FF-BTBH - Pt 20 page 145 6th OCT. - Page 65

By the time Ramu kaka came back home, Amrit was waiting anxiously. He did not know if should tell what all he observed. 'Why did they go to the airport, Arohi sounded little upset, was everything alright?' she began, then she saw him taking out luggage from the car. 'Madam Arohi bitiya could not take these'. He could see all the questions on her face, he lashed out 'choti muh badi baat , maaf karna madam , I did not like the way he was talking with her' then he immediately wished he had not said that. 'Why? what happened, please tell me what did he say? was he rude with Arohi? what did arohi say? why did they suddenly go to airport? I am scared please tell me everything?' 'I dont know why they suddenly went to airport. Arohi said some business concern came up so they had to change route, he did not look like concerned. Tell me madam is it really hard to take all her luggage?' He wanted to tell how Arjun himself removed all her stuff then kept quiet seeing he had made Amrit scared already. 'Why did they send back, what will she do without her stuff. He is capable of chartering a plane. It does not make sense. Did Arohi look happy?' Simi who had walked by and heard everything asked as some unknown fear took over her. 'Arohi bitiya said everything is fine'. 'Mummy ji let us call her, Ramu kaka please keep these in Arohi's room, mummy ji dont worry' Amrit asked him , don't to tell this to anyone else, especially to Babuji. 'Simi how is Sanchit? why is everything going wrong at the same time. Why wasn't any of his family here, where is he taking Arohi, we dont know where he lives in Delhi. why Delhi? We thought they will live here, why sudden change of plans? I am scared, I want to talk to Arohi now' Simi tried Arohi's cell, it was switched off. 'She is still in the plane may be, let us try after some time' 'Let us not tell anyone else about this, they will panic'.

A mild tapping on her shoulder woke her up. 'We are here' Arjun said getting up. She looked at him with sleepy eyes closing them again. It was evident she lacked sleep. 'Arohi, get up' he said again. She forcefully opened her eyes 'so soon?' 'It was long enough' he said taking her carry on as well. They silently maneuvered through the airport. There was a car waiting for them. 'I have been to Delhi long time back, still have not forgotten the trip' she said. Silence was his response. They reached a suburban locality, with posh houses and beautiful landscapes. They reached a building at the end of the street and took an elevator to go up. She did not question any thing so far. Driver set their things inside the flat and left. Arjun locked the door, she waited he would say something. He picked her bag and went to the room to the right, set them inside, came back and took his bags to the room on the left. She looked on confused. He came back to her, 'you must be tired, why dont you rest for a while, I will order something' she found those words of courtesy as words or concern and love. She smiled 'I am not tired at all, do you live here? since when? Is this your real home? When were you here last?' She walked to the window 'Oh this is a pent house?' 'and the terrace garden? I love plants' She saw a swing chair , she loved it, She turned her neck towards the other end of the terrace 'and a pool?' her face was filled with excitement. Her excitement did affect him. He walked to her 'Aren't you tired, really get some rest. You can see it all tomorrow' 'I am anything but tired' she said opening the terrace door going outside. It was a cool evening. She went to the far end and looked at the view. 'Awesome' she said 'I love it here' she added walking towards him holding his hand 'such a lovely surprise' she said looking into his eyes. Her eyes were like working magic on him, her positive response, after all that he had been doing since the wedding, surprising him. He impulsively stroked her cheek with his fore finger, his lips starting to smile 'you like surprises?' he asked 'you are full of surprises' she said not knowing what kind of surprises she was going to endure. 'I see' he said tucking her hair behind her ear. Then as suddenly as he got closer to her he moved away, talking over phone to some restaurant. Though disappointed she walked back to the terrace railing, looked down, the height and the concrete floor below scared her. She moved back holding her hand to her chest and hit her back to him. He had come to see where she was and was walking towards her. She turned and hugged him. 'Its the height' she exclaimed. 'I am scared of heights' she said. 'Don't go so close to the railings' he said with genuine concern, eyeing how tall it stood. He made a mental note to ask the manager to get it extended. He knew she had fear of heights 'Its ok now, let us go inside' he took her in. Once inside he was aloof. 'Freshen up' he said , going inside his room and closing the door. She went inside the room at the right.

