RaBir FF -A Cast of Characters chapter 97/98 & Epilogue pg121/2 (4 - Page 59

Chapter 47

"Are you certain they should have released him, Rachna? Surely they should have at least kept him overnight for observation!"

"He's a little worse for wear, but I promise you Sanjay is fine. He checked out perfectly at the hospital, they wouldn't have released him if there was any concern ."

"I want you to contact the family doctor first thing in morning, Rachna, just to make certain. I'll get things settled here and then come home as soon as possible."

"Nay KT, you have work to get done, and like I said, Sanjay is fine. Yes, I will get the doctor to come and see him ,and have him call you to confirm that everything is as I said, but it won't be necessary for you to fly home, KT. At the most the biggest problem we have right now is Sonal's recovery. I'm not certain how long she will need to be hospitalized, but we will need to ensure that she is ably supported when she is finally discharged."

"Rachna...your condition...I can't have you handling this all by yourself!"

"Is it your intention to leave Naomi alone, then? Tell me Kabir, and I will fly out to be with her myself, and you can come back."

He heard the impatience in his wife's tone and looked over to their friend who sat her lips tight with concern, as she awaited word of what had happened.

"Nay Rachna, you know I won't."

She sighed. "Thank you KT. I know that you are worried, but please trust me, although he called for you, and Naomi for that matter, physically Sanjay is okay. I'm certain he will be all the better in the morning after a good night's sleep. The rest of it, I will take care of as the need arises."

Kabir shook his head, "My wife, the super woman," he thought. Mentally calculating the time back at home, he finally came to the conclusion that she was right and nothing would be gained by keeping her from her much needed rest. "Thik hai, Rachna, you are right; I'm sorry for adding to the problem. We will talk more in the morning. You should get some rest now, you have to be tired."

She yawned, giving the first indication just how exhausted she truly was. "Ha, KT you are right. We will speak more in the morning. In the meantime, do you think you can get Naomi to call Rajeev; I suspect he won't rest until he hears from her, and frankly I don't want to risk his restlessness evolving into a surly disposition. He may a bit more subtle with his suggestions that I let him handle everything, but I can still recognize bossy when I see it."

Kabir smiled wanly. "Remind me to thank him Rachna. I'm certain what you perceive as dictatorial behavior, is mere commonsense."

"You are very, very lucky that I love you so much Kabir Tripathi, and that it is too late for me to put up any real fight."

"Okay Love, you go and get some rest now."

"Do you have to leave early in the morning, or will you have time for a skype call with me?"

It had been a stilted conversation on her end, primarily due to the lack of privacy in the town car, but even still, just the sound of her voice was a soothing balm to the loneliness he could never have anticipated to engulf him as the day had passed, putting more and more distance between them. "Perhaps if there is time we can get Sanjay on the call as well, okay Rajeev?"

On the other end of the phone call, Rajeev hesitated, content to just listen to the sound of her voice.

"Rajeev?"

"Ji Naomi, I will have the time and if Sanjay is up I will make sure he joins me on the call."

"My poor Jayjay I hope he is okay."

"Rachna has taken and will take very good care of him; he's fine Naomi."

"And you will make sure that she doesn't overtax herself in the process, right?"

"Naomi, Rachna is quite capable of taking care of herself, and recognizing when she has taken on too much."
" I know ,but.."

"But yes, I will look out for her just to keep you happy...I love you, Sweetheart." He smiled at her instant silence. "Aacha, are these the magic words to stop you in your tracks?"

"Actually I just like hearing you say the words. I don't think I will ever get tired hearing you say them."

It was his turn for quiet now, not because he didn't know what to say, but in expressing his wishes he would only put more pressure on her than he knew her to be under already. All he knew was that he wanted her back here with him, but she was already bearing the unfair burden of convincing her parents alone. And so he said nothing of his need for her to be at his side. Unfortunately, or fortunately as the case may have been, Naomi misinterpreted his quiet for weariness, and continued on without delving further into his silence . "I imagine you must be ready to retire for the night, so I'll let you go then, Rajeev."

"It is late."

"Well that settles it then Mr. Agarwal, off to bed for you. I love you so much."

