Chapter 35: chapter 35

Mowri  had been busy stacking her books in the shelf in Arnab 's office. He had removed the bedroll and a few other things and installed two book shelves for her and she had been touched. Of course she had forgiven him after making him promise he would not talk about 'emergencysituations' casually anymore. And he had, reluctantly. She had already gotten into a routine and she felt more comfortable with Arnab with each passing day. He was a really great guy though she still had difficulty in fully adjusting to him being shirtless especially in the mornings when he was dressing up for office after taking a shower. She remembered how flustered she had been when she had seen him like that on Tuesday morning. She had remained like that till he hadn't left. A physique that resembled Adonis was something he could easily boast of because that was true. He hadn't lied about being in top shape when she had posed the question to him.That hard lean muscular body was something Mowri  hadn't been able to take out of her head yet. Though she had become calmer aboutit or so she thought. No man should be this handsome and she was married to one.The phone rang and Mowri  went to her bedroom to answer it as there was an extension there. She picked it up."Hello?" she said."Is this Mrs. Malhotra," someone asked.Mowri  did not recognize the voice nor the number flashing on the phone set. Wondering who it was she responded accordingly."Yes" she said, "who is this?" she asked."Ma'am I am calling from the Army hospital," the person replied, "your husband has been brought in with a gunshot wound," she said, 'we wanted to inform you about it and could you please come as soon as possible," she said.Mowri  felt her heart drop to the pit of her stomach. Did the woman over the phone say gunshot wound? What? Where? How? Her head reeled with the questions and she had to sit down at the edge of the bed. She quickly took in deep breaths to calm herself down. She had to  respond."Uh" she said into the phone then cleared herthroat, "is he okay?" she asked."He seems to be doing fine as it is an arm wound but we would still want you to come in," the woman over the phone replied."Sure," Mowri  said, "I would be there as soon as possible," she replied for lack of anything to say.Her mind was not functioning right now she needed to get over this so she could be of use and not have others start fretting over her."When you come in ask at the reception for him,"the woman said and kept the phone down. Mowri 's mind was racing. Just three days agoArnab had mentioned something like this. How did you deal with something like this? She was at a loss here. Yes, she knew his job entailed this kind of danger and yes she was aware of it but till it did not happen to you it was just that, a thought. Now to be in a situation where your husband of two weeks has had a gunshot wound how did you react. What did you think that made you feel better? So what if the wound was not fatal. Did that make you feel less anxious? Is thathow it should be?She didnt understand what she was feelingright nowW and it was annoying her. She quicklygot up and went to the washroom to wash herface with cool water. She felt a little better. Thenquickly taking her dupatta from the wardrobeshe changed her slippers to flat sandals andthen went out. She had forgotten that Arnab hadtaken the gypsy to work today. Damn. How wasshe to get to the hospital? But even if she hadthe keys she couldnt drive so it wouldn't havebeen of any help. She will have to learn how todrive soon. She remembered the local directoryinside and went back. She found a taxi servicenearby and called in a taxi. The car arrived withinfifteen minutes and she left for the hospital.Those fifteen minutes seemed like a waste toher. Sitting on the little porch doing nothing. Hermind kept going back to the conversation withthe woman over the phone. She hadn't even gother name. Must be hospital staff. How did itmatter? She sat in the car staring out the windowwatching the scenery pass her by. She was notseeing anything. Her brain wasa bit numb notknowing what she would find when she reached the hospital and so she had reduced it to a not thinking mode right now. But it was her heart that had her worried. It was beating so fast inside her chest she feared she might have a stroke by the time she would reach the hospital and theywill have to admit her instead of Arnab . Why did it feel like this? Why was she so anxious? The woman on the phone had sounded calm and she had also said it was not very serious. But how much was non serious? She bit her lip. As the hospital came into view she felt her heart pick up pace almost drowning everything else. And she was surprised at the sinking feeling she had inside. She had always prided herself over her Control so where was it now when she needed it so bad. She got out paid the driver and went inside. Thankfully she had remembered