Hi guys.. Back for the weekday update... 😊
"Deepu Beta..." Deepu looked up and immediately arranged the rest of the boxes in order. She
then hurried out of the room and was hit by a running train.. Panna.
"Deepu ben.. Come downstairs. Dada and Jigar Jiju are back.." Deepu held Panna's hand and
smiled. "Yes my dear engine.. Now let us go downstairs. Why do you always run like that?"
Deepu lightly admonished to hear her reply that she was excited. Deepu smiled and went down with Panna to find the entire family in the hall.
"Ahem ke papa, did you verify the number of boxes that were delivered?" She heard Kokila
looking at a recipt. Her Kakaji was nodding yes.
"Come here beta." Hetal patted to the place next to her, inbetween her and Kokila. Deepika smiled as she sat between them both. "See here. This is the card. It looks beautiful beta.
You chose beautifully." Deepika grinned wider. The card was beautiful. She had decided along with Jigar that they would have one common card for both the engagement and the marriage.
Deepika fondly touched the card all over. It was simple with a message about friendship, love and family and inviting everyone to take part in their happiness. She had selected the
design herself and Jigar had been with her to give the order.
"Deepu, will you get the list of your friends and acquintances? We will have to start distributing the cards soon. Ahem and Gopi are coming back soon. Mota Bhai and Mota Bhabhi will also be going." Kokila asked Deepu.
"Ji Kakiji, my list is done. I will verify with Jigar and will give it to you tonight" "Right. good girl." Deepu smiled as Kokila ticked off and noted something on the list. Her Kaki was a manager alright. A very thorough one at that.
"Deeps, we will take a few ourselves. I want to distribute it to our closest friends in person." Jigar whispered as he passed her on his way back to office. Deepu nodded and smiled.
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"Pack it, It is good." Gopi pouted at Ahem. "Ahemji, you did not even see.. You just said yes." Ahem laughed embarrassed. "You know I am not very good at these things..", He explained. "Really, then how did you buy that pendant and see, these bangles? You bought them too." "Well they were for you, so all I had to do was imagine them on you and I knew.. How will I know for Sweety?" Ahem whispered in her ear as they made their way to pay for the purchase.
Gopi blushed. Of course her husband had a ready answer for all her questions..
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"Ahemji, what happened? Is something wrong?" Gopi looked at her sari and her jewels.. Then she touched her face once.
"Hmm. No. Nothing is wrong. You look.. fabulous." Ahem was finding it difficult to talk suddenly. Gopi was dressed in the sari he had gifted on the day before the trip. The red one. She looked not just beautiful but divine. Gopi had also selected to wear the pendant along with the sari and his heart filled with pride at his selection. He had been correct. The sari and jewels looked like they were made for her.
Ahem walked over to help her put on her mangalsutra. "You yourself look like a bride." He
teased and saw her blush. "The sari is very beautiful Ahemji." "Of course.. Who selected it?", he asked proudly and picked up his red sherwani. His wife had matched their outfits again..
Ahem grinned widely as he made his way to the washroom.
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"Congratulations Sweety ben. Congratulations to you too Jiju." Gopi wished as Ahem looked on
and nodded at the couple. The bride was looking on with a smile. "Gopi, I am so glad you are here on time.. And you look gorgeous.." "Ji, Ahemji gifted the sari" Gopi looked down blushing as she answered and Sweety touched her on her cheek.
"Oh.. How romantic. Hiten, learn from Mr. Modi.." She teased and Gopi blushed more and walked to a side to watch the ceremony.
The marriage ceremony started and Ahem watched as Gopi looked on fascinated. Her face depicted happiness and wonder at the ceremony in front of her. It also reflected faith and
trust in what was happening and something hurt..
Ahem saw flashes of another day when all that was happening in front of him had made no meaning to him. He saw his wife hide her face and tell him she would stay away from him.
Ahem closed his fingers tighter around Gopi's fingers. He closed his eyes and fought back
the memory.
"Ji, Lets move a little away. It seems the smoke is affecting your eyes." Ahem felt himself
pulled a little way away from the crowd and Gopi looked at him worried. He opened his eyes and gave a weak smile. Gopi seemed satisfied and he saw her look back at the ceremony and
her face again became serene..
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"Thank you Gopi. It was indeed the best moment of my life. You were so right about it. Thank you for explaining the meaning of the pheres and the mantras. They have so much to do with to do with the relation that is, a husband and wife. Thank you.." Sweety hurriedly thanked Gopi as she was being pulled towards the waiting car by her friends.
