Chapter 26
"Anjali, if you think Jai is such a wonderful guy and so incredibly hot, why aren't you dating him?"
"Lots of reasons, Bani, lots of reasons" Anjali explained. "For one, most of the past 10 years Jai had a girlfriend and there are rules about going after another woman's man, even if you don't like the woman and you know she's wrong for the guy. In this case, I knew that they weren't right for each other, but when Jai commits to someone he is a one woman sort of guy and I respected that commitment."
Bani listened attentively as Anjali explained herself. She respected Anjali's honesty. "Go on" Bani encouraged.
"I first met Jai when I was on my way to my first year of college. My car had broken down and Jai had stopped to help me and we realized we were going to the same college so he offered to give me a ride. By the time we reached college, we realized how much we had in common. We were both in our first year of college, both were business majors. Since we were both majoring in business, we ended up having a lot of the same classes. Roshni was Jai's high school sweetheart and he would never cheat on her. No matter what the circumstances. They both broke up for about six months when Roshni started to feel insecure because of the fact that Jai spent a lot his free time with me studying and hanging out. They did get back together but it was always on and off kind of a relationship after that. Once we were both done with college, we both decided to become partners in business. It is never a good idea to get romantically involved with your partner. It will probably surprise you to hear this, but Jai and I actually talked about our relationship and possibly being "involved." We both agreed that we weren't the right romantic partners for each other. We love each other tremendously and are best of friends. He is someone I turn to in the time of need and vice versa. He and I have a kind of relationship that is more than friendship but less than love. He even once said "Anju, I learned the true meaning of friendship from you. You taught me what being friends with someone really means." That was something that really touched me. He's someone I love to death but would never want to be with him. Besides that, I wanted to live in a warmer climate. Jai is Mr. India. He's a kind of guy who loves his family way too much to leave them behind and he loves his life here in Mumbai, lousy weather and all. No one will ever get him to leave Mumbai. That's what finally broke him and Roshni up. She was constantly pushing Jai to leave Mumbai for the New York and when he refused, she left without him."
"I'm surprised anyone could stay with that man for almost ten years" Bani smirked. "She deserved a medal of honor."
"I have to disagree with you on that one Bani. You and I don't see eye to eye on Jai right now, but Roshni was not the one who deserved a medal in that relationship. Anyway, having Roshni leave town and hearing that Jai could finally move on with his life was the best news I've had in ages. He didn't deserve her. She was always flirting with other guys even when he was with her. Always made it a point to embarrass him at business parties. She even went on to suggest that they should have a live-in relationship. Jai doesn't believe in that. He's a very cultural and conservative guy, very religious."
"I'll have to trust you on that one." Bani said
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The morning flew by and Anjali and Bani managed to categorize all the movies. The kids were having a good time with movies marathon.
After lunch and the movies all put away, Anjali and Bani decided to have the kids work on decorations for the upcoming end of summer dance. On her way to the Youth Center that morning, Bani had stopped at the Mathur and Company department store with the intention of purchasing the needed crafts so the kids could make the decorations for the party.
As luck would have it, she ran into the store's manager, Rajeev Mathur. When he saw how excited Bani was about the party and she told him what the event was, he graciously donated all the needed supplies
Part of the fun, Bani knew from her time in Spain was making the decorations yourself. As a Malhotra, one would never have the opportunity to do such a thing, which was probably one of the reasons she enjoyed spending time with her friend Marianna in Spain.
Anjali was impressed with Bani's coup and equally impressed with her knowledge of making decorations for a party with a Latin theme. She was very surprised a Malhotra would be involved in such menial tasks, never mind be good at them. She then remembered that Bani had spent much of her life away from the Malhotras and also mausi's insistence that Bani was different from the rest of her family. The Bani Malhotra she was seeing was anything but a stereotypical Malhotra and she was going to make sure one way or another that Jai knew that.
Anjali watched with interest as Bani directed the younger children in cutting the colorful tissue paper into different shapes and sizes and then stringing them all together. The older kids worked diligently in making the paper mach piatas.
"Where on earth did you learn to do this?" Anjali finally asked.
"In Spain" Bani grinned as she helped Khushi cut out her designs. "Where else?"
