Chapter 347

The flight was on time and both her brother and Kathy came out with a couple of suitcases each. They both looked horrible – tired and exhausted. They both looked like they had lost weight. Kathy seemed worse compared to her brother. She smiled at Kathy and gave a hug to her brother. Pryag said to her brother, “Welcome back. Let us get you home for a good home cooked meal.” Her brother said, “Oh! That sounds wonderful. I have really missed some traditional food. Your mom’s cooking? Oh boy! I can’t wait.” Kathy smiled and greeted Pryag and they were on their way to the car. Diya wondered how different she and her brother are. She never really cared for traditional food. She always preferred some chat and a snack maybe and leaned towards a nice creamy pasta with some salad and a soup. She grew up eating the food her mom cooked and always complained about it and asked for something else and that has changed until today as she still is not a big fan of any traditional meal. Mostly because she was never interested in food and it was just something she was a fuel for her body to function and was mostly interested in fuel to learn more and satisfy her craving for something new and something to achieve in life. She realized that she was more like her father and had the drive to achieve things in life and prove something. Kathy touched her shoulder and said, “Diya. You seemed to be lost in thoughts. Is everything okay?” from the back seat of the car. Diya smiled and said, “Just lost in old memories. That’s all.” Her brother asked, “If something brings a smile on your face, then that must be good. What was it?” Diya said, “I was thinking about mom. I remembered how much you used to enjoy her home cooked meal.” He said, “Oh! ya. True. She was a great cook. Unfortunately you never learnt anything from her” and laughed. Diya turned around and frowned. “Why me? You are one who loves traditional meals. You should have learnt from her.” Then she spoke in her mother tongue “Now that you are marrying someone from a totally different culture, you are really going to miss it”.

He laughed and said, “You know I was pulling your leg. I really missed teasing you. Now I really feel like I am home. I love you sis”. She frowned and turned to the front. Pryag looked at her and smiled to himself. Every time she falls for this. He provokes her by saying something and she gets all worked up. She couldn’t help but react to his statement and she regretted that and told herself “ I should not have reacted to his comment that way. I should have known that he is pulling my leg. Why do I call for this every time?” Her brother asked, “So what is new with you guys? I have a lot of catching up to do. Any news?” Pryag and Diya exchanged a glance and Pryag said, “Nothing much. I have recovered and I am doing absolutely fine as you can see. And I guess for your sister as usual work, work and more work….. So how about you guys? Too much traveling? The two of you look like you have lost a lot of weight?” Kathy said, “Yes. That is why we decided to take a break for a few months. I took an assignment with UNICEF here and decided to stay in one place for a while.” Diya’s brother said, “You don’t have to look at me, go ahead” Kathy smiled and continued and said “We have decided to get married and have picked a date.” Pryag exclaimed, “That is wonderful guys. Congratulations to the both of you. And I will be glad to extend any help with the wedding.” He looked at Diya and asked, “Isn’t wonderful Diya?” She didn’t respond for a minute. She didn’t expect to hear that. Some she still didn’t comprehend the fact that her brother was engaged and now that they have picked a date to get married came as both a shock and a surprise. Kathy asked, “Diya? What do you think?” Diya stammered for a minute and said, “Great. Just a bit surprised that’s all.” She noticed that her being hesitant and not replying immediately created a tension in the car. So make everyone feel at ease she said, “I never thought my brother was a marriage material. I am just still wondering why a nice girl like you would actually want to marry a guy like him.” Hearing that everyone in the car broke into laughter and Pryag pulled into the driveway.

Chapter 346

They hardly exchanged any words for few minutes. He noticed that her face had come back to normal and she seemed normal. He wondered if he should say something or give her a few more minutes but his stomach was making noises. So he decided to break the noise and asked, “Where would you like to eat? We are almost there. We have some time to kill as we hardly hit any traffic today.” She smiled and said, “That does sound good and I am starting to feel hungry. Maybe I can see what is around” and took the GPS in her hand and started searching. In a couple of minutes it flashed with a list of nearby restaurants and fast foods. Diya looked at the list and said, “What are you in the mood for? We have a little time but not a lot to spare. The flight lands at seven thirty and I am guessing it would take them an hour to actually come out after picking up their luggage as it is an International flight. So maybe we have about forty five minutes to spare gave or take. Well we have to find a parking spot once we get there, so I am guessing something…” Before she could finish Pryag interrupted and said, “I am okay with fast food but I don’t want to go somewhere like BK or McD. Maybe something like Chipotle or subway or even a panda express would be fine with me. What do you think?” Diya paused for a minute, “I agree with you. I don’t want them either and I don’t want Chinese either. Subway sounds good and I don’t think we have any Chipotle nearby some local restaurants are listed but I am not very keen on trying them out.” She kept searching and a looking at the list said, “Hey! How about Taco bell? Isn’t it similar to Chipotle?” Pryag, “Not really. You know what? let’s get to the nearby subway. Give me the directions.” She selected the one that was closer and the GPS started talking, “Continue two point three miles….”

