For You Thread 2||Note page 17 - Page 6

Chapter 38 : Cooking up a storm

“Do you know how difficult it is to find a job?” Geet huffed.

“Sorry, no I don’t” Maan deadpanned.

“Very funny, majnu” Geet scowled even though he couldn’t see her. “What are you doing?”

“Unlike some, I do have a job and trying to focus on that before my meeting” he answered.

“Dork” Geet rolled her eyes, “Alright, call me when you’ve finished”.

“Why?”

“We’re going out obviously” Geet stated mockingly.

“Oh, are we now?” he chuckled.

“Yep! You’re coming apartment hunting with Sameera and me”.

Maan sat up straighter in his chair, “I thought you’re going to stay at home”.

“Sameera still needs an apartment” she replied. “Though I am going to try and convince papa if I can go live with her” she added.

“Mama is going to flip her lid” he pointed out. “You can expect her to say no”.

“I know” Geet sighed heavily, “Look, she’s stopped talking about the wedding but this is just temporary. I need it permanently, and the way to do that is to move out so she would stop badgering about me getting married. It’s going to hit harder when I turn 29 later this year”.

“We’ll talk more about this, I’ve got to finishing review this document before my meeting” Maan glanced at the time. “Can you do us a favour?”

“What?”

“Pick Mahika up for me and I’ll meet you at yours at 6pm?”

“Hmm, okay” Geet hummed in agreement and bid him bye.

On Friday, Harsh had texted her cancelling their coffee as his mother had to be taken to the doctor’s for a check up and told her he’d text when he’s free. Geet was relieved as she was going to call herself and do a rain check on this. After the cancellation, Geet and Sameera had gone shopping for some new clothes for Sameera’s workplace.

Come Monday, Sameera had left early to start her new job and Geet was surfing the internet and uploading her CV on different jobsites hoping she’d receive a call.

She knew her CV wasn’t up to par given that she’d spent a year abroad gaining work experience in different fields, at least they were all customer service based. She hoped this hunt paid off, she needed to work, or she was going to be driven insane if she stayed home for much longer.

Simran entered her room telling her she was on her way to Namita’s and asked if she wanted to come, Geet declined quickly shaking her head. She wasn’t going to be visiting the Khurana household anytime soon with Aruna in their house. Simran agreed with her daughter on this and told her she’d be back later and there’s food in oven for her.

After Simran had left, Geet lay on her bed staring up at the ceiling and watched silently. Her mind drifted off to her sister and a small smile curved on her lips.

“I’m bored” Geet huffed.

“Why don’t you come downstairs and help me make snacks?” Avni suggested as she slipped into her kurta.

“What are you going to make?”

“What do you want me to make?” Avni asked slipping into her leggings and grabbed her dupatta.

“How about we make chicken pakoras, onion bhajis” she suggested sitting up, her stomach churned at that and she licked her lips already imagining devouring the fried goodness.

“Okay, come on down” Avni smiled in agreement and tugged Geet downstairs with her. “I’ve also got to make a cake for the orphanage” she informed. “It’s little Kieran’s birthday”.

“Are you have a party?” Geet snapped the aprons from the hook passing one of them to Avni.

“Yeah just a small one” Avni nodded pulling out the bowls whilst Geet grabbed the ingredients.

“Count me in” Geet grinned cheekily.

“Where there’s cake, there’s you” Avni laughed.

“Where there’s YOUR cake, there’s me” she winked.

Avni nodded chuckling.

“Well we made enough to feed an army” Geet rested her hands on her hips and perused the table they’d filled with the various amount of snacks they’d made. They didn’t stop with the chicken pakoras and onion bhajis, as they still had a lot of time to kill, they’d made shami kebabs, stuffed potato balls with cheese, samosas, vegetable spring rolls and fresh jalebis.

“You can take some of this to the party” Geet suggested looking over at Avni.

“I’m going to have to” Avni laughed. “There’s no way we’d be eating all this. Good thing the party is this evening” she shook her head.

Geet snagged a spring roll and ate it moaning about how good it is. “This is so good, di. You should ditch the charity and just cook all the time” she informed seriously.

“As much as I love cooking and everything, I enjoy spending time with the kids more” Avni smiled faintly. “It’s hard to imagine what they’re feeling. They’re orphans and don’t have anyone to turn to. I want to be able to at least lend my ear to them and listen to their thoughts and feelings”.

Geet nodded and smiled, “When is majnu coming?” she asked.

“He’s away this weekend for that business trip, isn’t he?” Avni pouted and her eyes widened as she noticed the time. “Geet, come on we need to quickly shower and get ready. The party is in a few hours and…” she glanced over at the cake that was now cooling, “I’ve still got to decorate this”.

