Chapter 238

She was not sleepy probably due to all the excitement that day, the wonderful food that she had eaten at Pryag’s house added to it and she just felt too full to fall asleep. It had been quiet difficult for her to get out of there that day, somehow she had enjoyed the unusual crowd. She was happy that she didn’t have to stay for all the rituals and poojas and was able to get out of there and meet Sara but still make it on time for a great dinner. This time Chari’s wife had outdone herself. She knew she was a good cook but this time it was outstanding, everyone who was there felt so too. She settled down comfortably on the couch and immersed herself in the Reader’s Digest which she had picked up from Chari’s.

He slowly walked in behind her and closed her eyes. When she tried to talk he put his finger to her lips and murmured “Shhhh”. He slowly ran his fingers through her hair, moved it to her left, slightly tilted her head to her left and kissed her neck. She didn’t open her eyes gave a smile of approval. He kissed her on her cheek and took the book from her hand and kept it aside. He came and sat right next to her on the couch holding her by her hips. He gently leaned towards her and slowly kissed her on her lips. He tenderly grabbed her lips with his and closed his eyes. She slowly ran her hands through his back and clutched them tight behind his neck and pulled him closer.

His lips were moist and tender and it felt wonderful. He slowly moved his hands and ran his fingers through her waist and ended in her navel and gave a gentle pressure and her grip on him tightened. He picked her up and walked into her bedroom backwards as she wouldn’t let go of his lips. He gently slid her under the sheets and she let go of his lips reluctantly without opening her eyes. From the moment he had closed her eyes she had not opened them and she didn’t want to open them. He rolled next to her and took his shirt off. He stopped for a minute and took something out of his pocket. She felt something on her neck and her hands reached for it. He said, “A small gift for my lovely wife”. She opened her eyes and he was staring at her with his Mickey Blue Eyes.

Chapter 237

He was surprised. This was completely unexpected. The last time she kissed him on his lips was, when he was just about to go into surgery. As long as he can remember it had always been a peck on the cheek, it was not even a kiss. But now she kissed him on his lips, a strong, powerful, yet delicate, happy kiss. She continued to talk while freshening up but he was hardly paying any attention. He was shocked but in a nice way. He had had his doubts, that she had not completely accepted her engagement and now it was different, she kissed him. That felt like the assurance he had been wanting for, but reluctant to bring it up, afraid he might offend her or upset her. He stood there smiling and she stepped out of the bathroom wit a towel around her shoulders still talking. Her eyes were so bright he was just enjoying her expression and it was quiet evident to him that her happiness was contagious.

He tried to concentrate on what she was saying in order to find out what had brought in such a change in her. She told him about her meeting with Sara, John and their son. How adorable the kid was and how much Sara and John have changed over the years. She even admitted that she was excited to see her first crush with a laugh. She told him about her encounter with Akshar when she was about to leave and what his remarks were. She also told him that he sends his wishes to Pryag both for his recovery and engagement. After a pause, as if studying him, she mentioned what Akshar had said about Pryag. That he had made him jealous and waited for his reaction. Pryag smiled and said, "I know how lucky I am to be with you. He is not the only person who is jealous; there are many handsome men out there who probably hate me right now". She smiled with a blush and continued to power her nose.

She was ready in about five minutes and she walked towards him. Took his hand in hers and asked him he they can go down. He was standing right behind the door facing the room, leaning on the door. The other door was half open and she just about to step out. She was holding his left hand by her left, turned towards him and asked "Shall we?" with bight mesmerizing eyes. He grabbed her waist and pulled her over and lost her balance and fell right into his arms. Before he could kiss her, his lips were interlocked in hers, surprising him even more!

Chapter 236

She had been completely lost in thoughts she had not realized how long she had been stuck in traffic and finally the traffic cleared and she was on the move. She looked at her ring and smiled to herself and within minutes her phone rang. She picked it up with a smile and as she had expected, it was Pryag, calling to make sure she was doing fine and wondering when she would be back. She wanted to tell him what had happened but decided not to over the phone and hung up on him saying that she will be home soon and that she was on her way. Pryag was happy to hear that she had a nice time and cautioned her that the crowd was still hanging around. She laughed and thanked him for warning her and assured that she will do fine.

