Valley of flowers Chapter 19

KHUSHI woke up with a start realizing it was probably late again this morning. Arnav and she had returned back from the farm house, in the wee hours of the morning and gone right back to sleep.

She had been a little nervous as she entered the kitchen but to her relief she was informed that Mamaji and Mamiji were out visiting.

 As she picked up the breakfast tray, she saw Arnav dressed for work talking on the phone at the pool side on the ground floor. She stepped in and placed the tray down on the table and just as she was about turn away he caught her to him,pulling her flush against himself, her back to his front, placing wet kisses behind her ear, as someone droned on the other side.

‘Arnav!’ Khushi bit out horrified that someone might see them.

‘It’s on mute.’ He whispered back continuing his journey down the nape of her neck. ‘Alright Lavanya, I will get back to you on that.’ He concluded his phone call.‘Why are you wearing this unflattering suit today?

As Khushi secured her dupatta around her neck, Arnav moved it aside and pulled at her neckline. ‘F@#$!’ He looked at the dark bruise on her nape meaningfully. ‘Last night?’

‘Why were you talking to Lavanyaji?’ She prevaricated, her heart beating wildly in her chest.

‘She works for me remember?’ Arnav said as he sat on the pool chair picking up a piece of toast.

‘Is she going to continue working for you?’ She said tentatively.

‘When I met her at NK’s engagement she assured me that she would be more attentive to her work in the future. It’s not like I have a whole lot of choice. You don’t to have worry about all this anymore.’

‘Oh,’ Khushi said in a low voice. How could she not worry?

 If you think that this so called farce of a marriage is going to stop Arnav and me you are highly mistaken

Arnav was never really interested in marriage. Would he really follow the vows of marriage they had taken around the marital pyre? Or would Lavanya manage to lure him back into their relationship just as she had threatened?

He stood up wiping his hand on a towel.‘If I don’t get to work in the next five minutes I will be losing a deal worth millions of dollars and Nani will probably regret her decision of bringing me here. In other words – I have got to go. But I do have time for ---’He pulled her to himself and took her lips, making love to her mouth, slowly and tenderly.

‘There is only one other taste better than the kalmi kabab you made yesterday.’ He said huskily.

‘I thought you were too drunk to notice the taste.’ She said trying to catch her breath.

He raked his hand through his hair. ‘Was I so drunk? Did I say anything?’ he said squinting his eyes.

‘You said I was like your mother.’ She said trying to keep a poker face.

‘’F@#$ I said that?’ He said looking incredulous. She nodded trying to look innocent. Then they both broke into peals of laughter as the absurdity of it hit them simultaneously. As their laughter subsided they looked up to see the entire family watching them from the other side of the glass panes, staring at them in amusement.

Later that morning, Khushi stood outside the radiology department waiting for Anjali’s cast to be removed. The assistant orthopaedic doctor, Dr Mukherjee, an young Bengali man had requested Dr Manav to send her outside. She had been terrified looking at the power-saw they used to cut through the fibre glass cast and her squeals had made him nervous.

A little later Anjali, Khushi and Manav sat in the food court of the hospital where Manav had taken them for coffee.

On the way to the hospital this morning, Anjali had revealed to her that Dr Manav was a widower. His wife had died last year after a long term ill-ness due to arthritis of the lungs. They had been married just for three years and had no children. Khushi’s heart went out to this man who had gone through such a grave tragedy in his life.

‘Di tells me you own this hospital?’ Khushi asked as she sipped her coffee.

‘Yes it is,’ he answered, ‘During the day, I end up doing a lot of administrative work.  Running a hospital can be quite taxing. I see patients in the evenings.’

‘But he squeezes in some time for the patients of Ashray,’ Anjali said an appreciative gleam in her eyes. ‘He treats them for free.’ She added.

‘Anjali please.’ Manav brushed off the compliments looking a little embarrassed. ‘It’s the least I can do. You work there for peanuts, yourself, don’t you?’

As they began discussing some of their patients Khushi realized how animated Anjali seemed with Dr Manav.The mutual admiration they had for each other was quiet obvious.

In the ten years she had known Anjali, Khushi knew that Anjalilived in her own world of books and kept mostly to herself. But she was a very warm person at heart.She remembered the fun times they had when she had come home before Payal and Akash’s wedding, five years ago.

