Chapter 22
Ariya stepped into her hotel room they were staying at for the past few weeks. The TV show was being shot in the third and final city, and they had two more weeks of the series to shoot.
Veer was away on a business dinner with the network executives, and she got back from hanging out with the crew in a nearby bar. She missed hanging out with Veer. She remembered her friends talking about wanting some alone time when in a relationship, but for her, the alone time she wanted was with him.
She smiled when she saw her sister’s name flash on her screen. “Hey, stranger.”
“So sorry, I’ve been so busy with work, I didn’t get a chance to call you back the last two times.”
“Siri, it’s okay.”
“How do you manage to live in a hotel room for most of the year?” Her sister teased.
“Just like how you endure the long flights when you travel for work.” Ariya retorted, playfully.
“Whatever.”
“So, one more month to go before you before you become Mrs. Bhat.” She was happy and excited for her sister especially after discovering love for herself.
“Yes, I’m excited, but I’m stressed about the wedding.”
“Why?” Ariya asked.
“I have this super important project, and mom wants me to go a week before the wedding date.”
“The Jaipur Palace Hotel will take care of everything… why does mom want to go early?”
“I don’t know, and I need you to talk to her. I already told her Uncle Jai can’t come to the wedding.” Siri seemed to be on edge.
“Siri, I’ll talk to mom about going there a week early and see if it would help if I went with her.”
“No, you can’t leave me here and go with mom. You are going with me.”
She laughed at her sister’s orders. “Okay, Bridezilla.”
“Are you bringing the dude you’ve been secretly seeing?”
“Maybe… I haven’t decided yet,” she teased.
“Why are you being so secretive with me?”
“Well, for one… I want you to stay focused on work and the wedding prep and not try to set up double dates and make brunch plans.”
“Yeah, Yeah…”
Ariya laughed.
“When do I get to see you? I haven’t seen you in ages because I was away when you took a break almost a month back,” her sister asked.
“I’ll see you on Sunday. I am coming home this weekend.”
“Why don’t I get to see you on Saturday?” Her sister didn’t appreciate waiting.
“I… I… ummm… I’m meeting his parents on Saturday night.”
“What the heck, and I don’t get to meet him?” Her sister fumed.
“Siri, he told me he would come spend an entire week in India for the wedding, and I don’t want Mom to start thinking about my marriage… not until you are married.
“So… you guys talked about getting married, and you didn’t tell me?”
“Gosh, no. I’m just saying… I mean, if he asked me to marry him, I won’t object.” She smiled.
“Oh my God… my baby sister could be getting married soon,” Siri squealed.
“Okay. Stop. Don’t get carried away.” She laughed.
“How exciting. Give me a clue. Is it that photographer?”
“I told you it’s not Dominic.” She rolled her eyes.
“Is it that director dude?”
“Siri, we are done here. I will see you on Sunday.”
“Bye, miss you!”
She hung up, smiling to herself, foolishly in love with him. She had never once thought about marriage, and now she could see a life with Veer, a happy life.
*****
Ariya ran her hands over the soft silk maxi dress she had on for the evening. She was going to meet Veer’s parents for the first time, and she was nervous. Veer strolled in whistling as she stood staring at herself in the mirror.
“You look hot.” He grinned looking at her in the mirror.
“Oh no, should I change?”
“What? Didn’t I just say you look hot, why would you change?” He scrunched his nose.
She took a deep breath. “Veer, I’m nervous about meeting your parents.”
“What? Why?”
“I don’t know… I’ve never done this before.”
“Me, neither. My parents are super excited to see you.”
“I am, too, but…” Her words were lost in his mouth as he pulled her into a kiss. She moaned when his hands roamed her body exploring every curve the dress hugged. He pulled back and looked at her as they caught their breath.
“You look beautiful when you look at me like that.” He grazed his lips against hers.
She smiled and felt the blood creep to her cheeks.
