FF-Tum Kaun Ho (Chapters45-70) - Page 79

Tum Kaun Ho?

A Maaneet Fan Fic

Chapter 67
June 3, 2011 9:00 am

Maan and Geet sat side by side on a couch in the drawing room, looking very much like little children ready to be scolded. Each where thinking of how they ended up in this situation. When JD had brought his surprise breakfast, they were very surprised. So surprised that they were unable to do much more than sputter incoherently when asked about Maan's presence in Geet's room.

Even as JD remarked that he would have made breakfast for Maan too, if he knew he was there, Naintara was glancing around the room. Her sharp eyes took in everything from the blanket and pillow on the couch, to the fact that Maan was only in his undershirt and sweatpants. Maan tried to explain that he had just been wishing Geet good morning, but the smirk on Naintara's face clearly said she didn't buy that explanation.

Once JD and Naintara had seen them together, it wasn't long before Dadi found out. To avoid giving explanations when Dadi confronted them, Maan had pleaded work, and Geet gave the excuse of taking JD to school. That was unacceptable to Dadi. Chelsea was informed that Maan was unavailable until further notice, and Naintara was given the task of seeing JD to school. That left Geet and Maan to be interrogated by Dadi, who was currently standing in front of them, looking very stern.

"I want to hear the truth, with no attempt at flimsy excuses. Maan, have you been staying the night in Geet's room?"

"Dadi..."

"Have you been staying the night in Geet's room?"

"Yes."

"For how long?" When Maan and Geet glanced at each other, as though trying to silently decided what to stay, Dadi's ire shot up.

"Geet, how long as Maan been staying the night in your room?"

Geet looked at Dadi a little fearfully, before looking down and answering in a small voice, "Since the shooting."

"I see," came the hard response.

"Dadi, I don't see what the big deal is. I've just been sleeping on the couch, it's not like we were sleeping together or anything."

"Well, Maan, there was that one time after the kidnapping. You weren't on the couch then."

Maan glared at Geet, whispering harshly, "Geet, what was the need to say anything about that? It's not like anything happened, not with JD there."

With Maan and Geet busy looking at each other, they failed to see the smile appear on Dadi's face. Taking this as the perfect opportunity to tease them, she schooled her features carefully and exclaimed in a shocked voice, "JD was there?"

The two lovers looked back towards Dadi, and seeing her shocked face, realized how their conversation might sound. Geet tried to set things straight. "No, Dadi, you are misunderstanding, I mean it's not like what it sounds..."

"Oh, I think I understand perfectly. It's clear that I have been much too lax with you two. Staying together before marriage! That might be something I would expect from you, Maan, but Geet?"

"Dadi, I..."

"I don't want to hear any explanation. From now on, you two will follow my rules, and I mean complete obedience. From today, Maan you are no longer allowed to set even one foot in Geet's room." When the two tried to protest, Dadi cut them off. "If you do, I will have no hesitation in sending Geet out of the mansion before the wedding. No more objections? Good! Now, we only have a month before the rasams start. So, beginning from today, Geet is on leave of absence from the office. She will spend the day time hours with Naintara and me, preparing for the wedding. Now, I don't want to hear any protests. Chelsea has been working here long enough that she can handle things. There is a lot to get done in this month, and Geet needs to be on had to make selections and state her preferences. So, Maan, you go to your office and Geet, you come with me. We need to select the wedding card designs."

Before either could respond properly, Dadi had grabbed Geet's hand and pulled her up from the couch. As they walked out of the room, Geet glanced back forlornly at Maan, who stood angrily with his hands on his hips.

June 3, 2011 9:20 am

"One one problem is resolved, another one begins. Why is everyone behind me and Geet. First Sameera, then Naintara's mother, and now it's Dadi keeping us separated. And what did the great MSK do? Nothing! Absolutely helpless against your own grandmother, Maan. Pathetic. But what to do? I can't go against her. It's all Naintara's fault. Why did she have to help JD make breakfast, and then tell Dadi we were both in Geet's room that early. Come on, think Maan. How to get around this problem?"

