Hi Everyone!
I got done with a future chapter I was working on so I decided to go ahead and post the next chapter a little earlier. I'm back into the school semester so I'm hoping I can keep the current schedule of postings (2 chapters a week) but you never know with the way school works especially Grad School. Anyways, I'll keep you all informed of any changes.
Without further ado the next chapter...
Chapter 34: Forgetfulness
Heer played with her ring as she sat in the car wondering why it was taking so long to get back home. She was thankful that she had remembered to switch the ring from her left ring finger to her right ring finger otherwise there would have been a lot of questions from not only Prashant but from Prem's family. Her eyes looked on with relief as the car turned down the street heading towards the townhouse. Before Prashant could get out and open the car door for them, Heer and Meher were out of the vehicle walking to the front porch. Prashant looked on a bit down casted because he wasn't fast enough to open the doors for them. He followed the gentlemanly protocol and followed them to the house to say a proper goodbye. Meher opened the door and then looked back surprised to see Prashant standing behind Heer. She gave a quick glance to her sister who returned her a reassuring look that she would be able to handle the situation. Meher flashed a quick smile, "Well, goodnight Prashant. Thanks for the ride."
"Goodnight Meher. See you later," Prashant replied.
As her sister disappeared from her view Heer turned around to face Prashant. "Thank you for the ride. You're probably tired from your flight. You should get some rest. Goodnight."
He smiled, "I'll do that. The convention starts tomorrow and ends Friday. There are various events scheduled throughout the day but I don't have to attend all of them. Would you mind if I dropped by your university'just to visit? If you have time you could show me around campus."
"Um, sure...I could show you around that is if it doesn't conflict with my classes...you know the times," Heer hesitantly replied.
"Of course I don't want to keep you from your classes. I'm fine with sitting in too...it would be interesting to see what your learning. I'll call you and check with you first before I come over, how's that?" Prashant said.
"I guess that could work," Heer said giving a nervous half smile. She wasn't exactly thrilled with the idea of Prashant following her around school but she knew she couldn't be completely cold hearted to him either. He was just as much as a victim in this whole situation as she was.
Prashant grinned, "Goodnight," and turned to leave but then suddenly stopped turning back around. "By the way where's your ring?" Heer's face flushed with alarm. "I just noticed you're not wearing it."
"Oh, I um, took it off when I was doing dishes yesterday. I didn't want it to slip off. It's in my jewelry box," Heer explained.
"Okay...I mean its fine. Just you're parents will be coming back next week. They'll be wondering why if you don't have it on," Prashant said. He glanced to the side and continued, "Look, I know this has got to be pretty hard on you. You don't know me and I don't know much about you...this was all our parents' arrangement. I came here because of the long distance issue...the e-mails obviously weren't helping...and you were shy to talk to me on the phone. What I'm trying to say is I'm really not that bad of a guy once you get to know me. We can at least make an effort for our parents, right? I just want to be your friend Heer, that's it." Heer looked at him remaining silent not sure how she should respond. "Friends?" he asked extending his hand.
"Friends," she said half-heartedly and shook his hand.
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It was turning into one of those days; the days that you wondered why you even rolled out of bed. Heer had slept through her alarm and arrived 15 minutes late to class. Besides receiving a very displeased look from the professor there was a pop quiz that day; and of course the first five questions revolved around things discussed in the first 15 minutes she had missed. Things only got worse from there. It started raining and she didn't have an umbrella with her. She was halfway soaked before she made it to the university bookstore to purchase an overpriced umbrella. On top of that Prashant showed up out of the nowhere around noon and sat in on one of her classes. It was now two o'clock she was famished, cranky, and had no patience to give a campus tour for Prashant. She sighed as she made her way through the university dining area with her fiance following behind her. "Prashant, I'm going to go wash my hands. You can go ahead and find something to eat. I'll meet you at one of the tables," she informed.
"It's okay Heer, I can wait for you," he replied.
"No, you must be starving. I'm use to this schedule now," she politely said. "I'll be real quick. It's fine." Prashant nodded and then Heer walked off heading for the restrooms. Suddenly out of nowhere her hand was grabbed; the motion so strong that she twirled behind one of the columns ramming into a soft but sturdy chest. She would have screamed had it not been the hand covering her mouth. Her eyes flexed in reorganization and she gave a slightly irritated look.