Naomi disconnected the call and looked over to KT, who was staring vacantly out of the vehicle window. She exhaled heavily before speaking. "Not quite the news anyone wants to get, but thankfully our Sanjay is okay...hopefully Sonal recover quickly as well." She turned to look out her own window as they drove into the city. "It's just unreal how one phone call has the potential to change everything."

Her statement broke through his haze of worry, and Kabir turned to Naomi; only to find her lost in her own thoughts.

Naomi walked around the suite before returning to where the designer stood directing the bell staff where to place her luggage. "This room is amazing, KT. I hope this isn't some misguided manner of apologizing to me."

He smiled softly at her. "Nay, Naomi, even this wouldn't do as an apology; you are worth far more than this. Just consider it thanks from the company for all of your hard work."

"Well, it's far too much!"

He smiled at the young woman. "Never, but if it will make you feel any better, I'm certain that I have pretty nice room as well across the hall." He headed towards the door. "I'll leave you to get settled then, and will call you closer to dinner time. We can play it by ear as if we should go out or not. Make sure you latch the door behind me."

Refreshed after a hot shower, Naomi absently fiddled with the flowers as she dialed her parents. Each arrangement was beautiful in itself, but side by side as they were, they felt inherently at odds with each other; their separateness basically representing the very problem she needed to resolve. As the phone rang, she removed one flower and inserted it into the other arrangement. She removed another and then one more, stopping only when the answering machine clicked on. She left her message confirming her safe arrival and her hope that they would call as soon as they received her message. Then walking away from the flowers, Naomi sat on the bed to send two more messages: one to Stefan, the other to Vihaan, but she found she couldn't keep away from her task now that she had started. Fifteen minutes later she stood back to examine her handiwork. Somehow she had managed to integrate the different blooms into each vase resulting in two equally beautiful arrangements. She took the arrangements and placed one on each of the two nightstands. She smiled; that had been the easy part. Now as she looked at the two cards she pondered how they basically purveyed the same sentiment yet still had clashing messages. Both spoke words of congratulations, love and their wishes for her to be with them very soon. Both cards cited home, only now it would be up to her to explain that home needed to be where her heart was, she had no choice. . She bit her lip and thought what would be the best approach to make them understand; finally deciding that she needed her laptop. While it may take some time until either of her parents to access the answering machine, she was more than sure that Mummy would receive and read her email.

Sanjay sat up bed in excited anticipation, when he heard the deep voice approaching the nursery. Was Papa back?' Hurriedly, he got out of bed and headed towards the door so that he could meet him.

"Papa."

Rajeev stopped ahead of Rachna just in time to avoid the little boy careening into him. "Sanjay, beta, where are you going?"

"I thought you were Papa."

"Nay beta, I'm not Papa, but I thought that perhaps you wouldn't mind coming with me to speak to Pari this morning. Would you like that?"

The little boy nodded and then turned to Rachna who began speaking. "Ha Beta, I will get your sister settled, and then I will come down to you. As soon as you are done speaking to Pari, we will get Papa on the line, thik hai?" She watched as Rajeev helped the little boy into his robe and took him out of the nursery. Once Sanjay was given his assurances, she would prepare for the busy day ahead.

"But why didn't you come and say goodbye to me, Pari?"

"Well..."

"Sanjay, beta, Pari was out with me and I'm afraid that I lost track of time, which made us late coming back home. She was very sad that she missed you."

On the screen Naomi smiled her thanks was rewarded with a wink from Rajeev.

"Are you feeling better now Sanjay? I have been so worried about you."

"Rachna Aunty said I would feel better after I went to sleep, and I do."

"Rachna Aunty is very smart, so you make sure you listen to her okay?"

"Uh-huh I will." He looked at his friend finally noticing that she too was in her pajamas. "Did you have a good sleep too, Pari?"

Naomi yawned. "Actually I haven't been to sleep yet, so I will be getting my rest after we finish talking."

"But why?"

"Don't you remember Papa and I are in New York now, and even though it's morning for you, it's still night time here."

"So Papa's going to sleep now too, but I want to speak to him. Is he there with you?"

