Separated Love

Chapter 24: Singhanias and Goenkas Visit Kaira

Kartik and I had an amazing day yesterday. We talked through our issues, and then spent the rest of the night watching Maine Pyar Kiya. I finish brushing my hair when my cellphone buzzes.

Good morning Princess! Our family and Kartik's has decided to come visit you. Bua dadi won't be able to make it, and neither will Swarna but everyone else is coming!

I text him back, Omg yay! I can't wait to see you all! What time will you be here by?

We are leaving now. We got a big charter bus. It'll take us all day so we will be there by tonight. We are coming for two days and then going back! Since Kartik's apartment is still there, Manish and Dadi will be staying at the apartment. Nani will stay with you at your apartment. The rest of us will be at a hotel nearby!

Okay come here first and then go to the hotel!

For sure Princess! See you tonight :)

Right on cue Kartik comes out of the bathroom. I put my brush on the dressing table, stand up with the help of my crutches, and walk over to Kartik.

"Kartik! Our families are coming to visit us!" His face lights up in excitement.

"No way! When?" He asks.

"They'll be here by 7pm tonight. We need to clean up the apartment, and I need to cook for everyone! There's so much to do." I get worried.

"Okay relax Naira. We will get through everything. It's 9am now, and it'll take me an hour or two to clean. After that I'll go see my therapist, and then I can come help you with cooking. Please don't do anything that'll hurt your ankle, okay?"

"Of course Kartik."

We finish eating breakfast, and I start telling Kartik what needs to be done. He begins to vacuum the apartment, and I sit on the couch directing him incase he misses any spots. It's so heartwarming how Kartik isn't letting me do anything because of my ankle. I think about how the rest of the family will react when they see the crutches. This worries me, but I decide it's best to just say I slipped while coming out of the shower.

"Okay I'm done with the vacuuming ma'am. Anything else?" Kartik is exhausted just from vacuuming and it's cracking me up.

"Well, now you have to mop the floors, dust, and then clean all the windows with windex. After that you'll be done." I see his face fall, and I start laughing. We decided on not having anyone do our chores because we wanted to spend time alone whenever we could to make up for these past 2 years.

"Yeah yeah laugh all you want Naira." He gives me a kiss on the forehead and gets back to work. By 12pm Kartik decides to shower again after cleaning. The apartment is spotless, and I get up to light some candles.

"Okay Naira, I'm going to go for my appointment, and then we'll start cooking together."

"Hope the appointment goes well Kartik. I'm so happy you're seeing your therapist."

"Naira, I told you I want to be better. I can't ever imagine putting you through what I did the other night. Plus once this is over, we can get that ankle checked." I smile at him in agreement. He gives me a hug and leaves.

While Kartik is gone I begin researching how I can expand my dance academy. While I was in the U.S. I noticed there was a high demand for learning Indian classical dance forms like kathak and bharatnatyam. I've been in the talks with a few people in LA that would love to lead the class. This is the reason I decided to go back to college. With a proper degree in business administration, I can learn how to handle the technical work that goes behind establishing a brand. I get excited thinking about if we can start a branch of mama's dance academy in America. I want to be independent and not have to rely on Kartik for this, but I find so much comfort in the fact that he will always help me when it comes to this stuff. By the time I finish jotting down notes for my dance academy brand, Kartik comes back from his appointment with food.