Koi Fariyaad
"Oh wow!" pawan exclaimed as they sat in the comfy white couches in the Grover sun room in the back one Saturday afternoon, a couple weeks after returning to her parents
"She is so cute, I dont know of any 6 year old that draws so beautifully like her" Shubhra sighed missing Arya staring at pictures of butterflies and fire flies she had drawn
"She still sends you stuff"
"YESS, so smart she is" Shubhra gushed
Pawan just looked at her pensively
"She must have friends her own age right?"
"Palak hai na" she gushed again
"You know everything about her"
"I do" looked at his face and realized he was not happy
"Hmm"
"Kya hua?"
"Kuch nahi"
"You are jealous" she smiled
"I am not jealous, I am just saying"
"Kya?"
"Kuch nahi... you are obviously very close"
"she is FIVE"
Encountering a jealous lover was new to Shubhra, it was a thrilling feeling at first
"I meant the family"
"Yeah, they are all so so nice"
"You were close to her brother no?"
"Arya doesnt have a brother" "Oh you mean TAPAN?"
She found herself coloring self consciously
He was watching for it carefully
"Wahi"
"I told you we parted ways as friends"
"I think its inappropriate to carry on after shaadi"
"Whoaa?" she asked shocked
"Beeji is very tech savvy if she was you WhatsApping with your ex's niece" Pawan said emotionless
Fury raced through her veins
"Are you kidding?" she asked seriously
"I told you I have no exs"
"I dont care if you do Pawan"
She got up outraged
Pawan looked a bit startled at first but quickly composed himself
They were both quiet until the help arranged a table with various summer lunch spread and left
"I have always been honest with you"
Really? A friendship with a 6 year old bothers you"
"Nahi, i have told you I am attracted to you, I want to spend my life with you, I see our kids roaming this house" he appeared emotional
She was confused, becoming hysterical and wanted to retaliate viciously
"I am talking about Arya" she said her voice shaking
"We are traditional Shubhra, yes I own a close to billion dollar business but we are very conservative" he was seriously trying to usurp the narrative
She was agitated and nervous and felt confused, who could she talk to? She felt a rush to protect herself
"Thats fine" she said not feeling the calm on the inside
"I am sorry" he said
"No, its OK"
"Do you talk to him?"
"Who? Tapan?"
He nodded his expression a lil miffed that she had instant recall of his name
"I don't have any reason to"
"Oh" his expression hid a smile
Manik came in to show him something on his phone
the topic changed and they spent the next two hours in the sun room, all of them
Tapan had seen her at her most vulnerable, showing up for a escort date with a navel piercing to exorcise the demons of humiliation by her mother and unexpected financial turmoil at work
That night, in her balcony
Pawan didnt even understand her yet
She couldnt even explain what Parul meant to her
They were her lifeline
She never planned on being attracted to Tapan
She loved Parul despite Tapan's actions
Tapan had repented too, he had never touched her against her will nor had he ever taken advantage of her
He could have very well gone ahead and had his way with her that night at the wedding when she was too sloshed to think straight
He called a Doc, got her wound taped up and took off, he was never insufferable
In fact whenever she went over to Tiwaris' and didnt find him there, she yearned to see him
When he was around he was so unassuming... just a regular guy
Pawan is so high maintenance from his pine nut stuffed raviolis to his lettuce sandwiches
Stop it, Tapan is not the gold standard, her mind warned
Her cheeks felt heavy holding back tears
When did marriage ever mean giving up everyone you loved
Nidhi texted her lingerie pics,
"Yous eriously think I would wear those?" she texted back
"Oh you would for sure, when your guy is looking at you" Nidhi promised
There was a new found closeness with Nidhi after the Tinder debacle
Yet she missed Parul
she was so genuine...
"Mahika's honeymoon lingerie was the bomb" Shubhra cheered herself up sniffling
~~~~~~~~~
A week later
"Did you do something?" Parul asked curiously
"Nahi" he lied
"Jhooth mat bolo"
"I swear
Parul was asking about the Punita issue and how happy Shubhra was, and if her darling brother had anything to do with it
"I am not lying" he said grimly
"Hmm" her shoulders slumped
There was the off chance that he was bringing her happiness
Parul wanted that
There was no future here
But she wanted it like a fool
"You should start dating"
"Are you taping this to send to Nitin?" he joked
"Pagal" she scolded
"I was on his a-- the whole 6 months about making Kusum pregnant remember, I couldnt be having pre-marital s--"
"Uski baat mat karo" she mumbled
"Kya hua ab?"