She smiled, thinking how sweet Pryag was and how nice of him to check on her and to warn her about the environment. She was quiet pleased by his remarks. It didn't take much time to get to his house once the traffic eased up and she parked a little further and walked over to his house. Her eyes shone bright in the street light, as if the stars were rejoicing the sunset. As she walked her earrings dangled up and down just as a dog would jump up and down upon seeing its master. Fragrance from her perfume left an aroma on the path she walked by, giving a sensation of freshly bloomed night queens and jasmines. Such was the happiness and joy that radiated from her that seemed contagious to anything and everything on the way.

The door was not closed and she walked right in and her eyes searched for Pryag in the crowd. She smiled a couple of folks out there but there was no sign of Chari or Pryag. The buffet was out there and she could see everyone was busy helping themselves and busy chatting with each other. She walked in and took her shoes off and approached the shoe closet to leave them in and she heard Pryag's voice behind her. He asked her if she had a great time again and even before she answered he knew the answer by looking at her eyes. She walked with him and started talking to him about Sara and how wonderful it was to meet her and indicated that she would like to freshen up before dinner and walked upstairs to the room and he followed her since she kept talking. Once they were alone she kissed him on his lips and walked into the bathroom and continued to wash her face and continued talking.

Chapter 235

Akshar stopped to listen to the song since the compiler spoke a lot about the song she was going to play. She went ahead and explained how she came across the song. She said that she had been to a friends place for dinner and he had this song playing and she was instantly captivated the melody. When she had asked him to play it again since she had liked the music, he had explained her, the beauty of the lyrics. She continued to explain the meaning of the song at least the first few lines and let the listeners imagination run wild.

I am starting to like you,

My mind thinks about you,

I am not sure why?

Both my eyelids are fighting

Refusing to close

I am not sure why?

I don’t really know you,

I don’t even know your name,

Why do you disturb me?

I am happy, I am normal,

But I often think about you,

I am not sure why?

Are you attractive?

Are you interesting?

I am not sure why?

…………..

There were two singers male and a female taking turns in singing the song. He didn’t really understand the lyrics, but after listening to the music he was quiet interested and his imagination took over so did his speed as he was driving in the left lane with four or five care both in front and in the back since it was always better to go with the flow if you are going to speed. Somehow the lyrics and his thoughts took him to Diya. He smiled to himself thinking that was kind of true since that’s how he had felt when he had met her, in the party, in the blue gown, exhibiting radiance. She looked great, but she wouldn’t fall in the category of beautiful women, he had seen too many in his life, she was successful, he had seen many and dated many too, she was smart, yes that was not new either, but there was something about her that he liked, until today he didn’t know what it was, but he knew there was something….

In the rearview mirror he spotted an unmarked cop car hiding behind the bushes and he didn’t want to take any chances so moved onto the middle lane and slowed down a bit and as he had expected in about fifteen seconds the unmarked car merged onto the highway and he slowly moved further to the right lane and continued on a low tempo waiting for the cop to pass him.

Chapter 234

There was some accident and the traffic was a stand still. She could hear sirens and she knew pretty well she was going to be there for a while. She was too happy to feel bad about being stuck in the traffic. She put the gear in “P” since everything was at a stand still. She suddenly realized what she was listening to. Even though it was not her mother tongue she was able to clearly understand the meaning of the song, since she has been around Chari and Pryag almost all her adult life. The meaning was beautiful, very elegant poetry scored in an excellent music that was melodious. She had become quiet familiar with many such songs since Pryag used to listen to them, especially when he was home and recuperating. The lyrics and music had its effect, the whole conversation that she had with Akshar earlier unraveled in her mind. She smiled at the thought of it and the thought of him, his sparkling eyes, especially when he had said that he was jealous.

There was fire truck and she could see some smoke in the sky, way ahead almost out of her vicinity. She knew now that she was probably going to be there at least for another hour but some how it didn’t matter and her thought again drifted of to the events that took place earlier that day. She wondered how much John had changed over the past few years and how different he looked, but he still had the charm in him, even thought that had diminished a bit just like his hair, it was still there some where in him, that kind of peeked out when they spoke about their school days. Sara looked wonderful, having a child hadn’t aged her much but she had changed, seemed more matured for her age and more patient. She wondered if she would ever have any patience after having a child of her own some day.

