Chapter 69: chapter 69

The next morning Arnab  helped Mowri  brush her teeth and change her clothes. Then he brought her downstairs and settled her onto the couch. He was to be away for half a day at work and he made sure she had everything within her reach. Water, medicines, food, juice, phone even books in case she got bored. There was no need for her to get up at all unless she had to go to the washroom. Even then he had brought her a walking stick she could use to walk rather than hobble or jump on one foot. He had promised to be back before noon. And had told her Jassi had volunteered to babysit her and she would come with breakfast for her. Then reluctantly he had left.Mowri  had dozed off again but had woken up when she had heard the front door open. She was feeling much better. The fever had all but gone. And that had seemed to relax Arnab  too maybe that was why he had decided to go to the office and finish off his work otherwise he would have stayed back. She was still basking in her newfound knowledge on how she loved him. She had never thought it could happen to her. Even when she had said yes to Arnab  it had never occurred to her that she would fall in love with him. But she had to agree now that something even at that time had been pulling her towards him. Though she was not much of a believer in destiny and how you find that one person who is meant for you she couldn't help but revise her opinion. Maybe that was why his marriage had failed because they weren't meant to be together. That made her frown a little. It wasn't a nice thought. When she heard the door open she opened her eyes and turned to find Jassi entering with a huge smile on her face."Hey," she said in her usual loud manner.Mowri  smiled. Since the day she had opened up about her past it suddenly had become easier to smile."Hey," she replied."I heard you got into trouble," Jassi said as she walked all the way in and put her big bag on the coffee table. "You do look bad you know," she said as she peered into Mowri 's face. "I am much better today than I was yesterday," Mowri  responded, "Arnab  almost flipped," she told her friend.Jassi raised her eyebrows as if in disbelief."You must be getting to him then," she said mischievously then winked at her, "though it is high time now. I am all in support of it. That man needs a firm hand," she said and laughed.Mowri  laughed too."I couldn't disagree on that," she replied and watched as Jassi sat down in a fluff on the broad chair and adjusted herself to her comfort."Damn, these chairs are really getting irritating now," she complained, "just can't find a comfortable position. My back is killing me carrying all this weight around," she said and patted her belly."You need pillows," Mowri  asked raising herself when Jassi waved her off."There is no comfort there too," she said, "I need a firm back, straight actually that helps, pillows are useless," she told her.Mowri  lay back down."How bad is your foot?" she asked."Umm, it seems to be doing better today actually," Mowri  replied, "Yesterday, for a second I had thought I had broken it," she said."Yeah, Arnab  told me," Jassi said thoughtfully, "I was livid with Harpreet for not being there to help," she said and huffed."Hey, he was on a shift at the hospital besides the resident doctor was there so no worries," Mowri  said trying to defend Harpreet but it seemed Jassi was in a mood to not listen."I didn't spoken to him all evening," she said as if upset.Mowri  didn't know why but she felt Jassi not talking to Harpreet had nothing to do with him not being of help to them. She looked more closely at her friend now and found lines of strain around her eyes and mouth. Why was she feeling like this? Maybe they had a disagreement on something. It happened between couples all the time and it seemed Jassi was distressed because of it. Should she ask? Maybe not. It was personal. So she kept quiet."I didn't speak to him this morning either," Jassi said on a sigh when Mowri  didn't comment, "it was bad of me but he asked for it. You know sometimes these men think we are the weaker ones so we should be kept away from things that they think will give us stress," she said moving her hands around, "I think they should let us decide for ourselves. Harpreet expects me to tell him everything even the smallest detail that might have the potential to upset me but when I expect him to do the same he just decides I am not strong enough. What the hell is that?" she said irritably."I guess they want to protect us," Mowri  said and shrugged, "it probably makes them feel manly in some way," she told Jassi."Yeah right," Jassi scoffed, "seriously. Harpreet withheld information from me for three days and he told me yesterday about it and that too only because I pressured him into it. He was in a strange mood since Saturday and I had been asking if something was troubling him or if there was a problem and he kept avoiding the question but yesterday I had to bully him into telling me and when he did I flipped my lid. It was such an important thing and he hadn't bothered to tell me all because he thought I would get stressed," she said animatedly."Aren't you stressed?" Mowri  asked with a smile."Don't you dare defend that man," Jassi warned waving her finger at her, "I am more stressed because he hadn't told me earlier, actually come to think of it I am more furious," she said."I am sure he