Great Expectations-Part XXXI- Pg 202 (23/5) - Page 135

Originally posted by: Isa_de

Opti where is the update???

Part XXXI

Present

Having spent two days in the backwaters of Allapuzha, they returned to the shore. Their next halt was Kochi. They checked into another one of Milind's hotels there. As they were coming out of the hotel the next morning, they caught sight of Sahana's friend, Swati who was there with her father. Seeing her, Ishan's face brightened and he hurried to greet her. Sahana elbowed her mother and said "Mama, look at Ishan. He seems to be in greater hurry to meet my friend than I myself am. I'm pretty sure something is cooking between the two of them."

Prachi tapped the back of her daughter's head lightly and turned to see her son excitedly talking to the girl. Sahana quickly walked up to them.

"Swati! What a pleasant surprise! So when did you come to Kerala?"

"We came here yesterday," said Swati and introduced both of them to her father. Prachi and Milind had joined them soon and there was another perfunctory round of introductions. Since Milind did not know about Swati's background, he innocently asked her where her mother was. Swati's face shrunk and she said in a small voice that she was still in Mumbai. Prachi, who knew that Swati's parents were separated, quickly changed the topic. She asked them where Swati and her father were planning to go that day. They said that they wanted to visit the Athirapalli and Vazhachal waterfalls.

"What a co-incidence! We are going there too! Why don't you join us?" she asked.

"Yes, please join us. I'll arrange for another vehicle," offered Milind.

"Would it not be a trouble for you?" asked Mr. Vinay Majumdhar, Swati's father.

"No trouble at all." insisted Milind. When Mr.Majumdhar nodded his head in agreement Milind noticed Ishan's elation. He sensed his son's interest in the girl and suggested that the youngsters can come in the second vehicle while the oldies will take the Honda CRV to which Swati's father agreed. Thus, Sahana, Ishan and Swati travelled in the Honda city.

Although Sahana sat between Ishan and Swati in the back seat of the Honda City, she could feel the strong attraction between her brother and her best friend from the sideways glances they kept exchanging each other. She decided to pay cupid and midway through the journey she insisted that she wanted the window seat as she suffered from motion sickness. So Swati ended up sitting next to Ishan, who excitedly engaged her in conversation throughout their trip to the falls which was about 80 kilometers from Kochi.

The two falls, nestled amongst thick forests, presented breathtakingly beautiful sight. Athirappally waterfalls, the larger of the two, looked majestic and wild, falling from a height of 80 feet through gorges overhung with trees. The Vazhachal waterfalls, located at a distance of about 5 kilometers from the Athirapally falls, are a part of the Chalakudy river stream. The waterfalls are surrounded by flora and herbal plantations.

Vinay Majumdhar and Neev soon found out that they had a common interest of hiking. They left behind the rest of the group and went hiking into the forests. Wanting her brother to spend more time with her friend, Sahana latched on to Rehana, asking her to share her culinary secrets. Taking the cue, Ishan never left Swati's side throughout the day, much to the amusement of the rest of the group.

Seeing the two of them together Ayesha remarked to Milind, "You son seems to be smitten with the girl, Milind."

"Yes, I noticed. I've never seen Ishan so much at ease with any girl. I think he is pretty serious about her. Prachi tells me that the girl is a very intelligent, bright and loving girl but her parents' recent separation had affected her deeply so much so that she had withdrawn into a shell. Ishan seems to have successfully brought her out, for she looks much more cheerful around him."

"Is that so? Well, I shouldn't be surprised, for your son is a sure charmer. As long as the two of them are happy, who are we to complain?"

Prachi joined them just then and Milind told her what they were discussing. She smiled and said that she wouldn't mind having Swati as her bahu someday.

"Well, if I have to settle for one of Sahana's friends as my bahu, I'd rather go for Swati than Mandhira."

"Why, what is wrong with Mandhira?" asked Milind, faking ignorance.

"Nothing. Only the girl has such a huge crush on you that if she were to come as my bahu, she may spend more time ogling her father-in-law and in the process neglecting my son !" she laughed.

Milind guffawed at that. "Is somebody feeling threatened?" he asked teasingly.

