Homecoming
Naina did not look apologetic, but at least Inder was polite enough to drop her off at home
Akash insisted he come in so they could talk
He looked fearful and lost when he hesitated Viveka noticed as she sipped her chai,
It two days before DiwaliâŚ
It was not even 6 AM that foggy morning
Akash insisted Inder come in
Anu was frozen in shock
Akash did not tell her when Naina was returning just in case his rebellious daughter decides on Plan B
Naina went into her room and shut the door as if the family owed her an apology
âchai peekar jaanaâ
Anu stared at the guy dumbfounded
He was tall muscular and stocky like he was a younger version of Salman Khan
He had a somewhat charming smile
He frequently flicked his hair back nervously
Viveka made chai
âKaise chali gayi beta Naina?â Akash mumbled politely
âUmm.. I guess she was upset soâ Anu detected a strong Brit accent
âTo? Aise ghar chhodkar thodi bhaag jaate hain?â
The twins were sleeping in the parents room
Dadi was in the twinsâ room right near the living room
Akash kept it low
âThank you for bringing her backâ Anu tried not to cry but did somehow
âI am sorry Maâamâ
âDo you love her beta? I havenât asked you. Us din aap donoâ Akash reminded Inder of the making out that morningâ
âUmm⌠yes sirâ âI like her a lotâ he nodded and smiled
âPhir aapne break up kaise kiya?â
âUmm.. I guessâ
Viveka brought his chai and wondered what happened to the charming people pleaser she saw back in Jaipur
âWe live with my parents beta, ghar mein shaadi hai, bas ek mahiney mein, do you know Harsha Shrivastav?â Akash asked
Inder lowered his head in shame, thatâs where he had met Naina for the first time
âYahan society mein dekho sab log poochhte rehte hain Naina nahi dikhi, we live a different life beta, things are harder to explain, there is a lot more scrutinyâ
Anu could not see her husband be so reasonable and mature, she wanted to pull Inderâs hair and smack him on his face
She got up wiping tears and walked into Vivekaâs room
Viveka sat dumbfounded
As Akash continued
âIf u had told me you like her I would have approached your parentsâ Akash nodded seeking agreement
Inder squirmed again
âI want to be modern beta but I am surrounded by certain family traditions, I am unable to beâ Akash tried to tell Inder it was stupid of Inder to go away on a pre marital honeymoon like that with the whole family watching
âWe just wanted to go on a short tripâ Inder mumbled
âAap dono almost mahiney se gaayab ho, do your parents worry at all?â he questioned
Inder nodded sadly
âAapne unse baat ki?â
He nodded politely
âDekho Naina ne hamey EK PHONE nahi kiyaâ Akash teared up at the utter humiliation
âShe was afraidâ
âJab bhaagi thi TAB nahi laga dar?
Viveka sighed⌠âUfffâ she groaned getting up
She knocked on Nainaâs door
âNainaaâ she whispered between each knock lest Dadi woke up
Naina reluctantly opened the door wearing her night clothes
âPapa ko sorry kahoâ Viveka urged
âTum MA ho?â Naina mocked
âMa to baat karengi nahi abhiâ
âDONâT try to be the boss of the house Veevâ Naina warned
âKya matlab?â
âYou engineer everything, you tell people what to do how to behave, you hook up with rich dudes and lay down different rules for meâ Naina whispered behind shut door
âYouâve JUST returned after spending a month with Inder. I broke my engagement off Nainaâ Viveka was angry at herself for taking crap from her sis
Naina looked stunned for a second
âI KNEW IT, Inderâs bua is a monster SHE connived my breakupâ
âOh?â Vivekaâs heart sank
âBut I am strongerâ Naina was smug
âHe did what Inder did to me once, at least now you will knowâ
âAb bhi tumhe bas apni padi hai?â Viveka hissed
âI donât want to talk I am tiredâ
âInder ke jaane se pehle Papa ko sorry boloâ
âNahiâ
Viveka stood glaring
Inder was sipping his tea quietly
Akash sat across him breathing heavily
âAage kya socha aapne?â
âUmm⌠I donât knowâ
âIf you or her are planning something I need to knowâ akash was biting for the first time
âI have to go back to Londonâ Inder explained
Anu reappeared after washing her face and looking a litte more calm
âNaina ne chai peya?â she asked Viveka
Viveka hadnât even asked her
âOK let me say this, you will not approach Naina until you want to get married to her, I will speak to your parents firstâ Akash sighed wearily and leaned back
âWe are thinking about itâ
âYou want to get married?â Akashâs face lit up
Finally! Some good news
âI mean we havenât thought of doing itâ
âthatâs what I meantâ Inder explained
âYou just said you were thinkingâ
