Chapter 6
Manchanda Estates, 5:00 p.m.
Vancouver, Canada
The Manchanda family was quite well known in the city of West Vancouver. They had done well in the real estate business which had been booming since the last few years. They lived in one of their spectacular waterfront estates which had breathtaking view of north-westerly ocean and island as well as mountain views of Howe Sound and its inner islands. The wedding was going to be held on the grounds of the estate itself. Since the groom's family was coming from India, Mr. Manchanda had ensured that the entire family and their closest friends stayed on the estate itself.
A Mercedes was waiting for Maan as soon as he landed at the YVR airport. Maan was glad that it was only 5:10 p.m. in Vancouver, since it being three hours behind Toronto time. Maan was sharing his room with Aditya since he was feeling the pre-wedding jitters. Maan and Aditya were good friends from college days. Aditya was aware that Maan preferred to avoid any topics related to emotions, yet at the same time he knew that Maan would be there for him and be his strongest support system during this time.
Just as he entered his room, Aditya gave him a big hug and said, "Tum aa gaye, I am so glad you are finally here". Maan hugged him back saying, "Main kaise nahi aata Adi, sorry mujhe der ho gayi, tumhe to pata hi hai I had to finish that Sharma case."
"Koi baat nahin Maan, main jaanta huin. I am very happy you are here. Do you know Kunal bhi aa gaya hai? He came two days ago." Adi replied.
Maan responded, "Haan jaanta huin, Dadima ne bata diya tha. I am glad that Kunal was able to come a bit earlier. At least you had some company.
Aacha Adi, are you still nervous?" Maan asked.
Haan yaar, main bahut nervous huin, pata nahin parso kya hoga. I do not even know what to do Maan. Meri pehli dafah hi to shaadi ho rahi hai." Adi spoke while running his fingers through his hair.
Maan replied, " Adi please do not worry. It is normal to feel this way. Everything will be all right."
Adi sighed and replied, "I hope so Maan, I hope so."
Maan quickly settled down, had a quick snack and got ready to help out Kunal with the bachelor's party preparations. Kunal worked with Maan and Aditya at their firm in India. Later on, the three had become good friends.
Aditya did not want to have any bachelor party but Maan and Kunal had convinced him to have one for himself. Aditya had made it clear that he did not want a lascivious bachelor party for himself and therefore they had decided to make it simple for him. They planned to go to an exotic lounge called Ginger 62. It was just going to be a few guys hanging out and drinking moderately. Pinky had asked three of her male cousins to join Aditya, Maan and Kunal at Ginger 62, because she did not want them to feel left out. Therefore, three of Pinky's cousins were going to join them later on at 9:00 p.m.
Manchanda Mansion, Vancouver
7:45 p.m.
In one of the bedrooms beside Pinky's, Shona was getting ready to go to the airport to pick up Geet. Shona was Geet's close friend from Toronto. She was as close to Geet as a family member can be with an individual. Geet had met Shona a few years ago and as time progressed they had become best friends. Geet was actually looking for someone to share her condo and during that time Shona had come along because she was looking for a place to rent. Geet and Shona had built rapport instantaneously and now they considered each other as family. Shona had managed to take time off from work and had reached Vancouver a few days earlier than Geet. She got along with Pinky and her family quite well.
Just as Shona was getting out of her room, Pinky's mother Mili called out, "Shona beta, tum abhi yahin par ho. Jaldi karo. Kahin der na ho jaye."
Auntyji, I was just leaving for airport. Do not worry; I will reach there in time." Shona replied.
"Ok beta, be careful. The driver is waiting outside". Mili aunty mentioned.
Shona hurriedly went outside and saw a black Mercedes waiting with a guy standing beside it. The driver seemed like a typical Punjabi guy.. she thought with a turban and all.
"Eh Hello Driver! Hurry up. I need to get to the airport. " she spoke in a authoritative voice and sat in the rear seat of the Mercedes. The driver looked at the well dressed girl in red boots with an irriated frown sitting in the car.
She missed the confused expression on the driver's face because she was busy fumbling with her purse as she trying to find something from within.
The driver opened the door and sat inside the car. He looked at the keys and murmured a silent thank you to God and punched Vancouver International airport into the GPS. The GPS came up with the directions and he silently drove towards the airport.
While driving, the driver fixed his rear view mirror and secretly glanced at the girl sitting in the back seat. She was quite sexy he thought. She had long black hair, a petite figure, dark blue slimming jeans and a white dressy top with red belt and red boots.
He cleared his throat and asked her, "Hi, which terminal are we doing to?"
She annoying replied back to him and said, "Terminal 2, and drive the car while looking at the front instead of glancing in the mirror."
His face turned red and he concentrated on his driving until they reached the airport. "Park the car into the arrivals section." she ordered.
He replied to her saying, "Yes, Mam".
It was 8: 17 p.m. when she entered the arrivals area in the terminal. She impatiently tapped her foot eagerly waiting for Geet to arrive. She turned and looked at the driver and noticed that he was quite handsome. He was about 6 feet tall and looked kind of cute in his turban. Too bad she thought..."He is a driver."
She had missed her lunch earlier that day and was really hungry and was looking around to see if there was a cafe nearby. She could not wait any longer and decided to grab something to eat. Just as she was about to walk in the other direction a thought came to her mind and she stopped.
"Listen." she called out to the driver.
"Yes, Mam." once again he replied.
"My girlfriend will be coming through that door soon. I am going to grab something to eat, in the meantime keep an eye out for her." she told him.
"Umm'sure. But I do not know her name or what she looks like" he fumbled to reply.
"Ms. Handa is her name. Let me see if I have a picture of her on my phone." she said.
Unfortunately, she did not have any pictures on her phone because she had to recently reset her phone. "I do not have any picture on my phone. She is about 5'7 with straight black hair, petite and is Indian." she told him.
"Do not worry; I will be back in few minutes." saying this she walked away.
The driver put his hand on his forehead with irritation and said to himself, "How will I know who Ms. Handa is?"
He had a carrying case with him and he looked thought it and found a white sheet of paper and marker. In neat writing he wrote, "Handa Madamji".
Holding the sign he waited by the doors for the arrival of the guest. He kept looking back to see if the girl in the red boots was back or not, but he could not see her anywhere.
Just when he was about to turn around he heard someone saying, "Excuse me".
He saw a beautiful girl staring at him and then curiously looking at the sign in his hand. He looked at her and noticed that she was Indian, about 5"7 with straight black hair. He replied back to her saying, "Yes."
She spoke to him in a questioning tone, "This sign?"
He replied back to her, "Yes, I am waiting for Ms. Handa. Are you by any chance her?"
She replied back with annoyance, "Yes, I am Ms. Handa." She wondered to herself, since when did she had become "Madamji"
She paused for a moment and spoke again, "Why does it say Handa Madamji though?"
He replied to her and said, "Hamare Punjab mein to aise hi kehte hai jee. By the way myself Happy Singh." Saying this he extended his hand towards her for a handshake.
Guys, I apologize for any errors.
I had mentioned that Maneet will be meeting in this update, unfortunately they will not be meeting till the next update. Please bear with me.
Hope you like this update. Please press the LIKE button and do COMMENT.
Edited by Water. - 14 years ago
Ishaani
33