(This is dedicated to sharmake11, whose sweet message inspired me to update quicker! Thanks darling!)
Part 14:(Just a note: Geet leaves Hoshiarpur to pursue a life in Delhi, but she goes with the blessings of her family... she doesn't disown her family like in the serial, but just loses touch with them for a while.)
Maan & Geet had reached Hoshiarpur just before 10pm. Geet had wanted to take a train, but Maan had taken his jeep, which had been delivered to him after the jungle incident & repaired. The journey had been unusually quiet as Geet had been silently crying for most of it.
Maan pulled up outside the Handa residence & Geet jumped from the jeep and ran through the gates. She hadn't even knocked on the door & Rano, her mother had opened up. Geet fell into her arms, sobbing. Rano pulled away & wiped her daughter's tears. Her attention fell to Maan, who was standing a few feet away, feeling awkward.
"Geet, who's this?"Geet turned back to look at Maan.
"Maa, this is my boss, Maan Singh Khurana.""Greetings," said Rano, attempting a half hearted smile. Maan just nodded in response. Rano led Maan & Geet into the Handa house. Mohinderlal rushed over to his daughter and hugged her tightly. Tayiji also greeted Geet, along wit Rajji & Tito. Rano introduced Maan to the rest of them.
Geet looked around the house.
"Where's Brij & (I forgot his name, but Brij's dad, lol!)""They're in Darjee's room," Mohinderlal replied quietly.
"I want to see him," said Geet.
"Come, I'll take you," said Rano. She led her daughter to Darjee. Rajji & Tito followed, leaving Maan with Mohinderlal.
"You're Geet's boss in Delhi, am I right?"
"Yes," Maan replied.
"I'm sorry to hear about your Darjee."
"We're praying to Babaji that all goes well. How has Geet been in Delhi?"Maan's thoughts wandered off to his moments that he'd shared with Geet. Geet had brought happiness in his life, brought light in his dark days. The truth was, he now couldn't imagine living without her.
"Maan saab?"He snapped out of his thoughts, realising Geet's father was asking him a question.
"She's been coping well in Delhi. She's adjusted to it quickly."
"I'm just glad that she was lucky enough to have a caring boss like you."______
Geet walked into Darjee's room. Brij & his father greeted Geet, then stood loyally beside Darjee's bed. Darjee looked pale, weak & tired. He saw his granddaughter walk in & smiled faintly.
"Geet." He whispered. Geet knelt beside his bed & cried, holding his hand. Brij, his father & Rano left the room.
"Darjee, I should never have left Hoshiarpur."
"Now don't say that. You wanted to have a life of your own in Delhi, there's nothing wrong with that."
"But now you're so ill, and I wasn't here to take care of you."
"You're here now, my dear. That's what matters. Did you take the train?"Geet shook her head.
"My boss drove me here. He's here too. But never mind that, what did the doctor say?""He said I need to rest-" Darjee began coughing. Geet quickly got up to get him a glass of water.
"You should rest my dear," he said.
"You travelled all the way from Delhi.""That doesn't matter, I came here to take care of you."
"And you can do that in the morning. Now get some sleep, dear, & tell your mother to put your boss up in the spare room. What's his name?"
"Maan. Maan Singh Khurana."
"Maan Singh Khurana... Ok. Send Brij in."
"I'll pray to Babaji for you to get better again."Geet kissed Darjee's forehead before leaving the room & sending Brij in. She walked past the guest room, glancing in when she already saw Maan there. He was sat on the bed, facing away from her.
"Maan sir," she said. He stood up & turned to face her.
"How's your Darjee?" he asked.
"He's recovering... I just hope that he doesn't get any worse."
"I'm sure he won't."Geet then realised that neither she or Maan had brought clothes - they had come straight from the office. Geet knew she would have some of her old clothes lying around, but what about Maan?
"You don't have any clothes with you, what will you wear?""It's ok, Geet." He had already taken off his waistcoat & tie.
"My clothes aren't important. And if I can camp in a jungle for a few days then I can survive in my work clothes."
"Sir... I just wanted to say thank you, for bringing me here. I don't know what I'd do without you."As soon as the last sentence came out of her mouth, Geet's eyes widened in shock at her own words.
Why did I say that? she thought.
Maan was looking at her, more surprised than shocked. He had to hide a smile.
I don't know what I'd do without you either, Geet, he thought.
"I mean... I... I meant that you brought me here and so..." Geet tried to cover up what she had said but it was too late.
