SS-Life partner,CHAPTER12-PG142DEC.9 - Page 7

Dark night was illuminated by the moon and twinkling stars whose natural shine was concealed a little by magnificently bright street lamps. Handa residence was filled with the "spicy " aroma of spices used for cooking most splendid dish "Rajma". Rice were mingling with pure white liquid in divine presence of posh members of kitchen family,"almonds","cashews","kesar{saffron}"etc. This aroma was capable to make a full stomach famished through its sensory route of olfacation. Geet's mouth was salivating at the highest rate ever.She could have lost her sanity if her mother had not served her quick. She was satisfying her mouth and stomach by stuffing the yummy rajma rice at an unimaginable speed of consuming edibles. Rano did not want to intervene her daughter but sight of Geet almost eating like a pig could not stop her from doing so..

Easy Geet,food is not running away,You may choke ur breath...

Geet gave an irritated look to her mother and continued filling her mouth. Rano opened her mouth to scold her again but Mohinder stopped her with his eyes.

"Pig like eating" was an act continued for initial few minutes on dining table as Geet's little stomach was full after thrusting eight to ten spoons full of rajma rice in her mouth.Now she was playing with the spoon and rice in her plate.She drank full glass of water and burped loudly which made Rano scowl again.

Geet abruptly held her father's hand to prevent him from taking the second serving of rajma rice as she slid her plate towards him which had left over rajma rice in it. Rano glared at her with anger.

I have to save some space for kheer too...Geet replied making a puppy face to her mumma to which Rano replied with another glare.

You should have eaten more dear,God knows whether you will get this opportunity there or not??, Mohinder intervened the silent but heated argument of mother daughter duo.

Why???Geet asked incredulously.

You know what was your mother's favorite cuisine before marriage??Mohinder asked mixing Rajma with rice in his plate.

paneer pasanda,,Geet replied with confidence.

"galat jawab"Her father exclaimed mimicking Amitabh Bachan..It was mushroom curry,beta..

what???Geet said with confusion in her eyes. But daddy,we don't eat mushrooms because..

because i am allergic to mushrooms,Mohinder cut her in between,but your mother is not, still she sacrificed her favorite dish for me after marriage..

Don't tell me you made her to do so???Geet asked suspiciously.

No..he had never forced me..this time Rano intervened..I did it willingly..

But mumma...how could you do it willingly..??

It happens dear..After marriage whenever i cooked,i made sure your father was first to taste.Unfortunately he was not able to taste my mushroom curry..

Because of this your liking for your favorite dish was gone??..Geet asked with a scowl.

umm..you can say so geet!!..Even afterwards i cooked mushroom curry few times but it never tasted same without your father appreciating its taste..Rano said looking lovingly towards her husband..and preparing mushroom curry only for me was very much bothering..I have to cook something else separately for your father..you know double work....Rano tried hard to hide the displaying emotions.

But Maan can't be allergic to Rajma..right daddy??.Geet asked her father to which he nodded meekly..and I don't care if he is,I wont sacrifice rajma rice for him at any cost..Right mumma.??..saying this she scooped another spoon of rajma rice from her father's plate.

Mohinder and Rano smiled slightly at the lost look on Geet's face.She was thinking deeply.Spoon in her hand was moving in circles inside the bowl of kheer.

"finish it fast,Geet..I have to do the dishes too"..Rano's voice broke her reverie..

Umm...yes mumma...!!!

Mohinder was able to feel the dilemma and tension that his words had caused her as he left the dining table.

Conversation on the dinner table made the sleep disappear from geet's eyes. She was tossing and turning in her bed..

"people are generally allergic to mushroom or nuts..nobody can be allergic to rajma..but what if he is..

so what,i will not sacrifice my favorite dish...i will cook separate for him..hmm..that is right..what if his mother did not let me eat rajma.. but she seemed to be nice lady yesterday..she will let me sure,,,but if she appeared to be possessive mother later..if my son cant eat then you have no right to eat it..."she was questioning and answering to herself...

"ohhh goddd...help me..please let me know whether he is allergic to rajma or not" she groaned...After 30 minutes more with her ramblings she decided not to worry too much about future and enjoy the present. This decision made her feet turned towards the kitchen.At 2 am in the morning,,Geet was stuffing her mouth with left over cold rajma from the fridge..She emptied the big bowl in ten minutes.Her stomach was ranting to stop this punishment but fear of not tasting rajma any more in near future suppressed the voice of stomach.

