CHAPTER 3. GEET AND HER PLANS!
Previously on Love...
"Lavanya!", Arnav stuttered in shock as he took in the tall girl in front of him. The girl in turn squealed, "ASR! How have you been?" She hugged him and Arnav, coming out of shock, hugged her back. "What are you doing here?", Arnav asked with a smile on his face. La's eyes widened, "I should be asking that question to you! What are you doing here?" Arnav shrugged, "It's a long story! But you here?"
Lavanya shrugged, "I live in Sydney nowadays! And I am a model at this photo shoot! By the way, where were going in such a hurry?" Arnav's mouth opened and shut and opened again, "Woh Khushi... paani..."
"Khushi!", Lavanya interrupted with a squeal, "She is here too! OMG! I have to meet her! Where is she?"
Geet looked around. Kahaan gaya yeh khote da puttar? Where is my brat? Again he ran away! So mischievous! I am sure he has got it from his dad's side! I never ran around like this! Hmmmph! She stomped around looking for her son around the bungalow only to stop in shock at the scene in front of him. A young girl was leaning down pulling her son's cheeks. She blinked again. For a second it felt like she was looking at the picture she found few days back. A girl leaning down pulling the cheeks of her son! The girl in front of her looked just like the girl in the picture. The same face, the same eyes, the same smile! Only difference was that in that pic the boy who looked like her son was actually her husband and the girl in the pic who looked just like the girl in front of her was...
"Nandini!", Geet whispered in shock.
How can this be? Geet wondered. Nandini died in India 11 years back. Maan's words echoed in her ears as she remembered their conversation 4 days back.
"My Darling! I laughed because you were jealous of someone who died years ago, someone I haven't seen for almost 20 years.", her husband had told her when she had questioned him about the photos she had found in the attic. When she asked him how then this girl was posing with her son, he had explained that the boy in the photo was not Vicky but Maan himself when he was ten years old. Maan had smiled fondly as he explained that Daadima had taken that picture. Geet had frowned in confusion and asked who the girl was in the picture and with tears in his eyes Maan had said, "That is my Nandy Bui! Nandini Khurana, Savitri Devi Khurana's daughter and Uday Singh Khurana's baby sister! I loved her and she was my best friend! The first photo you found is not of me but of my Dad and Bui!" Where is she now Geet had asked and a tear trickled down Maan's cheek, "She is dead Geet!" Maan had announced, "She died 11 years ago! In India! Do you remember when we met?" Geet had nodded and Maan explained that they met the first time just after he got the news that she was dead.
Geet came back to present as she remembered the rest of the conversation. Her eyes widened as a thought entered her head. What if this is Happy? After all, she looks totally like Nandini Buaji. And her dress... Geet noticed how the girl was wearing chudidaar with gotas hanging on her sleeves and embroidery on her dress. That is Indian wear! A girl from India who looks just like Nandini Buaji; that cannot be coincidence. She walked towards the girl and her son. She had to talk to the girl! She had to know the truth! She had to know if this was their Happy! Are you my Little Angel, girl?
Arnav looked a little uncomfortable, Lavanya mused. But why? I just asked about Khushi. Weird! Before she could open her mouth and ask once again about Khushi's whereabouts Arnav spoke up, "Khushi is around here, somewhere!" His shrug showed to Lavanya that Arnav was getting more uncomfortable. This was new to her! The ASR she knew would have never shown emotions except anger unless he was in front of his family. So what has shaken up ASR so much that his mask has been ripped apart and showing his real face? Or maybe he is being unguarded because he was in front of her, his old friend. Whatever it was, it had her worried for ASR. Now don't you go and start thinking that La still has feelings for ASR. No! She got over him in last two three months but before being his girlfriend she was his friend and her concern for him stemmed from that.
Suddenly, ASR spoke, "So you are living in Sydney? How did that happen?"
He is deflecting, La realised. He is deflecting my question. So whatever happened is related to Khushi. Why he doesn't want to introduce me to Khushi? This is deeper than I thought. When she realised that Arnav was waiting for answer, she smiled, "I got an offer here few weeks back. Came here to shoot and simply fell in love with the place! Of course, getting better offers here helped too!"
