FF: Intezar ke Pal-Kuch Kathe Kuch Meethe Not - Pg 76 Jul 3rd - Page 20

Part 5 Qye, Sera, Sera

                "Khushi di... Here let me help you.  Layiye, apna haat deejiye..." called out Nisha hurrying over to give Khushi a hand as she tried to extricate herself from the plush sofa that she had settled into, quite absent-mindedly that afternoon.  With her ever swelling belly, even simple tasks of getting up from deep seated sofas needed skilful maneuvering and helping hands.  Khushi being Khushi however chuckled, tickled pink at the thought of how comical she must have looked in her attempts to do so.

             "Shukriya Nisha.  Hume darasal Rathod mansion jaana tha.  Di wahan par humara intezar kar rahi hogi.  Hume hospital jo jaana hai, birthing facilities ka tour lene" she said smiling at the young lady who looked at her with eyes brimming over with affection and concern.  Nisha smiled back as she paused for Khushi to cross out the date in the hallway calendar.  "Lo, chaubeez July, do hazaar chauda(24^th July,2014).  Waqt kitna dheere se chalta hai na, jab aapko jaldi ho?" she pouted prettily, frowning in mock anger at the calendar and mentally counted out the days till her due date, August twenty-seventh.

            "Beta hum to eehi kaha rahe ki ee char-paanch hafte bas theek thak guzarjaye, phir koi chinta ki baat naahin rahegi.  Yaad hai na Indu bitiya ne kaha tha ki adthisva hafta(38^th week) poora hogaya tho accha rahega." Supplied Naaniji, from her perch at the dining table, folding her hands in the direction of the household mandir in silent prayer to Devimayya.

  Nisha accompanied Khushi as she waddled across the breezeway connecting Raizada mansion with Rathod mansion.  Another one of Anjali Di's brilliant design concepts, executed to perfection.  The breeze way was a sinuous connection that was an extension of the main house almost like an aesthetic bridge, supported by six pillars at the bottom and connected the two houses at the first floor level from the balconies, extending the space out, punctuated with semicircular niches.  Its walls and two-thirds of the curved ceiling were made of tinted fiberglass and brought the outside gardens and sky indoors while protecting the inmates from the elements.  The groundfloor beneath this breezeway was finished off as a curving patio extension that connected the great halls of the two houses.

Nisha recalled some of the best moments spent here under the canopy of stars at night with the Raizada family.  It was amazing how quickly she had grown attached to everyone.  This love and comfort offered by a close-knit family was what she had missed all these years.  Uncle Charlie was wonderful, but the Raizada family had given her a taste of what family bond and love was like in a matter of months; especially this lovely woman, whose fraility belied her quiet strength, and whose soft speech concealed a will of steel.  Who would have thought that this little woman was central to everything and everyone in Shantivan?  Life without her was inconceivable particularly to the charismatic ASR, nay, Arnavji as she called him; who even now was striding down the breezeway, his fluid strides eating up the floorspace that separated him from his wife. 

Her eyes followed Khushi's gaze to the handsome face of Arnav that was wreathed in smiles before slipping past to lock with a pair of dark eyes that were boring into her being, demanding answers.   Answers that she did not want to acknowledge. Elusive answers that she herself sought.  Her face heating up, she smiled quickly at Arnav, sweeping her arm towards Khushi and said"Arnav dada, there you are.  Leejiye aapki Khushi," and with a slight nod and a wavering smile for Dhruv, she swiftly turned to head back to Shantivan.

             "Bhabhi, Bhai, I have to take care of a few things, I'll see you both later, after your hospital tour."  Dhruv muttered, hastening after the retreating figure of Nisha. 

            "Arnavji.  Aapko nahin lagta ki Dhruv kuch pareshaan se lag rahe hain aaj kal.  Jabse yeh dono unke Andaman ke study trip se wapas aye hain, kuch ajeeb si tanaav saath leke laute hain.  Kya shaayad... ?"

