Posted:
Hi everyone, this is for my two young friends Debolina and Rimpy (I made a promise and broke it, sorry sweetie)
BTW: This chapter has no edits, no proof reading, so I am sorry if grammatical and spelling mistakes are found. Too sleepy right now!! Also this may be a bit of a bore!! Sorry, have to go to bed right now.......
Chapter 15
"O, how this spring of love resembleth
The uncertain glory of an April day;
Which now shows all the beauty of the sun,
And by and by a cloud takes all away."
Chapter 15
Shakespeare – The Gentlemen of Verona
For the first time in many years, Jai couldn't concentrate on the work before him. He sat on the hunter green leather chair and swiveled away from his L-shaped cherry desk so that he could look at the tall skyscrapers in downtown Mumbai. He absently caressed the paperweight, his lucky horseshoe that was a gift from Bani. He gently smoothed the glittering bronze object, his sensual upper lip curving upwards. He didn't sleep well last night, but somehow he still felt energized and exhilarated. This morning there was a new meaning to his life. He felt years younger than his age of thirty-two. He couldn't help imagining couple of kids running around in the mansion, may be riding on the ponies with their mother watching over them carefully.
He couldn't help thinking about her, she appeared each time he closed his eyes – serene, smiling and regal – for a girl who grew up in a lower middleclass family, it was amazing how regal she looked, each step she took was assurance personified, the poise with which she led her life and looked after her sisters endeared her to him.
He wondered why she succumbed relatively easily to his proposal, for a girl who was adamantly opposed to a loveless marriage – the acceptance seemed a turnaround. Was it the security of his wealth, was it his family or was it pressure from her family? Some how the thought was unpalatable for him. He grimaced at the direction his thoughts were going. He wanted badly to listen to her voice and sighed when he realized he didn't have her phone number, heck! She probably didn't even have a phone in her cottage!
Ranveer walked in to his mama-ji's office and he tried not to show his disgust at the silly grin Jai was sporting on his face.
"Mama-ji"
"Hmmm" Jai answered absently, still pre-occupied with his thoughts. Suddenly an idea came to him when he saw Ranveer in front of him.
"Ranveer, I know you are into electronic gadgets, do you happen to know what is the latest cell phone around?" Jai smiled encouragingly at Ranveer to answer his question.
"Mama-ji? Aap ke liye?" Ranveer was shocked; this was the first time Jai was asking him for an opinion. The tall, intense young man worshipped Jai like a father figure. The relationship with his father was marred by his over-zealous mother, who tried to put down Adi every chance she got.
"Mere liye, but I want two identical ones, can you go and buy it for me?" Jai requested Ranveer.
As the boy turned to go, he called out to Ranveer.
"Ranveer, Did you want something from me?"
"Ji – mama ji, I have couple of months before I go to UC Berkeley, I was wondering if I can work with you at the Walia companies as an intern?"
Jai contemplated for a couple of minutes as Ranveer shifted uncomfortably under his mama-ji's scrutiny.
"Ranveer, I may have something for you, come with me to Westside stables on Wednesday. Haan, make sure that you pack clothes enough for two months, OK? Ask Tarun if you can borrow his motorbike for a couple of months" Jai got up and walked past Ranveer still smiling as Ranveer gaped at him in surprise. What was Mama-ji upto?
Ranveer didn't understand what his mama-ji had in mind, he hated the stables, he hated the animals and most of all he hated the supercilious teenager Rano who acted like she knew it all. He remembered how she was laughing at him when he stepped in the horse dung by accident. Why is mama-ji making him go to Westside, he cursed himself for coming to mama-ji with the request for a job. He should have stuck around at home like stupid Sahil or the airhead Anu without an aim and objective in his life. But he so wanted to be like Jai mama-ji!
++++++++
Bani washed Pipedreams, checked his hooves for stones and nails, made sure his shoes still fitted right. She took a large brush and started brushing the thick mane until it shone like gilded copper. Her thoughts took her back to the conversation with her sisters yesterday, even today, Pia's words hurt her deeply, the seeds of doubt that were sown already are now sprouting wings. She knew her sister well, Pia was always a little narcissistic, believed that she was the God's gift to men, her ambitions in life were always grandiose and her dreams a little too unreal. But behind that hard shell lay a warm and loving creature who cared for her sisters in her own way.
Bani wanted to tell Jai that she couldn't go through this wedding, but she couldn't bring herself to tell him – was pure chemistry between them sufficient for a good marriage? she didn't have an answer for that. The mordant wit, both wicked and waspish combined with his irascible temper scared her to death, but she managed to hide it under a placid exterior. But what terrified her more, was her own reactions to him physically and mentally. Her body behaved as if it was on a simmering flame, while her brain stopped functioning altogether. The pragmatic, down to earth Bani disappeared when she was around him and instead this love-addicted teenager replaced her.
She saddled the horse and walked him outside, the day was beautiful, not too hot and not too cold, a slight breeze whipping her hair back, she combed her thick, dark hair into a pony-tail and put a cap. As she was trying to mount the horse, she heard her name being called.
She looked up to see a courier with a box waiting for her patiently. As she signed the paper and exchanged it for the box, she saw a note attached to the box. She opened it gingerly to find a note addressed to her in bold scrawl. The note was short and to the point.
Don't send it back, if you do, I will personally come tonight and make you take it – some thing tells me that if I said please, it would work. Please? Read the instructions inside the box on how to activate it, if you don't know how, ask your sagacious sister, you know which one! - JW
PS: Put it in silent or vibrate mode when you are riding, I don't want the horse to get scared and throw you!