"Still, I'm impressed you can do all of this. Somehow if I think of you in Spain, I picture you in the penthouse suite at a five star resort in Madrid. I doubt they teach guests how to make decorations for fiestas."
"Well, it's true" Bani answered. "I did spend one trip to Spain in such a resort, but the best times I've had there were spent in Costa de Marbella with a host family. I spent a summer there once with that family and it was wonderful. Marianna, my host took me to all the local festivals and all the people from the village help plan the fiesta, decorate it and cook all the food. I was culinary disaster, so I spent most of my time helping with the decorating." Bani's eyes seemed to sparkle as she talked about her experiences in Spain.
"Sounds wonderful" Anjali remarked.
"It was wonderful" Bani offered. "I'll never visit Spain again from a big city. There's nothing like spending time in the small villages with the locals learning their customs. It's an absolutely beautiful country and the villagers welcomed me with opened arms. Marbella is probably my favorite place in all of Europe."
Anjali had the feeling of dj vu. There was something so familiar about this conversation, but she couldn't place it. She continued to watch as the kids made row after row of brightly colored decorations. The older kids made three colorful piatas, a parrot, a pony and bear. They were hoping to help fill them with the toys and candy, but Anjali informed them that would be done right before the party.
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Bani and Anjali were stacking the chairs from the "movie theatre" as the last of the children were picked up. Tarun had gone much earlier, it was his son's birthday and he'd bought tickets for the two of them to see the India vs. Pakistan in a cricket match. Tarun had been praying all day for the rain to stop and it looked like he finally had his wish, at least in Mumbai. Bani and Anjali both hoped for Tarun's sake that Pune would be the same.
"Bani, I'll finish putting these chairs away if you want to start gathering up the decorations. I've cleared off a shelf in the storage closet for them" Anjali yelled across the gym.
"Sure thing" Bani returned, as she headed over to the decorations corner. Quickly, she began piling the beautiful artwork the children made so she could put it all into the storage closet. The rest of the supplies were still sitting in bags and boxes on the floor, while the piatas sat on their own table to dry. So involved with her task, she nearly jumped out of her skin when she heard a male voice say "Hi" from across the room.
Almost dropping what she was carrying, she looked up to see those handsome penetrating brown eyes staring right into her deep brown ones. "Hi" she responded without thinking.
"What's all this?" He asked as he stared at all the decorations in front of him.
"The kids were making decorations for the party" Bani told him. "Aren't they great?"
"Well, yeah" Jai said quite impressed. "They certainly are, but where on earth did all these supplies come from? I didn't realize we had this much stuff laying around."
"You didn't actually" Bani began. "I bought them at Mathur and Company."
"What are you crazy? Did you even bother asking me about it?" Jai yelled.
"Oh give it a rest!" Bani seethed. "Just who the hell do you think you are anyway? For your information Mr. Walia, I didn't spend any of the Youth Center's money on these decorations, so get over it!"
"Don't even tell me you bought this stuff with MALHOTRA money?" Jai asked already having made up his mind that's indeed what she'd done. "I don't believe this!" He shouted throwing his hands up in the air. "Haven't I made myself perfectly clear that we don't WANT anything from the Malhotras? We don't NEED anything from the Malhotras. You need to take this stuff back, all of it."
Bani was absolutely fuming. "I will do no such thing!" Bani shot back. The two were merely inches apart and both looked as if they'd kill the other one given half a chance. "Now look Mr. Walia" Bani shouted angrily, "If you'd ever shut up and listen instead of always assuming you know what a person is going to say next, you'd have HEARD me say that I didn't use any of the Youth Center's money because Mr. Mathur the store's manager DONATED all of the supplies." Bani turned away from Jai and walked over to the table to grab an envelope she'd left sitting there.
"Here!" She hollered, shoving the envelope in his hands. "He told me to give you this." Making sure Jai had the envelope in hand; she gave him one last icy glare and walked out of the gym. Anjali shot her an apologetic look as she'd come back in time to here most of the conversation. She walked over to jai who was reading the letter from Rajeev Mathur.
"Good going Jai" Anjali said quietly. She knew better than to say much more just yet as she could already see remorse on Jai's face. Jai didn't respond to her, he just handed her the letter and walked away.