Ahem waited a couple of steps behind and listened on. Again the words caused a pain he could
not ignore.. "They have so much to do with to do with the relation that is, a husband and wife" He had never realized that before but the truth struck him hard..
He himself did not know nor did he remember much of that day. his marriage day.
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"Gopi will you marry me?" Gopi first laughed at Ahem's question but stopped when she saw how
serious he was. "Ahemji?" "Gopi,lets marry again. I want to enjoy that feeling again. I have come to realize that marrying you is the most wonderful thing that ever happened to me and I do not have a lot of memories of that day. I missed the most important day of my life due to my own stupidity. I want to correct that." Ahem explained to the puzzled Gopi.
"What Sweety just told you, the meaning of marriage, this ceremony, I want it again, for us, just us" "But Ahemji.. " Ahem intercepted her to continue, "I want to promise you and myself that we will be together at every turn, in this lifetime and all the others to come. This ceremony that
we watched today, it means so much to a husband and wife and I failed to see before. I know
this is all sudden. But let me do this for us. Please..." Gopi just nodded as both of them made way to the panditji.
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Gopi followed Ahem as he made his way around the sacred fire holding her hand. It was her turn to take the lead for the last round and she moved forward. She felt Ahem clasp her hand tighter as she passed him and continued to take the last round around the fire. The pandit was reciting the mantras that she knew by heart. She had taken them to heart and had kept each one of her promise to Ahem the day she married him.
Today her husband had gone over and beyond the boundaries of love to give her a gift she
would never forget. He had married her again and the look on his face as he sat down along with her to fill her maang with the sindoor told her that for Ahem, this moment meant more than he was letting out. She gave him a brilliant smile and bent her head a little.
Ahem took the sindoor in his hand and looked at Gopi smiling at him. He understood her happiness. But to him this moment held a lot more meaning than Gopi could ever imagine. When he saw the marriage happen the first thing his mind thought back was his own marriage. Things were blurry. He remembered doing everything mechanically. He could not even remember taking the pheres properly. But his thoughts had also taken him to the other day, a day he wished was just a dream and not reality because it had turned into a nightmare. He mind had flashed the scene when Gopi had taken back every vow she made during their marriage.
His Gopi. She had never said a word, not when he returned back from the US nor anytime after that. But he knew he had grossly wronged her that day. He now knew that he had known that
even then. He had been angry at everything and everyone after that because of that. Something had told him even then that he was wrong but he had buried that voice. He realized that he had silenced it by ignoring it in some deep corner of his heart. But it was always there. His Gopi was so tuned to him that she had and would never ever complain. But instintively he knew that he had to set it right, immediately.
Maybe his love, words and actions already made up for his mistake. But he could not ignore that nagging feeling that kept saying that he was wronging Gopi and his marriage. She deserved to have happy memories of her marriage day. He needed to remember this day fondly with ease. He had to do it for them. It was up to him to make that happy memory in place of the sadness he had put Gopi through.
His decision had been totally impulsive but when he saw her now, Ahem felt right, so right for the first time in his life. He took the sindoor out and filled her forehead lovingly. It was time for the mangalsutra and Ahem realized that there was one disadvantage of being impulsive, he did not have a mangalsutra with him.
Ahem smiled as he saw Gopi look at him and then turn to explain to the pandit about their predicament. In a split of a second he removed the chain he had worn all his life, his Dadaji's gift and hooked it around Gopi's neck. He had caught Gopi by surprise he knew. This was one piece of jewelry that he never took off. Gopi looked down at the chain and fingered it lovingly. She then looked up and smiled brilliantly again at him.
"You are now husband and wife." Both heard the pandit intonate and both stood up and bent down to get his blessings.
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"Thank you Gopi." Gopi looked up to see her husband. He did not have to say anything else. Her back was flush against Ahem's chest and he was hugging her with their fingers entwined as they watched the stars from the swing in their patio. It had been an eventful day to say the least. Gopi just smiled not wanting to break the mood. Ahem turned her around to face him as he took her face in his hands and it seemed to her that he was memorizing every feature. Then he bent down to kiss her once and went back to hugging her from her back. Both sat on the on the swing looking at the stars. Their silence was only disturbed by the fireflys and crickets in the garden.
