Chapter 22: Some rain must fall...
One week later
Anjali walked into Aadit's office with a basket. "Surprise!"
she said gaily, smiling at him.
"Anju! What a lovely surprise!" said Aadit, looking up from
his laptop. He walked to her and put his arms around her. He bent his head and
kissed her thoroughly. "Aadit! Stop it. It's your office. Anyone can walk in at
any moment." She said when he pulled away.
"I don't care. Let the whole world see!" said Aadit, putting
one arm around her waist as they walked to his desk.
"Chotey! What are you doing here," said Anjali suddenly,
turning to the door. Aadit pulled away from her real quick. He turned to the
door, panicking. There was nobody there. Then he turned an exasperated look at
Anjali. "That was below the belt Anju. You're going to pay for that," he said
as she sat on the chair opposite him.
"I couldn't help it. You're so afraid of Chotey. And you
were being so alpha male and territorial there that I just had to. I love
seeing you all flustered," she laughed.
"You wait! I know a very good way to get you all flustered,"
said Aadit leaning in towards her. She swatted him away. "Behave!" she said, "I
bought us lunch." She opened the basket she had bought to reveal some neatly
packed boxes. They ate the sandwiches she had bought companionably. For dessert
she she'd bought gulab jamuns that she'd made herself. He insisted that she
feed him the gulab jamuns, so she picked one up in a spoon and held it out to
him.
"Not like that! With your hands," he said.
"Aadit. My hands will get all sticky," she said.
"Never fear. I'll lick all the syrup off!" he said, winking
at her.
"When you put it that way!" she dipped her fingers into the
box and held out one gulab jamun to his mouth. He ate it in a single gulp.
"You are such a pig. Eat it in parts or you'll choke," she
complained.
"Next one please, he commanded," not appearing to pay much
attention to her instructions. She held the second one out to him. This time he
bit into one half as she'd commanded. He was licking the juice off her fingers
as promised, when Anjali looked up and suddenly said, "Chotey!"
"I'm not falling for that one again Anju!" said Aadit, as he
recommenced his licking. She pulled her fingers out of his mouth. "No really,
it's Chotey!" she said, turning red.
Aadit didn't even bother to turn around. "Yes, right. And
I'm Shah Rukh Khan. Try me another baby!" He pulled her close and tried to kiss
her. She pushed him away and turned his head around. ASR stood at the door
looking livid.
"A-A-A-SR! Oh! Hi there. S-s-sorry. Didn't see you.
Anj-Anj-Anjali and I were just having lunch together," he stammered.
"OK. Shah Rukh. I've had enough of your K-K-K-K-Kiran impersonation,"
said ASR, decimating Aadit with a single glare.
"Have you finished your lunch Di?" he asked, his meaning
obvious.
"Yes. Yes, I have. And very nice lunch it was too. Dessert
was the best part." Said Anjali, laughing at her uptight brother and her
petrified Boyfriend. "I'll be going now," she smiled at Aadit, patting him on
the hand gently. "You remember the rules Chotey! No touching him!" she warned,
glaring at ASR as she walked out.
ASR waited till her footsteps receded down the hallway before
walking towards Aadit menacingly. "If I ever see your mouth on her fingers
again, I may just have to kill you," he said quietly.
"Actually, her fingers were in my mouth. There's a
difference," said Aadit who liked to get the nuances of the situation right.
ASR turned purple with rage. "OK. Look. My Di is dating you.
What she sees in you, I don't know. Whatever. I have to put up with you. What I
don't need to see, is you kiss'gross, I can't even say it. Anyways, what I
don't need to see is the physical demonstration of your errr...passion," said
ASR tighly. "Gottit?"
"Umm. Yeah. Gottit!" said Aadit, swallowing uncomfortably.
He just couldn't catch a break with ASR, he thought sadly. "ASR must think I
spend all my time jumping his sister. God!" he groaned, as he mentally reviewed
all the incidents so far. First, there'd been the "footsie fiasco", then the
"spiderman crawl" gone wrong and now this. "The case of the foolish fingers." Aadit sighed heavily and went back to
work.
ASR marched into Freddy's office. "That fool Aadit is always
around my sister, touching her and doing er'things to her!" he exclaimed. "If I
ever catch him doing anything like that again I may have to murder him and feed
his remains to the dogs."
Freddy looked up from his work. "How can I help?" he asked,
raising an eyebrow.
"You're his friend, right? Tell him to lay off my Di!"
"As far as I can tell, Di seems to like it," said Freddy
smiling. "In any case, I have other things on my mind today," he said dismissively.
"What? Is your dog depressed again?" asked ASR, snorting.