"No way!" she smiled linking, her arm in his. "I know the hold I have over my husband," she said confidently. Milind pinched her cheek and agreed with her.

After a fun filled day, they returned back to the hotel and had their dinner together. Milind silently observed his son whose conversations with Swati seemed endless. Later after they bid good night to Swati, Vinay, Ali, Rehana, Ayesha and Neev, Sahana and Prachi sat down to watch their favourite T.V. show, Bandini while Milind and Ishan went for a walk around the lawns of the hotel.

"Papa, can I ask you something?" asked Ishan hesitatingly.

"Yes, son. What is it?" asked back Milind although he had an inkling of what it was going to be.

"What do you think of Swati?"

"Well... she seems to be a nice girl. Why do you ask?"

"Papa, I like her a lot. I have met her only on a few occasions and we have got along famously. I enjoy her company and miss her when she is not around but I don't know whether I am in love with her yet. How does one know for sure? When did you realise you loved Mama?"

Milind laughed out loud. "Son, you are asking the wrong person. I must be one of the dumbest men on the face of the earth when it comes to recognising love. It took me nearly six months to realise that I was already neck deep in love with your Mama."

"Six months, Papa?" asked Ishan in surprise.

"Yes, I let my mind rule over my heart for a long time. It is only much later did I realise that in love you should let your heart do the talking. So my advice to you is to listen to your heart in matters concerning it. You will find your answer."

Milind then lapsed into thoughts of how and when he realised he was well and truly in love with his sweet wife.

Past (Milind's flashback)

Milind was on the flight to Istanbul to set right a problem which had cropped up in his first hotel there. He was selling off the property as the hotel was grossly mismanaged and was making huge losses. However, he had received a call the previous night from his manager there informing him that a last minute hitch had crept in to the agreement and if he does not set it right, the entire deal may fall through. He was keen that it does not, because the merger of the Mishra and Shah Group of hotels was finally shaping up and would be completed in less than a month. He wanted to keep his own house in order before the ultimate merger. He explained the position to Prachi and told her that he may be away for at least a week. He could say from her face that she was unhappy about it. He was half tempted to ask her to join him but then stopped himself. He felt that this temporary separation was a blessing in disguise for it will give him time to think about his relationship with Prachi and figure out where he stands in it.

Of late he has been feeling a myriad of emotions towards her. What had started off as a task of making his marriage work did not seem like a task anymore. He was beginning to enjoy himself in the so-called task of getting to know his wife and spending time with her. Every day he was discovering a new facet of his wife and loving it. What used to irritate and infuriate him earlier was now enjoyable and adorable. He had always cared for her as a fellow human being. He could not bear to see her suffer. He was also attracted to her as any warm blooded man would be towards a beautiful woman but he had wanted more than just care and physical attraction to make this relationship work. He sought love which he could not feel for her at the beginning of their marriage because she was the antithesis of his ideal life partner. But as a man who believed in the institution of marriage he was determined to make this relationship work and Milind Mishra has never till date failed in anything he had set out to achieve with single minded determination.

He worked doubly hard on his marriage and he seemed to be seeing the results of it. At the start of his marriage he could not bear to spend more than a couple of hours with her without feeling suffocated, for he found absolutely nothing in common between them. Taking into consideration Ali's advice, though, he made time for her in order to understand her, to appreciate her, to help her understand him, to get her interested in his hobbies and try to cultivate an interest in hers. With both of them giving up a little of themselves to be a part of the other's life, they seemed to have made their way towards each other.

He was now at a critical juncture. His feelings for her have deepened over these past months but he couldn't be sure that it was love. He did not know what love feels like. He thought he was in love with a woman for ten years, but it turned out to be mere infatuation, a pretty strong one at that. Although he did not love that woman anymore, he had held on to what she represented. As a consequence he could not look beyond those qualities he wanted in his wife but could not find in Prachi. Once he stopped looking for what he wanted and started seeing what he had, he found peace and contentment, but had he found love? He did not know and he did not want to play a guessing game. He needed to know with absolute certainty that he was as much in love with his wife as she was in him.

