Valley of Flowers

Chapter 8

DIWALI was around the corner. The Raizadas were having a party and had invited the Malhotras, Gupta s and few friends from their closest circle. Naniji had asked Khushi to do the necessary purchases and she had invited Anjali to join her on this shopping spree to Chandichowk. Since Mohan had to take Mamiji to the parlour, they needed to find a ride on the way back.

'Arnavji, do you think you will be able to pick us up?' Khushi asked Arnav at breakfast.

'I don't think so,' he answered back, looking at her suspiciously. 'I have meetings all day long.'

'Ok.'

After the night at the pool side where he had almost kissed her, Arnav had kept away from her. He told her that he didn't require her to go the office with him anymore and he would let her know if he did. She should have been relieved to hear that she couldn't help feeling a twinge of jealousy, knowing Lavanya would be working with him.

Chandnichowk was abuzz with people thronging to it, to make Diwali purchases by the bulk. The market sold items at half the price than the other markers throughout Delhi making it a good bargain for wholesalers and retailers alike. The only problem was that it was crowded. But Khushi didn't mind it one bit. She had missed this in the last few years stay in Mumbai. Without no family around, Diwali there had been low-key affair for her.

After couple hours of shopping, Khushi said rubbing her stomach, 'Di, I am so hungry,' She pointed to a small restaurant. 'They make the best samosas and jalebis here!'

'How is Arnav?' Anjali asked Khushi once they had placed the order. 'I didn't mean to say all that to Arnav that day Khushi. I don't know what came over me.' Anjali 's eyes were full of remorse.

'It's alright Di.' Khushi placed her hand on Anjali 's hand in assurance. 'Divorce is not easy. How did your mother manage after she left your dad? She had the responsibility of two children.' Khushi said feeling sad for the woman who was forced to take such life altering decision so young in her life.

'Well, she was a nervous wreck after the divorce. Luckily for her, Nanaji took care of us financially and Nani took care of our emotional needs. Soon she recovered and was back to her old self and began to dedicate herself in raising Arnav. She found it difficult to communicate with me because she felt I blamed her for leaving dad.'

'Why would she think that?' Khushi asked her eyebrows raised in surprise.

'She had made this assumption because I refused to take sides. I loved both of them.

'With Arnav it was different. He was younger than me and she could influence him to think in her way for her own self–gratification. She had become highly insecure.'

'This must have been hard on you and Arnavji as well,' Khushi said with feeling.

'Yes it was. Things get very complicated at school, when word gets out that you are child from a broken home. Arnav grew up with a lot of angst because of this hatred for dad. He has always been temperamental since childhood. And it just got worse. But he never let it affect his studies.' Anjali reminisced about how Arnav had been a high achiever at school. Being good in academics had made him a favourite of the faculty and he had channelized his anger towards sports making him excel in that as well. This had made him popular among the student crowd – the boys, with a grudging admiration while the girls just plainly drooled. But he didn't care for them at all, and had steered clear of them all through high school.

But that had probably changed when he went to college Khushi thought remembering Arnav's nineteen year old self in Dehradun. 'What about you Di?'

'I went into a shell and was introverted for a long time. But once I started studying psychology I began to understand a lot of things that had happened and were beyond my comprehension.'