Since she had come back from Mumbai, however, Anjali seemed to have receded into a shell. She had hardly seen Anjali and Shyam exchange more than a few words with each other. During her conversation with Anjali, she had gathered that Anjali had not really been interested in marriage and her mother had coerced her into marrying Shyam because her she wanted to see her daughter settled before she left for the US.

Mamma practically dragged me to the altar before leaving for the States

She said she had never asked me anything in her life but I would have to listen to her this time. I was guilty. I agreed to get married to the boy she chose for me.

Shyam’s erratic behaviour with her on the terrace and then later at holi had bordered on inappropriate. Was it possible that Anjali and Shyam had never found happiness with eachother? What might have happened if Anjali had met Dr Manav five years ago?

‘Anjali, I am worried about the way you fell from the stairs. I think you should move to a different place. You don’t even have a room downstairs in your house.’

‘What do you mean Dr Manav?’ Khushi said curious about what Dr Manav had said.

‘Anjali has already had prior fracture in her left foot because of which it is a little weak. I feel she should avoid going up and down the stairs too much.’

‘I slipped because the strap of my house slipper tore.’ Anjali said.

‘But Di, didn’t you buy those during Diwali when we went shopping?’ Khushi reminded her. ‘Those slippers were quiet robust. How can they tear so soon?’

‘You are right Khushi, it was a good brand too and I paid a fortune for it. I will take it back to the store and demand a refund.’

‘Demand a refund?’Manav’s eyebrows rose incredulously, ‘You will have to sue them for your injury Anjali.’

‘Alright Mr Know it All,’ Anjali said affably. ‘I will take you along when I to go to the store. I guess you will be helpful in proving my point to the owner, you being a doctor and all.

‘Khushi and I will get going now,’ Anjali said looking at the time on her phone.‘She is coming home to help me clean up.’

‘Di,’ Khushi said as an ominous feeling entered her heart. ‘As Dr Manav suggested you should find a place that has a room downstairs. Until then, I think you should stay with us.’

‘I think that is a good idea.’ Manav agreed.

‘But ---’ Anjali hesitated.

‘Please Di,’ Khushi implored, ‘are you uncomfortable ---’

‘No Khushi, why should I feel uncomfortable? After all it is my brother and bhabhi’s house.’ She smiled affectionately. ‘Let’s just go home and pick up some more clothes ----’

‘No,’ Khushi said firmly. ‘You go home. Didn’t Dr Mukherjee say your legs are going to feel wobbly for a day or two? I will go and pick up your stuff.’

A little later Khushi entered Anjali’s house with apprehension. The last time she was here she had found Anjali at the foot of the stairs, unconscious, scaring the living daylights out of her.

Today as she looked around, she saw a living room, extending into a dining area with an open kitchen on one side. Modern contemporary furniture filled the room, with chocolate brown and cream curtains matching the furniture. Anjali’s tastes were very similar to her brother, thought Khushi. She was however, surprised to find the house looking clean as though someone was using it regularly. As she went upstairs to the bedroom to pack Anjali’s clothes, she found the bed unmade which surprised her again. Khushi quickly took the clothes out of the wardrobe and packed it into a duffel bag. She quickly came down stairs and found Anjali’s slippers stowed away under the stairs. She began stuffing them into the side pockets when she heard a noise.

‘Khushiji? What a pleasant surprise.’

‘Shyamji!’Khushi jumped up, startled out of her wits when she heard the slithery voice of Shyam ManoharJha. She had managed to stay out of his way since holi, but she had felt his gleamy eyes on her giving her the creeps. Khushi took a step toward the door. ‘I …I just came to pack some more clothes for Di. I was just leaving.’

‘What’s the hurry Khushiji?’ He blocked the door. ‘This is the first time you have come home.

Won’t you allow me to make some tea for you?’

‘Maybe some other time,’ Khushi evaded. ‘I am sure Mohanji is waiting for me outside.’

‘I don’t think so,’ Shyam answered evenly. ‘I spoke to Anjali sometime back. I told her not to bother sending Mohan as I was already in the area and that I would be happy to bring you home.’

‘Oh.’ She wished Anjali hadn’t done that. Khushi’s heart began to pound wildly.

He went into the kitchen and put the water to boil. ‘I have heard Mamiji and Mamaji are planning a trip to Australia. You managed to get rid of them pretty quickly I must say, Khushiji.’

‘I didn’t do anything!’ Khushi was appalled at his accusation.