had his reasons," Mowri  said trying to calm Jassi down. She herself got worried sometimes watching Jassi get all animated. It wasn't good in her last month. "When is the little one making an entry," she asked trying to change the topic."Don't change the topic Mowri ," Jassi said narrowing her gaze at her but she still decided to humor her friend, "well, any day now," she told her, "doctor says a couple of weeks but I have a feeling the baby will be making a grand entry soon," she said fondly and smiled.Mowri  smiled. She knew how much Jassi wanted this child to be born especially after the last miscarriage. She could also understand why Harpreet always tried to keep Jassi calm and not get her all excited but it was in Jassi's nature to be excited about every little thing maybe that was why he had withheld the information that might have the potential to stress Jassi."I am not evading any topic Jassi but you do know that getting too excited or stressed can lead to an early delivery," she told her calmly, "especially when you are so close to your due date. Maybe that was why Harpreet didn't tell you," she said."Don't you go defending him again," Jassi said getting all worked up again, "he deliberately didn't tell me because he thought I would blab it out to everyone," she said and crossed her arms over her chest, "especially to you or Arnab . Then he called Arnab  and told him before he told me," she said as if wounded, "he doesn't trust me," she said, "do you think I am a blabber?" she asked."No, I don't think you are a blabber," Mowri  said seriously.Mowri  frowned. Was that why Harpreet had called Arnab  yesterday morning? To discuss something important. Arnab  hadn't mentioned anything about it last evening to her. But then she hadn't been exactly in a position to ask or listen. Besides she had forgotten all about it. Now as she heard Jassi talk it seemed the matter concerned her husband and her. Was it important? Maybe that was one reason why Arnab  reacted the way he did?"What is it that Harpreet was so worried about?" she asked quietly. Now it seemed Jassi was reluctant to talk about it. And Mowri  wondered why.Jassi and her big mouth. Harpreet was right about that one at least Jassi thought. Why did she have to mention Arnab  in the middle of the conversation? Now Mowri 's curiosity was piqued and she could see the faint frown lines on her forehead. Couldn't she have just stopped at Harpreet? No wonder her husband had been warning her to keep shut while she sat with Mowri  this morning. And here she had just given Mowri  enough idea that it was something related to her and Arnab . Stupid. What does she do now? Mowri  had been attempting to change the topic she should have let her."Actually it is nothing big," Jassi tried her hand at lying but she failed miserably. She herself could hear how lame that sounded and as she saw Mowri  narrow her gaze she sighed. "That didn't sound right," she asked."Not one bit," Mowri  said and shook her head, "if you don't want to tell me it is okay Jassi," Mowri  said assuring Jassi, "don't fret too much if it is related to me and Arnab  and Arnab  knows about it then also it is fine. I am sure he will tell me when he is ready besides I think he would have told me all about it yesterday itself had I not been injured," she told Jassi. "Also I know Arnab  would never do anything that could hurt me so whatever he does it will benefit us both," she said with conviction.Jassi heard the belief in Mowri 's voice and shewatched her friend a little more carefully. There was a new kind of confidence in Mowri . Her face glowed slightly despite the paleness due to her fever, even the smile had a different radiance to it. Something had changed and Jassi felt happy. It seemed Mowri  was in love with Arnab  or closer to being in love. About time. Jassi was happy for Mowri  and Arnab . They deserved it. But maybe it would be wise to keep this knowledge to herself now or maybe she could share it with Harpreet. What perplexed her was the fact that Arnab  knew about Nihal 's comeback, she wondered how he felt about it? Would he talk to Mowri ? Because that would mean he will have to open up about his past? Will he be able to do that? It was something he had always shied away from doing before. But maybe this time he will. With Mowri 's faith and determination he will not be able to keep shut for long. And she smiled."Thanks Mowri ," Jassi said relieved, "I am sorry I brought this up, I hadn't meant to, if Harpreet found out he would kill me," she said lightly, "but I do feel better though. As per my understanding of the situation I am sure Arnab  will talk to you about it, soon," she told Mowri .Mowri  smiled."Relax," Mowri  said, "I am not telling anybody about it," she said and winked and Jassi laughed.Then Jassi rose and picking her big bag went to the kitchen to put away the containers of food she had got. Mowri  didn't know what to make of their conversation. She hoped Arnab  would tell her whatever the problem was. She didn't want him worried over things and she hoped he trusted her enough to tell her about whatever was troubling him. Even though she had belief in him something was telling her this was probably not a small issue. Why she felt that way she had no idea. But she had to wait for Arnab  to come back and then see if he told her off his own or if she will have to needle him to get things out.*********