Slightly long chapter. If I had stopped in the middle, it would be too abrupt. So thought about completing one event completely.
Please do let me know how you felt. I read each and every comment. And they really make my day. 😊 I think about replying them, but not enough time as of now. I will reply to you all one of these days.
The last chapter had mixed responses for Aman and Anjali. Will try to keep them at minimum going forward.
For now, here is the new Chapter. Do let me know how you felt.
Chapter 14
FRIDAY NIGHT 10.00 PM
Khushi's thoughts
Khushi recapped the previous week. What a crazy week it had been. Work at office was piling up. And in the meantime, she had visited Arnavji's house three times. The first time around, Anjaliji had wanted to learn to make stuffed karela sabji. The one she had made on the day when they had met. The second time was to learn making jalebies. Khushi had made sugar free ones for Arnavji. Was it a slight smile of appreciation she had seen when he had the first bite? She smiled thinking about Arnavji's reaction then. The third time was today. Anjaliji had wanted her to take to a good shopping center. And today she got a taste of what Kaka had been going through all week. Apparently Anjaliji wanted to step out every day. And for some strange reason, she wanted to walk most of the time. Kaka's poor old knees had the test of their life time. But upon returning home, she insited that Kaka take rest. And that she would cook herself. That's when she wanted to learn making the karela sabji. She had told Khushi over phone that it was just so yumm and the proof is that Anjaliji had never seen her Chotey eat that sabji, let alone take a second serving as he had done that day. So Arnavji liked it. So there was no stopping her, the great Khushi Kumari Gupta, teaching his sister how to make it. Period.
And coming to Arnavji, she saw a whole different facet of him this week. He smiled. He "smiled". She never knew he could "smile". He looked so different in those casuals that he wore at home. He never changed his demeanor just because she was around in his house. Agreed he spoke to her only when needed. But not once about work.
He was so affectionate towards Anjaliji. The small things he did spoke a lot about how he took care of his family. He woud silently hand her the medicine box and a glass of water. In the middle of the meal, he would get up to fetch her favourite pickle from the kitchen. He would silently fetch her home slippers if he found her walking without them. He apparently escorted her wherever she wanted to go. And waited up the entire time in his car. How endearing...
And talking about herself, Arnavji never made her feel out of place. Never complained about dropping her to the PG late in the night. Infact she remembered the first time he had dropped her. When they had approached his car in the parking lot, both, Khushi and Kaka took the back seats. How can you sit on par with your employer / boss? And Arnav stood outside the car. Gaping at them with a weird look. Shaking his head in exasperation, he sat inside the car. Inserting the key in ignition and releasing the hand break, he spoke to both of them - "I am not a driver. One of you come and sit in the front." Kaka had pushed her to sit in the front seat, under the pretext of giving directions. So she sat. And soon after realized that her dupatta was very close to the car gear. Whenever Arnavji changed the gear, he had to touch the dupatta. Oh God. How awkward? So, she slowly slid her hand under the dupatta and crunched it up within her palms. She relaxed, letting her palms rest beside her knees on the seat. And then, inadvertently, Arnavji's fingers grazed her hand when he was trying to change the gear. She inconspicuously shifted her palm onto her knees. She did not want him to think that he was making her uncomfortable.
But Arnav was completely oblivious to all this. He did not feel uncomfortable around her at all.
End of Khushi's thoughts
Presently, Friday night 10 PM, they stopped at a traffic signal. The signal showed 120 seconds to go green. Out of habit Arnav took out his phone to check his emails. There was one from the Head Office's Finance Head. He read it and sighed.
"There is a stinker for you from the Company Finance Head".
"Uhh?" Khushi came out her reverie.
"He is asking you to send the reports quickly Khushi. But in a not so polite language." The signal turned green and he started to drive again.
"But Sir, I am yet to receive quite a bit of information from some of our branches." She was looking at him. And couldn't stop from noticing his face, his square jawline, the scar on his left eyelid, his eyelashes, slightly curled. He was looking straight, concentrating on the driving. The light of the traffic was gleaming in his eyes.
