Nothing Can Keep Us Apart
Part 84 - A new plan
Geet didn't know whether to be sad or angry. Stealing away a few minutes to herself while Priya was sleeping, she went to the garden in an attempt to calm down. The attempt was not working and after walking up and down for some time, she finally decided that she was angry with her stupid, gadha husband!
After finding out from the doctor that she was recovered enough from labor that physical relations with her husband posed no problem, Geet had felt embarrassed, nervous, but mostly excited. She had not expressed her love verbally to Maan, nor had he said anything to her, but she was sure that he felt the same love for her, that she felt for him. Having been reared in a very conservative family, she considered it to be Maan's responsibility to initiate their coming together, for which she waited anxiously.
But nothing happened. The day after Geet's appointment with the doctor, Priya came down with a cold. They followed the doctor's recommendations, but she didn't get better. When her fever spiked, Geet was terrified, and Maan insisted that they rush Priya to the hospital. The doctors found that along with her cold, she had developed an ear infection. While not life threatening and common among infants, it was important that they treat her symptoms, especially the fever.
Maan and Geet spent quite a few sleepless nights worrying over Priya. Maan refused to go into work, even when she started to improve. It wasn't until the doctor finally declared Priya 100% healthy, that Geet was able to persuade Maan to go back to the office, that too, after promising repeatedly that she would call him if there was any problem. It was only once he was gone that Geet realized they had been so preoccupied with Priya, that they hadn't taken any time for themselves.
She was too shy to come right out and say anything to Maan, but she tried to give him hints and be a little closer to him physically. When that had no impact, she concluded that maybe he was uncomfortable with physical expression in from of Priya. At least it seemed that way, when every time she came near him, he would shift his focus to Priya, speaking to her or holding her. Geet thought that maybe it was time to move their daughter to the nursery at night. She had started to sleep much longer stretches at night, and they had baby monitors, as well as the room being right next to theirs.
Maan put up a fuss at first, but eventually Geet won his agreement. It was a difficult adjustment for the new parents at first, but Priya had no troubles at all. The change worked out better than Geet imagined, except that her husband's behavior became stranger than before. As long as they were discussing anything other than themselves, everything was normal, but as soon as Geet tried to talk about their relationship or get close to him, he would change the topic or make some excuse to leave.
This morning Geet had come to the end of her patience. Making sure that she was awake when Maan went to do his morning exercise, she checked on Priya, took a quick shower, and then waited expectantly for her husband to come back to their room. Listening carefully at the bathroom door, when she heard Maan come in, she rushed out, and purposely collided with him. Out of reflex Maan's arms went around his wife, his arms touching bare skin and towel, just as his mind registered that it was Geet's wet hair that was plastered all over his face. With one arm still around Geet, the other reached up and moved her hair away from both their faces.
"I'm sorry," said Geet. "I thought you were still exercising."
Maan stared into Geet's eyes and felt himself begin to be mesmerized. He began to inch slightly closer, when he suddenly recollected himself and backed away. Stammering, he said, "I'll go check on Priya," and rushed out of the room.
Remembering that incident as she paced up and down the garden, Geet's anger continued to multiply. What was her husband doing? Why was he staying away from her? If he wasn't attracted to her, then what was she supposed to make of his behavior all those months before Priya was born? She hadn't imagined all those times he had come close to her, especially during Pari's marriage. Just remembering those times sent a shiver of desire down her spine.
Now her husband behaved as if he was a brahmachari. It made Geet so angry. It had been so hard for to gather her courage to wear that skimpy little towel in front of him. She had thought that he would at least give her a kiss or a hug. Instead, he ran away. Now what was she supposed to do?
Geet continued to pace up and down, unable to come out of her dilemma. She wished she could talk to someone, but she was too embarrassed to mention anything to Savitri, Devya, or Nandini. How did you tell an elder that your husband didn't want to come near you? Geet wished that she had a young married friend, but the only married girl she knew was Pari, and she didn't want that crazy girl to mess the situation up even more. That one person that she would go to for any problem was the person who WAS the problem.
