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  Chapter 20: Family ahead of everything

  As soon as I spotted Simran, I sat in the car and off we went towards the hospital. For the first time I wasn’t scared that Simran was driving. I didn’t really care to be honest.

  “What happened?” Simran finally asked.

  “Nothing. What did you expect?” I said.

  “I expected nothing. You look sad. That’s why I asked. What did she say?” She said.

  “She said a lot of things and so did I.” I replied.

  “And what conclusion did you guys reach?” She asked.

  “I hate her after all. I told you. This was the last time Tanya and I ever met. It’s over. After all this, after everything we went through, it’s over.” I said and started crying.

  A woman driver plus a crying passenger, we were playing with death now. In a matter of minutes we reached the hospital. We were already half an hour late than what we had thought. It was 4.15 already which meant not only me, Aditya too was in trouble.

  I kept crying and Simran kept on trying to console me but nothing helped.

  “It’s okay Vishal. It’s a wise and the best decision under the circumstances. Sometimes you have to act as per the circumstances rather than by personal desires and wills.” Simran said.

  “You are right Simran but I don’t think the void that Tanya has created in my life anyone will ever be able to fill that.” I said.

  “You can’t be sure of that Vishal. The fact is you have never lived a life of an adult without Tanya and hence you can’t be sure of how it will be. As it is said good things end to give way for more good things so wait and good things will happen automatically. Now stop being a cry baby. I am proud of you for taking such a brave and wise decision. I thought you were still a kiddo but turns out you are progressing.” Simran said.

  I felt better after hearing what Simran had just said.

  “Maybe she is right. Let’s wait and see what happens.” I said to myself.

  By the time we reached the room, we could see a couple of doctors, a nurse, Dad, Mom and Aditya all in the room. To explain it in one word, we were SCREWED!

  We both entered the room and a dozen eyes stared at us.

  “What the hell do you think you are doing Vishal? Do you even care about your life anymore? This is ridiculous. How could you leave without permission?” Dad said, furious.

  “I am sorry Dad.” I said plainly.

  “Don’t say sorry Vishal. It means nothing when you say it. You don’t understand the significance of the word sorry. You do the same mistake over and over again. Where the hell were you both?” He asked.

  “We had gone to meet Tanya.” I said.

  “Oh God.” Mom exclaimed.

  “Vishal, I supported you on this because I thought you were right but I think you are nothing but her puppet. By doing what you did today, you not only have betrayed my trust but you have proved that they all were right and you were wrong.” Dad said furious.

  “Calm down Dad. Please. Can we talk about this later.” Simran intervened looking at the doctors and the nurse.

  After I had changed back to the clothes of the patient, I came back and sat on the bed. The doctors and the nurse were gone which meant it was time for the discussion to begin.

  “How could you do this Vishal? Aditya and Simran you too. You all have betrayed my trust today. This has to be the worst day of my life.” Dad said.

  Aditya gave Simran and me a look which simply meant “It’s your fault”

  “Dad, listen to me first please.” Simran said.

  “Speak.” He replied

  “Vishal and I had gone to meet Tanya because they wanted to meet for one last time and end everything.” Simran said. She was presenting the truth in a twisted manner!

  “What do you mean end everything?” Mom asked.

  “Well, Mom, they both have decided that it’s best for the two of them to stay as far away from each other as possible. In simple generation x words, they have broken up. They met to talk like adults and part ways.” Simran explained.

  “So you mean that…” Mom said and paused.

  “Yes Mom. Your son has finally taken the decision that you wanted him to.” Simran said.

  Mom smiled.

  “At last you understood son. Had you been with her, it would have caused all the more troubles and all the more problems hence it was best for all of us if the two of you stayed away from each other. At last you understood. I feel lighter now.” Mom said and kissed me on the forehead.

  Similar reactions followed from Dad, Kabir and Ayesha. They were all happy that Tanya and I had finally taken the wise decision which was the best for all of us. The best for me, well, I didn’t think so but as long as they were happy, I imbibed happiness from them!

  It was as if the biggest tension that was in their life was now over and they all could now go back to living their normal way of life.

  After all this was done, I wanted to share some important information with them.

  “Mom, dad, I wanted to tell you something.” I said.

  “What now?” Dad said raising an eyebrow.

  “Well I have one good news and one bad news. Which one would you like to hear first?” I asked.

  “Shoot the bad one first. They are more dangerous.” He replied.

  “The bad news is the company that offered me job at their Bangalore office has withdrawn their offer because of my absence on the day of joining.” I said.

  “Well, that was pretty much understood hence it isn’t a bad news. It’s something that everyone was aware of but it just wasn’t official yet and now it is. And what’s the good news?” He replied and asked.

  “The good news is I got the internship project with my dream company in USA and hence I would leave as soon as my ribs start functioning properly or whatever they do.” I said.

  “What!” Simran exclaimed.

  “That’s awesome. Congratulations.” Ayesha said.

  “Great news bro. Happy for you.” Kabir said.

  “I am proud of you my son. May you excel in everything you do!” Mom and Dad gave their blessings.

  I was happy that I got the project, for it would have taken my mind off Tanya for six months at least, while I was away.

  After two more days, most probably the best two days for my folks, we boarded the flight back home to Delhi. Once we were back, Dad didn’t feel any specific need for me to be put back in the hospital as I was recovering pretty quickly.

  “A week more and you should be fully fit.” Dad said and smiled.

  “Okay Dad. I will plan out the internship schedule accordingly.” I said.

  I hadn’t been in the best of moods lately. Now even though Tanya’s addiction was long gone, given that in the last two months, we had rarely talked yet I missed her. I missed her presence in my life. She was the one around whom I could be me, the real me and she was no longer there. She was the one with whom I shared all the small little things of life and now, there was no one to talk to about stuff like this. But it was a wise decision after all and as it is reality is sometimes more bitter than the truth!

  I spoke to the people at the company and scheduled my departure two weeks later. Very soon, I would be working or at least learning at the company I had always wanted to work in. The rest of the things were planned accordingly.

  The rest of the week passed by rather smoothly and the next one was full of preparations for USA. Mom wanted to pack up everything that she could find and my resistance couldn’t deter her. There were a lot of arguments about what was to be taken along, what was the immediate necessity and what wasn’t. Finally, a day before I had to board the flight, the bag was packed and everything was ready.