Re-Union Pt22 Pg44 'Acceptance' - Page 25

Kripa stares at the photograph in front of her, the man who was supposed to be her father, he didn't look anything like her, no wait, Kripa looks closely and it hits her, she has his smile, the man smiling in the photograph with black hair with grey streaks, as if he had come out of a Hindi serial, with few wrinkles on his face and some stubble, less than Angad's but stubble none the less, she glances at Gayatri and sees how lovingly she is staring at the photograph, Gayatri sighs and smiles.

"Your father and I met at a conference, he was an environmentalist and he had come to attend a conference in London as part of his college course, he had just turned 21, and I was at the tender age of 18, I had come there with a friend on behalf of our college paper, we were sent to cover the story, I found it very boring so I left my friend to watch the conference and went to wander around the building, your father had gone to the bathroom and was on his way back when we bumped into each other, it was love at first sight, for me at least, your father merely apologised, like the gentleman he was, then went back inside"

Kripa shakes her head and sighs.

"Pardon me for interrupting but what does this have to do with me? What does this have to do with why I was given up?"

"Kripa don't be rude"

Gayatri and Kripa glance towards the door and find Angad standing there, he makes his way towards the single leather sofa and sits opposite mother and daughter. He smiles at Gayatri

"Kripa won't interrupt again, carry on" He assures Gayatri, who nods her head and continues.

"For days he was all I could think about, his eyes, his smile, his voice, everything about him, but as time passed, his image began to fade from my mind, and slowly I too began to stop thinking about him. But call it fate or coincidence, just when I thought he was out of my mind forever…"

*28 Years Ago*

She runs towards the bus shelter to save herself from the rain, she had been holding her book over her head and now that was wet, she wipes her face of the droplets of water and looks from side to side for the bus. She glances next to her and finds someone sitting on the bench, arms folded, leaning against the back of the shelter with a newspaper covering his face. She wonders whether to disturb him and ask him when the next bus to Birmingham city centre would arrive but she was scared, what if he got angry? She breathes deeply and steps towards the boy, she slowly reaches out to touch him but is startled when he speaks.

"I am awake"

She steps back feeling self-conscious and scared at the same time, the boy takes the newspaper off his face and tilts his head looking at the girl, a smile creeps on his lips.

"Is everything ok?"

The girl refuses to turn around, but there was something in his voice, it sounded familiar, she slowly turns around and is shocked to see him, the same guy from the conference, she stares at him mouth wide open, he creases his eyebrows looking confused.

"Do we know each other?" He asks.

"Yes, we met, at that conference in London" She replies, surprising herself, normally she would give one word answers, not whole sentences.

"Yes, I remember, we bumped into each other"

She nods her head in agreement, he folds his newspaper and puts it on the bench and gets up and stands by her, she feels him close to her causing her to breathe deeply, she steps away from him slightly.

"Where are you heading?" He asks trying to make conversation.

"The city centre" She replies glancing at him from the corner of her eye.

They stay silent for a short while until her bus comes, she steps on to it and he knows he has to ask her now or else he may never see her again.

"What's your name?" He calls out from the bus stand, she turns.

"Gayatri, Gayatri Mehra"

He smiles and nods his head, she glances at him waiting for something, he realises she's waiting for him to tell her his name so he does, she smiles and goes to sit down, she watches him as the bus pulls out and he fades away, she smiles to herself repeating his name.

"Rohit Sharma"

*******************

And thus it happens again, she constantly thinks about him but she has no way of meeting him, she doesn't know where he lives, if he even lives in Birmingham at all, or if she would ever see him again, it made her sad thinking he would end up as a memory again, she lies on her bed wondering if they would ever meet again. She closes her eyes to catch some sleep only to be disturbed by the door opening, she sighs and looks up to find her mother standing by the door, she rolls her eyes and sits up in bed.

"What?" she asks her mother

"You have a phone call"

Gayatri nods her head and follows her mother out in to the landing, she picks up the receiver and waits for her mother to disappear around the corner before speaking.

"Hello?" she asks not knowing who it is.

"Gayatri?" comes the voice of a male on the other side.

Gayatri gasps, it is him, a million questions run through her mind but she decides to begin with the straight forward ones.

"Rohit?" she asks merely as a formality as there was no way she had forgotten his voice at this point.

"Yeah, it's Rohit, how are you?"

"I'm fine thanks, how did you get my number?" she asks confused, as she had only told him her name.

"Well your last name was Sharma, and you live in Birmingham, so I checked the local phone records for your number, do you know how many Sharma's live in Birmingham?"

"No…" she replies not knowing where the conversation was leading to.

"More than 50"

""Right" she replies creasing her forehead slightly, what exactly is he going on about.

"And do you know that it took me at least 4 hours calling every single one of them just to find you"

She gasps, he had spent four hours calling random Sharma's just because he was searching for her, the thought makes her smile, she bites her bottom lip not knowing what she should say, he calls her name again hoping she hadn't gone away, she speaks softly in case her parents hear.

