Chapter
18: What Goes Around Comes Around
Geet
heard the doorbell but hesitated to open it fearing Arjun would see her all
teary. But Arjun had the keys so it wouldn't be him he tried calling Ramu, the
servant to tell him to open the door. There was no response from him either, so
she reluctantly walked down the stairs to open the door to relieve the
incessant ringing of the bell. Thinking it would be some of Gowtam Uncle's
associate, Geet absent-mindedly opened the door and without looking up said, "Maama
illa po (Gowtam Uncle is not there)" and shut the door even before the person
on the other side had a chance to say something. Maan had taken a deep breath
to speak but was taken aback when she slammed the door on his face. Confused,
he knocked the door again; Geet again opened the door, "oorukku poirukkaru po
(he has gone out of town, go!)" she said monotonously. Maan on the other hand
was losing his patience he had gathered with great effort. He furiously banged
the door once again determined to give a piece of his raging mind.
"Adadada!
(Oh god!) enna setha naazhi nimmadhiya vidamatale (They wont leave me
peacefully even for little time)" Geet lamented turning to open the door again.
"Maama illa po, oorukku poirukkar po! (Gowtam Uncle is not there, he has gone
out of town, go!)" she said with a pitch higher than normal. Her utterance was
the last nail in the coffin, even before she closed the door again he growled, "Geet!"
while pushing the door forcefully so that she could see that Maan Singh Khurana
was waiting for her.
Geet
was startled by the sudden roar and looked to up to see why the person was
shouting at her. She saw a tall lean figure with his hands crossed on his chest
with his nose breathing fire. Geet's reaction turned from annoyance to surprise
to utter fear once she saw him fuming at her.
"Geet,"
he roared again, "when somebody knocks your door could you please do me the
favor of looking at the person before you start blabbering," Maan said
sarcastically.
Geet
still started blankly at the uninvited guest unable to fathom that the man she
despised stood in front of her.
"Geet,"
he said waving his hands in front of her face to gain her attention.
"Huh?"
she said hesitantly. "Endi Geetu avana pati nenaippu ivvalo perugi nokku avane
nikaara maathiri thondrathu, illai avan illai avan varamaatan, (What Geetu
thinking about him has increased so much that it seems like he is standing in
front of you, no, its not him, he wont come)" she said chuckling at her own
silly thought and hitting her head slightly.
That
was it! Maan couldn't take it anymore, her childish and annoying behavior was
taking a toll on his patience meter. "Geet!" he snapped while shaking her
shoulder vigorously. The vigorous shaking did the trick, Geet came back to reality with a
loud gasp. "Geet seriously, could you get any more insane than now?" he said
slowly stalking her while Geet steadily moved back. Maan had her cornered near
the wall while Geet still looked shocked. He bent towards her ears and
whispered, "haan Geet?"
His
closeness made Geet aware of his musky cologne smell that brought her back to
reality. She snapped her head up shooting an angry look at Maan and nudged him
away from her with her index finger.
"Mr.
