Note: As usual not proofread, so ignore the typos and grammar errors. Enjoy!
They both got up as they finished all the rituals. Mihika wasn't around, so he reached out to help her up, but her mother came in between and helped her up. They took blessing from both their parents and proceeded to walked together to the table set up for them. Mihika came to them with a plate full of lunch. He had hardly eaten anything since the morning and the delicacies in front of him made his mouth water. He grabbed a spoonful and was about to eat when Mihika stopped him.
"Jiju, totally unromantic! You're supposed to feed Akka and pose for the camera!"
"Mihika! Stop bothering him, and let him eat!" Ishita signalled him to eat. But their parents and Mihika looked at him asking him to feed her.
He brought the spoon to her mouth asked her to eat it. She told him it wasn't needed and he could eat himself. He leaned closer and whispered in her ear...
"Your sister will kill me if you don't eat. Please hurry up, I am starving." She laughed at him and opened her mouth as he fed her. Seeing he was actually hungry, she quickly took the spoon from him and fed him so he could continue eating freely. As they finished eating and Ruhi was also fed by his mother, many guests came to congratulate them. Many people came and talked & talked. He noticed she was becoming uncomfortable and tired, Ruhi had also fallen asleep, so he suggested it was time to head home now.
As they walked towards his car, her whole family was starting to get emotional including the ever smiling Mihika. As they reached the car, she was crying and didn't want to look back to face her parents. Finally she calmed down & turned around to see their sad face, and she hugged her parents crying. She realized everything was going to change; the house she lived in, the people she lived with, her routine, her bedroom, her lifestyle, everything big or small, it was all going to change. And it would happen without her parents and sister by her side. She would step into another house leaving one family for another. She felt a kid who wanted to stay in her Amma's lap all day and have Appa bring her sweets and candies secretly hiding them from Amma. She wanted to be with them, but she also wanted to go to in-laws. She cried at having to choose one over the other. She just cried for long as she wanted to. She sat in the car still crying and he looked at helplessly.
"They are only 20 minutes away and 10 if the traffic isn't bad." He attempted to make the mood lighter but in vain.
He knew anything he did wouldn't make a difference since being away from your parents is one of the toughest things to do. His eyes started filling with tears as he remembered his dad and wished for him to be here with him at this moment. He felt so unlucky since his dad wasn't present at his wedding, not his first one or this one. He looked out the window trying to imagine what he would have done and said if he were here. How excited he would be and how he would be boasting about his son to everyone and running around getting things done. A tear escaped his eye and he wiped it off quickly so no one would see. But she had...
"What happened? Why are you crying?" she said through her own tears.
"Nothing, just remembered Dad. I just wish he was here right now."
She realized she knew nothing about Raman. He had told her that his family only consisted of his mom and Ruhi, and she never bothered to ask about his dad.
"Where is he?"
"He passed away when I was 13."
"I'm so sorry."
"It's ok. His memory just hit me when you cried with your parents right now. I just wonder if he was at my wedding, what would he would have done?"
"I don't know what he would have done, but I know right now he is watching you and seeing you cry."
He understood what she was trying to say and wiped off his tears and smiled at her. She also wiped off her tears and smiled at him. The rest of the car ride was quiet as they both looked out the window and occasionally turned around to check on Ruhi and the other person. One such time, she turned around and found him moving in his spot and turning from one side to the other, his face showing pain. She quietly asked him...
"What happened?"
He looked at her startled at the sudden question. She asked him again and he answered...
"Nothing, a little back pain."
"Does it hurt a lot?" she asked concerned.
"Not really, it's just the long car rides in the last few days with driving the guests around here and there. It will be fine in a while. Nothing serious."
She looked away but was worried at the back of her head. Another 5 minutes later, they arrived at his apartment building. He carefully got Ruhi out of her baby seat and held her as he helped Ishita out of the car making sure the knot that held them together would not be untied. He led her to the elevator, and luckily it was empty so she didn't need to be scared of anything. As they walked to the decorated door of his apartment, his mother and his aunts stood there waiting for them.
They stood together as his mother performed an aarti of the trio as Ruhi was cuddled into her father's arms. She entered the house with him by her side as she knocked down the pot filled with rice. As she entered, the place looked so different with the decorations and the many people in it. Mrs. Bhalla told them to go to their room and freshen up before some of her friends and neighbours arrived to see them.