"Why were you looking for me?" she asks anxiously

"Because, you've been all I can think about"

Gayatri couldn't believe her ears, she didn't think she was exactly Miss Perfect, but here on the other end of the phone is a guy who was saying he couldn't stop thinking about her, she smiles again and continues talking to him, asking him about himself, telling all about herself, but as fate would have it, she sees her father come around the corner, she quickly mutters an apology and hangs up ad rushes back to her room. She closes her door and sighs to herself, if her dad caught her on the phone with a guy, he wouldn't be happy, but her main concern is Rohit, she wishes she hadn't upset him by hanging up, or given him the wrong message that she wasn't interested in him, she huffs and pens her door, she peeks out looking for her father, when she sees no one she hurries outside and picks up the receiver and hits the call button, she notes the number down and quickly hurries back to her room. She lies in bed clutching the number as if it was a piece of gold.

The next day Gayatri gets out of bed still holding on to the piece of paper, she gets changed and makes her way out of the house towards the bus stop for college as she normally does, but as she turns the corner from her house she runs to the payphone, she puts the money in and dials the number, it rings, she feels her heart racing, her palms were sweating, she wipes them on her blouse, her breathing stops when she hears a sleepy voice on the other end, she feels nervous not knowing what to say, the voice on the other end is about to give up and hang up.

"Wait" she quickly says

He knows from that instant, it was her, he greets her and she warmly explains her rudeness for the night before, he doesn't take it to heart, she informs him that she's on her way to college and he inquires which college she attends, she tells him the name and he promises he would be there at the end of her day, she wishes him bye and hangs up wondering if he was serious. She makes her way to the bus stop to college all the while waiting for the day to end even though it is only starting.

The day goes slow, slower than normal, especially since Rohit had said he would be coming to the college, her friends notice her unusual quietness but she brushes it off and they stop asking, as the day ends she rushes to the gates in search of him, she looks around but doesn't see him, she shakes her head feeling disappointed, he had merely gotten her hopes up, she begins to walk to the bus stop when a car stops in front of her, the window rolls down and it's him, she smiles, he gets out and opens the door for her, she hesitantly gets in and he drives her to a nearby caf.

She sits silently as he orders them both milkshakes, she fidgets with her hands as he stares at her, he reaches out and touches her hand causing her heart to pound, she bites her bottom lip but doesn't dare meet his gaze, he slowly reaches out and touches her chin, her eyes close as he lifts her chin up.

"Open your eyes Gayatri" he asks

She slowly opens them and smiles at him, they talk endlessly about everything which means she doesn't realise the time, it is only when she sees it getting dark that reality hits her, she begins to panic, her father would kill her, he assures her nothing will happen but she rushes out of the caf, he runs after her and offers to take her up not taking no for an answer, they sit in the car and he drives them to her house, she gets out of his car and wishes him goodnight, he smiles at her bidding her a goodnight but his smile disappears, she looks confused so she turns to see what he's looking at only to come face to face with her father, her head bows, he demands an explanation but as she's about to say something he hits her, Rohit quickly gets out of the car, he makes his way around opening his mouth to say something but her father raises his hand stopping him, Rohit sighs and merely watches as he drags Gayatri inside.

Gayatri turns her head around staring at Rohit, he sees the sad expression on her face and calls out to her father, he stops and clicks his fingers, a few bodyguards run across from the entrance of the house, Gayatri watches helplessly as they push Rohit towards his car. Her father drags her to her room and shoves her on her bed, he closes the door, tears fall from her eyes, she gets up from her bed and goes to her window, she watches as Rohit is constantly pushed towards his car, he looks up to the window and sees her, she shakes her head, he stops resisting the bodyguards and gets in his car and drives off, she closes her eyes and more tears fall from her eyes, she wipes them as the door opens, she turns and faces her father, he says nothing else except from now on Gayatri would be accompanied by a bodyguard wherever she went, as her father leaves the room she knows exactly what that would mean, she was never going to see Rohit again.

But it is as if time is on their side, one of the days that she is at college, she is waiting by the gates for the silver car to approach to take her home, but it doesn't come, instead the sleek black car which she could spot from a mile away approaches, her heart races and tears fall from her eyes as he opens his door, without thinking anything she runs towards him, he takes her in to his arms and comforts her.

"You shouldn't be here, the bodyguard will be here any second" she tells him panicking.

"Come with me" he says.

She stares at him, he repeats the words and she nods her head because even she knew deep down in her heart that if she doesn't go with him now she would regret it for the rest of her life. He opens the door and she sits inside, he gets in to the driver's seat and drives off but in his rear view mirror he watches as the silver car belonging to Gayatri's bodyguard chases after them, he hits the pedal and makes a few swift turns confusing the bodyguard, he stops the car outside his house and she realises just how rich he is because to her it wasn't a house but a mansion. She waits in the car while he runs inside, she stares at the front door and watches as Rohit hugs an elderly woman who kisses his forehead and shoves a bag in to his hands, he takes her blessings and begins to walk towards the car, she notices a man shouting behind him and watches as Rohit's walking turns in to running, he gets in to the car and shoves the bag in the back seat, she looks at him wondering what was happening, he merely smiles and drives off.