Jellyfish Singh Khurana, aap apne aapko samajhte kaun ho? Ivaru periya avaru
(As if he is a big that)" she said walking towards him. Now it was Maan's turn
to stagger backwards. he looked at her questioning her intentions as Geet
threatened more moving further closer while continuing to shout at him. "Yeh
bhi koi karta hai, pehle se hi kam aawaz mein baat karte ho aur phir mujhe
chillate ho! Che che che (please note its not chi the e is pronounced as an 'A'
phonetic. It is equivalent to Ugh!)," she said frowning as if she had tasted
something bitter. "Pehle se hi I was so tensed that I tore your blazer by
mistake and I hoped that I could return it before I get to see you, but then
nahi you had to come there and spoil everything," she said huffing. "Ab aap yahan
kyun aaye ho, aapko meri resignation letter nahi mila kya? I have had enough of
your harkatein," she said as hot tears rolled down her cheeks. She slapped her
hands together as if praying, "Pothum saami pothum, rendu naal-la patta kashtam
pothum (Enough, enduring all the pain in two days is enough!) Pata hai aapko us
din airport main main jaan boochkar nahi aayi, aapke driver ne hi over speed
mein chal raha tha. Maine sirf aapse sorry kehne ke liye kaha, magar nahi aap toh
apne aapko kya samajh rakha hai, antha aadavanukku than theriyum (only that God
knows!)" she said looking up as a fresh set of tears rolled down. "You
carelessly threw my bags away, pata hai log kaise mujhe dek rahe the?" she
asked while Maan looked down guiltily. "I came to Delhi against my father's pleadings
just to work in the company that I had always dreamed of, I even conceded to
assent to your torturous challenge so that I could at least work in my dream
job aana vidamatale (but you wont leave) jab dekho aapki man marzi. Che pongo
santhoshama pongo (Ugh! Go, go happily) I shall never cross your path again,"
she said for the one final time before facing away from him stifling her anger,
tears, and sorrow.
Maan
had listened to her without raising a finger. He was guilty as charged and thus
he deserved it, but what confused him was, first she had called him jellyfish
and while speaking in the middle she randomly mumbled in some other language he
failed to understand. From her expressions it was clear she was probably
shouting at him but what irked him was the word jellyfish. She had called Maan
Singh Khurana jellyfish! Was that even a gaali he wondered, he would ask her
later. He only wanted to apologize to her for his silly behavior but seeing her
upset he realized the wound went deeper, he was not only accountable for one
mistake but a series of felony, making his apology look like an insignificant
peapod. He feverishly rubbed his temple trying to quickly think of a way to
make her understand he was sincere this time and he would not repeat it.
"Woh
Geet, actually, umm," he began desperately searching for the right words. But
words failed him; he cursed his brain for conveniently shutting down at the
wrong time. He bent his face down and his shoulders slumped down as if in
shame. He had to do some damage control thus he made up his mind to go face
her. He walked in front of her and softly called her name to gain her attention
and went to hold his hands on his ears when Geet looked at him from the corner
of her eyes. Irritated by actions, she quickly turned again away from him.
"Please,
ab aap kuch mat keejiyega, if you want to do me a favor, please leave from here
sir," she said sternly looking away from him. She had made up her mind that it
was not worth enduring his rude behavior anymore when she placed the
resignation letter but now he was making it more complicated, she wanted to
clear her mind before she could even think of trusting his words again. Maan
once again tried to reason his sincere effort, yet she was not ready to budge.
Maan sighed admitting defeat and
decided to leave her alone. He headed for the door but he stopped in his tracks
and turned to face her back. "Geet I am really sorry, I never meant to hurt
you, it's just that my anger possessed me and I was forced to act like a jerk.
I don't know if I should be forgiven but please give this a one more thought
because it would be a shame to loose a talent like you," he said sincerely.
With that last parting words he left her alone.
Maan
arrived at the hotel after quite a long drive from the airport. The hotel was
in the heart of the New York City with a beautiful view of the city skyline as
well as the Statue of Liberty. He checked into the hotel and decided to explore
the city once he settled himself in his room.
As
Maan settled himself, looking forward to suppress his sorrow trying to engage
himself in some activity, on the other hand Geet desperately trying to pacify
her angry little sweetheart for a huge crime on her part.
Geet
woke up to find herself sleeping on the couch comfortably. She rubbed her eyes
clearing of the previous day's memories while suppressing a yawn. She tried to
find Arjun and Kritika around the house but instead she found Kritika safely
tucked in bed and a sticky note stuck on the refrigerator. It read:
Hey Ammulu,
Sorry had to rush so I didn't get a chance to
wait until you woke up. I managed to make a few pancakes and have left a few
for you and Kriti. I shall come back early, until then don't think too much.
