Part 62
Some people have difficulty releasing control. It comes down to trust. When they trust themselves, as well as their partner, enough to relinquish their will, it can be emancipating."
Brownell Landrum,
The car pulled outside of the hospital, and Khushi immediately opened the door, stepping out. Arnav stepped out of the car as well, briefly adjusting his sunglasses, as he followed Khushi. Falling into step with her, his hand hovered over the small of her back, mindful not to touch her, as she hurried inside. Her dupatta was lopsided, and on one side, it was trailing the floor. Picking it up, he wrapped it around his hand, as he continued to walk with her to the reception.
"Babuji?" Khushi exclaimed as she reached the reception desk, her hands clutching the edge of the table, as the lady looked up at her confused.
Arnav finally pressed his hand against her back to calm her down as he spoke up,
"Mr. Shashi Gupta?"
She glanced at her computer and nodded, "Go down the hallway, and to your right, the first room"
Arnav nodded, and Khushi immediately started walking down the hall, with Arnav following suit. His eyes roamed the hospital, taking in the rooms, the furnishings, the staff, and facilities, and his lips dipped at the corners as he realized that Khushi's father was being treated at a mid-tier hospital.
They had just turned the corner when they saw Payal and Khushi's mother sitting on the chairs outside the room, heads bowed down, and hands tightly clasped on their laps.
Khushi immediately ran towards them, and Arnav had to let go of the dupatta he had been holding, so she wouldn't be stopped suddenly.
"Amma!" Khushi exclaimed, her voice cracking as she went down to her knees, her head resting on her mother's lap, as the tears started flowing.
"Khushi!" Amma exclaimed, as her hands immediately went to her head, stroking the hair, while Payal looked up and smiled at Arnav, getting to her feet.
"Namaste Arnavji" She said, her hands coming together, as a soft smile rested on her face. Arnav noticed the dark circles under her eyes and the frayed looking hair. He immediately knew the situation was more serious than had been let on to them.
Arnav nodded as he came and stood in front of Payal, asking her softly, "How is he now?"
"Arey dammadji" Amma said, as she tried getting up, but Khushi refused to move, "Khushi, move!" Amma said, as she tried moving her head so she could get up.
Arnav immediately stepped forward, and bent to touch her feet, "please baithe rahiye" Arnav said, laying a hand on her shoulder as he eased her back into the chair, "How is...he now?" Arnav hesitated over calling him babuji, his eyes briefly flickering to Khushi who still had her head resting on her mother's lap, before looking up at Amma again.
"He is doing better today" She nodded, "the doctors are examining him at the moment, so they asked us to wait outside. But I don't know..." Her voice trailed off, and Arnav felt his heart clench. He saw as the wrinkles on her face deepened, as her mouth dipped at the sides into a frown, and he could see the tension on her face as she looked at the door behind Arnav.
Arnav sat next to her, and rested a hand on her shoulder, "we're here now, and we can stay here. You should go home and rest"
"Nahin, nahin beta" Amma said, shaking her head, a smile on her face, "you two have just returned from your trip, and everybody must be waiting at home. You should go"
"Amma!" Khushi said, her head snapping up and a frown on her face, and her Amma immediately glared at her.
"Khushi you have just returned, it is not right if you stay out-"
"Aunty please" Arnav said, and he did not miss as Khushi's shoulders stiffened at the word aunty, but he continued on, "we are not going anywhere. Di already knows we are here, and they are here on their way"
"Beta-"
"Amma, please" Khushi said, and leaned back on her knees, "we are staying here"
"I think you should go and freshen up. I will call you as soon as the doctors tell us anything, but staying at the hospital is not going to do anything" Arnav said, and Amma looked at Khushi, who nodded, squeezing her knee.
Amma started to get up, and Arnav brought a hand to her elbow, as he got up with her.
"I'll drop you to the car, and you can get dropped off home" Arnav said, as he started walking Payal and Amma down the hall. He looked over his shoulder, and saw as Khushi continued to sit on her knees, her eyes connecting with his, while she watched them walk down the hall.
