Part 62
Some people have difficulty releasing control.
It comes down to trust. When they trust themselves, as well as their partner,
enough to relinquish their will, it can be emancipating."
Brownell Landrum,
The
car pulled outside of the hospital, and Khushi immediately opened the door,
stepping out. Arnav stepped out of the car as well, briefly adjusting his
sunglasses, as he followed Khushi. Falling into step with her, his hand hovered
over the small of her back, mindful not to touch her, as she hurried inside.
Her dupatta was lopsided, and on one side, it was trailing the floor. Picking
it up, he wrapped it around his hand, as he continued to walk with her to the
reception.
"Babuji?" Khushi exclaimed as she reached
the reception desk, her hands clutching the edge of the table, as the lady
looked up at her confused.
Arnav
finally pressed his hand against her back to calm her down as he spoke up,
"Mr.
Shashi Gupta?"
She
glanced at her computer and nodded, "Go down the hallway, and to your right,
the first room"
Arnav
nodded, and Khushi immediately started walking down the hall, with Arnav
following suit. His eyes roamed the hospital, taking in the rooms, the
furnishings, the staff, and facilities, and his lips dipped at the corners as
he realized that Khushi's father was being treated at a mid-tier hospital.
They
had just turned the corner when they saw Payal and Khushi's mother sitting on
the chairs outside the room, heads bowed down, and hands tightly clasped on
their laps.
Khushi
immediately ran towards them, and Arnav had to let go of the dupatta he had
been holding, so she wouldn't be stopped suddenly.
"Amma!" Khushi exclaimed, her voice cracking
as she went down to her knees, her head resting on her mother's lap, as the
tears started flowing.
"Khushi!"
Amma exclaimed, as her hands immediately went to her head, stroking the hair,
while Payal looked up and smiled at Arnav, getting to her feet.
"Namaste Arnavji" She said, her hands
coming together, as a soft smile rested on her face. Arnav noticed the dark
circles under her eyes and the frayed looking hair. He immediately knew the
situation was more serious than had been let on to them.
Arnav
nodded as he came and stood in front of Payal, asking her softly, "How is he
now?"
"Arey dammadji" Amma said, as she tried
getting up, but Khushi refused to move, "Khushi, move!" Amma said, as she tried
moving her head so she could get up.
Arnav
immediately stepped forward, and bent to touch her feet, "please baithe rahiye" Arnav said, laying a hand
on her shoulder as he eased her back into the chair, "How is...he now?" Arnav
hesitated over calling him babuji, his eyes briefly flickering to Khushi who
still had her head resting on her mother's lap, before looking up at Amma
again.
"He
is doing better today" She nodded, "the doctors are examining him at the
moment, so they asked us to wait outside. But I don't know..." Her voice trailed
off, and Arnav felt his heart clench. He saw as the wrinkles on her face
deepened, as her mouth dipped at the sides into a frown, and he could see the
tension on her face as she looked at the door behind Arnav.
Arnav
sat next to her, and rested a hand on her shoulder, "we're here now, and we can
stay here. You should go home and rest"
"Nahin, nahin beta" Amma said, shaking
her head, a smile on her face, "you two have just returned from your trip, and everybody
must be waiting at home. You should go"
"Amma!"
Khushi said, her head snapping up and a frown on her face, and her Amma
immediately glared at her.
"Khushi
you have just returned, it is not right if you stay out-"
"Aunty
please" Arnav said, and he did not miss as Khushi's shoulders stiffened at the
word aunty, but he continued on, "we are not going anywhere. Di already knows
we are here, and they are here on their way"
"Beta-"
"Amma,
please" Khushi said, and leaned back
on her knees, "we are staying here"
"I
think you should go and freshen up. I will call you as soon as the doctors tell
us anything, but staying at the hospital is not going to do anything" Arnav
said, and Amma looked at Khushi, who nodded, squeezing her knee.
Amma
started to get up, and Arnav brought a hand to her elbow, as he got up with
her.
"I'll
drop you to the car, and you can get dropped off home" Arnav said, as he
started walking Payal and Amma down the hall. He looked over his shoulder, and
saw as Khushi continued to sit on her knees, her eyes connecting with his,
while she watched them walk down the hall.
