Lucky Angel

Part 14: Lucky Angel

Meera was cutting vegetables in the kitchen, helping Ram prepare her lunch box, when Sanjana hurried in.

"Ram, did you finish cooking the Kheer? I need to offer it during today’s pooja."

"Yes, only the garnishing is left"

Sanjana placed a frying pan on the stove and poured ghee into it. She added cashew nuts and almonds to fry, then mixed them into the Kheer.

Sanjana looked at Meera, "Today, Chintu has to finalize an important foreign deal, so I’m doing the pooja for his success."

"Oh!"

"I hope everything Chintu sees will bring him good luck." Sanjana left with the bowl of Kheer, leaving Meera deep in thought.

Meera joined her hands, "Hey Devi Matha, please grant the foreign deal to Arjunji. As Sanjanaji said, please don’t let anything come in front of him that might bring bad luck."

Meera had been avoiding going to their room. What if her face became Arjun’s bad luck? She thought, after all, she was crazy. Just then, Arjun called her, and she realized she was running late for college.

Meera was nervous.

"Hey Devi Matha, what will I do now?"

An idea popped into her head, brightening her face. Arjun looked confused when he saw her covering her face with a shawl.

"Meera... Are you alright?"

"I’m fine, Arjunji."

He turned her back to him.

"Why are you covering your face?"

"Sanjanaji told me you are going for an important deal today."

"Yes. So?"

"What if my face brings you bad luck?"

Arjun rolled his eyes.

"I don’t believe in luck. I trust only myself."

"But I believe..."

"Oh, so you won’t look at my face when you go for your exam?"

"That’s different, Arjunji."

"How is it different?"

"Because I will go into my exam well prepared."

"Just like I’m well prepared for my deal. Now remove the veil."

"Arjunji, please. I will feel bad if you lose the deal."

"I don’t care if I lose the deal. I’ve lost many deals before too. (He lied.) And for your information, I know very well that I won’t get this deal."

Meera was perplexed.

"But why?"

"Because our company is in second place. There’s no chance for us to get this deal."

He lied again, worried that if he unexpectedly lost the deal, Meera would feel like she was bad luck for him.

"Oh...

"Now remove that shawl."

"I will pray for you to get the deal."

"Thank you." He smiled.

Meera got ready to go to college, while Arjun smiled at her superstitious thoughts. He wanted to make her happy by securing the deal, no matter what.

Intcom

Sagar was confused when he saw Arjun’s face overflowing with happiness. Securing new deals was nothing new for Arjun, but today he seemed delighted, as if he had won a deal for the first time.

"What’s going on? You look excited..."

"You’ll laugh if I tell you."

"Let me laugh then!" He was excited.

Arjun shared the entire morning conversation he had with Meera. Sagar smiled as he listened.

"I’m not surprised by Meera, but you. I never thought you would become so fond of your wife. I really can’t understand what made you fall for her."

"I don’t know either, Sagar. Her innocence might be the reason. I’ve never seen such a childish girl."

"But I’m really worried about how you’re going to bring her back to reality. It needs patience"

"Honestly, I don’t have any “husband and wife relationship” thoughts in my mind right now."

"But you can’t stay like this for long."

"I won’t. I hope Meera will understand everything before she finishes her graduation."

"I wish that happens soon."

Sagar leaned to see what Arjun was doing on his laptop. He was stunned to see Arjun downloading materials for Meera’s courses and Hindi terms. Hadn’t he promised her that he would teach her every day? It seemed that his desire for her happiness was leading him to the best way to get close to her.

Sagar chuckled, seeing Arjun take notes sincerely.

"I’ve never seen someone studying BBA after completing MBA! (He laughed.) It looks like you’ve found a way to earn her affection."

Arjun nodded in agreement.

"In an hour, I want you to find the best “spoken English” coaching center in Delhi."

"Sure."

"Their teaching methods must be simple."

"Okay."

"Meera needs to overcome her fear of English."

"Let me search..."

"Yeah..."

Evening

Meera saw Arjun waiting for her. As usual, she expected Krish and approached him with curiosity.

“Arjunji… You’re here? I thought Krish Bhaiya would come,” she said.

Arjun replied, “I have something important to share with you. That’s why I came."

“What is it?” Meera asked, intrigued.

“I secured the deal today,” Arjun announced.

Meera's eyes widened with excitement.

“Really? But you said we were in second place!”

“Yes. I believe my lucky angel’s presence brought me good fortune,” Arjun said with a smile.

“Who is that?” Meera asked, bouncing on her toes.

“My wife,” he replied.

Meera’s expression went numb. “Me?”

Arjun continued, “I had no hope this morning since we were in second place. But we won! I think it’s because of you.”

Meera stammered, “But you said you don’t believe in luck?”

“That’s true, but how can I not believe it now? I won the deal despite having no expectations. So I have to admit that you are my lucky angel.”

For the first time, Meera felt embarrassed. This was overwhelming. She had always heard her mother, Buaji, and friends call her crazy, mad, and a fool among other things. Yet, since her marriage, Arjun had only spoken praise about her.

‘Arjunji is wiser than the people I’ve met. He analyses things so cleverly. At least he understands me,’ she thought proudly.

“Let’s go,” Arjun said. As Meera reached for the car door, he added, “Wait. We’re going for a walk.”

