Chapter 28 - Vishaka's surprise
Meher sat up in her bed. She had been tossing and turning for the past 1 hour, and finally decided it was of no use. She wasn't about to get any sleep tonight. Not after meeting Preet today. She had found it difficult to focus on her work all afternoon, and now her night had become a torment.
She kept on analyzing her brief meeting with Preet in her mind over and over again. Why were he and Prem here? Was it just another corporate mission? How had Preet behaved upon seeing her?
She had totally blown him off when he had proposed to her, and yet she had turned around and gone to work in his family's hotel. What he must think of her?!
Meher had called Heer when she got home and told her that the Juneja brothers were back. Her sister had initially seemed excited and asked her how Prem was and if Meher had seen him. She had turned cold when Meher told her that he was away in Delhi on business.
"It's a free world", Heer had said. "People can come and go as they please". She didn't appreciate Meher telling her news that would lead to false hopes. She was tired of being hurt. Meher had no idea what she was going through, she had said.
But Meher knew all too well. The only difference was that she had never disclosed her relationship with Preet to anyone, except Shampa, and as a result didn't have a shoulder to cry on. Meher sighed as she remembered the wave of relief she had felt when she learned that the girl she had seen Preet with was just his sister.
She had stopped denying to herself that she was in love with Preet. But what about him? She hadn't been able to gage anything from his reactions during their meeting, except the awkwardness that they both had felt. Veera had insisted that she have dinner with them, but Preet had not. He was polite and civil, but that was about it.
Meher reached over for the jug of water by her night table, but it was empty. "Great!" cried Meher. "You enjoy doing this don't you?" she said looking at the ceiling as if complaining to God. "You have nothing better to do so just pick on poor Meher Maan".
Meher went downstairs to fill her jug, when she heard some voices in the dark. "Kon? Kon hai?" she asked as she came towards the living room and flipped the light switch on.
"Meher Di!" cried Vishaka. "You scared me! Why do you always have to do that?!"
"I'm sorry Vishaka", said Meher, "I just came down for some water and..."
"Well the kitchen is over there", said Vishaka pointing behind Meher.
"I know where the kitchen is", said Meher, "but I heard voices coming from here and...What are you doing up anyway? And why is that window open?"
"Uff ho Meher Di!" cried Vishaka as she shut the window. "I...I just had a nightmare and came down for some fresh air".
"Isn't that the second time this week that's happened?" asked Meher. "Is everything alright like in school and all? Is there anything you want to talk about?"
"No!" cried Vishaka. "I mean, everything is just perfect".
Meher raised her eyebrows questioningly as she watched her cousin give an exaggerated yawn. She had caught Vishaka like this earlier in the week and once before in Ambala too. She had the sinking feeling her cousin was hiding something. She made a mental note to talk to Kuljeet Chachee about it sometime.
"Well, I better get to bed" said Vishaka. "I have...I mean you have a big day tomorrow. Dinner with the Junejas you know. Really Meher Di, I'm surprised you accepted their invitation considering how poorly they used Heer Didi and all".
"Vishaka!" cried Meher, "they did not use Heer Didi. It was all a big misunderstanding...I mean...Nevermind. Chachu still works for them you know and they've been kind enough to invite us all. Veera's is just your age. I think you'll really like her and..."
"Sorry Meher Di", interrupted Vishaka. "But I've got other plans".
"What plans?" asked Meher.
"Um...I'm meeting an old friend. It's a surprise actually...I've already got permission from mom, so you don't have to worry about it", said Vishaka.
Meher watched her younger cousin cheerfully run upstairs to go to bed. Maybe I am overreacting, she thought. My mind hasn't been exactly working straight since I saw Preet this afternoon anyway. She looked suspiciously at the window once more, before shrugging her shoulders and heading for the kitchen.
The next day Mrs. Saxena kept Meher running all over the renovation sight with different tasks she needed done. Meher tried her best to stay focused on her work, but couldn't. Her mind kept on drifting to what would happen later that evening. She would see Preet again. The thought of it brought a smile to her lips. If only she could some how tell him how she felt. Tell him that she had forgiven him. And ask him to forgive her too.
Meher's smile quickly faded as she heard Mrs. Saxena's voice yelling again. Thank God it was directed at someone else this time.
Meher had gotten her dose when she had messed up earlier today. In fact she had been bungling up one task after another. She had unwrapped parcels they had already wrapped for storage, collided with a worker holding a wet paint brush, resulting in a big splotch of white on her blue kameez, forgotten to order paints they needed for the mural, almost dropped a very expensive painting, and spilled coffee on the keyboard of the computer she was doing some data entry on.