It was in this condition that Vicky found Geet, when he came home from completing his college registration. Having only known Geet since a few days before Priya was born, he was surprised to see her so agitated. He was even more surprised to hear some of her words. "Ullu", "khotey", and "dusht danaav" were among some of the words he was able to hear in her rapid mumblings.
"Bhabi," asked Vicky cautiously, "is everything okay?"
"Vicky!" exclaimed Geet, holding her hand to her heart, as she turned around to face her devar. "You gave me a shock! Did everything go alright at the college?"
"Everything was fine, Bhabi, but don't try to divert my attention. I can tell something is bothering you. What is it?"
"No, nothing. There's nothing wrong."
"Really? I think you're not telling the truth and I should call Veerji."
"No!" cried Geet. "Don't call him. He's the problem!"
As soon as she said it out loud, Geet burst into tears. Vicky rushed over and did his best to calm her. He urged her to tell him the matter. She didn't want to at first, but Vicky was at his brotherly best, and soon got her to confess the entire problem. As Geet explained the whole thing, Vicky became more and more uncomfortable. When she angrily explained her plan of wearing only the towel and how it had flopped just that morning, Vicky complained about "too much information".
"See? I knew I shouldn't have told you anything. Just forget it." Geet started to march away, trying to wipe away her tears.
Vicky ran after her. "Bhabi, don't be like that. Please, Bhabi, I'm sorry. I want to help you."
"But what can you do, Vicky?"
"Well, maybe I can give you some suggestions. I have known Veerji longer than you, so maybe that will help. Did you tell him that you love him?"
"What?" asked Geet, shocked. "Of course not. I'm a girl, he's a boy. He should say it first."
"Bhabi, you mean to tell me that Veerji hasn't told you that he loves you, and neither have you told him the same? How did you both get married without one of you saying it? Why did you marry Veerji?"
"It was a confusing time. I'd just found out Dev was your brother and for awhile I thought Maan was involved. When I understood that he wasn't and he demanded that we marry, all I could think was that I wanted a family. I wasn't thinking about my feelings or what his might be."
Vicky shook his, and said disapprovingly, "You never should have agreed. Not without getting Veerji to admit his feelings." At Geet's confused look, Vicky explained, "Bhabi, boys have a terrible time expressing their feelings. If they can get their girl without having to say 'I love you', they'll jump at the chance. Veerji, is worse than most. Malika Mami and Damon Uncle did a number on him, to the point where he never wanted to hear love mentioned. That changed with you, Bhabi. Veerji loves you very much, even if he doesn't say it."
"If he loves me, how can he stay away from me? Maybe he doesn't find me attractive any more. Maybe he thinks I'm too fat. You know, I'm not quite as thin as I was before Priya was born. Do you think I'm attractive, or am I too fat?"
Vicky blanched at that question. What man wanted to think of his bhabi in that way? It was like considering the attractiveness of his sister. He decided to side-step the question, and deal with the underlying issue behind it.
"Bhabi, Veerji doesn't think you're fat, I'm sure of it. He loves you. Look, I'll prove it to you. I once asked Veerji who he would save first from being run over by a car, you or Nani. He didn't even have to think, he just said your name immediately. When I used to ask that question about Sameera di, he always answered Nani. This proves that your more important to him than Nani, which can only mean that he loves you more than his life."
"Sameera?" asked Geet, feeling strange to hear an unfamiliar name linked with Maan.
"You know. Veerji's fiance."
"FIANCE?" Geet's mouth dropped open, and she crossed her arms angrily. "What fiance?"
"Uh...." Vicky tried to figure out a way to salvage the situation, having realized too late that Geet didn't know anything about Sameera.
"Vicky," she said sternly, "Tell me who this Sameera is. Now!"
