Okay, so after watching today's episode, I think I can safely speak for, if not all, then most of the KuKu fandom, when I say that seeing Kuhu without Kunal broke our hearts a little (and especially when we found out that he doesn't even pick up her calls!). So, I thought that maybe a little headcanon would lift our spirits. A little.
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“Ketu, pass me that folder, won’t you?” Kuhu asked holding out her hand without looking up. It was a pleasantly warm afternoon in Rajkot, so Kuhu and Ketki had chosen to sit in a shaded area of the courtyard to finish their work on Ketu’s wedding planning. The sun filtered through the leaves of the large trees they sat under, while the cool breeze tickled their noses. Ketki passed her the folder, and Kuhu began to rifle through the pages absentmindedly.
“Bhabs, I’m thinking that we can finalize this color scheme for the mandap,” Ketki said confidently. When she didn’t hear a response, she looked up from her computer to glance at her sister-in-law, only to find her lost in her own thoughts, slowly flipping through the contents of the folder.
“Bhabs? Kuhu Bhabs!” Ketki said, gently shaking her by the arm, jolting Kuhu out of her reverie.
“Huh? Oh, sorry Ketu. That color scheme looks good, I’ll forward it to the decorators,” Kuhu said. Ketki noticed a layer of tension in Kuhu’s voice, and chose to snatch the folder from her hands and close the laptop in front of her.
“Wha-? Ketu!” Kuhu exclaimed with indignation.
“First you have to tell me what’s wrong,” Ketki said, crossing her arms.
“Nothing’s wrong,” Kuhu said thickly, immediately getting defensive.
“Oh, c’mon Bhabs, it’s plain as day. Something’s bothering you.”
When Kuhu didn’t answer, Ketki put two fingers underneath her chin and lifted her face so as to see her eyes. To Ketki’s shock, Kuhu’s large brown eyes were swimming in tears.
“Okay, something’s definitely wrong.” Ketki scooted her chair closer to Kuhu’s, taking her hand in hers, and cupping her face with her other hand.
“Bhabs, we share everything with each other. Tell me what’s bothering you. Maybe I can help?” Ketki said softly.
Kuhu sighed, running a hand through her curls. “It’s probably nothing.”
“Well then, all the more reason to share, no?”
Kuhu hesitated. “It’s about Kunal…”
Ketki chuckled. “I’m not going to go snitch on you to him, if that’s what you’re concerned about.”
Kuhu shook her head, rubbing her eyes. “It’s just that… I haven’t talked to him in ages. It’s been three months since he left for work, and the last I talked to him was a week ago.”
Kuhu paused to keep her voice from shaking. “Ketu… Ketu, what if he’s lost interest in me? What if he’s lost interest in our marriage?”
Ketki was shocked to hear her say this. “Bhabs, the Kuhu I know is incredibly self-assured and confident. You would never lose faith this easily. And the last I heard from you about Bhai, you were completely fine. Tell me the truth, did someone say something to you to make you feel this way?”
“Well, Jasmeet chachi and Mumma called the other day and…”
Ketki immediately understood what would’ve happened. “Bhabs, I know you may not want to hear this, but your chachi and mumma aren’t always right. They may want the best for you, but they worry. A lot. Sometimes too much.”
“I know, but I can’t help but think that they might be somewhat right? Chachi was saying that Kunal could’ve forgotten about me if he hasn’t talked to me in a week. And Mumma? Mumma even said that she hopes that what happened with her and Papa doesn’t happen to me!” Kuhu blurted out. She instantly slapped a hand over her mouth, horrified that she had blurted that out.
Ketki looked at her sympathetically and took Kuhu’s hands into hers. “Bhabs, don’t you think you should talk to Bhai before jumping to all of these conclusions? All due respect, but your chachi and Mumma don’t know much about your relationship with Bhai. You do, though, because it’s your relationship.”
Kuhu looked at Ketki, stunned. “When did you become so wise?”
Ketki’s eyes clouded over, her throat tightening. “Ever since my two brothers stopped being around to give me their wisdom.”
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Kuhu sat on the edge of her bed; correction, their bed, and stared at the phone screen, her thumb hovering over Kunal’s name. But before she could press it to call him, the phone rang, Kunal’s name flashing on the screen. She got excited, almost eagerly swiped to accept the call, but her excitement immediately turned to resentment. She hesitated.
“Kuhu. Wait a few seconds. If you pick it up right away, he’ll know that you were waiting on his call. Be cool! You’re not a despo!” Kuhu whispered, admonishing herself.
She straightened slightly, and then picked up his call after a beat. “Hello?”
“Hello? Kuhu! You will not believe the week I’ve had!” Kunal said excitedly.
Kuhu slumped a little, closing her eyes gently. No matter how irritated she was with him, hearing his voice after a long time made her give, just a little. “Oh yeah?”
