"I don't know Ahemji didn't even have his breakfast today. He didn't even finish his green tea. He wasn't also looking fine in the morning. Whether he would have eaten or not till now? What to do I am feeling so worried. Should I call him up...? What if he's busy in his meeting? I should not disturb him in his office and maybe he would have eaten as always. But lately he does not like outside food and gets his tiffin packed from home." Gopi was lost in thoughts in her room sitting on the sofa, after finishing her daily work.
When she could not pacify herself and quieten her mind, she reached for her cell phone kept on the table and picked it up to dial Ahem's number. But what she saw on the phone as she unlocked it made her more tensed. Ahem had given seven missed calls. Why Ahemji would have called so early? She dialled his phone but it was coming out of reach. She got real worried and didn't know what to do.
Maaji, Kaakiji and Rashiben have gone to market to buy something for the festival and I can't even call them up and give them unnecessary worries. Kanhaji please help me and give me some solution. I think I should call devarji...he definitely must be knowing something about why Ahemji called up.
"Hello ! Devarji!" Gopi dials Jigar's number.
"Hello Bhaabhi! Tell me what happened?" Jigar replies her.
"Devarji! Ahemji had called me up but I was in the kitchen so just now I saw his missed calls. Is everything alright?" she asks him hesitatingly.
"Bhaabhi I am at a site and don't know why Bhai had called you up. And I won't be going back to office till another 3-4 hours. Is anything urgent?" Jigar asks her.
"No Devarji! It's fine. You continue your work." She disconnects the call.
Ahemji must be having some urgent work so that's why he called up so many times. Gopi thinks of something and packs some fruits and food in the tiffin and tells Meethi to take care of the house. She would be coming in around 1 or 11/2 hours. And should there be any need, she could call her on her cell.
Gopi goes out of the house and takes a rickshaw and tells him to take her to Modi Group of Industries. And she reaches there in few minutes and goes to the reception. Now knowing what to say and whom to ask for Ahem, she just stands there looking confused.
"Madam! Whom do you want to see?" receptionist asked her.
"Ji! I have come to meet Ahemji. I want to see if he is okai. I mean where his cabin is?" she asks shyly and hesitatingly.
"Madam! You just sit here. I'll just inform sir. Though he doesn't meet anyone without prior appointment but I'll just check it out with him." She told Gopi to sit on the sofa. She called up Ahem's secretary Indu that someone has come to meet boss.
Indu went and knocked at his door, "Sir! Some woman has come to meet you and is waiting at the reception."
"I haven't got any such appointments today Indu." Ahem said. "What's her name?"
"Sir! I forgot to ask her name." Secretary replied.
"Okai fine, leave it!" Ahem tells her.
"Who would have come to meet me without an appointment at this hour and that too a female? He ponders hard who she might be.
There Indu calls the receptionist, "Sir is asking what's the name of the lady who has come to meet him."
Just as the receptionist is about to get up from the seat, she sees the boss coming there. "Where's that female?" Ahem asks her.
"Sir! She's sitting on the sofa." She points at a direction.
Ahem goes there and sees the person is standing with her back on him looking at some painting on the wall. Sensing someone is standing behind her, she turns around and finds her Ahemji standing there.
"Gopi! Tum! Yahaan par??? Par kaise...kya hua...? he looks confused and delighted at the same time.
"Ahemji! Woh...aapne call kiya tha...? Gopi stammers while replying
"Achchha chalo theek hai...mere cabin mein chalo." Ahem asks her to follow him. And the receptionist is smiling at what is going on.
Both enter his cabin. Ahem is silently smiling to himself and Gopi is also shy being alone with him in his office. This is the first time ever she has come there.
"Gopi!" Ahem calls out to her.
"Ji Ahemji!" She replies almost the same time as if she was waiting for him to call out her name.
"How did you come here?" he looks at her trying to get few answers.
"Ahemji, I came here by a rickshaw." She replies looking here and there.
"Hmmn...But why did you come here?" he asks her though he doesn't want to ask it and is just asking to continue the conversation.
She looks at him with a blank face not knowing what to say. "I saw your missed calls on the phone so I called you back when I came from the kitchen. But it was coming out of reach so I called Devarji and he was also not here. Nobody is at home except Meethi, so I got worried and came here." She replied in one breath.
