Re-Union Pt22 Pg44 "Acceptance" - Page 4

Kripa lays the silver dress on her bed, she had gone shopping the day before and this silver backless, knee length dress whose front dipped just the right amount, had caught Kripa's instant attention and Kripa instantly purchased it for the re-union party.  She also made sure she accessorised, so she went out and bought a matching bag and a pair of high heeled sandals. She picks up the dress and hangs it in her cupboard before sitting on her bed and indulging herself in some light reading. She picks up her book and opens it up to the page she had saved and begins to read when the phone rings, Kripa closes her eyes and sighs but lets the answering machine pick the message up, its only until after her boss leaves a message that she remembers Prithvi and decides to go see him, she saves her page and grabs her car keys and heads out the door.

Kripa had never been to Prithvi's house much and now this is the second time in two weeks, first during Mishty's funeral and now just to see Prithvi. Kripa knocks on the beige wooden door and waits for someone to open up, Kripa had seen Prithvi's car in the driveway so it was obvious he would be home unless he had gone somewhere else by foot. Kripa turns to leave when the door opens, Kripa turns and finds Prithvi standing in the doorway topless, revealing his well toned body, she clears her throat and Prithvi realises what she's hinting at, he opens the door wider "sit down, I'll be back in a few seconds" Kripa nods her head and steps into the house and sits on the sofa, she looks around the room and it looks pretty plain, she may not have been there often but she could tell things were missing, mostly pictures and possibly Mishty's belongings. She looks up at the shelf and notices a photo of Prithvi with Angad, they had been the best of friends, still are, if Prithvi could overcome Mishty's death it would be due to Angad.

"so what brought you here" Kripa looks left and sees Prithvi standing by the sofa now wearing a cream shirt, she shifts along the sofa and gives room for Prithvi to sit beside her "you left me a message remember, thanking me for coming to the funeral" Prithvi nods his head and smiles, Kripa smiles as well, Prithvi offers her a drink but she refuses and he gets down to the point. "I knew you and Mishty never got on, when mom told me she invited you to the funeral, I half expected to not turn up and I was quite surprised when you did"

"me and you both" Kripa replied with a warm smile on her face, she sighs "I was debating with myself whether or not to go but in the end I did out of respect for you and your mother, so are you coming to the re-union?" Prithvi sighs and stands up, he makes his way over to the drinks cabinet and takes out a bottle of whiskey, he offers some to Kripa again but she refuses and he pours himself a glass and gulps it in one go, he shakes his head before speaking "I'm not to sure, everyone will be feeling sorry for me because of Mishty's death and half of the people will talk a load of crap about how she was a nice person you and me both know what Mishty was like, I don't need people acting fake in front of me"

"You should come, forget everyone else, Mishty would have wanted you to, and I'll be there…..and Angad will be" Prithvi grins and sits opposite Kripa and looks her square in her eyes "did you two talk?" Kripa nods her head "we briefly spoke, he gave me a lift home, that was all"

"Do you still love him?" Kripa's heart began racing, it happened every time she asked herself the same question, she looks away from Prithvi's eyes and focuses on a spec of dust on the wall before looking at him again and replying "I'm over Angad" Prithvi half smiles and reaches out for Kripa's hand "that's not what I asked, do you still love him" Kripa stands up and faces away from Prithvi, how could she answer the question when she herself wasn't aware of the answer, she thanks her stars when Damini, Prithvi's mom enters the room, Kripa politely greets her and indulges in some small talk, but all the time she can feel Prithvi's eyes on her, mentally asking her the same question again and again and its driving Kripa up the wall. After few pleasantries she excuses herself and leaves, Prithvi sees her to the her car, he leans forward while she sits in the drivers seat "think about what I said…….and I'll see you at the re-union" Kripa smiles victoriously, at least one good thing had come out of the trip down to his house.

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Angad blasts his Kanye West CD as he swerves through traffic to get to his meeting, it isn't a work client, no, it's his father, Dilip Khanna, the man who Angad hasn't seen in over 2 years. Both are very busy men and with Angad living in Birmingham and his father in London, it does become very difficult for both to meet up regularly, and on this rare occasion, Dilip is in Birmingham and he had called Angad up an hour ago and told him the very same thing and Angad right away cancelled any other meetings just to see his old man.

Dilip Khanna, a businessman by profession, the CEO of the Royal Bank of Scotland's office in London, and a father by choice. Although a father of 25 year old Angad, Dilip rarely ever looked a day over 40, but in reality bordering on 50. Angad's father is a hard man to please but as long as you hit the right areas, he'll be on your side. Angad pushes the door open to The Oriental and eyes over the tables and spots his father in the far right corner, typical thinks Angad, furthest away from the entrance, makes a quick getaway impossible, but none the less, Angad makes his way towards the table his father is currently occupying.

