ArHi FF || Serendipity #5 || CH 59 Pg 136 (JAN 16TH 2017) (new update) - Page 14

A week had passed since he had last seen the Kher family, and despite the initial shock of another man's intimacy with his ex-wife, Arnav had finally put the memory behind him. Knowing what Khushi preferred to eat for dinner was one thing and reading her like an open book was another. Tarang Lal Kher would never have what Arnav and Khushi had. She had been misguided and manipulated by the man's charm and humor, but Arnav knew how much she continued to love her rightful husband.  

She had to still be in love with him.

Her love was what had kept him alive for so long.

Her love was his sole reason to breathe another day.

Khushi was in his every thought, dream and action. 

 And in fact, he had been driving to buy flower samples for their meeting later that afternoon, when he'd suddenly noticed familiar faces in a small schoolyard, fat tears rolling down ruddy cheeks.  Kinara and Shagun were seated on their daycare's wooden bench, small hand in smaller one.

Kinara, unlike her usual cheerful self, was loudly sobbing into her tee shirt, wiping her red, running nose on her sopping sleeve.  Her tiny sister, trying to be unusually brave, was patting her hand in reassurance, though her lower lip also trembled worriedly. Arnav couldn't control the fierce tugging at his heart, a sharp pain at seeing the girls crying so helplessly. He pulled his car to the curb and rang Khushi's cellphone, cursing as he reached her familiar voicemail. Where was she?

"Un... Uncle?" 

He jumped as Kinara's knuckles rapped his car window, her tears drying to welcome a hesitant grin and tiny wave. Arnav rolled down the glass and smiled as reassuringly as he could, nodding at the teacher who was relieved to see the girls' guardian. 

"Un...Uncle? Did Mommy send you?", a slightly comforted Kinara questioned uncertainly.

Arnav Singh Raizada was surprised at himself. He had never been one to act overly emotional or unnecessarily sentimental. Had there been another child in her place, he would have driven by without a second glance.

But the thought of tears clouding Kinara's eyes was intolerable to him. Perhaps it was because of the uncanny resemblance to her mother's. 

Arnav couldn't leave them alone on that cold, lonely bench. They held him back like glue.

"She did. Get in the car, girls. I'm supposed to drive you to your Mom's office."

Almost instantly the tears vanished, replaced by wide, toothy smiles and Kinara's excited claps.

"I tolds you Mommy dint foget us," Shagun calmly negotiated as her older sister jumped in circles.

"YAAY YAAY YAAY YAAY. Mommy sent Uncle! Mommy sent Uncle!"

The younger one watched her sister with quiet admiration, shying away as Kinara grabbed her small hands and tried spinning her around the sidewalk. 

They reminded Arnav of a younger Khushi and Payal, the latter being the reasonable voice behind an uncontrollable and paagal sanka devi.

"Didi!" she quietly whispered, suddenly mortified by her sister's outrageous behavior. "Uncle is laughing at us!"

And sure enough, Arnav was doubled over in laughter, watching Kinara's long braids flop from side to side. It had been so many years since he'd brought joy to bright, hazel eyes... and the happiness was contagious. Smilingly, he motioned for the girls to sit in the backseat as he tried dialing Khushi's cellphone again.

Still her voicemail

Oh well, he shrugged nonchalantly; they would all be headed to her office anyways.

He started the ignition and asked the girls to buckle up before pulling into the road, trying not to eavesdrop in what seemed to be a private conversation between the two.

The whispering from the backseat was very poorly disguised, however, with Kinara animatedly pointing outside the window as Shagun desperately tried to subdue her embarrassing older sibling. 

"Didi, no!"

"Shaguuu, that's the bestest place ever! You see the big wooden cow in the front?! That's the one with the bubblegum flavor!"

 Sure enough, he could make out a small ice cream parlor nestled in the corner of a shopping complex. And a little ice cream never hurt anyone, Arnav mused, turning his car towards the shop's colorful panels. The blatant brightening in Kinara's eyes was not missed in the rearview mirror.

