Part 9

The day before Saturday -

Aakash paced his office with Payal’s words ringing in his ears; I am not coming back Aakash, interspersed with those sobs that had almost become synonymous with her by now. He hated how things had come to this, he hated his inability to make things easier, he hated the situation that he was tied to, he hated the fact that she was all alone when she needed him the most…he hated the fact that everything had gotten so messed up. And now, he had begun to hate himself for not being able to fix this mess in these three odd years. And worst of all, he hated the fact that it had been a lie that had led to all this, if only he could go back and change things…if only, he had been truthful.

Aakash had asked himself this one question too many times, had he done the right thing three years ago? And today, felt no different, he was still in two minds and her suffering only made things worse; it blinded him to other things that were equally profound and important. At this point though, it didn’t matter if it was a lapse in judgment or whether he had been plain selfish to agree to those terms that safeguarded his own interests temporarily making him oblivious to the hurt that the truth would inevitably set free one day. Nothing seemed to matter anymore, except the reality he lived with and the truth that he was not prepared to lose Payal and so had done everything possible to keep them together. But now, he had begun to feel stifled and sandwiched between the multiple responsibilities.

Jiji is not as strong as me…I can take this, she can’t! Nani had always called Khushi wise beyond her age, but how did it make things any easier for her? The same goodness had been her undoing and had made her the biggest victim in this entire mess. Aakash had not only been livid the day he had learnt of Arnav’s coercion, he had been shamed. That would stay with him for the rest of his life.

He was pleasantly surprised when he received Payal’s call earlier in the day, but the happiness was short-lived. The grim was back, and the grizzly past was back with it in no time; a distraught Payal had contacted him of all the people she could have to trace down her sister. The revelation had thrown him off initially, “What did she say?”

“We didn’t get to talk much…”

“Did you tell her” He wasn’t sure what he meant, did she tell her about their situation or about the pregnancy. He had gone cold, and needed answers desperately. “Payal tell me, what did Khushiji say?”

“She hung up before we could even talk…” and her sobs that pierced his heart, “But at least I know, she is safe…alive…”

Their conversation hadn’t really gone to script.

“You want me to return?” Payal seemed outraged by his suggestion, only to relent slightly a moment later.

“Then, Bring back my Khushi” It was as simple as that, only if!

And then she had recited the number Khushi had called from, Aakash was supposed to jot it down, and go look for her using that as a clue. He did neither.

At this point, he didn’t care why Khushi had called Payal up, or how their conversation had come to an abrupt end. He needed to get over this mess, for his own sanity, for the sake of his own family. He was going to get his wife back home by hook or by crook, he was done playing fair!

So he picked up the phone and called Nadia, his secretary at Mumbai branch, “Give Arnav my cabin while he is there”

“Don’t ask more, the contractor should be there any minute to refurbish and repaint his cabin. The work has to start before the end of the day…well before he gets there”

There was silence at the other end, “And Nadia, take out that yellow invitation card from the third drawer on my desk, and place it on top of the desk…” followed by a shocked gasp.

That was huge; she knew the significance of, “The invitation?”

“It’s time Nadia…” She knew what he was talking about, she had risked a lot including her job to do his secret billing; this most definitely was the final step, “I hope you have thought this through” she replied before Aakash ended the call.

Once that was done, Aakash recalled his question to Payal that had been left unanswered, “If I bring Khushiji back…if I find her, and bring her back safely, will you return home?”