“Don’t worry about it. You go and shower and I’ll whip up the frosting to decorate” Geet ushered her out of the kitchen. Avni pressed a kiss to her sister’s cheek rushing out of the kitchen, Geet then got to work making the chocolate frosting and ganache for the cake.

She grabbed the cake stand pressing a splodge of frosting at the bottom then placed the first layer of cake on it. Then proceeded to pipe the frosting all over the layer then grabbed the second layer and placed it atop of that. Geet then covered the two layers with frosting and smoothed it out with the spatula. After she’d finished, she piped rose designs with the whipped cream frosting all around and placed six Ferrero Rochers in a circular motion and finished with a dripping effect with the ganache.

Once finished, Geet straightened and smiled pleased with the outcome of the cake.

“Oh, Geet that is beautiful” Avni gushed entering the kitchen now dressed in a beautiful designer long dress. “I knew there was a reason I loved you” she winked.

“Excuse me” Geet laughed nudging Avni. “Is it okay?” she looked at Avni unsurely chewing on her lower lip. “It isn’t as good as yours but…”

“Stop it, it’s beautiful. Thank you” Avni wrapped her arms around Geet and pressed a kiss to her temple. “You’re going to outdo when it comes to this. You should consider pursuing food instead of sociology and childcare” she suggested kindly. “You’re creative” she tapped Geet’s temple with her finger. “You could do a lot once you put your mind to it” she added.

“Thanks for buttering me up” Geet laughed.

“I’m serious” Avni frowned mockingly.

“Okay” Geet rolled her eyes.

“Hey, never doubt what you can do. You always do this” Avni sighed cradling Geet’s cheek. “You need to just take a chance, you never know what awaits you”.

Geet smiled at the memory, Avni was right. She needed to take a chance. Since Simran wasn’t home and neither was anyone else, she decided she’d spend her time usefully and headed downstairs to the kitchen. She rummaged through the cupboards, her mind lighting up with different ideas as she found various ingredients. She looked into the oven to see what her mother had cooked up and noticed it was only pasta. She grabbed the now cool dish and placed it into the fridge for later then pulled out pans and different ingredients from the cupboards and freezer.

“Simran, I’m really sorry for what maa said the other day” Namita apologised and was glad her mother had gone to visit a relative today. Simran had divulged what had happened after they’d left and she’d felt even more guilty.

“She said what was on my mind” Simran admitted sadly, “I shouldn’t have really brought it up in front of her” she murmured.

“Is Geet okay now?” Namita asked concerned.

“Yeah, she’s okay. She’s just sitting in bed bored” Simran responded. “If she agreed to marry, then at least she’d have something to do. She’d be spending time with her husband and settling into her new life” she murmured.

“When she’s ready, she’ll let you know. Don’t worry so much” Namita patted her hand.

“How shouldn’t I worry?” Simran sighed heavily, “Maa ji has said what everyone will be saying. Our society is harsh on those girls who are still unmarried at this age, they’re going to assume she’s probably got some boyfriend she’s hiding from us or something else” she shook her head. “I don’t want to even imagine what they’re going to think. Its bad enough that Reyaan had left during the wedding” she rubbed her temples feeling a headache coming along.

“Simran, stop thinking about what others think and say” Namita replied, “Nothing is more important than Geet’s happiness. If you ask her to settle down with someone she doesn’t like or love, then this could lead to problems in their marriage and ultimately lead to separation or divorce” she explained. “It’s better we’re patient until she’s found someone, or she comes to you to say she’s ready”.

Simran nodded listening to Namita’s words carefully and agreed somewhat with her though that didn’t reduce the concern for her daughter’s future. “Have you thought about Maan’s future?” she questioned changing the subject.

“Yeah, I’ve spoken to him. Maan isn’t ready so I’m going to give him space” Namita explained. “He loved Avni a lot, its going to take him quite some time before he considers settling down again. There’s also Mahika to think about” she added.

“Namita, what do you think of Sameera?” she inquired.

“What do you mean?” Namita frowned.

“Well, I was just thinking… Maan has been coming around and they both seem to share similar interests and she’s… she reminds me a lot of Avni” she murmured thoughtfully. “She’s also good with Mahika” she added.

“No” Namita shook her head. “Maan doesn’t see her like that, she’s just seen as Geet’s friend” she explained, she also realised that Simran did not know of Maan and Geet dating briefly.

“Hmm, its just a thought” Simran nodded in understanding. “She’s a very sweet girl”.

“Yes, she is and the person who marries her will consider himself very lucky” Namita agreed. “But it wouldn’t be Maan” she reiterated.

Simran nodded realising that Namita did not want this pairing brought up again.

“How’s that?” Geet popped chicken popcorn in Mahika’s mouth.

“Gen” she opened her mouth chewing noisily. “Nice” she grinned.