Kunal rambled on for the next ten minutes about how he had worked day and night on making major headway with getting the new office set up while simultaneously finalizing a deal with two major airlines. Kuhu silently listened, lying down on the bed, smiling as his voice filtered through her ear. Oh, how she had longed to hear it.
There was finally silence, as Kunal had stopped talking, but Kuhu was still in her reverie.
“Kuhu? Kuhu!”
Kuhu jolted out of her daze. “Huh? Yeah, tell me Kunal.”
“Kuhu, I’ve been talking nonstop and you haven’t even interrupted me to say anything,” Kunal said, with a slightly indignant tone. “Were you even listening?”
Kuhu was relieved. Relieved to know that he hadn’t picked up her calls because he had been terribly busy. But Varsha’s voice floated in her mind.
“Kuhu… please handle this carefully. The last time your father and I grew apart… well, you know what happened. I hope with all of my heart that that doesn’t become true for you as well.”
“Kuhu? Hello? Are you still there?”
“Yeah. I’m here.”
“Are you okay?” Kunal asked concernedly.
“I’m fine.”
“You don’t sound fine.”
“What does sounding fine sound like, Kunal?” Kuhu said, slightly snappish.
“Woah. What’s wrong? Why are you angry?” Kunal asked, sounding taken aback.
Kuhu massaged her temples. She hadn’t meant to snap. “I’m sorry. I’m really happy that things are going well there. I’m sure that you’ll continue to work wonders. But please take care of yourself. Get enough sleep. Eat on time.”
“I’ll do all of that, but first tell me what’s wrong,” Kunal said worriedly.
“Nothing.”
“Kuhu, don’t lie to me.”
Kuhu hesitated, but then she remembered what Ketki had told her. Open conversation. She needed to say it.
“Three months, Kunal. We haven’t seen each other for three months. I know work is crazy, I know you have a lot going on, but you didn’t pick up my calls for an entire week.”
Kunal was silent, so she continued to speak.
“At first, I was okay because I knew you were busy. I knew that you would call the second you got the chance. But you didn’t. And I refuse to believe that you didn’t have five extra minutes anywhere in a whole week to speak to me.” She paused to take a breath. “Kunal, I need to know. If you aren’t interested in me or our marriage anymore, then fine. But I can’t keep second guessing everything. If you’re not interested, just tell me. If there’s someone else… just tell me.” She stopped, as her voice broke.
The silence between them was extremely heavy. Both of them sat, listening to other breathing on the line.
“How could you possibly think that?” Kunal asked thickly, after a long pause. “How could you?”
“I don’t know. You’ve been ignoring me.”
“I’ll admit, I made a mistake. I didn’t take the time to talk to you, and I should have. But to be completely fair, I didn’t talk to anyone. I only called Maa once, and it was for work,” Kunal said. “But I could never ignore you. Never.”
“How can you say that so easily? After not picking up my calls for a week?” Kuhu confronted him, her voice weighed down by the sobs stuck in her throat.
“I’m so, so sorry. I really am. I know it’s not an excuse, but I've just been so busy. And you know me. Once I get going on something, I just can’t stop.”
“You’re right. It’s not an excuse,” Kuhu said coldly.
“Kuhu…” Kunal trailed off. “Kuhu, I didn’t talk to you because when I do, I think about you. I think about Maa. I think about Bhai, Ketu, Maamu and Maami, and Maasi. And it hurts so damn much. So much that I can’t concentrate on what I’m doing. When you’re so far apart from the people you love… it’s just really, really hard. And as much as it hurt, I needed to tear myself away from you and everyone else so that I could focus. And it wasn’t fair to you. I’m sorry. I promise I won't do it again.” Kunal said.
Kuhu was surprised. Kunal was never this open about his feelings, especially not with her.
When Kuhu didn’t respond, he continued. “I miss everyone. So much.” He hesitated before saying, “and I miss you. More than you will ever know, Kuhu.”
Kuhu couldn’t ignore the overwhelming sincerity in his voice, and a tear trickled down her cheek. But she was so, so happy. So happy to know that her mother’s worst fears hadn’t been confirmed. That her own fears hadn’t been confirmed. Kunal genuinely missed her. She could tell.
“Well, thank god for that,” Kuhu broke the tension between them, and Kunal laughed.
“Did you really think that I was having an affair?” Kunal asked teasingly.
Kuhu bristled. “No. Never. Only I could love someone as boring as you.”
“Kuhu, yaar!”
It was Kuhu’s turn to laugh. “Kunal? I’m sorry for doubting you.”
Kunal paused before replying. “Don’t ever apologize for loving me like you do,” he said softly, catching Kuhu off guard.
A bashful smile grew on Kuhu's lips. Her ladaku chokro was hers to keep.
Debate Mansion
Anupamaa
