t h i r t y t w o. vowed to hate
One week.
That was all Reyansh had with him until the girls left him for good.
And what was he going to do in that one week?
Nothing.
He was going to do absolutely nothing about it.
There was nothing to do honestly, he would rather give the girls a good farewell than make them uneasy and uncomfortable. It had been a good three weeks and he was going to cherish this month for the rest of his life. And it was only fair to let things remain the way they were.
Reyansh ignored the way his heart would betrayed him whenever Pranati was around, or how warm and giddy he felt whenever Jugnu addressed him as her father and continued to keep his head low and go on with the last week. He was of course planning a last surprise for his daughter, the last gift he could give which she will remember him by.
Not as a father, but atleast as a friend, as a guardian.
"So nothing, you are really not going to do anything?" His grandmother asked him when Reyansh came to oil and massage her head. She looked up at the boy and pouted, "really Rey, you are going to let your girls go?"
His girls.
Reyansh smiled, patting his grandmother's hair and massaging the scalp. "Daadi, they will always be my girls, they don't have to stay with me to prove that. And it's okay," He meant what he said, trying to be cheerful about everything that happened.
"But what about my granddaughter, will I never get to see her again?"
"Pranati is a softie, just put on a sad face and she will easily melt." Reyansh stated, letting the warm oil spread on his grandmother's head, "I am pretty sure she will let all of you meet Jugnu whenever ya'll want."
Baljeet held Reyansh's hand, stopping him from his chore. "What about you? What will you do if you want to meet Jugnu?"
"If I want to meet my Mowgli," Reyansh pressed his lips, unsure about whether or not Pranati will let him meet the kid. "I am not sure, if Pranati permits, then I will."
Reyansh had already readied the legal papers where he and his family were going to withdraw their paternal rights on the kid and had signed it too. All he had to do was give it to Pranati to sign and notarize it, once that was done, she was free to leave.
"And if she doesn't?"
The thought of never seeing his kid saddened Reyansh. He had waited eight long years to see the kid he always imagined about. But then, he had done nothing for the kid either and it was only fair if he got what he deserved.
Reyansh changed the subject as he lied about Baljeet had dandruff in her hair and the old lady immediately got down to business to protect her white hair. That gave him time to not worry about the future and live in the present.
_
Anisha was overlooking the kitchen work since Baljeet was back and needed a strict diet to be followed. She was instructing the cook the required meals for the day when Pranati intervened in the kitchen with a soft smile.
"Bhabhi, is it okay if I cook something for today?"
Pranati had grown a soft corner for all the Khuranas, especially Anisha because she was the eldest and the nicest one of the lot. Anisha Khurana was both beautiful and elegant, in her speech and in her actions. Also, Anisha had loved and dotted on Jugnu like she was her own kid.
Anisha smiled at Pranati and touched her chin, "you were sick yesterday, you need time to recover."
"Bhabhi please, bohot bore ho raha hai." Pranati stated her despair, and put on her best puppy expressions. "I am done with all my work and have nothing much to look at."
