Posted:
Thanks everyone.😊
PART 9:
Kripa helped Angad settle into the guest room.
"Just buzz the intercom button, if you need anything," she said as she helped him lay down on the bed.
"Intercom? Wow…..this house is not that big, why do you need an intercom?" Angad asked
"Well, my dad is into real estate, so he usually gets most upgrades done on his properties," Kripa answered.
"Real estate? He must be a rich man! How many more properties does he have?" Angad asked curiously.
"Why are you so nosey about everything?" Kripa asked angrily. Kripa was very fond of her dad-he was probably the only one she considered her 'own' in this world; she did not appreciate Angad trying to pry into her dad's life.
"My God! What happened to the sweet girl in the hospital? Is ghar mein aate hi tumhara paara chaad gaya! How am I going to survive another week?" he had a concerned look on his face.
Kripa felt bad about getting upset, "I am sorry…..I need to shower and change…..I am used to showering several times a day, I think I just feel a little filthy….especially with all the hospital germs…..I will be back later," she turned around to leave.
Angad rolled his eyes and covered his face with a pillow, "what a freak!" He slid the pillow of his face, as he had a brilliant idea cooking in his mind, "I will teach her how to live with filth and mess!"
Kripa entered her room and let out a scream, "AHHHH!"
Angad got worried, "does she have another intruder in the house?" he winced in pain as he walked to her room, "what happened?"
Kripa was on the phone, "Mattress Giant? I need a new queen sized mattress delivered ASAP! Please take the old one away also…..here is my credit card #…"
Angad slapped his forehead with his palm and grunted back to his room.
After a shower, Kripa changed into a cream colored turtleneck and matching pants; she peeped into Angad's room; he looked bored as he flipped through various TV channels.
"Can I get you something, before I start my work?"
Angad looked up sleepily, "yes, I would not mind something to eat…can you bring it here?"
"In bed? You can't eat in bed….you will make a mess on the sheets….that is how germs are spread…..why don't you come to the kitchen?" she frowned.
Angad gave her a dirty look and pretended, "ahhhh…..my stitches hurt…I can't walk…ahhh."
"Ok, just stay there…..I will fix something for you…..," she closed her eyes, imagining all the food spread out on the crisp bed sheets. She remembered how he had slurped the noodles a couple of days ago.
She was back with toast, scrambled eggs, hash browns and some coffee, neatly laid out on a tray. She put an extra large sheet on his lap and placed the tray on it. Angad was amused, "how about you? Are you not going to join me?"
"No, I ate….call me when you are done, I have a lot of work to do."
"C'mon….just for a few minutes…..you can make sure I don't mess up your sheets….i bet you don't want a germ factory cooking in this room?" he smirked.
Kripa could not help smiling, "why do you always make fun of me?"
"You expose yourself to such ridicule…what can I do?" he bit into the crunchy toast, splattering crumbs all around him.
Kripa was disgusted, but kept quiet, as she knew he would taunt her more if she warned him about the mess.
Angad took his sweet time to finish the meal and let out a loud burp to Kripa's horror, "wow…that was the first good meal in days!" He leaned backwards, throwing the tray off balance from his lap. Before Kripa could rescue the tray, the left over coffee, toast crumbs and the oil stains from the hash browns were all scattered on the bed; even the protective sheet underneath did not help.
Angad stretched his legs further, throwing the remaining contents all over. He yawned and was fast asleep within seconds. Kripa tried to clean the mess, but Angad kept tossing and stretching his legs, making impossible for her to reach the bed. She finally gave up and went to her room.
Angad opened his eyes and pulled the messy sheet over his face, "get used to it Ms turtleneck!"
Kripa sat down at her table, still annoyed at Angad's ability to be so comfortable with mess around him, "this will be a loooooong week!" She reviewed the last few pages she had just written, "this man has made me forget what I had written…..aisa tho mere saath kabhie nahin hua." Even when she was not writing, she had learned to daydream about her stories and books when she was out and about. That was her way to escape into her own little imaginary world, away from the harsh realities of life. Angad was threatening to enter her private little world and that was making her a little uneasy.
She had barely finished reviewing the chapter, when she heard, "KRIPA!!" Angad's voice echoed through the intercom.
Kripa rolled her eyes and answered, "what happened Angad?"
"Please jaldi aao," there was urgency in his voice.
Kripa got up and went to his room, "Now what?"
"I am bored! Give me something to do…I don't like TV," he sat up in bed
"How about a book?"
"NO..NO…I hate reading….hey how about those picture albums on the shelf?" he pointed.
