Chapter 54
"I've thought of two suitable options, you just have to pick one of them Rachna."
I agree that you have to leave Rajeev, but honestly this isn't necessary; I will be okay until all of you return."
"Rajeev beta, Rachna is right. We are not so frail that we cannot do without you for a few days."
He continued as if the two women hadn't spoken. "My place is move in ready, just think of going there to stay as a retreat of sorts, or..." He paused before continuing. "Vihaan has returned to Banaras for a break, and he can come and stay until Kabir returns."
She laughed in his face.
"I'm sorry Rajeev, truly I am, but no and definitely no. First of all I will not be run out of my home, because of a perceived threat from a woman who is barely mobile. And as to the other alternative, I truly don't see how Vihaan would want that any more than I do."
"He agreed to it."
"Because of you, because he loves his bhaiyaa and now I suppose because of his bhabhi, but I can't imagine that he was enthusiastic about the prospect, right?" The uneasy expression on his face let her know that she had guessed correctly.
"Gunjan already has a bag packed to come over as soon as you are ready to go to the airport, or there's the other alternative, that being that I come with you."
"No, not in your condition, I don't think that a long haul flight will be a good idea, I'd rather you stay..."
"Home with Gunjan?" She said optimistically.
"Ha, Rachna. But I'm still going to ask Vihaan to stop by thik hai?" He stopped before walking out of her bedroom where the three of them had been talking. "Will you and your sister promise not to kill my brother? Despite everything Naomi seems to like him, and he has been good to her as well."
"For that alone we will let him live. Now you need to sort out a flight and get to packing."
----
Rajeev had answered his father's summons to dinner earlier that morning, and as a consequence of the foul mood it had put him in, he had ignored his brother's numerous calls. Vihaan's sullen face was expected when he reached his parents', but by then he didn't care. In fact, that his brother was spoiling for an argument was alright with him.
"If you had bothered to answer just one of my calls you would know you shouldn't be here now."
In no mood for family politics, Rajeev ignored him.
"Did you hear me, bhaiyaa, or have you taken to ignoring me like you must be her? When was the last time you even spoke to Bhabhi, huh? Is that the reason she was up after midnight crying?"
"Whose Bhabhi are you talking about?"
"What do you mean, she was up crying?"
His brother answered their father first, "My bhabhi obviously Papa, hasn't he told you about her yet? Hell Rajeev are you going to be so contrary that you don't even tell your parents about their bahu? What is wrong with you?"
His step-mother gasped in horror,"Did you get married Rajeev? Did you elope with some girl?"
"Nay Ma, I haven't, but dammit Vihaan, tell me what are you talking about!"
"Are you sure you even care to know bhaiyaa?"
Shailesh Agarwal stood up and slammed his hand on his dining table. "Bas, both of you; just enough! He glared at his sons. "Vihaan be quiet and Rajeev explain yourself."
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The drive back from the airport wasn't as painful as she had anticipated Rachna thought as she listened to Vihaan retelling what had happened the night before. The common goal of uniting Rajeev and Naomi, had somehow allowed them to overlook their past difficulties. Or maybe everyone had just grown up a bit in the last few years, Rachna concluded.
"It all came out from there, and surprise of all surprises it was Ma who agreed with Rajeev that he needed to go and support Bhabhi. She even convinced him to let Papa transfer money to him just in case he has to go further than New York and stay for an extended period. Told him if it would make him feel better he could consider it an advance on his inheritance. I really think the fact that even though he loves her so desperately that he won't marry her without her parents' consent really got to her." Vihaan turned the car into the parking spot by Rachna's home. "I can't remember the last time Ma and bhaiyaa have agreed on anything. If Naomi can do that, then we need her in the family, badly." He looked at his watch. "He should have just taken off, so I guess we will see what happens in the next few days."
"Vihaan why don't you come in and visit for a while, you can come and meet my daughter and our guests."
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"Mama I'm not tired. Why do I have to take a nap?"
"Be quiet Sanjay!" The nurse came to attention at her patient's harsh tone. Sonal caught herself. "Nay Beta, nay what I meant to say is that Mama needed a nap and was wondering if you could show me what you have done in school today before I went to sleep." She leaned on her crutches and kissed the top of her little's boy's head. "Let Mama get settled in the bed, and then you can show me your books, thik hai?"
The little boy smiled and waited while the nurse helped his mother into her bed, propping her up against the headboard, and elevating her leg. When she finished she nodded to the boy who carefully climbed into bed and began pulling items out of his school bag.
"Look Mama.."
