OS: Shadows from the Past (Chap 12, Pg. 117, Note, Pg. 130, VM Pg 131) - Page 11

Originally posted by: sss97

AMAIZING!!!!!!!!! waiting for the next part

Originally posted by: Amu_05

loved the 2nd part very much..want more..!

Originally posted by: aardhan

Thank you. Its a pleasure to see you in this thread.

Please can i know your name, if you do not mind. 😊

Originally posted by: Anjani9

Hello Aarti...

Originally posted by: sss97

Swathi

CHAPTER 3

A little later Nidhi was getting ready to leave to Anji's for her pre-wedding functions but she had only half a mind to do so. If not for Anji's relentless calling all morning she would have preferred to stay back till Dr. Ashutosh got home. Right on cue the phone rang and for a second Nidhi thought it was him but,

Nidhi: "Yes Anji, I am just leaving."

Anji: "Ok. See you soon. Bye."

As soon as she hung up, she tried his phone one last time. "Please pick up Dr. Ashutosh. Just a small hello will do. It will last me till I see you. Please pick up the phone." After their altercation last night she was nervous to see him for the first in front of a houseful of family and friends. She fervently hoped to get a glimpse of him before that, in private and had been calling him all morning. And most importantly, she wanted to wish him for the meeting. So far he had been actively avoiding her calls, leaving her confused if this was due to the meeting or their fight? But now she had to leave and she suspected, no, knew for sure that she would not enjoy even a bit. All her thoughts and for that matter hopes would be pinned on Dr. Ashutosh. She sighed and thought "Good luck Dr. Ashutosh", picked up her bag and left for Anji's.

Anyone who saw him enter this morning would not believe this was the same man who walked out of the conference room just now. Dr. Ashutosh, it seemed had taken a 180 U-turn. This man had a new spring to his step. His face was now radiating a winning smile. Dr. Ashutosh finally reached his cabin and after a few big gulps of water slumped into his chair with a big sigh. One look at the file still clutched in his hand and all his thoughts were directed back to Nidhi. Only he knew the effort it took this morning to get to KGH without giving in to the temptation of consoling Nidhi. If he was to be brutally honest he had to admit it was grossly unfair on his part to blame her in the manner he had done last night. His harsh words were still ringing in his own ears, "How could you behave so irresponsibly and spend so much money? If you were earning, you would know how difficult it was to make money. Because you spend all your time at home you seem to not know the value of money." Just as soon as the words left his mouth he knew it was too late to pull them back. If it wasn't for him and his misplaced ideologies last November Nidhi would still be working at KGH. Since last night he had been unable to meet Nidhi's eye though he had been fully aware of her efforts to grab his attention at breakfast. Just as he was stepping out of the room, she had come in...

Nidhi: "Dr. Ashutosh, I..."

Ashu: "Later Nidhi. Right now all I need to think about is the meeting this afternoon. I don't want to make any more mistakes".

He had walked away but he could see the hurt, the question her beautiful, expressive eyes were trying so hard to hide. They seemed to be saying, "Since you dismissed me, aren't you the one responsible for ruining my career, so how can you now blame me for being jobless?" He was sure he was not ready to face the answer to that question. Infact he had not been since last November. He could even see the logic in what Nidhi was trying to explain about the need for the iPad, logic his foul mood and antique notions had refused to see last night.

Before his thoughts led him astray he shook out of it, "All that was before the meeting, from now I will change everything in her life and future." Forcing those gloomy thoughts out of the way he suddenly pumped his fists and whooped a big "Yes!! I did it!" His part of the battle was won "Nidhi will soon be back in KGH. From now on things will be different. All the past will be forgotten, I will make up for all that." With all the preparation he had done he succeeded in convincing the board that they, especially him, had been hasty in condemning Nidhi and dismissing her. He had then gone on to show all the proofs he had collected in support of Nidhi, her credentials, her work at KGH, especially in the children's ward and at JS. He had recommended that the board should give another chance to Nidhi to prove her capability. After some deliberation they had agreed! "Finally, after all these months one wrong had been righted!"