Geet popped another popcorn into her mouth, she then grabbed the small bowl of noodles and fed another spoonful to Mahika. Geet then helped Mahika sip some water then proceeded to feed her.

“Oh my, what’s all this?” Sameera entered placing her bag down and perused the table filled with different dishes.

“It’s called boredom” Geet laughed. “Wash up and come eat” she told her. “There’s noodles, chicken biryani, chicken popcorn, cheese stuffed potato balls and cupcakes” she pointed out.

“You cooked all day?” Sameera questioned heading into the kitchen washing her hands and joined Geet at the table.

“I was bored out of my brains” Geet smiled. “Whenever I was bored, Avni di and I would cook in here spending our time together” she divulged.

“This is really good, Geet” Sameera praised as she slurped the noodles.

Geet smiled, “I think someone else agrees” she pointed to Mahika who’d grabbed a handful of the noodles and stuffed it into her mouth grinning widely.

“Gen wanty mummy” Mahika opened her mouth, Geet grabbed another popcorn feeding her.

“What on earth happened to my daughter?” Maan’s eyes widened seeing Mahika on the highchair, her mouth covered in dried bits of sauce, noodle strings stuck to her cheeks, her hands covered with noodles as she babbled away incoherently.

“She’s eating” Geet pointed out.

“More like drowning” Maan pulled out the chair sitting besides her. “What’s all this, baby girl?” he pulled a noodle from her cheek.

“Wanty mummy” Mahika pointed grinning widely.

“Of course, its only going to be her” Maan rolled his eyes.

“Whatever majnu. I fed her” Geet stuck her tongue out, Mahika laughed and stuck her tongue out.

“Daddy” she grabbed a noodle and held it up for him. “Nice”.

Maan opened his mouth smiling as she clapped with glee as he ate the proffered noodle, he brushed his fingers through her curls and looked across the table. “You cooked all this?”

“Yeah” Geet nodded.

Maan nodded, seeing the table filled he was reminded of the times when Avni and Geet would cook up a storm whenever they got a chance to get together. They had spent endless evenings munching away on the food the ladies cooked, laughing together and sharing stories.

“Where is everyone?” Sameera inquired pulling Maan away from his memories.

“Dad picked mama up from your place” she pointed to Maan “and they’re going out for dinner today. Meera and Saahil have also gone out together and its going to be an all-nighter given that he said not to wait up” she smiled. “Aryan is at work” she finished.

“That’s good, we can go apartment hunting after everyone’s eaten?” Maan interjected.

“Yeah, I’m up for that” Geet looked to Sameera.

“Yep, definitely. I’m going to change out of my work clothes first” Sameera replied.

Geet nodded and looked at Maan, “Pick your poison, majnu what would you like to eat?” she wiggled her brows.

“Ooh…” Maan scanned the dishes undecidedly, “I’ll go with the biryani, it feels like ages since I’d eaten that” he told her. “Has Harsh called?” he questioned curiously as he’d known that their Friday was cancelled last week and Harsh had said he’d call and set up another coffee meet up.

“No, not yet” Geet handed him the plate of biryani with a spoon. “I’m hoping he doesn’t call now to be honest given that mama has said she’d back off for now. If I start dating Harsh, her matchmaking tentacles will probably stand to attention” she laughed.

“I don’t think she’d do that now” Maan answered, “papa wouldn’t want mama pushing you especially when you’re not ready” he added.

“Hmm, maybe” Geet shrugged.

“Anyway, what brought all this cooking on?” he questioned. “You avoid it as much as possible and only cook when you feel like it” he pointed out.

“I know” Geet nodded, “I was bored, and I remembered this conversation I had with di. I’m struggling to find a job and just thinking whether I just enrol in a cooking class and widen my knowledge of food? Customer service cuts into this so I can use the knowledge I have and do something along those lines?”

“Is that something you’d like to pursue?” he queried.

“I’m no closer to finding a job and until I do, maybe take a few classes and buff up my CV” she shrugged. “I don’t want to be dying of boredom at home, before I at least had Sameera or… di but now its just me. Mama is up early, does her bit then goes out to visit her friends an all”.

“Then go for it, if that’s something you want to do for now, try it out” Maan encouraged. “Actually, I just remembered, do you remember Viren and Amir?”

“Oh yeah” Geet nodded.

“I’m sure they’ve got a restaurant, I could speak to them and see if they’d let you train under them? Its doing pretty well” he suggested.

“You’re still in touch with them?” Geet asked.

“Yeah, I’m more in touch with our friends than you are” Maan laughed. “I’ll speak to them and see what they say” he told her. Geet nodded and thanked him.

If you're in FB password messenger group, please add your FB name so I know who to add in the new password messenger. From next updates, it will most likely be password protected.