The response had been typically non-committal as he had expected but certainly had hoped against. Aakash knew, Khushi was the key to his happiness now.

~~~

Friday evening in Ved’s apartment in Delhi.

Ved and Anjali’s plans had been thrown awry by Arnav’s unplanned departure to Mumbai. They like the rest of the family had been surprised but not shocked since this was work related. And since Arnav took his own decisions on that front; certainly never pre-informed his family of his travel plans, it was nothing out of the extraordinary. Nothing that would make anyone suspect a thing.

“Did he tell you how long he will be gone?” he handed over Anjali her steaming cup of coffee and sat down next to her on the couch.

She looked exhausted he noted, her eyes devoid of that charm, “Come here” he took the cup from her and placed it on the table next to his cup; “You’ve lost weight…” he pulled her close removing the minimal distance between them.

She was still distracted by the events of the last twenty-four hours, and mumbled incoherently, “He hasn’t spoken to me since…I cut him off”

“Shh…” he placed a feather light kiss on her lips to silence her, “I missed you…” her attention drawn to him now…she caressed his face slowly tracing her fingers over his dimples, “I missed you too.. .”  As if one cues, he pulled her closer, and kissed her again “Come with me to Mumbai Anjali…” he whispered in between the kisses, “I don’t think I can do this anymore…” she stilted slightly, “not like this…we..” he finally paused once her body’s response to his own words registered in his mind. In return he held her even more tightly and ran his hands on her back till he felt her relax,“Together we’ll get through this…”

When he got no response, he broke the hug and looked at her but she did not “Look at me…” he urged her gently. When she did, he saw the reflection of her heart’s dilemma etched on those eyes that had lost their sparkle, he smiled as he tucked the stray hair behind her ears, “I love you…” and there was only one way to take her mind off everything else., “Promise me Anjali…” he whispered, his lips dangerously close to hers while his hands roamed freely with a mind of their own. Her eyes questioned back in response, “Promise me, you will come with me…once all this is settled…not a moment too late…” and his words, his breath, his proximity – his gentle tease was playing with her senses; there was no way she could resist; there was no letting up, he kept his distance menacingly close and yet so far away all the while breaking her resolve, “Promise me Anjali…”…and so she did, “I...” the words that never came forth because there was no need as the promise was sealed by a kiss.

~~~

The rainy Saturday evening ~

Arnav looked at the ocean from the balcony, and the vast city with no end. It made things easier …are you watching the rain now Khushi? He wondered. His only memory of her and the rain, was of a drenched Khushi directing traffic in his office parking lot at the dead of the night, I was such a bastard! He cursed himself.

Somewhere in the same city, Khushi had been watching the rains too. She felt a lot better after returning from the old age home; spending time there with everyone, had helped her so much. She felt particularly thankful to Mrs. Malik for all the advice she had given. It made her miss her Babuji even more; his absence had been the biggest void she had felt in these three odd years. Mrs. Malik was certainly around his age, and brutally blunt – it was a good thing Khushi noted. A quality she did not possess. Right before they had parted, Khushi’s mask or sorts had slipped, when she had inadvertently blurted out, that she felt like giving up at times because success seemed like such a fleeting concept.

That had obviously displeased the old lady who then launched a outbrust that had rendered Khushi speechless within seconds, those words still played on her mind, “You can choose to be helpless and waste your life away or get up and try to make it more meaningful. Don’t complain, there are those who have it worse than you and are still going on because they understand the biggest gift is life itself. Look at me, my son shot himself to death… and tore his family apart, but do you see me wailing?”

Khushi did not know how to respond to that.

“I am sorry that was inappropriate…” Mrs.Malik had said right after, “I shouldn’t have sprang that upon you like that…but” she walked towards her and placed a reassuring palm on Khushi’s head, “You are like my grandaughter’s age…or may be even younger…Just” paused, “Just take a break from work for a few days… go spend time with Mrs. Silvio in her kitchen or spend time with your friends, anything but there in that place that has given you so much trouble. Go out and observe the world around you, see if there are other avenues worth pursuing…may be something better is out there, but you won’t know unless you are willing to see it and ready to grasp it when it comes along”

Her suggestion had surprisingly been welcomed by Mrs. Silvio, “Absolutely, come join us for a few days and see for yourself”

Mrs. Malik had chimed in, “She knows more about cooking than you can ever learn in that stinky kitchen of yours!”  Only to elicit a warm laughter from Mrs. Silvio and her son Raul, who had stayed unusually quiet throughout the discussion. His only words had been his parting shot when they had been left alone for a few minutes, he looked at her squarely, and spoke with honesty, “When a man does not respect the wishes of a woman, he deserves none himself”

They had a point, this was the kind of stuff they had discussed so passionately during their classes; it was definitely worth a shot, Khushi concluded as she picked up her cell phone and called up Deeya.