‘Khushiji, a beauty like you doesn’t have to do anything. Men will just fall all over themselves awaiting a command from you.’

Khushi cringed at his crassness. ‘Shyamji!’

‘From the moment I saw you I have been living in regret of the moment I rejected your proposal.’

‘Shyamjiwe spoke about this!’

‘I was so taken in by your beauty, your grace and your innocence. I thought you were purity personified. ’

‘Don’t talk nonsense Shyamji!’

‘I was so fooled by your innocence that I decided to save you from NK.’

A shock went through Khushi’s spine. ‘So you were the one who called NK’s mother?But why?’

‘I made a mistake. When I got your jacket from the hotel, I seriously believed that you were innocent. But I soonrealized this was your plan right from the beginning. You seduced him in Agra and manipulated him in such a way that he came right on time and married you.’

‘You have a twisted way to see things don’t you?’ Khushi raised her voice. ‘Why are you even talking about all of this? This is none of your business!’

‘You have your husband twisted around your little finger with you beauty, your body. I have seen you frolicking shamelessly with him.’

What did he mean by “seen”? Bile rose up her throat.

‘And now you are the mistress of Raizada Mansion, owner of all the Raizada money, properties.’

‘That is enough Shyamji!’ Khushi exclaimed. ‘I am going to call Arnav right this moment.’ She began looking for her phone.

‘You know what I am very curious about Khushiji?’ Shyam said indolently. ‘How did Arnav marry you even though you betrayed him five years ago?’

‘What?’ Khushi went pale. How did Shyam know something even Anjali didn’t? ‘I …I just left for my studies.’

‘Come on Khushiji,’ he said sardonically. ‘You can stop all your pretences. You gave Sharada Raizada sleepless nights when you trapped her beloved son into an affair,’ he said with rancour.‘In spite of all the money she paid you for leaving her son, she still had to resort to blackmail.’

‘How do you know about all that?’ Khushi whispered dazedly.

‘Do you think that Sharada Raizada had the brains to pull all this by herself?’ He said scornfully.‘I had met her a few times on behalf of my boss regarding some litigation case. She had seen my talent at fabricating evidence first hand.

‘She had begun talking about the “problem” she was facing with her son. I advised her. Simple.’

And just like that he had sealed her fate.‘So those papers were fake.’ Khushi said resignedly.

‘Absolutely!’ he laughed

The letter was in pure hindi. ‘You wrote that letter on my behalf.’

‘Yes, that was my handiwork too.’ He agreed smugly. ‘At the time I didn’t know you and I didn’t care. I just did what that old lady asked me to do because – of Anjali.’

‘Oh my God, you convinced her to give her daughter’s hand in marriage?’ Khushi was horrified.

‘Unfortunately it was no use marrying her daughter as I realized too late that the scheming old lady had no money of her own. Nevertheless, being associated with the Raizada name had its uses.’

‘You are sick!’Khushi held a hand to her head.

‘When I saw you for the first time I thought you were innocent and there must have some misunderstanding but now I am sure you were trying to trap him since that time. We are two of a kind Khushiji.’

‘I am nothing like you!’ She cried in desperation.

‘Then why haven’t you told him about his mother – unless you want to use it as leverage?’

‘How much do you want?’ Khushi asked him silently, ‘How much money do you want to keep the secret about Arnav’s mother?’

‘Why do you want to keep it a secret?’

‘You won’t understand.’

‘Is that right?’ He stared at her curiously. ‘Alright, since you insist, give me five lakhs.’

‘Five lakhs?’ Khushi was shocked at how quickly he had agreed. I don’t have that kind of money.’

Shyam laughed eerily. ‘You are the wife of a millionaire!’

‘I can’t take money from Arnav!’ She said emphatically.

‘Let’s start with 1 lakh then.’’

Much later into the night, Khushi paced about in the pool side as Arnav slept in their bed oblivious of what was going on in her mind. How was she going to come up with so much money?

Khushi heard a muffled scream coming from the bedroom and rushed inside to see Arnav thrashing about mumbling something incoherent.

‘Arnav! Arnav, wake up.’ She shook his shoulder, leaning toward him. She switched on the bedside lamp.

He instantly came awake, the memory to the dream lingering in his mind. Raking a hand through his hair he released a ragged breath.

‘Are you all right?’ Her voice was deep and low with concern.