"That is good! I am happy for you!", Arnav said softly.
The encouraging manner in which Arnav spoke made La open up a little, "Also I am thinking of opening a boutique here! Something like La's Boutique!" She looked at ASR with trepidation. He was the Prince of Indian Fashion World and he knew what one had to go through to build AR Fashion House. She did not realise how much she wanted his approval for this venture till she told him about it. She bit her lip half expecting Arnav to tell her how silly her idea was but Arnav simply nodded, "That's good!"
When Lavanya realised that instead of mocking her, Arnav sounded interested, La perked up and rambled excitedly, "Yes ASR! I am so excited! I have realised that modeling is not a stable career. Once I cross a certain age, I won't get as much offers as I get today. What will I do then? Till now, I thought that I will just get married and be a trophy wife but after meeting Khushi I realised that I need to become independent and not be dependent on some rich husband. I mean there was Khushi, struggling to stand on her feet at such a young age, not letting her lack of education stop her from doing what she wanted to. I want to be like that! I want to stand on my own feet like her! She inspired me to become more than a shallow girl! And I am on that path today! I have even joined a diploma course for fashion designing. The course starts in few weeks! Hope my experience and this diploma will be enough to establish a small boutique for myself!"
Arnav smiled at La, "It will be La! Your experience is not only varied but you have the knowledge of fabrics too! Any particular area you want to focus on?"
La smiled impishly, "I am thinking of Indian clothes! Banarasi Saree, Khaadi, traditional embroidery and all this with a modern twist! That my niche! Khushi's dresses gave me those ideas! By the way, speaking of Khushi, how is she? I missed her so much in last few weeks. I want to meet her. Her sister must have gotten married by now, right? By the way, I hope you and Khushi have sorted your matters too! I mean if you two are here together obviously things have gone further than I thought!"
"Matters? What matters?", Arnav questioned as he hoped that his oblivious behavior would fool La. But La was not fooled. She knew ASR better than most people and she rolled her eyes, "ASR! You can fool the world, not me! I have been with you for a while and I know what I saw! You and Khushi had something going on, something good. Infact, I expected you to have proposed her by now! But here you are, still trying to ignore your feelings. Seriously ASR...", Lavanya was cut off by some spot boy who told her that they were ready for the shoot. Lavanya nodded and she said her byes to Arnav. Handing him her number, she walked away all the while shouting, "We will talk later! And I want to meet Khushi!"
Arnav heaved a sigh of relief. Saved by the bell or should I say saved by the spot boy! Phew! Feeling uncomfortable, he walked away back to his search for Khushi.
"Hello mera khote da puttar! Tu etthe hai? (Hello my idiot's son! You are here?)", Geet smiled in a fake manner and then her smile turned into anger, "Do you know how many places I searched for you? Do you know? Is it the right thing to do? Scaring your mom like that? You should not have run away Vikram Singh Khurana!" Geet would have continued ranting if Vicky had not interrupted.
"Mom! Its Vicky! Vikram is so Indian! Vicky is so cool! Call me Vicky!", the kid whined.
"Call me Vicky? Ghar chal! Tennu twadda Vicky dikhaati hun! (Come home! I will show you your Vicky!) I will show you why your dad calls me Sherni! Samjha?", Geet glared at the kid.
"Suniye! Bachcha hai! Ek baar galti kardi! Maaf kar deejiye na! (Listen! He is just a kid! He made the mistake only once! Forgive him na!)", a soft voice interrupted her hesitantly and Geet looked up and noticed the Nandini lookalike smile uncomfortably at her.
"Ek baar? (Once?)", Geet growled, "O ji! Tussi mere munde nu nai jaante! Ek number ka badmaash hai! (You don't know my boy! He is number one mischief maker!) Don't trust him! He is very mischievous!"
The girl looked at Vicky and the kid gave her the most innocent look. Geet narrowed her eyes. Her son was full on drama queen. Wonder who he got it from!