âUmm.. sorry I meant it in a âWe are still thinking not ready to rush inâ
âPichhle 4 mahiney mein nahi soch paaye aap?â Akash questioned
Inder acted like he didnât understand
âYou had time to mulll it overâ Akash repeated
âUmm⌠I can talk to Nainaâ
âNot today not right nowâ he said firmly
âakashâ Anu interrupted
âNahi Anuâ
Dadi opened her door and her eyes opened wide in shock
Viveka looked away
Unwilling to deal with it
âCan I say goodbye?â Inder insisted
âUmm.. probably notâ Akash sighed
Inder nodded got up
âthanks for the teaâ
âU are welcomeâ Akash got up and shook his hand âFor the teaâ he said firmly
Akash paused outside Nainaâs shut door and then walked to Vivekaâs room and shut the door and lay down
He sat up again and texted Satyen
âThank u sirâ he said
âSir kehkar aap mujhe humiliate kar rahe hain bhai sahibâ
âWe are no longer samdhisâ Akash sent a genial smiley âTo sir kehna to banta haiâ âI am thanking the CEO of Power Enggâ
âDost to hainâ Satyen sent back two smileys
âHappy Deepavaliâ Akash yawned and waited for the blurry words on the screen to become clear
âAap sabko bhi, including Ms Mathurâ Satyen reminded
âKeh doongaâ
âKaisi hain?â âMs Mathur?â
âtheek sirâ
âPhir kaha?â
âHahaha She is good, she is always busyâ Akash never felt pity for his daughter but today he did
Nobody had asked Viveka to sacrifice her relationship for Nainaâs sake
The Naina episode reminded Viveka what she was dealing with when it came to Parashars and the insurmountable odds
Samajhdar ko ishara kaafi hai
Diwali came uneventfully at mathurs
Everyone trooped to Shrivastavs since the soon to wedded couple were celebrating together. Akash ordered Naina to drag her sorry a--- over to Buaâs
Naina did
She spoke less and cried less, Anu was not speaking to her again
Naina was not speaking to Viveka because she urged her to apologize to Papa
Viveka was used to that now
Bua had a million questions for Naina and for Viveka it seemed like
âJeeji ab to Naina laut aayi hai kar do na aap pakki Viveka ki shaadi?â
âUmm.. pata nahiâ Anu mumbled taking out dahi vada in a large crystal tray
âViveka ki baat hoti hai?â Savita probed
âUmm.. nahiâ
âMaine aaj bulaya par Diwali hai na unke paas to 100 invitation aate hongey, mushkil keh rahe hainâ
âOh?â Anu was relieved
âMaine Harshu ko kaha Raanav ko pooch lega, Raanav ne mana kar diyaâ
âwho log Prime Minister keg har jaate hongeyâ Anu was unusually caustic
âArey PMO, Ambassador pata nahi kaha kahaâ Savita was really dense
Anu nodded with a look of âI really donât want o talk about them
âUnke ghar bhi shaadi hai, aap log ja rahe hain?â
âKaise Savi? We are not connected anymoreâ Anu said humbly
âOh haan haan sorry, sorry sorry sorryâ Savi hugged her tight, ashamed of herself
Anu realized she was harmless, just very chirpy and clueless
Dadi was toxic, Savi was like Dadu
âArey kitna sundar dikhta hai Jeeji, hum to soch rahe they shaadi mein pakka Manish Malhotra pehenengeâ
âArey Pyu ki shaadi mein pehno aapâ
âArey uske liye main Anita Dongre le rahi hoon, Jeeji dikhati hoon aapko chaloâ she dragged Anu to her room to show off a designer outfit before her samdhis arrived for Diwali
Anu felt terrible for herself and her daughters, she was not the one to usually feel low self esteem but since Naina returned day before yesterday, she was feeling really low
No promise of shaadi for her
Vivekaâs engagement had ended
And now she was being asked to look at a Rs.5 lakh or Rs. 10 lakh Anita Dongre saree
Viveka was her usual self at least outwardly
She sat in Kamal Faâs library and read a book, dressed in a dark red Jaipuri cotton saree with a gold like embellished blouse
She frequently checked the library doorway to see if âThe Parashar kidâ was here
She had a argument with him on the phone yesterday she did not tell her family
He had called her when she was walking out of class, she had answered without looking
âdid your Dad threaten Inder?â he demanded
Her heart skipped many beats
He sounded mad, but his voice thoâŚ
âHe did notâ she said after a âUffffâ
âAre you sureâ
âPut yourself in his place Raanav, what would you do? If a guy like Inder brings back your daughter after a month long Middle East hiatusâ
âAnd its all Inderâs fault?â
âUmm.. no did I say that?â
âYou guys need to figure Viveka outâ
âGot it Mr Attorneyâ she chuckled unwittingly insulting him
He hung up
Viveka felt heat cloud her face as she recollected that conversation staring at her open bookâŚâŚ
âI am intensely attracted to him, butâŚâ she struggled to extend that thought further, as her heart ached