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Arnav returned from dropping Khushi's mother and sister to the car, and giving instructions to the driver about their address, to see Di and Shyam sitting there with Khushi.
"Di! Jijaji" Arnav said, as he went to them, bending down to hug his sister.
"Chote!" Anjali exclaimed, as she wrapped her arms around him, bringing him into a hug, her face beaming, "how was the flight?"
Arnav's eyes connected with Khushi's before he smiled at his sister and said, "not too bad"
"Khushiji, can I get you something?" Shyam asked as he got up, "Rani Sahiba? Saale Saab?" He added, looking at all three of them.
Khushi shook her head, and Arnav noticed as her eyes darted to her father's room, her hands impatiently tugging at her dupatta. Arnav took a step towards her, as he said no to Shyam as well, just as Anjali spoke up,
"Chote, when was the last time you ate?"
"Di, it was on the flight-" Arnav started to say as he slipped into the chair beside Khushi, but Anjali cut him off.
"Please get something to eat for Chote" She told Shyam, who nodded and headed towards the cafeteria, ignoring what Arnav had said.
"Di, I am fine" Arnav said, running a hand over his face as he tried fighting the jet lag, but Anjali shrugged her shoulders.
"Chote we have had this discussion so many times. I am not going to have it again with you" She said, with a finality in her voice, and Arnav sighed, rubbing a hand over his face. He stole another look at Khushi and saw as her head was bowed down, her eyes shut as her lips moved silently, her hands tightly clasped on her lap.
He sighed as he straight ahead, taking out his phone, and glancing at all the emails that still needed his attention. Sighing again, he closed his phone, and placed it back in his blazer pocket, his eyes flickering to Khushi again. Her teeth were gnawing at her bottom lip as she stared straight ahead, her face was twisted into an expression of worry, and her hands continued to pull threads from her dupatta.
His hands twitched to cover hers, and stop her from pulling on her cloth, but he stopped himself, and looked straight ahead.
He felt someone staring at him, and so he looked to the side to see his sister looking at him with a thoughtful expression, her lips twisted up into a small smile. Arnav frowned, and stared back ahead, knowing that whatever his sister was thinking, it was not something he wanted to discuss.
The doors opened, and all three sprang to their feet as the doctors stepped out.
The doctor approached Anjali, familiar with her face, as she had been there before, and started to speak,
"His condition is still very critical. There is not much response from him, and minimal activity in the brain, however we are still waiting on the recent scans from the MRI to return" Anjali nodded, and the doctor gave them a sympathetic smile as he started to walk down the hall.
Arnav had not realized that Khushi had clutched onto his forearm as she had leaned towards the doctor, wanting to know everything he said. Her nails dug into his fabric, and she stood completely still, her eyes wide and unmoving.
Arnav covered her hand with his and looked at his sister, indicating towards Khushi.
Anjali nodded, and took her in her arms, as she made her sit down.
Arnav followed the doctors down the hall, and stopped them.
"Hi, I am Arnav Singh Raizada" He introduced himself, "Shashi Gupta's son-in-law"
The doctor nodded, and Arnav continued, "I am going to be taking care of the account for Shashi Gupta. I need you to know that if there is any treatment, anything at all that needs to be done for him, you have to do it. Money is not a problem, and I will take care of everything"
"Mr. Raizada, we can keep Mr. Gupta here, however depending on how severe the brain damage is resulting from the stroke he had, we cannot be sure what kind of treatment he is going to require" The doctor said, "I will keep you informed, but it won't be a bad idea to look at transferring Mr. Gupta to another hospital that specializes in strokes and brain injuries"
Arnav nodded, and muttered his thanks to the doctor.
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The line connected and Arnav spoke into the phone,
"Aman"
"Sir-"
"I don't want to hear it right now" He cut him off, knowing that Aman was going to try to explain his absence, "I need you to look up the best hospital for brain injuries, and get Khushi's father transferred there as soon as you can"
"Okay, and the reporters?" Aman questioned, and Arnav thought about it for a second.
"I do not want any of this going public yet. It's a family matter, we need to deal with it ourselves first"
Anupamaa
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