|| PART 4 ||
After praying and taking the blessings from my parents, me and Virat leave for the day - he to work and me to my interview. He is driving me to the hospital. I suddenly realize he must have been used to dropping Simmi in the hospital too, when they were married.
God! Why did she have to pick the same profession as me. Kuch toh different de dete. Arghhh!!! I look at Virat, he is playing with the radio - listening to morning news.
"Mannu, you should buy a car, we can go and look for one in the evening if you want."
Car? No! I don't want a car. Why can't you drop me? This is the one excuse I get to take you with me to where ever I want.
"I don't want a car."
"Kyu?"
"I can't decide which car I want."
"Right! Anyways, we will talk about it later, we are at your hospital. My office is just two blocks away from here. If you are done early, call me and I will drop you home."
"Okay. But, it is not 'my' hospital yet. I have to clear the interview." I look towards the building nervously without moving from my seat.
"Toh kya problem hai? Nobody knows anymore than you do. You will rock, just be calm and don't annoy people like you usually do."
I smile.
Nobody knows anymore than you do! Haww!
"Thanks." I smile. I unbuckle myself and take my things and bid him goodbye
"Bye Viratji!" I tease.
And then something strikes me. Wait a second, what did he just say at the end. "What do you mean, stay calm and don't annoy people like I usually do? Whom do I ever annoy?"
He shakes his head. "Bye Manvi. Goodluck!" he pulls the door shut.
"Hey!!!!" I object. He shakes his head and drives off smiling.
"HOW RUDE!!"
~~~
I have interviews with two different professors. I was sitting at my first interview.
"Manvi Vadhera? Are you related to Simmi Vadhera?" the professor asked.
"I was." I replied
"What do you mean?"
"Why does it matter?"
"Well, if you are recommended by a previous resident of the hospital, that too someone as good as Simmi, you will be offered any specialty you choose."
"With all due respect, I don't need any outside recommendations, I have a perfect academic record and I just answered all your medical questions. I have chosen pediatrics as my specialty and that is the only thing I want."
"Ofcourse. We have everything we want. You may leave now. We will call you. You sure you don't want us to call Simmi Vadhera as a reference for you?"
"She is not Simmi 'Vadhera' anymore" I retort angrily. "...and NO, I don't want her reference. You can call up the professors in my med school if you want to know more about me. But, I can tell you what they are going to say about me right now - that I am a honest-to-god sincere, talented and dedicated doctor and that I am amazing with kids!!" I stormed out of there.
I didn't even want to stay for the second interview but I thought I should do everything right from my side. If they don't want such an awesome person in their hospital, it is seriously their loss. So, I am waiting outside this other Professor's office. I am called in after a half hour wait. I walk into the office and this doctor is much younger than the other. I greet him politely as he extends his hand. He shakes my hand a little longer than necessary. I eye him suspiciously.
"So, you did your medicine abroad?" he asks looking at my file.
"Yes. Brown University"
"And still you dress so traditionally?"
Eh? What an inappropriate thing to say! I don't reply.
"Where are your practical training records?"
They are right in front of your gigantic nose, you freak!
"Everything is in the file." I tell him politely.
"Can you please show me?" he hands me back my file and starting walking around in the office, stretching. I quickly turn my file to the records he asked for and put it on the table. He walks over to my side and looks at them, bending over behind me with his hand on my shoulder. Who the hell is this guy? I spring out of the chair.
"What's wrong?" he asks. I grab my file from the table, ready to get the hell out of there. He stops me by holding my hand, breaking my bangles in the process.
"Sorry!" he lets go.
I am furious. The sick bas***d!! I glare at him!
"Don't pretend to be angry. I know how med schools in US are! I am sure you didn't mind sucking up to your attendings over there?" he gives me the most disgusting smile laughing at his own sick innuendo.
I want to kill him!
I control my anger and give him a big smile and walk towards him. "No, I didn't. This is how I used to 'suck up' to them." I say and land a tight slap on his face.
"Like it? Pervert!!"
~~~
I search for Priya bhabhi as she works in the same hospital, but she is in surgery. It is depressing thinking about the interview, I don't know what came over me - I usually don't get that mad. There is a small garden kind of thing in the hospital and I am strolling around. Mom is in a class, she is a history professor. I decide to call Virat. I am also hungry. I call him on his cell, he doesn't answer; so I call his office.
"Is Virat there?"
"Mr.Vadhera is with a client ma'm, can I take a message?"
"Who are you honey?"
"I am his secretary Ma'm."
"You have a name?"
"Preity ma'm"
"So pretty!"
"Thank you Ma'm"
"So who is this client Mr.Vadhera is with?"
"She is the director of an ad firm Ma'm, Sheela Malhotra."
"Aha? What does she want?"
"I don't know the exact details ma'm, but I can find out!"
"You should know about this stuff girl."
"yes Ma'm"
"You know the most important qualities of a secretary?..." And I go on to give her my two cents worth of gyaan. I was actually bored and wanted to take my mind off the interview. Virat is busy and I know my mom has a class going on right now, so I need someone to chat with.
Then I hear Virat voice. "Preity whom are you speaking with? I am trying to call you since the last 15 min."
"Ma'm" Priety stammers.
I shake my head. I just told her that the most important quality of a secretary is to be strong and in control.
"Kiski Ma'm?????" Virat's tone was angry.