"Jaane deejiye na!", the girl pleaded and Geet felt her anger melt a little. The girl looked so sad for Vicky that Geet huffed, "Theek hai! You are saying so I am forgiving him. But this is only once! Do it again phir dekh main tera ki haal karti hun! ( Do it again and you will see what I will do with you!)", Geet warned her son and Vicky nodded with a smile threatening to burst on his face. Geet rolled her eyes. This fellow will never improve! He is going to keep on playing pranks and jokes!
"Waise mera naam Geet Khurana hai aur aap? (By the way, my name is Geet Khurana and you are?)", Geet asked as she finally gave full attention to the girl in front of her. She also noticed that her son was holding the girl's hand and refused to let her go.
"Ji hum Khushi hain! Khushi Kumaari Gupta!", Khushi introduced herself forgetting that her surname was not Gupta anymore.
Geet blinked in shock. She has the same name as Happy! Another part of Maan and her conversation flashed through her mind.
"Do you remember Happy, Geet? I asked about her when we met! Her name was Khushi! Khushi Khurana! But I called her Happy because she was always happy and her name Khushi meant happiness!", Maan had told her.
Geet's mind flashed back to another conversation; a conversation that happened in an old temple of Hoshiarpur 11 years back.
"Humaara naam Happy hai! (My name is Happy!)"
"Happy! Yeh kaisa naam hai? (Happy! What kind of name is this?)"
"Humaara naam Happy nahi hai! Humaare Veerji humein Happy bulaate hain! Kyunki hum humesha khush rehte hain! (Happy is not my name! It is my elder brother who calls me Happy! Because I am always happy!)"
Happy's real name was Khushi too. An Indian girl with the name Khushi and looks just like Nandini Buaji; this cannot be a coincidence. Geet was in shock. This had to be their Happy! Maan's Khushi! Honor's Happy! Hey Babaji! Have we found my Little Angel after searching for her for last 11 years? Have we?
Just as Geet was about to interrogate the girl about her family, a man arrived at the scene and started shouting at the girl. Geet watched with wide eyes as the man berated the girl who put her head down sadly.
"Khushi! Tum yahaan ho aur main kahaan kahaan tumhein dhoond raha hoon! You gone mad aise anjaan sheher mein akele ghoom rahi ho! Tumhein kuch ho jaata toh! You have got no brains! Akkal kya ghar pe chodke aayi ho! Khushi! Yeh tumhaara Lucknow nahi hai that you roam around like some Queen! (Khushi! You are here and I don't know where all I have searched for you! Have you gone mad that you are roaming alone in such an unknown city! What if something happened to you! You have got no brains! Have you left your brains at home! Khushi! This is not your Lucknow that you roam around like some Queen!) You are in Sydney! Khushi Kumaari Gupta! I know you have got brains! I would appreciate if you actually use it!"
Geet's eyes narrowed as she observed the girl's twinkling eyes and wide smile dim. The girl who looked so happy and cheerful few minutes ago with her son had shrunk into her shell the moment the man arrived. Who is he to treat her like this? She looked down as her son hugged her tightly scared of this raging man. Even Maan had temper but he never scolded her in such a public place where people were watching. Geet looked around as people gathered to watch the spectacle and started whispering too. Geet's anger towards the man mounted as Khushi looked around noticing the people and her eyes started to tear up but the man refused to stop his rants.
"Do you know main kitna darr gaya tha! I thought I had lost you! I roamed around like a maniac searching for you! Just because you are my wife you had no right to jerk me around like this! Do you understand?", Arnav snarled as he grabbed her by her arms and pulled her close not even realizing that he was making a spectacle around him. Anger had colored his eyes so much that all he saw was Khushi chatting happily with someone while he roamed around searching for her. How dare she! How dare she treat Arnav Singh Raizada like this! Arnav did not even notice that Khushi who had been sad for last few days was finally laughing and smiling. All he knew was that she wandered off not once thinking about him. So he glared at her with all his hatred.
"Bas! (Enough!)", a voice cut in and Arnav looked to the side where a woman glared at him, "Bas keejiye aap! Aapko haq nahi banta ki aap apni biwi ko iss tarah se treat karein! Biwi hai woh paav ki jutti nahi! Kuch toh izzat keejiye uski! (You stop this nonsense right away! You have got no right to treat your wife in such a demeaning manner! She is your wife, not a shoe for feet! Atleast respect her a little!)", her eyes flared in anger as she glared at him.
