Vivian

Yet another breakup, yet another need to search for someone to take to the parties, events and social circles. But tonight he didn’t want to think anything. Nothing , no business worries, no emotional entanglements, nothing, he just wanted one night away from all the high end life of Mr. Swarnim Prajapati. As he sat down in a five star bar compound Pub he ordered a neat Scotch on the rocks. He saw a girl of teens giving him a drink; she looked a bit funky with her nails having a U V nail paint flashing in the dark and wore many weeded bracelets. She was fair skin yet something intrigued him of a South Asian origin as she was having straight hairs falling in a pony of long hairs of dark brown to black shades. She was having South Asian features like beautiful eyes and rosy juicy lips in which she was popping a bubble gum. Her uniform shirt was folded till elbows and he could see her long legs in the short skirt she wore. She wore stellitoes of shimmering silver colour he was intruded.

It was a rarity that Swarnim Prajapati was intruded at forty five he was a successful polo mongul had his interest spread over other businesses like oil rigs to coal mines. He was man who commanded awe and respect for his self made nature. He had an extremely likeable personality yet none of his relationship stayed for more than six months. So he changed girlfriends by yearly at this rate. Though all his exes had cordinal relationship with him in the matter and yet he never understood why none of his relationship stayed.

Just then he saw the girl who intruded his mind was leaving the counter for another way. He saw her leaving from the job and saw that she changed into a mid length black frock of cheap Lycra which was sticking to her body like hell. And its tube was making a perfect cleavage, then he she wore a stockings of thin net of neon pink colour, under which her legs looked rosier. And changed into different heels of black colour. Her hairs were now into a messy bun and he saw small tattoo on the nape of her back –a group of butterflies. She  turned and winked at him saying “Like what you see, Mr. you look depressed, though generally I don’t do this but do you need someone beside you tonight, nothing physical just platonic.” Swarnim was again shocked and just shook his head as he saw her leaving the campus. Yet what happened to him as he searched for her and found her in a cheap eatery having beans and rice.

Vienna was a wet city plus the way she sat there he just wanted not to be alone. He sat beside her and said “Is the offer still open?” She looked skeptical but then smiled “Okay”. As she lied on his hotel pent house bed as his long lost dream.  But as he took her in embrace felt her dress wet so he took it off though she shyly struggled and saw her wearing pink pair of panties with pink lacy bra and what happened after that was not he expected in his whole life. As he slept that night, seeing her in his silk grey shirt was something he will cherish forever. Vivian had given him just the reason to smile.

The next day he woke up to see that there is blood stains in his brown bed sheet and his grey shirt with a note beside him on table

“It was nice staying with you.  But need to go for work.

P.S. Don’t worry about blood stains called laundry, actually you were my first.

Vivian”

Swarnim didn’t knew how to react, he was again alone but why this time he felt something diffirent as he lost something important. He had always prided himself on preserving profitable opportunities. And it was his this astute business sense which felt something wrong.

3 months after that, he saw Vivian with one of his oldest friend and guide , Lingraj Mehra. He saw her in open slit frock and a bit of tummy like expecting as Lingraj was trying to soothe as she looked just returned from ladies room and exhausted. He was shocked to see her with Lingraj as Lingraj was not a man who indulges in women, a broken marriage and free and strong willed daughter who lives in her way made him see different about women, he saw his daughter in all girls. Though Swarnim never met Lingraj’s daughter and has not even seen her photos as Lingraj was highly protective about her.

“Hi, Swarnim come join us, today I want you to meet someone, here she is Vrushali Mehra, my successor and he is Swarnim Prajapati, my business associate.”

He was shocked would understatement of the year, his  mind was running overdrive as he saw exhausted Vivian or he should say Vrushali infront of him, just then Lingraj returned with champagne as he saw Vrushali to be escorted to a ground floor room as Lingraj poured champagne into two glasses while looking at her and passed one to him while sipping from one and told Swarnim

“Swarnim, I was sure one day my princess would return to me , she is Vrushali Lingraj Mehra, my daughter who has returned to me after 10 years, though she is pregnant and has a condition that I don’t probe her for the name of the father because who knows she gets angry again ? But now she has decided to live with me with a condition that I accept the child as my progeny. Even I decided that this would be child would live as my Vrushali’s sibling not as her child, as I feel she is too young for child. At 20, I don’t want her get burdened. Though now I have decided to cut my social life and let her travel so that she is more interested in business, no more of her bird like life.”

