Pablo's Muse#2 - AR Part 35(Completed) Sept.1 Pg 51

Pablo's Muse aka Random Moments

Part XVI

A few hours ago

The entire Sanjivani camp was there except the Dean who had excused himself on account of an important surgery, fair enough. But that also meant there was no awkward meeting between the two fathers, which was kind of anti-climatic. Yep, Armaan's Dad was there, even though there were hardly any words spoken between the father-son duo, it was obvious he clearly knew a lot about art. However, neither Armaan nor Riddhima could have foreseen what actually happened. Mia, his Spanish ex had chosen the most inopportune moment to make her re-entry and also claim her fifteen minutes of fame. That had set the tongues wagging at the hospital about Dr. Armaan ..." Mia only helped cement his colorful image.

"You can't blame anyone, given your own*cough* colorful past..." Riddhima paused intentionally before concluding with, "... PABLO"

"Colorful is hardly the word ... but please ..." he took his hands of the steering wheel, "Don't remind me of her, I've even sworn off Spain after that episode" Armaan was bringing out his theatrical best alright!

"Are you sure about that...I've seen that painting in your studio you know, what is that called anyway twisted reality?" And she wasn't done yet, "And now she shows up mysteriously...wooo"Riddhima garnished it with all the proper sound effects and hand gestures, " Ria, Dia now Mia..I wonder who's next?"

"Haven't you heard of the saying.." he inched closer, " keep your friends close and enemies' closer?"

"Enemies? The one who christened your studio hardly qualifies as the enemy Armaan....puhleezee"

"There really wasn't a lot of thinking involved back then you know, just the thrill of being young...and when she called me Pablo..you can't even imagine how it fed the wannabe artist's ego! Sadly, that was the only good thing she ever did. How the hell was I supposed to know I was going to get a taste of my own..err..umm..that she was just using me.. she may have been dumb but she was a damn good.." he checked himself on time much to her chargin. "My illusions about her were shattered the moment she told me Pablo was an Italian..so much for that.."

"And what do you do instead immortalize her with the most striking painting that welcomes every visitor to your studio .." says a lot doesn't it. May be your dislike is pretence..just admit it Dr.Malik"

"Say what?" he turned to her and sniffed the air, " Smells awfully like jealousy in here...I have an idea" she could tell he was up to something by the way his eyes lit up "Why not make an even more provoking portrait of you Riddihma...an artistic renaissance in all its BARE glory..." He cocked his eyebrows before blatantly pausing at her appropriate curves to drive the point home, "only I wouldn't want to put it on display!"

"Oh please! I don't get jealous of random women" Riddhima opened the window to let the sea breeze into the car, the night was beautiful, just perfect for this drive they were taking; and also to distract herself from his blatant overtures.

"Really?...what about Dia then? You telling me, you weren't even a tad jealous or even Nj when you saw the picture of the two of us? Two good looking people always brings in fair amount of speculation...just admit it, you ARE possessive" he was adamant, "and a bad liar?"

"Oh please" She hated how he had managed to steer the conversation back to her insecurities! It had been a mistake to even hint to him about the hospital gossip. After their talk that night, he had been teasing her endlessly making her ponder whether brutal honesty was a good idea after all!

"So does this silence mean you are actually contemplating the renaissance... bare glory Riddhima?" he absolutely loved riling her up like this, especially given her immediate responses.

"Absolutely not...don't even think about it" Was her quick response, renaissance bare glory reminded her of only one thing, and one thing alone - there was no way in hell; he was ever going to know about that particular dream. He found it hard to focus on the road when her lips curved into a surreptitious smile and eyes twinkled with a mischievous glint, he would have done anything to read her mind at that moment. The curiosity only got worse when a moment later, she turned away from him in a desperate attempt to avoid his scrutiny.

"Riddhima!?" He stopped the car on the side of the road, and forced her to look at him, their eyes locked in a mischievous duet, "What! Keep driving Armaan"

Nope.

Instead, he was intent on simply starring at her, with a smug expression that told her he wasn't convinced with any of her explanations so far. "I can stay here till morning Riddhima...absolutely no rush" he warned her, then moments later, confessed a little, "not bad, with you here ..." not a bad deal at all" and smirked, he was elated, sort of, and confused, a little relieved ..." or just a bunch of those emotions all entangled evoking a new elation, "Until you tell me why exactly, we are not going anywhere..." he mused, and put the song on repeat mode.