Kripa relented and took out one of their old family albums, 'here….you can look at these…they are pretty old….may be 9-10 years old."
"Thanks…I love photographs," he smiled as she turned around to leave.
As soon as she sat down, she heard, "KRIPA!! Come here."
She went back, as there was no point just answering him back on the intercom.
"Now what?"
"Hey…come here….who is this cute girl?" Angad pointed at an old family picture.
"That is me!" she looked at him, surprised that he found her 'cute'
"Really…cho chweet….I would love to pull those cheeks…..jab meri beti hogi na, tab uske gaal bhi aise hi hone chaahiye….so I can play with them all day," he said as he admired the other photographs.
Kripa was a little taken aback, "why would you want your daughter to be so chubby?"
"Hey, I don't care how my daughter would look…..I would still love her the way she is….but of course if she has cheeks like these, that would be icing on the cake," he wrinkled his nose and grinned at her.
Kripa felt a lump rise in her throat; she could not believe what she had just heard. She bit her lower lip and said, "do you need anything else?"
Angad held her wrist, "come sit with me…..I like your company…..tell me all about your family…..I want to know more."
Kripa sat down and took the album from him. This was one album she loved to flip through every so often- it had pictures from their old home in Mumbai, her old friends, her grandparents, who were no longer alive. This was perhaps the only album where Kripa had a smile in most of her pictures.
Kripa went over each picture with Angad. Angad was amazed at how she let herself free and described each person and place in detail. He could tell; she really missed Mumbai and her old friends.
"Have you gone back to India after moving to the US?" he asked
"NO….not in 9 years….my mom never wanted to go back….I wish I could have kept in touch with some of my friends at least," she said sadly.
"Well, I am sure you have plenty friends in New York." Angad commented
"Ya…a few in college….but it is not the same," she said softly.
"So the laptop is your best friend now?" he asked
"Kind of….well….can I go now?" she got up.
"Bring your best friend here…..you can work on him, I promise I will not disturb both of you…..I just hate being alone!" he said
Kripa smiled at him, "OK…I will bring my stuff here," she knew that he would not leave her alone, so she did not protest any further. She even ignored the messy bedsheets he was laying on. She just shrugged her shoulders and thought, "I will have to learn to ignore somethings about Angad....."
…to be contd…
PART 9:
Kripa helped Angad settle into the guest room.
"Just buzz the intercom button, if you need anything," she said as she helped him lay down on the bed.
"Intercom? Wow…..this house is not that big, why do you need an intercom?" Angad asked
"Well, my dad is into real estate, so he usually gets most upgrades done on his properties," Kripa answered.
"Real estate? He must be a rich man! How many more properties does he have?" Angad asked curiously.
"Why are you so nosey about everything?" Kripa asked angrily. Kripa was very fond of her dad-he was probably the only one she considered her 'own' in this world; she did not appreciate Angad trying to pry into her dad's life.
"My God! What happened to the sweet girl in the hospital? Is ghar mein aate hi tumhara paara chaad gaya! How am I going to survive another week?" he had a concerned look on his face.
Kripa felt bad about getting upset, "I am sorry…..I need to shower and change…..I am used to showering several times a day, I think I just feel a little filthy….especially with all the hospital germs…..I will be back later," she turned around to leave.
Angad rolled his eyes and covered his face with a pillow, "what a freak!" He slid the pillow of his face, as he had a brilliant idea cooking in his mind, "I will teach her how to live with filth and mess!"
Kripa entered her room and let out a scream, "AHHHH!"
Angad got worried, "does she have another intruder in the house?" he winced in pain as he walked to her room, "what happened?"
Kripa was on the phone, "Mattress Giant? I need a new queen sized mattress delivered ASAP! Please take the old one away also…..here is my credit card #…"
Angad slapped his forehead with his palm and grunted back to his room.
After a shower, Kripa changed into a cream colored turtleneck and matching pants; she peeped into Angad's room; he looked bored as he flipped through various TV channels.
"Can I get you something, before I start my work?"
Angad looked up sleepily, "yes, I would not mind something to eat…can you bring it here?"
"In bed? You can't eat in bed….you will make a mess on the sheets….that is how germs are spread…..why don't you come to the kitchen?" she frowned.
Angad gave her a dirty look and pretended, "ahhhh…..my stitches hurt…I can't walk…ahhh."
"Ok, just stay there…..I will fix something for you…..," she closed her eyes, imagining all the food spread out on the crisp bed sheets. She remembered how he had slurped the noodles a couple of days ago.