June 3, 2011 9:30 am

Naintara walked through the various halls of the mansion, Meenal happily gurgling in her arms, in search of Dadi. She found her and Geet in the sunroom, where Dadi was explaining that they would have much better light in which to go through the wedding card samples. The designer was also with them, and pulled out a large assortment for Geet to look over.

"Dadi, I don't feel right choosing a card without asking Maan what he thinks. Let me just take some of these to show him, okay?" Geet grabbed a handful of cards and tried making her escape, but Dadi forestalled her.

"Maan, will like whatever you chose, of that I'm sure. You just sit right back down here young lady. If I let you go off now, I won't' see you for the rest of the day. We have too much to get done for me to let you go."

Naintara laughed silently at Geet's pout at not being able to escape. It looked like Dadi had already implemented her plan to have a little fun with the two soon-to-be newlyweds. When Naintara had told her what she saw that morning, Dadi had immediately decided it was too good an opportunity to pass up. Until the wedding was finished, she intended to keep them from meeting as much as possible, knowing that it would make her grandson go crazy.

Thinking of Maan, Naintara wondered how he was taking the turn of events. She went off towards his office in search of the man in question, but before she went a few steps in that direction, she saw him through a window, behaving in what she could only describe as a sneaky manner. Intrigued, she decided to find out what he was up to. Quietly making her way outside, she observed Maan from afar.

She saw him standing with his hands on his hips, his face clearly showing his concentration. She saw him look up at the second floor, then all around the back of the mansion, before looking back up to the second floor. She tried to see what held his interest, and when she pointed her gaze in the direction of his, she saw a familiar looking curtain in a window. So that was it!

"Veerji, fancy meeting you out here this morning."

"Naintara," said Maan, not sounding too happy to hear her voice.

"If you're thinking about sneaking into Geet's room through the window, I wouldn't. There's no way to climb up there without a ladder, and I wouldn't be at all surprised if Dadi has Nakul standing out here at night on guard with a flashlight."

"This is all your fault! Why did you have to say anything to Dadi?"

"Oh, Meenal, don't look at Taya. He's looking so mean at Mommy right now, you will cry if you see." Naintara could not stop the smirk that appeared on her face at Maan's frustration.

"What Dadi is doing is not fair. Geet and I are finally getting married after overcoming how many hurdles, and now Dadi wants to keep us apart. You should be on our side."

"Why? If you were living in India, you wouldn't be allowed to meet before marriage anyway, so I don't see why it should make a difference to me."

"Ha, ha, ha, very funny, Naintara. I may not know that much about India, but I know enough to know that plenty of young couples meet before marriage. Regardless, this is America, not India, so I think the whole thing is ridiculous."

"Well, what do you want me to do about it? Go tell Dadi that she's being an ancient, annoying meddler?"

"Of course not. I want you to support Geet, who you claim is your best friend, and find some way for us to spend time together, a way that Dadi will agree to."

"I'll think about it. By the way, Veerji. Where are you taking Geet for your honeymoon?"

Wrapped up in solving the problem of meeting Geet, Maan had difficulty getting his mind to shift topics. "Honeymoon?" he echoed in a very distracted manner.

"OMG, Veerji! You haven't planned the honeymoon? This is the most important part of the wedding process, that part which is entirely in your hands, and you have done nothing? My respect for the great MSK has forever been damaged."

"Look, I've had a tough couple of weeks. I'll get around to arranging the honeymoon. You just worry about sorting out Dadi." Maan left in a huff, to exasperated by the whole situation.

When he was gone, she looked down at the precious little girl currently trying to eat her necklace, and asked, "What do you think, my little jewel, should I help Taya and Tayi? It might be interesting. I'll be like a double agent. Helping Dadi on one side, Veerji and Geet on the other. A wedding isn't a wedding until the fun and teasing starts."

June 3, 2011 10:00 am

"Naintara might come up with something, but you can't rely on that Maan. I'm not even sure she's trustworthy. After all, she was the one who spilled the beans to Dadi. I need to come up with something else, something that Dadi can't control or stop."

Tum Kaun Ho?

A Maaneet Fan Fic

Chapter 68
June 3, 2011 11:40 am

"Dadi, this is definitely my favorite. I want this one."

"You're sure? It's kind of plain."

"But the shape is so interesting, and it's entirely red. Red is my favorite color. It will look so pretty with gold lettering."