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Happy chirping of birds announced the beginning of a new day.Sun was brightening and warming the mother earth with its red rays.Rano left her bed after thanking God for almost every good thing happened to her family. Once she was done with her daily morning chores,she made her way to Geet's room to wake her up.Entry in Geet's room gave her most pleasant surprise of her life.Geet was not in the bed.She had woken up early.Sounds coming from bathroom assured Geet's presence there..Her mother's eyes filled up with happiness and a bit of sadness..It was good that she had woke up herself today,She was becoming responsible but on the other hand,She was ready to leave her parent's house and wont need her mother around herself anymore..Rano rubbed her eyes to prevent a lone drop of tear leave her eyelids after making Geet's bed.Meanwhile Geet opened the bathroom's door.She was looking pale and exhausted.Her dishevelled appearance made her mother worried.

What happened Geet???Are you allright???she asked in concerned voice.

Geet clutched her stomach with both hands and threw herself on the bed like a lifeless object.Tears rolled down her cheeks which made her mother more anxious.

Rano sat on her bed and started caressing her head..Is it monthly cramps,dear???she asked in a worried tone to which Geet nodded negatively.

Then what???Rano asked.

Loosemotions mumma..my stomach is upset,Geet replied while placing her head in Rano's lap.I have used toilet 20 times since 5 am,she continued with a deep sigh.

Thats why i was chiding you last night..you should not have eaten like pig,,,

mumma...stop reminding me,,do something,,,i cant go to toilet anymore...please,,,,,Geet ended in a pleading tone.

ok..ohk...i will get something for you..you take rest.Rano got up from bed after givina a peck on Geet's head.As she opened the door of Geet's room,Mohinder entered inside.

"Rano..Maan and his family is coming today..they called me..they had left from there half an hour ago and will be reaching here with in two hours,he announced in a joyful voice.Expressions on Rano's face changed from shock to glee to worry.She gestured her husband with eyes towards Geet's bed.

Whats wrong with Geet??Mohinder asked in a worried tone making his way towards the bed.

Her stomach is upset,Rano answered in equally worried tone.

Another spasm in her stomach made Geet run to the toilet for 21st time.

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Rano was preparing some remedy for Geet in kitchen in addition to the tablet , given to her half an hour ago which had not shown any sincere effect yet.She opened the fridge for water bottle when her eyes caught empty bowl of "rajma".Now she understood the exact reason of her dear daughter's upset stomach.

Geet was sleeping with her head in Mohinder' lap.Rano marched inside in an outrageous condition with empty bowl in one hand and glass containing dark brown liquid in other hand.

Look,what she has done???Rano said loudly showing empty big bowl to her husband.

whaat???He replied unable to understand Geet's deed.

You know why she is having loosemotions???because of overeating,,,She ate left over rajma later in night..

Mohinder looked at his daughter in order to confirm her mother's accusation to which Geet nodded meekily making him smack his fore-head in disappointment at the stupidity of his daughter.Geet made an apologizing face to her parents.

"now drink it"Mohinder said in a stern voice and got up from bed.Geet held his hand to stop him.

"Daddy,say them to postpone their visit,please"

Nooo...Rano replied in stern voice in order to prevent Mohinder from succumbing to her puppy faced cute demand..

pleassse..daddy...Geet pleaded again.

I can't,Geet...they had left already..its not possible...Mohinder announced in a tone which used to indicate his message of"no further arguments".and left the room.

Rano kept the glass of remedy on table and left too.

"Fine..i am also not going to wear any glittery suit for them and i wont come down to meet them..because I AM SICK..."she yelled loudly so that her parents could hear her,however yelling caused another spasm to rise in her stomach and she ran to her den for the day"TOILET"

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Geet was caged in her room due to sickness.Chitchatter of people downstairs,sounds coming from kitchen affirmed their arrival to her.She so much wanted to go downstairs so that she could give her suggestions about fixing the date of marriage.She did not want this marriage to happen so soon.She needed time. at the same time she wanted to give some time to Maan so that he could reconsider his decision.The "not so happy look" on his face was bothering her somewhere since that day.She definitely wanted to talk to him to clear all the confusions.For Geet,her parents' decision was the final decision.She hadn't any second thought about this alliance in her head but the question "whether he was equally happy with the alliance" was forcing her to commit the another stupid act of hers.