"Yeah... I know. He can be an a** sometimes. The Regional Finance Head did update him yesterday. I was marked a copy on the email. But inspite of that he sent a stinker."
"Do one thing, you send an intermediate report to them with whatever information you have. I will write to this idiot that we are on the job."
"Ok Sir." She giggled internally. She didn't know that even HE had nicknames for his bosses, just as NK and Deepak had named him Yamraj.
Then there was silence for sometime. Kaka had dozed off almost as soon as he had started to drive.
"And you should learn to say NO." Arnav told her, breaking the silence.
Arnav's thoughts
Di was driving not only him crazy, but both Khushi and Kaka too. Her new found physical independence was becoming a pain in the wrong place for the rest of them. Initially he was very happy for her, humoured her. But after 6 days of sheer exhaustion and boredom, he could not take it anymore. Next time onwards, he would hire a taxi for her to take her wherever she wanted to go. But Kaka and Khushi could have pushed her back. They were not family. They were not obliged to listen to her. But NO. Instead of curbing her, they encouraged her more. Khushi had infact gone ahead and told her today that there was a fantastic shopping area in the heart of the city. It was crowded. So entailed a lot of walking. No cars could enter the street. But it had great things to buy. And Di had insisted that she accompany her. So they had made an all-day plan to shop. He had firmly said that he would only drop and pick them up. He had no intention of waiting around all day. Di was going back the next evening anyway. He just let the things be for another day more.
End of Arnav's thoughts
"Uhh??" Khushi looked at him in confusion. She could not figure out in what context was he saying that.
"Nevermind" He left the topic. They were nearing her PG.
***
All week Anjali had tried to gather her guts and tell Arnav about Aman and her. Aman had left immediately after dinner that day. He had given a lame reason of visiting Chotey as he had not seen him since a long time. The look on Chotey's face was hilarious. She giggled.
But now, it was already Friday. Chotey had gone to drop Khushiji. She had stayed back feigning fatigue. She used this lone time to talk to Aman. Both of them had wanted to be the first to talk to Chotey. But she finally convinced Aman that it would be better if he heard from her first. Aman had tried to reason with her. ASR would feel betrayed by his close friend. He did not want this relationship to start at the end of another important one. He was tied up to ASR both on personal and professional front. He was himself not sure how the dynamics of the relationship would be once he revealed that he intended to marry his sister.
And so, at the end of today's call, they both agreed that they would reveal this together. They would be patient and go with the flow. There was no telling how each person would react. But they would not take this relationship forward without the blessings of all. Especially Chotey/ASR.
With that decided she slept. She didn't want to be tired for tomorrow. She and Khushiji had planned for an all day shopping. Khushiji's friend would also be accompanying her. This was going to be her first girls-day-out. She felt excited like a teenager. Khushiji was such a cutie. But this was all only this time. Next time onwards she would be more restrained. Chotey must be thinking she had gone nuts. With happy thoughts she started the tv and dozed off on the sofa.
***
NEXT DAY EVENING (SATURDAY) - OUTSIDE THE SHOPPING AREA
Arnav located Anjali, Khushi and one other girl inside a small restaurant outside the shopping area. He walked up to them. They all stood up.
"Khushiji, Saritaji, please come home. We can spend an hour or so more together. I just don't feel like letting the two of you go. But my flight is in the next four hours and I really need to rush."
"Nahi Anjaliji. Woh, actually, we have plans to go to a movie. Infact one of my colleagues would be waiting for us in the theatre."
Colleague? Arnav's eyebrow cocked up in question.
"Sir... Woh...NK said he would come to watch the movie too." She answered his silent question.
Something pricked inside Arnav. He did not let it show.
"Ok Khushiji. Phir Hum Chalte hain. I cant tell you how glad I am that I met you. You should definitely visit us in Delhi. Naani, Maama and Maami would be so happy to meet you."