"Where are you going?" Anjali asked.
"I guess this time I need to apologize" he said simply.
Anjali glanced down at the letter in her hands and read,
Dear Jai,
Please accept these decorations on behalf of Mathur and Company for the Youth Center. I can not begin to express my gratitude for everything the Center has done for my family. My granddaughter Khushi has been completely lost since her mother passed away last summer and it has only been recently that she has begun to return to us. My son Sanjeev heard her talking to her rag doll last night and cried. It is the first time he's heard her sweet voice in a very long time. Please thank that Angel you have working for you, again for me. I didn't tell her about Khushi when we met this morning, as I wanted to tell you first. She has the most beautiful spirit I've met in a very long time and I feel as if she truly is an angel sent to help those of us in Mumbai. We should all be grateful to have Bani here with us.
Sincerely,
Rajeev Mathur
Anjali looked up from reading the letter in total disbelief as she watched Jai go after Bani.
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Bani closed her eyes as she allowed the tension of the day leave her body. The hot spray of the shower water was just what she needed after another encounter with Jai Walia. She shook her head as she tried to make the images of her latest fight with Jai, but for some reason she couldn't get the visions out of her head and it bothered her. It bothered her because she was allowing this man to get to her. It bothered her because she hated the idea she was being punished for something he thinks someone in her family might have done to his father years in the past. It bothered her that he acted this way only around her, to everyone else he was just as Anjali and mausi described an honest hard working loving family man with a sense of honor unlike any other man in Mumbai. What bothered her most was that it bothered her at all. (Did that make sense? Lol!)
"What is it about Jai Walia?" She asked herself. "Why can't I get him out of my head?" Bani recalled him chasing after her when she stormed out of the Youth Center.
**FLASHBACK**
Bani was walking out with tears threatening to stroll down her cheeks when she bumped into someone. At first, she didn't realize whom she'd bumped into until she heard a voice.
"Tum yahan kya kar rahi ho?" A man said in angry voice
She suddenly looked up recognizing that voice. 'oh no' she thought.
"Aap?" she asked finally looking at him.
"Kyun surprise ho mujhe yahan par dekh kar? Maine tumhe kaha tha na ke tum yahan par kaam nahi karo gi? Tumhe kya samjh nahi aya tha?"
"Alok bhaiya please! I told you I wasn't going to back down on my promise of volunteering with the kids."
"And you found only THIS place to volunteer at? For our enemy? You will do no such thing."
"Who are you to stop me? I've told you million times that I'm not a kid anymore. I can make my own decisions." Bani defended herself.
"Samjhti kya ho tum apne aap ko? You will not humiliate Dad and I. Nor will you humiliate our Malhotra name."
"You know what? To hell with you and dad and to hell with the Malhotra name. I'm so sick of being judged because of my name. I am, never was and never will be a Malhotra. And you can go and tell this to dad too. I come home after so many years, and what do I get? Not even a welcome. Did Mr. Satish Malhotra had even a second to come and see how I was doing? No! He didn't even acknowledged me being home."
"How dare you call dad by his name? He's your father!" Alok Shouted
"Father? What kind of father? He's not my father. He only adopted me because of the Dixit business and money. He doesn't love me. He never has and never will." Bani said as tears strolled down her face.
"Mein tumhe akhari baar keh raha hoon, you will not come here from now on. Don't even think about it. I will not tolerate any of this BS from you. Do you understand me?!"
"Do whatever you want to do, you can not stop me from coming here. You can go to hell! You know what, better yet, I'm going to break all my ties with Malhotras. I never was a Malhotra and don't want to be a Malhotra. I'm happy being a Dixit. Being a Malhotra has given me nothing with grief." She shouted
"BANI!" Alok raised his hand to slap her but was stopped by a stronger hand.
He looked up and saw Jai Walia holding his hand.
Both Alok and Bani were shocked.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Jai shouted.
"It's none of your business. You need to stay out of this!" Alok shouted back
"You will not raise a hand on a women and most definitely not on MY property! Do you understand me? Tumhare liye yehi aacha ho ga agar tum yahan se chale jao and leave Bani alone." Jai said as he let go of Alok's wrist.
Alok walked away pissed ready to kill anything that came his way.