“Let’s go.”
Almost an hour later, they turned onto a private road that went up the hill leading up to tall metal gates. She could see a big house through the gates, more like a mansion, and the entire place was surrounded by high concrete walls.
“How many people live here?”
Veer laughed. “Just my parents, but the space comes in handy when I want to throw a wicked party.”
“Do you spend time here at all?”
“Not really.”
She smiled looking at the lanterns that hung on the poles that lined up the winding driveway. “Looks so nice.”
“My mom is a sucker for Chinese art and culture, and my dad throws a Chinese theme party every year.” Veer rolled his eyes, but she found what his father did to be a very sweet gesture. It reminded her of what her father used to do when they were still a happy family. The times when he would hide the gift he got for her mother under Ariya’s pillow so that she could give it to her mom, first thing in the morning.
“Are we early to the party?” she asked looking around the huge entrance.
“Not really… maybe everyone is outside.” He took her hand and led her up the stairs. He scanned his phone on a device on the side of the entrance and pushed open the massive door.
“Ma, Dad… where are you guys?” he called out walking through the opulent living space. He stopped in the middle of the living room and looked around. “Are they messing with me?”
“What?” Ariya asked taking in the beautiful interior. She wished she had brought her camera to take pictures. She loved to take candid pictures and believed in capturing the natural beauty of the moment.
“I know where they are.” He chuckled and led her to one side and down a small flight of stairs to a well-lit, open plan room. He walked toward one end of the large room, not letting go of her hand. He pushed open a heavy door and stepped inside, Ariya right behind him.
“Is this some a joke?” Veer growled at the elderly couple who were busy playing a game of billiards. The couple ignored his question and walked toward them smiling.
Ariya smiled at the woman who had the same eyes as Veer. “Ariya, we meet finally.”
“It’s so good to meet you, too.” Ariya smiled hugging the elderly woman who looked fragile and then at his father who gave her a bear hug.
“Ariya, I wasn’t convinced you were real until a second ago,” his father teased, running a fist into Veer’s arm.
“Ma, where is everyone?”
His parents exchanged looks and smiled at Veer. “Your mom wanted a low-key party, so it is just the four of us.”
“What? All the decorations, and it’s just us?” Veer shook his head in disbelief.
“We wanted to spend more time with you and Ariya.”
“Fine, suit yourself. Happy birthday, Ma.” Veer smiled, planting a kiss on her cheek and pulling out a small box from his jacket pocket. His mom took the velvet box and looked at him, mischievously.
“A box this size, is this for Ariya or me?” His mom asked making Ariya blush and Veer ran his fingers through his hair. His mom opened the small box and pulled out the beautiful heart-shaped pendant with a thin chain.
“It’s beautiful, sweetheart. Thank you.” She kissed Veer, affectionately.
Ariya smiled and opened her clutch and reached for the small package she had packed for his mother. “Happy birthday. This is for you, and I will say, I did not know about your affinity to the Chinese culture until I saw the lanterns outside.”
“Thank you, Ariya.” The woman gingerly opened the packaging and looked up when she saw the two porcelain sculptures inside the transparent box.
Ariya smiled at her. “As per the Chinese culture, the butterfly signifies beauty, elegance and long life and the cricket is—”
“Fighting spirit,” Veer’s dad said, putting an arm around his wife.
Ariya smiled at the sweet couple, and something inside her burned with longing, a longing to have the relationship the couple had. She knew Veer’s mother endured a lot when she was fighting cancer, but she knew she could not have done it without the support of her husband.
“Thank you, dear. I love it.” She put her arm around Ariya.
“You are most welcome, Mrs. Thakur.”
“Oh dear, please don’t call me Mrs. Thakur. You just crushed all my hopes of having grandkids by calling me by that name. You can call me Sejal for now.” The elderly woman laughed making Ariya’s cheeks heat up.
“Ma, what are you doing?” Veer shook his head.