"Bhabi," sighed Vicky. "She's no one that you need to worry about. When Nana had a heart attack 8 years ago, and we knew that he wasn't going to survive, he asked Veerji to do two things. Look after the business, and marry his friend's granddaughter. That was Sameera di. She and Veerji only agreed to the engagement for the families. Before that they had barely talked to each other. After that Veerji had to balance college and helping Nani and Gauresh Uncle with the business. When Veerji was 20, Gauresh Uncle passed away, and it was discovered that a friend of his and Nana's had sold them a lot of inferior materials. There was a huge scandal and Khurana Constructions nearly went bankrupt. During this difficult time, Sameera di eloped with a boy from her college. The media made a big issue out of Veerji's fiance ditching him for someone else when he was having money troubles. A lot of people said that it was good that she was looking out for herself, that Veerji didn't have the capability of saving the business."
Geet had her hands to her mouth in shock at the tale Vicky told. "How could she do that to Maan?"
"Bhabi, you have to understand something. Sameera di and Veerji weren't in love. They weren't even friends, just barely acquaintances. They would see each other a few times a month, but otherwise, they had no contact. Sameera di fell in love with this neighbor guy who went to her college and they wanted to get married. Di was afraid the families wouldn't accept it, so they eloped. All this happened before the business scandal, it just happened that the families found out about it afterwards, making it seem like Sameera di ditched Veerji because of the money. She tried to explain everything to Veerji, but you know what he's like when he's angry. He wouldn't listen to anything she had to say. His opinion of women was never very high, but after that, he vowed never to trust another woman or to ever get married."
Geet didn't know how to take all these revelations, and sat down heavily on a bench. Vicky sat down beside her and said, "Bhabi, don't you see how this proves Veerji loves you? He never would have married you otherwise. He's changed completely, only because of you."
"If that's true, why is he pulling away? Why doesn't he tell me how he feels?"
"He's probably scared of something, and frankly, he hasn't had that great of a track record with women who are supposed to care for him. The only way he will confess is if we put him in a situation where he has too."
"Vicky, what do you mean? Don't be thinking of doing anything dangerous!"
"Dangerous! Oh, Bhabi, that's not what I meant. We need a plan, a very good plan and a good script. Can you cry on cue?"
"Cry on cue?"
"You know, fake cry, pretend tears, that kind of thing."
"I guess so."
"Great! That's a definite must for the script."
"Vicky, this isn't one of your plays."
"Shh! I'm thinking. We'll need a romantic atmosphere, and some sort of excuse. It's not your anniversary, so that won't work. Bhabi is your birthday sometime soon?"
"Actually, it was the week before Priya was born. I didn't remember until just now when you asked."
"Did Veerji do anything to celebrate it, or wish you?" Geet shook her head no. "I can't believe it. Veerji never forgets things like that."
Geet was quick to defend her husband. "It was a stressful time, even I forgot."
"Don't get upset, Bhabi. It's actually a perfect excuse. I'll probably need some help with the romantic stuff. M's good with things like that. I think I'll give her a call."
"M?"
"You know, M. My friend. I told you about her, didn't I?"
Geet looked at Vicky blankly, before asking, "Why do you call her M?"
"Her real name is Meera. Meera, Sameera, do you see? She moved here right after the whole elopement debacle, and the first time Veerji heard her name, he went through the roof. I started calling her M after that, and it's just become a habit. I suppose I could stop now, since I don't think that Veerji thinks about Sameera di any more."
"Vicky," said Geet sternly, "I don't want you to mention that woman's name again!"
"Who? You mean, Sa..."
Geet held up her finger, giving Vicky a warning look that reminded him all to much of his eldest brother. "Bhabi, there's no need for you to be jealous. I'm telling you that Veerji doesn't care a thing for her." With Geet's continued angry glare, Vicky conceded. "Fine. I won't mention anything. But I'm still going to give M a call. She's really smart and cool. She's the perfect person to help us."
Precap:
....
And Thanks Goes To:
Nothing this time.
Who Got There First:
Nothing this time.
Edited by laxmi2010 - 14 years ago
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