"I will never forget this day or the time we had here. " "Hmm.." Gopi replied. It had been a wonderful day. She realized that her retaking the vows had affected her husband more than he
ever let on. He had never mentioned it and Gopi had let it go when he had come back with his love for her. His every action since then had been that of a husband. They had not talked about the black day and she avoided it fearing his guilt. She had comforted herself that the real vows were in her mind and her soul and she had retaken those in the temple mentally standing in front of her Kanhaji. She knew enough of Ahem to trust him and she had let it go. She felt that her husband the legal definition of marriage still held true above everything else and he was a practical man. He had indeed told her right after the day he returned that the she not wear the pallu and that he hated to see it on her. So she had assumed that the vows she took back did not matter anymore and this was the way he was showing it. But today he had surprised her. And like always he had given her the happiness she never imagined she would get.
"What are you thinking about? You are so silent.." Ahem broke the silence. "Ji. Nothing.. Just thinking about you.. I mean us...how happy I am and how lucky." Ahem smiled at her answer. Selfless and modest.That was who she was. She always considered herself the lucky one in their relationship. She never realized that she was the special one who had made it possible.
Ahem bent down to place his head on her shoulders just as Gopi turned. Ahem's lips brushed her cheek and both looked at each other for a micro second. That look exchanged whatever
they wanted to say to each other. Their eyes always spoke enough. Words were never needed.
Ahem bent down to kiss her on the lips. The slow kiss turned into a passionate one. Both
were disheveled and breathing hard by the time their kiss ended.
Ahem broke the kiss and looked at his wife. He got up and picked Gopi up in his hands as she
hugged him around his neck. It was always like that. A look, a touch was all they needed to
ignite the passion between them.
He went indoors and placed her on the bed and turned to close the patio door and drew the
curtains. When he turned back he saw that Gopi had moved to the centre of the bed and was
now sitting exactly like he had found her on the first night after their marriage.
Her red saree made her look divine. His bride. He was hers and she his forever. She was ooking down at her feet, he thought with a smile. Ahem walked up to her a sat in front of her. He wanted to drown in the feelings that his wife ignited, deep in the depths of his heart.
Gopi looked up when she felt Ahem raise her pallu. He silently placed it on top of her head and then framed her face with his hands. "You are the most beautiful woman I know, Gopi and I love you, for always." Gopi heard him say. Ahem kissed her on the forhead softly and drew her towards him. He felt Gopi place her head on his chest and he hugged her. These moments were precious, he knew. It felt like a lifetime before he slowly lifted her face up. Gopi felt the pallu being removed from her head. She looked into Ahem's eyes filled with love for her and awe.. All Gopi could do was hug him to her as she slowly caressed his hair. She felt his kisses first on her hands and then on her neck and by the time he captured her lips she was totally his..
"Ahemji" was the last sane thought that Gopi had before she was overcome with passion and
love.
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"Finally, I get you alone for some time.." Jigar joined Deepika at the table in the mall. Deepika was out shopping for some accessories. "Missed me?" Jigar smiled and took her hand. "Yeah, Maa and Kaki don't leave you alone for a minute. I will be glad when Gopi Bhabhi is back. Then all I have to do is give her a sign and she will rescue us.." "Hey, who told you I need rescuing? I love to spend time with Maaji and Kakiji.. Who wil want your boring company compared to theirs?" Jigar pouted playfully and hit her hand.
"Oh yeah.. Wait.. I will complain to Bhabhi about this." Jigar again pouted only to see Deepika smile cutely at him.
"Ok Jigarji.. Come on.. I was just joking.By the way, I will be glad when Bhai and Bhabhi are back. I know they needed this time alone but I am getting jitters thinking of all that has to be ready on time. Oh Jigar.. How will we manage?" Jigar nodded. "Yup. I am looking forward to tomorrow too when they return back. I need Ahem Bhai here for starters.. But I hope Bhai manages to dazzle Bhabhi at least tonight. By the looks of it he has something planned." Deepika leaned closer to Jigar and rested her head on his shoulders. Jigar knead her palms and both enjoyed the closeness of being with each other before going back to the world of time-lines and deadlines..
"Gopi, just do not turn around and keep going.. Slowly. That's it.. That's it.." Ahem let go off his hands slowly as Gopi continued cycling.. "There now you are cycling on your own"
"Ahemji, I am going on my own.. I ...AWWW.." Ahem looked on paralyzed as he saw Gopi fall down.
To be continued...
There.. Done for today.. Please let me know your comments and Feedback and G'Nite😛
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