"I don't know sir!"
"You don't know who? and you have been chit-chatting with her since the last 15 minutes!!!! Hadh karthi ho. Give me that."
"Who is this?" he snaps at me.
"Viratji!" I smile.
"Mannu!!!!!!!!!!!!"
"I am done with my interview, I am hungry. Do you want to get lunch?"
There is a long pause.
"Yes, ofcourse. I will pick you up in a few min."
"I will be waiting. Say Hi to your Sheela. And don't be mad at Preity, I was the one talking."
"Really? You don't say!" he retorts sarcastically and hangs up.
~~~
Virat picks me up and takes me out for lunch.
"How was your interview?" he asks.
"So - So"
"What do you mean?"
"Don't want to talk about it. They are all crazy."
He looks at me narrowing his eyes "You are right about that."
I hand him a paper.
"What is this?"
"You had asked for it."
"A list of things that make Manvi happy! Are you for real?"
"Absolutely!"
"I might add more things later." I tell him.
1) Do not call/refer/think of Manvi as a kid.
2) Drop and pick up Manvi from work.
3) Have atleast one meal per day with Manvi, if possible.
4) Re-organization of the house to get rid of un-used stuff and make space for Manvi's stuff.
5) Allot Manvi some creative freedom in organizing things at home.
5) Once a week movie and dinner.
6) Once a month outing.
7) Thrice a year, family vacations.
He laughs loudly, for a few minutes.
"Arey? What's so funny about it?"
He folds it and keeps it in his pocket. "You want me to not to call you a kid, after reading this list?" he asks smiling and shaking his head.
"Matlab?"
"Kuch nahi. Please eat 'the food'!"
I ignore his retort and I start talking. I have this habit of talking non-stop when I don't want to brood over something upsetting. I am talking randomly about movies, books, politics, weather, kuch bhi..
"So, Saif finally chooses Diana who is soft and mellow and traditional and ditches Deepika just because she is a party girl. Hadh hai! I mean the thing that he initially 'loved' about her is now moot? Movie-makers are so stupid, I tell you. Pass me the curry please."
He is just staring at me without blinking his eyes.
"Kya huva? Why are you looking at me like I am an idiot?"
"What is wrong with you? Jab se dekh raha hu, bole ja rahi, bole ja rahi ho? dimaag toh teek hai tumhari?"
"CURRY PLEASE!" I roll my eyes.
"Here, please, save some energy. You will faint if you talk so much. Nahi, correction, I will faint!" He says passing the curry. But before giving it to me, he puts it down.
"Mannu?" he holds my hand. "What happened to your hand?"
Oh shit! It had scratches from the broken bangles from that idiotic interview.
I quickly pull my hand back."Kuch nahi!"
He gets up immediately and sits in the chair beside me and takes my hand and looks at it. I stay quiet. "Come with me." He takes me to his car which had a first-aid box. Wipes my cuts and seals them up with band-aid.
God, this is so embarrassing. Somebody please remind him that I am the doctor!
His gaze is piercing me for an answer.
So, I tell him, about everything.
He literally blows his top off!!!!!
"You have been going non-stop talking all sorts of non-sense. You couldn't have told me about such a big thing?" His eyes are red and he is angry - very, very!!!
"Get in!" he tells me. I go and sit in the car. I try to ask where he was taking me.
"DON'T!!!" he says.
He drives back to the hospital and asks me to take me to the office of that professor who hit on me. I try to stop him but it was scary, I have never seen Virat like this. I show him the office. He was with a couple of patients. He pulls him out of his chair by his collar and trashes him left and right. "How dare you touch her." He twists the doctor's hand making his screech like a small mouse.
I look at the whole thing in a daze. What is he doing? He is pouncing on him like a tiger. The hospital security show up and stop him. Within five minutes, the dean arrives. "Virat? what are you doing? Come with me."
~~~
Apparently, Virat knows the dean of the hospital and his company is actually one of the investors in it. Why didn't he tell me this before?
"So much anger for such a small thing?" the dean scolds Virat.
"Small thing? That asshole misbehaved with my wife!!! It could be a small thing to you, but not to me!!"
MY WIFE!!!
I couldn't hear anything else past those two words. The rest of the conversation was on mute. This is the first time he referred to me as his wife! I couldn't take my eyes off him.
Priya rushes in breaking all the stupid thoughts going on in my head. "What's going on?"
I go out with her and sit outside the office while Virat was still talking with the dean. I tell Priya what happened.
"That bas***d! I should have warned you about him. He is like that, a big leech. You don't know how many female medicos would be laughing their asses off happily for how Virat trashed him." She laughed.
"I slapped him too. Everyone keeps forgetting about that. I can take care of myself."
"Acha baba. Why were you wearing a saree anyways? I thought you went home from the temple, so you will change." She asks me casually.
"Virat said I look nice." I immediately reply.
Shit! I bite my tongue and screw my eyes shut. She is not going to stop now!
"Ohhh!! Virat ke liye!!!" she nudges me.
I am such a duffer and I huff and turn around to see if Virat is done with his outburst!
Oh no!
Somebody kill me!!!
He is standing behind us, looking at me, with a small smile playing on his face. He must have heard us. I look away. What happens to me when he is looking at me like this?
My face flushes. I just wanted to disappear from there.
~~~
Edited by bluebolt - 12 years ago
Ye Hai Mohabbatein
41