Arnav rolled his eyes, "Excuse me? Who are you to tell me how to treat my wife?"
"She is my mom and your wife is my new friend!", a small voice piped up and Arnav looked down in annoyance and he glared the young child. The boy shrunk back after seeing his glare directed at him and the lady pushed the child behind her.
"Who am I is not important!", the lady spoke and Arnav directed his gaze back at her, "What you are doing is not right! You are standing in a public place and berating your wife! Have a look around! People are staring at you and whispering behind your back! How can you enjoy humiliating your wife in front of some strangers is something I cannot comprehend!"
Khushi looked at Mrs. Khurana with wide eyes. She was defending her. A complete stranger was defending her! Khushi could not believe it. Her whole life except her family no one defended her or supported her and after getting the blow that her family also was not supportive of her, to see an unknown stranger fight for her was shocking for Khushi. She watched with wide eyes and open mouth as Mrs. Khurana berated Arnavji.
"Look around will you?", the lady ordered and Arnav looked around. As he took in the people standing and staring at him, his anger resided and in its place came the contrition as he realised he had once again done the same thing he always did with Khushi; humiliate her in a public place. From the day he met her he had done this to her. How could he do it again? Especially when he knew how much situation has changed! Especially knowing how much support Khushi had shown him in last few days! Especially when he lov... No! I have to apologise to her! He looked at Khushi and was heartbroken to see her look down with tears flowing down her cheeks. What had he done? That is when he remembered how Khushi was smiling and laughing when he saw her few minutes ago. Damn! What have I done? She was coming out of her shell and I sent her right back into it. No! No! NO!
"Sorry!", a soft voice spoke and Khushi looked at Arnav in shock. Did he just say that? Arnav looked at her and whispered again, "Sorry!" Khushi blinked in surprise. ASR? Asking for forgivness? And that also so easily? What had changed in last few days?
"Aha! Now that's like a good husband!", the lady commented, "Always remember! Respect your wife and she will keep you happy always!" Arnav nodded a little contrite looking and then turned at Khushi, "Khushi! Shall we leave? Naani must be worrying!"
Khushi nodded and Khushi looked at Geet, "Achcha Geetji! Hum chalte hain!" Geet smiled a little hesitantly. She was so curious about this girl. And now she was about to loose the only chance to question her. What to do? How to stop her? Khushi sadly smiled at Vicky and turned to walk away.
Geet bit her lip. What shall I do to stop them? Hey Babaji! Help! And Babaji heard her because next thing she knew, her son was hugging Khushi and crying inconsolably, "You cannot leave me Happy! You cannot leave me!", the boy bawled out loud and Geet promised to feed him chocolate after dinner. He deserved it. Waah mere bete! You helped me without knowing! And thank you Babaji! You fulfilled my wish!
Geet bent down and pulled her kid away from Khushi. As the kid bawled, Khushi seemed to turn more and more upset. Her husband seemed to have noticed it as he hesitated about walking away.
Arnav did not know what to do. The kid made Khushi laugh and now that they were getting separated, Khushi seemed to get sadder. It was obvious that she was attached to the kid and the kid seemed to be the key to turn her back into old Khushi. How to make sure that the kid remained in Khushi's life! It seemed that the kid's mother also realised the fondness between Khushi and the kid as she spoke up, "Is there any possibility that you all could come to my home for dinner? My son loves Khushi and would love to meet her again!"
Arnav looked at Khushi not sure what to say. But when he saw her look at him pleadingly, he could not help but nod. Anything to make Khushi happy! The moment he nodded and replied in affirmative, Khushi's whole face bloomed with happiness and Arnav was surer that his decision was right. The kid also seemed to have stopped crying and look excited at the prospect. The lady introduced herself as Geet Khurana and gave him her husband's card which also had the home number and address. He gave her NK's home number and they departed with Khushi and the kid waving at each other.
They collected NK and soon were off home. All the way Khushi chattered about the kid who Arnav came to know was named Vicky. NK simply looked at Khushi with wide eyes unable to fathom the sudden change in her. Arnav simply shook his head, happy that his Khushi was happy.