"Khushi, Jo bhi hai, who dono sort out karlenge.  Tum aur tension mat lo.  Waise bhi these are personal matters best left alone." Said Arnav drawing his wife's arm through the crook of his as he steered her into Di's house.

"Ah-ha-ha-ha badhe aaye Laad Governor!  Look who's talking?  Yeh aap kah rahe hain Arnavji?  Aap, jo humare saat drama karke Akash Jijaji aur Jiji ko milaya.  Phir pardeke peeche se Nanhe ji ka madat karke, unki aur mayaji ki premkahani saphal kiya, aur phir, Rathodji  ka saat diya Anjali di ke mamleme.  Yeh sab leaving-things-alone hi the kya?" demanded Khushi, her eyes laughing while her lips pouted.

                         Arnav smirked, casting a knowing look at her and paused in his stride as they neared the living area and spied Anjali  heading towards them  with a, "Kya baat hai Khushiji?  Kya leave-things-alone?"

"Kuch nahin Di.  Jijji aur Tashi Jaipur ke liye nikhalgaye kya?" questioned Arnav, deftly changing the topic and directed the women out the doors and into the waiting SUV.

************

            "Khushi, Arnav, Di...  Come, come I was expecting you" exclaimed a beaming Indu, as she advanced towards them with wide open arms, ready to envelop them in one of her heart-warming hugs.  "You look good Khushi, chalo pahele tour karlete hain, phir you can see Dr Sangha and Dr Aruni." She suggested, walking them along the wide corridors of the humongous facility that was Dhanvantri Hospital and Clinics.  This was her dream.  Her's and her father's, Arnavji had told her once, recalled Khushi as she quickly snapped her head around to take in the facilities that would welcome her future happiness into this world.  She heard Indu saying how she had always wanted the latest and greatest to be made available in India and how a lion's share of the profits from this luxurious facility and a couple of others for the rich and famous in the metros, powered the heavily discounted hospitals with similar facilities and equipment in some of the bourgeoisie localities for women of lesser income groups to avail of.  "... Because, every woman deserves the best during the most vulnerable part of her life; social and monetary status notwithstanding." Indu concluded earnestly.

            Dhanvantri had none of the sterile white that dominated most of the Hospitals.  The walls instead were awash in pastel colors that soothed the spirit and were adorned with art work creations by the children in their autistic wing. The corridors were randomly punctuated with miniature water features and flanked with greenery in terracotta pots of myriad shapes and sizes.  "These pots are made by kids in a nearby institution that empowers children with special needs by training them in vocational trade", explained Arnav to his Di and Khushi.  The nurses and the attendants wore colorful scrubs in muted colors instead of the standard white and had their faces wreathed in smiles as they greeted patients and led them to the waiting lounge.  Khushi decided she liked the place already.

            The sophisticated equipment at the birthing unit, state-of-the-art Neonatal facility, highly qualified roster of doctors, pediatricians and anesthesiologists, plush birthing room, computer savy nurses, personal attendants and dieticians that offered a personalized diet and their quiet efficience went a long way in easing Arnav's mind while Khushi was in awe of the luxurious birthing room with it's ensuite recovery room, the opulent bathroom with a whirlpool tub.  Indu went on to explain that women in labor tolerated contractions better and found it easier to deliver while soaking in the tub of warm water than on the hospital bed.  Khushi felt her eyes well up with tears as the reality of the moment stuck her. 