Mrs. Saxena had never yelled at her so much in one day. And now she had been banished to the office to finish up work on the archive list of all the art pieces they were putting in storage, their condition, location and value, by hand. Meher looked at her watch. It was almost 5 'O clock. Uff! Usually there weren't enough hours in the day for her, but today time was dragging its feet. She narrowed her eyes and frowned at the ceiling. God was not done picking on her, she thought.
Meher tried to concentrate on her work again, when she looked down and saw that her pen had leaked and some of the ink from the page had smudged and come off on her hand. Great! thought Meher, as if the splotch of paint on my clothes wasn't good enough. She got up and began to look around the office for a paper towel.
"Itna bada hotel, aur office mein paper towel hi nahin hai (Such a big hotel, and nt single roll of paper towels in the office)!" she cried in frustration. She walked over to her desk and called the front desk and asked them to send her a roll, as soon as possible.
It wasn't long before there was a knock on the door.
"Come in" sighed Meher in frustration, "Well it's about time. What did you have to do make it yourself?" she complained, but stopped short when she looked up and saw the person who had just entered the room. "Preet", she whispered in surprise.
"Sorry...", said Preet as he held out the roll of paper towel for her. "But I had to stop and sign a couple of papers on the way".
"Oh no Preet...I didn't mean...I mean I didn't know...it was you", said Meher. "What are you doing here?" Stupid question, winced Meher. He owns the place. He's free to come and go as he pleases.
"I had a meeting with Nihal", Preet replied simply.
"Oh...um...heavy duty corporate stuff, han?" asked Meher.
"No, just Bauji's delaying tactics", muttered Preet.
"What?" asked Meher.
"Um...Nothing", said Preet. "Look Meher I wanted to apologize about yesterday...about Veera. I mean she talks too much".
"Seems to be a family failing", joked Meher.
Preet smiled. "So...", he said, "Mind if I ask how your day was? Do you like working here?"
"Don't ask?" chuckled Meher. "From spilled paint to spilled coffee, I've been through it all today, and now this...". Meher held up her ink stained hand to Preet.
"Why are you writing by hand?" asked Preet.
"Because Coffee + Keyboard = Meher writing the rest of the archive list by hand", said Meher.
"Why didn't you just call the service desk? They would have sent up another keyboard for you." asked Preet.
"I think it was supposed to be Mrs. Saxena's way of punishing me", laughed Meher.
Preet smiled.
This is nice, thought Meher. The awkwardness is slowly dissipating. We can still talk and laugh over our day.
"Um...did you want something Preet?" asked Meher. "I mean why are you here? I thought we were meeting for dinner around 7."
"Oh!" said Preet nervously. "I got done with my meeting early and I just thought that if you were done too...maybe...we could share a cup of coffee before dinner...I mean we'd have our own separate cups of course...but we could drink them sitting opposite one another...together. Maybe it would help relieve the awkwardness between us...I mean...Veera's pretty sharp, and if she ever found out about you and me...us...I mean she'll tease me for the rest of my natural born life...You know how little sisters can be, you're a little sister yourself...No, I didn't mean... " Preet closed his eyes. What was he doing? he thought. He was babbling. But what if she said no?
He took a deep breath and finally blurted out, "Meher would you like to have some coffee with me?"
"Sure", smiled Meher.
"You would?" asked Preet in surprise.
"Yes, I would", said Meher, passing her hand over her face to push back some wisps of hair. "I'm almost done here anyway. There's nothing really left to do that can't be taken care of tomorrow...and I...I also don't want to be awkward around you Preet. In fact I was hoping to get a chance to speak with you." She collected a few items from her desk, picked up her purse and said, "Chalain (shall we go)?"
"Like this?" asked Preet looking worriedly at Meher.
Meher looked down at the paint blotch on her shirt and sighed, "Yes Preet. I was going straight from work to dinner anyway. I'm afraid a change of clothes is out of the question. Look...just give me chance and I'll comb my hair".
"No it's not that", said Preet as he put his hands on Meher's shoulders and sat her down again. "Ek (one) minute". He sat down on Meher's desk and took her by her chin and gently turned her face towards him. Meher froze as her eyes locked with Preet's, his touch sending shivers down her spine.
