"Ahem Tum, where's Gopi what are you doing with her phone?" "Well mom I was finished for the day and was going to pass the school on my way home, so I thought I would just pick her up." Teek che, per where is she, what are you waiting for" "mom" Ahem cut in irritably "OK I will see you when you get home." Kokila put the receiver down. Now what were they up to she thought, it's like de ja vu she sighed thinking back to the last time these two had been secretive.
She smiled inwardly as she saw Raashi saunter by. "Raashi Gopi might be running late make sure you have the tea ready and start preparations for dinner." "Ji Kaakiji, I was just talking to mummiji about dinner." Kokila absently nodded to herself, and walked toward her room.
Ahem turned off Gopi's phone and cursed under his breath, he hated feeling like he was caught with his hand in the cookie jar. "GOPIII" he called his frustration clearly ebbed ion his voice, she turned and signalled to him with her hand indicating she would be there in five. He slammed his hand on the steering she seemed oblivious to his tone, what happened to the Gopi who came running to just the look on his face, she had been replaced by this happy bunny who was laughing with a bunch of her class mates without any apprehension whatsoever.
He could now see her running up to the car, looking behind her waving at her friends, and just before he could warn her ran right smack into the juice stand and fell to the ground with a mixture of fruit and water all over her. Ahem got out of the car cursing again, he should be used to this, Gopi was one of the clumsiest of person, and he almost predicted the scene before it happened. Mixed emotions ran through him seeing her like that, he was concerned, irritated, angry and amused all at once. When he got to her the juice wallah was standing over her nervously "aap teek ho behenji?" Gopi smiled and nodded at the man sweetly reassuring him and then smiled at Ahem expecting what was coming a torrent of words best left unheard. "Gopi for the 100th time can't you look where you are going""Ji I was" "what ji I was you weren't paying attention, you get yourself into so much trouble, are you okay are, did you hurt yourself, you know you have to be careful with your leg" Gopi just smiled weakly because she knew she would not get a word in when her husband was on one of his tirades, besides she was at fault here. Ahem was still giving her a piece of his mind vacillating between telling her off and inquiring about her pain while he helped her to stand. She was a mess; she had stuff on her hair and all down her. The Juice wallah gave them a jug of water that did not look the best but it would have to do. Ahem was cleaning off the remnants of fruit in her hair while Gopi was unsuccessfully trying to dust herself, he took out his hanky wet it and wiped her face, hands neck, and he was still fuming. They had become a spectacle and her class mates still stood there gaping and smiling and then he heard a bit of snickering and giggling. Ahemji! Ahemji Gopi was calling to him in aloud whisper and tugging at his hand, he looked at her "what now" he followed her gaze down to his hand with his handkerchief that was on her chest. Seeing her in the state that she had got herself into, the mess that she was, he had just been intent on helping her clean up not realising where they were. He quickly put his hand down, gave the crowd a glare that extended to his wife, thanked the juice wallah quickly and gave him some money for the waste and dragged his wife to the car in quick motion. He took off his jacket and gave it to her. Gopi climbed in put on the jacket, buttoned it and managed to pull down the wet material of her sari down tucking it between her legs. A little embarrassed, she sheepishly waved to her friends. Ahem got in and drove home in silence.
Raashi opened the door with Kokila behind her. A stunned silence was followed by a "Gopi vahu, Ahem what happened?" Ahem just rolled his eyes skyward "don't ask mom." Gopi just said"Jai Shree Krishna maaji, Raashi bhen" her eyes focused on the ground, sari clutched in her hand and then made it to the steps before she heard Raashi suppressed laugh and could feel her maaji's amused eyes burn into her back.
Ahem slowly made it up to their room, put his bag down and all of her paraphernalia that he had been carrying, he went over and put their phones to charge. He sat down to take off his shoes and on their bed he saw his home clothes ready, he had to smile to himself, even in all of her hurry she never forgot to do things for him. Just as he was getting ready to go for his wash, she stepped out towel drying her hair. "Finished already and I was coming in to help wash your hair" he told her with a straight face. "Ahemji have you not embarrassed me enough for one day?""What? Come again, you fall down, you overturn a cart, manage to swim in juice and ME embarrass YOU? "Huh, Huh you know what I mean after that...now how am I supposed to face my friends tomorrow?... that is if I survive Raashi bhen's teasing tonight" she muttered to herself while getting ready to go and help out with dinner. "Ahemji I will see you downstairs" she called out and proceeded down without waiting for an answer. The table was laid and the family were gathering at the table and from their various expressions she knew she was in for a lot of teasing, even baa had a glint in her eyes.
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Ahem stretched himself and prepared to wake up looking up at the clock it was 4am. Gopi had wrapped herself around him, her hair flowing all over his chest, her head buried at the crook of his neck, her right arm and leg over him. He bought his left hand up and massaged it through her hair, how he loved the feel of it, he remembered the first time he did it, with her resting on the couch, how he had lost himself in that moment not knowing that that would be the first of many. Ahem often helped Gopi wash out her hair, he knew she enjoyed it as much as he did. She had shed a lot of her inhibition, at least around him that was a welcome change. They no longer shied from touching each other, it seemed like they could not get enough of it. They still gazed at each other and spoke with their eyes like in the early days, but neither was embarrassed about it. Yet as if by mutual consent they kept their show of affection very private and refrained from any overt display in front of the family. If physically they had grown close emotionally they were one. Gopi had morphed into a more self assured women. She still was very respectful of her elders and mindful of her position as the Modi vahu, but she never failed to express what she had in her mind to him.