She climbed on her room's window and descended her feet down towards the pipe adjoined to it.With the swift moments of her legs while holding pipe in hands,she landed at backyard of the house. She brushed her hands to remove the dirt from pipe and made her way towards the drawing room's window stealthily.Once she reached near her destination,she sat down near the window.Luckily one of the window was open for ventilation. She peeped through the window to know about the progress going on inside."what an irony,,i am behaving like thief in my own home,but what else i could do.Stairs from kitchen ends just infront of my room,there was no chance that i could leave my room and hide somewhere to listen their conversation"she was talking to herself.

Handa residence was a small two storey building.Ground floor was completely occupied by a big hall which was divided in to two parts.One part was being used as drawing room and another part was dining area with kitchen and dining table.Beautiful wooden stairs was connecting the ground floor to first one near the kitchen.On the first floor three rooms were present,Mohinder and Rano's bedroom,Geet's room which opens just infront of stairs and a guest room which was often used as study room by Geet and her daddy. Building was situated in the middle of the place,leaving enough space around. Geet was peeping through one of the window situated in drawing room area.

There was her daddy and Maan perched on the comfortable couch with their backs towards the window. On the opposite side a lady was sitting with two kids...one was 5 to 6 years old boy and another was small baby whose gender Geet could not mark due to distance.These three were new faces for Geet..Little boy was jumping from one couch to another not registering any instruction of the lady which might be his mother,..Maan and Mohinder were discussing something with serious faces but Geet was unable to decipher their talks,hence she pushed the window little so things could be audible to her..

But beta,10 days are not enough to make all preparations,,,4th dec.would not be suitable for us..Mohinder said sipping tea from the cup.

Please uncle...I can't delay this marriage..you don't bother about preparations..we want a simple marriage..Maan replied looking towards the lady who encouraged him by nodding affirmatively.

You are not understanding,beta..Even small things need much attention and a lot of time in marriage..you know from booking the marriage venue to shopping of jewellery,clothers,furniture' gifts for the relatives...

Please uncle,,,I very humbly request you to not exaggerate the ceremony..Don't bother about silly things like furniture..our house is well equipped to provide every comfort to your daughter..I promise i will try to fulfill each of her demand..

and dont spend your money for gifts of our relatives...the lady interrupted this time..There are not much relatives coming from our side..only family members and very few close relatives will attend the marriage..

Mohinder sighed.He was still not convinced.

Maan kept his cup of tea on the table and looked at Mohinder with utmost sincerity in his eyes."I know uncle..these matters are decided by elders of the house.Instead of me my father should be talking to you..but unfortunately,as you know, I lost him 10 years ago.Since then i am fulfilling the duty of "man of the house".He spoke with tinge of sadness in his voice.Mohinder patted his back to console him...

Uncle i am pretty straight forward hence i won,t beat around the bush...he took a deep breath.."I am strictly anti-dowry...i don't want single penny of yours for me or my family or my relatives"Mohinder tried to cut in but Maan stopped him"let me finish uncle...I know you want to do alot for your daughter..i won't stop you from that..but for my family your daughter is the biggest gift that you can give to us. I know how difficult is it for your to send your daughter "he ended looking towards the lady on the opposite side"

Honesty in maan's voice made Mohinder out of words.He looked towards Rano with a questioning look.Rano nodded her head positively..

"Ok Maan as you wish..4th dec. is fine then"Mohinder said with a smile..Rano served sweets to everyone.

Geet was lost in his words.She felt her heart swelling with an unknown feeling...Her ears were red,dont know why..suddenly little boy who was using couches as toys screamed aloud..."mumma..witch...there is a witch..."Boy hugged his mother in order to hide himself..."mumma..i ll be good boy..say..her...not..to ..take me away..i promise..he said in between the sobs..

Maan immediately went near the boy and took him in his lap."where is the witch,beta.."he asked in a concerned tone,,,

There...boy replied pointing towards the window.."She was looking at me through the window..please please i won't go with her...please"boy spoke hiding his face in Maan's chest..

As the boy pointed towards the window..Geet hid herself completely and looked around her left and right to find the witch,,,Then she realized little boy must have seen her.."oh my god..I am looking like a witch?? She thought and. again tried to look inside.Maan was coming towards the window to find the witch with boy in his arms..She ran as fast as she could towards the pipe and climbed upon it..using her "ninja skills".She entered in her room and fell straight on the bed..Climbing,jumping,running made her stomach churn once again,causing her to use bathroom for umpteenth time since morning.