YuvAni OS--Beyond Tomorrow, Part 12

Links to all chapters here.

Suhani wanted to visit Bhavna, so Yuvraj and Sharad dropped her off on their way to work the next morning. Bhavna was looking tired, not her usual self. She said she felt uneasy, but the doctor had said everything was okay. She had talked to Suhani after the time she had ended up forcing her sister to stay with Pratima, but she wanted to apologize again and ask how Suhani had now voluntarily agreed to stay at Yuvraj's house. And how Yuvraj was--Bhavna hadn't forgotten how upset and angry he'd been.

"He's okay now," Suhani said. "He was a bit off-mood for a few days, what with his mother in hospital and all. She has other problems too, so they were all very worried."

"And he's okay now?"

"Hmmm," Suhani replied, not wanting to say more.

"You were so annoyed with me about asking you to stay with Pratima but you've now gone to their home?"

"She's very sweet, Di, and I'm free, and she begged me to stay for 2-3 weeks. They're all very nice."

"Suhani, do you like Yuvraj?" Bhavna wasn't sure why she asked that question, but she had picked up something from the way Suhani was talking. She was avoiding looking directly at her Di, there was something in her voice when she took his name.

"Like Yuvraj? Of course I like Yuvraj," she widened her eyes at Bhavna, deliberately misunderstanding, and asked her own question. "Why, don't you like him?"

"Of course I like him, or I wouldn't have had him in my house. Is that all, you like him?"

"What else, Di?" Suhani knew that at one time she would have openly told her sister that Yuvraj could get her into a tizzy, made her all confused, and she really had no idea what her feelings were, but now she wanted to keep this private. She didn't know if the impression she got, that he liked her-liked her was correct or whether he was just passing his time with her, but she couldn't actually see a future for her with him. What was more, she didn't care. She had almost died a few months ago. That had snapped something in her and, along with Gautam's influence, made her decide to take life as it came, do the things she enjoyed, not overthink.

They chatted and Suhani was glad to see Di looking better as the day went on, so they visited their parents as they had planned, and Yuvraj picked them up from there in the evening, as had been arranged, and dropped Bhavna off. On the way home he stopped the car in one of the quiet roads near his house and got out, came to her side, and told her to move over. "You're getting your first lesson," he told her.

"Nooo," she said. "I don't want a sadu teacher like you. God help me if I bang up your car."

"Move." He pushed her until she climbed into the driver's seat, then patiently explained how to start the car, which pedal was which, how the clutch was used to disengage gears. Then he put her hand on the gear shift, held it there, told her to press the clutch, and showed her how to go through the gears and when. After making her practice shifting the gears for a bit, he told her to start the car and to very smoothly let out the clutch. Of course she did it wrong and the car stalled. Over and over. Of course he shouted at her. Of course she got angry and got out, slamming the door, and walked home.

Arrogant, high-handed tyrant he was. Who asked him to teach her? She didn't want to ever learn driving if he was going to teach her. No, she'd learn. She'd find a school and learn, and one day when he fell and broke his head and needed to be taken to hospital in a hurry, she, Suhani Srivastav, would shock his highness by getting behind the wheel of his car and driving like a Formula One racer.

He came up behind her and tried to get her to get back in the car, but she ignored him, so he gave up and drove home. Women! Couldn't take even a little criticism. Got all insulted after treating a car like it was a mixer-grinder--he could swear he had heard his gears grinding. Not to mention pressing the brakes and the accelerator when he told her to press the clutch. Geez, he was too nice, too generous, that was the trouble. He was never teaching her anything, ever.

They ignored each other for a while at home, until his mother worriedly asked what was wrong, then each decided to dismiss the driving lesson from memory and act like adults. After a while she saw him looking at her with a smile, and she couldn't help but smile too, though she tried to keep a straight face.

"Tyrant," she told him.

"Mechanically challenged," he retorted.

"I'm not mechanically challenged," she answered. "I'm very good at mechanical things."

"Like what, damaging gear boxes?"

Pratima smiled in relief. She didn't know how she could ever bring Suhani back as her bahu, but seeing them arguing like this was music to her ears. If only Yuvraj hadn't taken so long to realize how much he needed her.

Yuvraj was awakened that night by Suhani calling his name. As he rubbed his eyes, he saw her standing in the door, got up hurriedly, and noticed she looked scared. "What is it? What happened?"

"It's Di, Yuvraj. She's getting a lot of pain, but not contractions. Amit's called the doctor, they may take her to hospital."

Oh God, no, he thought. "Get dressed. We'll go there." She threw him a grateful look and ran to change. He pulled on his track pants, checked he had his wallet, grabbed his keys. As he left the room, she was waiting outside, still in her nightie, tears running down her cheeks. Not bad news, he prayed. Not Bhavna, please, not that.

"What is it?" he asked, taking her in his arms, prepared for the.worst. She buried her face against him and hiccupped, "It's okay. She's okay. It was indigestion." She put her arms around him and started giggling hysterically, overcome with relief. Indigestion? How did they know? Then he realized--gas!--and started laughing too.

He sat her down on the sofa and went to the kitchen, searched out the tea and sugar, and, remembering the instructions Ramesh had once given him, made tea. As he was pouring it into mugs, Suhani wandered in and looked awestruck. "You can make tea?"

"Don't mock. You don't know everything about me." Or even about yourself, he thought to himself. He carried out the mugs and sat down on the sofa, patting the place next to him. "Come, sit. Drink your tea, you've had a shock. Me too, actually."

She went and picked up her mug and sat beside him. "Thank you. I was so scared, but I felt I could depend on you."

"You can. Remember that. No matter what kind of bas***d you think I am at some time in the future, I will be there if you need me. And as for thanks, you've done far more for me."

She looked at him, then kissed him on his stubbly cheek, grateful for his presence when she'd been falling apart. They talked about Bhavna and the baby a bit, Amit's perpetual panic, then she fell silent. When he moved his head to look at her, she was asleep, curled up against him. He settled himself more comfortably, thinking he'd take her to her room in a while, but when he awoke, Sharad was looking at him, and he realized they were both half lying on the sofa.

"We had a scare last night," he whispered. "Bhavna. But everything's okay."

Suhani woke up as he spoke, and was mortified to see she was lying on the sofa WITH YUVRAJ and Sharad was looking away like he'd caught them in flagrante delicto. She hurriedly got up, pulled her nightie straight, and tried to look dignified as she left the room.

"Guru, things are getting out of hand."

"What? What? I told you, it was nothing like that. What's out of hand?"