"Same here Anjaliji." Khushi reciprocated her feelings. She had found a new friend in Anjali.
"And I promise, next time we meet, I will not be such a pain. This time around, I've had happiness on so many fronts."
Arnav eyed her with doubt. "So many fronts?" Her leg was one front. What were the others??
"And Saritaji, thank you so much. I had an awesome day. Thanks to both of you."
"I don't know how you both stand it, but please don't add that "ji" at the end of my name anymore. In one day, I have had enough of it for a lifetime. I feel like an old aunty." They all giggled. And Arnav was going all restless waiting for them to wrap up their good-byes.
They parted outside the restaurant, each going their way.
***
MOVIE THEATER
Khushi and Sarita reached the theater and met NK. NK and Khushi stood in the line for tickets, while Sarita went away to buy some snacks. The queue had already lined up almost to the foot-path of the Theater. Just then Khushi gasped with fear. Something clung to her legs. She looked down, only to find a cute little boy. She dropped down to talk to him.
"Sorry, he is such a badmash. His Papa told him that this is the line for the tickets and without even waiting for us, he dashed to the line." A lady walked up to them.
Khushi stood up to talk to the kid's mother.
"Sunanda ... Sunanda..."
"Kya ji" The lady turned back.
All blood drained from Khushi's face. Is it... is it... Him?
"I will park the car and come. You guys stand in the line." He told his wife. Khushi was partially hidden behind the lady. So, he had not seen her.
"Ji... theek hain. Montu. Dekho, Papa is going to park the car and come. You and I will stand in this queue. Now don't start crying just because you don't see your Papa for 5 minutes."
Khushi kept gaping at her.
The lady explained. "Woh kya hain na. He is so attached to his Papa, that he can't be away from him even for one moment. God knows how I manage him from the time he comes back from school till the time my husband returns."
Khushi stood there dumbfounded. Husband... Papa... These were the only words that registered in her mind. May be she was hallucinating. May be it was not him.
A few minutes later, the small boy ran towards the same man screaming Papa.
His father picked him up with great joy and flung him in the air. The boy squealed with happiness.
Khushi kept looking at him. There was no doubt it was HIM. Only his hair had greyed a little bit here and there. Otherwise there was absolutely no change.
The man came and stood beside his wife. The little boy in his arm blocking his view of Khushi.
"Suniye ji. The queue is so long. Don't know if we will get the tickets."
"Achcha? You stay here. I will go to the front and see if I can make some arrangements. "
He handed over the boy to his wife and went to the front, totally missing to note Khushi.
"Didi... Mere saat khelo na." The boy stood beside Khushi and tugged at her hand.
Khushi dropped to his height and started to play.
"Beta... what is your name?" She asked, wanting to know more about this family.
"Mohit. Mohit Gupta. Son of Shashikumar Gupta. MD of Nanaji's Factory. Mother's name Sunanda Gupta. Class Pre-KG 2. Highspirits Montessori School."
"Aur kuch? Why do all old people ask the same set of questions? Atleast now will you play?" The boy asked her slightly annoyed.
She nodded slightly. Her heart sank. So he was married now. And with a child?
"Waise you can call me Montu. My family calls me Montu. Ab chalo, lets play chupa chupi." The small child continued.
"Nahi Montu. I am not feeling well. I have to go somewhere." She got up. And told NK the same thing. Without giving him a chance to speak she rushed out of the place. It was getting too suffocating here.
***
Son of Shashi Gupta... Suniyeji... Papa... Nanaji's Factory... Shashikumar Gupta... Her head was reeling with only these words.