--------
Arnav
returned from dropping Khushi's mother and sister to the car, and giving
instructions to the driver about their address, to see Di and Shyam sitting
there with Khushi.
"Di! Jijaji" Arnav said, as he went to
them, bending down to hug his sister.
"Chote!" Anjali exclaimed, as she wrapped
her arms around him, bringing him into a hug, her face beaming, "how was the
flight?"
Arnav's
eyes connected with Khushi's before he smiled at his sister and said, "not too
bad"
"Khushiji,
can I get you something?" Shyam asked as he got up, "Rani Sahiba? Saale Saab?"
He added, looking at all three of them.
Khushi
shook her head, and Arnav noticed as her eyes darted to her father's room, her
hands impatiently tugging at her dupatta. Arnav took a step towards her, as he
said no to Shyam as well, just as Anjali spoke up,
"Chote, when was the last time you ate?"
"Di, it was on the flight-" Arnav started
to say as he slipped into the chair beside Khushi, but Anjali cut him off.
"Please
get something to eat for Chote" She
told Shyam, who nodded and headed towards the cafeteria, ignoring what Arnav
had said.
"Di,
I am fine" Arnav said, running a hand
over his face as he tried fighting the jet lag, but Anjali shrugged her
shoulders.
"Chote we have had this discussion so
many times. I am not going to have it again with you" She said, with a finality
in her voice, and Arnav sighed, rubbing a hand over his face. He stole another
look at Khushi and saw as her head was bowed down, her eyes shut as her lips
moved silently, her hands tightly clasped on her lap.
He
sighed as he straight ahead, taking out his phone, and glancing at all the
emails that still needed his attention. Sighing again, he closed his phone, and
placed it back in his blazer pocket, his eyes flickering to Khushi again. Her
teeth were gnawing at her bottom lip as she stared straight ahead, her face was
twisted into an expression of worry, and her hands continued to pull threads
from her dupatta.
His
hands twitched to cover hers, and stop her from pulling on her cloth, but he
stopped himself, and looked straight ahead.
He
felt someone staring at him, and so he looked to the side to see his sister
looking at him with a thoughtful expression, her lips twisted up into a small
smile. Arnav frowned, and stared back ahead, knowing that whatever his sister
was thinking, it was not something he wanted to discuss.
The
doors opened, and all three sprang to their feet as the doctors stepped out.
The
doctor approached Anjali, familiar with her face, as she had been there before,
and started to speak,
"His
condition is still very critical. There is not much response from him, and
minimal activity in the brain, however we are still waiting on the recent scans
from the MRI to return" Anjali nodded, and the doctor gave them a sympathetic
smile as he started to walk down the hall.
Arnav
had not realized that Khushi had clutched onto his forearm as she had leaned
towards the doctor, wanting to know everything he said. Her nails dug into his
fabric, and she stood completely still, her eyes wide and unmoving.
Arnav
covered her hand with his and looked at his sister, indicating towards Khushi.
Anjali
nodded, and took her in her arms, as she made her sit down.
Arnav
followed the doctors down the hall, and stopped them.
"Hi,
I am Arnav Singh Raizada" He introduced himself, "Shashi Gupta's son-in-law"
The
doctor nodded, and Arnav continued, "I am going to be taking care of the
account for Shashi Gupta. I need you to know that if there is any treatment,
anything at all that needs to be done for him, you have to do it. Money is not
a problem, and I will take care of everything"
"Mr.
Raizada, we can keep Mr. Gupta here, however depending on how severe the brain
damage is resulting from the stroke he had, we cannot be sure what kind of
treatment he is going to require" The doctor said, "I will keep you informed,
but it won't be a bad idea to look at transferring Mr. Gupta to another
hospital that specializes in strokes and brain injuries"
Arnav
nodded, and muttered his thanks to the doctor.
--------------
The line connected and Arnav spoke into the
phone,
"Aman"
"Sir-"
"I
don't want to hear it right now" He cut him off, knowing that Aman was going to
try to explain his absence, "I need you to look up the best hospital for brain
injuries, and get Khushi's father transferred there as soon as you can"
"Okay,
and the reporters?" Aman questioned, and Arnav thought about it for a second.
"I do
not want any of this going public yet. It's a family matter, we need to deal
with it ourselves first"