-Arjun
Ah!
He made pancakes; well good because she was famished. She tied her long hair
into a bun in one quick motion and got up to take shower. Since it was a
Saturday, she decided to wake Kritika later so that she could sleep for some
more time. After the morning rituals, she went to wake Kritika.
"Good
morning chellam (sweetheart)," Geet said while gently shaking Kritika awake.
Kritika groggily stirred on the bed and hazily looked up to see her smiling
mother. Kritika had expected a different kind of wake up call but her mother
simply stood watching her. Not receiving any new response from her mother, she
jerked her eyes open, clearly angry with her mother.
"Ahem,"
Kritika cleared her throat. "Morning, morning," she said grumpily angry that
her mother had forgotten.
"Kannamma
(darling) brush your teeth quickly so that you can have you favorite chocolate
chips pancakes. A small smile crept on Kritika's lips, so amma does remember
she thought happily, and headed towards the bathroom. Coming back Kritika found
her mother busily preparing something, least bothered by her presence. Kritika
fumed with anger and stomped to the dining table.
"Vaadi
(come) aarida poguthu (it may become cold)," Geet said pointing to the pancakes
on the plate.
Kritika was really
breathing fire; she slumped down on the chair. "Ma, aren't you forgetting
something," she asked through her gritted teeth.
Geet looked confused
at Kritika's question failing to grasp the meaning. "Ennadi chollare (what are
you saying)?" she asked clearly having no idea.
"Mamma, aaj date kya
hai," she asked sweetly with a tinge of sarcasm.
"Aaj, hmm, kyun?"
"Oh god! Just tell
me the date," Kritika whined.
Geet looked at the
nearby calendar that hung by the wall. And as soon as she realized her folly,
she bit her tongue for committing such a blunder. It was 9th
September her darling jaan, Kritika's birthday. She mentally slapped herself
for forgetting it. How could she forget the date her angel star was born to
lead a kindly light in her life. Tears rolled down her cheek while she rushed
to Kritika's side pleading forgiveness.
"I am so sorry da, I
really forgot. I, I" Geet said crying like a child afraid she didn't hurt
Kritika.
Kritika just turned her face away from her
mother. Every single year her mother had made her day special. Early morning
wishes, special baked cake, outing, and movie time, oh wait of course presents
too! But this year she seemed to have totally forgotten it, making her pout.
Unable to satisfy Kritika, Geet pleaded to be given a chance to make up for her
mistake. She promised double treat, outing to anywhere Kritika commands, and
double presents hoping she would be forgiven.
ALRIGHT DEARIES... HERE IS THE NEXT UPDATE. SORRY I COULDNT INCLUDE THE SECOND PRECAP. ACTUALLY I HAD EXAMS LAST WEEK SO WAS REALLY BUSY THE PAST FEW WEEKS STUDYING MY HEAD OFF 😕 THATS THE REASON I COULDNT UPDATE... ANYWAYS EVEN TODAY I WAS EXHAUSTED COZ THIS PAST WEEK I HAVE HAD ONLY 2-3 HOURS OF SLEEP EACH NIGHT BUT SINCE I HAD PROMISED AN UPDATE I HAD TO KEEP IT UP... SO I HOPE U GUYS LIKE IT... PLEASE DO COMMENT... I PROMISE TO UPDATE TMR... (PSST I SEE MORE COMMENTS I UPDATE QUICKER 😉)
@JYO: THNX DARLING FOR WAITING PATIENTLY... I KNOW I DIDNT LIVE UPTO UR EXPECTATION OF INCLUDING THE SECOND PRECAP BUT SORRY YAAR I AM SERIOUSLY DEAD, MY EYES ARE DROOPING FROM LACK OF SLEEP FOR THE PAST WEEK. LET ME ENERGIZE MYSELF BEFORE I CAN GIVE A DHAMKEDAAR UPDATE... WHAT SAY?😆