"No Sanjay, but I am going to call his room as soon as we are finished and it will be Papa's turn to speak to you."

Naomi waved suddenly, triggering squeals behind Rajeev and Sanjay. With Aryia in one arm, Rachna held out her other hand to Sanjay. "Come beta, let's go have a little breakfast and let Pari and Rajeev talk for a while."

"Pari can you tell Papa not to fall asleep yet?"

"Definitely, Sanjay; make sure you eat all your breakfast."

Rachna had never seen the little boy eat so fast, and this was despite the many longing looks he cast towards her workshop where Rajeev had remained on the skype call with Naomi.

"Rachna Aunty, do you know it is night time in New York now? Papa won't fall asleep will he?"

"Nay Beta, he will definitely wait to speak to you."

"Aunty, do you think my naanii is asleep now? New York is where she lives too."

Rachna paused as she collected the dishes off the table. "Oh God; Sonal's parents, were they aware of her accident?' She would have to mention this to KT. It would be best to get an up-to-date status on her condition, but they would definitely have to consider contacting them.

"Sanjay I believe she may be asleep, but we know who isn't. Shall we go to speak to Papa now?"

Rachna gave a warning rap the door to make the lovebirds aware that she was entering, as not to intrude on any private conversation they were having. As she passed the computer to place Aryia in the playpen, she smiled knowingly at her friend whose color was high from whatever their topic had been.

"I guess I better let you get on with your day, Rajeev. I hope you have a good one."

Rajeev smiled in return. "And it's off to bed for you Sweetheart. Have a good rest." He vacated the chair to let Sanjay take his place. Naomi had final words with the little boy and then made a show of dialing his father's room to advise him that he could call in a few minutes. Rajeev took the time to confirm Rachna's schedule for the day and satisfied that he knew everything he needed to, prepared to leave. As he headed for the door the ping of the incoming skype call came through.

"Rajeev, I think you should wait a second, this may be important."

"I don't understand."

She explained as she sat in the chair with Sanjay on her lap. "It's Stefan calling not KT."

Rajeev looked at his watch. "But it's three a.m. in the UK."

"Exactly, something's definitely going on."

He came to stand behind Rachna, as she connected to video call.

"Good you're both there. I had logged on to see if Naomi was on, but realized that you being available is just as good, Rachna."

"Stef, what's happened?"

"I've just had a long conversation with my mother concerning the rather poignant email she received from Naomi earlier today. In particular the passages on life being too short and how a single telephone call can change your life forever and Naomi's newfound insights on destiny got her immediate attention. Understandably, Mother did what she usually does when she needs the inside track on what's going on with Naomi; she called me."

"And what did you tell her?"

Stefan turned his attention to the man who had posed the question. "Nothing that she hadn't deduced already: that my sister had fallen in love. Rajeev, I can tell you, the fact that I'm aware of your relationship was a definite plus, but naturally mother will make up her own mind after she's talked to you herself."

"I'm available to her at any time she wants Stefan."

Naomi's brother showed his approval for Rajeev's reply with a small smile. "I'm glad that's your answer. Mother can be very tenacious when it comes to her baby."

Thinking that this email was the best thing that could have happened, Rachna watched a more resolute Rajeev depart. She was fully aware that the forced inaction of the situation had been wearing on him. Now at least he would be able to plead his case to Naomi's mother in the first instance. She was sure he would make a favorable impression.

"Aunty...Aunty."

Literally shaken from her reverie, Rachna became aware of the incoming call. She smiled at the little boy, feeling his excitement and tearing up a bit as a result, "Aye beta, it's Papa this time." She connected the call. Her husband's profound relief was evident as soon as the video came into focus.

"Papa!"

"Beta, I have been so worried."

"I'm better this morning Papa, just like Rachna Aunty said I would be!"

Kabir finally spared a glance for his wife. "That's because Rachna Aunty is very smart and that's why Papa listens to her all the time, Beta."

"Everybody should listen to Rachna Aunty, Papa." Sanjay replied and giggled when Aunty gave him a big smack on the cheek.

"Our beta is a very smart boy, KT," Rachna said laughing at the screen.