"No, you fool. Minnie's not in today. And she's not picking
up her phone. Nigel called to say Nita's sick again. Really sick. Minnie's made
an appointment with the pediatrician this evening," Said Freddy seriously.
"Damn! What do you think is wrong with the child?" asked
ASR, looking concerned.
"I don't know. And I don't want to speculate. Maybe she does
just have the flu. In any case, nothing we can do till she sees the doctor."
"Why didn't she tell me? I told her I know a really good
doctor. He would've come home to see Nita," Said ASR looking exasperated.
"ASR! She didn't tell anyone. Not even me or Aadit. She just
took the day off. I only know because of Nigel. When she withdraws into her shell
like this, it's not a good sign. Last time this happened, she was trying to get
custody of Sheila and having a rough time. She told no one until the ordeal was
done with," said Freddy.
ASR sighed. "How do you help someone who doesn't want your
help?" he asked Freddy despondently.
"Well, there's a sonnet by John Milton called On his
Blindness that's apt for such situations. It ends with the beautiful lines,
"They also serve, who only stand and wait" said Freddy somberly.
"Meaning?"
"Meaning we just have to be there for her. Unobstrusively.
And when she needs us, she'll call out to us. And if she doesn't, we'll just
wait there. Watching over her and her children and loving them as best as we
can" finished Freddy softly.
"You really love her, don't you?" asked ASR.
"Well. Nobody else can put up with cranky old Freddy like
Min can. Anyway, I will drop by her place later tonight. You want to go?" he
asked.
"Yes. Absolutely." Said ASR. He had seen Khushi only at work
the last one week. She'd seemed preoccupied and he didn't want to ask her out
when she was distracted. So he'd been very casual with her, and she'd
reciprocated. He wanted to see her and the children. He wanted to help her. Be
there for her. But you couldn't help someone who pushed you away when the going
got tough. This was going to be hard, he mused.
Khushi waited distractedly at the doctor's office. She'd
been very worried since the last episode of fever that Nita had had. She hadn't
seemed to throw it off completely. She'd been lethargic and cranky all week.
Her temperature was normal most of the time, but she didn't want to play at
all. She seemed exhausted and pale. It wasn't like Nita at all. She was always
bursting with energy. The doctor had taken a look at Nita and run a few tests.
He hadn't said much but he'd looked grave and pointed out a few pin-point
hemorrhages under Nita's skin on her arms. Almost like a rash. They were called
"petechiae" he explained. He said she looked anemic and wanted to run some
routine blood tests before he could venture an opinion. He had however said,
that he didn't think it was merely the flu. She was waiting for the results.
He'd had the lab rush them through quickly.
"Mrs.Gupta?" called the doctor.
"It's Ms.Gupta, doctor. Are the results back? What is it?"
asked Khushi standing up quickly. Nita had fallen asleep again and Khushi had
put her in the stroller.
"Step inside Ms.Gupta," said the doctor, holding open the
door for her. He was a nice man, about 50 years old. He'd come highly recommended
from a friend of Khushi's. Khushi walked in nervously, pushing the stroller.
After she sat down on the chair he pulled out for her, he spoke. "Ms.Gupta,
Nita's white blood counts are off the charts. She'a also anemic, so her red
cell counts are very low. But that's not the most worrisome thing. Her white
counts are of great concern, Ms.Gupta. I am doing a blood smear and we should
have the pathologist read it and give us a report soon. Also, I want to do a
bone marrow biopsy. She has an enlarged spleen. That, coupled with the white
cell counts and the little hemorrhages I showed you under her skin suggest that
she might have Leukemia." He finished, looking at her seriously.
"Leukemia. You mean like Cancer?" asked Khushi, panicking.
Her heart was suddenly beating very, very fast.
"Leukemia is a form of Cancer Ms.Gupta, yes. But we need to
make sure that it is in fact leukemia first. For that, I'll need to do a bone
marrow biopsy. Also, if it turns out to be Leukemia, it is likely what we call
ALL or acute lymphoblastic leukemia. It has a very good prognosis in children
her age." He finished. "We can start treatment immediately. I know a very good
pediatric oncologist."
"Are you sure it's not just the flu? We just came here from
London you know. It could just be the change in weather. She's usually so
energetic and she has been eating well since she got here. Maybe it's just the
loss of appetite? She can't have cancer. She just can't. She is 18 months old.
She can't have cancer. She's my baby!" Khushi said hysterically. She looked at
Nita, sleeping peacefully. The thought that Cancer might be gnawing at her
baby's insides was sickening. She could not accept it. Would not accept it.
The doctor looked at her sympathetically. "I know Ms.Gupta.
