The Kabir Singh Story

New normal-Priyanka

The next few days were strange and took some getting used. That first night she stayed over in the hospital she awoke to a room full of balloons and flowers. According to the nurses, who were happy to fill her in while Jaya was asleep, the elusive Mr. Sameer Grover had finally stopped by this morning when the hospital called him to receive his payment information. His visit had lasted exactly 40 minutes and it was safe to safe the nurses were less impressed than she was. 

She spoke to the doctor and apparently after some assessments they were shocked to find that Jaya had had a hole in her heart, a birth defect that was hereditary. Her parents had never known when she was young and she had never had reason to visit a hospital till now. The strain of giving birth could have resulted in a heart attack and the doctors were convinced this was a miracle as it happened very rarely, especially after giving birth to twins. The twins were also assessed and thankfully they were both healthy so it was decided that Jaya would stay at the hospital for at least another week to undergo recovery to fix the hole in her heart. 

Mr. Grover was clearly paying for Jaya to receive the best treatment possible but other than that he was nowhere to be found. After explaining the situation to Mrs. Reddy she agreed to stay longer at my place so she and Dr. Singh could take turns keeping Jaya and the twins company. 

They hadn't talked much since the night of the delivery but had maintained pleasant civility since. Every so often she would wake up from a nap in the chair in Jaya's room draped in a blanket with a cup of hot coffee beside her. When she tried to thank the nurses for their kindness they had no idea what she was talking about. It was Jaya who had to tell her with a knowing smile that Dr.Singh had been in while she'd been a sleep.

Jaya's consultations tended to be during his shifts but if he wasn't busy with work he would always try to be there. 

During the last consultation before surgery, she waited with Dr. Singh in Jaya's room with the twins waiting for her and the doctor to return. 

"Have you met Mr. Grover yet?" he asked nonchalantly. 

She shook my head and answered "No, he's been in twice the past week according to the nurses but its always while I'm asleep or out". 

He nodded processing the information " and her parents? or his? They don't have any family who can help out?" 

"From what she told me, neither of their parents approved of their relationship so they eloped and moved here a couple years ago. Neither of them has been in contact with them since, but she gave me their number so I called her parents to let them know the news. It went to voicemail, so I guess we'll just have to wait and see". 

He nodded again but now that he got her started she couldn't help but continue. "She deserves better than this. Better than having to be waited on by virtual strangers no matter how much we care for her. It makes me so angry that she has to live like this". 

"It's like that for a lot of people. Sometimes you burn the wrong bridges hoping for greener pastures. You live and you learn type of thing". 

"Are you speaking from personal experience" she asked. 

"No just observational. Like your grandfather, I don't think anyone's ever visited him in the year I've lived here and from the looks of it he's been alone for awhile".

My first reaction was to yell at him for being so insensitive but she fought the temptation when she realized he did nothing but tell the truth. He didn't know the full story and he was only being honest with her because he thought she could handle it or needed to hear it. 

She took a breath and looked right at him ready to explain her family to him.

"I guess that's fair. We used to see him and my Daadi a lot when I was kid even though  we lived in Delhi, but that all changed around the time Daadi passed away. My dad and his sister had a disagreement about their mothers  will, her family had come from more money than Daada and so the bulk of the family 'wealth' was distributed by her and I guess no one was happy with how she partitioned the money. My dad ended up donating everything that she had given him and my siblings and they haven't spoken since". 

She finally faced him and could see that their were so many questions still racing through his head that he refrained from asking out of respect for her and that knowledge pushed her to continuing talking. 

"He was diagnosed with dementia last year and my dads sister wouldn't take him in so my dad tried to bring him to Delhi but he refused. He even refused any extra help he tried to provide. Even in all of this he was so stubborn. And so, when I decided to move to here it seemed logical to help him out. He barely remembers me and even when he does he can't do much about it". 

"That sounds terrible, I'm sorry" he said, probably not knowing what else to say. But she appreciated the effort, it was evidence that we were becoming friends. 

She smiled at him "Not your fault, but thank you". 

A few moments of silence passed, the both of us reflecting on what she had revealed, when Jaya came back accompanied by Dr. Patel- a smart, handsome,and young cardiac surgeon who was taking care of Jaya's procedure. He was also unmarried, which the nurses in the unit didn't hesitate to remind her constantly. He was definitely cute and she was definitely intrigued but she didn't have time for dating  right now. 

Dr. Patel told us about the procedure for tomorrow's surgery but it all flew over my head. Medical jargon was hard to follow and it was hard to concentrate when the doctor was that attractive. Seriously, did patients even need anesthesia around him, she was surprised they didn't just daze off in front of him. 

Dr.Patel and Dr.Singh went off into the corner to talk about some questions Dr.Singh and she turned to Jaya who was cuddling both her boys. 

" How are you feeling about tomorrow?" she asked.

"Much better now that Dr. Patel explained all the details to me, apparently it's fairly easy procedure. He's very easy on the eyes too, isn't he?" she asked suggestively.

She rolled my eyes at her and looked over my shoulder to make sure neither man had heard that "Not you too, I have enough goading from the nurses!"

"Yeah, well it's not without cause. He's been asking around about you. Whether your boyfriend has come to visit"

"What boyfriend! Dr. Singh and I are barely friends, Jaya" she exclaimed defensively. 

"Not Dr.Singh" she said a little sadly "he was referring to Sameer".

"Oh" unsure how to proceed from there. She was relieved when Dr. Patel himself came over to wish Jaya a good night's rest. 

"I'll be seeing you in the afternoon tomorrow so we can prep for the surgery and we should be done by the evening" he said kindly before looking up at her on the other side of Jaya's bed. "Would you mind escorting me out, Priyanka" 

She was shocked and  nodded mutely as he led her out into the hallway trying to read Dr.Singh and Jaya's faces but neither of them gave me anything, and with that she was out the door.