It looked like a neatly organized guest room. She felt the familiar pang she had been feeling since last night. guest room? . She opened the window and saw that the terrace the roof garden the pool were all in her view. She remembered to call home. It had been more than an hour since she landed, she forgot to inform them. Scolding herself, she called Amrit. She knew they were waiting for her call because they picked at the first ring 'Arohi, how are you? what took you so long? why are you in Delhi? we are so worried? please tell me are you alright?' 'ma, yes of course I am alright. what will happen to me? I explained from the airport right. There was immediate need to come here. Dont worry about me please. You should see this place, it is perfect, just like how I dreamed, the view is so beautiful and there are so many plants, I cant wait to take care of them, there is a pool as well, and it is all mine' she added a little shyly in the end. 'how long are you going to be there? when are you coming back?' Amrit asked a little relieved listening to Arohi's excited voice. 'I dont know? I will ask him later. I dont mind if I dont come back' she said with a smile 'I mean I will miss you, I want to be in Mumbai, but I dont know this place looks like it was waiting for me' she said with a bit of naughtiness in her voice 'chalo we are now relieved, promise me you will tell everything, and the bags?' 'I am sorry ma, see Arjun was ready to bring them all, but I did not want him to take all that trouble at such short notice. I will get them all next time, pakka, I am so sorry to return all that you lovingly packed' her voice losing the enthusiasm a little 'okay then, Ramu was saying it was all sudden and that he..' 'Ramu kaka is worrying unnecessarily, It was of course a sudden change of plans, so it all happened so hurriedly I did not get chance to tell him all properly, dont worry please, accha how is bhayya? any new developments? is all well? is bhabhi or guari di there? I should call Shefali also' 'Simi is here talk to her' 'Arohi? how are you? ' 'I am fine, I explained everything to mom, be ready to come visit me here, you will love it, he gave me such a lovely surprise' 'really, I am happy to hear that. mail us your address. Are you going to be there long?' 'I dont know I dont mind' she laughed. 'I know I know you dont , where ever your prince is, is your kingdom' 'smart bhabi' she saw arjun outside her room and added 'bhabi I will call later, ok, tell my love to all, how is daddu? I miss him already' she said walking towards the door 'He is doing good, we miss you too, talk to you soon'. Ending the call she smiled at Arjun, who was looking a bit disturbed. 'Dinner is here if you want to eat' he said walking towards the table. he was disturbed because he heard her talk about the airport concealing the fact that it was him who made all the changes. He did not mean to eves drop but the change in her voice, then again the excitement, like a child, is she so happy to be here it has not yet been a few hours, how can she say she does not mind staying here longer. Hasn't his mom said something similar to his dad. When they were in Sheila and there were talks that his dad might want to shift to Delhi and they may have to stay here, his mom had said same thing 'I don't mind staying there, it is a lovely place. She had visited it only once. That time there was no garden, no pool, it was another flat on the top floor with terrace and view. It was later used as guest house for their stays in Delhi. This was a second home to him. Dada though never cared to settle anywhere else but Sheila. His calls to dada recently had been of are you ok, I am ok. She has no idea of these developments, he had to thank Jay for keeping this discreet. His own dada who dreamed of seeing his wife, does not know he is married. the irony. he thought as he mechanically ate.

When she went to change and came back out, he had gone inside his room. Door was closed. Suddenly she felt like a stranger. She went to knock on his door then stopped. She thought she would appear too needy. She will have to wait until he becomes normal like before. She went back to her room. Sleep came amidst various thoughts.

Next morning when she came out after taking a shower, she went and looked around the kitchen. There was bare minimum equipment. She saw that arjun's room was still closed. She grabbed her purse, wore her slippers and went down. It did not take much time for her to figure out where to get the milk etc. When she came up she saw arjun coming in from the terrace 'Where were you I was looking for you' 'I went down to get these' she flashed him a smile walking towards the kitchen, her kitchen. He followed her 'you dont have to do all this, my manager knows we are here, he would have arranged already, see' he opened the fridge and to her surprise she saw milk eggs fruits and veggies inside. She took all this trouble for nothing? but it did not feel like trouble, growing up she had seen everything available and ready in her house, this morning the thought that she can get her own things herself so she can make breakfast for them both had excited her. She liked it. Arjun did not seem to think so. Her smile vanished 'sorry I had no idea, I thought you must be hungry'. He could not believe she would get sad for such a silly thing. 'I am. Now that you have all these, can I please have some breakfast' he asked pointing to the stuff she bought. Her smile was back. It may be insignificant but the business man singhania was mellowed by a simple bag of groceries. He watched her work, in less than 20 min she had steaming coffee and warm omelets ready. It was the best he had, he could swear, no one in recent times had worried about his hunger. When she tried to take his empty plate he stopped her, cleaned it himself. He saw a crumb on her lips. He pulled her closer. His sudden act made her blush. He loved the color that spread across her face. He pointed to his lips and indicated she had something on her mouth. She touched the wrong side. To show her correctly he put a hand behind her neck and brought her face closer. He took the crumb out with his lips swallowing it while kissing. Her hands went around his neck, her body aching to be touched. His need was no less. His mind did not even register his actions. There seemed no end to the kiss. His hand roamed over her waist. He did not have to hold her neck for support anymore. That free hand now slid to her hips pushing her closer. An intimate act that sent fire through her body. Not just her, the proximity burned them both.

The ring from his cell phone made him stop. He did not abruptly leave her though. He slowed down his lips, his hands released the grip, stroking her cheeks he kissed her once more. She wished it did not end. Her hands around his neck loosened. They moved apart, he saw the missed call. It was from Daadi. He went to his room to talk to her.