It's a shock. Is there someone you can call who will take you home? You
shouldn't be driving in this state. And I promise you, we will do everything we
can for Nita. There's no need for pessimism. I have every rreason to believe
that if she has ALL, she will respond very well to therapy." Khushi heard the
words, they washed over her. But they made no sense. Her baby was sick. It's
all she could grasp. Her baby might have Cancer. It was too much to take. She
pulled herself together with difficulty.
"No. I'm not driving. There's a chauffeur waiting with the
car. Thanks for asking. You will call me as soon as you hear from the
pathologist?" she asked the doctor quietly, squaring her shoulders as if
preparing for battle.
"Of course Ms.Gupta. And we'll schedule the biopsy as soon
as I see the report." He said.
Khushi left the office quickly, pushing the stroller
jerkily. She wanted to get home before she lost her composure completely. Nigel
was waiting anxiously for her at home. She told him what the doctor said quietly.
Her face was wan, but her eyes were dry. Nigel on the other hand, reacted by
bursting into tears. He loved Nita like she was his own child. He had been her
nanny for a year now. He was devastated. Poor Sheila didn't understand what was
happening and looked scared. Khushi put Nita in Nigel's lap and took Sheila
upstairs to read her a story before she slept. It was almost her bedtime. When
she came down 30 minutes later, Nigel was sitting on the couch in the living
room, Nita still lying in his lap. He'd stopped crying, but his eyes were red
and swollen. He kept brushing his hands through her hair lightly. Khushi looked
at him silently. "Better bring her a bottle. I don't think she's going to eat
anything solid tonight," she said. Nigel put Nita on the couch securely and
covered her up, before getting up to bring her bottle. He was in the kitchen
when the bell rang. Khushi went to answer it. Freddy and ASR stood there, a
question in their eyes. She ushered them in, and they all sat down in the
living room.
"How's Nita?" asked Freddy, looking at Khushi sharply.
"She's sleeping. She's OK. Just tired," Said Khushi,
smoothing a hand over Nita's forehead.
"What did the doctor say? Is it the flu or has she picked up
some bug in India?" asked ASR.
"She might have Leukemia." Said Khushi flatly. Freddy shot a
swift glance at ASR, before he looked at Khushi. ASR looked stunned. And
Khushi, she was devastated. In spite of her rigid control, he knew she was
devastated. Freddy went and sat next to her, and pressed her hand with his. She
leaned into him and spoke in a voice that he barely recognized as hers.
"What am I going to Freddy? What am I going to do? She's
only a baby. She can't have Cancer. Babies aren't supposed to get Cancer. She
can't die. She won't die, will she?" she looked at Freddy wildly.
"Shhh. Minnie. We'll get her the best treatment possible. We
can fly back to the UK tomorrow if you like. I know some really good doctors
back home. We'll take care of her. I won't let her die." He said fiercely, his
voice breaking a little.
"ASR. We may need to postpone the project for the moment.
Nita's health is the most important thing for now," said Freddy, looking at
ASR.
"Absolutely. Don't worry about it. Let's get Nita all better
first. Pretty clothes can wait. And Khushi, if you need anything at all, just
ask," Said ASR. Khushi nodded at him silently. ASR's mind was racing. Nita was
sick. Really sick. Khushi would probably be leaving very soon with her
children. Back to the UK. He wouldn't see her anymore. He knew he was being selfish,
but he couldn't help it. He wanted to be with Khushi. To help her through all
this. To see her everyday. To be there when Nita recovered. And there was no
doubt in his mind that she would recover. She had to. For her mothers' sake.
For his sake. He realized how much he felt for this child he barely knew.
Nigel walked in with Nita's bottle. He picked her up and
took her upstairs. Freddy went with him. He wanted a quiet chat with Nigel
after they gave Nita her bottle and tucked her in.
"I'm here for you Khushi, you know that right?" asked ASR,
once he was alone with Khushi.
"I know," She nodded. "It's just so hard ASR. I can't lose
her. I just can't. The last time I lost something that precious, I survived.
This time, I won't make it. Without her, I'll die." She said, the tears she'd
been holding back, now running down her cheeks silently. He pulled her into an
embrace, and held her close.
"She will make it. You will make it. We will make it." he
said, his voice filled with quiet assurance. She smiled a watery smile at him
through her tears, "Thanks Arnav," she said.
OK...Don't kill me for doing this. But the story had to move along. Sorry! Bring on the abuses for killing the mood. Oh, and I just realized...this FF is 1 month old today. So, happy 1 month anniversary to everyone who's been reading from the start😊. Not a very happy chapter, I know. But it had to happen.
Edited by madmaxine - 12 years ago
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