Prem pulled his hand away from her mouth and gave an apologetic grin. "Sorry Heer. It's just I didn't know how to get you alone. Prashant has been following you around like he's your tail...he's always by your side."
"You could have tried finding a less sneaky way than this. I nearly had a heart attack, Prem." He gave her a sheepish look. "This day has been so bad...I woke up late which caused me to be late for class...had a pop quiz...I got rained on and my hair is fizzing like crazy...had to buy a ridiculously over priced umbrella at the bookstore...I have a 10 page paper due next week which was just assigned today...and now I have to deal with Prashant...I'm in no mood to give a campus tour," she replied.
"You're having one of those days, huh?" Prem said. "Come on, let's go. I'll take you out to lunch."
"Wait, what about Prashant?" she said.
"What about him?" Prem replied mischievously. "He's not invited. He can have lunch here."
"You're serious? We are going to leave him here?" Heer asked.
"Let's just ditch him," Prem replied. "Okay, okay..." seeing the look she was giving him, "...would it make you feel better if he had someone to talk to? Pia's somewhere around here. I was actually hiding from her. When I followed you guys in here she saw me and started her usual routine. That girl does not know the meaning of the word 'no'. I can't wait to tell our parents so then I can publicly announce we're dating and stop her for good."
"I'm sure she'll handle that real well," Heer said sarcastically. "You really think she'll just stop?"
Prem furrowed his eyebrows, "I hope she does. Or do I have to publicly make out with you for her to see we're for real?"
"Prem Juneja," Heer said in a disapproving tone. "I am not doing that in public...especially at school. That's private between us."
"Sorrrry," he choked and slowly removed Heer's hands from his collar. "That will stay between us," giving her a wink causing her to blush. He then frowned, "So you would rather stay here with Prashant then go out with me and have lunch?"
"No, of course not. I want to go with you but I can't just leave him alone like this. And frankly speaking Pia is just plain scary and delusional that I wouldn't wish her on any enemy," Heer said.
Prem rubbed his finger on the side of his temple and then gently broke out into a smirk. "I know just the person for the job."
A few minutes later Preet showed up with Meher and surprisingly with Sang in tow. "Don't worry PB we will take care of everything," Preet grinned. "Sang and I will give Prashant a tour of our lovely campus since Meher has class." Prem and Heer gave a cautious glance at Sang. Preet and Meher gave them both a reassuring smile. "If you want to tell him something you can," Preet softly said.
Sang looked at them a bit confused by what they were implying. He then covered his ears, "If I'm not supposed to know something go ahead."
Prem and Heer looked at each other trying to decide if they should tell Sang what was going on. After a few seconds, Prem turned to Sang and gave a grateful smile, "Thanks for the help Sang. We're waiting for the right time to tell our parents about us. If you could keep it a secret that would be great...Prashant's um, Heer's parent's choice...if you get what I'm saying."
"Ah, the arrange marriage thing? I understand," Sang replied. "No problem. My lips are sealed. I'll keep him occupied as long as you want," grinning, "I'm finished with my classes for the day," addressing Heer, "So, the plan is that you had some unexpected group meeting that you just had to go to. And don't worry Preet and I will handle everything."
"Thanks," Prem and Heer both replied.
"My pleasure...it's always nice to work on the side of true love," Sang said cracking a cheesy joke. "By the way congrats and um, I'm invited to the wedding right?"
"You're self inviting yourself?" Preet asked looking at his friend.
"Hey, I thought you guys invited everybody...friends of family members you don't even know but met once when you were like 5 years old. You're always telling me how big Indian weddings are because everyone is like invited," Sang explained. "Plus, you said there's a killer buffet." Prem and Heer laughed at Sang's last comment.
"So you just want the food," Preet said.
"Don't try to turn this around on me. You said so yourself that you hate being dragged to weddings but the buffet makes up for it," Sang argued back.
"You're invited," Prem chuckled slapping his hand on Sang's shoulder.
"You guys better get going. I think I see Prashant wandering around looking for you Heer Didi," Meher said glancing around the column.
Prem and Heer both nodded their thanks again and quietly slipped away. They were a few feet from the door when Prem saw Kunal walk in with Sanjana. Kunal immediately spotted Prem and then saw Heer. They both gave him a pleading look to distract Sanjana. He grinned letting them know he would take care of it. Just then Sanjana turned to talk to Kunal. "So what do you want...hey isn't that Prem?"