She was calling to ask how he was. She had a lot to ask him, but she controlled herself and spoke as if everything was normal. The incident in the kitchen had mellowed him to the extent that daadi was surprised at the warmth in his voice. He had always cared for her, but the vengeance that had built up in him had taken that warm Arjun. She did not miss when it resurfaced back. After the call ended he came out to see Arohi was in the terrace mostly to cool down among the plants. He wanted to go and continue where they had stopped. But she came inside, he retreated. He was finding himself doing things he did not intend. Just as he retreated to his room, he heard his phone ring again, Arohi too who had come there saw the name flashing as daadi. Without thinking twice she answered the phone. Arjun heard her say 'Hello Daadi' and was shocked. Daadi from the other side seemed to have asked who it was because Arohi was replying shyly 'ji main Arohi' . He literally snatched the phone from her and cut the call. Arohi was shocked. 'Please do not take calls that are intended for me' he said curtly, this time the color that swept her face was of embarrassment and insult. His phone rang again, giving her a glare he went in again to take the call. She sat on the couch as tears brimmed her eyes.

Daadi asked 'who answered the phone before?'. He struggled with the words 'that was um couple of my staff are here and ..' he could not lie further 'Arohi is here' he said. Daadi took the hint, her grandson has girl friend?. She could not control anymore. 'Arohi? Do I know her? Is it the same girl who had called when you were in Shimla? her name was also Arohi? why dont you tell me anything? where you go, where you stay, now a days I dont even know what you are doing. why does not your manager tell me anything? I had to know from manager's assistant that you are in Delhi, that too after lot of questions. main tera kuch nahi?' her voice choked.. Arjun felt guilty 'Sorry daadi. You know me. I dont do anything without a reason. I told everything before, now time has come where I have to be in my zone. I will answer all your questions , but not now. You are the only one remaining for me' he said walking outside and saw Arohi. Arohi heard his last sentence. 'Daadi, I will call later' Arjun cut the call. Daadi was happy, no wonder he sounds better than before. She and Savita knew that only a girl can bring about the change. She also knew if she poked further just for the sake of it he might cut off with Arohi. But she knew nothing about her. She prayed that the time comes where Arjun will bring home a wife. Arohi could not keep quiet 'what did I do wrong? I saw daadi's name I wanted to talk to her, Should not I?'. Arjun replied 'No, I don't have to give any reasons. If you value my words then do not take my calls. Do not attempt to get in touch with my folks' 'your family is not mine?' 'We are married does not mean my family is yours and yours is mine. Let us just keep it at that. I have work. Feel free to do what you want. Here is my manager's number. Call him if you need anything. He will organize everything for you.' He did not wait for her answer and took off.

His family is not hers? He only has his daadi, what harm would come if she contacts her? She is elderly dont they need her blessings? what did he mean by daadi was only person remaining for him? what about her? why was he coming so near to her one moment and push her far away the next moment. He felt genuine at the same time it all felt weird. She did not want anything, did not want to go anywhere. She went to the terrace sat on the swing chair. Her mom was calling her. She did not take the call. She did not want to talk to anyone. Then Simi called. And again Amrit. She got annoyed, this time she took the call. Even before she spoke Amrit almost shouted 'Arohi, why don't you answer our calls, what should we think, how will we know if you are all right, here we are concerned and scared. We had so much planned after the wedding, you should be visiting us today, but you are not here, we at least wanted to talk to you' Arohi cut her in between 'mama why are you scared? what will happen to me? I am with my husband. He is a nice person, he loves me, I love him, we are happy, what should I do to confirm? Should we both come over there? I will ask Arjun okay, once the matters here are settled we will come. Don't worry so much about me, please. I am happy really. If you keep talking to me like I am being tortured here, it will be an insult to me and my husband. Please mama, don't have any such doubts' 'I know beta, it is just that everything that has been happening since the wedding makes me worry' 'nothing like that has happened. He is not overly expressive and openly affectionate, but he loves me, trust me. If it makes you happy you can come visit me and see for yourself' She did not know why she said that, but she wanted her family to believe that Arjun loves her truly. She was confident. Why else would he kiss like that in the morning.

Arjun worked till late at night. Arohi had called twice in between. At 10 pm she called again. 'I am still busy, you go to sleep, I will come home when I am done'. His voice was neither rude nor soft, it discouraged her from talking further. What should she do if his response was so to the point. Arjun actually wanted to stay back longer but thinking of Arohi and the thought that she is alone in a new place made him come home. He saw her sleeping on the couch. TV was still going on. He turned it off picked her up along with the light blanket she had put on and made her sleep on her bed. Seeing her peaceful face took most of the tiredness from him. Her cheeks were inviting. He bent down and touched them with his lips. Her saree had shifted in the process of bringing her inside. Her waist and navel were visible to his eyes. He held the edge of her saree and pulled it across to cover. His fingers touched her skin. It burned him. He quickly walked out to his room. He had hard time sleeping.