It is only when they are safely in the comfort of a motel room does she speak.

"What is going on, why was that man shouting at you?"

He looks up from the window and makes his way to the bed, he sits beside her and takes her hand in to his.

"That was my father, and just like yours, he wouldn't let us be together, the woman you saw me hugging was my grandmother and she knew that the only way we could be together is if we ran away, in the bag are clothes and money"

The realisation hit her, she had assumed that when she ran with him, it would only be to the comfort of his home, she had assumed his parents would be ok with everything. She begins to cry again wondering what was going to happen, he kisses her hair softly

"Everything will be ok, I promise"

She knows she can trust him so she agrees. In the morning he arranges for a flat for them both, he takes her shopping to get new clothes and they move in to the flat, he takes up a job in an office as a messenger, even though he is capable of more but without finishing his college course there wasn't a company which would hire him for anything more. She begins to work in a small caf, and fate is on their side, as if it is destined, he walks in to his manager's office like any other day merely delivering a package but unlike any other day he finds his manager deep in thought, and being the type of person he was, he asks the manager the problem who reveals he is struggling with a project, Rohit takes a look and makes a few suggestions. This impresses the manager and in no delay, Rohit is promoted and over the next three years the promotions continue until Rohit has enough money to start his own business and soon he and Gayatri move out of the rented flat and in to a house of their own..

To celebrate the news Rohit takes Gayatri out for dinner and at the end he does what she has been waiting for, he asks her to marry him, and she agrees. They're both happy and wait o further, the following morning he takes her to a local magistrate's court and legally makes her his wife. They celebrate again in the night, but in a whole different way fulfilling each desire they have.

But desires have consequences which Gayatri finds out 4 weeks later, she waits for Rohit to come home from work and delivers the good news to him.

"I'm pregnant" she tells him with a wide smile on her face

He picks her up in his arms and twirls her around, he kisses her softly exclaiming his happiness.

Over the next few months he takes good care of her, making sure she isn't lacking in anything and when the delivery date comes closer, he has her admitted in to the local hospital where she gives birth to a beautiful baby girl. She holds her closely and kisses her cheek, Rohit watches with affection.

"What shall we call her?" He asks

"Kripa" She replies without a second thought, he smiles and kisses both her and Kripa.

His stomach grumbles and Gayatri shakes her head, he excuses himself and leaves the room to go to the canteen, only he catches sight of Gayatri's father, he quickly hides ready to leave but not before he overhears him asking a nurse about Gayatri's baby, he breathes deeply and turns and runs towards Gayatri's room, he shuts the door behind him and puts a chair in front causing Gayatri to look worried. He picks up her bag and the baby and urges her to put her clothes on.

"Why?" She asks as she comes out of the bathroom fully clothed.

He hands Kripa to her and opens the door, he peeks out and sees her father busy with the nurse, he takes Gayatri's hand and leads her to the opposite side of the hospital and only when they are in the safety of their car does he speak.

"Your father was here" He tells her as he starts the car.

"What does he want?"

He doesn't reply but simply glances at Kripa sleeping in her arms, she looks shocked and begins to panic, he assures her and drives them home only there are bodyguards outside the house waiting for them, he drives to another street and stops the car.

"What are we going to do?" She asks as she looks over at him.

He looks at her then at Kripa then back at her.

"He's going to keep coming after us because he wants Kripa"

"We'll run away again, somewhere far" she replies

"He'll find us, as long as we have what he wants, he'll find a way of getting to us"

"What are you saying?" she asks him very well knowing his answer.

"We need to keep her away from us, it is the only way to keep her safe, to keep her from him"

She shakes her head and holds Kripa close to her, Rohit reaches out and softly touches her face, he wipes the tears from her eyes.

"If there was any other way, but you know there isn't, if he finds her, there is no guessing of what he might do to her just to get you back"

"We can go to the police" she suggests

"We could, but what would they do? You know what I'm saying is right"

She looks at him then at Kripa, she kisses her softly then looks back up at him, she nods her head, he drives the car to a building, he holds his arms out and she hands Kripa to him, he kisses Kripa's small hands and her cheek and forehead, he is about to get out of the car but Gayatri stops him, she takes off her chain that her mother had given her and slips it around Kripa's neck. Rohit opens the door and takes Kripa in to the foster home, he talks to the lady and leaves Kripa there, he comes back to the car and sees Gayatri staring out of the other window, he knows she is crying, he reaches out and gently touches her hand, she squeezes his hand and looks at him forcing a smile. Rohit starts the car and drives off.