And he had achieved all this without divulging to anyone his personal reasons for dismissing Nidhi. According to him that was the bigger reason, bigger than any perceived mistakes. It dealt with his growing feelings for his young intern back then. But this truth only one person needed to know, and she would, soon. He recalled how ten days back when Nidhi had expressed her desire to rejoin he had agreed but was skeptical if he could succeed in reverting the board's decision. Then something happened for which he would thank his lucky stars for life. After Nidhi left he started on his rounds when...

Wardboy: "Nurse Laxmi Bai, was that Dr. Nidhi? She looks very different now."

Nurse LB: "Yes. She is married to Dr. Ashutosh now."

Wardboy: "I remember. I saw her only once before when Dr. Mallika was scolding her for the lost patient file. Then suddenly Dr. Mallika turned to me and asked if I had looked in the store room. I found the file there but thought it was very odd request."

Nurse LB: "Oh! One day Dr. Mallika told me that she wanted to test Dr. Nidhi and asked me to change a boy's B-12 injection with Anesthesia. I was terrified but she assured me that she will take care of everything. I never mentioned this to anyone but I thought it was very odd."

Neither of them noticed Dr. Ashutosh who was standing around the corner and who was now as still as a statue. But this conversation sparked his attention and had planted the seed of doubt in his mind. It was then that he had decided to so some enquiry of the events back in November when he was bed-ridden at home and had appointed Dr. Mallika as in-charge in the hospital. He had hoped that he would find enough to prove Nidhi innocent and he did.

Nidhi! He saw all those calls on his phone. "Where are you Nidhi? Are you at Anji's or are you waiting for me? Should I call you? Will you pick up?" But how could he expect that from her after his off-handish behavior all last week and especially last night? "Aren't you eager to know the verdict? Will it make you happy?" On the heels of this came another thought, "Did you care enough or are you enjoying yourself with your family?" But how could he even question her? He recalled how he had brushed her aside this morning, not even managing to smile at her. And yet she had called him. "What am I going to talk to her? Will " sorry Nidhi" be enough? And sorry for how many things? " So he had silenced his phone to save himself this dilemma until his meeting was done. He was confident that if he succeeded in his mission he would easily seek an apology from his ever-forgiving wife. And that adjective brought another sad smile to his face. "Have I taken too much advantage of her generous nature and kind heart?" As he now sat in contemplation, saturated with excitement at having succeeded, a new worry took over, "Will she even be receptive to talk to me?" How was he going to talk to her if she was with a group of family and friends, all happy and shouting above each other so they can be heard. With this new fear gripping his mind, the former socio-phobic neuro-surgeon frantically started calling his wife's phone. But, it seemed the phone Gods were not smiling on him, and she did not answer. "Was this because of his behavior or was it because she could genuinely not hear the phone with all the background noise?" Dr. Ashutosh's guess was as good as anybody's.

His thoughts raced to the function that would start very soon. Earlier this morning, no sooner had he finished perusing the file there was a knock at his door.

Dr. Ranganath: "Sir, can I leave now. The Sangeet is this evening and I need to help my parents with the last minute arrangements."

Dr. Ashutosh: "Yes, of course Dr. Ranganath. Today is a big day for you. Good luck."

Dr. Ranganath: "Thank you Sir and hope to see you there well ahead of time. After all you are officially the elder Son-in-Law now."

And with a self-conscious laugh Dr. Ranganath had taken off for the rest of the day inviting him again to his Sangeet'. Slowly as lunch time approached the other staff also started to trickle out of the hospital and he was the only one left. Even though he knew that Nidhi was staying with Anji for a few days he hoped she would wait for him tonight. Even though he had come a long way finding his feet in the social circuit he felt distinctly uncomfortable without Nidhi. Nurse Laxmi Bai had been the last to leave...

Nurse LB: "Sir, can I leave now? Everyone has already left and the function will soon begin."

Dr. Ashutosh: "Yes, of course."

Nurse LB: "Sir, can I ask you, will you be coming soon? Dr. Nidhi must be waiting for you, isn't it?"

Suddenly, it had occurred to him that this was an opportunity...

Dr. Ashutosh: "Yes. She is. Please tell her that I will be there as soon as the meeting is over."

Nurse LB: "Alright Sir, thank you."

