FF JB: Tum Bin - Epilogue - Page 25 - Page 10

Anam, well written part!

Im surprised shes going out with Tarun, but I suppose she might feel better. I hope that somehow Jai returns for her. I feel bad that she feels so lonely.

Touching story. Hope Bani gets the happiness she deserves.

hk

Thank you all for the comments. I'm sorry I'm unable to reply to each of you individually but I do read each and every comment and they are much appreciated.

Happy Reading!

Anam

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Chapter 5

"So, will you do it, Yukti? For me?" he begged.

"Of course, Tarun, I'll try to have it set up for six-thirty, might be hard but I'll try," she promised.

"Thanks, Yukti, you don't know what this means to me," his deep voice filled with gratitude. "Talk to you soon."

"Bye," she whispered, closing the phone. "If only he knew."

"If only he knew what?" Sameer asked, sitting beside her on the bench. He offered her a smile, leaning closer to her to ask, "Something wrong, Yuks?"

"No," she shook her head. Sameer had to be the most annoying flirt of a man she had ever met. He hit on anything that could walk and breath that looked legal. Of course, some women found that flattering, but to Yukti, it was the biggest insult on earth. Perhaps that was why Bani refused to date the dork. "Sameer, what's the chance of the Shelter closing early tonight?"

"With half the staff gone, we could have most of the kids out by a quarter to seven I guess," he replied.

Yukti nodded, trying to decide if she could have enough time to pull her errands off for Tarun.

"Hot date or something?" he teased.

"Definitely or something," Yukti sighed, rolling her eyes. "Can you watch my puppeteers for me? I have to go see Bani."

"Sure, but hurry back would you? M and C are bad with paint, but their terrible with other kids and sports as well. I swear those two are going to be isolated from society one of these days."

Yukti laughed. "I don't doubt it," she motioned to the net. "Looks like someone deflated a Nerf ball…"

"But you can't…" he looked over at the girls. The ball torn to shreds, little orange pieces scattered all over the floor, as well as in the girls' hair and mouths. "They killed a Nerf! It's IMPOSSIBLE to kill a Nerf!"

She laughed. "Obviously not that impossible," she stood and walked away, her laughter echoing in the giant gym. Not that impossible at all. Now getting Bani to leave early…

That was going to be impossible!

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Bani was still dressing when the doorbell to the Walia house rang. Mausi had been surprised that Bani planned on going out with Tarun. Well, more than surprised…shocked. After all, Bani seemed intent on remaining single now that Jai was gone. Still, Mausi had been supportive, reminding Bani that Jai would want her to be happy; that he would have wanted her to move on with her life and find love again. But it was so hard to be happy without him and she was positive no love from any other man could compare to Jais'.

Picking up her purse, Bani gave herself a once over in the mirror. A stray hair fell across her brow and she brushed it away, trying to tuck it into place. She wasn't looking her best, but she didn't feel the need to put as much effort into this…

This what? Relationship? One time thing? What was this exactly? She was still in love with her husband so it couldn't possibly be a relationship. Heck, she wasn't even sure what had possessed her to say yes to this date tonight! Shaking her head, she left the room to get the door before someone else did. She was too late, however, finding Mausi and Tarun standing in the living room having a conversation about their days as they waited for Bani to join them.

"Bani," Tarun smiled. His eyes quickly looked her over before locking her gaze. "You're looking beautiful."

"You truly are, Bani. Red is certainly your color…" Mausi shook her head sadly. Her daughter-in-law could only be more beautiful if she was happy and had a smile that finally reached her eyes again.

"Thank you," she replied shyly, running her hands over the Sari she now wore; one reminiscent of the one she had worn when she had given Jai…she shook her head, no she couldn't think of that at this time. Of course, she couldn't wear the other one right now, her pregnancy making it far too tight. But she had found this one in her closet and now she wore it. Ok, so perhaps she was living a little too much into the past right now, but she missed her husband dearly and little things like similar outfits made her feel closer to him.

"For you," Tarun handed Bani a bouquet of six, long-stem red roses, his eyes sparkling happily as he looked her over one more time. He looked like a man smitten with a woman and Bani felt terrible just looking at him. How could she do this? Wasn't this leading him on?

She gently removed the roses from his hands, holding them to her nose and closing her eyes. Tears were beginning to pool there as the scent of the flowers assaulted her senses. Roses…their flower…Jai had always brought her roses, never anything else. Yellow…red…pink…white, ones he had taken from the bushes outside of the house or ones he had bought on the way home from work. But always roses…

Why did Tarun have to bring her roses now?

