***Part 17***
It was late at night and Virat got home very tired. He walked into the room and collapsed on the bed. Manvi walked in and looked at him feeling sorry. But, she had to tell him about what she had been upto else it will be too late.
Her brain suddenly lit up and her eyes sparkled with a brilliant idea. She went back and came with a cup of coffee. She placed it on the table and sat beside Virat massaging his head affectionately. Virat smiled without opening his eyes and slid into her lap. "Hi sweetheart" he whispered.
"I got you coffee." She said.
He smiled again "kya baat hai, bada pyaar araha hai apne pati par aaj?"
"Pyaar toh hameesha hota hai, bas tum hote nahi ho ghar par." She complained.
"Accha?" he kissed her hand.
"Aur nahi toh kya. Tumhari pyaaari biwi kuch bhi kar sakti hai tume khush karne ke liye."
"kuch bhi????"
"kuch bhi...you just have to snap your fingers." she showed snapping her fingers.
Virat got up and looked at her with raised eyebrows. Manvi smiled extra-sweetly and gave him coffee. He took a sip looking at her, trying to read her mind."oook. Abhi yeh natak bandh karo aur bolo kya chahiye? makkan kyu laga rahi ho?"
"makkan laga rahi hu?"
Virat folded his hands and looked at her with a straight face, waiting for her to spill it out.
" Viraaat, woh..."
"Virat woh kya?
"Maine ma ko bol diya hai ki tum unke saath shaadi par ja rahe ho. She was so happy, so happy, you will not believe the excitement in her face. Please Virat, take a leave for two days. For me, for mom, please. Tum chaho, toh main bhi chalungi saath main."
His mom had asked him earlier in the day if he could accompany her for the marriage of her niece. The daughter of her only sister who is settled in Goa.
"Manvi, did you even ask me before telling mom. I had already told her on the phone that I am busy all week, why did you have to interfere? Go to mom right now and tell her that it is not possible." He got up angrily.
"Virat, but mom never asks for anything. How can you do this to her the one time she asks you something."
"Manvi, please, I had a long day. I do not want to talk about this now."
"But, you need to plan everything and have to start tomorrow if you want to make it to the wedding."
"I am not going Manvi. I know about my responsibilities very well. I have already made arrangements for her to go. I have told Ma that I am busy and she should go with someone else. She is fine with it, why are you getting so hyper?"
"Because Ma has cancelled her trip."
"What? But why? Someone else can go with her. One of our busy chachis can go for godsakes."
"That's not the point. Ma wanted to go with her family, to visit her sister's family after such a long time. It's a family reunion Virat. Jiju and Di cannot go, they are almost nearing the delivery date. That's the only reason she asked you and you refuse to even look at your schedule."
"Arrrgh. Who told you I did not look at my schedule. Manvi, I have a packed week ahead. Dr. Bakshi is coming from Delhi to give a lecture in the city. I am supposed to host him. I have my calendar filled with surgeries that I am scrubbing in, and so many post-ops to follow-up on." "Manvi, mom didn't even give me a fair warning. The wedding is day after and she told me today morning."
"WHAT? That is ridiculous.You know what, all these things you telling me about will always be there. You can get a substitute. Your cousin will not get married again."
"Estranged cousin" he corrected. "I bloody have never ever met her in my whole life and you expect me to drop everything and rush to her wedding."
"Virat!!!!!! This is for you mom. She wants to go. She didn't expect that they will invite her after everything. They did, but she is not very comfortable going alone, but she thinks she should. Tum rahoge to unhe achha lagega."
Virat closed his eyes and took a deep breath "Manvi! I am dead-tired. I am going to take a shower. Mujhe aur nahi baat karni hai iske bare main. Me and bhai have already talked about it."
"Ok. Fine. If you won't go, I will go. I will inform mom and come." she threatened. She knew he would not let her go in her current state.
Virat drew his eye-brows together with his hand in frustration. He let out a deep breath. "You know what, jao tum. Har baat pe zid, har baat pe argument, pak gaya hu. All you care about is you and what you want. You don't even care a tiny bit about what I am wrapped up in and what I want. Mere career aur mere future ke bare main bhi kabhi socha karo Manvi, mar nahi jaogi."
"Virat, that's not fair, I only wanted Ma..."
"Enough, not a word more about this." He stopped her. His tone were rough and angry and just left without looking at her.
Tears rolled out off her eyes. She knew he wasn't talking about this issue alone. She stood by the window in deep thought. She had never ever felt like her behavior would trouble another person, but looking at the frustration on his face, she was forced to re-think. Is she as childish as he always complains her to be?
"Manvi, chalo, lets have dinner" she heard Virat after a few minutes.