Kunal quickly stood in front of her, "Where? I don't see him anywhere. Come on let's get Subway," and put his arm around her shoulder so he could use his body to block her view from the right side of the dining area. Prem and Heer both breathed a sigh of relief and quickly exited the building.
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Prem sipped his Coke and watched as Heer stabbed her fork through a tomato and several pieces of lettuce. "It's not alive you know," he teased. "Be kind to the salad."
She cracked a small smile and sighed. "It's just been one of those days. That pop quiz completely threw me...my quiz average is going to suffer and we only have a mid-term and final for the class. I have to do well on the mid-term otherwise I'm not going to pass."
"Don't say that. I'm sure you will do fine on the mid-term. Think positively," Prem encouraged. "It's just one quiz too I'm sure he's going to have some more quizzes...the semester isn't even at the half way point so you have plenty of time to raise it higher."
"I guess so," Heer replied. "So how have your classes been? Is Professor Baker still being a jerk?"
Prem drooped his head, "Don't get me started...I swear that guy thrives on making all of us in class feel stupid. It's like he has this sixth sense when you don't know the answer to the question and purposely calls on you so he can make fun of you and basically tell you how wrong you are."
"How was your presentation for class?" she asked.
"It went all right I guess. I couldn't tell...he makes no expression at all so the class has no idea what he is thinking. I have another presentation in two weeks," Prem replied.
"I'm sure you did all right. You practiced really hard. If it is any consolation I liked it," Heer said.
He smiled at her remark. "So how's that group project going?" Prem asked. "You guys are probably way ahead on that aren't you?"
"I guess it was a good thing the group leader was so paranoid and wanted to start working on it immediately when it was announced on the first day of class. We are almost done and way before it is due too. One thing off my plate which I guess is a good thing because I can concentrate on my 10 page paper that is due next week," Heer said.
"So your professor really assigned it today and its due next week? That's pretty heartless," Prem said.
Heer rested her chin on the palm of her left hand, "It is. Professor Benton is pretty heartless probably not as bad as Professor Baker but he's still pretty bad."
Prem wiped his mouth with his napkin, "So where do you want to go next? Preet and Sang are babysitting Prashant for you today. You're free."
"Until dinner time," Heer replied sullenly. "I have a feeling he's going to show up for dinner at my house. He did it yesterday so he'll probably do it again."
"He did?" Prem asked choking on his pizza. He coughed several times while Heer handed him his drink. He shook his head as he gained control. "Why didn't you tell me last night?" then muttering, "Maybe I should change my schedule around...I'll invite him to eat at the hotel restaurant tonight."
"I didn't tell you because I knew you would start acting paranoid about it," she replied. "Meher was with me. It wasn't like we were having dinner alone."
"I'm not being paranoid. I'm just trying to keep him out of your hair," he said. "If you really want him to come to dinner tonight then I won't say anything."
Heer shook her head adamantly, "No, not tonight. I really don't want to deal with it."
Prem grinned, "So it's settled. I'll have dinner with Prashant tonight so you can rest."
"Thank you Prem," Heer replied. She then noticed the way his gaze fell on her ring finger. He knew the reasons why she had put it back on. His ring was still on her right hand. This Saturday...their coming back..." she murmured.
"You're coming to the airport with me right?" Prem asked.
"Yes. Mom is super excited to meet everyone. I'll warn you in advance that she can kind of get carried away," Heer answered.
Prem chuckled, "It isn't like I haven't met your mother before."
"True but now that she knows your Dad's best friend's son...she's even more excited to see you again," Heer replied. "By the way Meher wants to come along as well but will there be enough room?"
"I'm taking the minivan...it seats seven but with all that luggage...I don't know if everyone will fit. Last time Preet was sitting on the floor when Kiran came to pick us up from the airport," Prem answered.
"Okay I'll just tell her to stay home with the rest of the family," Heer said.
"Ma's pretty excited to see your parents again especially your Mom...I think she's more excited about that than seeing Bauji again...haha..." Prem laughed.
Heer giggled at his comment. "Awww, your Dad's going to feel so bad."
"I think he knows already...he's prepared for it," Prem replied. "So you ready to go? I'll take you to see Eat Pray Love...a nice relaxing movie. How does that sound?"
"Sounds great! And to thank you I'll share my Milk Duds with you," Heer replied.
