Finally! I managed to keep my promise this time 😊 Here you go, Chapter 8A! I am new to this FF writing business and while I love writing, I am struggling to fit this into my schedule. The last two weeks were terribly mean to me and I could hardly write. I hope to do better now. Thank you all for being with this story :)
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Chapter 8A
She was packing her bags to leave having called it a day when her phone rang. "I'll be there in a minute, I was just wrapping up" she said as soon as she took the call. "Sure. I'm waiting in the parking lot, there was too much traffic right outside your office."
"See you" she replied and cut the call. She collected all her belongings, checked her desk to see if anything was left out and walked out towards the parking area at the basement of her office building. She'd had the perfect weekend with Arnav, getting back to the grind at office had been a tad more difficult than she had imagined. Two days down the line she managed to get accustomed to it, but not without efforts. Would it always be like this, she wondered but forced herself not to think of the future. They had all finished with their work earlier than usual and Vighnesh had suggested that the proposed "dosa get-together" take place today. She'd called Arnav to see if he would be able to make it, and on getting a response in the affirmative agreed to his plans.
She reached the basement and looked for his car, on spotting it she walked towards it and sat down on the passenger seat next to him. He was on a call, presumably with one of his colleagues, she gathered as she heard his side of the conversation. He appeared slightly distressed, his knuckles almost white as he gripped the steering wheel tightly was a total give away; he was trying to control his temper from flying off the handle. He may have been having a bad day, and she had called him to attend a silly get together with her colleagues - she knew he wasn't particularly fond of social gatherings like these, yet he had come for her. Her stream of thoughts was cut short as she heard him cut the call and shove his cellphone back in his pocket.
"Is everything alright?"
"Yeah, that was my boss." He continued as he saw the worried look on her face, "Don't worry Khushi... its just one of those days I am not too happy about my decision of being this big guy's apprentice."
"What exactly happened?"
He ran a hand through his hair and sighed loudly. "I'll tell you on the way" he said as he turned on the ignition and started driving.
She sat waiting for him to continue where he left off, though she was sure he was trying to evade her question.
"Arnav, look if you want to relax, we can skip this and just have dinner together. You can drop me home after that... this isn't important." She saw him smile but he kept quiet. When he stopped the car at the signal he raised his left hand, took her right one on his, brought it up to his lips and placed a soft, lingering kiss on her knuckles. He placed her hand back on her thigh and asked when the signal changed and they hit the main road,
"So where does this guy live?"
"He said its right behind Hotel SeaBreeze, I have the address with me, we'll find it once we get there. And stop avoiding my question, you know I'll keep asking till you answer me or ask me to leave you alone." she said seriously.
"Fine." he knew she was right, she wouldn't let it go. "A senior of mine from college, Aman, he came to me last week with his sister's case. He wanted me to talk to Sinha and request him to take up her case. I did that and Sinha flatly refused without even hearing me out, he said his hands were full."
"Can't your friend take up the case himself?"
"No, he never gave the bar exam... he doesn't practice. He got placed at a consultancy firm after college. He is unemployed right now.. and has been so since he and many others got sacked from his company. Anyway, Sinha is the best divorce lawyer in city, it is only obvious he wants him for his sister. He claims her husband and in-laws abuse her and forcefully take away all of her income. To top that it seems the husband is impotent... he compensates by beating her up and the in laws refuse to believe there is anything wrong with their son." he ended, his voice expressing all the disgust he felt at the moment.
"But he can always approach another lawyer, right? You can suggest one to him.. Sinha may be the best but I am sure there is no dearth of good and capable lawyers to handle this?"
"There are many of them Khushi, you are right. But Sinha is the only one who is known to take up pro bono cases. The others charge a hefty fee for things like these... and getting a divorce is a long and tedious process. Aman doesn't come from a very well off family, he spent all his savings on his sister's wedding and now he doesn't have a job. He cannot afford a good lawyer Khushi, he doesn't have the money... and has very limited resources. His sister's in laws have taken away all the jewelry and gold she brought with her.. he is literally penniless now. I was his best shot at getting through to Sinha, and it seems I have failed."