"Are you talking to yourself?" Armaan didn't answer right away, there was just a little nod, and a hint of those dimples almost like he was celebrating a victory already, which of course she didn't want to grant to him, "I am getting late you know" and glanced at her watch, it was just a pretence of course.

"Yeah, midnight's come and gone...Cinderella's awfully late sweetheart...by some forty minutes...I reckon...no use complaining" Naturally that warranted a long glare, "really? That's the best you've got?"

Both of them refused to budge, it was all playful not some acrid tense standoff, and for a change they were both enjoying the moment, given how rare it was and that some semblance of normalcy seemed to be returning in their lives after that drought of sorts; this was a rare novelty in the realm of love, and love there was plenty of ..." the night was witness to that.

After an unrelenting silence that seemed to stretch forever ..." she gave up, "Fine!"

"Fine what?" It was just the start; there was no way he was going to let her get away with just a fine. "You know" words weren't there though, it was like trying to salvage something from a void,"you know..." and when she realized he wasn't going to stop unless she owed up with something convincing she took the easier route, "Fine, I may have been a tad...uncomfortable...with the whole idea" carefully steered cleared of the word jealous, he wasn't giving up yet, "I'm sorry, I don't get it...what?" And made it a point to turn the music down.

"Ugh! Fine you big bully, it was a little ...you know..." he made that face" I admit, I may have been a little presumptions in my mind, and that's as far as I'm going. I had no clue who this Dia was, and there you were making dinner plans with her...what the hell was I supposed to think of. Here's a guy who flirts with me then goes ahead and makes dinner plans with somebody else. Have you seen the way some women look at you? Makes me want to smack their heads!" She had no idea what she had just rattled off.

"Wow this is news alright" He loved every bit of it, "And this was before we got together? We're not even dealing with Mia here...wooh"

"Sort of" only honesty was going to work here she realized. "Sure I was uncomfortable...but ever since we've been together, I've never doubted you Armaan, I honestly felt that you had your reasons for keeping things from me, and I respect you enough to give you that space. Sure, it may have been a little uncomfortable at times...but isn't that human?... That aside, when random chicks show up claiming to be close to you, am I bothered? hell yes I am. There, Happy?"

He was at a loss of words and could only muster a quick smile; he loved her even more when she got annoyed.

"Armaan!?"

"I guess, it was partly my fault too, I should have told you everything sooner but every time I thought about it, nothing seemed as important...significant than the present, which was blissfully peaceful than anything I'd experienced in a while. So I was just being selfish, I didn't feel like going back and revisiting things. I'm sorry, I really am and I really appreciate you being upfront...the simple we keep things the better for our sake. Thank you!"

She nodded in approval.

By now their fingers were intertwined in sinewy curves, "I guess we're both new at this relationship thing...Armaan" and instinctively they brought their heads closer. They had missed this proximity, and the intimacy. Riddhima couldn't but close her eyes, as he brought her hand to his lips, and spoke with the deepest baritone that made her spine tingle, "So does that mean the break's over?...and " his eyes wavered a little, between her eyes and her lips, "And what?" she tried to push him away playfully but he was in no mood to let go, "just..." he brought her closer, as if that was possible, and whispered huskily in her ears, "bare renaissance glory in ..."

"So this is how you wooed your models?"

He smiled, "nope...this is how..." and kissed her. He broke off momentarily and whispered to her,"and it works every time!" A flushed Riddhima just kissed him back, there was no arguing with that.

They were interrupted by car honks, "Armaan...I really need to get home..." The word home was a mood spoiler of sorts though because it instantly brought back fears they'd pushed at the back of their minds; thoughts of home, their respective fathers and their shared past that threatened to sink their ship even before it left the dock. They did not need this complication, he naturally recoiled, she sensed an immediate withdrawal from him "We can't get away from the past can we Armaan...may be we are fighting a losing battle?" But both of them were determined not to let it play dampener to a beautiful evening.

"As long as we're together... it's got to be one step at a time" his words were reassuring, "for now, let's get you home" He didn't mind a tad bit when she leaned in on him, it felt right just like the silence they drove in for a while before he called out her name, "Riddhima..."

