Maaneet FF *A Second Chance* |NOTE P.65| - Page 18

He was five. His sister was born. The house had been decorated extravagantly for the occasion. Everyone had laughed and smiled to their hearts content when, at last, a baby girl had been brought into the house. He touched his sister's fragile head for the first time. That was the day he, his two brothers, and his sister had taken their very first picture together.

He was seven. He and his brothers pulled on their swimming shorts and jumped into the swimming pool, ignoring their parents who ran behind them, trying to catch them. They swam back and forth through the pool, they had underwater breathing contests, and they splashed at each other, while their sister watched them enviously from a distance, chattering away in her baby gibberish. They were having the times of their lives.

He was eighteen and it was his senior year in high school. He loved it because all he and his brothers went to the same school now and they were the best of friends. He would always drive them to school, dropping off his sister first, while his brothers would blast their latest musical favorites on the radio.

He was twenty-two and graduating from on of America's best architecture schools, Cornell University, in New York. He was, of course, the valedictorian. He had neatly dressed himself in the black graduation gown and had pinned all his honorary badges to his chest. His parents weren't there anymore, but his brothers, sister, and dadi had made sure to come watch him graduate. They had always given him so much love and support.

He was twenty-five. Khurana Constructions was now legally his and he made it a point to make sure this construction business was going to be at its best from now on. He had proved himself so far.

He was thirty. He met Geet.

Maan's eyes fluttered open. He had just realized how much he loved and connected to this song, and mentally thanked Geet for it. It, or rather Geet, had taken him back to his childhood, she had taken him back to when he was happy, she had taken him back to what he was before he had met her. And most of all, this song made him think of Geet. He liked that.

Maan walked into the kitchen, still listening to Geet's iPod, which was replaying "Jaane Kyun" over and over and over and over again. He stopped abruptly when he saw Geet sitting at the kitchen counter eating out of a huge carton of ice cream with a worried look on her face.

"Geet?" He said slowly, pulling the earphones out of his ears.

"Hmm," Geet replied, without looking up. Instead, she scooped out another huge spoonful of the ice cream and shoved it into her mouth.

"Geet, are you okay?" Maan asked, walking over to Geet.

"Mhmm," Geet nodded ferociously.

"Do you want to add to that?" Maan prodded.

Geet shook her head, again, but in the opposite direction.

"Okay." Maan looked into Geet's ice cream carton and was stunned to see that she had already eaten almost half of it. He pulled the carton away from her as Geet put her spoon in to get another scoop.

"My ice cream," Geet said tonelessly. "Give it back. I need it."

"Seriously, what's wrong with you?" Maan sat down next to her. He noticed Geet was looking down at a piece of paper that was on the counter. "What's that?" Maan leaned over and took the paper. He read through it quickly. It was Geet's appointment letter at Sanjivani and her start date was tomorrow. "You're nervous?" He asked, laughing.

Geen nodded her head violently, again. "Don't laugh."

"I'm not laughing," Maan said, trying to cover up his laughs with coughs.

"I don't know. I've tried calming her down, but she's really nervous. Is she always like this?" Dadi walked into the kitchen. She was seriously talking to someone on the phone, and it looked like the conversation was about Geet. "I'll give her the phone. You talk to her," Dadi said handing the phone to the anxious Geet. "Its Vicky, Geet. I think you should talk to him."

"Hey," Geet said without enthusiasm.

"Don't eat any more ice cream, Geet," Maan heard Vicky say.

"I'm not," Geet answered.

"You're not?" Vicky sounded surprised.

"Your lovely brother, Maan, took it away," Geet said sarcastically.

"Oh," Vicky laughed.

"Both of you are the same! I'm here nervous to death, and both of you are laughing at me?" Geet couldn't believe it.

"Why are you so nervous?" Maan heard Vicky say.

Geet didn't answer.

"Geet, what's up?" Vicky asked again.

"I don't know," Geet finally said. "I feel like I'm starting all over again at a new place with new people. Its kind of nerve racking."

"Well, you kind of are," Vicky said.

"Vick, you're not helping the situation."

Vicky laughed. "Don't worry about it! You're an amazing doctor. You'll be fine!"

"I'm not a good doctor, Vick." Geet said.

"Damn it, Geet! Get over it! It wasn't your fault, okay!"