Bani opened the box gingerly to find a silver phone with a battery pack and instructions to activate. The first sentence made her quiver with anger, fast and furious and then she tried to calm herself. He actually used the word 'please'. She also liked the fact that he cared about her not getting hurt while riding.
She watched as the courier left and went inside to ask Rano to assist in activating her phone.
She waited eagerly all afternoon and evening to hear from him. She put the phone under her pillow when she went to bed. Most of her life she lived on a farm, she was early to rise and early to go to bed. When the clock struck ten, she hit the sack, trying to keep her eyes open desperately but finally giving in to the slumber.
She woke up to a song 'Ek ladki ko dekha tho aisa laga' from 1942-Love story playing under her pillow. She was glad that she didn't share the bed with Rano or Pia, the cottage was small but it had three bedrooms, one for each.
She quickly picked up the phone and pressed the talk button.
"Hello!!" Her voice sounded breathless to her own ears.
"I was hoping that you would have the phone next to you" The rich timbre in his voice rang a chord in her heart.
The silence stretched as Bani found herself tongue-tied.
"I think you are blushing right now!" he predicted accurately.
"I am not!" Bani defended herself.
"If you say so!" He said dryly.
"Do you like your gift?"
Bani felt the need to speak up, "You shouldn't have, this is too expensive"
"Sweetheart, don't worry, last time I checked I had enough money in the bank" He made light of it.
Bani became silent, he was probably right, the phone must have costed him as much as her monthly income.
"Bani, I am not going to apologize for my wealth, been there, done that – blamed my parents and their parents before them for having too much money. I finally realized, I don't need to apologize to anybody. If I am earning money fair and square, I should be able to spend it too" Jai's voice rang crystal clear.
"I wasn't asking you to apologize" irritation sprung too quickly in answer to his statement.
"Good, I am not going to" This time he laughed softly, "OK, enough of this!"
"Tell me what have you been doing with yourself all day" his voice was husky. "Did you think of me?"
"No" Her answer was too quick and rang false even to her own ears.
"Liar!!" he chuckled and changed the subject. "What are you wearing right now?"
There was a long pause, Bani stopped breathing, her throat was too constricted for her to say anything. Finally she found her voice to say
"I have to go back to sleep, I need to get up early in the morning"
"Coward! You are not going to hang up on me, Bani – if you hang up on me, I don't know what I am going to do with you on Wednesday." He threatened her with dire consequences.
"Mr. Walia, please!!" She begged him to stop torturing her.
"Why do you call me Mr.Walia? It makes me feel so old, you used to call me Jai" He sounded petulant.
"What time do you want to leave on Wednesday?" It was Bani's turn to change the subject.
"How about eight in the morning? We will leave right after the breakfast." Jai told her about the plans for Wednesday. After talking to her about her day and his day, he finally hung up.
He called her thrice the next day, each time talking to her for a long time, about books, horses, music and her sisters.
By the time Wednesday came, her nerves were stretched tightly. She wore Jeans, a pull over sweater and a light windbreaker that belonged to Pia. It was a bit too big on her and hung loosely on her shoulders.
Ranveer and Jai showed up on the motorbikes, they silenced the engines as they came close to the stables and walked their bikes, it was an unwritten rule not to scare the horses on the trails. They both carried backpacks and Jai carried an extra helmet with him.
Bani made Pooris with Chole for breakfast and Ranveer and Jai competed with each other as she fried the poories in the oil and kept serving them fresh and hot. Jai felt that he never enjoyed eating his breakfast more than that day.
Rano made faces at Ranveer and didn't really understand why he was there, she tried to take Jai aside to tell him exactly what she thinks of the idea, but Jai firmly told her that Ranveer is there to learn how the stables operate because Jai was going to start a stud farm in Punjab and he needed Ranveer to put a project plan together.
After they ate, Jai gave her the spare helmet and took out a leather jacket from his backpack that was exactly her size and gave it to her. She was reluctant to take it but was bullied into wearing the Jacket. She gave Pia her windbreaker and wore the jacket and the sunglasses along with a bandanna tying her hair securely in the back.
The bike was a dream come true, it was a fire engine red, with streaks of lightening on either side, the long body spoke of power and speed.
As Jai kick started the bike, he looked back at Bani signaling her to sit behind him.
She carefully sat astride the bike and kept her hands back on the carriage behind her.
As they left the stables, Jai stopped the bike and looked behind him.
The road was empty except for them. Jai slowly got up from the bike and plucked her out her seat.
"First things first!" he husked before pulling her to him.
He looked deeply into her dark, dilated eyes before bending and taking her lips in a sweetly sensual kiss. He couldn't stop himself and the one kiss turned to many as he closed the distance between them in a tight embrace. When he finally stopped, her lips were bruised and eyelids were heavy with desire that burned dangerously out of control. He bent again for one more kiss that went longer than the first, this time, the kiss was gentle and tender, it melted her insides until her legs became jelly and she had to lean on him heavily.
++++ Edited 8:30am Thursday 3/22 ++++
Good morning everyone in US and hello everyone in India,UK and other parts of the world...I wanted to apologize for a half a**ed update last night, some times when you are in a hurry, things don't come out right, last night I realized that I forgot half the things I want to write, I blame time and myself (For procrastinating) but just wanted to say that you guys deserve the best and I am sorry I didn't deliver....
😕 😕 😕
Geet - Hui Sabse Parayee
Advocate Anjali Awasthi
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