"Wow, sharing your precious Milk Duds. I feel very honored," Prem exclaimed.
"You should...not everyone gets to eat them," Heer teased.
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Preet and Sang both smirked at each other as their spur of the moment plan had actually worked. Preet tried not to laugh as he gently slid the Men's restroom door open and turned the lights off. There was a sudden gasp from the lone individual inside and an outburst that he was still in the restroom. Sang took the janitor keys and locked the door closed. They heard frantic scrambling and what sounded like someone running into the trash can. There was a load crash and a thud; followed by a groan like someone had fallen down onto the ground.
"That was just priceless man," Sang snickered.
"We can't tell anyone about this...I think they would kill me if they knew what I did," Preet said trying to contain his laughter. "PB may be cool with it but the girls wouldn't."
They heard some more stumbling and banging around. "Hello? Anyone there? I'm stuck in the restroom...help!"
The boys both snickered quietly into their hands and walked away from the restroom. They made sure to place the janitorial 'Cleaning in Progress' sign out in front of the doorway to keep people away.
"So when does Raymond get back from break?" Preet asked.
"He takes a thirty minute mid-afternoon break," Sang replied. "We'll just wait for the thirty minutes and Raymond will let Prashant out."
"He's cool with this right?" Preet probed.
"Ah, Raymond is totally cool. We go way back. I was DJ for his sister's wedding. Like I said we'll just tell Prashant that it was a fraternity hazing prank that they pull all the time here because we're in the student union offices...and no one is really up here on these floors...it's the perfect place to trick unsuspecting victims. Raymond will play along and no one gets in trouble. No harm no foul, man," Sang explained.
For the next two days Heer was blessed with the peace of mind that she didn't have to entertain Prashant. He was busy nursing his back from the fraternity hazing prank he experienced during his tour with Sang and Preet. Prem knew what had actually happened because his brother unable to keep the juicy secret divulged everything to him the day of the incident. He laughed so hard he strained his abs. This resulted in him getting daily massages from Heer which he couldn't complain about. It really was a win-win situation for him; her fiance was out of the way and he got some tender loving care from his girl.
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It was a bright and sunny morning as Prem drove to the airport. His mother was sitting in the passenger seat while Heer was sitting in the back. Subconsciously Prem reached out and took his mother's hand in his. He was so used to having Heer in the passenger seat that he didn't realize who was sitting next to him. It was an automatic response for him to hold Heer's hand while he drove. Gayatri smiled at the gesture and placed her other hand on his lovingly. "Beta, excited to see Bauji?"
"Huh..." Prem uttered with surprised as he realized he was holding his mother's hand instead of his girlfriend's. Heer giggled into her hand at Prem's reaction. She had seen the whole exchange and could feel Prem's embarrassment. "Yes, of course. Bauji's been away for a while."
"Everybody's coming home. Veera came home yesterday and now Bauji...and we have two wonderful guests coming," Gayatri smiled. "Heer Beta, you don't have to worry about your parents anymore. We're here to take care of them and make sure your father recovers quickly."
"Thanks Auntie," Heer replied.
"We're family...there is no need for such talk," Gayatri said. "I consider you like one of my own."
A few minutes later they were in the airport baggage claim terminal waiting. Prem and Heer stood slightly behind Gayatri as they strained their eyes trying to locate the familiar faces of family. Prem slyly curved his finger around Heer's pinky initiating some hand holding. Heer bumped his shoulder giving him a warning that they shouldn't be doing these things in public. He just grinned and playfully bumped her back. She glanced with her eyes that if his mother turned around she would catch them. He shook his head childishly and gripped her full hand refusing to let go. Heer sighed giving up and relaxed her hand. Just as she was about to lean on his shoulder she heard Prashant's voice calling Gayatri Auntie. Prem and Heer both immediately separated as they saw Prashant come walking up from the front. He smiled upon seeing the group.
"Prashant? You are here too?" Gayatri asked.
"Haa, Auntie. I thought I come meet Balraaj Uncle and Teji Auntie," Prashant answered. "I tried calling Heer to let her know I was coming but I kept getting a voice mail message."
Heer pulled out her phone and glanced at it. "Oh, sorry Prashant it was set on silent. I didn't hear it."
"It's okay. Their flight landed right?" Prashant said.
