After making one more call, Sameer took a deep breath. He knew what he did was morally not correct... but he was sure the lady deserved it.
How much it must have effected Naina... he knew if he saw her now, her eyes would be red.
His jaw clenched again... probably he should have thought of something harsher...
Preeti was furious when she returned in the afternoon. She paced the room, hitting one palm with the fist of other hand.
"Yeh taiji samajhti kya hain khud ko... saara din hamare ghar ka khana thoos thoos ke khati hain aur humein hi baatein sunati hain... Naina, tu kyon chup rahi? Ussi waqt jaake jawab kyon nahi diya? Aur hoti kaun hain woh tujhe character certificate dene wali... dil toh kar raha hai unke ghar jaake unhe suna ke aaun." She seethed with anger.
"Bua dadi ne bhi yehi kaha... ki galat baat pe chup ho jaana matlab usko badhawa dena hai... mujhe bhi bolna chahiye tha... lekin Preeti, woh bade hain... hum unse badtameezi kaise kar sakte hain?" Naina was unsure.
Preeti stopped her pacing and stood in front of her, hands on waist, "Dekh Naina, tujhe inn sab sanskar vanskar ke chakkar mein padna hai toh tu jaane... main unse ussi bhasha mein baat karungi jo unhone hamare saath aaj tak boli hai... aakhir hum bachche hain... jo unhone sikhaya wohi toh seekhenge."
Naina chewed on her lip, caught between two opposite thought processes... they were her family members, elder to her, how could she answer back... second was the one that she had been talking and writing about in her articles and episodes of the show... standing up for yourself, fighting your own battle... it was easy to write for someone else to enact, but extremely difficult to bring into practice.
Preeti saw her lost in thoughts...
"Sun Naina, shaam ko Law garden chalenge... Swati ko bhi bula lenge... aaj chaat khate hain aur saath baith ke plan banate hain ki yeh taiji se kaise nibta jaye." She suggested, brightening at her own idea.
Naina dipped her head... smiling slightly.
It was a big surprise for Bela when Pralay came alone to eat lunch with them.
"Woh mummy ne kaha unke sar mein dard hai... unko khana nahi khana hai... papa toh office gaye... bas mujhe hi chahiye." He declared, settling himself on the dining chair.
Bela offered to take some food for taiji but Phulla bua stopped her.
"Agar usko khana hota toh aa jaati... koi zaroorat nahi hai uske liye kuch karne ki... bhook lagegi toh khud bana legi... ya fir ek baar nahi bhi khayegi toh achha hi hai... gubbara banti jaa rahi hai... pet ko thoda aaram milega." Phulla bua told Bela.
After some rest in the afternoon, when Preeti sought permission to go for chaat with Naina, Anand happily allowed them.
The stalls at Law garden were not crowded yet, being early evening. They looked around but could not see Swati anywhere.
"Yeh ladki kabhi time pe aa hi nahi sakti." Preeti frowned.
"Le aa gayi... naak pe gussa rehta hai teri." Swati held her shoulders from behind.
A familiar sound of honking made Naina turn and she saw him... Sameer flicked his brows to indicate the back seat of his bike.
Naina looked at Preeti and Swati.
"Tere liye hi aaye hain... unhone din mein mujhe phone karke yahan milne ko bola tha." Preeti grinned.
Naina hugged her, before running to Sameer.
As her hand rested on his shoulder, he was reminded of their first bike ride... going to Juhu beach in Mumbai.
"Naina, iss tarah toh tum tab baithi thi jab hum pehli baar saath gaye the." He looked at her through the mirror.