Sonal smiled and nodded, as she attempted to slow down her breathing. "She couldn't know she thought, there was no way that Rachna could know anything. It was just a bad coincidence that's all," she thought.
"He's not our Rajeev, but he will do in a pinch, don't you think, Rachna?"
Peering out of the kitchen to a sight she would have never imagined in a million years, of Gunjan and Vihaan Agarwal playing with her daughter, she turned back to Daadi who was helping her prepare dinner. "Ji Daadi, he has his uses. Did you notice?"
"Indeed, I did. Our Sonal, definitely developed an instant distaste for the handsome Vihaan as soon as she learned that he was based in London didn't she? The man-eater' light went right out her eyes as soon as he disclosed that. Poor dear, I do hope his ego can handle it," Daadi laughed.
"Oh never fear, I'm certain that Vihaan has confidence to spare." She listened to Gunjan's laughter as Vihaan attempted to get Aryia to say his name, only for the toddler to repeat her new favorite word Jeev'."
"Aacha Vihaan, even a baby knows who the better Agarwal brother is."
Rachna walked out of the kitchen, back into the lounge. "Vihaan, have you decided if you will stay for dinner?"
"Provided I can be seated between the two most beautiful ladies at the table, then yes I will."
The two sisters instantly sobered at the man's bravado. He held up his hands "Chill you two I was talking about Aryia and Daadi, that's all."
"My Jeev!"
He turned his attention back to the baby. "Nay beta, Vihaan...Viii...hhhaaan."
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"Excellent work ladies, just do that day after tomorrow and we will have more than enough to celebrate at the after-party. You might even entice Nathanial onto the dance floor."
"And you too KT?"
"You never know ladies," he laughed. "But to clarify Nathanial and I will definitely leave the after-after partying to you girls. Thanks again, you have all done a great job, and we will see you in let's say 36 hours or so. Make sure to rest up ladies."
The two designers saw the models off until only Naomi and Mohit remained. Kabir watched as the photographer approached the model who stood at the window staring out at the cityscape. "Are you okay this morning my friend?"
She shook her head, "No I can't say that I am Mohit Sir. I probably need just a bit more sleep." She mustered up a smile for the photographer. "Never fear, I will be picture perfect for our last photo shoot tomorrow, Sir."
The older man smiled. "I would take you being happy over being photo ready Naomi."
She blinked rapidly to dispel the tears welling in her eyes. "Thank you Mohit Sir, that's so sweet of you. I will miss you so much." She closed her eyes. "Please excuse me for a second," she murmured before walking away dabbing at her eyes.
"My God, what has happened to devastate her so, Kabir?"
"It's a personal matter, Nathanial, but I'm hoping that it will resolve itself soon."
"For her sake I hope so. Look I've been thinking about it, she's already produced some quality work; personally, I am more than happy with it, so tomorrow's shoot will just be icing on the cake. Perhaps we should just forgo it if she needs the time."
"Actually, since the permit covers the two locales, why don't we just select the better of the two, and aim for at least one half of the shoot. I'm certain she will rise to the occasion." He looked at his watch. "I have some work to do this afternoon, and I've planned something that I'm hoping will put her in a better frame of mind, so we have to be off now. I will be on my mobile in case you need me."
"Good stuff. Take good care of our girl, Kabir."
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"The length of the treatment will be totally up to you. We can tailor the spa experience to what you want or how you wish to feel afterwards. What I will do is just run down a few questions and then we can determine what will be the best course of treatments and if we need any additional staff. Shall we begin?" The young woman, Zara, pulled out her tablet and then began her questioning:
"How are you presently feeling; any complaints?"
"Tired, tense a bit headachy"
"And the end result, would you prefer to feel relaxed or energized, or something else?"
"Relaxed sounds great, I think everything else will fall into place if I can just relax."
Zara smiled and nodded. "Any allergies Miss Naomi?"
"No, nothing that I'm aware of."
"Ok. Finally , are you expecting?"
That question threw her. "I'm sorry?"
Zara looked up from her tablet. "Is there any possibility that you may be pregnant, no matter how small?"
Naomi pushed a lock of hair back over her ear. "Ah no..not at all," she answered shaking her head. She watched Zara make her notation. "Does that really make a difference; I mean pregnant women go to the spa right?"
"Yes, you're correct, but they are limited the type of treatments they can have; and quite a few have to be avoided entirely. Only certain essential oils can be used, definitely no excessive heat applications. Modified massage and reflexology techniques are utilized; actually most expectant mothers will wait until they are past their first trimester before they even consider any spa treatments." She looked at the client who now looked somewhat unsure.
"Miss Naomi, even if there's the remote possibility, I would advise you to err on the side of caution."