"But -"

"I don't want to hear it," Vicky cut Geet off. "You're a great doctor. You just need to believe it."

"I don't know..."

"Just believe in yourself, Geet! Believe you can do it, and you'll be able to."

Geet smiled. "You're awesome, Vick."

"I know. Besides, that's what best friends are for, right?" Vicky said.

"Right!" Geet laughed.

"Anyways, its not like you're actually going to be taking care of patients. You're just going be ordering people around and looking through medical reports and stuff. Did I mention you're going to be ordering around people, as in people have to listen to what you say? I bet you'll have fun with that! You know, since you're the commanding sort of person..."

"Vicky! That's such a lie!" Geet raised her voice.

"Sure, you can believe that if you want to!" Vicky smiled. This was the Geet he knew.

"Vick, I'm warning you!"

"Yeah, and what are you planning on doing to me? You're on the other side of the globe. You can't even touch me if you wanted to!" Vicky teased.

"Are you doubting my capabilities?" Geet asked.

"Hey, just because I said you're an amazing doctor doesn't mean you're also super woman," Vicky said.

"Don't even try me. You'll lose," Geet retorted confidently.

"Ooh, I'm scared!" Vicky played along.

"Ha-Ha-Ha." Geet said sourly. "So...how's Ayushka?" Geet smiled slowly. She knew exactly how to get back at him.

"Wh-Who?" Vicky stumbled.

"Ayushka?" Maan suddenly said, startling Geet. She had forgotten he was still sitting next to her.

"Shhh!" she signaled to Maan.

"Ayushka?" Maan mouthed again, and Geet nodded excitedly.

"Oh come on, Vick," Geet said to Vicky, "Did you honestly think I, of all people, wouldn't know? You guys are so obvious."

"What are you talking about?" Vicky tried to steady his voice.

"You know the way you guys are always speaking through your hour long staring sessions during lunch break, oh, and how you suddenly become this amazingly kind and soft-voiced person when you're in front of her. And I think I forgot to mention how she always makes sure to check her hair right before she walks into a room you're in. Nope, not obvious at all," Geet laughed.

"Since when have you known?" Vicky asked.

"For like the past three months," Geet answered in between her laughs.

"But that's when -"

"Exactly. I've known since the beginning," Geet finished.

"Oh..."

"You can't hide anything from me, Vick."

"Well...good luck with work tomorrow!" Vicky said quickly, trying to change the topic. "Okay, bye! I'll call later then!" he said hurriedly.

"Wait! Vick!" Geet called. "Vick? You still there?" But Vicky had already hung up. Geet sat there laughing, laughing as if she hadn't laughed in a long time.

"Ayushka?" Maan said.

"Ohmygod!" Geet screamed, putting her hand over her chest and breathing hard. "Will you stop scaring me like that?" She had, again, forgotten Maan was still sitting there.

"Geet, who's Ayushka?"

"You're future sister-in-law," Geet answered simply.

"WHAT!"

"Dude, seriously, calm down. Just because you don't have a love life doesn't mean Vick can't," Geet said calmy as she pulled the ice cream carton towards her from under Maan's hands and began eating again.

"Well, I'm going to go up to my room. I have some work to do before the first day tomorrow," Geet told Maan as she got up.

"I'll take that," Maan snatched the ice cream carton out of Geet's hands.

"But -"

"Thanks," Maan smiled as he ate the ice cream Geet had spooned out for herself. "Mmmm."

"Maan!" Geet whined.

"Geet!" Maan mimicked.

"Both of you! Vick and you! Ugh!" Geet stammered.

"I know, we're amazing people," Maan said.

"Hmph," Geet stomped off.

"Ayuksha...no, it couldn't be," Maan pushed the thought out of his mind. "What are the chances of them meeting?"

Vicky put the phone down and smiled. He had heard her genuinely laugh today. She had forgotten everything and just laughed like that, and he had been able to put that smile on her face. But nothing he ever did would ever make up for what had happened that day. It wasn't his fault. He wasn't the one who was driving. But maybe he should have told her. But Geet had never asked him, and he had never told her. He would never be able to forget that day in the emergency room. For the first time in her life, Geet's hands shook and she couldn't operate anything. He would never be able to forget that day, when even he couldn't do anything to save one of his best friends and had watched him die right in front of his eyes. Never.