to carry her purse with her.She enquired about Arnab at the reception and she was told he was on the third floor in Dr. Sardana's office. She went upstairs and found the doctor's office. She neared the door and heard a familiar voice."You did not have to call her Harpreet" Arnab said in a complaining voice, "it is not much and you are making a huge issue of this. It is just a bandage and I do not need a sling to go with it" he said loudly.Mowri  was surprised to hear his smnooth voice loud and clear. Maybe it was not much after all. She took in a deep breath as relief flooded her."It is a flesh wound l agree and in your words not more than a graze but you did receive stitches so please the sling will only help you keeping that arm in place and it is just for five days," a voice said irritated. It could be the doctor Mowri  thought. "What are you cribbing about? As far as contacting your wife goes well, it was necessity.You were not thinking of hiding this from her were you?" he asked.Mowri  only heard a grunt. She took in a deep breath and knocked on the door."Come in,' she heard the doctor say and she walked in.Even before she saw the doctor her eyes searched for her husband and found him sitting upright on the examination table. He stil wore his uniform his sleeve on the wounded arm rolled up and she saw the huge white bandage wrapped around the wound. She almost cried with relief. She looked up and saw Arnab 's grim eyes. There was reassurance too."Mowri ," he said slowly.Mowri  held her head high. And smiled."Hi" she said greeting her husband, "fancy seeing you here?" she said lightly.As lightly as she could. But as Arnab frowned it seemed he had heard a lot more than just lightness. She averted her face and looked at the doctor."Mowri  Malhotra," she said as she smiled at the doctor and he nodded."Hi"' he said, "l am Dr. Harpreet Sardana," he said jovially, "I am glad I met you l wasn't able to come to your wedding," he said, "though I am not sure about the circumstances of our meeting right now but you do know my wife Jassi," he said and smiled."Oh yes," Mowri  responded.He did not seem overly worried so maybe it was nothing much."Good," Harpreet said, "now about our patient.He doesn't like playing patient. I am warning you since you don't know him that well," he said and winked and she smiled, "he will be grumpy and he will give you a lot of trouble. Don't let him get away with it. He needs to keep that sling on for the next five days so no matter what hesays don't listen to him. The bandage needs to be changed twice a day. If you think there is something wrong bring him in we don't wantinfection to set in. And he needs to keep it out of water. Three days of complete rest. He did lose a bit of blood even though the bullet just grazed through" he said and frowned. "And I will give you a prescription for pain killers, give them if required. Okay" he said and then smiled again as if that was it."Thank you doctor" Mowri  said gratefully.She felt a bit better. It seemed she had been worried all for naught. It was good to now from the doctor's mouth that the bullet had just grazed his arm and not done any major damage. But the relief gave way to anger too.How could he think she did not deserve to know the extent of his injuries or why she should not have been contacted? She will take that up with him later. She wasn't one to forget easily but let him recover a little. She took the prescription from Harpreet and then almost turned when she remembered something."Uh," she said, "I totally forgot about tomorrow's dinner at your place. I think we won't be able to make it," she said apologetically."No problem Harpreet said smiling at her, "that should be the least of your concerns and knowing Jassi she will probably come up with something but don't let that worry you. Just take care of him and yourself. You do look a bit pale," he said as he watched her eyes widen in surprise."Thank you." was all she said as she nodded andturned. She hadn't known Harpreet had observed her anxiety. She was getting out of practice at hiding how she felt it seemed. Well she will just have to get back into it now didn't she?Arnab was already off the table with a frown on his forehead. She looked at him then without a word walked right past him and out. She heard him follow her quietly. She kept a tight lid on her anger. Everything she had felt since she had received that call a while ago rushed through her mind and she didn't like it one bit. She was overly concerned, overly anxious and it seemed she cared too much too when her husband clearly seemed she should not even be notified if he got hurt. Ouch, that hurt. Damn him for making her feel like this.  What she didn't know was that the intricate thread that life wove around relationships was just going to strengthen from here on and thoughshe might feel choked initially she would come to value it more than anything else.*****************