After a relaxed yet fast meal at the subway it felt very satisfying for the both of them. Pryag said, “A foot long for five bucks is worth it, especially when compared to the crapy lunch we had” and continued chewing on the baked potato chips that he purchased with his meal. Diya seemed very calm. Hunger had aggravated her anger earlier but now that she had had a nice meal it had all vanished into thin air. She smiled and said, “True” and sipped her drink. Pryag said, “You look more relaxed and calm. That is a good sign.” She smiled again and said, “About earlier? I like Kathy; it is just that sometimes the questions she asks… “ and raised her eyebrows. Pryag reached out and took her hand, “As I told you earlier, you two look at things very differently and there is nothing wrong with that. I can understand why you might feel uncomfortable or uneasy but there is no need to. If you need any help you know I am always there to help you out.” She tightened her grip on his hand and smiled and said, “Thanks. It means a lot me. I know I can always count on you.” They interlocked their fingers and starred at each other. There were so many unexplained expressions and unexpressed feelings that were visible in their eyes. Yet they hardly said anything to each but it seemed like a stare and a glace was more than enough to make each other happy. Even though they there had always been a chemistry between them and history between them with so many stories and events to remember and cherish this moment in time felt very unique and seemed that it would stand out in time. She felt something that she was more than compassion and respect towards him. She was starting to realize that his presence in her life meant something more to her than it did before. It was a good feeling. Maybe he felt something too. He took her hand and kissed it gently. Looked at her and said, “I think we should leave now.” She nodded and they both got up and cleaned their table and threw the trash in the garbage can and left the tray and walked towards the car.

Chapter 345

By the time she stepped out the girl was nowhere in the vicinity. She didn’t want to get obsessed over it and spend the beautiful day she has had so far get wasted. Pryag was waiting and said, “That took a while. Ok. Where do you want to go?” They looked at the map and continued with the rest of their trip in the museum. Diya’s mind was not much into it as she was keeping an eye out for Akshar. She was not really interested in seeing him. She would have been happy to see him but not under the current circumstances. She didn’t want to introduce the two men in her life without taking to each other separately. This could be a shock for both of them and might put her on the spot and make her uncomfortable. She definitely didn’t want Akshar to walk her and surprise her. More than that, she was actually scared that he might actually kiss her with Pryag around. It is not that Pryag won’t be able to handle it but it was just that she never got around mentioning about Akshar to Pryag. With Akshar, her being here with Pryag might raise questions that she was not ready to answer. To some extent she was actually looking forward to get out of there and into the car and off to the airport to pick up her brother. The thought of his arrival excited her as it has been a while and the last time he was there she had spent most of the time trying to adjust and digest the news that he was engaged. She and Pryag continued to visit the other sections and the one that she paid attention was the section about the African tribes. He was interested in their culture and she was interested in their arts and crafts. She was quiet surprised how they made their ornaments with interesting stones carved with just hand. Their outfits and the various color combinations they used were very fascinating and that seemed to give her some new ideas and pairing of outfits. For Pryag it was more about the meaning behind everything. Starting from the clay pots that were used to the ornaments that were used and what it symbolized. Somehow both of them were interested in their own way and spent quiet some time wandering around the section before they decided to head out.
Before they stepped out they thought of grabbing something to eat but in the end decided against it and for two reasons. The food they ate in the afternoon was not too impressive and they preferred to get something that was worth the money and better tasting and secondly they also had some time to kill. Getting out of the parking lot took a while with the narrow parking lanes in the city if New York. As it was a Sunday the traffic was not that bad so they were able to get on to the highway easily. They decided stop some where closer to the airport instead of stopping in between. Diya wanted to tell Pryag about Akshar as she wanted to honest with him. But she didn’t know how to start the topic as opening it up all of a sudden would make both of them uncomfortable as they were not discussing anything of that sort. Pryag opened up the conversation by asking, “You don’t seem to be very excited to receive your brother? Or are you concerned about his relationship? What is her name again? I keep forgetting.” She said, “Nothing like that. Her name is Kathy. She kind of puts me on the edge sometimes by reminding me how much I know about my culture and origin, but nothing that I can’t handle.” Pryag laughed. He said, “Sorry. But I can’t help myself. She values tradition and culture and wants to know about ours and is very much interested and be a part of it as she is you brother’s fiancee. I can how that can be intimidating. But you are very different. You never paid any attention or showed any interest in our culture. You always found a loop hole not to follow them and thought that they had no meaning behind them and were just some rules and rituals created for people to get together.” Diya snapped, “I am not intimidated, it is just that I don’t like it when she asks all these questions.” Before she could finish Pryag interrupted sensing the tone of her voice. “I am not accusing you of anything. Let me make that clear. All I am saying that you both come from different worlds. That’s all.” Diya didn’t say anything but she seemed a little irritated still. He said, “I love you” and took her hand kissed her.