This iswas it.  It was now real and imminent.  Her heart's desire, her baby would soon arrive and in such a surrounding that befitted the heir of Arnav Singh Raizada.  Overcome by a sea of emotions, Khushi stood transfixed to the spot, Arnav's questions for Indu subduing into the background in her conscious, when she felt long slender fingers slip into her's and intertwine with them.  Turning her head as if in a trance she looked at Anjali Di,  whose face and eyes mirrored a similar emotion but shaded with the possibility of what could have been.  Wordlessly she moved to offer and seek comfort into her arms and they stood thus motionless for a few seconds.  Arnav turned around and the sight of the two most important women in his life melted his heart.  Within a space of a heart beat, he had reached them and enveloped them in the safe coil of his arms, as if to shield them from the outside world.  Words were superfluous while the warmth of love and understanding engulfed their being.  Indu smiled to herself, bowing her head in reverence to the most powerful emotion in existence - Love, as she slipped out of the room, quietly closing the door behind her, unwilling to intrude into the lovely little cocoon the trio had created in an instant.

************ 

            "Kya baat hai Dr Aruni.   You can tell me anything, you should know that by now"  enquired Arnav, leaning forward slightly.

            Dr.  Sangha and Dr. Aruni had completed their routine examination of Khushi and had just gone through her most recent reports.  After checking the log in the little sugar monitor that recorded the results of her sugar levels three times a day, both the doctors had motioned for them to sit down for a quick talk.  The two doctors had in the course of their interactions understood the depth of the couples' love for each other and had developed quite a soft corner for them and Arnav's debonair persona and Khushi's disarming affection firmly cemented the deal for them.  They exchanged a glance pregnant with understanding before taking their position across the desk.

            "Mr Arnav.  The foetal growth is great, coming along nicely.  Hum ab jo kahene wale hain, who zara gaur se suniya.  There is nothing imminently dangerous, but given the nature of the pregnancy, it's wisest to mitigate all risks.  Khushi's sugar levels are climbing and it is not due to any fault of her's.  Pregnancy harmones ki wajah se, kabhi kabhi, sirf diet aur exercise se sugar control nahin hoti aur nahin with the pre measured insulin doses jo ab tak aap self administer kar rahen hai.  And the fact that she is controlling her diet in an attempt to keep her sugar levels in check has led to some weight loss which is not ok in the final trimester." Stated Dr. Sangha in a neutral tone softened with a slight smile towards the end..

            "Par that does not mean ki there are no other means" Continued Dr Aruni, where her mentor had left off, "Aap cloudy insulin ko switch karenge jaisa Dr Tanmay had suggested at the outset, which means based on the readings aap increased dosage of insulin lenge, not in pre-packaged pens, but where you would draw it out from this bottle.  This will allow you to eat and not lose weight.  Aaap ko injection leni aati hai?"

             Khushi's grip on Arnav's arm tightened as her eyeballs threatened to rollback in their sockets at the thought of a needle, let alone self administration.  The insulin pens were kinda cute and not so bad, but asli injection, yeh motte, motte needles waali... she fretted mentally, gulping down her fears and nodded woodenly at Aruni. 
"Injections, mein administer kardoonga, mujhe uski experience rah chuki hai" responded Arnav, his countenance relaxing slightly.  "If this is all it is, it isn't that bad" he mused when Dr Sangha continued.

             "But here comes the important part.  Mr Arnav, Khushi ji, please, do not panic.  Inke feet aur wrists mein slight swelling hai, and while her blood pressure is not alarming, it's slightly on the higher side of the range.  Pre-eclampsia ke chances high hai.  Tho my recommendation is that aap every alternate day yahan par aajaye.  We will strap her up and hook her to the equipment in the birthing room to monitor her for any signs of foetal stress. If everything is normal, aap ghar wapas jaa sakti hain.  Par agar kuch abnormal readings rahen, to hum aapko immediately admit karenge, either for a potential C-section or further procedures to monitor and induce labor, depending on your condition."

            "Kitna der rahega yeh monitoring" Khushi asked, breaking the brief spell of silence that followed Dr. Sangha's words.

            "The procedure itself may take any where between twenty minutes to an hour or more depending on how well the baby co-operates." Responded Dr. Aruni.  "Par haan mein yeh recommend karoongi ki aap apne liye aur aapke saat ek attendant ke liye overnight bag pack karke hamesha car mein rakhe, so you are ready nbo matter what.  Again, this is all to ensure we can react in a timely manner.  Nothing for you to worry your pretty head about right now" she added with a slight squeeze of Khushi's hand and a comforting smile for Arnav.