She ran and ran from the theatre... till she could run no longer. And then she kept walking... aimlessly on roads. It began to rain. She did not realize. Her tears mingling with the rain drops. She went where her feet took. For the next three hours she just kept walking. Her feet suddenly stopped. She looked at the gate ahead. It was the gate of Arnavji's Apartment complex. How did she arrive here? She came back to her senses slightly. No...no.. she had no intention of going inside. Feet were tired, mind was tired, and heart was numb. She went and sat on a stone bench nearby. She heard the security guard shout something at her. But she had no energy to listen.
***
Arnav dropped Anjali at the airport and was returning back to his apartment. The security guard opened the gate but stopped him. Coming to his car window, he told him.
"Sir, you know the girl who visited your home this week."
Arnav frowned in confusion. "Which girl?"
"Sir, that girl." He pointed at where Khushi was sitting. "She has been sitting like that for the past one hour Sir. I even asked her if she wanted to go inside. But she did not reply. It has been raining heavily, but she has not moved an inch. She will go sick like this. I wonder why she is sitting like that."
What the hell!! What was she doing here.
"Khushi... Khushi..." Arnav shouted at her sitting in the car. But she did not respond.
He parked his car to the side and sprinted in the rain towards her. Holding his palm as a shade for the pelting drops.
"Khushi.. Khushi..." He shouted through the rain. No response.
"Yeh kya kar rahi ho. Pagal ho gayi ho tum?" He grabbed both of her arms and pulled her up to stand.
She lifted to see who was holding her. "Arnavji" she spoke softly recognizing the person in front of her.
"Why are you sitting here like this?"
Again no answer.
"Ab chalo ander." He held her wrist and dragged her behind him. She was not walking on her own. He knew he was pulling her.
He let himself in with his key and pulled her inside the house.
"Atleast now will you tell me what the hell is happening. Since how long have you been sitting like that?"
No response.
Kaka came to the front of the house hearing his loud voice. He was surprised to see both of them wet.
"Saheb.. Bitiya... How did you get wet?"
"She has been apparently sitting outside our complex for the past one hour. Drenching in rain. Can you please ask her why she has been doing that. I cant get her to reply at all." He flung his hands in the air in exasperation and went to his room. He stepped out with two towels and was standing in the lobby, hidden from Khushi's and Kaka's vision. He stopped when he heard her voice. May be, she couldn't tell him. May be she would tell Kaka.
"I saw him." She said softly to Kaka.
"Whom?" Kaka asked.
"I saw him." She was looking at Kaka now.
"Whom bitiya? Kisko dekha?" He held her shoulder.
"Ba..bu..ji ko." She stammered.
"Kissey? Shashi ko?"
She nodded a yes, clutching her bag tightly. Fresh tears emerged.
"Kahan... Where did you see him? Come let's go together. I will beat him black and blue till he agrees to return."
"Nahi Kaka. Its all over now. Sab khatam ho gaya hain." She slumped on the floor.
"What are you saying bitiya? Nothing is over. You will get your father back. How can a man abandon a family at the drop of a ball and go to live an independent life. He has got to fulfil his duties. Especially with two daughters around. I have seen you grow up without the shade of a father on your head. It is about time he pays for his crime of abandoning you all."
"Nahi Kaka. He is married now. And has a small kid. And...and he seemed a very happy man. Living his life as he wanted. If he wanted to come back to us, he would have done so, many years ago Kaka. It is close to 13 years now. As far as he is concerned, he has erased us from his life."
"Bitiya... no, we will not let him erase. He has to come back to you all."
"Nahi Kaka. You cannot bind someone to you. Any bond has to be natural. I don't want him to come back to us by force."
"If Garima comes to know about him, she will slap him endlessly."
"No no Kaka. Under no circumstances should Amma and Payal know. In all these years, we had come to our own conclusions as to where Babuji has gone. Amma thinks that he is most likely dead. Payal has no notion of a father. So, it does not really matter to her. And I, I always searched for him in a crowd. Hoping to catch a glimpse. And that is what happened today. At the most unexpected place. My worst thoughts coming to life. My father abandoned us because he does not like us Kaka. That is the truth. That is the truth. That is the truth."