He remembered the first time they had made love, Gopi had lay in his arms and slowly looked up at him and said "Ahemji does this mean we are going to have children?" Ahem was not sure what she meant and just looked down at her with a confused smile "Ahemji" she had said softly "I love you very much and there is nothing I want more than to have your children, but can we wait a bit, I would like to enjoy us for a while, to get to know us better, it has taken me a life time to find this happiness and I want to be secure in it before I can confidently pass it on to my children. Ahemji I want to be a good mother." He melted at the sincerity in her voice "Gopi Children would be nice and you will be an excellent mother, but there is no hurry, we are still young and yes I would love to have my Gopiji to myself too and when you are ready, when we both are I promise you fine Modi brood ."
Looking back it was just not Gopi who had blossomed, but he had too. He was more self assured about his emotions. He had been emotionally bereft before. Successful in business yet his relationships had been wanting. Gopi had helped him in reaching out and bridging the gap between his family and himself especially his mom. It was ironic how it was Gopi that had helped him communicate better with them, Gopi that had pointed out that it was his family and that he needed to be a part of it and not a spectator.
He could not help but smile at the length he went to in the early days, to put a smile on her face, even if it was on the pretext of fixing Jiger and Raashi's relationship. Needless to say none of it worked, at least not for Raashi and Jiger at that time, but it had made them Gopi and himself face their own mess of a relationship.
FB
"Bhai," Ahem had been standing on the terrace for a while now, thinking if he had done right by postponing business to get Jiger and Raashi together. "Bhai" Jiger called out again. "Yes Jiger is everything ok." "Bhai I need to talk to you, bhai I know you and bhabi mean well, and I know you are trying to orchestrate me getting together with Raashi, don't get me wrong I appreciate you for trying but right now it will not work." Just then the brothers noticed that Gopi was standing nearby and her eyes were filled with tears. "Bhabhi" "Gopi" they said together. "Par Dhevarji, all we are asking is for one chance for Raashi bhen to prove herself." "Bhai, Bhabhi Raashi hurt me and the Family very badly, she broke my trust and though I harbour some feeling toward her it is mostly anger. I know I feel for her and am angry that after all this I still do, To give us a chance I need to make peace with the past, for that Raashi needs to come clean, I am not at all sure that she completely appreciates her mistakes, she is right now like a child who wants the toy that was taken from her back even if it is the toy that lay on the shelf that she ignored all along. I hope you understand and I have not hurt you, I need your support, I need you all to stand by me and trust that I will do the right thing." Ahem nodded, he felt his brother's pain and knew that he had to let him deal with this himself. He hugged Jiger and said "If ever you need, just ask, I am here for you, we both are." Jiger then took Gopi's hands in his "please don't be disappointed in me bhabhi, I know Raashi is your sister, but I don't know how you can forgive so easily. The cut is too deep bhabhi the healing is not so easy." And then he added looking between Ahem and Gopi "I am so happy you are working things out you both deserve to love" and with that he made quick exit.
Gopi had watched him leave and slowly turned to Ahem."He is right Gopi as their family we should respect their space and support them when the time comes." She had been silent for a long time and voiced something that had been screaming in his head. "Does that mean that we have no hope either, have we gone too far" she asked brokenly, tears falling freely down her cheeks . It seemed like she shed tears for the two them, as a chocked ahem could only hold her hands and realize that it was time they healed themselves. It was the breakthrough they needed for that was the start of them facing an uneasy past to say the least, to confessions of their feelings and acceptance of each other watts and all. Gopi had forgiven easily, but for Ahem forgiving himself had been the hardest and it was Gopi that held his hand through it.
Present
Gopi was stirring now. Ahem looked up at the time. It would be 5am soon, she would be waking up for the milk, so he slowly extricated himself from her and turned her on her back to sleep, the sheet had slipped to her waist and his eyes fell on the mangalsutra she insisted on never removing. It lay between her breast and Ahem slowly fingered it with his left hand, thinking back on all the broken vows that he had reaffirmed, and he felt her warm palm wrap around his hand fingering his wedding ring while squeezing his hand to her chest. He looked up to see her lazily open her eyes "Like what you see" she asked cheekily misinterpreting his gaze.
He broke out into a grin, who could guess that his Gopi could be a tease. A tease she was and he quite enjoyed it. She had already been in bed when he walked in after a meeting with Kaka and Jiger last night. Since the lights were dim he assumed she was asleep, for she had covered herself completely. He had locked the door and when he turned around she was sitting up against the headboard in a very sheer white lace negligee. She beckoned him to her with her fore finger and when Ahem approached her said in a very silky voice "Now my darling Ahemji you can finish off what you started on the road." Ahem froze did she think I was... oh stupid me he smiled at her teasing look and bent forward to capture that wanton smile of hers with his lips and let his hand finger the lace at her neckline before dipping in.
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"Haven't you had enough for one night beside's I need to have energy for my run" he quipped back before getting up and going into the wash room for a shower. The warm water was running down him, life had changed for the better, they had fallen deeper and deeper in love, yes Gopi still infuriated him with her ways and he still had his menacing temper but they had learned to sail through those storms together. He smiled in his reverie and enjoyed the warmth of his shower thinking that the day had started so well, he was thankful for all of his blessings especially his Gopi, when he felt her join him in the shower and hug him tight from behind, with her face pressed to his back she kissed him there and said slowly in a little more than a whisper, "I love you very much my Ahemji, can we start trying for one of those babies that you promised me." Ahem pulled her around and picked her up in his arms hugged her to him tight and said "your wish is my command Gopiji."