"Don't say that Arnav. You can try again in a few days. Is Sinha just uninterested in the case or is it something else?"
"He says he is too busy to take up anything new, and he is right. He is always swamped with work but the next few months will be especially grueling, there is also a lot of backlog to clear up." he finished, his voice sounding tired and dejected. Khushi hated to see him this way. She placed her hand on his knee and tried to reassure him, "Don't give up so soon, Arnav. Talk to Sinha again in a week, when he is in a receptive mood; I know he thinks of you as an asset, I am sure he will lend you an ear. You could also try and speak to some other lawyers, they might not do it free of charge but they may charge him a little less. You could even direct him to one of these NGOs...I am sure they can suggest some immediate measures."
He was still looking straight at the road, but she saw him smiling in the rear view mirror; this smile reached his eyes and she felt relived.
"You'll find a way, Arnav." she said softly, looking at him in the mirror and saw him nod.
"Yes, I will. This was just unexpected, Sinha rarely refuses to take up something like this, I didn't see this coming and was unprepared. And I was really hoping to help Aman. I first thought maybe I could take it up myself...that perhaps its time, but I really don't want Aman to be my guinea pig. I even thought of offering him some money, but I am certain he will not accept it. I may ask Akash to help him get a job though, Akash has a lot of contacts and Aman is a sharp man... I am sure Aakash can pull some strings and at least get him an interview."
She could see it his face, the thoughts at the speed of lightning, his desperation to help his friend. This was him, always going out of his way to help the people who mattered to him. She was sure this Aman would have come to Arnav for help even if he weren't a lawyer, the man would give an arm to help a friend in need and that was no secret. She had tried often to talk him out of it, make him realize it was important he worried about himself more than he did about others, but it was a futile effort. He was a generous man; moreover this was his twisted way of compensating for what he believed were his shortcomings. She didn't want him to worry about this any more, at least not right now.
"Speaking of Aakash, how is the poor guy doing now? Payal has been really worried." she asked, trying to change the topic.
"He is fine now, I spoke to him a while back. It seems Payal took off from the clinic today to be with him, I'd love to know what Nani has to say" he chuckled. "His reports came in yesterday, it's the same old viral fever. Nothing serious but painful nonetheless; thankfully his fever is now under control. The idiot wanted to go to office today, I am sure it was your sister who convinced him not to. She really does like him, doesn't she? I don't think I have ever seen Payal this worried except the time you had malaria back in school. She was with him throughout the weekend and now she took a day off from work. Payal Gupta took a day off. I still can't believe it!"
"People in looourve tend to do such things, Arnav." she said in a teasing voice.
"Wait, you think Payal is in love with my brother?"
"They are both in love with each other." she said confidently.
"And how do you know that?"
"I just do." she shrugged, as if this was the most obvious thing. He didn't probe further; this was one of the conversations he knew would end with her saying "woman's intuition".
"Alright, the hotel is at the next signal, tell me where I need to take the turn to his place."
"He said we should take the a right from the signal after the one at the hotel and then the second right from there."
They followed the directions and looked for the landmarks Vighnesh had mentioned to her; Arnav struggled a little to maneuver his SUV round the narrow streets and then cursed under his breath at not finding a decent parking space. He found one finally, but not one he was particularly happy with.
"You fuss over a parking lot the way some of my girl friends fuss over their hair." she laughed. He didn't find it amusing and retorted, "You don't understand! It can start raining anytime, and we have parked the car out in the open. And this place is full of pigeons, just look at the state of the other cars here. Dammit, why couldn't your friend live at a place that has a visitors' parking?"
