Arjun came to wish Naina in the morning.
"Naina, aaj tak hamesha tujhe chupke se hi wish kiya hai... papa ke darr se... aaj bhi unhe bina bole aaya hun... paise the nahi isliye tera bhai koi tohfa toh nahi laa paaya par wada karta hun apni taraf se poori koshish karunga ki tu aur Sameer jaldi hi saath ho jao." He said with misty eyes.
Naina wiped his eyes, "Bhaiya, aapka mere saath hona hi mera sabse bada gift hai... mujhe kuch nahi chahiye."
He took her in a brotherly hug... patting her head.
When he moved away, she could see the proud feeling in his eyes... he was genuinely happy for her.
"Arre haan, thank you... kadhe ke liye... gale ka dard bilkul theek ho gaya." He pinched her cheek, giving an impish grin before leaving.
Naina covered her face with hands... not only Preeti and Swati, but her brother was also making her cheeks go red.
The day turned out to be a peaceful one as taiji had gone to Gandhinagar with tauji... to attend a wedding of her cousin's daughter. They were to return only the next day. Rakesh did not go anywhere the whole day, staying in taiji's house with Arjun.
During the day, when Bela had gone to the market, Naina showed Preeti all the gifts Sameer had given her, along with the heart shaped pendant with their pictures. Preeti was amazed that how could a guy purchase so many things without any female help.
"Sameer kahin se bhi kuch bhi laa sakta hai... na usse koi hichkichahat hoti hai na sharam mehsoos hoti hai." Naina recalled what all he had bought for her... right from sanitary napkins to hot water bag to sleeveless tops to the lehenga... and of course, the pink nightie.
She did not mention all these things to Preeti, though.
"Arre yaar, yeh kahan se dhoond liya kohinoor tune... jijaji ka koi bhai bhi hai kya?" Preeti looked at her hopefully.
"Bhai toh hai, par soutela... Sameer ki usse baat nahi hoti... woh Dilli mein rehta hai." Naina didn't know much about Sameer's step brother.
"Kaash jijaji ka koi saga bhai hota... mujhe toh unse aadha pyar karne wala bhi koi mil jaye toh meri naiyaa paar hai." Preeti smiled dreamily.
"Pagal hai tu bhi, Preeti." Naina chided her fondly.
Rakesh and Arjun came over for lunch but Rakesh did not once look at Naina... wishing her was out of question. He had his food without a word and left, asking Arjun to come home soon.
Naina felt a constricting in her throat... why could her father not give her a simple birthday wish... after all, it was not her fault that her mother left them on the same day... if anything, she was the one who was most effected by her sudden demise.
It was around four in the evening that the day suddenly took a different turn.
The main door was bolted today as taiji was not at home. When the sound of doorbell echoed in the room, Preeti nudged Naina to open it. Chachiji was in her room for afternoon siesta.
Naina opened the door.
"Happy Birthday, Naina."
She was pleasantly surprised to see chachaji standing with his suitcase in one hand and a gift in the other.
"Chachaji, thank you... aap toh kal aane wale the na?" She was exhilarated to see her biggest support in front of her.
He came in, put the suitcase away, and hugged Naina, "Meri beti ka janmdin hai... kaise nahi aata."
He handed the gift to her. Naina excitedly opened it to find a red saree in it. The silk fabric was heavily adorned with golden work.
She looked at chachaji in surprise.