"Alright, Geet, if that's your choice. We'll have some demo's made up and see what they look like. Can you do that?"

"Yes, Mrs. Khurana, I can make some mockups and print them with my portable printer," replied the designer. "In fact, I can make some different variations of styles and positioning of the words, to see if you have a preference."

"That would be wonderful. Now, Geet, we need to go over the guest list. I have what I used for the save-the-date cards, but we both need to look it over and see if it's complete. Also, we have to decide who on the list we will be inviting for the Mehendi."

June 3, 2011 6:10 pm

Dinner was by far the most difficult that Geet had ever experienced. Never in her life had she had such a hard time getting her food eaten. The worst part was, she could do nothing to to make things easier for herself. If she exposed Maan to Dadi, the cause of all her problems, then Dadi was sure to keep them apart even more than she planned.

So, Geet had to put up with the footsie that Maan was playing with her, not that she had a problem with that. It was just that his feet tended to wonder up her leg at unexpected times, the unbelievably erotic sensations creating havoc with her senses. There was also the hand holding to deal with.

Soon into the meal, Maan caught Geet's left hand with his right, and wouldn't let go, no matter what Geet did. This made eating difficult, as Geet was left handed, and also not very adept at eating with only one hand. The annoying man then proceeded to switch the his hands so that he could comfortably eat with his right hand. When Geet tried do you the same thing, Maan wouldn't let her, holding her hand even more tightly. In the end, Geet just had to deal with things as best as she could, in order not to draw attention to what her naughty fiance was doing.

Maan and Geet were fairly wrapped up in each other, so they didn't notice Naintara and Dadi's reactions to their behavior. When ever one of them caught the couple staring at each other, the head nods and smiles toward that end of the table increased dramatically. In fact, Naintara really had to force herself to concentrate on feeding Meenal, to keep her from laughing out loud. JD was fairly oblivious to what was going on with the grown ups. All he knew was that GT didn't scold him even once for playing with his food, something that he took big advantage of.

Near the end of dinner, Nakul came saying a package had arrived for Chote Saab. Packages didn't usually come that late, so the others were curious about what it was. Maan didn't say anything, except for Nakul to place the package in his office. After desert, Maan excused himself, saying that he had some work to finish. Before he left, he gave Geet a look that said he wanted to see her later.

June 3, 2011 9:49 pm

"This Geet! What am I going to do with her? She knew I wanted to see her alone, but she couldn't think of any excuse to get away from those two female Hitlers. I mean, I know she would want to spend time with JD, that's not the problem, but once he was asleep she should have found some way to escape."

Maan thought for a moment, then decided just to call her. It took less than a minute to hear her, "Hello. Maan why are you calling me?"

"Geet, are you alone?"

"Maan! What are you asking?"

Maan could tell from Geet's tone that she thought he had asked the question for "naughty reasons", as she would describe it. However, he had no time to put up with her acting, so he sternly said, "Geet, answer the question."

"Yes."

"In your room?"

"Maaan!"

"Geeet!"

"Yes, I'm in my room, but..."

"Geet I want you to look at your phone right now."

Geet had no idea why Maan was telling her to do such a thing when they were taking on the phone already, but she did as requested. "Maan, what is this?" she asked, seeing a message with the words Maan would like to FaceTime.

"Press the accept and you'll see." Geet did so, and within a second, Maan's face was on her phone smiling at her.

"So, Geet, what do you think? Even if Dadi wants to keep me from 'setting foot' in your room, we can still see each other at night and talk."

"Maan, this is great! How come you never called me like this before?"

"Because, my phone was an iPhone 3G. It didn't have FaceTime capability."

"So, how did you get it to work now?"

"What do you that package was that came this evening. I ordered myself and iPhone 4. That's why I wanted to meet you after dinner, so I could explain. I don't think there's any way we'll be able to get around Dadi's order, but if you ever have another nightmare, or just want to talk, you can call me using FaceTime, and it will be just like I'm with you."

"Maan, you did all this, just so that I wouldn't feel scared?" Geet tried to hold back the tears that threatened with the thought that Maan would do anything to be with her and see her taken care of.