", they sent a whole stack of papers, texting me "Di Visa ke papers bhej raha hoon"
I was overjoyed I told everyone" Parul was choking up
"Thats great" he was confused
"Turns out it wasnt for me it was for Dubeys wahan NOIDA mein Dubeys ke ghar ka postman apparently has been dumping letters, I didnt know"
"Ouch"
"I actually called the Dubeys to tell them I will go to Netherlands and give them a first hand report of how happy their daughter is"
"Uh oh!"
"they must be laughing at me, Nitin never wanted me there"
"Ive begged you to to visit Chicago" he tried to lighten the mood
"Kitni beizzati hui meri" she wept softly
"stop crying Di" he wasnt doing too well emotionally these days either
He had screwed up big time, he had apologized and walked away like a hero
But it still hurt like hell
He couldnt help use the opportunity to tear up for real
"Start dating someone I will come see her"
"I will try"
"I am going out with friends this Saturday I am being set up I am told" he laughed
"achhi baat hai I have hurt you so much" Parul wept uncontrollably
"You care for Shubhra" he said boldly
He did too he had used Sukesh Batra his friend, his Uncle who was DCP West had proceeded to have a "talk" with Ashutosh.
Didnt take long
Punita had withdrawn her claim
Ashutosh was quitting too
He went to bed Friday night drafting a text to Nitin about what a d---head he was, but didnt send
Nitin had gone off to be stand offish again, and he didnt want to start a confrontation
He missed Shubhra like h---. Based on what Parul had told him, the wedding was going to happen soon
He woke up around Noon Saturday, made his coffee, turned on the music, his favorite Hindi playlist, it was a sunny Chicago Saturday
Koyi Fariyaad Tere Dil Mein Dabi Ho Jaise
Koyi Fariyaad Tere Dil Mein Dabi Ho Jaise
Tune Aankhon Se Koyi Baat Kahi Ho Jaise
Jaagte Jaagte Ek Umar Kati Ho Jaise
He had wanted Shubhra to get married, he knew there was no future
He wouldnt trust the Tapan Acharya that went off on a vengeful spree, how could Shubhra
He could hope that someday she would cry for him, miss him and love him
But that would be when pigs fly
How can there be so much pain in a place where there was so much love?
It physically hurt him, how can it hurt so much when there was nothing
He wanted it to go away.
Arya had WAed him and Shubhra, he could not bring himself to say anything to her
They had ended up not saying anything
Ek Lamhein Mein Simat Aaya Hai Sadiyon Ka Safar
Ek Lamhein Mein Simat Aaya Hai Sadiyon Ka Safar
Zindagi Tez Bahut Tez Chali Ho Jaise
Zindagi Tez Bahut Tez Chali Ho Jaise
Iss Tarah Pehron Tujhe Sochta Rahta Hoon Main
Iss Tarah Pehron Tujhe Sochta Rahta Hoon Main
Meri Har Saans Tere Naam Likhi Ho Jaise
Meri Har Saans Tere Naam Likhi Ho Jaise
Irene the girl from the cleaning service walked out excited with a tiny bolt in her hand
His shower was leaking,one of the shower heads... was
"The O ring trim and the valve cartridge are both broken" she declared
She was soaked, her blonde ponytail a wispy scrap on her golden head
Her legs glistening with dripping water
"Genius" he grinned raising his mug in a toast
There was a front door bell ring
Irene got the door
"Hey, come on in, hes in the balcony" Irene said squeezing water off her ponytail "I am usually dry" she chuckled
He didnt know who it was until she appeared inside
Clad in her signature navy pants and a grey shirt,high ponytail, solitaire in ears, and holding a crushed trench coat in her hand for unexpected Chicago rains, was............ Shubhra Grover
He almost dropped his half filled coffee mug
"see you in a bit Tapan" Irene squealed from the marble hallway, as she ran to the elevator
"Is she your girlfriend?" Shubhra asked nonplussed and embarrassed she might have walked in on Tapan taking a shower with his girlfriend... all fully clad on a lazy Saturday morning
"Why?" he posed her favorite question to her
she didnt have any answer, she had lost her voice seeing him in the dark green check pajamas and a mahagony tee, standing in the doorway of the balcony the sun shining behind him... his 10 AM stubble
"Asking for a friend?" he offered still one hand in his pocket, other holding the mug
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