Preet looked at Meher carefully. He took a paper towel and gently began to wipe her nose. "There was an ink spot on the tip of your nose", he said smiling.
Meher's mouth fell open. Her first reaction was to reach up to her nose with her hand, but Preet grabbed it. Meher looked at Preet in surprise.
"Sorry'", said Preet, as he released Meher's hand from his grip. "Per isi haat pe ink lagi hui hai (But that's the hand that has ink on it)".
There was a moment of silence, before they both burst out laughing.
"Oh!" laughed Meher, holding onto her stomach. "Seems like ages since I had a good laugh like that. I must have been a sight!"
Preet paused to look at Meher. "I missed seeing you laugh", he said quietly. Meher again looked at Preet. "I'm sorry", he said. "Maybe I shouldn't have said that. It's just that I don't know how to behave around you any more. Look Meher...whatever happened...can't we just put it behind us and start all over? At least...as friends. You can set the boundaries. And I won't cross them I swear...Please."
"Your true love is your best friend", Meher recalled her mother saying. She smiled, but before she could answer, the phone rang.
"Yes... Heer Didi?" answered Meher in surprise. "Um...No, Chachu isn't here yet, but I expect him and Chachee to be here soon. What?! How? When?"
Preet could see the color drain from Meher's face. Something is terribly wrong, he thought.
"Oh my God!" cried Meher. "Is Chachee alright? Yes! Yes! I'm absolutely ready. I'll be out in 5 minutes". Meher hung up the phone and covered her mouth with her hand.
"Meher? What happened? Is everything alright?" asked Preet with concern. "Is there anything I can do?"
"No!" cried Meher. "Nothing's alright! Nothing can be done!" She grabbed her purse and got up to leave. Her sudden change in position coupled with the news her sister had just conveyed to her made her feel dizzy. Preet held on to her arm to offer support.
"How could she do this?! What was she thinking?! Oh No! It's all my fault!" Meher sobbed hysterically. "It's all my fault!"
Preet grabbed Meher by both arms and shook her gently, "Meher hosh mein aao! (Meher get a hold of yourself!)" He sat her back in her chair and said, "Kuch toh batao. Kya hua hai?" (At least tell me what happened).
"It's my cousin Vishaka..." cried Meher in between sobs. "She wasn't going to join us tonight, because she said she was going to a get together at her friend's place. She forgot to take the house keys with her, so when Chacha and Chachee stopped by to give them to her, her friend said Vishaka wasn't there. That she had only stopped by briefly to leave a note for her to give to her parents should they come looking for her. The note said that...Oh Preet! It said that she's run away...with Viren!"
Preet took a step away from Meher. He couldn't believe his ears.
"It's all my fault!" Meher continued to cry. "I knew what he was really like, and I never told anyone in my family. But we hadn't seen him for so long I didn't think it was relevant anymore. Vishaka had been acting funny all week, but I was so caught up in my own world, that I didn't take the time to discuss my concerns with my Chachee. And now she's gone and it's all my fault!"
"Meher you have to stop blaming yourself", said Preet.
"Who else can I blame Preet?" asked Meher tearfully. "I mean what could that monster possibly want from Vishaka? She has no money, no property. She's only 18 years old". Meher's eyes widened with fear as she thought of the possibilities.
"What's being done to find her?" Preet asked quickly.
"My Papaji is on his way to Ludhiana", said Meher, wiping her tears. "I'm to take Kuljeet Chachee back to Ambala with me tonight, while my father and uncle look for them. But I know it's of no use. What if they've left town? It'll be like looking for a needle in a haystack! I mean none of us knows how Viren's mind works. Poor Vishaka! Poor stupid Vishaka!"
"I have to go", said Preet suddenly. "I mean...Veera is probably waiting for me".
Meher looked at Preet with tearful eyes. She knew he hated Viren and probably wanted to distance himself from this mess as soon as possible.
"Preet wait'", she said grabbing hold of his hand. "I know it won't be long before word gets out, but I'd appreciate it if you don't say anything to anyone".
Preet gently patted Meher's hand. "Don't worry, I promise I won't say a word...not to Veera...not even to PB. Aur tum chinta mat karo...Sab theek ho jai ga (And don't you worry...everything will be alright)".
And with that he was gone.
Hope you all liked it. 😛 Please leave your feedback. Or at least hit the like button.
Chapter 29: Tainted by Association:
The Maan family's suffers due to Vishaka's actions. Who will find Viren?
Edited by ummesulaiman - 10 years ago
Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi 2