That evening, at the end of the discussion on the Animal Farm, when she had reiterated her love for him, he felt disturbed. Was he right in making her wait so long for him to start loving her, knowing fully well just how much she loved him? At the same time he did not want to hurriedly take their relationship to the next level. He wanted to be in a position to fully reciprocate that love. He did not want to start something without knowing its outcome. He did not want to repeat the mistake he made last time. He will make her his only when he is sure that he will be able to give her as much as she was prepared to give him. Otherwise their wait would be meaningless. He could have consummated their marriage on that fateful night itself, but he had then wanted their union to be purely out of love and not out of compulsion and so it shall be. For that he needed to sort out his own feelings. He felt that this trip to Instanbul would help him do so, for it would create a physical distance which would make him look at things more clearly and objectively.

As soon as he landed in Istanbul he got caught up in work but even in the height of all his work she kept invading his thoughts in the most unexpected manner. Her serenely beautiful face would suddenly flash before his mind's eye. Her tingling laughter would suddenly resonate in his ears. Memories of her wide-eyed admiration of him, her innocent and trusting gaze, her dimpled smile and her naive queries kept haunting him. It was the first time after their marriage that he was away from her and he missed her badly. He missed her daily company in swimming. He missed discussing things with her. He even missed the silence that prevailed between them whenever each of them did his/her task but in the company of the other. He felt a deep sense of longing for Prachi. He was in constant touch with her, calling her up at least a dozen times a day but it did not seem enough. It finally dawned on him that he was irrevocably in love with his wife. The knowledge of this truth brought with it tremendous amount of joy. He wanted to scream out to the world that he was in love. Although he wanted to proclaim his love, if not to the whole world, atleast to the woman in his life, he decided to wait till he gets back to confess his love in person.

It was two days after he reached Istanbul. The date in his watch indicated that it was October 28^th. He suddenly realised it was their six-month wedding anniversary that day. He wanted to surprise his wife with a gift. Not knowing what to buy, he stepped into an Indian jewellery shop there. He looked around the shop trying to decide what to gift her when his eyes fell on a gold pair of anklets which had delicate tiny round gold bells. He immediately liked it and got it packed. He tried calling her up the whole day but was not reaching her. Nandu kaka had informed him that she had gone to the home for the aged that morning to spend time with the inmates. He also informed him that she had said she will be visiting her parents that afternoon. He was surprised to learn that Prachi spent time with the aged people. His regard for her only increased after hearing this. That afternoon he called Shah Mansion but was told that Prachi and Prem Latha had gone shopping. He tried again in the evening and was told that they had gone to the mandir. As the day progressed, his frustration at not being able to speak with his wife was building up. He finally managed to speak to her that night at 9.00 o'clock (IST) at their home. She picked up the phone after several rings.

"Prachi, why did you take so long to answer?" he asked barely managing to hide the irritation in his voice.

"Sorry, Milind. I was having my bath. In fact, I came out to answer the phone in the middle of it."

Milind nearly dropped the receiver hearing this. His throat suddenly felt parched.

"Yyyou mean to say you are wearing nothing right now?" he stuttered.

Prachi laughed out loud "No, silly. I wrapped my soapy body in a towel before I stepped out. Although no one is in our bedroom, I should show some respect to the caller, shouldn't I?"

"Not to this caller! Wish I was there to see you now" he said half jokingly.

"Milind!" she moaned.

"Anyway, I called to wish you on our six-month anniversary."

"Thank you, Milind. Wish you the same."

"What do you want?" he asked.

"I want nothing. I just want you to come back home as soon as possible. Missing you very much Milind."

"Missing you too. Will be back in two days. Good night."

"Good night" she said and blew him a kiss.

He smiled and blew her a kiss in return. From the sounds he was hearing on the other side, he guessed that it was now Prachi's turn to nearly drop the receiver. Smiling at the thought he replaced his own receiver.

Originally posted by: madhavi_v

Okay finally caught up with all the the updates..Fanatastic Opti.. Thanks Madhavi
So after Prachi's area of expertise now it comes to milind..cooking class,ghazal lessons,swimming lessons,chess,then abt the book..Opti u seem to increase my toDo list with evry update..but i havent even started one..I wanted to try out the recipe but here these whole week i was caught in work so much tht my poor hubby ended up cooking all the 5 days..literally he has been doing the house chores for the last 5 days...I can well understand your plight.
As i said i never play chess..tht was nice explanation abt the game...I even added tht link to my favorites so tht when i find time i would see it may b surprise my hubby saying lets play..and then comes Animal farm i did find the book online bookmarked it to..but no havent read it yet..glad I gave you some homework!