Geet dragged her son towards where Maan was standing. The kid continued to chatter about Happy Didi, a nickname that Vicky seemed to have given her. Geet listened half heartedly as she planned on how she would extract information about Khushi and her family subtly. She wondered how her husband would react when he saw his Happy in front of him. Will shock be his first reaction? Or will he deny first? Geet remained lost in her thoughts even when the event was over and the Khurana family headed towards their house. Maan was confused about her dazed face till Vicky told her about guests coming over for dinner. After that, Maan simply shook his head. Obviously she was planning the different types of dishes she could make for the dinner.
"Achcha! Humka ee bataao! Tohaar trip kaisan tha? (Ok! Tell me! How was your trip?)", Naaniji asked the moment they entered the house. NK and Arnav watched in surprise as Khushi eagerly ran towards Naaniji and started to chatter towards a kid she met called Vicky. For half hour, Khushi did nothing but talk about Vicky while Arnav watched the scene with happiness. Khushi! I just want you happy! And if keeping you happy means meeting some family for some dinner then I am ready to have such dinner on daily basis!
Khushi excused herself to freshen up and plan her clothes for the evening and Naaniji could not resist asking, "Khushi bitiya ko itna khush humne arse baad dekha hai! Baat ka hai? Aapan dono ne aisan ka kiya ki humaar Khushi itni khush hai? (After ages I have seen Khushi so happy! What is the matter? What have you two done that has made Khushi so happy?)" NK shrugged but Arnav smirked, "We met a kid at venue Naaniji! He seemed to make Khushi happy!" "Achcha!", Naaniji was excited, "Phir toh aapan dono kuch bhi karo aur uss bachche, ka naam bataaya Khushi bitiya ne, haan Vicky, usko baar baar Khushi bitiya se milvaavo! Humko humaar Khushi bitiya pehli jaisan chaahiye! (Then you two have to do anything and everything so that the kid, what was the name Khushi bitiya said, yes Vicky, you have to make him and Khushi meet again and again! I want my Khushi bitiya back the way she was!)"
"Don't worry Naaniji!", NK piped up, "We already have planned to meet them tonight at the dinner! We all have been invited!" Naaniji clapped in excitement, "Bahut badhiya! Hum bahut khush hain! (That's good! I am really happy!)"
"Happy is coming. I am so excited!", Geet giggled in excitement as she cleaned the hall. Maan raised an eyebrow. He was far enough from her that he could not hear what she was saying but he could see that she was mumbling something excitedly. He looked on amused as his wife fluttered from one corner to other, trying to arrange and rearrange things to her satisfaction. He was not only amused but also confused as to what got his wife so excited. Many guests have had dinner with them, Maan mused. But no one excited Geet in such a manner! What is happening here? Maybe it is because the family coming over is from India. Geet had told him that much! But we have invited many guests from India for dinner in past few years, why has these people left Geet in such a tizzy? He watched with hawk eyes as his wife fluttered around in worry and tension, arranging and rearranging things for the umpteenth time.
Suddenly, the phone rang and Maan picked it up. Geet continued to run around in worry, biting her nails and asking her Babaji for help. Maan shook his head. His wife was one crazy person! He could not understand her in so many years, how did he expect to understand her today? He ignored her and spoke on the phone. It turned out to be some fellow called Arnav Singh Raizada who explained that he would not be able to come for the dinner. It took a minute for Maan to realise that it was their dinner guests. He listened as Mr. Raizada explained that his Naaniji fell ill due to not being used to Australian weather and hence they may have to postpone the dinner. Maan nodded and cited that he understood and after exchanging pleasantries both kept their phone down. Maan then noticed his wife dancing around and sighed. Oh My! I forgot how eager Geet was to meet her guests! What shall I tell her now? With disappointment in his demeanor he went and explained to Geet that their guests won't be arriving tonight.
