FF: yeh raaste hai pyaar ke// Journey Complete// - Page 3

Part-3

Gopi had a holiday today and Rashi persuaded her to accompany her to the market. Gopi got shocked when Rashi took a different route and parked their car near an ice cream parlour.

Rashi smiled and said "There is no sadness which my baby sis can't overcome after eating two scoops of strawberry ice cream".

A hand tapped Gopi's shoulder while she was enjoying the dessert…it was her friend Shirin ..she was with her husband Jake. Gopi's happiness about meeting her friend was tinged with sadness..she remembered how she met Ahem for the first time-

Shirin was her roommate while they were studying in Ahemadabad. They got along well and started confiding to each other. One day Shirin poured out all her anxieties. She was in love with a guy called Jake. Gopi opened her mouth in disbelief- Shirin would surely get into trouble with her parents. Shirin and Jake were in a relationship for the past two years and wanted to marry, but they feared parental opposition. Jake's parents were devout catholic and Shirin's mother adhered to her religion strictly. Shirin's dad was a rationalist with leftist views- she got her spunk from him.

Shirin was contemplating getting married without informing either sets of parents..she had by hearted all the provisions of special marriage act. "I will wait till for one more year and marry him once I get my MBA degree. Please support me Gopi..You have to be the witness from my side"….

The day of Shirin's marriage eventually came. Gopi met few of Jake's friends in the process of making arrangements for their wedding party and one of them was Ahem. Cupid struck and Gopi and Ahem fell in love while helping their friends get married.

Jake's parents disowned him and so did Shirin's mother. They got her Dad's blessings and are now staying in Rajkot. Jake said " Gopi when are you planning to give us sweets?" he gave a teasing grin to her. Gopi's face suddenly became serious, Rashi joined in and said that Gopi is getting married after a week to a chartered accountant called Jatin Mehta. Both Shirin and Jake looked as if a lightning bolt hit them, Rashi explained the situation to them. Jake shook his head in disbelief and said "What's wrong with that chap? Why isn't he responding? He had talked to him before going to Nashville on a business trip. Ahem sounded like a man madly in love……..why is he ignoring her now. Jake went ahead and rang Ahem …No response. Jake and Shirin assured Gopi that they would try their best to contact Ahem and sort out the mess. Shrin gave Gopi a hug and assured her that everything would be fine.

The sisters stopped at Tejas Patel's boutique and took back their altered wedding dress and blouses of sarees to be included in their trousseau. Urmila couldn't stop admiring the wedding dresses of her daughters. They were similar except for minor differences in embroidery patterns- her daughters would look like Rajput Princesses in them.

Urmila was happy with the way her daughters turned out to be- Rashi was a nurturer by nature and Gopi was an achiever. Both of her daughters were virtuous. Dhaval was the greatest disappointment of her life. She was delighted when he was born, she hoped that he would fulfill her husband's dream of his children reaching great heights. Things turned out to be the opposite. Rashi completed B.B.M and helped her father during peak business season, Gopi was an MBA and worked for an MNC. Dhaval dropped out of school after failing in his board exams and no amount of persuasion could make him reappear and clear the exam. He was of no use to his family and Jitu despised his lackadaisical approach to all things.

Urmila's heart broke everytime when Jitu told her- "Rashi is my Joy and Gopi is my pride. Dhaval to me is like a gangrene on my hand. He may not be educated but he has taught me one thing very clearly- Now I know why did Sultan Iltutmish make Razia his heir. His sons must have been as incompetent as Dhaval and that's why he did the unthinkable and made his daughter his heir.

Days passed and there was no reply from Ahem. Jake tried and failed. Gopi resigned to her fate and decided to make it work with Ajay(aka Jatin).

"Those who are faithless know the pleasures of love; it is the faithful who know love's tragedies"

-- Oscar Wilde