She followed him silently and did not utter a word during dinner. She even ate everything in her plate to Virat's surprise. She looked at mom who smiled back lovingly.
Later, in their room, Virat tried talking to her about other things but she couldn't think about anything else. She was hurt. Not hurt by him but hurt by her realization. She realized for the first time that her behavior, attitude and opinions seemed suffocating to her husband. He felt frustrated and tied down because of her. He was doing things that he normally would never have done. Only because of her.
What changes did she make for him? She couldn't think of a single thing. She still was doing exactly what she wants, exactly what her heart dictates.That was an eye-opener. He was changing himself, for her, to make her happy. How is this going to affect their relationship? He was extremely happy with himself until she came along. What it, somewhere down the line, he realizes that he hates the person he is turning into? What if, he holds her responsible for this and would not want to have anything to do with her?
"Good night Virat." she said and slept silently.
Virat couldn't see the sadness in her eyes. He shouldn't have said all those things. He was taking out all his previous frustrations on her. He chose to be with her; he chose that there was nothing more important than her. Then what right he did have to complain and whine about the consequences of his choices. He knew that Manvi was very different than him. He had now reached a point where he couldn't even imagine his life without her. As much as he tried not to blame her, he couldn't help think about his life without all these extra responsibilities and commitments.
~~~
Next morning, Virat woke her up really early. "Manvi!! Utto."
"Virat??? What's wrong? Nind nahi ara rahi hai kya??"
"Nahi, chalo, Ma is waiting, we are both taking her to Goa."
"What??"
"Yes, Rahul said he will cover for me. chalo, we don't have a lot of time, get ready and pack everything."
"Virat, I am sorry, I didn't realize I was troubling you.."
"Later, right now, let's leave ASAP..chalo chalo."
Manvi looked at Virat hurriedly getting ready and packing his stuff. She didn't know if she should be happy for this or be sad for the impending doom.
They reached Goa by afternoon and attended the sangeet, haldi and the dinner that evening. Vanshika Ma was so happy to see her sister and her family along with her father and brother. It so happened that a long time ago, her dad was against her marriage with Virat's dad and so he had disowned her and cut all connections with her, up until now. Now, he was very old and sick and wanted to leave the world on a happy note. So, he had called up his estranged daughter and invited her to his grand-daughter's wedding after more than three decades.
She met everyone after such a long time and proudly introduced her doctor son and daughter-in-law to everyone. Her eyes had a never seen before spark in them. She was happy, very happy.
~~~
Next morning, Virat slept-in blissfully in their cottage by the ocean. It was almost nine when he woke up. His mom stayed back, catching up with her sister and helping her with the marriage arrangements. The wedding was in the evening that day.
"Manvi!" he yelled sleepily. She was nowhere in the room. His eyes suddenly popped open wide remembering the one thing he didn't look forward to at all- morning sickness. Arghhh. "Manvi!!!!" he yelled at the top of his voice. No reply. He jumped out of the bed and went out looking for her worried.
Their cottage had a beautiful beach view from its porch. He went out expecting Manvi to be sitting in a corner moody and morose. To his utmost surprise, he walked into a totally different environment. A cool pleasant breeze was blowing through the open windows with an amazing view of sunrise over water. He was surprised to hear his own voice emanating from the speakers in full volume. He had recorded this song for Manvi, one of Manvi's all time favorites, especially for her, on Valentine's day.
His pregnant sulky wife was nowhere to be seen. He saw a sexy girl in his white dress shirt from yesterday night and his tracks, tapping her feet, singing along, immersed in the music and making breakfast.
Girl, you got me trippin' on sun-shine
God knows you just made my day
Since you came around, no, I just can't slow down, no
I wanna see you walking my way, yeah.
He was standing behind her and she didn't notice, she was totally in the groove, dancing around with her eyes closed, her hair messily being tossed around. She was searching for something in the cabinets. Virat sat with his elbows on the counter, his face in his palms, thoroughly enjoying the sight, smiling and grinning at her silliness. Maybe this pregnancy thing is not so bad, he though, she gets extremely depressed, no doubt, but she also gets extremely happy.
Girl, you got me thinking 'bout diamonds
Getting down on one knee may be two
People may stop and stare, but I don't even care, no
Just as long as I am with you, yeah
Manvi turned around to find Virat smiling and running his fingers through his hair, without taking his eyes off her. She cried out "Virat?!?!?" and stopped dancing, hiding her face in her hands. He yelled back, not to stop. But the music was so loud that they couldn't hear each other. He got up and stopped her from switching off the music. He took her hand in his, swirling her around gently.