                        Mohan stole quick glimpses of his young master and his mistresses in the rear-view mirror while he expertly wove the snow-white Benz through the traffic.  The silence that hung heavily in the car had become an alien experience for him since the arrival of Khushi bhabhi in the life of Arnav sir.  Years of training and discipline were the only things that stopped the questions surging through his mind from rolling off the tip of his tongue.

            Anjali blinked sharp tears away with a determined set of her jaw as she looked from Arnav's sculpted profile looking out the window in an attempt to hide the pain in his eyes , his hand grasped around his Khushi's in a death grip, to Khushi's head that rested on her shoulder, her eyes fluttering to a close overcome with exhaustion. 

                        "Chotte... Kuch nahin hoga.  Devimayya hamesha hi humare saat hai.  Khushiji aur bacche, dono salamat rahenge.  Humari yakeen maaniye.  Yeh sab to sirf thayyari hai, asli jung to aage hain.  Aur aaphi to humse kahte hai na ki business ho ya zindagi, groundwork and planning is everything.  Preparation is what makes you convert things to your advantage when you meet with opportunity.  These were your exact words, remember? We have to hang on to hope and wait." she said finally breaking the long spell of silence in the car. 

  Arnav slowly turned his head in her direction and peeled off his wayfarers.  The firm conviction in his Di's eyes reminding him of all the times in the past they had strengthened his resolve, encouraged and cheered him on, even in the bleakest hour, and he nodded with the slightest indication of a smile lifting the corner of his lips. 

                         "Indeed!  Everything would be alright.  It had to be.  Infact all these measures where to ensure that all of them were well equipped to deal with any eventuality.   And if there were eventualities that were beyond his control, then the least he could do was to fortify himself and he would be damned if he were not well  prepared.  After all, what was at stake here was indeed the most important deal of his life.  For now, he would  eliminate known risks, hope for the best and wait."

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Part 5 Qye, Sera, Sera

"All human wisdom is contained in these two words--"Wait and Hope." 
 Alexandre Dumas, The Count of Monte Cristo

"Khushi di... Here let me help you.  Grab on to my hand..." called out Nisha hurrying over to give Khushi a hand as she tried to extricate herself from the plush sofa that she had settled into, quite absent-mindedly that afternoon.  With her ever swelling belly, even simple tasks of getting up from deep seated sofas needed skilful maneuvering and helping hands.  Khushi being Khushi however chuckled, tickled pink at the thought of how comical she must have looked in her attempts to do so.

             "Thanks Nisha.  I need to walk over to Rathod Mansion.  Di is waiting for me over there.  We are scheduled for our Hospital tour today, and I do not want to be late." She said smiling at the young lady who looked at her with eyes brimming over with affection and concern. 

Nisha smiled back as she paused for Khushi to cross out the date in the hallway calendar.  "There you go, Twenty-Fourth July, Two thousand and fourteen.  One down and just a million more days to go...  It's unfair, how time slows down when you are in a hurry to reach your destination?" she pouted prettily, frowning in mock anger at the calendar and mentally counted out the days till her due date, August twenty-seventh.

            "Now, Now my child.  It's a safer journey rather than a faster one, that you should be wishing for.  I only pray that the next three to four weeks pass by uneventfully.  Remember, Indu had stressed the importance of crossing the thirty-eighth week milestone.  After that I am all with you about the process speeding up." Supplied Naaniji, from her perch at the dining table, folding her hands in the direction of the household mandir in silent prayer to Devimayya.