Both continue to look happy and smile at each other. But Ahem is looking a little bit pale and tired. Gopi notices the lost colour of his face and asks him why he's looking so lost.
"Gopi! I think I am not well and my head is aching very badly. And I didn't know what to do and wasn't able to concentrate on work. So I thought to relax myself and called you ..." he finishes the sentence almost hesitatingly and sits on his chair.
Gopi is on cloud nine thinking Ahemji were missing her but then gets real worried seeing him, "Ahemji! Is everything alright? Are you okai?" she goes to him and puts her hand on his forehead.
"Ahemji! You are having high fever. And still you are working here. You please come home and take rest!" she requests him looking troubled.
"Gopi! I will be fine soon. Don't worry." He assures her .
"You haven't eaten anything since morning Ahemji." She opens her bag and gives him a bread toast and then the medicine that she had brought with her.
"Gopi ! How did you bring the medicine with you beforehand." Ahem is surprised and looks at her admiringly, thinking that he could have had the medicine in his office also but having it from his wife's hands is a different thing altogether.
"Ji! You were looking unwell in the morning so I brought it along with me in case you might need it. Now you should come home and take some rest." Gopi tells him.
"But I am okai. But there's not much work also in the office. Okai I'll come home with you." Both of them smile at each other.
A few minutes they reach home. No one is there except Meethi. Gopi tells her to cut some vegetables for salad and put rice cooker on the gas as the rest she had already done in the morning. It was around 11 o'clock.
While they are in their room, Gopi makes Ahem comfortable on the bed. His fever is not coming down at all. She brings the thermometer and puts it in his mouth. It shows 103*F. "Ahemji! I need to put water bandages on your forehead to bring down the temperature." She goes and brings a tray of ice water and a cloth bandage.
She wraps his forehead with the wet bandage and continues this till the fever comes down. Ahem observes her closely and is slowly relaxed and with the fever coming down he dozes off. When he gets up after some time, he sees Gopi is sitting on the couch reading something. For the first time, he feels how far she is from him. And realizes how she might be feeling when he sleeps on the couch every day, so close yet so far and feels sudden tinge in his heart.
At night after having dinner, when Gopi comes to the room, she sees that Ahem is reading some file on the bed. She goes to him asks him if he needs anything, "Ji! Aapko kuchh chaahiye?" "Nahin!" he says.
She goes to the couch thinking that she should sleep there today. But as she tries making the bed, he looks at her with a yearning and longing and laments having to sleep away from her. He only had made her sleep on the floor and then shifted himself to the couch. Now circle complete, he's back to bed, but she's going to sleep on the couch. But no, he won't let her do that.
He goes to her as she's making her bed and touches her shoulder. She gets scared and turns back with the pillow in her hand. The pillow falls from her hand.
He looks into her eyes and she looks back too. As if both understand what the other is feeling but no one knows how to say it to the other. He is looking so in pain remembering the past and wants her to be by his side and doesn't know how to do that.
"Gopi! You can sleep on the bed, I'll sleep on the couch." He tells her finally.
"But Ahemji, you are not fine so you won't be comfortable sleeping here." She replies meekly.
"No, I'll manage myself here. You go and sleep there." He tightens his jaws and tells her with a heavy heart.
Both of them lay down on their bed trying to fall asleep. Ahem turns his back to Gopi and starts having flashbacks of how he had treated Gopi all the while. How she had slept on the floor so many times. Even that night when she had got scared of some ghost and had slept on the bed with him, he had gone to sleep on the floor in the middle of the night seeing her there. His heart starts aching and for the first time he can't drink his tears and they well up in his eyes about to flow down. He gets very restless and disturbed. He takes a turn and notices that Gopi is not there on her bed. He gets up and goes to find her getting worried for her. He walks further and sees her sleeping on the floor. He remains there dumb-stricken and motionless. His heart is about to burst into million pieces and the hurt is unbearable seeing her sleeping there. Why did she sleep there??? He asks himself...maybe so that I can sleep on bed if I feel like... He is not able to hold himself on his legs and slumps down on the floor.
xxx
Book Talk
Bigg Boss 19
