Chapter 17: Retrospect

It was easier to breathe now. Her thoughts were jumbled though. So she sorted through them.

The door bell rang through and echoed in her new flat. It was half empty because of the lack of furniture there was.

Khushi stood up from among the pile of clothes she was organizing, wondering who it could be. She walked to the door and opened the door to a lean, beautiful woman with a head of wild curls. Right behind her there was a rather handsome and heavily built man.

"Hi!" The lean woman smiled and put her hand out to Khushi. "You're new here, right? I'm Monisha and this is my husband, Rohan." The woman pointed to the man behind her. "We live in the flat next door and we wanted to welcome you."

Khushi smiled in response and shook her hand. It felt good to know there were still good people in the world. Khushi invited them in and Monisha presented her a box of sweets.

Thanking her, Khushi opened the box and her mouth opened. "Jalebi!" She exclaimed.

Monisha looked varily at her husband before looking back at Khushi. "You don't like them?" She asked, slightly disappointed. 

"No! I mean yes! I mean I love jalebis! They're my favorite!" Khushi corrected her.

"Really?!" Monisha exclaimed, unable to contain her excitement. Behind her, Rohan rolled his eyes and went off to explore the new flat. "They're my favorite too!"

"Sach?!" Khushi was equally excited. "Do you make them?"

Monisha frowned. "No, I'm bad at cooking."

"You love jalebis and you don't know how to make them?" Khushi exclaimed.

"No." Monisha looked crestfallen. 

"No problem! Khushi Kumari Gupta Sigh Raizada will teach you how to make the perfect jalebis!"

Their friendship had started there. An entire day spent baking batches and batches of jalebis, while Rohan sat at table giving his commentary on each batch.

***

"Khushi?" Monisha sat next to her and put a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Why didn't you tell me you were pregnant?"

Khushi remained silent and a lone tear fell from her eye. Rohan came and sat on the other side of Khushi.

"Khushi? Where is your husband? Did he leave you Khushi? Does he know you're pregnant?"

Khushi broke down then. That night was the night for stories and Khushi's story weaved a stronger bond between Monisha, Rohan, and her.

***

"What is this?" Khushi frowned at the green in front of her. 

"A salad." Monisha beamed.

"Salad matlaab?"

"Matlaab, from now on you'll be eating healthy!"

"But-"

"No buts! Now eat."

"You should try some, Khushi. It's the only thing she cooks well." Rohan winked at Khushi before a flying wooden spoon hit him in the chest.
 
***

"Call me Mahesh, please. You can drop the 'Ji'." Khushi smiled and agreed. His presence was so comforting.

"Alright then Mahesh. Your wish." Khushi replied.

***

"Khushi?" Mahesh called from outside the door.

She opened it and beamed. "I'm ready."

"Good, get Shiv." He replied. "And please hurry! Mom is cooking tonight and she'll have a lot to feed us, so the earlier we get there, the more time we have to eat her 101 dishes." He joked.

***

"Oh so you're THE Mahesh." Monisha eyed him up and down jokingly.

"Yes, that will be me." He replied, completely at ease.

Monisha turned to Khushi. "Alright you two go ahead, Shiv will be safe with me."

***

"Khushi, I know that I'm supposed to be the one putting positivity into you, but we can't wait anymore." Mahesh sounded frustrated.

"I know..." Khushi whispered.

"You have to make a choice..." He replied, his voice softer now.

"I'll go to Delhi." Her reply was confident, her spirit unwavering."

***

Khushi's head felt heavy, but she let it sink into the soft pillow beneath her. Her eyes refused to open and she was fine with that. She wasn't ready to face things just yet.

---

Arnav watched her slowly sink her head into the pillow more comfortably. He stroked her hand which he held tight in his own and shut his eyes.

I'm here to get a divorce!

The words echoed in his mind over and over again. She didn't mean it, he told himself. There was no way.

The faster I get, the faster I can go back!

Back to what? Why would she return to him if it was to leave him. He had made a promise to himself that he'll never let her go, and he was going to follow through with it. She wasn't ever leaving him. Not anymore.

You can have Shiv.

Why? She was hiding something. Khushi would never leave Shiv. He had seen the way she held him, the way she looked at her baby. No, she wasn't that type of a mother.

"Is she prone to fainting?" The doctor asked. Arnav nodded. Only he knew how many times Khushi had fainted before him.

"Well, in some situations nose bleeds could occur from stress or some natural cause. I'm injected some sedatives into her system so she'll stay calm while her blood pressure comes to a steady rate.Don't worry, Mr. Raizada, she'll be fine." The doctor concluded.

The family couldn't put their finger on what situation would cause Khushi so much stress to faint. They were contemplating that downstairs, while Arnav stroked Khushi's hand over and over again. He was contemplating something else.

How could he get her to stay? Or was it too late?