  Nisha accompanied Khushi as she waddled across the breezeway connecting Raizada mansion with Rathod mansion.  Another one of Anjali Di's brilliant design concepts, executed to perfection.  The breeze way was a sinuous connection that was an extension of the main house almost like an aesthetic bridge, supported by six pillars at the bottom and connected the two houses at the first floor level from the balconies, extending the space out, punctuated with semicircular niches.  Its walls and two-thirds of the curved ceiling were made of tinted fiberglass and brought the outside gardens and sky indoors while protecting the inmates from the elements.  The groundfloor beneath this breezeway was finished off as a curving patio extension that connected the great halls of the two houses.

Nisha recalled some of the best moments spent here under the canopy of stars at night with the Raizada family.  It was amazing how quickly she had grown attached to everyone.  This love and comfort offered by a close-knit family was what she had missed all these years.  Uncle Charlie was wonderful, but the Raizada family had given her a taste of what family bond and love was like in a matter of months; especially this lovely woman, whose fraility belied her quiet strength, and whose soft speech concealed a will of steel.  Who would have thought that this little woman was central to everything and everyone in Shantivan?  Life without her was inconceivable particularly to the charismatic ASR, nay, Arnavji as she called him; who even now was striding down the breezeway, his fluid strides eating up the floorspace that separated him from his wife. 

Her eyes followed Khushi's gaze to the handsome face of Arnav that was wreathed in smiles before slipping past to lock with a pair of dark eyes that were boring into her being, demanding answers.  Answers that she did not want to acknowledge. Elusive answers that she herself sought.  Her face heating up, she smiled quickly at Arnav, sweeping her arm towards Khushi and said"Arnav dada, there you are.  Here, your Khushi,she's all your's" and with a slight nod and a wavering smile for Dhruv, she swiftly turned to head back to Shantivan.

             "Bhabhi, Bhai, I have to take care of a few things, I'll see you both later, after your hospital tour."  Dhruv muttered, hastening after the retreating figure of Nisha. 

            "Arnavji.  Don't you think that Dhruv has a bee in his bonnet?  Both he and Nisha have been off color so to speak ever since their last study trip to Andaman.  There is a palpable tension when these two are around that I find hard to ignore.  Is it possible that... ?"

"Khushi, Whatever it is, I am sure they are well equipped to sort it out.  I don't want you fretting over it.  These are personal matters that are best left alone." Said Arnav drawing his wife's arm through the crook of his as he steered her into Di's house.

"Ah-ha-ha-ha badhe aaye Laad Governor!  Look who's talking?    You, Arnavji, who had no qualms about joining forces with me in our melodramatic ploy to unite Akash jijai and jiji.  Was it not you, who connived with Nanheji in the background and aided him right from getting to know Maya better, to raising the curtains on the climax to their love story, not to forget your role in the most recent fairy-tale romance between your Di and Ajay Jijaji.  Is this what you had in mind when you were leaving-things-alone?" demanded Khushi, her eyes laughing while her lips pouted.

                         Arnav smirked, casting a knowing look at her and paused in his stride as they neared the living area and spied Anjali  heading towards them  with a, "what's brewing now between the two of you Khushiji?  What things are you two now leaving-alone?"

"Nothing Di.  Have jijaji and Tashi left for Jaipur?" questioned Arnav, deftly changing the topic and directed the women out the doors and into the waiting SUV.

************

            "Khushi, Arnav, Di...  Come, come I was expecting you" exclaimed a beaming Indu, as she advanced towards them with wide open arms, ready to envelop them in one of her heart-warming hugs.  "You look good Khushi, How about we finish your tour before you meet Dr Sangha and Dr Aruni for your scheduled check-up?" She suggested, walking them along the wide corridors of the humongous facility that was Dhanvantri Hospital and Clinics.  This was her dream.  Her's and her father's, Arnavji had told her once, recalled Khushi as she quickly snapped her head around to take in the facilities that would welcome her future happiness into this world.  She heard Indu saying how she had always wanted the latest and greatest to be made available in India and how a lion's share of the profits from this luxurious facility and a couple of others for the rich and famous in the metros powered the heavily discounted hospitals with similar facilities and equipment in some of the bourgeoisie localities for women of lesser income groups to avail of.  "... Because, every woman deserves the best during the most vulnerable part of her life; social and monetary status notwithstanding." Indu concluded earnestly.