Anyone who saw these two men would think they were brothers, both were near enough the same heights, Angad with a height of 6, 4'' just beating Dilip's 6, 3'', but as the two hug the slight difference in height isn't noticeable.  Moreover both dress alike, Angad in his beige Armani suit with his black shirt with faint white stripes, with his shirt collar covering his jacket collar and his jacket buttons un done just like the two top buttons to his shirt, bearing a small amount of his skin and Dilip wearing a grey CK suit also with a black shirt but all of his buttons done up, but the buttons to his jacket are also open and his shirt collar is firmly tucked underneath his jacket collar, but ignoring the minor adjustments according to their personalities the two men shared the same dress sense.

Angad stands by the table as his father sits back down after sharing a polite hug with his son, he waits until Dilip nods for him to sit and Angad obeys, pulling out the chair and sitting opposite Dilip. The waitress approaches their table and hands them both menus, Angad, under the pretence of looking at the menu, finally plucks the courage to speak to Dilip. "What bought you to Birmingham?" Dilip eyes Angad from over the menu, he can tell Angad is hiding behind the menu because he doesn't want to look Dilip in his eyes, Dilip places the menu down and clears his throat "Just some business, and like I told you on the phone, I thought we should meet, it's been too long"

"what stopped you earlier?" Angad finally comes out from behind the menu and looks at Dilip, both knew the reason they hadn't met in the past two years wasn't just because they were both busy in their work, but also because of Dilip's decision to re-marry. At the age of 46, Dilip fell in love with 30 year old Kareena Evans, almost 8 years after the demise of his first wife had Dilip felt he could live again, but when he had presented this news to his only child, things didn't go down well. Angad had expressed his disgust for his father even thinking of getting into a relationship with another woman let alone getting married, Angad may have been aware that his father was as much lonely as he was, but he felt it didn't give him the right to betray his mother, and when Dilip invited Angad to his wedding, Angad bluntly refused to participate or have anything to do with his step-mother, who was old enough to be his big sister.

"I want to put the past behind us Angad, it's not fair for you to so against me and your mother like this" Angad puts his hand up stopping his father from talking "She is not my mother, my mother is Naina Khanna, and if anyone has the right to take her place, it's Damini Aunty, not your wife" Angad is in a right mind to get up and leave but out of respect for the man in front of him he decides against it, he swiftly changes the topic and waits for the waitress to come and take their orders.

When the food arrives, Angad digs into his but notices his father looking at him, he puts his fork down and wipes his mouth with the napkin before looking at Dilip. "What is it?" Angad asks, Dilip breathes deeply causing Angad to become a little wary "Dad, tell me" His father puts his hand forward and pats Angad's hand assuring him not to panic "It's nothing bad Angad, Kareena wants to move to the US and I've agreed" If they don't live away from each other as it is, now he is planning on moving out of the country, Angad nods his head in acceptance and continues to chow down on his meal

"Whatever makes you happy dad, and besides, it's not like anything I say will make any difference, so, you should go" Angad swallows the bite and knocks back the glass of water before pushing the chair out and standing up. "It was good to see you dad, I'm glad you had the courtesy to tell me face to face that you're leaving, have a safe journey and do call if you need anything" Both know there is a hint of sarcasm in Angad's tone but Dilip keeps quiet about it, Angad hurriedly wipes his face clean with the napkin and throws it on the table and leaves.

******************

Re-Union Night

Kripa sets the second earring in place before picking up the diamond studded necklace and draping it around her neck, she centres it and brushes her hair aside and fixes her eyes on the cupboard length mirror, the silver dress hugs her in all the right places and shows just enough skin. Kripa picks up her shawl and places it on her arm before reaching out for her bag, she opens it and puts inside a little bit of make up, a hand mirror, her purse and her spare keys, she picks up her usual set of keys and heads outside. She's almost inside the car when she hears a horn honking, irritated, she looks up and is stunned to see Angad leaning against his car, who would have thought, without even wanting to, both are dressed to match, Angad smiles wearing a silver Gucci suit and a white shirt. He notices her about to sit in her car so he practically races over and holds her arm, she looks at him, if looks could kill Angad would have died a thousand deaths. "I came to pick you up" Angad explains uselessly, he moves out of the way to let her see the car, she sighs ready to object but he beats her to it "we're both going to the same place, it's pointless if we take separate cars, you can save petrol money this way" Angad grins when Kripa beings to think, she figures he'll continue to persuade her so reluctantly she agrees. She shuts her car door and locks it, Angad beams with victory and leads her to his car, he opens the passenger door and waist for her to be comfortable before shutting it and working his way around to the driver's seat, he gets in and fastens his seat belt, he flashes another smile before starting the ignition.