She was crazy to even be considering it she thought. The emergency contraceptive would have had failed entirely for this to even be a possibility, and surely she would have a clue right, unless it was just far too early for any signs. God what did she know? No, the chances were so slight that the idea shouldn't have even entered her mind; except for the fact that she had been so ill after taking the medicine and hadn't been able to keep anything down at all. And if it didn't work, then she could very well be. It would be their baby, perhaps even the little girl he hoped would look like her, and if she did anything that jeopardize... She cleared her throat, ..
"Ah Zara, in a couple of days I'm going think myself a total fool for making such a fuss, ah but for today, let's pretend we have a little one to watch out for."
"Well Miss Naomi let me be the first to congratulate you then, and let you know that you are not my first client to do something like this. It really is better to be safe than sorry, "she said with an understanding smile. "Now let's see what we can come up with to make you feel better okay? By the way, do you know who we have on board? Is it a little boy or girl?"
Naomi smiled sadly, "Oh, I'm sure my imaginary baby is a girl."
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Rachna disconnected the call and turned to Gunjan who sat beside her on the bed.
"He's brilliant, my husband is absolutely brilliant. I told him to fix it, and he has. She hugged Gunjan in her excitement, "She's coming home, I know she is."
"Calm down Rachna, nothing's settled yet."
"Nay Gunjan, what KT doesn't handle, Rajeev will, I'm certain."
On cue her mobile pinged. "He's arrived and is on his way to the hotel."
-----
So intent was his concentration on his mobile, he never saw the woman who stood smiling at him and walked right past her. She followed in silence as he entered the lobby, coming to stand near, while he waited for the desk agent to attend him.
"Welcome to the Muse Hotel, my name is Barbara. Are you checking in today?"
"Good Afternoon Barbara, I was wondering if you could call room..."
"Rajeev Agarwal up until now you have exceeded all of my expectations; but if your intent is to turn up in New York and check into her hotel room, I must say that I will be very, very disillusioned."
He stilled. He knew that voice, even though he had heard it only once before. There was no way he wouldn't have recognized it, the power it would yield was immeasurable.
He turned to greet Naomi's mother. "Namaste Aunty, You're here?"
"I am, and so it seems are you, dear. Is it your intent to stay at this hotel?" she asked tersely. When he held out his mobile, she took it and looked at the screen. She smiled and handed it back to him, so that he could give the reservation number displayed on the smartphone to the desk agent.
"I am sorry, with what has happened, I can't help but be a little on edge right now. Did you have a good flight?"
He nodded. "Is she here Aunty, I haven't spoken to her and..."
"I'm hoping she is resting right now after some much needed pampering."
"So you've seen her already; spoken to her?"
"No Rajeev, she doesn't know that her father and I are here." She leaned over the counter. "Excuse me Barbara, is there a room on the fifth floor that Rajeev can check into? You don't mind if we keep you close, do you? It will make things easier."
"Not at all, Aunty."
She patted his hand and chuckled, her smile reminiscent of her daughter's. "So accommodating.Trust me Rajeev, you could have said no if you wanted to; it wouldn't change how I feel about you. Now having said that, even though I know you must be exhausted from your travels, how about you freshen up a bit and then come for a visit?"
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"Shelly, where are you off to now? Kabir has gone through all of this effort, and you aren't even taking the opportunity.."
She walked back with the empty ice bucket. "I agree that they are lovely photos, but honestly what they are showing is in entirely open to our interpretation. We are not getting the full story this way." She took one photo in particular and gave it to her husband. "Take a look at this, dear. I'll be back in a second, and then you can tell me what you see in this photo, okay?"
Kabir was handing the photo back to Naomi's father when the door opened a minute later. "Aunty is correct, only Naomi can tell us what is happening in this moment; in any of them, but that doesn't detract from the fact they love each other deeply. It shows in every last snapshot. Don't you agree Aun..." His attention drawn to Naomi's mother return, KT registered with shock that she wasn't alone.
"So Jonas, what have you learned from the picture?"
"All I can see is that my Princess is disappointed, but I haven't a clue why." He sighed, still staring down at the photo. "You're right dear, only she can tell us about this moment and how it fits in to this story we have laid before us." He then began perusing the many photos in front of him. Before it got lost in the shuffle, Naomi's mother collected the one they had been originally discussing and silently passed it to the young man with her and nodded.
Rajeev studied the photo and smiled. "This is from the photo-shoot with our hockey boys. The first set of photography had just finished, and I had just helped her up from where she had been sitting on the grass. I was still stunned by how beautiful she looked, but the first thing I said to her, was to ask if we were still going to shop for lounge furniture afterwards."
