NEW FF ...THE UNEXPECTED updated page 39 - Page 2

Chapter 2

"Divorce?"  His mother, Godhavari, said as she looked  at him.

"Yes Maa'I can't do this anymore"

"What you mean you can't do this  anymore?" She asked looking  at hi m as though  he was 3  instead  of 33  "Vickram'.I don't care what you think Divorce is not an option  you  hear me 'you  have this families reputation to protect'I gave her father  my  word  that   you would marry her and take care of her..and Marriage my  dear is a lifelong commitment!" She said

"Really  mother?" He laughed  bitterly'"Why  don't you tell that to  Uma's Husband'I  think he missed the memo!" he  said scathingly'His  sister's  husband  abandoned her with child when he ran off  with a bedni 5  years ago..he was never herd of sence..

"I am talking about my  son! Not..that man!"  She said

"Hold  on one minute here!" Neeranjan   said  ..finally  speaking up  since Vickram  told them his decision. He decided  to make things easier on him self and break the news to all of them  at once and  save himself the trouble of  having to repeat himself to them.

Reva  was crying  on her brothers  shoulders.  Somehow  watching her  cry   was not affecting him as it should. He spent a lot of his life  trying to decipher between her real and fake tears.

"You can't do this to her..you can't just throw her out'Vickram  she loves you'"

"Neeranjan, who says I am  throwing her out'.believe me  I will take care of her she will want for nothing  for the  rest of her life'that I promise! But I can't do this  anymore." He sighed.  "Can you two give us a minute I want to speak to her  please?"  reluctantly  His  mother and   Neeranjan  left the study.

Reva was now sitting on the couch on the room ,  she was still crying.  Taking a box  of tissues he  went to her and sat. Offering her one. She  refused.

"I am sorry  Reva'I  know I am probably  being unfair to you. But please understand,  Reva something has changed, I have changed  I  am tired Reva'." He  stopped when she  looked at him with  dry  eyes, as she laughed'

"Ohhh I  understand! You are tired, of taking care of the mad woman right'.you  think I  don't know'.! " She began shaking her head from side to side.  "you want to keep me trapped here '.that is what you  want'.but  no'no'nooo''I am not  going!!!!"  She said still shaking her head 'She began rocking back and forth '

"Reva'.calm down ..shhh" He said as he saw  the beginnings of a full blown  tantrum. He put his hands on her arms trying to  calm her. She shoved against him  hard sending him reeling back, before he could sit up she got off the couch moving to the desk she  took up a paper weight as she  throw it towards him, hitting him  at the  side of his face, he dodged  the next few missles she  began flinging in his direction as he got up'

"You bas***d'.I  hate you  Vickram'.you  will pay '" She  said madly,  reaching her side he held her  arms restraining her.

Vickram  stood outside the bedroom  in the hallway  watching Nieeranjan  pace the floor, his mother  was standing  at the corner , lost in her own  thoughts.  Vickram sighed .

"Satisfied now , you  bas***d?"  Neerajan  said  to Vickram , he was now standing in front of him with an angry  look on his face.  "you  got what you wanted'she was getting  better  but you had  to spoil it." he spat at Vickram. Vickram looked at him  as he  tried to remain clm.

"Look I am sorry '.I"'

"He  is  sorry.. oh  save it'I  am warning you  if anything happens to my  sister  I  will make you pay." He said .

"Hey!"  Godavari  said coming to  stand   close to neeranjan.   "Look  this is  not the time for this'let the Doctor  finish  checking her.  Neeranjan, beta  go  take a walk ok.!"   She said .  reluctantly   he left them  and went out.  Vickram pinched the bridge of his nose as he let out a sigh. Both brother and sister can  be drama queens at time'although he admitted maybe the way  he made his declaration known  was wrong.

"Vickram?" His mother said softly, she came to stand at his side.  Godavari  was a proud  woman, she was  a Thakur's  wife  and she knew  what  that  entailed the good side and the bad.  She was a stickler for  reputation  though and  no matter what happened  to her   her  familys  good name meant the world.   They  were  Thakurs..and in the Thakur clan  divorce was not an option. 