"Let me take those, I wouldn't want you to be late for your reservations…" Bani reluctantly handed Mausi the flowers, opening her eyes to look at Tarun. He was still smiling as if nothing was wrong. Couldn't he see that everything was wrong? That this entire situation was wrong? Was he really so blind?

"Ready?" he asked, taking her coat from the sofa and helping her slide it on, giving her shoulders a gentle squeeze once it was in place. "I know you love eating at Bombay Club but I hope you don't mind if I don't take you there…I had other plans."

"That's fine," she replied. In fact, it was a great idea. She was happy that they weren't going there. Her first date with Jai had been there, the one where they had truly bonded after he had shot down the bribe from her father. It was the moment she realized that Jai was going to be the man that she had waited her entire life for, even if she did end up fighting those feelings for nearly a year afterwards.

"Good, now that that's settled, we can leave."

"Sure," she looked at Mausi. "I'll be home by nine, Mausi."

Mausi offered her a weak smile. "Have fun Bani," she turned and entered the kitchen, her shoulders slumped slightly. Bani could almost read her mind; she was losing a daughter after losing her son.

"Ok, let's roll," Tarun led her out of the house. Bani shivered. Why did she suddenly feel as if she was losing her connection with Jai? And if she was, how could she ever get it back?

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He pulled his cherry red car into the parking lot of the Shelter, laughing at Bani's confused reaction. How he wished he had a camera to save this moment forever! Her look was priceless, eyebrows cocked and eyes wide with bewilderment.

"Tarun…why are we at the Shelter?" she asked, looking the place over. "It closed nearly a half hour ago."

"We are here because this is where we're going for dinner." Bani merely blinked, unable to respond. How did he plan on having dinner at the Shelter?

He didn't say anything else, only climbed out of the car and walked around to her side, helping her out. Taking her hand, Tarun escorted Bani into the Shelter, helping her remove her coat once safely inside. Soft music was playing and the gym was dimly lit. Again she tossed him a look. This was just like the time she showed up for the New Years party before it began just to wish Jai a Happy New Year, except it was at the Walia Hotel instead of the Shelter. But then she had ended up in his arms for one of the best slow dances she ever had with a man.

"Come on, I had a friend work really hard to set this up for me," he offered his hand. "She'd kill me if you didn't enjoy this."

She slowly took it, following him into the gym. It looked like it was ready for a dance…a candlelit dance. She half expected a dozen or so teens to be milling about. Hanging around the room were pictures the children had obviously made, pictures of trees and houses, what appeared to be dogs and children. She giggled. Obviously that was to set the dcor. It was rather cute. In the very Shelter of the gym was a table with a blue linen tablecloth and another red rose set in a small crystal vase. The table was set for two, complete with plates covered to hide their contents. She identified the song playing; ironically it was Main Jahan Rahoon by Rahat Fateh Ali Khan, a song about the loss of one's true love. Did Tarun realize it? Glancing over at him, she realized he didn't. He was still happy as ever, his smile unwavering.

In the mean time her heart was clenching in her chest as tears formed in her eyes. This was the song someone had played at Jais' Birthday, trying to tell Bani that his love would always be with her. She wasn't sure she could handle much more, but then it ended and a new song began, one she couldn't identify.

"It's beautiful…and very sweet," she replied, walking to the table and running her hand over the wood of the chair. "Who did this?"

"Yukti was kind enough to set it up," he responded, joining her at the table and pulling out her chair. "Madame."

She sat, allowing him to push the chair in before thinking about how much this must have taken for Yukti to set up. That girl was definitely a romantic at heart, but Bani knew that deep down inside she was hiding something. Yukti was in love and there was no denying it. She just wondered who the man was.

Tarun slid into the seat across from her. "I wanted to go on a picnic, but it's far too windy out there tonight. So I was wondering how we could have something like a picnic, with chairs so your back wouldn't ache too badly and without worrying if the weather was too bad. This was the best solution I could find."

"It's fine," she offered him a faulty smile. He didn't seem to notice as his eyes continued to shine brightly. Tarun seemed so enamored with her and she felt bad being with him. In fact, she felt miserable. She sneakily checked her watch. Only an hour and a half before this date was over…not too long!