            Dhanvantri had none of the sterile white that dominated most of the Hospitals.  The walls instead were awash in pastel colors that soothed the spirit and were adorned with art work creations by the children in their autistic wing. The corridors were randomly punctuated with miniature water features and flanked with greenery in terracotta pots of myriad shapes and sizes.  "These pots are made by kids in a nearby institution that empowers children with special needs by training them in vocational trade", explained Arnav to his Di and Khushi.  The nurses and the attendants wore colorful scrubs in muted colors instead of the standard white and had their faces wreathed in smiles as they greeted patients and led them to the waiting lounge.  Khushi decided she liked the place already.         

           The sophisticated equipment at the birthing unit, state-of-the-art Neonatal facility, highly qualified roster of doctors, pediatricians and anesthesiologists, plush birthing room, computer savy nurses, personal attendants and dieticians that offered a personalized diet and their quiet efficience went a long way in easing Arnav's mind while Khushi was in awe of the luxurious birthing room with it's ensuite recovery room, the opulent bathroom with a whirlpool tub.  Indu went on to explain that women in labor tolerated contractions better and found it easier to deliver while soaking in the tub of warm water than on the hospital bed.  Khushi felt her eyes well up with tears as the reality of the moment stuck her. 

This was it.  It was real and imminent.  Her heart's desire, her baby would soon arrive and in such a surrounding that befitted the heir of Arnav Singh Raizada.  Overcome by a sea of emotions, Khushi stood transfixed to the spot, Arnav's questions for Indu subduing into the background in her conscious, when she felt long slender fingers slip into her's and intertwine with them.  Turning her head as if in a trance, she looked at Anjali Di whose face and eyes mirrored a similar emotion, but shaded with the possibility of what could have been.  Wordlessly she moved to offer and seek comfort into her arms and they stood thus motionless for a few seconds.  Arnav turned around and the sight of two most important women in his life melted his heart.  Within a space of a heart beat, he had reached them and enveloped them in the safe coil of his arms, as if to shield them from the outside world.  Words were superfluous while the warmth of love and understanding engulfed their being.  Indu smiled to herself, bowing her head in reverence to the most powerful emotion in existence - Love, as she slipped out of the room, quietly closing the door behind her, unwilling to intrude into the lovely little cocoon the trio had created in an instant.

************ 

            "Dr Aruni, what's the latest? You can tell me anything, you should know that by now"  enquired Arnav, leaning forward slightly.

            Dr.  Sangha and Dr. Aruni had completed their routine examination of Khushi and had just gone trough her most recent reports.  After checking the log in the little sugar monitor that recorded the results of her sugar levels three times a day, both the doctors had motioned for them to sit down for a quick talk.  The two doctors had in the course of their interactions understood the depth of the couples' love for each other and had developed quite a soft corner for them and Arnav's debonair persona and Khushi's disarming affection firmly cemented the deal for them.  They exchanged a glance pregnant with understanding before taking their position across the desk.           

"Mr Arnav.  The foetal growth is great, coming along nicely.  At the sametime, what I am about o tell you is important.  There is nothing imminently dangerous, but given the nature of the pregnancy, it's wisest to mitigate all risks.  Khushi's sugar levels are climbing and it is not due to any fault of her's.  Pregnancy harmones are the main culprit for this and this cannot be controlled by mere diet and exrcise nor with the pre measured insulin doses that you are administering yourself.  High sugar levels mean big baby, which equals a difficult labor and delivery including the likelihood of a c-section, which is any way a strong possibility given the nature of her pregnancy.And the fact that she is controlling her diet in an attempt to keep her sugar levels in check has led to some weight loss which is not ok in the final trimester." Stated Dr. Sangha in a neutral tone softened with a slight smile towards the end.