"You'd better get some sleep, it was a long journey," she said quickly & left the room, closing the double doors behind her. Maan smiled to himself.
The next morning, Maan woke up after an uncomfortable night's sleep. He was used to his luxurious king size bed back in Delhi, and hadn't adjusted to the small lumpy beds of Hoshiarpur. As he got out of bed, something caught his eye. He walked over to the chair in the corner of the room & found a white men's salwaar kameez with black slippers laid out for him.
"What's this?" he said out aloud to himself. As if right on cue, Geet walked in, also wearing a white salwaar kameez. She was carrying food for him in a tray.
"Geet, what's this?" he asked her as she set his food aside on the bedside table.
"Clothes."
"I know that, but-"
"They're Brij's clothes. They might be a little baggy for you, but they'll do."Maan held up the salwaar kameez, frowning.
"I don't wear Indian clothes."
"Sir, you can't walk around in your shirt & trousers all day. This is Hoshiarpur."
"If you can walk around Delhi in your salwaar kameez, can't I walk around Hoshiarpur in my English clothes?"Geet shook her head.
"At least try to look like a Punjabi munda. Maa made parathas for you, she thought you might be really hungry seeing as you didn't anything last night." Geet left the room. Maan walked over to the food and poked it, as if he was afraid of it jumping out. He was used to his continental breakfasts, but he didn't want to seem rude by not eating anything, so he sat on the bed with the food in his lap & took one bite.
It was like a volcano erupted in his mouth.
He shoved the food aside and ran out of the room, his mouth burning. He rushed to the kitchen, where Geet was, making tea for Darjee. She saw her boss' bright red face and quickly gave him a glass of water. Maan drank it all in one go, put it down and gasped for air.
"Sir, are you ok?"
"What was in that paratha?!"Rano & Tayiji appeared, and saw Geet patting Maan's back, who was still coughing. They shared a smile then walked up to them.
"Maan saab, what's wrong?" asked Rano.
"Maa, you didn't put spices in the paratha... did you?"
"Yes, but I usually do."Geet shook her head.
"Maa, Sir doesn't like spicy food.""Oh, dear, I'm so sorry!" said Rano.
"Are you ok?"Maan nodded, still unable to talk as his tongue was burning.
"Can I make you anything else?" she asked.
"I think he burnt his tongue," said Tayiji.
"Geet, give him some iced water.""No, it's fine, you should be taking care of your Darjee, not me," Maan managed to say. He walked out of the kitchen, dabbing his fingers to his mouth.
"Maa, you should have told me you'd put spices in his paratha. I wouldn't have given it to him."Rano & Tayiji nudged each other.
"Someone's concerned for their boss," said Tayiji, smiling.
"It's nothing like that," Geet said quickly, finishing up Darjee's tea.
"I'd better take this to Darjee."Over the next two days, Darjee's health was improving, and he was now able to walk around a little. Maan had reassured Geet that she could stay as long as she needed to & that he'd stay with her, but Geet didn't want the office to suffer because of their absences, so she'd decided to go back to Delhi the next day. That evening, everyone was sat in the main living area of the Handa household, apart from Maan & Brij. Geet was feeling nervous - Brij was strict, and she was worrying that he was confronting Maan somewhere.
However, Brij & Maan were outside the Handa house, on the porch.
"Maan saab, I say this on behalf of the entire household, I can't express our gratitude over how you looked after our Geet."
"You don't need to thank me, Brij.""You have our blessings," he said, patting Maan's shoulder. Brij walked back into the house & sat beside Mohinderlal & his father, whispering something to them. Geet was aware of this and was feeling even more anxious.
Maan walked in through the main doors & everyone stood up. Geet noticed he was wearing the white salwaar kameez that she had asked him to wear 3 days ago. She noticed how handsome & dashing he looked, dressed in traditional clothes. They suited him perfectly. Geet expected him to greet everyone casually and go straight to his room, so she was shocked when he went to Darjee and held his hands. He bent down to touch his feet, but Darjee, who was sitting down, stopped him.
"No, no, no need for that," he said, and placed a hand on Maan's head. Geet frowned, confused. Maan walked up to each individual family member, gaining their blessings. He even placed a hand on Rajji's shoulder & whispered something to Tito, which confused Geet even more. She was about to ask him what he was doing when he walked over to her & took her left hand in his...
(Ok, so I think you can all pretty much guess what happens next! But how will Geet react? Part 15, the last part of my FF, will be up soon!)
Edited by WalkIntoMyLife1 - 13 years ago
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