The traffic started to move slowly, inch by inch, she checked her speedometer and it indicated that she was driving at the speed of five miles per hour. She kept an eye on the car in front of her, making sure she doesn’t bum into it, maintaining enough distance between, at the same time not letting anyone to squeeze in between. Without realizing her lips started humming the tune of the song she had heard just now and the lyrics made her think more about Akshar.

Chapter 233

Akshar was well on his way and was listening to his favorite channel, 96.3 FM where they play classical pieces from various performers. It was always a delight for him to listen to such music, so soothing and artistic and he also gets to hear about who is playing where and sometimes even the history behind some of the pieces composer. He loved listening to all of them and always wondered why most of the musicians from Russia play the violin and it was always difficult to remember their names, too many alphabets, especially consonants without the vowels next to each other and to top it all too many Y’s and Z’s. In spite of it they were some of the best musicians and he owned quiet a collection himself.

With Chopin we leave the world of the eighteenth century piano completely and enter a new realm of idiomatic writing that grows directly out of the technique of the instrument and its development that brought it close to our modern instrument in sonority. Chopin's heroes were Bach and Mozart. This sense of classical proportion and elegance combined with a love of bel canto operatic singing and his Polish heritage form Chopin's basic aesthetic. The Polish expatriate who spent most of his creative life in Paris is the first nationalist composer. Chopin, who wrote some of the most difficult piano music out there, managed to produce this music of tremendous depth without needing to make it tremendously difficult. Now lets listen to this score on Chopin’s E minor prelude rendered by Matthew Smith echoed his speakers and he was all tuned in to enjoy the melody.

The music had started playing and for some reason the broadcast was interrupted and the channel was picking up another frequency and the melody turned into an intolerable noise. With great disappointment he quickly lowered the volume and decided to wait for a few more minutes to see if it comes back up. It was his bad luck it seemed to get worse rather than getting better and he ended up changing another channel on his pre selected list and it was not too bad. He hardly listens to anything on the radio at this hour so he was not familiar with the broadcast and he was a little surprised to find out that it was some Indian program that was on. He was about to change the channel but the announcer’s remark and comments made him change his mind.

Chapter 232

She smiled and stepped out and he joined her in just a minute. She smiled and responded to his question by saying that it was indeed very special. Judging by the expression on her face and the finger she was wearing it in, he smiled and said, "Indeed it is special. An unusual engagement ring, of course for a very unusual and special woman". Her eyes brightened and she smiled with appreciation of his complement. He asked "May I" and took her hand and looked at her ring. Couple of passers by even mistook, especially at the way he was holding her hand, that he was the one who proposed to her and even congratulated them. He smiled at one of them and said "I wish that were true and unfortunately I am not the lucky one" and let go of her hand. He inquired how Pryag was doing and asked her to convey his wishes to him and added "Tell him he is a very lucky guy and I am really jealous of him" and laughed out loud. He looked at the time and excused himself that he has an appointment to go to and gave a peck on her cheek and congratulated her once more and left.

A thin pink circle so beautifully blended on to her cheek surrounding her dimples, highlighting her sparkling eyes indicated that she was blushing. She felt very proud and flattered by his compliments and was smiling to herself. She stood there for a couple of minutes forgetting her surrounding in his compliment and starring in the direction he walked away. Then she walked towards the parking lot where she had parked her car constantly looking at the ring that adorned her finger accompanied by a delicate smile. She liked Akshar very much. She had always liked him but right now, she liked him even more. He had made her day with such a wonderful compliment. The one that brightened the day and the rest of the days to come. She picked up the phone and thought of calling Pryag, she just wanted to hear his voice, she was very happy, on second though decided not to, since there were too many things going on in his house and she didn't want to interrupt. She felt so happy she decided to drive directly to his house and get involved in all the rituals.

She was not much into tradition and rituals and has always kept her distance but right now she didn't care, she seemed to have the energy to go through all those which she normally considers a torture, some how didn't seem to be one anymore. After all the day had turned out to be wonderful, bright and cheerful, even the clouds seemed happy reflecting her happiness. She slowly got out of the parking lot and mingled into the traffic which was not bad. She felt like listening to the radio, which she hardly does, as she is mostly on the phone listening to the voice messages and returning the calls. And today for a change she had no calls to return and no messages to listen to and on top of all she was so happy nothing mattered anymore. She was switching between channels and when she was in the middle of it she had to break all of a sudden as all the vehicles in front of her had almost come to a total halt and she forgot about the radio and was looking at the front to see what was going on.

