki Puriyaa

Kaiso ye neeke laage, saanch suhaavan...

She held his coat to her, breathing in his scent. She carried it to his wardrobe, and hung it neatly.

Suna Pee ke aaavan kee Baath...

Arnav stood watching her, his anger dying out. He couldn't even remember what he had been angry about. Khushi went to stand in front of the mirror. She straightened her blue saree, making herself more beautiful for her husband. She hummed,

Bhaave Singaara BanThan Baithoon,

Karuungee Rangras ab unke saath...

She looked at herself.

There was no tummy to be seen. She looked intently, but her stomach looked as flat as it always had. She pouted, and ran her hand gently over her stomach. Arnav melted in to a puddle where he stood.

He slowly walked up to her, and put his hands on her shoulders. She looked up, and stood shocked to see him.

"Arnavji! Aap! You are early today!"

She turned towards him, glad to see him, hugging him in her joy.

He cupped her face. "How are you feeling today, Khushi?"

"Perfectly fine, Arnavji."

He nodded. She would be fine if he had anything to say about it. He would make sure that she had a safe pregnancy & delivery, and that she got her baby. She wouldn't lose anything more in her life. He would read up more on pregnancy, and ensure that she was always happy.

She hugged him once more with all her might, and said, "I will get you tea." She moved to the door.

"Khushi, Khushi, don't walk...", came his panicked cry.

"Ji?", she halted half stride, looked at the floor to see if something was wrong, and then stared at him.

"I mean, don't walk so fast. You will hurt the baby."

Khushi still stared at him, her eyes wide, her mouth open.

"Khushi, don't walk down the steps. Stay in our room. HP will bring the tea. Anyone who wants to see you can come here. I will ask Di to send our food here."

"Arnavji!", Khushi gasped.

"I want you to rest, take care, read good books, listen to classical music..."

"For nine months?", Khushi asked, unable to believe her ears.

"Yes."

Khushi sighed. She caught hold of his hand, and led him to sit on their bed. She sat by him, and holding his hand, said, "Arnavji! Do you really want me to spend the next nine months imprisoned in this room?"

Put like that, Arnav felt that his demand might have been a tad, only a tad, unreasonable.

He put his arm around her, and hugged her close. "I want you to take care, Khushi. I..."

"I will take care." She leaned her head against his shoulder. "Arnavji, as far as I know, women have been giving birth for centuries without any fuss. They go about their work, but take care not to strain. That's all."

"No, Khushi.", he was determined. "I want you to be safe. I..."

"Arnavji, there are women who work in the fields and break rocks even while they are pregnant.", Khushi teased.

"Yes, but they are not my wife." Arnav was adamant. "Khushi, I want you to take care."

Khushi looked at his worried face, and wanted to laugh. With great effort, she bit down her laughter.

She said with a sad face, "Arnavji, the mother is supposed to be happy during pregnancy. It will make her child healthy and well-balanced."

Arnav nodded.

"How can I be happy, spending 9 months in this bedroom, bathroom, and the poolside? It will be like a prison."

Arnav frowned, hard at thought.

Khushi hid her smile. He was so cute when he was worried. She leaned forward, and kissed him on his cheek.

Part 59: https://www.indiaforums.com/forum/fan-fictions/3321019/ss-keeping-khushi-thread-6-part-59-pg-110