"Geet, this is nothing. I love you. If it is within my power, I will do anything to see you happy. Now, tell me. Where do you want to go for a honeymoon?"

"Honeymoon?"

"Yeah, honeymoon. You know, when the bride and groom finally get to go away from the crazy family and spend some time together, just the two of them."

Geet blushed at the way Maan was looking at her. Even on the little iPhone screen, he could flash that bedroom eyes look and make her knees go weak. She could tell just which part of the "honeymoon" he was looking forward to.

"Now, Geet, I don't want you to tell me specific places. I just want you to give me an idea of what you would like to see and do while on honeymoon. I will arrange everything, but I want it to be a surprise."

"A surprise, huh? Well, I wouldn't mind traveling out of the country. I've never been anywhere but Wisconsin and Chicago, you know, so any place different will be nice. Seeing the ocean would be wonderful, but I don't want to go on a cruise. I like to explore nature. Oh, and it would be so fun to take JD with us."

"What!" exclaimed Maan, sitting straight up from his reclining position he was in on the bed. "Geet, we are not taking JD with us on our honeymoon!" he practically screamed into the phone.

"But Maan..." Maan instantly calmed down at Geet's hurt tone.

"Geet, I know you love JD. I love him too, but there is no way I will agree to take my six year old nephew along on my honeymoon." Seeing Geet' pout, he continued, "We can go on a trip with just us and JD after the honeymoon, but he is definitely not coming with us, no one is. I want at least a week alone with my Mishti. That is going to be my reward for putting up with all this wedding nonsense that Dadi and Naintara are doing."

Tum Kaun Ho?

A Maaneet Fan Fic

Chapter 69
June 6, 2011 8:20 am

"Adi, I'm pregnant, not dying."

"Pinky, please don't mention anything to do with death. I'm nervous enough as it is."

"All I mean is that pregnancy is a perfectly normal condition. You don't have to be so anxious all the time."

Adi ignored his wife, proceeding to make sure she had her prenatal vitamins and phone in her purse. He wouldn't leave until he had made sure that Geet had his cell phone number, his work number, and their gynecologist's number. At that point Pinky, who felt perfectly capable of supplying any one of those numbers if needed, shoved the overprotective papa out the mansion's front door, yelling that he would be late for work. She slammed the door in his face, as Geet and Naintara laughed.

"It's not funny! I was hoping to have three kids, but if this behavior of Adi's is what I have to look forward to, one is it."

"Maybe you'll have triplets," suggested Naintara.

"Nope. We've had all the normal scans and there's just one baby in there."

"Have you felt the baby kicking?" asked Geet.

"A little," replied Pinky as Geet put her hand on her friends gently swelling stomach, trying to see if she could feel anything. "I think the baby is sleeping right now."

Geet was disappointed not to feel any baby kicks, but then she brightened when she remembered something. "Pinky, I wanted to personally give you your and Adi's invitation."

The three women went into the drawing room, Geet heading over to an antique desk that was the home of all the invitations meant to be personally delivered. She looked through the box of alphabetized cards until she found the one she wanted. Pulling it out she turned excitedly and handed it to Pinky, who took it and started to open it.

"GT, GT, I want breakfast!"

"Oh, are you finally up JD?" asked Naintara. "You sure were a sleepyhead today."

"Tayi, school is done, so now I can sleep later, GT said. Anyway, I want to eat food now, I'm hungry."

"Well, GT is going to do wedding things with Aunt Pinky, so how about I get your breakfast today?"

JD frowned and said obstinately, "No, I want GT to make me breakfast. GT make me breakfast!"

"Okay, JD, I need you to calm down and ask nicely please," said Geet firmly as Naintara and Pinky smiled JD's behavior. Even when he was being difficult, he was just about the most adorable thing.

"GT, will you make me breakfast please?" asked JD more reasonably.

"Yes I will. Now, say sorry to Tayi for the way you spoke to her."

JD looked at Naintara a little sheepishly and said, "I'm sorry, Tayi. I wasn't trying to be mean to you."

"That's alright, JD, you're forgiven," said Naintara, giving him a little hug. "I know you like it when GT does things for you."

