Heart is a Fool

Chapter 14: Old and New Connections

The first message "Ro Bro; you seem to have been completely domesticated ; so much so that you don't have time for me. How is your journey to fatherhood coming along; 

The 2nd message " Long time; we met over beer !! need your help to get the marketing plan sorted for my startup, so lets meet up soonish and get this going"

 As he walked to his car; he called and instructed Robin to look for a small office in Chandigarh as well. He was determined to hire Palak since he had already submitted her resume to KKR and moreover that would be the best way to heal their relationship which seems to be cracking under external pressure. 

The 3rd message , which was not easy to write; his fingers trembled and he deleted and retyped sections of the message before he could finally press the send button. "Thanks to Archaic Pharma for taking care of my wife and kids. I need Palak to join my start up so you need to release her. Please thank Geeta Raheja, I mean your mom, I mean our mom, as well."

 Rohit & Setu in London:

Rohit was lazing on the couch coaxing Setu to have fruits when he read Ritwik's message. He was happy to see the message specially since his friend has been avoiding him for a while. He did not fault Ritwik since the events in the last few months had left everyone flabbergasted. He petted Setu and asked about Palak and tried to fish out some information but was as unsuccessful as he has been in the past. In fact this time, Setu threatened him that she would go into premature labor if he discussed this topic. 

Rohit replied with a bunch of emojis and wished in his head that life would be so damn perfect if he and his childhood buddy Ricky graduated to fatherhood together. Little did he know that like always, his best friend Ritwik Noon was already a step ahead. 

Geeta and Vikrant conversation:

Vikrant was a little taken aback by the message, he read it a few times over since he never expected Ritwik to be so blunt and direct. He called his mother Geeta who smiled and asked him to accept Palak's resignation gracefully and help Ritwik in any which way he needed. She sighed as she concealed that niggling pain in her abdomen and told Vikrant that while she was completely engulfed in the desire to reconcile with Ritwik in any which way; all she desires now is to see Vikrant and Ritwik together and both of them happy in their lives.

Vikrant replied with a "Sure" and asked "I am in India in 2 weeks time; if you are free and willing; we could meet up"

Noon House Humdrum

Once upon a time the house was buzzing with activity but now it seems to quiet and silent most of the time. VP and Rishabh were away on a business trip and Mamta retired early to her bedroom. Saachi was getting herself treated in a spa while Reeva was nowhere to be seen. Daadi and Taari Daadi were sitting on a swing and reminiscing old times and how things fell apart. Daadi was moaning about her unfulfilled dream of holding a great grand child and Taari with the happy words stuck in her throat just massaged her friend's back. 

Reeva was in a society party desperately trying to get an introduction to Jas Khurana the new find in town. She dreamed of his ever since she saw him on a magazine cover and had told her dad many times over to send over a marriage proposal but all on deaf ears since they did not seem to have any time beyond fussing over Ritwik. She literally got rooted to the spot when the towering Jas Khurana,  came by offering her a drink and looked straight into her eye. 

Ritwik and Daadi (s) in Noon House: 

Ritwik reached home late in the evening and read the positive responses to all his messages. The next two weeks would be all work for him until he set out next steps for his startup. Their trusted butler informed Ritwik that Daadi wanted to see him tonight. He walked towards her room to find her fast asleep and Taari curled up next to her. She covered Taari with a blanket and hugged his daadi who immediately sensed it was him. He massaged her legs to soothe her cramps and calmed her down. She kept asking him to find Palak and all that she now desired was to hold great grand kids and die in peace. He consoled her saying all will be sorted in next few months and not to loose hope as long as her Ricky is by her side. Taari woke up and heard Ritwik which brought a smile to her face; she only hoped that all this confusion and mis-understanding was sorted out and this house should soon be filled with cute voices of children.

Mamta was walking by Daadi's room unable to sleep when she heard Ritwik's voice inside the room. Her heart pounded within wondering what will get sorted out and she pushed open the door with a smile wanting to be a part of the mid-night tet-e-tete. They largely spoke of old times and Ritwik steered clear of the earlier conversation with Daadi in Mamta's presence. 

Next 3 weeks: 

The next 2 weeks was just work and work for Ritwik; and Palak was slowly recovering. Ritwik made sure that Palak's parents forced her to join a Yoga Therapy class for her well being and the kids. The girls were growing up far too soon to Ritwik's liking and he found something new in them in the video's that he received every day from Palak's parents. He hardly had time for anything and while sitting around in coffee shops typing away on his laptop he seemed to notice so many bunches of twins. He interacted with a few parents who walked around with toddler twins taking a tip or two on parenting and proudly announcing his fatherhood status with twin girls. 

He sneaked into Chandigarh twice during this period and held his girls while Palak was away in the Yoga therapy class. He could just look at these bundles of joy and marvel at the perfectness of human creation. They would look at him through their big eyes; smile in their sleep wrapping their tiny fingers around his tightly. He soon mastered the art of holding their tender neck under Manjeet's expert guidance. Once he nearly had a hit and miss with Palak but he cared less. They were as much his children as hers and one thing that pained him the most was she literally planned to keep him away from this joy of fatherhood !!

Ritwik and Vikrant Meetup:

Ritwik and Vikrant met in Ritwik's office which operated out of a small apartment. It was awkward for both of them; but Ricky soon realised he would have to take the first step as the older one and make Vicky comfortable. They discussed mundane stuff and then Vikrant voluntarily narrated the entire happenings sequentially to Ritwik who now seemed to be convinced sensing the honesty in his words, eyes and body language. Vikrant's voice faded in the background while he kept figuring out "Whodunnit" ; it was turning out to be a game of elimination that he had to carefully play. 

They met a few more times over the next two weeks while Vikrant was in India and tried to know each other better. He seemed to develop a rapport with him like he was with Shivam and realised that they had quite a few things in common. During one such conversation, Vikrant told Ricky how his bed time stories were always about Ritwik the Superboy and he was always his idol, his bro, his goal. Ritwik could not control his emotions and with a lump in his throat asked Vikrant if he could meet Maa once. Vikrant realised his goof up and promised to get back after asking his mother.

That night Ritwik tossed and turned on his bed lost in his boyhood self; his anger on his mother far less intense; whether it was his own fatherhood or his journey of forgiveness and wanting to know the other person's point of view ; it did have an impact on his relationship with his mother. While he was lost in thought; he saw a message from Tim with a link to a video on Cancer Survivors which he wanted to translate into Indian languages. Not in a mood to listen to it though Tim was his good friend he forwarded it to the person who could help with a message ;

" This is a personal project for a very dear friend; a messiah in my life. Only you can do justice to it; let us discuss this when he meet next week in Mumbai over our marketing plan for PR Associates"