Swarnim was shocked so the girl whom he slept was Vrushali, Lingraj’s daughter, and now pregnant and he may be is the father. He decided to enquire about it. He found her in a room of peach colour where she was lying in a bed covered in shoulders in a cream printed quilt, she look so tired and serene rather the girl whom he actually met three months before, he saw her hairs tied in a loose pony and some tendrils covered her face, he saw her more like what a business tycoon’s daughter would look like, in a simple front button frock of cream colour under which she wore black silk slip. Her room had a huge picture of hers as a baby in which Lingraj was holding her dearly. And in bedside was her photo in which she met him and Lingraj with her looking at her with awe and surprise, this photo was clicked in the same hall of this house, maybe was clicked by her to record his reaction. There was a lot of medicines kept beside that, he presumed all the pregnancy pills and other items.

She stirred in sleep and saw the man who robbed all her sleep in last three months. She sat carefully with help of the back rest in her room, and signaled him to sit beside in the chair “Mr. Prajapati, right. Dad was called you Swarnim Prajapati, if I’m not wrong. Swarnim, last time we met, you were upset and I was just me, so couldn’t ask your name, come take a seat. Currently I’m not into myself but doctor has said it will weary off so no worries. You want to discuss something?”

“Vivian, you wrote that name in note, or you are Vrushali as Lingraj said. May I know is this is my child?” he asked politely not losing his calm for which he is famous.

“Yes, but isn’t we were clear it was no strings attached kind of thing so I didn’t want you to know about this.” She said cheekily as discussing her dress’s colour.

“Vivian, this child as much part of my life as much yours. I want to be involved in it’s life and your’s too.”

“But I don’t want such, don’t you remember I am a free bird no tanglements. Same is the case now because I am not ready to settle down plus I always wanted to marry for love and not any other reason.”

“But, Vivian you also understand that it will not be easy for you keep the child. Plus I can give you something you always wanted, its polo season I will travel the world for matches as I invest huge amounts of money in polo matches. This will give you give chance to see world my way and in end of 6 months, we can decide that whether we can  stay together or not. Till then think it a way to introduction to business world.”

“I must say your offer is really tempting but Dad doesn’t want anyone to know about my pregnancy as he wants it to be treated like my sibling rather then my child. So I cannot let him down, especially the way he has being supportive to me all through these years.”

“Don’t worry leave that to me. I will convince Lingraj. But do you want this is the primary question.”

“Yes, I would like to see the world from your prespective and like to give this child a chance of having love of both of his or her parents, but this time with Dad’s consent, I have had enough of this hippie life.”

Lingraj was more than happy to know that Swarnim is interested in Vrushali and has accepted the child yet he didn’t want to pressurize Vrushali for the child and Swarnim, so when Swarnim suggested that he should take Vrushali with him, in this way no one could guess Vrushali being pregnant.

His world trip with Vivian tuned into one of the most preserved and cherished moments of his life with her being there every moment of his trip. Earlier he would return to an empty room and cold bed or his previous mates were busy trying to drag him to each big clubs of that city. But now scene was different, generally Vivian would wait for him in room so she would doze sometimes in day time and at the night they both would enjoy small pleasures like playing piano together or seeing old classic movies in their room with fruits. With Vivian, he realized the happiness of domesticity. Before he only travelled for business purpose so never cared for other things. But now he wanted to show Vivian the world. Her wide expressive features gave him extreme pleasure. For the first time, he loved having money though he never liked to flaunt his money but because he could look after her health even after travelling so extensively. So he kept a team of physician and nurse to accompany her and accomdate her to this pregnancy.

The first trimester, they were in Mexico, he had to drag her outside unlike vice versa. He decided to take her to carnival, though her expecting tummy had started to show so rather seeing in from roads, he had booked one of the balcony dinner with her. Ever since he had started to live with her, she had never being persistent over any matter, so had his mindful of clothes. Today also she wore an up down cocktail, it was of red lace, with her little baby bump, she looked really nice. Its off shoulder showed his creamy shoulders and the front showed her toned legs below the dress. He was shocked to know she carried them with so much grace that it never looked over board even if it was highly provocative dress on her it looked like a second skin yet it always reminded him of a class apart rather than is clingy yet rich girl friends who even if dressed in best of the couture never looked half as appealing as this woman sitting infront of him. He also enjoyed the fact that she ate and didn’t just just nibble the food like most of the girls but enjoyed it. She had a great appetite and loved trying new dishes.