Naomi's father looked up from where he sat on the sofa in the direction of the new entrant. "Well that's not the most romantic thing to say to the woman you supposedly love, son. I can understand why my princess looks upset."
Rajeev looked over to the green-eyed man who he had to win over. "No Sir, I did tell her how beautiful she looked and how she had stolen my breath that day. Her disappointment was due to what I didn't have the chance to say. I'm sure that she was aware that I was about to confess that I had fallen in love with her, but before I could, she got called away to prepare for the next set."
The older man who had sat riveted by the narration nodded, and then turned his attention to Kabir. "So I don't recall Rajeev coming to New York as a detail of our arrangement; perhaps you care to explain?"
"Arrangement? What arrangement, Kabir?"
The designer ignored him, "Nay Uncle. Trust me, I am just as surprised to see him as you are; perhaps even more considering the commitments he had."
Naomi's mother interjected, "Oh thank goodness you mentioned arrangements, it's just reminded me... Kabir, Rachna asked me to give you a message; that the alternate arrangements that she and Rajeev agreed on before he left are working out perfectly. She also said that won't sleep until you call tonight." She made a point of looking at her watch. "I'm sure I don't have to tell how important it is for an expectant mother to get adequate rest, so perhaps you should take the opportunity to call her now so she can settle down." She knew had left him no alternative, and smiled when he collected his things. Kabir noticed the small smirk on the coach's face at his dismissal. He had come in line with Rajeev when she called out to him again. "Oh and KT after you speak to Rachna and are assured that she is just fine, perhaps you can check on our Naomi to ensure she is settled as well, since Rajeev will be busy with us for most of the evening. Could you do this for us, dear?"
He looked at the coach and watched the smile fade from his face in response to the obvious foiling of any plan he had of meeting Naomi today. Turnabout is fair play', he thought with a smile. "Of course Aunty, it would be my pleasure."
"All the best ," Kabir whispered to Rajeev as he left.
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Rachna connected to the skype call on the first ring. "I'm not saying this because I know you are angry with me right now, but you are and always will be a hero in my eyes, Kabir Tripathi."
"Aacha, and here I was thinking that the real hero had just swooped into town to rescue his lady." He responded sarcastically.
"Oh no, the true hero of this story is the brilliant mind who came up with this plan."
"Hmm, well I must not be that great, if my wife was able to figure out what was happening and did some planning of her own. "
"Nay KT, I had absolutely no idea they were in New York, not until Aunty called looking for Rajeev. And to tell the truth, other than you arranging for them to be there, I still don't know what you have planned. But I do confess that Stefan and I arranged a skype call for Aunty and Rajeev a couple of days after you left."
" One thing I don't understand Rachna is how Rajeev came to be in New York in the first place. I know Naomi hasn't contacted anyone, she's been too upset; so what would prompt...?"
"Naomi took Vihaan's skype call last night, and she was crying KT. As soon as Rajeev heard.."
"He couldn't stay away. " He nodded. "It's good that he's come, for everyone's sake." He stared at his beautiful wife who was looking at him so starry eyed. "Now Mrs. Tripathi, let's talk about these arrangements..." He couldn't help laughing when the adoration he had seen seconds before disappeared before his eyes.
"Gunjan has come to stay, and will be keeping a close eye on me. Since you know that no-one can get anything past her, that should make you feel better that I won't get up to any mischief. But even more interesting, is that for some reason Sonal has taken an instant dislike for Vihaan. In fact she is loath to be in Rajeev's brother's company for any length of time. She wouldn't even dine with us tonight because he stayed for dinner. Naturally, I have invited him back tomorrow, and will keep on extending the invitation until you return just to assure you that she maintains her distance."
"Aacha, so now I have to transfer my gratitude from one Agarwal brother to another. Your Vihaan to be exact."
"My Vihaan; never. As Daadi said, he's good in a pinch but can he even begin to compare to my Kabir? Never. No one can; no one ever will. Never fear love, there's no room in my heart for anyone but my Kabir. Even when he is angry with me unnecessarily," she pouted.
"Oh Rachna" he said smiling sadly, "You should have stopped with your flattery, I had almost forgotten my anger until you mentioned it."
"It's okay Kabir, I most likely deserve it this time, but it still won't negate the fact that I've made these choices because I love you so much." She sighed. "And I know your anger stems from the same. Will you forgive me KT?"
"Stay out of trouble for the next four days, and I will consider it, Love."
"What sort of trouble could I get into in four days?"
"With the company you are keeping Rachna; please don't make me answer that question," he laughed.
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