Closing her face with her palms she wept her heart out. Kaka embraced her by the shoulder. Arnav stepped out from the lobby to see the heart wrenching scene. Kaka was passifying her. And he himself was too disturbed to say anything. He went to his study and slumped on his chair. He could still hear her sobs. They died down slowly. He stepped out to talk to her. Kaka was taking her to the kitchen. Probably to give some food and water.
He went back to his room and picked up a Kurta-Pyjama and a towel. Khushi should not know that he had overheard their conversation. He wasn't sure if she meant for him to know. Quickly changing his own clothes, he went to the kitchen and gave Kaka his clothes.
"Did she tell you why she had been sitting in rain like that?" He feigned anger and ignorance of their conversation in the hall.
"Ji Saheb." Kaka did not elaborate.
"Ok. Ask her to change. She can sleep in the study, if she wants to stay over-night." He offered hoping she would accept.
"No. I will go to my PG." She said from behind.
"Ok. I will drop you. First change into dry clothes. Kaka, can you lay the dinner please. Let all three of us eat together."
They ate in silence. And some time later he dropped her to her PG.
That night two young souls lay on their beds. Eyes wide open. One heart broken about her fate and the other worrying about her.
***
Early next morning Arnav logged into the Mallik Fashion's laptop. Work was the best medicine to a worried and tensed mind. To his surprise, Khushi's IM id was showing green. Unsettling thoughts came to his mind. He had to see her. Getting ready in a record speed he drived to the office quickly.
He walked to her floor directly and relief washed over him to find her safe and sound. Sitting in her seat and working. He walked towards her seat slowly, but stopped mid-way. She was constantly wiping her eyes. He saw her more closely. Tears were flowing from her eyes continuously and she was wiping them away in anger. She blinked several times to look at the screen, then a file. Things were blurring due to this stupid water in her eyes. It was very clear that she was grieving. And she wanted to be alone. Instead of going to his own cabin two floors above, Arnav sat in a cabin in the same floor where he could watch her every now and then. After sometime she had stopped crying, but did not eat her lunch.
He walked to her.
"Khushi."
She turned back in surprise. "I saw in the attendance register that you had come too. I have ordered lunch. Come lets eat."
"No Sir. I am not hungry."
"My answer is the same as in last time a similar thing happened. The food will see the trash bin. I am sure you don't want that."
She went behind him to the cabin. They ate in silence again. Towards the end, Arnav said
"Sometimes things are hard. But if you let the events bother you, then life will be difficult to live. Just let it go. Just let things be."
"Hmm??" Khushi wondered what he was trying to say.
"I mean, you are here because of the stinker from the Finance Head, right?" Arnav lied, hinting that he was talking about the email from the Finance Head, when he was actually speaking about her father.
"You should not take everything to heart. Work goes on. There is a life to live in the meantime. Relax. Come, let me drop you to your PG."
"No Sir. If I invest couple of hours more, then I would have completed some crucial reports." She got up and cleared up their plates.
While exiting his cabin, she turned back and said.
"Thankyou Sir." She smiled a little bit.
"You are welcome." He returned the gesture.
Khushi went and sat in her chair. And yet again unintentionally, Arnavji had shown her the path ahead. Yes, she had to let this be. And let her father go. Some things were not meant to be. As agonizing as the thought that her father had abandoned her was, the truth is still that her father did not choose them. He chose his new family. She had been in doubt all night about her decision to not tell her mother and sister. But now she was absolutely sure. There was no point in raising old demons. They were locked up deep in their hearts. And they shall remain there forever now.
Arnav looked at Khushi's retreating back. It was so easy for him to tell her to let things be. And let things go. And not to take anything to heart. But what had HE done? And what IS he doing? He has NOT let gone anything. May be it was time to practice what he has been preaching.
A/n: Please please let me know your thoughts. Please COMMENT or press the LIKE BUTTON.
And thankyou again for being with me. Love you all. 🤗
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