Tarun removed the cover from her plate, revealing a seafood dish from Bombay Club. Ironic that he hadn't taken her there, but he had ordered the food from there. She almost cried when she realized it was a dish Jai had once tried and spit out into his napkin. What had he called it? The worst thing to have hit a dish since her scrambled eggs? She hadn't realized then that it would be one of the few memories she would have of him when he was gone. They had both expected to make a lifetime of memories.

That was the final straw and the tears began to roll down her cheeks; large fat cheers that wet her Sari when they dripped off her face. She pushed herself up, looking at Tarun and whispering, "I can't do this," before rushing outside, grabbing her coat and pulling it on before the cold air could bite into her skin. Still, she shivered inside of the coat, tears still rolling down her cheeks as she gazed at the dim stars.

Tarun exited the Shelter a few minutes later, locking the door behind him. He took the steps two at a time, coming to her side and placing a hand on her shoulder. "Would you like me to take you home?"

"Please," she replied softly. "I just don't think I'm ready…"

He nodded in understanding. "I can wait."

"It might be a lifetime," she replied. "Tarun…"

"Shh, you're just tired and still hurting Bani. The pain is still fresh and you really haven't had any closure. I'm sure that in time you'll be ready."

She just nodded; too tired to argue.

"Come on, I'll take you home," he assisted her into the car and then climbed into the drivers side.

And from that point on neither seemed to say a word. Before long, the car pulled up to the Walia house and Tarun cut the engine, turning to Bani. "Would you like me to walk you to the door?"

"No thank you," she replied, removing the seatbelt.

He nodded, taking her hand and kissing the top. "Good night, Bani."

"Night, Tarun," she opened the door and climbed out, hurrying inside the house. She wasn't too surprised to find it silent and dark inside, not even Anu's somewhat animated chatter going on anywhere. It was surprising, considering it was relatively early, but then again Pushkar and Anu had been going out a lot lately to keep themselves away from the memories at home. It was hard especially for these two as they both shared a special bond with Jai.

With a sigh, she headed for her room, going inside and silently closing the door behind her. Slowly, she changed for bed, sliding into the cold sheets and sinking into the pillows. Taking the picture from the nightstand, Bani ran her thumb over his face, trying to remember what his cheek felt like beneath her fingertips.

"I miss you," she whispered, tears beginning to roll down her cheeks again. "So very much. Why'd you have to go?" She placed the portrait back on the nightstand. "Why?" she sobbed, closing her eyes and bringing a hand to her abdomen.

The only response she received was the very first kick from their unborn son before she cried herself into a restless sleep, unaware of Mausi hearing every word and tear from the hall.

To be continued…

Poor Bani.. She just cant get over Jai.. I dont blame her. I bet he loved her more than this world itself. So sad that everything around her reminds her of him.. Im just waiting and wanting him to return...Too good Anam.. cant wait to read your next update!

awwww poor thing she is so lonely
hope jai is going to show up later in the story please 😃

can't wait till the next update good work 👏 👏

👏

last bit made me cry 😭 😭

aand tarun? not sure about how i feel about him...

awesome part 👏 👏 👏

Anam,

Tarun is giving me bad vibes right now...he is trying to replace the irreplaceable, Jai...Bani is content, even if it's just the memories of her beloved....

Very sad part, yet again!

👏

Hey Anam

I just caught up with all the update,it is totally amazing.the pain of lossin someone so special to you penned so well. Bani love for Jai grows day by day.beautifully written. I dont know if its me But Tarun is giving me bad vibes.I hope everything is okay.looking forward to the next part. 😊


preet 😳

plzzzzzzzzz cont gr88bff
but y have u killed jai
plz bring him back
👏 👏 👏

ok akk caught up
sorry....dher hogayi
maafi *holds ears*

oh man tarun ke saath????? 😕
nope nope
par bechari bani is soo lonely.... 😭 😭 😭
jaha dekho waha jai ki yaadein
plz bring jai back ❤️ ❤️ ❤️
and continue soon 😃

Just simply awesome Anam... 👏 Loved it... 😛 So VERY emotional... 😭 😭 😭 In every step Bani takes, it reminds her of her love... 😭 Very nicely written once again...So Bani couldn't take it (The date)... 😃 LOL...I don;t know why I am happy but I just am... 😆 I don't want Bani with anyone else besides Jai... 😆 When will he make an appearance? Can't wait for the next part... 😛 Please do continue soon... 😛
😛 😛 😛 😛 👏 😛 😛 😛