You got me running on sun-shine
Ain't no clouds getting in my way
I must be running on sun-shine
Ain't no rain getting in my way.
He smoothly pulled her really close, her both feet on his, softly swaying to the beats, switching onto either sides slowly. The music was fading off into the back-ground as they were looked in each other's eyes passionately. He lifted her up, holding her waist, to sit on the counter, her legs twined around his frame. "For godsakes Manvi, you are pregnant, do I need to remind you?" he whispered in her ears, his hand skimming down her body and holding her hand. He kissed the knuckles of her fingers.
Manvi closed her eyes and smiled. "I don't want to worry about anything today Virat, it's so beautiful, I just want to be happy and be with you all day." She beamed putting her arms around him and hugged him tightly with a big smile.
"Umm...You are making it very difficult for me to control myself." He said looking at her, his gaze very intense, his hands stroking her back.
She moved her hands away and looked down, blushing. "I want to go to the beach. Do we have time?" She asked coyly.
"This counter looks pretty appealing to me." he smiled. He pulled her closer into him, grabbing her thighs, off the counter, so that she had to tighten her legs around him for balance. He kissed her lips softly. He looked at her. He definitely didn't want to do anything she wasn't comfortable with. She blushed sweetly, putting her one hand around his neck and the other on his shoulder, looked away smiling. "Jeez Manvi!! you are driving me crazy." he carried her inside into the bed room.
He carefully put her on the bed, softly kissing her neck and unbuttoning her shirt. He looked at Manvi "Are you okay?" he asked.
"yes." She replied.
"Ohh baby, you look so beautiful. I don't think I can ever get enough of you." He said looking at her smitten. He continued singing the song covering her in his soft kisses. The images in the room soon changed from sweet and beautiful to that of intense desire and passion.
~~~
Manvi curled upto his side. Her face was a deep red color and she was blushing and looking at her hands. "You should sing more often Virat, it's so full of love and emotions. You are a man of many talents." She said softly.
Virat kissed her gently "It's all you Manvi, I feel like singing to you. You are one beautiful woman." He smiled making her stomach twist in spirals. How can one be so aloof sometimes and also so passionate ? Manvi pulled the sheets over her and sat up. She looked at Virat in deep thought.
"What are you thinking about?" she asked.
"Manvi, I have never seen Ma so happy."
"She is happy to see her old folks Virat and she is happy to have proved them all wrong. They thought she made a mistake by marrying your dad. They insulted her. You are the result of her happy marriage" "She was proudly show-casing you." She giggled. What does a mother want more than having a son like you."
"A son who didn't understand her simple request." Virat said disappointed.
"Viraaat??"
"I wouldn't have come if it was not for you Manvi. I can be so emotionally stunted sometimes, why couldn't I understand how important this was for her?"
"We get so busy with the hustle and bustle of our daily struggles that we sometimes ignore these small happinesses."
Virat got up and sat before her, he cupped her face "I glad I have you to remind me." he said.
"...and I am glad I have you to remind me about the larger goals in life." She smirked.
"Are you mocking me?" he asked playfully.
"No Dr. Vadhera. I wouldn't dare."
"Ah, its so sexy when you call me Dr. Vadhera..."
Virat observed she was lost in deep thought now. "What are you thinking about?" he asked.
"Virat, I don't want to change you. I don't want you to do anything you don't want to do. I know how much your career means to you. I know my stubbornness in some issues affects you. It is going to be hard, but I will try more flexible."
"Manvi, all I know is being with you makes me happy. And I just cannot see you sad. You are so precious to me. Yes, you are very difficult sometimes but I don't think I want you to change at the same time. I love everything about you." he smiled widely.
"You are very confusing Virat. You like me the way I am, but again you all always trying to argue me out of my convinctions."
"I know. It is confusing." was all he could say.
~~~
They made a quick detour to the beach and attending the wedding with Vanshika ma.
During the wedding ceremony, Virat looked at her mother and hugged her from behind. "I am sorry, I made such a fuss about coming here mom, but I am so glad I did. Otherwise, I would have missed out on seeing this sweet smile on your face and all this happiness in your eyes. I love you so much mom." Virats words make his mom's eyes fill up and she hugged him and blessed him.
Manvi looked at Virat and Vanshika ma and her heart filled up with so much joy. All her doubts began to vanish. She wasn't changing him, she was just making him change his priorities. Is that so bad now?
~~~
Note: I guess I am crazy about this song lately and I was imagining Virat and manvi dancing to it..lol. Hence, this super long update to fit it in.
Alright serious question: How many of you think I should end this story, coz I am running out of ideas and its getting monotonous..
Edited by bluebolt - 12 years ago
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