"Yes, they should be coming any minute now," Prem replied as he continued to scan the crowds. He suddenly broke out into a warm smile. "Ma, Bauji and them are over there," he said pointing to the left. His father was dressed in a tan suit while Balraaj was in khaki pants and a blue Polo shirt. Teji wearing a simple orange saree was by her husband's side pulling a small rolling suitcase.
There was a round of joyous greetings as the family members met. Lalit's eyes lit up upon seeing his wife and son. He hugged them both and then warmly slapped his son's shoulder, "I've heard you've taken good care of the hotel. Profits are up and the restaurant is doing extremely well ever since the new pastry chef has been hired under your suggestion."
"I don't know I guess I've been lucky," he replied modestly.
"Luck? No, it's your business sense...Juneja blood," his father proudly said.
While the Junejas were getting reacquainted the Maans were doing the same. Heer felt her eyes tearing up when she saw her father. "Papa," she cried and hugged him tightly. He smiled and patted her head, "There, there...why are you crying? I'm here...I don't want to see these tears. You should be greeting me happily." Heer sniffled and wiped her tears away.
Balraaj then looked up and saw his future son-in-law's face, "Prashant? You're here!"
"Yes, Fa---um, Uncle," Prashant replied as he quickly corrected himself. The engagement hadn't been officially announced yet so he knew he had to maintain certain pretenses. "I was attending a food convention here and decided to stay for a few extra weeks and um, hang out with Heer."
"Good, good!" he replied hugging him.
Teji smiled and nodded her greeting at Prashant. "It's good to see you again. You should spend more time together." Heer glanced downward feeling uncomfortable at hearing such words. Teji then turned towards her daughter. "Turn let me take a good look at you. Have you lost some weight? You look a little thin...too thin. Are you eating properly?" she asked.
"Yes, Mom I'm eating properly," Heer replied a bit embarrassed by the sudden attention over her body.
"I have made sure she has eaten properly," a female voice playfully scoffed.
Teji's eyes brighten when they fell across her friend's face, "Gayatri!"
"Oh lord here we go," Balraaj teased.
Lalit nodded his head, "There is no end to the cackling now..." Gayatri and Teji both gave their husbands dirt looks. "I think we should just room together and let these two talk the night away..."
"That's an excellent idea. You two can sleep in the pool house," Gayatri replied.
"And they can have their own snoring contest," Teji mocked. "Keep themselves awake the whole night." This caused a round of laughter from everyone except the two fathers.
Prem chuckled a little too long causing his father to give him a look that was usually reserved for Preet. He looked down and pretended to cough like there was something stuck in his throat to mask his laughing. Teji smiled at his reaction. "Prem..." He immediately straightened at the sound of his name being called. For some strange reason he felt extremely nervous in front of Heer's mother. "Hi Auntie," he greeted.
She inspected him like she had done her daughter, "Have you grown taller since I last saw you?"
"I'm the same height Auntie," he replied with a smile.
She shook her head in agreement, "Of course you are," and then patted his cheek in a motherly manner, "No, you've just gotten more handsome." Prem's eyes widen at the compliment as his face flushed red.
"Stop tormenting the boy," Balraaj warned his wife.
"Hi Uncle," Prem nervously smiled.
"I hope you aren't roaming around at night in rain storms here with your brother," Balraaj joked.
"No, we've stopped that habit," Prem replied causing Balraaj to laugh.
"Sorry to interrupt the catching up but they probably moved the luggage to the carousels...we should go and find our bags," Lalit advised.
Several minutes later Prem and Prashant had gathered all the suitcases from the baggage carousel and helped moved them outside. It was quickly decided by the adults that Prashant would take Heer and her parents while Prem's parents and the luggage would go in the minivan. Heer glanced at Prem and saw the sullen expression etched across his face. She pulled out her cell phone and quickly texted him a message. Prem felt the buzzing in his pocket and whipped his phone out. He grinned at the simple message 'moonlight 1am' and then looked up to catch Heer giving him a wink.
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Pre-Cap:
Chapter 35: Blessings in Disguise
New arrangements are made with the arrival of the Maans in the Juneja household. How do these new decisions effect Prem and Heer's budding relationship? Are these really blessings or warnings?
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Hope you enjoyed that. Prashant didn't get swallowed by a man hole but I think the little prank was good enough.
Thanks again for all the support!
Leave Comments, Please!
---Grace 😃
Edited by iheartChai - 14 years ago
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