She was back with toast, scrambled eggs, hash browns and some coffee, neatly laid out on a tray. She put an extra large sheet on his lap and placed the tray on it. Angad was amused, "how about you? Are you not going to join me?"
"No, I ate….call me when you are done, I have a lot of work to do."
"C'mon….just for a few minutes…..you can make sure I don't mess up your sheets….i bet you don't want a germ factory cooking in this room?" he smirked.
Kripa could not help smiling, "why do you always make fun of me?"
"You expose yourself to such ridicule…what can I do?" he bit into the crunchy toast, splattering crumbs all around him.
Kripa was disgusted, but kept quiet, as she knew he would taunt her more if she warned him about the mess.
Angad took his sweet time to finish the meal and let out a loud burp to Kripa's horror, "wow…that was the first good meal in days!" He leaned backwards, throwing the tray off balance from his lap. Before Kripa could rescue the tray, the left over coffee, toast crumbs and the oil stains from the hash browns were all scattered on the bed; even the protective sheet underneath did not help.
Angad stretched his legs further, throwing the remaining contents all over. He yawned and was fast asleep within seconds. Kripa tried to clean the mess, but Angad kept tossing and stretching his legs, making impossible for her to reach the bed. She finally gave up and went to her room.
Angad opened his eyes and pulled the messy sheet over his face, "get used to it Ms turtleneck!"
Kripa sat down at her table, still annoyed at Angad's ability to be so comfortable with mess around him, "this will be a loooooong week!" She reviewed the last few pages she had just written, "this man has made me forget what I had written…..aisa tho mere saath kabhie nahin hua." Even when she was not writing, she had learned to daydream about her stories and books when she was out and about. That was her way to escape into her own little imaginary world, away from the harsh realities of life. Angad was threatening to enter her private little world and that was making her a little uneasy.
She had barely finished reviewing the chapter, when she heard, "KRIPA!!" Angad's voice echoed through the intercom.
Kripa rolled her eyes and answered, "what happened Angad?"
"Please jaldi aao," there was urgency in his voice.
Kripa got up and went to his room, "Now what?"
"I am bored! Give me something to do…I don't like TV," he sat up in bed
"How about a book?"
"NO..NO…I hate reading….hey how about those picture albums on the shelf?" he pointed.
Kripa relented and took out one of their old family albums, 'here….you can look at these…they are pretty old….may be 9-10 years old."
"Thanks…I love photographs," he smiled as she turned around to leave.
As soon as she sat down, she heard, "KRIPA!! Come here."
She went back, as there was no point just answering him back on the intercom.
"Now what?"
"Hey…come here….who is this cute girl?" Angad pointed at an old family picture.
"That is me!" she looked at him, surprised that he found her 'cute'
"Really…cho chweet….I would love to pull those cheeks…..jab meri beti hogi na, tab uske gaal bhi aise hi hone chaahiye….so I can play with them all day," he said as he admired the other photographs.
Kripa was a little taken aback, "why would you want your daughter to be so chubby?"
"Hey, I don't care how my daughter would look…..I would still love her the way she is….but of course if she has cheeks like these, that would be icing on the cake," he wrinkled his nose and grinned at her.
Kripa felt a lump rise in her throat; she could not believe what she had just heard. She bit her lower lip and said, "do you need anything else?"
Angad held her wrist, "come sit with me…..I like your company…..tell me all about your family…..I want to know more."
Kripa sat down and took the album from him. This was one album she loved to flip through every so often- it had pictures from their old home in Mumbai, her old friends, her grandparents, who were no longer alive. This was perhaps the only album where Kripa had a smile in most of her pictures.
Kripa went over each picture with Angad. Angad was amazed at how she let herself free and described each person and place in detail. He could tell; she really missed Mumbai and her old friends.
"Have you gone back to India after moving to the US?" he asked
"NO….not in 9 years….my mom never wanted to go back….I wish I could have kept in touch with some of my friends at least," she said sadly.
"Well, I am sure you have plenty friends in New York." Angad commented
"Ya…a few in college….but it is not the same," she said softly.
"So the laptop is your best friend now?" he asked
"Kind of….well….can I go now?" she got up.
"Bring your best friend here…..you can work on him, I promise I will not disturb both of you…..I just hate being alone!" he said
Kripa smiled at him, "OK…I will bring my stuff here," she knew that he would not leave her alone, so she did not protest any further. She even ignored the messy bedsheets he was laying on. She just shrugged her shoulders and thought, "I will have to learn to ignore somethings about Angad....."
…to be contd…
Book Talk
Cricket
140