Soon after he had been informed that all the board members were waiting for him and had proceeded to the meeting. He hoped and prayed that Nurse Laxmi Bai would have conveyed his message and Nidhi would have understood the real meaning behind it. But now another unlikely problem arose in his mind. "How was he, the elder son-in-law and most likely the last guest tonight going to walk in alone through that door? Was it best just not to go? But would that not make Nidhi more unhappy? God, where was Nidhi? He had to see her without further delay, somehow! It was more like a desperate need to see her, share his success and celebrate with her. She, more than anyone deserved to know the verdict, and more importantly hear an apology for last night. He knew since he had ignored her calls, he himself was to blame for his clueless state. Mulling over all these things he quickly picked up his coat, walked to his car and drove off towards his house...

Nidhi had spent the last two hours at Anji's but all her thoughts were with Dr. Ashutosh. This was what she knew would happen and inspite of constant prodding from Anji, DB and the others she was still unable to participate with gay abandon.

Anji: "Nidhi, are you ok? Everything will be fine. Jeejaji will take care of it. He will not let you down."

Nidhi: "You know Anji, except for you and Dr. Ranganath, no one at home knows about today's board meeting. And worse the iPad I bought to cheer him up and talk to me angered him even more. Now he is not picking up my calls and for the first time I am scared, very scared that he will not come today. What should I do Anji?"

Anji: "Don't lose hope Nidhi..."

Shyama: "Anji, beta please come here."

And with an apologetic glance at Nidhi Anji went away. But the fact that Dr. Ashutosh had ignored her calls was eating her up. As afternoon arrived it had brought with it the first guests, namely her friends Priyanka and Jyotika from KGH.

Priyanka: "Hi Nidhi, how are you? Dr. Ashutosh was going to a meeting..."

Jyotika: "Hi Nidhi. Its too bad Dr. Ashutosh has an important meeting at this time. You must be missing him a lot, right?"

Each new guest brought with them the exact same news. This much even she had known. What she really needed to know was what happened at the meeting? Did Dr. Ashutosh succeed in getting her re-admitted. After the last few days she hoped atleast for his own sake he had. She had become the most reclusive, unresponsive and non-participatory guest. And she knew Anji was getting unnecessarily worried on her behalf. She wanted this to be the most memorable time in Anji's life and she herself was actively ruining it. Nurse Laxmi Bai was the last to come...

Nurse LB: "Hello Dr. Nidhi, how are you? You know we still miss you at the hospital."

Nidhi: "I am fine Laxmi Bai. I am just..."

Nurse LB: "I know, you must be waiting for Sir. He specifically told me to inform you that he will come after the meeting."

Now that caught her attention. "Finally, was that a message from him?" There was only one way to find out. With a mental shake and a small nod to Anji she left the premises un-noticed. She could not handle all the suspense anymore and as she closed in towards their home she hoped her guess was right and even Dr. Ashutosh would come there first. HK opened the door and smiling at him she walked into their room. And waited...

Ashutosh entered the silent house and was surprised to be welcomed by HK...

HK: "You are here? Will you drink some tea? BB left an hour ago and I was just about to go. CS called to say they need some help."

Ashu: "Alright Kaka. See you soon."

So after serving him tea even HK left for the Sangeet'. "Kaka, why did you not mention Nidhi? Maybe you are assuming I would already know her plans." He was itching to know only about her and she was the only one HK had failed to mention. With this thought, his head bent down, he walked into their room only to encounter a vision in blue. Nidhi saw Dr. Ashutosh the moment he walked through the door. The instant she saw him with his head bent down and forehead creased in worry all her anger and frustration vanished. His face clearly reflected her thoughts and she knew he had missed her as much as she. And then he had spotted her...

Nidhi: "Aap...I'm sorry..."

Ashu: "Nidhi, you...I'm sorry.."

Both walked towards each other, joy clearly written on their faces. And when she saw that smile lingering on his lips, she knew Dr. Ashutosh had achieved the impossible. She would be back at KGH soon...

TO BE CONTINUED...

Once again Friends, thanks in advance for reading this chapter. As usual your comments, criticisms are most welcome. And please hit the 'LIKE' button too. Thank you. 😃

Originally posted by: Diksha_1991

Me First...

Off to read..