Maan watched the excitement slowly dimmed from his wife's face and then they totally vanished. She tried to smile and say it was ok but Maan knew his wife enough to know when she was ok and when she was not. And right now she was not ok. She excused herself and ran to their room. Maan sighed. What to do to cheer you Geet? Then he smiled as he went to look for his son, who he knew was the only person who could cheer his mom right away. Also, they have to break the news to Vicky too and Maan would rather have Geet do it in her gentle and wise manner rather than his blunt and harsh style of saying things. His son was a strong boy but his heart was made of gold and was very sensitive. Maan smiled as he remembered two other persons who were the same by nature. Bui! Happy! I miss you too a lot! Especially when I see Vicky's antics, all I see is you two! I hope you are happy wherever you are, Happy and that Bui is looking after you from the sky and guiding you!
As Geet sat in their room hugging a pillow, she tried keep herself cheerful thinking that if not today then some other day. We have waited so many years! What is few days' wait in front of it! But her heart refused to rise in spirit and she huffed. I want Happy here! And I want her to meet Maan! I want to see them come face to face! She grinned in excitement. She imagined them meeting and got lost in the daydream. But the daydream took a turn when Khushi Gupta told them that she was not their Happy!
Geet came out of her daydream with surprise. Hey Babaji! I never thought of this situation that way! What if this was not Happy? She imagined the situation and all she could see as a result was a sad and heartbroken Maan. No! I cannot raise Maan's hope only to let them fall them. Maan will be destroyed. For years, he has been waiting for this day. He won't be able to handle if the girl he thought was Happy turned out to be someone else!
Nahi! Geet stood up. It is good that they did not come for dinner. What stupid thing she did by inviting them here! She was playing this game very carelessly. She had to try some other way to confirm her doubts. Calling Khushi here was nothing short of stupidity. She paced as she thought of another way to confirm her doubts. Then she remembered why Khushi was not coming over. Her husband's Naaniji was ill. Perfect! She grinned. She will use this opportunity to visit them. After all, the old lady of her acquaintance was ill. It was her duty to go and ask about her health. Geet nodded. Yes! That's what she will do! She will meet Naaniji under the pretext of enquiring about her health and subtly extract information about Khushi's family. Yes!
Maan entered their room with Vicky and he stopped in tracks. His wife who was supposed to be sad was almost jumping around in excitement. What the hell happened here? You know what! I am not getting into this! My wife is crazy and I think it is about time I leave her to her craziness! Maan sneaked off leaving Vicky to dance with his mother as she excitedly told him that Khushi was not coming tonight so they were going tomorrow to see her. Vicky was a little sad at first but the thought of meeting his Happy Didi next day was good enough consolation and soon the mother son duo crooned and laughed while Maan shook his head. Totally Crazy family!
What do you think about this update people?
For those who think I am giving Arshi too little screen time, here is the thing. I need the past out before I could untangle Arshi's complicated love life. So for a while the focus will be on Khushi's new family. But once the past is out, Arshi will be the main focus while rest of the lot will go back to being supporting characters. But this is such a story that letting all the past out is a part of setting the stage for further twists and I need them all out before I can focus on Arshi's present. Also, when a character acts strange without any reason, it can only confuse the readers. But if I explain to you Maan's backstory, you will understand why Maan will act the way he will when Arshi's marriage story comes out and also his reactions to the later twists!
So bear with me, while I narrate to you Maan and Khushi's backstory!
As we are talking about past, let me tell you we will go back into past next chapter and we will know the reason as to why Maan never saw Nandini after the day she left for India.
Also, in the story, we are in the year of 2012. Lavanya came from Dilli during Diwali 2011 and Arshi's marriage happened in February 2012. (It was on my birthday, I still remember cutting the cake around 7:30 and then waiting for the maha episode of IPKKND! Both entered the Shantivan married in that episode!) So it is still February 2012 going on in the story as it has been only seven days since ASR left the house! This also means that when I mentioned 22 years in past in last update it meant the year 1990. And if Khushi was 18 when IPKKND started this means she will turn 19 pretty soon and she was born in 1993 and lost her parents in that car accident in 2001. Just thought you should know the timeline I am basing this story on.
Last but not the least, Nandini Khurana, Uday Singh Khurana and Savitri Dev Khurana have been added to Character Sketch! Check it out!
See you all on 16th December!
Thank you, take care and have fun,
Kalpana
CID
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