Shafaq, yeh bhi tumhare naam 😛
Chapter 15
After putting on the snow boots he kept at the cabin, Jai made his way out the doors, grateful for the time he wouldn't be in Bani's presence. Being around her and still loving her like he did was hard. Even now he didn't know the reason for the divorce, other than what was noted in the papers he'd been served that day, a few weeks ago. Irreconcilable differences; whatever the hell that was supposed to mean.
Bani hadn't come to him so they could talk about any problems they were having. He had come home one day and she had moved out. He still was at a loss as to what could have been so wrong with their marriage that she could no longer see a future for them.
He would always recall that time as being the lowest point in his life. For days it was as if a part of him was missing. It had taken a while to finally pull himself together and realize she wasn't coming back no matter how many times he'd asked her to. And all it took was the receipt of that divorce petition to make him realize that Bani wanted him out of her life, and actually believed that whatever issues were keeping them apart couldn't be resolved.
A little while later Jai had gathered more wood to put with the huge stack already on the back porch, glad that at least if nothing else they wouldn't freeze to death. The cabin was equipped with enough toiletries to hold them for at least a week, which was a good thing. And he hadn't wanted to break the news to Bani that the meat in the freezer wasn't chicken, but deer meat that one of his clients had given him a couple of weeks ago after a hunting trip. It was good to eat, but he knew Bani well enough to know she would have to be starving before she would consume any of it.
After rubbing his icy hands on his jeans, he stuck them into his pockets to keep them from freezing. Walking around the house, he strolled over to her car, opened the door and found the candy bars, chips and……..…the Girl Scouts cookies, he noted, lifting a brow. She hadn't mentioned them, and he saw they were her favorite kind, as well as his. He quickly recalled the first year they were married and how they shared the cookies as a midnight snack after making love. He couldn't help but smile as he remembered that night and others where they had spent time together, not just in bed, but cooking in the kitchen, going to movies, concerts, parties, having picnics and just plain sitting around and talking for hours.
He suddenly realized that one of the things that had been missing from their marriage for a while was communication. When had they stopped talking? The first thought that grudgingly came to mind was when she'd begun bringing work home, letting it intrude on what had always been their time together. That's when they had begun living in separate worlds.
Jai breathed in deeply. He wanted to get back into Bani's world and he definitely wanted her back in his. He didn't want a divorce. He wanted to keep his wife but he refused to resort to any type of manipulating, dominating or controlling tactics to do it. What he and Bani needed was to use this weekend to keep it honest and talk openly about what had gone wrong with their marriage. They would go further by finding ways to resolve things. He still loved her and wanted to believe that deep down she still loved him.
There was only one way to find out.
Bani glanced around the room seeing all the lit candles and thinking just how romantic they made the cabin look. Taking a deep breath, she frowned in irritation, thinking that romance should be the last thing on her mind. Jai was her soon-to-be ex-husband. Whatever they once shared was over, done with, it had come to a screeching end.
If only the memories weren't so strong.…
She glanced out the window and saw him piling wood on the back porch. Never in her wildest dreams would she have thought her day would end up this way, with her and Jai being stranded together at the cabin — a place they always considered as their favorite getaway spot. During the first two years of their marriage, they would come here every chance they got, but in the past year she could recall them coming only once. Somewhere along the way she had stopped allowing them time even for this.
She sighed deeply recalling how important it had been to her at the beginning of their marriage for them to make time to talk about matters of interest, whether trivial or important. They had always been attuned to each other and Jai had always been a good listener, which to her conveyed a sign of caring and respect. But the last couple of times they had tried to talk ended up with them snapping at each other, which only built bitterness and resentment.
The lights blinked and she knew they were about to go out. She was glad that she had taken the initiative to go into the kitchen and scramble up some eggs earlier. And she was inwardly grateful that if she had to get stranded in the cabin during a snowstorm that, she was happy that Jai was here with her. Heavens knows she would have been a basket case had she found herself up here alone.
The lights blinked again before finally going out, but the candles provided the cabin with plenty of light. Not sure if the temperatures outside would cause the pipes to freeze, she had run plenty of water in the bathtub and kitchen sink, and filled every empty jug with water for them to drink. She'd also found batteries to put in the radio so they could keep up with any reports on the weather.
"I saw the lights go out. Are you okay?" asked Jai.
Bani turned around. Jai was leaning in the doorway with his hands stuck in the pockets of his jeans. The pose made him look incredibly sexy. "Yes, I'm okay. I was able to get the candles all lit and there are plenty more."