‘Yeah…I’m fine…just a nightmare. Sorry.’ He rubbed a hand across his eyes, attempting to shed the lingering discomfort of the dream. ‘What time is it?’

‘It’s two o clock.’

‘I am sorry I woke you.’

How could she tell him that she hadn’t slept a wink. ‘Were you dreaming about your parents?’

‘Yeah.’ It was easier to acknowledge the trauma rather than deal with the ghosts of his disturbing past.

He couldn’t imagine why he had this dream. It had been years since he had suffered the nightmares that had once plagued him nightly. He had thought they were finally, truly behind him.

 ‘You want to talk about it?’

‘I don’t know Khushi. With dad gone I thought everything was over. But the night mare came back again.’

‘Is this because of your parents’ divorce?’ Khushi ventured tentatively. ‘I remember you had a nightmare in Dehradun when I first met you.’

‘No Khushi it is not the same. Earlier I used to get nightmares about my parents fighting. But this one is different.’

‘How so?’ She sat down beside him.

‘When I was seven years old, we lived in Lucknow. My dad took me to the fair. Mom and Di stayed behind that day because Di was not feeling well. That day, when my dad was buying something for Di I slipped away from his side following a puppy. After playing with the puppy for some time I looked around and realized I was lost. I began to cry and a woman came up to me and I told her I couldn’t find my dad. It was dark by this time. So she took me to a park that was inside the fair and we sat on a bench. She told me we should wait there and that she was sure my dad would find us there. I think I dozed off on her lap. Then a little later I felt being lifted up and realized my dad had found me.’

When he remained silent for some time Khushi touched his shoulder and said, ‘What has this incident got to do with your nightmare Arnav?’

‘In my nightmare my dad leaves me on that bench and walks away with this woman. I keep crying out for him to come back to me.

 ‘I began getting these night mares after mom told me that there was another woman in my dad’s life.’

‘Oh my God!’ Khushi was astounded by this revelation.

‘Mom told me that dad knew this woman before they were married and had never been able to forget her. She told me he could never love her because of this woman.’

‘I am sorry Arnav. How long have you known?’

‘Mom told me all this just a few months before she died,’ he looked at her his brown eyes filled with anguish. ‘Khushi, this is the first time I am talking to someone about it. I haven’t even told Di or Nani about this.’

‘I understand Arnav,’ she stroked his hair gently. ‘I will keep this to myself. Do you know who this woman was?’

‘No, mom didn’t know either. But something tells me she was the same woman I saw in the fair. When my dad found me with that woman, he sat down on the bench talking to her. I was too sleepy to comprehend the words but I know they spoke for a long time before my dad took me back home that night. Few days after the incident at the fair dad met with the accident and our life turned topsy -turvy from that day onward.

‘I tried talking to dad about this when I met him at the hospital. All he would say was he was sorry.’

‘Arnav,’ Khushi said tentatively. ‘Your dad kept talking about a fair when I used to visit him in the hospital. I didn’t tell you because it didn’t make any sense to me at that time.’

‘He spoke to you?’ Arnav said emphatically. ‘Why?’

‘I don’t know,’ Khushi said shrugging her shoulders. ‘He also kept calling me some name …..I think it was laali.’

‘Forget it Khushi,’ Arnav said suddenly his eyes clouded with pain, ‘dad was completely out of it in the end. We will never know what was going on in his mind. There is no use talking about it.’

‘I only feel bad for what mom had to go through with dad’s illness and then her own brother sent her away from this house.

‘I tried my very best to make her feel better when we went to the US. But I don’t think I succeeded. She kept talking about dad all the time. She was very hurt by his betrayal.’ A tear trickled down the side of his face as he tried hard not to give in to his anguish.

Khushi gently placed her lips on her forehead trying to smoothen the creases that had formed there. Then she kissed his eyes, one after another followed by two smooth velvet kisses on his cheeks. Then she took his lips between hers, increasing her pressure until she felt his heart calming down. Arnav lay still savouring the feeling until he couldn’t stop himself from taking control from her.

‘Khushi,’ he murmured, pushing her on the bed and kissing her eager mouth. She was kissing him back, dissolving at the touch of his hands on her skin, body hungrily reaching. They came together with the ease of familiarity. Moving to a rhythm growing steadily faster and fiercer until all sense of time and place vanished and they were floating in a free fall into an abyss.