"The rain will wash away all the damage that the pigeons may cause. And we're not discussing pigeon shit any more, Arnav. We'll be here for an hour, maximum two; Amma is making kadhi chawal at home, theres no way I stay back here for dinner." she rubbed her hands in excitement.
He was in love with a woman who was positively mad, and he was reminded of the same several times a day since the time he had first met her. They walked into the apartment complex and took the lift. When they reached the flat they found several pairs of shoes placed outside the door to the side, while the center was adorned with a beautiful design in some kind of white powder.
They removed their footwear carefully so as to not ruin the design and rang the bell.
"Gupta! So glad you could make it!" was how they were welcomed at the door. Vignesh, Arnav noted was a simple looking man, dressed in a deep blue tee shirt and a pair of jeans, his curly hair that refused to behave itself falling all over his face, his spectacles riding low on his nose. He was smiling widely at the both of them; Arnav observed the man look at him, his expressions unchanging, the smile sincere and welcoming.
"You said there would be dosa. Now how am I to refuse such an offer?" Khushi laughed as they walked into the living room. She turned to look at Arnav and held his hand, her hold slight but possessive, "This is Vighnesh, Arnav. And those guys," she said pointing to the others in the room, "that's Vaidehi, Shekhar and his fianc Shreya."
"And that pretty woman behind you is my mother" Vighnesh added and they turned around to see a middle aged woman, clad in a peacock green saree. She was lean but looked healthy, her features sharp and eyes piercing. The diamonds in her ears and the nose pin glinted brightly, her graying hair tied up in a braid bedecked with a string of mogras, the pleasant scent of which filled the air in the room. She was poised and polite as she greeted the two of them.
"You children carry on. My son can make a decent cup of coffee, but do not take him up on his offer to make dosa or any food for that matter. My boy cannot cook anything remotely edible. I have some work to finish up, I'll be out in half an hour and then prepare something for you all." she said affectionately.
"Amma please, you don't have to worry. I will-"
"I don't want your colleagues to fall sick kanna, nor do I want them to start hating the very sight of South Indian food. You stay away from the kitchen once you're done with the coffee. Oh, and make me some too while you're at it." she finished, smiled at the rest of them before getting back to her room.
Vighnesh looked at his mother's retreating figure with sheepish look on his face; he sighed loudly before he turned around to watch the amused faces of his friends. "I'm not that bad, Amma is a perfectionist that's all." The laughter that followed was enough to tell him how far they believed his words.
The room was small but neat and cozy, the wall was adorned with a large painting of Lord Ganesha, and a grandfather clock at the far end. On the other wall opposite the sofa was a massive bookrack, it shelved hundreds of books, each one of them covered with a newspaper sheets. A television was fixed right at the center. The room was chic yet austere. Arnav appreciated Vighnesh's conscious effort to keep everyone engaged, especially Simran and him. He noticed his easy camaraderie with Khushi, but he was equally jovial with everybody. Not one to feel at ease around people he didn't know, Arnav found himself strangely comfortable at this place. He understood now why Khushi said she liked the people she was working with; from the looks of it these people were genuinely warm and welcoming. That did make him feel better, he had been sick with worry since the time Khushi had been forced to take up the job. Today Khushi had wanted him to accompany her as her person, her boyfriend, and he didn't have the heart to refuse. She had come with him to attend every boring social event his firm had organized just so he wouldn't be alone and he never had to ask twice. She had made him proud every single time, and now he wanted to be there for her. He hadn't had the best day and was tempted to refuse, he knew Khushi wouldn't mind, but now was glad he decided against it. He was having a good evening after all, and he was with Khushi. And that's all that mattered.
PS - To be continued 😉
A/N: A small request to all my readers. A dear friend of mine has been keeping unwell since the last few weeks. She is a wonderful person and a strong woman, but is worried right now since her condition is serious. And I am worried for her. I realize I am being ambiguous, yet I would request you all to take a minute and send a prayer for her. I would be very grateful. Thank you 😊
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