"hmmm?"

"Do you think you can be drunk on love?" these cryptic words didn't make much sense to her,not that she cared, "Armaan?" He smiled contently at her puzzlement, " love you"

"Me too" She snuggled even closer and in that moment, all her worries ceased to be even if it was just for that one moment, nothing else mattered. This was them trying to woo back normalcy after the revelations of the last few days that seriously threatened to derail their relationship.

"I think it's time we came out with the truth about us" Armaan dropped a bombshell but before she could respond, as an antithesis to the moment, everything happened so fast, that they didn't know what hit them, literally. It took a while but when it was over, there were no more voices, just the night and one ugly mess.

~~~~

Early morning, day of the exhibition

"When I saw you that day at the Gallery, you left an impression mostly because you totally thrashed me and partly because you totally didn't recognize yourself, it was cute" he smiled, " I don't believe in destiny but it was weird...how we kept bumping into each other... you were the last person I was expecting to meet at Sanjivani that first day. I remember going home thinking, what are the chances of that happening? It was absurd"

Riddhima lay in bed going over his words, going over the few hours they had just spent together, arranging his art work, having dinner under the night sky and then his sudden revelation about Dia. In the end, it was much to do about nothing; Dia was his friend, a single mom of a child diagnosed with Leukemia. Armaan had been raising funds for her treatment ever since he had landed in Mumbai. It seemed so simple now that she knew the truth, there was ugly truth waiting to rear its head nor repeats of dramatic movie scenarios, there was no third angle, in fact, in this case, it didn't even involve her. If anything, she was proud of him.

He didn't let her speak, for the longest time, it was just him pouring out his thoughts, "I walked out of that impromptu trauma room that had been set up in the airport all dazed and saw concerned families reunited with their loved ones. That's when it hit me you know, I didn't know you could be alone in a crowd - and I didn't like it at all. That's when I saw them, Mini bent over her mother, who lay on the sidewalk in desperate need of first aid. She was lucky there were so many medical personnel there that night...but that moment...and everything that happened that night made me see things differently. And I was able to take stock of my aimless wandering, maybe I finally grew up. May be I was just being selfish but helping them was the most intoxicating drug that I've ever come across. Suddenly, it was almost as if a big weight had been lifted off me. That picture of yours - that something in your eyes ..." felt like a mirror to my soul because for a second there just like you, I didn't want to let go. I think I actually feared death... but there was nothing worth fighting for, suddenly all the aimless nothings had no meaning"

"My fear of turning into my father had turned me into something even worse...but you can't blame others, I've realised only I am accountable for my actions... Mini was diagnosed with Leukemia a few weeks later ..."she was all Dia had, it didn't seem fair and neither were they in a position financially to bear the expenses of a medical treatment. That's when I offered to help her raise money for Mini's treatment. It was no selfless act though, it's probably the most selfish thing I've ever done in my life because it made me feel good about myself..."

"See... you are not your father Armaan..."

"May be not...but there is more similarity than you think. You know what this key leads to?" he took out a key from his pocket.

"The key?" she didn't quite follow.

"The key to the farmhouse ..." it's full of paintings that Dad made. I never knew he painted until I chanced upon that place years ago. I guess that must have been his sanctuary. They think I don't know, but I've seen his work ..." and the angst that they hold, it's not a place I'd like to go back to because it brings back all the memories of when things fell apart for us as a family. It was a side of him, we never knew existed...but with everything that's happened, I think we've gone beyond the point of reconciliation. Is there even a point to any of that now? I don't know honestly. I think we're all better off in our own spaces" He conceded.

"Armaan...Can I ask you something?" She carried on despite her hesitation, "What happened... that everything fell apart?" there was more she wanted to tell him, about his dad, her brother and her wild theory about why his father rebuked him, and she had to start somewhere. This was not a pleasant topic, but had to be tread upon at some point.

"It was the unfortunate death...accident... Riddhima" and she had no clue he knew, " Dad didn't elaborate much but I reckon, it was his failure to save your brother that killed something in him, he was never the same after that night and just kept on drifting away from us, his friends, from the hospital...and for a long time from himself. He ceased to be a father from that day and I guess, it was inevitable that mom lost her patience. Everything makes so much more sense but it's too late...it took me too long to piece everything together" There was a sense of resignation in his words, "Everything has changed"

"You knew?" She had not seen this coming.

"He told me that night when I went over his place demanding answers...and some things I found out after some snooping around at the Hospital Archives Section. He felt guilty for something which was not his fault ..." the same guilt that kept him away from me...what are the chances that we'd have this common past Riddhima?"

She didn't know what to say, on one hand she was relieved that she didn't have to break that news to him or try and explain but on the other hand, she wasn't sure she was ready to hear what he was going to say next. Her silence alarmed him, an uneasy Armaan took hold of her hands, and asked her earnestly, "I don't know how to mend those fences Riddhima but I do know that I love you like I've loved no one before, but this truth does change a lot of things...I'm always going to be his son"

"Armaan...I know the truth" He wasn't paying attention to her words, he carried on, "And your Dad will never...I don't know, if certain wounds can ever heal Riddhima. I fear, some wounds leave behind scars that never really heal. Now I know why your Dad hates me so much...I'm always going to be his son, and nothing will change that" She had never seen him so dejected,"Armaan...I know the truth" he kept avoiding eye-contact, until the implication of her words sunk in, "Wait...what?"

"Dad told me ...and once he did...everything changed. You think it was easy for me to stay away from you but nothing made sense"

"Is that why you went into a shell, holy shit! The break!?" He got up from the bench. Riddhima jumped up and held his face, forcing him to look at her, "NO, No... Armaan, you're getting it all wrong! I realized" her voice faltered a little, " Realized that I was going to have to make a choice..." between the two men that mean the most to me in the world. What the hell is that supposed to mean? ... I kept trying to find a middle ground...to make sense of everything but..." that's when she could no longer hold her tears back, "I didn't know what to do" Having said that, she slumped back on the chair, "I don't know how to fix this"

"Middle ground?" Armaan hadn't seen her so shaken, "I don't see how..."

"Are you giving up on us Armaan?" he could only stare at her, "If yes, then please walk away now..."

"Is that what you want?"

"I don't know what the future holds Armaan...but none of this changes how I feel about you. I can't run away from myself"

It wasn't an option for him either so he sat down beside her. They didn't say anything for the longest time; it was Armaan who broke the ice "Middle ground...is that like Middle Earth?" Only he could think of such strange metaphors, and make her smile. They both realized, this was their reality but it certainly made things easier when there was someone to lean on. Riddhima looked at him said, "Have you invited your Dad to the exhibition?"

"No"

"May be that's got to change"

