Finding Love in the City

40. Intervention

The Roys were getting more and more concerned about their son. He last visited India a year ago for the wedding, and his constant refusal to go back again had them concerned. Ambika Roy was an old woman, and she had been ailing from certain problems of the heart. She pleaded with her grandson to pay her a visit, for, probably, she had only a little time left in this world, but it seemed like Aditya didn't wish to go back home.

He had become a recluse, speaking little, drowning in his sorrows more, and not paying attention to anything apart from his job. A workaholic he had always been, but he was taking things a bit too far, much to the joy and excitement of his boss but also disappointing his family and his only friend—Abhi.

Hence, Soumya had chosen to visit him instead as he was refusing to show his face. Landing in the city during her daughter's summer vacation, she stayed with her brother, cooking for him, preventing him from smoking and drinking in excess, and tidying his super-expensive loft which he always left in a mess. Mishti had been able to lift his mood to a certain extent too. He had begun to smile because his special niece was constantly trying to make him laugh through her silly antics, weird habits, and strange jokes.

Although his mood had slightly dampened after meeting Nandini the other day, he chose to narrate it all to Soumya and Abhi over dinner when the latter paid them a surprise visit. Well, Abhi's only motive was to eat the delicious food Soumya cooked, but listening to Aditya's tale was important nonetheless.

Soumya's expression hardened when she saw the way Aditya reminisced about the woman he loved with a fond but sad smile on his lips. She yearned to do everything she could to take his pain away. She knew what heartbreak felt like. She had experienced immense trauma herself. But she didn't want to compare her situation with Aditya's. In fact, she prayed to the Almighty, seeking happiness for her brother exactly the way she had found after her first failed marriage.

However, as the day of her departure neared, her concerns for Aditya grew. The slight joviality that had returned because of Mishti and that one chance meeting with Nandini might get sapped as soon as the little girl would step out of the loft, and Nandini was anyway nowhere in sight. That night, as she packed a box of chocolates for her husband, she heard the giggling and squealing of her daughter, followed by the raucous laughter of Aditya. With a smile on her face, she stepped out of the room and peeked down from the balcony on the first floor that overlooked the kitchen below.

Mishti was plopped on the kitchen island while Aditya was trying to make eggs. He was failing at it terribly, and the little girl was making fun of him, for he had one-half of the yolk dripping down the side of his face.

"Okay, I can't follow the strange instructions on that stupid video." He rolled his eyes. "I will make a normal omelet for you."

Mishti flailed her arms in protest. "But I wanted the one they have on the thumbnail."

"Go and ask your Mom."

"Mommy is busy packing," she said, pouting. "I don't wanna go back, Mamu."

He heaved a deep sigh and kissed the girl's hair. "I don't want you to go either, sweetheart. But school's starting. You can't miss it. Plus Dad's missing his little girl a whole lot, right?" He tapped her nose. "So, baby girl will go home, and Mamu and Mishti will have loads of fun when Mamu visits. Okay?"

She shook her head, her lips rolling outward. "Mom and Dida said you will never go back home because of what happened last summer."

He sighed. "Your Mom and Dida are wrong. I am gonna go home. Soon. Very soon."

Soumya stepped back from the balustrade, nodding to herself. Yes, he would go home soon. Very soon. Taking her phone out, she dialed Abhi's number.

***