"You know what, girls?" Arnav kindly questioned as he pulled his car into the complex. "There used to be an ice cream parlor just like that one next to my college, but I never got to visit it very much. It was always too cold in Boston." 

"But Mommy and Daddy eat kulfi when it's raining," Shagun politely shared, unaware of the sadness that touched Arnav's dark eyes at her words.

Fortunately, a hungry Kinara Kher about to be treated with ice cream was not one to let the thought linger.  

"But YUCK, Shaggu! I don't even like that milky kulfi stuffs. Mommy and Daddy are so silly to dat cold kulfi when it's so so so cold outside. Dont's their teeths get cold too? My teeths starts to tingle. I like the yummy bubble gum ice cream more. And you know what, Uncle? The bubble gum ice cream has actual BUBBLE GUM CHUNKS in it! SO YOU CAN EAT AND CHEW AT THE SAMES TIME. IT'S SO ABSOTUTELY AMAZING"

 Kinara plopped herself against the car's leather seat, sighing with the awe of discovering a million diamonds.

___________________________________

As they all pulled out of the shopping complex, tummies full and smiles happy, Arnav couldn't help but think that perhaps having children wasn't as bad as he'd pinned it. Having been a stubborn boy himself, with an overly concerned and nagging older sister, he'd never actually been in the company of amiable children. Akash had been a whiner and NK had been irritating, while the little girls from the kanya pooja had often been destructive. Their boogers were endless and their crying was intolerable. Plus the idea of changing diapers was never one that appealed much to him.

But after spending just an hour with Khushi's girls... having little kids around didn't seem all that bad. If it meant a life filled with giggles and hugs, maybe he'd be okay with the hard work that fatherhood involved.

And these girls... they were special. They were Khushi's, through and through. 

Kinara Kher was a time bomb of energy - jumping, laughing, dancing and running, bubble gum ice cream smeared on her face and long hair. Shagun was the shyer of the two, with tiny smiles and blushing cheeks, calculated spoonfuls and small dabs to the mouth. The animated conversations and cheerful stories had been delightful; as were the hugs he'd received when their ice cream was handed to them.

 But nothing, absolutely nothing, had been as precious as what he saw now... two little girls exhausted and content, sleeping with their heads against his backseat. If he had any doubt before, it was now long gone - they were angels in the flesh.

He stole quiet glances from his rearview mirror, surprisingly upset that the girls would have to part after reaching Khushi's bureau. Perhaps he'd ask if he could take them out for ice cream again. After all, with Anjali's wedding around the corner they would be meeting frequently.

As he pulled up closer to the district of her office, he could hear the faint ringing of police cars. He frowned as the shrill continued to grow louder, stirring a dazed Shagun out of her sleep. Apparently, they were driving straight towards the sirens.

 "Uncle, is Mommy okay?" Shagun asked, her large, black eyes now peering out the window to observe the chaos.

Arnav never got the chance to answer her question. 

Because as he pulled in front of Wings for Wishes, he instantly recognized the taut curve of her back, hardened in tension and shaking in fear. And when Khushi turned around to face the car, his heart plummeted and shattered. 

He'd done it yet again...despite his countless efforts not to. 

He'd brought tears to her hazel eyes.

They were red rimmed and moist, dark mascara running down the slope of her warm cheeks.  Her nose was running and her thick hair was frazzled, the front of her once pretty blouse soaked wet in tears. She pushed through the hoard of officers and nearly collapsed when she recognized Shagun waving at her, only to be steadied by Tarang's strong arms.

The rest all happened very quickly.

Arnav didn't realize when or why the car had been cornered by cops. He didn't realize when the backdoor of his sedan had flown open and the children gently pulled into their father's arms. He didn't realize when he'd been jerked from the driver's seat and slammed against the hood by an officer.

Because all he could feel, all he could gauge, and all he could register... was the burning sting of Khushi's slap across his face.

______________________________________

CHAPTER FORTY- SEVEN: A P O L O G I E S

Please excuse the poor quality of writing. It has been an extremley long time since I've penned an update. Kind words and even criticism is always appreciated. 

Important note, if you would like to get PM notifications, from this update onwards, please send a buddy request to my account "ConAmor".