"That's good" he acknowledged.
"Just in case the pipe freezes and we can't use the shower, I filled the bathtub up with water so we can take a bath that way" she added enthusiastically.
At seeing his raised brow Bani quickly added, "Separately, of course. And I made sure I filled plenty of bottles of drinking water, too."
Jai nodded and with a smile said "sounds like you've been busy."
"So have you. I saw through the window when you put all that wood on the porch. It will probably come in handy" retorted Bani.
Jai moved away from the door. "Yes I have been busy too, and with the electricity out I need to go ahead and get the fire started" he suggested.
Bani swallowed as she watched him walk toward her on his way to the fireplace, and for the umpteenth time she thought about how remarkably handsome he was. He had that certain charisma that made women get hot all over just by looking at him.
It suddenly occurred to her that he'd already got a fire started, and the way it was spreading through her, it was about to make her burst into flames.
"You okay?" Jai asked Bani as he walked toward her with a smile.
She nodded and cleared her throat. "Yes, why do you ask?"
"Because you're looking at me in a funny manner" he added with that million dollar smile on his face.
"Oh" said Bani. She was vaguely aware of him walking past her to kneel in front of the fireplace. She turned and watched him, saw him move the wood around before taking a match and lighting it to start a fire. He was so good at kindling things, whether wood or the human body.
"If you like, I can make something for dinner," she decided to say, otherwise she would continue to stand there and say nothing but do a lot mentally while just staring at him. It was hard trying to be normal in a rather awkward situation.
"What are our options?" asked Jai without looking around.
Bani chuckled and replied "An egg sandwich and tea. I made both earlier before the power went off."
Jai turned at that and his gaze caught hers. A smile crinkled his eyes. "Do I have a choice?" he asked.
"Not if you want to eat" she said smiling back at him.
"What about those Girl Scouts cookies I found in your car?" asked Jai with a slight smirk on his face.
Bani's eyes narrowed. "They're off-limits. You can have one of the candy bars, but the cookies are all mine" she shot back.
His mouth broke into a wide grin. "You have enough cookies to share so stop being selfish."
He turned back around and she made a face at him behind his back. He was back to stoking the fire and her gaze went to his hands. Those hands used to be the giver of so much pleasure and almost ran neck to neck with his mouth…but not quite. His mouth was in a class by itself. But still, she could recall those same hands, gentle, provoking, moving all over her body; touching her everywhere and doing things to her that mere hands weren't suppose to do. However, she never had any complaints.
"Did you have any plans for tonight, Bani?" asked Jai.
His words intruded into her heated thoughts. "No, why?"
"Just wondering. You thought I had a date tonight. What about you?" he quizzed her.
Bani shrugged and replied "No. As far as I'm concerned, until we sign those final papers I'm still legally married and wouldn't feel right going out with someone."
Jai turned around and locked his eyes with hers. "I know what you mean," he said. "I wouldn't feel right going out with someone else too."
Heat seeped through her every pore with his words. "So you haven't been dating, either?" she questioned.
"No" was Jai's reply.
There were a number of questions she wanted to ask him — how he spent his days, his nights, what his family thought of their pending divorce, what he thought of it, was he ready for it to be over for them to go their separate ways — but there was no way she could ask him any of those things.
"I guess I'll go put dinner on the table" she said instead.
He chuckled. "An egg sandwich and tea?"
"Yes" replied Bani and she turned to leave.
"Bani?" called out Jai in a husky tone.
She turned back around and replied "Yes?"
"I don't like being stranded, but since I am, I'm glad it's with you" said Jai with a lot of emotions.
For a moment she couldn't say anything, then she cleared her throat while backing up a couple of steps. "Ah, yeah right, same here." She backed up some more then said, "I'll go set out the food now" And then she turned and hurried away.
"True love is like a pair of socks, you gotta have two and they've gotta match."
Humour for the day
Why cats are better than men?
- A CAT always hits the litter box.
- Better chance of training a CAT.
- No matter what your CAT drags into your house, you don't have to pretend you like it.
- You never have to spend time with your CAT's mother.
- If you ask enough times, a CAT may actually listen to you.
- A CAT purrs when you serve him dinner.
- It's okay if a CAT rubs up against your best friend.
- A CAT knows you're the key to his happiness..a man thinks he is.
- If a CAT jumps into your lap, a little light petting will satisfy him.
Edited by sabsj - 18 years ago
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