~~~~~

Now

She came running to the waiting room; stopped at the threshold to catch her breath, the general gloom was eerily infectious. She slowly walked up to him who stood leaning against the window sill, tired, dazed and unshaven, and whispered quietly, "How are they now?"

He just shook his head.

Part 27 - 08/16/11 - Pg 8 (Recap Page 9)

~~~~~

I want to Thank all my readers for the response to this FF, never thought I'd be starting a second thread for PM. So here's a big 🤗 to you all.

I haven't responded to the awesome comments on the previous thread because I told myself that I would do so once I posted an update! Cheers!!! now I can finally get there😃. As usual, you guys know the drill, comments are always welcomee!! 😛

I'll be sending out PMs to only those who commented or liked the previous update because I don't have a PM list for PM anymore...jst let me know...

A

hey do continuee and add me to our buddy list and plz pm me the part when ever you update
love
ria

Congratulations on the new thread Aria! 😊

Whoop...second thread of Pablos...congratulations Aria! I am making myself right at home...:)

for new thread





UPDATE SOON

Thanks a lot guys :)

R! for Future! 😉

<edit>

Love is blind, and how it's always seen from others perspective vs your own. There's a trick to giving a closure, it always beings with the vision to recognize when a life stage or a relationship is over or yet to really begin, thus letting go! It means leaving what's over without denying its validity or its past importance to our lives. It involves a sense of future, a belief that every exit line is an entry, that we are moving up, rather than out! Armaan and Riddhima has finally moved ahead instead of going back, e.g. growing up is a pain! The much needed closure between Armaan and Ridhima was finally put to a rest. :)

I await for the moment when a father gives to his son, both laugh and when a son gives to his father, both cry!

Great Update!

hey that was the gr8 part
do continuee soon
love ria