June 6, 2011 8:32 am

With JD happily eating away his cereal and drinking his orange juice, it was time to get down to business. Pinky finally opened the invitation and commented on how beautiful it was. Pinky reminisced a bit about her own wedding, getting a little emotional due to her pregnancy hormones. Dadi came in while the women were talking, please that Pinky was there.

"I'm so glad you came Pinky. Now that you're here, Naintara can concentrate more on keeping Maan away."

"That's a little odd. Why would you want to keep the groom away from his own wedding?"

"It's not the wedding we want to keep him away from, it's Geet," explained Dadi.

"But why?"

Naintara leaned over to whisper in Pinky's ear. She explained all the details of how Geet and Maan were caught together and Dadi's reaction. Pinky laughed heartily, even more so when she saw the embarrassment on her friend's face. She couldn't keep from teasing Geet, commenting that she never would have expected such behavior from her.

"It's not Geet we have to worry about, it's Maan. Even during the day, when he should be busy himself, all he does is try to find new ways to meat her behind my back, or sneak away with her. If this keeps up, nothing for this wedding will get done. That is why I want you to work with Geet as much as possible to finalize all the decisions, while I make sure that Maan doesn't get in the way. Will you help me?"

"Of course, Dadi, but you're not going to be able to keep them apart all the time."

"What do you mean, Pinky?"

"Well, you're having a Sangeet, right? They'll have to work with a choreographer for the dances, won't they?"

"What did I say?" asked Pinky when she saw everyone making faces.

"I completely forgot about getting a choreographer," complained Dadi.

"Don't worry, I'll help with that," assured Pinky. "Hey, Geet. Does Maan know that you were part of the Bollywood Dance Club at University?"

"No, I never mentioned it."

"Well, I think you should plan a surprise for him. Come here." When Geet was close, Pinky whispered something in her ear that immediately had Geet shaking her head no.

"Oh, come on, Geet, it would be great. You'll wow everyone."

"But Pinky, I have done that kind of dance for a couple years, plus I'm no where near the level needed to pull it off. Anyway, don't you think that song might be over used?"

"Geet, you're one of the best dancers I've ever seen. I'm sure you can do it. Anyway, who cares if the song's been used before or not. It's your wedding, you can do what you want."

June 6, 2011 6:09 pm

"What's knew with the wedding plans?" asked Maan, less with more of an air of acceptance than interest. Dadi had really done her job quite well, and beyond the video phoning, he had virtually no opportunities to be alone with his fiance.

"Pinky was here today and she helped pick songs for the Sangeet and a choreographer. We decided to hire Bollywood Rhythms. One of their instructors will be our choreographer. In fact, we have an appointment on Wednesday at 10:00 am for our first private class." Geet said all this with great enthusiasm, but Maan's reaction didn't match.

"No way! I don't want to have anything to do with anything Bollywood. Can you imagine me trying to do Bangra?" Maan shuddered, knowing that Indian dancing just wasn't his thing.

Before Dadi or Geet could say anything, Naintara had kicked Maan under the table and given him a look. "Veerji, this is Geet's wedding, and if she wants this company to do the choreography, then they will." When Maan just stared at her, she mouthed, "Trust me."

Maan couldn't figure out what Naintara was on about, but he looked over at Geet and saw the frown on her face. "Geet, do you really want to work with these people?" A nod. "Alright then."

June 6, 2011 7:04 pm

"Okay, Naintara bhabhi," said Maan, emphasizing the bhabhi as he cornered Naintara who was giving Meenal a bath, "what is going on in your devious brain? Why did you want me to agree to the Bollywood place?"

"Veerji, Bollywood Rhythms is located in Naperville. You were the one who wanted me to find a way for you and Geet to spend time together. Naperville is more than an hour away. Just imagine you and Geet alone for four hours a day, all in the name of wedding dance practice."

"Four hours a day?"

"Well, only on the days you have instruction. But it will also give you an excuse to spend time alone at home, as you'll have to practice together. Don't you think it's a good idea?"

"A good idea? Of course it's a good idea, it's a great idea! Meenal, your mom is so smart!" Maan pulled Meenal's cheek as he said that, which caused the little girl to squeal in delight and splash water on her uncle in return.

"Of course I'm smart," responded Naintara, controlling her laughter as Maan sputtered and wiped his wet face. "How could you think otherwise?"

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