YuvAni OS--Beyond Tomorrow, Part 3

Once he had decided to talk to Bhavna again, Yuvraj was in a fever of impatience to get to her. He had met her once more after his phone call to her, but she had been distant and distracted and asked him to respect that Suhani would not meet him. So, as Yuvraj and Sharad drove to her house they argued about how they should approach this. Sharad thought that as Yuvraj had already spoken to Bhavna before, it would be better if HE asked this time, as separate from Yuvraj, as if on his own behalf. Yuvraj wanted so badly to get at the bottom of things that he was unwilling to let Sharad go alone while he waited, but finally agreed to let him try. As Sharad approached Amit's house (Bhavna and Amit lived with his parents), Yuvraj drove off to park at the corner, so Bhavna wouldn't see him and realize who was behind this inquiry.

"Bhavna isn't here; auntyji said she's at their place in Bhandwargaon for now. It's not too far from your family's farmhouse. So I didn't bring up bhabhi at all. I said I wanted to meet Bhavnaji." Then, as Yuvraj looked like he'd take off at once for the country home, he added slyly, "And Bhavna's sister is there too."

For a second it did not register with Yuvraj, then he turned to Sharad and said, "She's there? She's there? Let's go."

"Wait, Guru, what will we go there and do? What if she refuses to let us in?"

"I'm not giving her a choice. I will see Suhani. What can Bhavna do, throw me out physically? I don't think so!"

It was a long drive at high speed. When they reached the location Sharad had wormed out of Amit's mother, they found the place without too much trouble. "I think I've been here before," Yuvraj said. Amit's and his family were related, and it was likely they had come to this place sometime in the past. "It looks familiar." He parked outside the gate and picked up his mobile.

"What are you doing?" asked Sharad.

"I'm doing Bhavna the courtesy of telling her I am here. I don't know why, really. It just seems like the right thing to do."

Bhavna was lying down when her phone rang, and she picked it up and was shocked at what the caller ID displayed. What was she to say? Nothing had changed.

"Hello," she said, cautiously.

"Bhavna, it's Yuvraj. I am outside your door. I know Suhani is there, and I want to speak to her."

"I...I...Yuvraj, I'm not home. You need to go back."

"I know you're at Bhandwargaon, and that's where I am. I know Suhani is there, I saw her," he bluffed.

"Wait outside. I'll come out. Please don't come in."

She came out in five minutes, saw the car and came up to them.Her pregnancy was very obvious. Yuvraj had forgotten that she was due in a couple of months. He was getting out when she stopped him, opened the rear door and got in, telling him, "Drive. Please, just drive on."

He felt anger building in him, but he let out the clutch and continued down the road. "What am I, untouchable? Unmeetable, unseeable? Choose the word that fits."

"Yuvraj, we've already spoken. I told you months ago that Suhani wants no contact, then why now...?"

"Because. She's my wife, you know. I've had enough of this, this people refusing to let me see her, refusing to tell me where she is, why she wants nothing to do with me. I've been away too, but I'm back now. You know I met her yesterday?"

"I know."

"What's with the attitude? Why is she behaving this way with me? For all my sins, she was fine when she left. She left, Bhavna, I didn't ask her to go. She was fine even after, we talked, we texted, then WHAT HAPPENED? I am going out of my mind." He stopped the car and turned to talk to her directly, "You think I don't care? You think I can just put this aside?"

She looked at him with a baffled expression. "I did think so, yes. From what I--we--know about you and Suhani, I expected that sooner or later you would send divorce papers, end the marriage, and start a new life. I don't know what to tell you."

"Tell me what changed."

She thought for a while, stared at his wild expression, then asked, "Why do you care? You made it very clear you were just friends. You broke her heart again and again. She doesn't even think of you now."

The words jabbed at the sore spot in his heart, and he didn't know what to say. "Please, Bhavna. I made mistakes. I didn't know how much she meant to me. I must see her, talk to her. If she is adamant that she wants nothing to do with me, let me understand why, and I'll try to accept it. Bhavna, please."

Her expression softened. "I knew you must have cared a little at least. Suhani always used to sing your praises. I also haven't forgotten what you did for me, and how you went to jail after defending her from that Radhe." She took a deep breathe. "We decided not to tell you to avoid complicating matters, but I'm going to tell you and I hope you will understand. Yuvraj, Suhani doesn't want to see you or speak to you because she doesn't remember your marriage; she barely remembers you."

They both stared at her, then Yuvraj felt an absurd desire to laugh, and apparently he was not alone in that, because he heard Sharad giggling beside him. "Ghajini! " Sharad blurted out. Then they sobered at the look on Bhavna's face. "Sorry, it's just so unimaginable. Like a bad movie. Are you serious? "

"You find it funny? It's been the longest few months of our lives. It's no movie--she was badly injured. "

"What? What happened? And why didn't anyone tell me? How did you all dare to keep this from me? "

Bhavna explained that Suhani had been knocked down by a van, hit her head against the sharp edge of the curb, and had multiple injuries. They HAD called Yuvraj, but he was unavailable, and no one was particularly bothered about trying Birla House, knowing what Suhani's worth was there. They also felt resentment towards Yuvraj, blamed him for her distraction, which may have contributed to the accident, because witnesses swore that the driver was not responsible. And when she recovered consciousness the next day, it slowly became obvious that she didn't remember some things. She was shocked that Bhavna was pregnant. She didn't remember all that Soumya had done or that she was no longer in town. They realised gradually that she had lost about 2 years, but some of those memories did come back. For instance she could later recall the days before Bhavna's wedding, but, so far, no more. Her neurologist had said she may recover more memories, but it was equally likely she never would. She had also had a broken wrist and a cracked collarbone, multiple lacerations, internal bleeding. She had been in hospital for almost 3 weeks.

"What could we tell her about her marriage that wouldn't cause trauma? So we decided to just leave it alone, keep you away. To avoid people saying or asking the wrong thing, after she was discharged, I brought her here, where she can rest, relax. Physically she is almost totally okay now. She goes into town for her doctor's appointments, or when she wants to shop or see a movie, meet maa and papa. Amit comes down weekends and we get in a group for small parties every now and then. I only want my sister not to be hurt again, Yuvraj, and whatever you say, you've hurt her more than anyone ever has."

There was silence. "But not to tell me! All this happens to the girl I lived with, shared my life with for a year, and no one tells me? No matter what, surely you didn't think I wouldn't care? Even if you blamed me, you could've told me, and I would've met her as a stranger if necessary. Bhavna, this is unforgiveable."

"I'm sorry. We did what seemed best, but maybe it was wrong. But please let it be, Yuvraj. Please don't push this."

He stared at her, not knowing what to do, thinking.

"Invite me to stay here," he said.

"What? " asked Bhavna.