            "However, that does not mean ki there are no other means to arrest the spiraling sugar levels" Continued Dr Aruni, where her mentor had left off, "Please switch to cloudy insulin as Dr Tanmay had suggested at the outset, which means based on the readings you will start taking incremental doses of insulin based on the range within which your sugar reading falls. Not  re-packaged pens anymore, but with these disposable syringes were you would draw it out from this bottle. This means you can eat and not lose weight anymore.  Do you  think you can handle that?"

             Khushi's grip on Arnav's arm tightened as her eyeballs threatened to rollback in their sockets at the thought of a needle, let alone self administration.  The insulin pens were kinda cute and not so bad, but the real deal with the accompanying long needles... she fretted mentally, gulping down her fears and nodded woodenly at Aruni.  "I can administer the injections.  I have prior experience with those." responded Arnav, his countenance relaxing slightly.  "If this is all it is, it isn't that bad" he mused when Dr Sangha continued.

             "But here comes the important part.  Mr Arnav, Khushi ji, please, do not panic.  There is a slight swelling in her feet and her wrists, and while her blood pressure is not alarming, it's slightly on the higher side of the range.  Chances of Pre-eclampsia are high.  I highly recommend that you set up appointments to be seen at the birthing center every other day.  We will starp her up and hook her to the equipment in the birthing room to monitor her for any signs of foetal stress. If everything is normal, you can go back home.  However, at the sign of any abnormality or foetal stress, we will admit you right away either for a potential C-section or further procedures to monitor and induce labor, depending on your condition."

            "how long will this monitoring take?" Khushi asked, breaking the brief spell of silence that followed Dr. Sangha's words.

            "The procedure itself may take any where between twenty minutes to an hour or more depending on how well the baby co-operates." Responded Dr. Aruni.  "I suggest that you have an overnight bag packed for you and your attendant and leave it in your car at all time, so you are ready no matter what.  Again, this is all to ensure we can react in a timely manner.  Nothing for you to worry your pretty head about right now" she added with a slight squeeze of Khushi's hand and a comforting smile for Arnav.

                        Mohan stole quick glimpses in his rear-view mirror while he expertly wove the snow-white Benz through the traffic.  The silence that hung heavily in the car had become an alien experience for him since the arrival of Khushi bhabhi in the life of Arnav sir.  Years of training and discipline were the only things that stopped the questions surging through his mind from rolling off the tip of his tongue.

            Anjali blinked sharp tears away with a determined set of her jaw as she looked from Arnav's sculpted profile looking out the window, in an attempt to hide the pain in his eyes , his hand grasped around his Khushi's in a death grip, to Khushi's head that now rested on her shoulder, her eyes fluttering to a close overcome with exhaustion. 

                        "Chotte... Everything's going to be alright.  Devimayya has always been with us, no matter what hardship we have faced.  Trust me.  All of this is merely groundwork for the real deal that is yet to come.  Besides, you are the one who have always stressed the importance of preparation, be it business or life.  Preparation is what makes you convert things to your advantage when you meet with opportunity.  These were your exact words, remember?  We just have to hang on to hope and wait" she said, finally breaking the long spell of silence in the car. 

Arnav slowly turned his head in her direction and peeled off his wayfarers.  The firm conviction in his Di's eyes reminding him of all the times in the past they had strengthened his resolve, encouraged and cheered him on, even in the bleakest hour, and he nodded with the slightest indication of a smile lifting the corner of his lips. 

                         "Indeed!  Everything would be alright.  It had to be.  Infact all these measures where to ensure that all of them were well equipped to deal with any eventuality.   And if there were eventualities that were beyond his control, then the least he could do was to fortify himself and he would be damned if he were not well  prepared.  After all, what was at stake here was indeed the most important deal of his life.  For now, he would eliminate known risks, hope for the best and wait."

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