Bani quickly wiped her tears and started to run to her car.
"Bani! Bani, wait, please!" Jai yelled as he caught up with her gently grabbing her arm.
Bani whirled around to face Jai, her eyes shooting daggers at him, yet she couldn't help but feel her arm tingle from his touch. "What's the matter Mr. Walia? Did you forget something? Oh I know what it is! You found out I bought the pop corn with my own money! I am so sorry Mr. Walia. I'll make sure I return the unused portion of it first thing in the morning. That is ok with you isn't it? If you'd rather I'll go get it right now and return it? After all, we wouldn't want anything bought with Malhotra money staying overnight in your precious Youth Center." Bani turned to go back inside the Youth Center but Jai stepped in her path blocking her.
Jai fought every instinct he had to return her sarcastic remark with one of his own. "Look, Bani, I came after you to apologize for what I said in there. I jumped to conclusions and I was wrong."
"Do my ears deceive me? Is the mighty Jai Walia actually admitting he was wrong?" Bani asked in surprise.
Jai did his best to ignore her comments. Admitting he was wrong was bad enough, but to admit it to her, a Malhotra was even worse. "Yes, I'm admitting I was wrong this time, but it doesn't mean it's going to happen again, just a warning."
Bani smiled. "Of course not" she said scornfully. "I'd expect nothing less."
Jai shot her a mock grin, his face then became serious again. "Mr. Mathur wanted me to thank you for everything you've done for his granddaughter."
"His granddaughter?" Bani asked in confusion.
"Yeah, Rajeev Mathur is Khushi's grandfather. He and his son Sanjeev have seen amazing changes in her since you started working with her at the Youth Center. Last night Sanjeev actually heard Khushi talking to her rag doll and it was the first time he'd heard her voice since her mother died."
Bani's face lit up. "That's wonderful!" Bani said excitedly. "I bet she'll be talking a blue streak before anyone knows it."
"Well lets hope so" Jai said. "So apology accepted?"
The smile was replaced by a frown. Bani thought for a moment and decided to let bygones be bygones. He did stop Alok from slapping her. "Apology accepted" Bani said quietly.
"Good, thanks" Jai said nodding his head and turned to walk away. He stopped and turned back for a moment. "Just remember one thing Miss Malhotra, I'm still going to be watching you."
Bani felt the heat in her cheeks. "You couldn't resist could you?" She fumed. "You just had to get one last dig in didn't you? I don't know why I even bother! You have to be the most pigheaded, ill tempered, egotistical, inflexible, infuriating man I've ever had the displeasure to meet!" With that Bani hopped into her car and took off before Jai had a chance to insult her again.
**END FLASHBACK**
Bani climbed out of her shower, dried off and put on a pair of sweats. She forced herself to stop thinking about Jai Walia. Instead she reminded herself how disappointed she was she wasn't going to get the chance to talk to Cuddly tonight, but she could at least email him. Not to mention, she'd written to Anisha and Kali earlier in the day asking them if they wanted to chat tonight and both of them jumped at the chance. She hadn't chatted with either of them since before she left Paris and was dying to catch up with their news.
To be continued…
How does Bani feel about Jai stopping her brother from slapping her? What are Jai's feeling regarding her last name? Will he realize now that he's seen and hard Alok and Bani together as to how different Bani is from the rest of the Malhotra clan?
So I finally used the suggestion making Jai see the way Alok abd Bani interact together and see how different she really is and that Mausi is correct about Bani. Hun, I hope it was along the lines of what you wanted to see.
Feedback is always apprecaited and thank you all to who've been silently reading (and now PMing me lol!) about this ff. I never knew I had so many silent readers. It's good to hear from you all! I hope I don't let you guys down.
Again, let me know if you guys have any suggest for a storyline. I'd love to hear it from you guys and maybe use some of the ideas as well.
Zpi, trust me on the Spanish party theme. We've already discussed a lot, I don't want to say anything here as I want it to be a surprise for everyone. Thanks for the help yesterday!
Anjali, STOP READING MY MIND lol! I seriously think your hacking my computer (according to you, you've hacked my brain lol!).
Ok that's it. Thanks everyone else who's given me wonderful feedback!
Happy Reading,
Anam
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