Now coming to the updates..

Ayesha seems to get to knw abt a new side of Prachi evryday i beleive..Like how Milind sounded proud when he said Ayesha tht Prachi can be better swimmer than her..after all who is the teacher..Milind is really proud of his wife.how can his students not to well especially when the student si his darling wife..and he called her"baby" i actually reread it to make sure if i was reading it correct..What is in his heart slipped out even without his knowledge.So Prachi learnt chess..God she is such good girl or should i say a good learner..i really dnt knw if i would do tht my hubby got the chess with the intention of teaching me and now dnt knw where it lying..need to find it..the girl is totally in love with her hubby. she would do anything for him.

She even beat him in a game partly thru her dimples and major part b'coz she learnt to play chess..WOW...This only goes to show she is not dumb but she is just not interested in doing it but she gets to it she is an expert..Yes, she has definitely learnt the game

Its very nice to reaad tht things which was so contrasting b/w them and which made Milind think tht she was so different are the things which are making them build their relationship..like these swimming,chess etc..The surely have come a long way.. Yes, the idea of the fic is to show that as long as basic principles match, all other 'incompatibilities' can be sorted out.

So prachi has stomach pain..Me too..i ahve it every month..God..i ahte to go to wrk the first day..i literally drag myself to go to wrk..but for tht day alone my hubby takes care off the reast of chores at home..i just go and sleep..I never knew placing a bottle of warm water would be relieving..i have never tried it ..My grandmom had given me this remedy and it works for me.

would definitely be useful for me..Sweet of Milind to be so concerned of Prachi..but she had to literally spell out her prblem only then he could understand..Love this statement of Milind"you may have the capacity to bear a lot of pain but I do not have the capacity to sit back and watch you suffer.".This goes tos how how important Prachi is in his life..the only thing is teh duffer has to realise it.. Yes, he cares much more for his wife than he himself realises but he will realise his feelings soon. In fact the present update is about that.

The movie part was hilarious tht was damn funny ..Prachi nad her questions..Prachis comment abt the lidney had me in splits..God if i had been in Milind's place i would ahve asked her to shut up..He is too patient..i gues sits Prachi's effect..So he dint like Prachi talking abt death..the guy cant even imagine a life without her ..hope he realises it soon..tht was nice of Milind to say Prachi"You need to learn to zip up these pretty lips of yours when you are in the theatre"..like i said if i had been their i could have never said it in such a polite way...Milind has learnt patience from Prachi.

finally the Animal Farm..Loved the info you gave which definitely made me think off reading the book i have bookmarked it..will read some time definitely..Like Prachi even after reading i may not find interest in it..But i might atleast read the book..Wondering what is bothering him..Eager to read ur update..Now tht i finally finished reading it.. Posted the next update. Look forward to your comments.

Hope you had a blast with your family and frnds and still continuing as the day is still not over..Thanks. I had a great day today.

Thanks for all these wonderful and informative updates Oti..waiting to add few more things to my ToDo List😆I guess all the toDo activities are over. The story is now progressing.

Originally posted by: gawker

what a beautiful part, opti. love how milind finally realised his love for his wife. waiting to read what happens next.

good to know your b'day went off well - here's wishing you love and happiness on every birthday and always...

Originally posted by: Shabz.

so milsi finally realises he loves his wife yayy, looks like the saying "distance makes the heart grow fonder" was true in milsi's case...the telephone convo was sweet, bet milsi cant wait to get home lol beautiful part opti, i cant stop smiling :D

Originally posted by: ariska

Prachi really love his husband, she even read his favorite book although she did not like it and tried to understand it.
And I am glad Milind finally realised he is in love with his wife although it takes six moths to Know that. Can't wait to read Milind's reaction when he meet his wife after he realised that he love her.
Thanks Opti for enlighten me about the book, now I understand without reading it.
Wonderful update Opti, please continue.