"Son, I know what you're going through.  And believe me  had I known about her condition before your wedding I  would have refused, but Vickram  the  minute you started took that first  round around the sacred fire, you made a promise to her  to take care of her for life. You did it for so long'now suddenly."she sighed. "You  know Vickram, I  heard  that if women  who are ill like Reva were to have  a child it can cure them."  She said  staring at him.

Vickram gave his mother  ans incredulous look.  'What? Mother, please 'you have any  idea what you are saying?"  He shook his  head.  Sometimes  his mother  surprise him.

"Oh  come on'at least give it a try 'maybe  if you try spending more time with her, instead of running  like you have been doing since she returned you  wouldn't be so frustrated." She  said looking at him.

"Oh God!" Vckram sighed'the last person  one wants to have this type of conversation with is his  mother.

"I  mean before her accident you spent more time with her, you  shared a room'now she is back  and you two  are living in separate rooms , you don't spend  5 minutes together.  And  she is much  calmer than she was before the accident' Why  is that Vickram?"

'It was different'I was different'.Mother  look whatever happened I resigned myself  with my  marriage. And I  tired  to make make the best of it'you know that,  and then the accident and she was gone'after months I began  moving on, it was the end of an era for me.  Then she comes back'and I should be  happy about it'but when did she give me a chance to be?'two days  after coming here she begins nagging to go back,  if I am with her for more than ten minutes she starts  acting up looking for  an argument that makes no sence'so  for peace  of mind and  in this house  I  leave her alone!  I don't know if I can handle doing all this again!"  He  closed his eyes.

"Vickram  it's not her fault what is happening to her, you  know that. Whatever it was for that bond you two had befor the accident..that love'

"Love?, bond?'Oh  come on mother'when  in  this marriage was there ever time for that to develop'Reva  was nothing more  than a responsibility  handed to me. The only  thing I  have been  doing since the beginning of this  marriage was  running after her, taking care  of her. My  day  was good if she was  good if she did  not have an "episode' True I felt  sorry for her, and  I  hated  seeing her in pain I tried to keep her happy. Spend enough time  with some one and you  do develop an affection for them, and yes when she was  lucid she was'nt that bad.. Since  her  return  even that feeling is gone . 'Don't you think she would be better off if she was where she could get the proper care Mother? The world has change you know."  He said  hoping he was  able to get through to her.

"Maybe so, but I  have  not'Vickram  for me, for her give it a chance. Look son , Thakurs do not divorce their wives. It's not a part of a culture. " Vickram  laughed  sarcastically, he could feel his anger raising.

"No  they  don't divorce their wives'but  have no problem  flaunting  the bedni's in their faces and  ill treating them'you  don't have to look far, your  own  daughter IS married  to  a gem of a Thakur'is that what you want  me to do'Shall I  go out  and  look for a Bedni??...Wow your stubbornness and false sense  of  honur  astounds me! "  he said.

"Vickram!"  She said , his words stung as she stared at him that was no less than a slap.  He cold feel the anger  rolling out of her. 

Godhavari  looked at her son,  Vickram  was always  her perfect son, he followed her foot steps and did  everything with out complaint.  Even when he saw what Reva was,  he rallied and did  what Vickram dose made the best of it.  So all of a sudden  his  wanting to give  up and brake  tradition and his marriage was shocking to her.  Deep down though  she knew he was right, he never got any  happiness  from this marriage.    But it was ingrained in her , her father said it, her husband said it, her mother obeyed it, and she did her best to pass it on'"the reputation of this families name ,  is more important that the happiness of the members of the family."  If Vickram breaks that now by  this divorce business,  how would she face them'she  also know  he  was as stubborn as her..and unfortunately  she could not  control him.

"Fine'do whatever you  want, you will any  way, but I am telling you  you will drag this families name through the mud, and remember one thing, that girl needs on you Vickram good or bad'you made a promise  to her, to be with her  for life, and only  a coward of a man abandons his sick wife!  You  understand   me??"  She turned and  walked off, leaving him staring after her.  Vickram  closed his eyes as he let out a  sigh, of course  he would end up being the bad one here.!