Angad waits until Kripa is firmly out of the car before slamming the door shut and passing the keys and a 10 tip onto the valet assistant, he holds out his arm to Kripa who merely rolls her eyes ad walks ahead, Angad grins to himself and moves on ahead after her, he falls into step with her and reminds her "we came together you know, so we should enter the building together" Kripa is shocked yet aware that Angad is trying on his charms so she stands in front of him and replies "Just because we came in the same car, does not mean we are together Khanna, so you better watch yourself or else this respected law assistant will not think twice before giving your butt a whopping" With that she walks off leaving Angad feeling astonished at Kripa's behaviour, she may have been working in a law company for the past 2 years but she still has the flare, the attitude she had in high school, Angad shakes his head and enters the building.

Imagine you're a bride, standing in the archway of the church, ready to walk down the aisle, you look up and what do you see, the immense amount of guests staring at you, pretty scary right? That's what Kripa feels like at this very moment, she casually walks into the hall, decorated with silver balloons with a banner saying "Welcome back Class of 2000" Kripa looks over her shoulder and for the first time is relieved to see Angad, and it seems that Angad knows she's relieved so he stands next to her and leans down "wow, so many people turned up, who would have thought" Kripa gives a faint smile and looks around, Angad smirks and also decides to check out the guests, he looks and sees some old friends, who merely wave, Angad, although not recognising anyone, waves back and quickly faces another direction and is stunned to catch sight of Prithvi.

"That's funny, when I asked you to come, you refused, what changed your mind?" Prithvi turns around upon hearing Angad's voice, he smiles nervously and gives Angad a warm hug, Kripa joins them and both exchange pleasantries, Angad still stares at Prithvi waiting for an answer, Prithvi sighs "Kripa talked me into it, so I came" Angad is taken aback, he glances at Kripa then at Prithvi then dismisses the matter altogether "who cares, as long as you're here, shall I get you a drink?"

"Yeah sure, a beer will do" Angad nods his head and glances at Kripa "what about you Kripa?" She looks up at him and nods her head "just a glass of water please" Angad smiles and heads to the bar, he gets two bottles of beer, one for Prithvi and one for himself and a glass of water for Kripa, but as he turns to go back to them both, something else grabs his attention. On the dance floor Prithvi and Kripa are slow dancing to a song, Angad feels a rage of jealously overcoming him as Prithvi places his hand on Kripa's waist, he closes his eyes and breathes deeply then manoeuvres through the crowd to get to them both.

Kripa wants to kick the person who pulled her and Prithvi on to the dance floor and practically shoved her into Prithvi's arms, but Kripa can't even reject the idea of dancing with Prithvi because he's a close friend, anyone else then she may have refused as soon as the other person was out of sight, but here Kripa slow dances with Prithvi. They share some small talk when Kripa notices Angad fuming with anger, or rather jealousy; she giggles to herself and brings Prithvi's attention to the same thing, both have a chuckle over it when Angad arrives with their drinks, he clears his throat and Prithvi moves his hand from Kripa's waist, Angad clearly looks relieved and passes Kripa her water and Prithvi his beer while giving him a I'll-talk-to-you-later-look. Prithvi knows well and backs off slightly, the three take a stand near the back while the ex-principal makes his appearance and his speech.

Could things be any more boring, that's the only thing running through Angad's mind, that and Kripa but nothing new there, as he takes a swig from his third beer Angad finally has enough, after talking with many old friends and teachers, it isn't a surprise Angad got bored. He pulls Kripa to a side "I want to go home this is so boring" Kripa smiles and looks at him "then go" Angad isn't sure if he heard Kripa correctly but when she said it the second time he is baffled "but who will take you home?" Kripa looks around and points to Prithvi much to Angad's disappointment "Kripa stop joking around and lets go" This time it's Kripa who is shocked, she folds her arms across her chest "I'm not joking, if you want to leave then leave, I'll go home with Prithvi" Angad feels angry and grabs hold of Kripa's arm "you must be crazy if you think I'll let you go home with Prithvi"

The next thing Kripa knows is Angad is literally dragging her out of the building, she allows him to while the guests are around but as soon as they're out of the building and Kripa sees no one around, she pulls her arm away "what the heck is wrong with you Khanna! I am not the same Kripa who was head over heels in love with in high school; I am not the same Kripa who would do anything for you and I damn well am not the same Kripa who you left for Mishty on Prom Night!" Kripa never knew when her tone turned from anger to hurt and she never knew when Angad's lips were on hers, Kripa doesn't know what to do, kiss him back or push him away, when Angad uses his left hand to cup her face she's caught up in her emotions and begins to lose a grip on reality and begins to go back, back into the past where she loved Angad and he loved her, but it's the very past that brings Kripa back to senses and she pushes Angad off her and smacks him across his left cheek "screw you Khanna" Kripa storms off out of the gates, Angad curses himself under his breath and goes to his car.