Chapter 231

She stayed there for a little while holding her empty glass. She remembered how wild she had been when she was a teenager, especially since her mother was not around. She remembered John and Sara and all the fun and mischief. Her thoughts had wandered off and she didn't realize that the next group was already on the stage to perform. The sudden drum beat brought her back from her memories and she noticed that some guy from one of the bands smiled at her. She ignored him and continued to watch the performance. After a couple of minutes her eyes wandered around in search of Akshar, and she again noticed that he smiled at her. She just wasn't too comfortable and she ignored him again and noticed that Mathew was with his cousin and his friends and looked in that direction. Akshar was nowhere to be seen and she decided to head out as she was not too comfortable to stay there anymore, especially someone checking her out.

She walked over to her table, got her coat and her Gucci handbag and she thought it would be nice to say goodbye before she left and walked over towards Mathew. She wished the band best of luck and just then they announced that the results are in. She waited and they announced the winners in the reverse order, the third place was announced first and so on. Mathew's cousins group won the third place. They were excited and jumped and hugged each other. She congratulated them once more and Mathew asked her if she had seen Akshar. She was surprised since she couldn't find him anywhere there. Mathew added that he was the one playing the Casio and she probably wouldn't have recognized him.

He added that Akshar had to leave since he had to go somewhere, something along the lines of a long drive. She was both equally surprised and disappointed and said her good byes and walked over to the door. She pushed open the etched glass swing door with a brass handle and held it and turned back to make sure if it was safe to leave it so that it won't hit anyone. What a surprise! It was Akshar, but it was not exactly him, at least then one she has never seen. Well he was in an acid washed jean and a chenille brown sweater, but his hair, with highlights and worn completely back making his forehead much bigger. It kind of changed his face, and the highlights on his hair, she just starred at him not knowing what to do. He noticed the ring on her finger when he caught the door from her. "Careful! You don't want to break that beautiful stone on the ring" and smiled.

Chapter 230

They were not bad; one kid who played a solo on his guitar was in fact very good. He was quiet impressive. Weather it was a tradition or something, all the groups and its players were dressed in the typical rock star style. Some with tattoos pierced body parts and streaked hair. It also seemed a little surprising that most of them preferred to have some kind of metallic belt, as if it was an indication - heavier the belt with lots of accessories, most of them unwanted the senior and better players they were! Almost all were good, they seem to know what they were doing at least and keep the crowd entertained. One group in particular was interesting and caught everyone’s eye even when they were not on the stage. The lead singer, a pretty girl in a funky outfit. She had fluorescent pink highlights in her hair and was wearing a bright pink skirt over black tights with a leopard print boots. She had a black see-through mesh full arm shirt which totally revealed her leopard print brassier along with the three silver rings around her navel.

The drummer, which was quiet obvious was her boyfriend stood up to her standard. He wore his hair as a Mohawk, with a sleeveless unbuttoned shirt revealing the number of ornaments that adorned his neck and the pirate tattoo on his left arm. His leather pants, which were so tight probably made one sweat just by looking at them had a zebra patterned belt on it. It had many hooks and on each of them, there was something, a crocodile in one, an anchor in another, a Mickey Mouse and to top it all a feeding bottle key chain. The two were practically all over each other and didn't really care about their surroundings. In spite of all these they made a good team and gave a great performance on the stage.

There were five of them on the stage. Couple of them looked older than the others and they seemed to be a good team. Mathew's cousin seemed to be doing well. He had a good voice and a nice pitch. The lyrics and the song were simple and easy to follow unlike the others that were up there before him. There was also one major difference, the theme they had chosen. Unlike others, who kind of stuck to love and romance and unhappiness, their song was about poverty.

A birth in poverty is luck supreme!

A death in poverty, a great blessing;

A life of poverty is rare a dream;

Achievements great, stark poverty can bring.

’Tis poverty that goads nations do feats;

’Tis poverty that stimulates scientists;

In everything, poverty, wealth just beats;

The greatest men were in poverty’s lists.

And poverty lessens our worries much;

Account to God will be much easier;

Poverty gives the saint a divine touch;

In poverty, poets can fly higher!

Poverty helps to shun worldly pleasures;

A soul in poverty, Heaven allures.

She looked around, checked out the two guys dressed equally and typically like the others in the group, but no Akshar.