They both went to their room and finally let go of the knot that held them together. He told her to wash and use the bathroom first. He lay down on the bed next to Ruhi patting her head gently as she moved in her sleep. Exhausted from the lack of sleep in the past few days, the wedding ceremony, and back pain he closed his eyes and fell asleep in no time. As she came out of the bathroom with untied hair and some of the jewelry taken off, she found him next to Ruhi all cuddled up like a baby himself. They are so alike she thought to herself as she looked at the posture of the father and daughter. They both pouted slightly in their sleep and had one arm stretched out while their other hand was near their mouth. She sat on the edge of the bed smiling and admiring the sleeping duo and covered him with a blanket and adjusted Ruhi's.
As she looked around the room carefully, she noticed a change. The pictures...the pictures of his wife were...gone! Why? Why did he do this? She had never ask him to do something like this, then what made him do this? She would have to talk to him as he woke up. As she looked around the place trying to see how things were, there was a knock on the door. His cousin had brought her luggage and asked her where she wanted it placed. She let him in and asked him to leave it in a corner not knowing where Raman wanted her things to be put. As he entered the room, he looked at the sleeping Raman and shook his head while placing her suitcases.
"What is he doing? His newly wedded wife is in a new place and he is sound asleep. Idiot! Let me wake him up now!"
He went over to the bed and was about to wake him up when she stopped him...
"No please. Let him sleep, he is really tired. I will wake him myself in a while, just let him be for some time."
"Are you sure?"
She smiled and nodded and he left the room closing the door behind him. She was called by his mother and went outside letting the two sleep in peace. Outside his many relatives were sitting around the place and they all looked at her as she entered. She slowly walked over to his mother, the only person in the room she knew as she looked down hoping he was here to make her comfortable. She wanted him to be here, so it wouldn't seem like such an unfamiliar place and she would have someone to be with. As if God had heard her, he came walking out of the room at that moment. She smiled a huge smile at him and followed him wherever he went and talked to whoever he talked to. The reminder of the day went into meeting with his relatives, playing with Ruhi, and enjoying with his cousins who reminded her so much of Mihika.
As everyone started to leave after dinner, they all started to retire to their rooms. As they walked into their room, he noticed her luggage sitting in the corner.
"Ms. Iyer your-"
"Mrs.Bhalla, I'm Mrs. Bhalla now." She corrected him with a glint in her eyes.
"You know, I think it's time we stop being so formal and calling each other by name."
"You're right, no more Ms. Iyer or Mr.Bhalla." she agreed with him.
"So Ishita, just keep your clothes in the suitcase for today and tomorrow I will have the room set for sure. For now just place everything else wherever you would like."
"Sure Ramanji...I-"
"Raman...ji?!" he looked baffled and confused. In return she also gave him a confused look.
"Ishita what are you saying?"
"You said to call you by your name."
"My name isn't Ramanji Bhalla, its Raman. The "ji" makes me sound old."
She giggled at him and he adored the smile on her face. She stop laughing and looked at him and said...
"Okay Raman. Fine now?"
"Much better."
They both decided to put away her basic things after they changed out of the heavy clothes they had been wearing since the morning. She changed into her pyjamas in the bathroom while he changed in the room itself. After they changed, he helped her put her things away by placing whatever she wanted where she wanted it.
In less than half an hour, their vanity was filled with brushes, make up, and perfumes rather than just a small comb and a bottle of perfume. Her shoes were placed next to his and her jewelry found place in the drawer where he kept his electronics. He took out his things and adjusted them into another drawer, so she had the space she needed. They both sat down on the bed tired from the day's events as he brought himself a separate blanket. They both sat there quietly just resting until she decided to ask him.
"Raman...can I ask you something?"
"Hmmm" he replied with his eyes closed.
"Why did you take her pictures down? Was it because of me?" she asked scared of the answer she would get. His eyes open right away and he turned to her. He took a moment before telling her...
"I did it for myself."
"What do you mean?"
"There are a lot of things you don't know Ishita. I had to remove those pictures because they remind me of something I did in the past that I regret. It has nothing to do with you, so please don't feel I am forced myself to do all this because of you."
"What did you do Raman that it made you do this?"
"It's something I want to forget and erase out of my mind completely. I don't want to talk about it right now. Maybe one day I will tell you, but not today."
"It's alright. I won't push you, but if you ever want to say something, I am here."
They both sat in complete silence until he spoke up a few long minutes later...
"But you know if you had asked me to remove them, I would have for you..."
She looked up at him shocked...
__________________________________________________________________
That's all for now! Please like and leave your feedback in your comments!
Chapter 11- Page 52
comment:
p_commentcount