The  door  opened ,  and the  Doctor  came out,  Dr. Suman was her name a  pyscologist."How is she?"  He asked.

"I gave her a sedative she should be a sleep  soon."  She said.

"What happened?"  he  asked.  " She was doing well , in fact  this is  the  first  attack she had   in over  a  year!" He was  almost  sure she was getting better.

"Yes 'but  getting  shocking news , or where  the brain is under stress, it can trigger these  things, Mr. Singh you  should know that." She said  looking at him  sternly.  Another person  on the Vickram is scum bandwagon he saw.

"She should be  ok and back to normal  soon, but  I am warning you this is not good for her'.you  need to be very  careful with her."  She told him.

"Yes doctor." He said.

"So what was it? that triggered this'all she kept saying was she won't go?"  Suman  asked.  Vickram looked  at her resigned  to tell the  events of the day.

"I just thought 'if I told them all together it would be easier."

"For who?" She asked.   She looked at him  with a slight pitiful  smile.

"Look  Mr. Singh, I  know  taking care of  a spouse  like  Reva is difficult,  and you did  it for a long time, longer than most, so I  understand what you are going through."

Vickram  look at her, " I  honestly  think she will be better off  if she  had the proper care, and I am willing to  arrange  whatever she needs'but I can get a divorce on medical  grounds?"  He   asked.

"Yes  you can'I  will  testify  to that'but I  have one request."  She said

"What is it."

'Right now , she is  stressed and she attached to this place'and change  can be difficult'I will try  to councel  her to agree'but  if you  do so now it can send her over the edge, and we have to be careful with her'give me a few  months to  prepare her'get her to agree'are you willing to do that?" She asked.

Vickram nodded.  "Ok.."

After the  Suman left  Vickram  went into the Reva's   room she  seemed asleep.   Today  was a hard day, but this was not going to be easy. He looked at her with a slight feeling of uneasiness, as his mother's  words  played in his head.  It was not her fault of her condition is true, but was he being fair to both of them  if he grew bitter towards her..

He turned to go out when she held his hand. Turning to look at her .

"Sahib" She said softly  sitting up slightly, he sat at her side.

"Hey" 'She looked  at him  as her eyes  filled with  tears.

"I am sorry, I  know , my  head'bu'but  please  don't send me away'I'll try  to be better." She said as she  hugged  him

"Shhh..don't think about it now'get some rest'hmm?" he said

"No  Sahib'promise me 'promise you  won't send me away'Please" She cried

"Reva..Reva shh..OK  'I  won't send you'" He said "Relax  I  promise you'll be OK"  He  said as he closed his eyes.

""OK'Sahib?"

"Hmm?"

"I am sleepy."  She said softly.   He moved away making her lie down, as he covered her.

Reva waited a few minutes after   Vickram left the room before throwing off the  covers and  sitting up .  She  let out a  sigh  of  relief.   She came this close to  losing everything  she worked hard for. Divorce? Oh no  Vickram  Singh  that was not  possible.   She may  not know much  but she  knew  how to play  her trump card, Poor  Vickram  was nothing  if not soft  hearted'and she  figured  out by  now which  buttons  of his  she  could push' For  now she  brought her herself  some  time, and  she could see  she had no time to  loose' once  he  got  an idea  in his  head  he  would   not give up.  One day  he would  get what he wanted and befor that she had to do what she needed  to do. 

 The ringing of her cell phone  broke  her out of her  thoughts, looking at the  caller Id  she smiled.

"Hello dear'."

"Where  is your husband I was sure he would  spend the night at your bedside!"  The voice laughed

Reva Shuddered at that thought. "Oh  please don't give me night mares 'it'll be  a cold day  in hell before I let him touch me! I  sent him  to his room,  not that he was dying to stay  by  my  side.

"Good  move'you  are really  are smart!"

"Well  we have to move fast now'Plan A is  failing."

"We have to move on to Plan B."

"Ok'but  let things cool down a bit'we need him back  to  ignoring me for that to work."'

"Hmmm. Well  good  night!" the voice  said.  Reva disconnected the call, yes  she  needed  him to put the divorce business on the back burner. 

hey vinnie very good progress...