Though now she was stepping to her 5^th month making it huge impact on her physic and mood swings. Like, as he entered one day to the room to find her dressed in a sleeveless palazzo style jumpsuit in which there was a belt over her bloated belly, she looked sad as in trying to search herself in mirror, when he disturbed the serenity of the moment she just smiled and avoided the topic and then suddenly she started to cry that how she has always being the irresponsible one whether it was him or her father. He just made her quite and lied with her and then when her crying subsidized, he let her sleep and then when she slept, he went to the doctor and asked whats wrong with her? And why she was crying? The doctor smilingly said that it happens due to hormonal nature that young girls go though a self-depelecting trip in pregnancies and so now he should just little careful. Listing this Swarnim wanted to laugh on hormones because a girl who hadn’t felt weak in years was now crying for her insecurities.  A rational free bird had turned into emotional sycotic woman. But this was this phrase where later that night she first time discussed her past with Swarnim as she lay in between of his protective arms where he was trying to make her feel wanted and cherished, she just started by saying

“You know, sometimes even a super successful”

It was in Interlaken, Switzerland that when felt that yes pregnancy can change a  person totally, when he returned  to the room, h didn’t find Vivian as usual in her bed with her entering the sixth month , she had now a full blown stomach, and physician and the nurse trying to search her in whole hotel, he was totally worried when he saw her entering crying, she was wearing blue postman shorts and a black flap jacket with a white sleeveless shirt while he stood there in his perfect three piece of grey colour. “Hey! Vivian where you had been you know na that Doc and me were scared. ”  but she sniffing her nose in her sleeves said, “You know they didn’t give me donuts.”

He didn’t knew what to do either should he be frustrated that heiress of one of the biggest business group in the world is upset on such a small issue or either be amused happily that she still worths small joys of the life, but first he needed to attend to her cravings so he took her to next available café and ordered all the varities of donuts available.

He just marveled her stunning features as she sat there in his shirt because her jacket was in position to be worn as she dug herself in donuts. There are very few women who would look as good as her with no make-up, in a men’s shirt eating carelessly.

He had planned the last set of tournaments in Rajasthan, due to clearly one reason that he owned an ancestral haveli over here so that helped in keeping her in comfort plus she having free environment to breathe, during that time he heard one of the songs that reminded him or her. She was humming that lines when he once entered the room, she told it was folk music which she heard years back.

“Thaari saraarat sabb jaanu main chaudhary……………..Mahaarey se levo na pangaaji main kehan lagi”

How she was like that extrovert teenager girl who calls her love inspite of all the social disgrace related in this relation and him as that powerful man or Chaudhary who is just bound by his own limitations of pride and honour, whereas she is expressly stating her love whereas he is avoiding her.

“Moh re liya tanney aesa khela daav……………khaavey hichkoley mahaarey mann ki naav”

 “Dal-bhaati khale aakey mahaarey gaanv…………..ghaanna ghera dala thara chokhaa chadhaa chaav”

She was on her 8^th month and today was wearing a beautiful mauve and orange suit which had heavy embroidery when he had came to the room to propose her with an eternity ring but as he entered he saw her in great pain and the doctors trying to shift her  the nearest medical centre, it seemed like a mirage as if he couldn’t believe that the girl who till morning was happily singing and flirting with him via songs now had this pain.

He was numbed but then retrieving himself he helped the doctors and doctors clearly and truthfully told him that it is pre-mature baby and so its high chances that it may not survive.  But this all had no influence over Swarnim ho was there looking at Vivian struggling in pain for her life. The child died and this shooked Vivian who just after regaining her energies she called him.

“Best of luck for our future because from here we part as couple though we may meet as business associates thoroughly. I have to inform Dad that I will be returning to him and he should send someone to fetch me. Because I believe our staying together is just not destiny” She said as they shook hands.

“Vivian, its pleasure to see again.”

“Mr. Swarnim Prajapati, its Vrushai, I have told you that innumerable times in last 5 years.” She huffed as she settled in charity ball in her saree, in which she wore a saree and only one jewellary i.e. waistband.

“Don’t get pissed off, or else what would everybody say , Vrushali. Plus I can’t keep up the  whole evening thinking you are upset due to me. Plus you know I call you Vivian because she is the one I have loved all my life, and you are my Vivian”

“Ok, but lets concentrate on event. Mr. Swarnim Prajapati”

“As, you say Mrs. Vrushali Swarnim Prajapati”

As the night progressed and they danced together, she said as looking to other couples busy with kids.

“Please, Swarnim, Please I want a child for us.”

“No, I have seen you there once but I don’t have guts to see you again over that emotion, we are never going to have a child, Vivian I can never see that blood stains, that withdrawn woman, that broken Vrushali, I love this Vivian, Vivian Prajapati, who owns one of biggest fashion make-up brands, Vivian.” He said stroking her face. As her hairs got loose from the stylish roll she made and having some strands on her face.

She indeed had become Mrs. Prajapati but somewhere still lived that vivarious Vivian, that’s the reason she was still called Vivian by Swarnim he still thanked that polo season that made him see the real beauty of the gem he had.  And his gut feeling that he didn’t let her leave the hospital that night that as promised once to himself that when it would come to losing her, he would forgo rationality and drag her to eternal bond and keep her with himself forever.