Meera frowned but followed him. She soon understood when Arjun entered the institution next to her college campus: “Continental Academy for Spoken English.”

“Am I going to learn English here?” she asked, hopping with excitement.

Arjun nodded in affirmation.

“Is this the institute where you learned English?”

“Yes,” Arjun confirmed. “Come here after your college classes. Krish will pick you up every day at 6 o’clock.”

Meera nodded enthusiastically. Arjun introduced her to the head coach in his early fifties. After she completed the necessary formalities, Arjun left for Intcom, and Meera began her English coaching. She felt ready to dance with the alphabet, which seemed to be dancing in her head.

.........

Isha was sitting in the living room with a book in her hand when Meera, who had just returned from English class, closed her eyes playfully from behind.

"Meera Mami…"

"How did you know it was me?"

"No one other than you would do this, Mami."

"What are you thinking about so deeply?"

"About my problems."

"Problems? What’s your problem?"

Isha showed her math book to Meera.

Meera chuckled, "Is this your problem? Let me help you solve it."

"Do you know math?" Isha was excited.

"Not completely, but yes."

She took the book from Isha and was taken aback to find that it was an English medium book, as she had studied in Hindi medium. Meera knew the chapter well, but she wondered how she could explain it to Isha in Hindi. She took a deep breath to compose herself and asked Isha for her classwork notebook. Going through it helped her learn the mathematical terms in English. Feeling confident, she began clearing Isha’s doubts. Isha was thrilled to have such a cool person at home to help her with her studies. Meera was also glad; after all, she had learned something in English by herself today.

"Thank you so much, Mami! Why don’t we study together every day?"

"Sure."

They shared a high-five.

"Maami, let’s play hide and seek."

"But I don’t know all the places in this house completely. How can I find you?"

"Mmmm… (thinking) Okay, we will blindfold ourselves and play in the living room."

"That’s a good idea."

Isha brought some simple black cloths and blindfolded Meera’s eyes. They enjoyed playing, and the living room was filled with giggles from Meera and Isha, which attracted the rest of the family members to the living room. One by one, they joined in, bringing Isha immense happiness.

It was Meera’s turn again. Nani tied a cloth around her eyes, and Nisha twirled her. Meera started searching for the others, extending her hands. When she bumped into someone and grabbed their hand, she was confused because there was no movement from that person. As she moved her hands toward their face, she felt a prickly cheek. Removing the cloth from her eyes, she saw her husband smiling at her. People stunned when Arjun arrived soon after.

"What’s happening here?" Arjun smirked

"We are playing blindfold, Mama." Isha hopped.

"It seems like everyone has turned into kids…"

"I feel like I've lost ten years of my age." Nani said.

"Sasuma is right. You should try it with Meera if you have time," Ganga chuckled.

"Didn’t I say, Mama, that Meera Mami plays well?"

Meera looked at Isha, widening her eyes, and then glanced at Arjun, who nodded in agreement, smiling. He went to their room to start teaching lessons to Meera that he had gone through that morning, with Meera following him.

"Arjunji… Arjunji… I really enjoyed the English class." Meera said joyfully.

"Is it understandable? "

"Yes. That English master is teaching using a simple method. I think I will be able to speak English soon," she said dreamily.

"That’s great. Wait. I'll freshen up, and then we will study today’s lesson. Okay?"

"Okay."

Meera was eager to learn. Arjun taught her a lesson, and she was very attentive. He took this opportunity to learn more about her. Suddenly, they heard a knock on the door. Arjun opened it and saw Sanjana standing there.

"Chintu, when did you come?"

"Just half an hour ago, Di. Where were you?"

"I went to the temple."

She applied vermilion to Arjun’s forehead, and his gaze instinctively shifted to Meera. He wondered why this girl looked uncomfortable whenever Sanjana marked him with the vermilion. Sanjana offered prasadh to him and to Meera as well.

"What about your deal?"

"Intcom owns it, Di."

"You mentioned you have a conference in the evening."

"I postponed it until tomorrow."

"Why? Is anything serious?"

"Nope. I just finished my schedule earlier to help Meera with her studies."

"Good. Go on." She left the room with a smile.

Arjun resumed teaching. Meera showed great interest in learning. When Arjun explained the lesson, she diligently noted down all the essential points.

"I think that’s enough for today." Arjun said.

"But why?"

"Because you've been busy since morning. You went to college, attended the English class, and played with Isha. You must be tired."

"Yes, but I can’t use that as an excuse. You also went to the office, came to my college, went back to the office again, and are now teaching me as well. Don’t you feel tired?"

"Actually, I came home earlier today. I usually arrive late at night, so I’m not feeling tired."

"What do you do?"

"Thank God. At least now, Mrs. Arjun is interested in learning about her husband’s profession." He smiled.

Meera was embarrassed.

"Amma told me I shouldn’t bother you with questions. I tend to be very talkative, so…"

"You are my wife. You can ask me anything. And don’t ever think you’re bothering me, okay?"

Meera nodded.

"I run a computer spare parts company called Intcom."

"Oh..."

Arjun didn’t share how large his empire was, as he wanted her to gain some confidence before revealing his power; she was the sole queen of his kingdom.

To be continued…