"Bua ji" both the ladies looked towards the door when they heard the happy greeting.
There stood a man, probably in his early thirties, with a huge smile on his face.
"Arre Shyam babua. Come in, come in" Buaji welcomed the man into her home with a huge smile on her face.
Shyam noticed the new face and pasted a smile on his face.
"This is Garima. Payal and Khushi's mother" Buaji made the introductions.
"Namaste Aunty ji. Buaji has talked a lot about you. I have been wanting to meet you ever since" Shyam said sweetly and politely.
The over-politeness struck a wrong chord in Garima. She looked at the man with suspicion.
"Namaste. Yes, jiji told about you too. You have been away for work?" Garima said
"Ji. I have been to Lucknow. Lucknow is my native place, just like yours" Shyam said enthusiastically, trying to impress Kushi's mother.
"Oh. Will you be staying for quite a while?" Garima asked
"No aunty ji. Actually I have to go to Mumbai, related to a very important case. You see, I am a very busy lawyer. But I was missing Buaji. So, I thought I would just drop by and meet her before I leave to Mumbai" Shyam said
"Hai re nanda kishore. What a sweet boy" Buaji said, looking lovingly at Shyam.
Garima frowned. She didn't particularly like this so-called sweet boy.
He is too sweet to her liking.
"As it is, I am an orphan. After meeting Buaji only, I started feeling like I have a family" Shyam said
"Silly boy. Don't think you are an orphan anymore" Buaji chided softly
"No. Not anymore. Buaji had told me about Khushi. How you all love her as your own. I am glad Buaji found it in herself to take another orphan into her wings" Shyam went in for the kill, highlighting how Kushi and he are both orphans.
"We love her as our own, because she is our own, Shyam ji" Garima said sharply
Shyam flushed at that. He didn't expect Garima to react like that.
"Yes. It is another matter that she irritates the hell out of me. But she is our child" Buaji also said, not particularly liking the words Shyam used.
"That's not what I meant, Buaji. I apologise, aunty ji" Shyam said immediately.
Shyam spend some time there, having the tasty snacks prepared by Garima.
He had to cut short his visit, because he was getting constant calls from Anjali.
"It's time for me to leave, Buaji. I will be back in a week" Shyam said and took leave.
A couple of minutes later, Advaith came.
"Advi beta. Come in" Garima welcomed him happily.
"Who was that aunty?" Advaith asked
"Oh! That was Shyam. He is a paying guest here. He doesn't always stay. When he is in Delhi, he stays here" Garima said
"Oh okay" Advi said
"Did you see Khushi and Payal?" Garima asked
"Yeah. I picked them up from AR, on my way. They got down at the devi maiyya temple. As usual, they both seemed lost in their own thoughts" Advaith said, rolling his eyes
