Heart is a Fool

Chapter 2: Aftermath of the Search

Delhi – Noon House

At 6am next morning, Mamta Noon found Ritwik in deep sleep. She dialed the family doctor and asked him to come over urgently. She sat in the garden sipping her cup of green tea waiting for Dr. Mittal to come by. This morning the guards had informed her that Ritwik was out the entire night and had returned only in the wee hours. She was worried and wanted to sedate him for some time until she sorted out everything.

23 years ago the shy boy had hugged her with so much warmth that she instantly knew he was an emotional wreck and the only way to win over her husband Vijay and his mother Maitrayee was to keep this little Ricky happy. Over the years, she was there yet not there for him but somewhere deep within she felt that pang, inspite of 3 kids between her and Vijay, Ricky was always his dad's favourite. She could not really fault Vijay cause Ritwik was good at everything, he was smart, intelligent, loving, and a go getter which none of her children were. 

She often wondered about Ritwik's biological mother, his first wife and that day when she saw Geeta standing up for Ritwik and Palak, looking straight into Vijay's eye, and shivering with emotion; she instantly knew Ricky was his mother's son in every way. The fear of losing Ritwik who was at her beck and call and eventually losing Vijay made her very uneasy and she had to do what she did. She compromised for so many long years pandering to Ricky to secure herself and her kids, she could not let go of it all.

Dr Mittal came in and she ushered him into Ritwik's room. By then, Vijay was at this son's bed side. He checked him and decided to sedate him to calm him down. Dr Mittal and Mamta Noon exchanged knowing glances, they had done it before orally though to numb Ritwik whenever he faced any emotional upheavel. Mamta would cajole Aman to do it for her to keep her hands clean. This boy had literally sold himself to her in exchange for the affection she showered on him and his grandma Taari their household help for years. 

Delhi – Sharma Residence

Manjeet and her husband did not know which storm had hit them as they took turns to peep into Palak's room. They wanted to distribute sweets and announce to the entire mohalla but had a lump in the throat thinking of impending future. Just then the doorbell rang, they rushed out thinking it is Ritwik but it turned out to be the milk man. Manjeet did not argue with him today, never mind the dilution, her daughter was her concern. When Palak opened her eyes; she was greeted with 2 pairs of eyes who lived only for her after losing their only son Akshay.

Suddenly they appeared and worn out and she did not want to trouble them any further. She mumbled out that "Maine Ritwik ko chhod diya, unki galti nahi ; bas aur agey mat poochiye" and started crying. Her father caressed her head and her mother rubbed her palms and said "Aisi halaat mein; saath mein rehna zaroori hai Palku ; aisa kya ho gaya, kyun kiya tune aisa beta" In between tears and sobs the Sharma family bonded. Suddenly Palak sat up with a jerk and asked her father to lock the house from outside and not inform anything to neighbors and not receive any call from Noons or anyone. She looked at her phone which was already dead and kept it aside.

Her battery had drained out while she was talking to Ritwik. She remembered all she said and started weeping uncontrollably. She could feel something stir within her and remembered her babies. She had to be their mom and dad; do everything that Ricky would do for them. She smiled thinking what Ritwik would do had he got this news. By now, he would have confined her to bed and carried her around and listed out a 1000 names for their kids. She wondered how he was, had he slept, was he okay, was he moping, was he sad....

She took out her laptop and sent out a mail to the HR Manager in Archaic Pharma. She would need to work from home and will not be able to receive phone calls and could be contacted via Skype only. She wanted to resign and go far away but she had to be practical. She needed the money and security until her kids were born. She dragged herself out of bed and requested her parents to wind up the old apartment. She cleared all dues and her bank account was nearing dangerously low levels. All the things they had in the house reminded her of Ritwik. She listed them on Olx for resale as tears kept streaming down. Her parents reluctantly left locking her from outside to clear up Palak and Ritwik's house.

Delhi – Noon House

Rishabh and Saachi were aghast that Ritwik had come back. All his plotting had failed but they wondered why Palak did what she did. In his innermost heart he knew Palak would never leave Ritwik. Rishabh wondered if this was a game to trap him. He had to be alert with Ritwik in the house and yet keep his father Vijay antagonised so that Ritwik did not regain his favourite position again. While he was lost in thought his wife Saachi kept blabbering "You were so right baby; this Palak turned out to be gold digger; she just left him because he did not have money" ...Ughhh he thought; it was good to have his brainless wife around who did not understand his manipulations but kept him fully high in bed. "Yes Darling; that's why you should trust me always !! Just keep a watch on Ritwik and keep me informed"

Down in the drawing room, Mamta, Vijay and Daadi ate silently. Vijay kept blaming Palak and was finally relieved that Mamta agreed with him. Daadi was bewildered but Taari found it strange. Taari had received a call from Geeta enquiring about Ricky saying a storm had hit them and she would soon be in Delhi. She went about her work and climbed up the stairs inspite of knee pain to check on Ricky, if he needed anything. She found Aman sitting right next to Ricky with tears in his eyes, they had a soul connect  of love , respect and friendship.