“I would like to show Ariya around. Are you guys going to hang out here?”
“Yup, I’ll win this game for you, Ma,” Veer called out taunting his dad, and his father snorted.
“Bring it on, son.”
Veer’s mother took her by her hand and led her to a study and opened a shelf with a glass door. “You added two new animals to my Chinese collection, and I love them.”
She watched as the elderly woman gingerly placed the colorful butterfly and cricket on the glass surface. “What would you like to drink?”
“I’m fine… water is good.”
“You are making me think about grandkids again, Ariya.”
Ariya laughed completely at ease at how straightforward the woman was with her.
“Don’t get me wrong, dear. This is the first time Veer has brought someone home and introduced us to a woman. I have my hopes up, and I just can’t contain my happiness.”
Ariya smiled. “Veer has been busy with the animal kingdom to bring a girl home.”
“I never thought he would find someone until he got out of what he is doing, but my prayers have been answered.” The woman smiled, but something twitched inside Ariya. She was happy and confident with their relationship, but she wasn’t sure if Veer had given marriage much thought. He was still planning his transition from his current profession to taking over his father’s businesses.
“I was surprised to find out he was moving away from what he loves to do most.”
“That silly boy loves his father to death and that man, I thought he was spoiling him, but Veer turned out to be more than what we could ask for. He crashed his father’s sports car and was so devastated by Enzo’s death, he told his father to give him ten years. I never expected Varun to agree, but he did.”
“Veer told me about his plan, and I was surprised. I see the bonding between them.” Ariya smiled.
“Veer was born to care for the animals, and it worries me that he will be unhappy, but Varun says, you helped Veer figure out what to do.”
Ariya looked surprised. “Me? Not me.”
“It was something you said. He told me he was talking to you on the river cruise and you gave him ideas.”
Ariya laughed shaking her head. “I cannot take credit for it. They are all his ideas.”
“I know you will keep him happy,” Veer’s mom said making a lump form in her throat. She smiled unable to speak.
“I wish he would continue to do what he loves to do and not walk away to keep the promise he made to his dad,” his mom said in a soft voice. “He still thinks this was his passion from the time we lost Enzo, but he told me he wanted to be an animal doctor when he was nine.”
“Oh.”
“Yes, and it pains him so much he doesn’t talk about Zoey. She was a beautiful thing, and when she had her litter, she had complications and died, leaving behind a premature puppy. Veer cared for it day after day, nursing it with a bottle, keeping it warm, but it didn’t make it. Poor baby was so sad no one could save the puppy, he told me that night that he was going to be an animal doctor.”
“He didn’t mention Zoey at all.”
“She was his guardian. When I couldn’t take walks with him, she would go with him, and he was devastated when we lost her and her only puppy. He refused to get another pet for years until we found Enzo, and he looked just like Zoey… and years later, we lost him, too.”
Ariya knew why Veer was so emotional when he saw the puppy at the free clinic a month back. She chose not to mention what happened at the clinic and sadden his mother more, but it put Veer in a completely new light for her. She wanted to offer every ounce of happiness to him, and she didn’t know how.
“Have you talked to him about continuing to do what he is doing now,” Ariya asked.
“Yes, his father and I both did, but he is an adamant one. He looked at me and told me that his dad pushed his retirement out ten years so Veer could pursue his dream, and he couldn’t ask for more from his dad.”
“You’ve raised him well. He is a good man and a loving son.” Ariya smiled at the woman who held pride in her eyes.
“Yes, all that, and he does his crazy things like growing his hair longer than my hair.” She laughed, and Ariya laughed with her.
“That was very sweet of him.”
“His stories are endless and—” The sound from the kitchen interrupted their conversation. “Our food is ready. Let’s go get the men before we lose them to conference calls.”
Ariya smiled following the woman back to the billiards room looking around at the beautiful family pictures, a craving to be part of the beautiful family. The family she once had in her life.