"They were five different pieces of puzzle, yet they fit together just fine."
Adira Raichand stood on the threshold of her bedroom, arms folded and trained her vexed gaze towards her husband who looked equally annoyed, running his hands through his thick black hair.
"I said I'm sorry. "
"You knew I had a busy week in the office. Then with Holi coming in a few days," she sighed, running her finger through her curly dark hair, already tired just thinking about the load of work she had. "What were you thinking?"
"It slipped my mind!" he said defensively. "But what was I supposed to say to my parents, that they can't come?"
Adira shook her head, scowling. "You should have asked me first or postponed it to a weekend. Now, how am I going to arrange everything at the last minute?"
"As if we don't have a staff of people to help us out," Kabir shrugged not understanding why his wife was making a big deal out of this.
He knew he should've informed her the minute he invited his family to dinner on a week day but it had honestly slipped his mind. But he was ready to help.
"You know your mother, right? If the slightest thing goes wrong she is going to blame me," Adira complained.
"You make my mother out to be a villain. Kabir argued. "She isn't that hard to please."
"For you. But she has never liked me."
Kabir heaved a sigh, clicking his tongue is dismay, "Of course she likes you. You're my wife. She chose you."
"No Kabir. Why else do you think she never stays at our place whenever she's in the city?" Adira pointed out.
Kabir narrowed his dark brown eyes. "Because we chose to live apart instead of staying at the family mansion like Dhruv." He argued, not willing to accept the fact that his mother would not want to come live with them because of his wife.
"She has never been the same to me after-" His wife sighed and looked away.
"Can you blame her?"
Kabir winced. He hadn't realised what he'd said until he saw his wife staring at him with a pained frown and parted lips.
Gauri Raichand was not an easy lady to deal with but she loved her family unconditionally. She was as protective of them as she was unforgiving to those who hurt them.
Adira pressed her lips. "Of course not." She smiled thinly. "I should go, see to the arrangements. Wouldn't want anything to go wrong. Again."
She turned away to leave, the hurt clear in her hazel eyes that made Kabir curse himself for inflicting due to a slip of his tongue. "C'mon baby, you know I didn't mean it like-" His words were cut of by the banging of the door making him bite his tongue, and he flinched "- that."
He ruffled his hair in frustration. "Dammit!"
********
Closing the door with a bang, Meera fell on her bed. Rolling to her side, she hid her face with her blanket and whimpered in self pity, reliving what could only be her most humiliating moment to date. She felt the first hand, second hand and all levels of embarrassment and was planning on never leaving her room. Ever!
However, her plan was short lived when not five minutes later, she heard a knock. Groaning, she pulled the blanket down and glared at whoever was on the other side of the door, wishing that they'd leave.
But whoever it was was pretty incessant. She huffed, stumbling down the bed onto the carpeted floor and trudged towards the door, opening it with a scowl.
"What," she snapped.
The young woman in her maid's uniform looked taken aback. "Good evening, miss," The girl greeted her in a meek voice, wary of her.
Meera nodded and greeted back, feeling guilty for snapping at her. She was taught to always be nice to the staff. "What is it," she asked, this time in a softer tone.
The woman hesitated, probably not used to seeing the young miss so disheveled but was polite enough to not comment on anything. Not that she would dare to voice out her opinion on anything that went around in this house for the sake of her job.
Meera gave her a pointed stare which prompted her to speak.
"Uh, Adira Ma'am wanted inform you that Mr. Raichand's family is coming for Dinner. She wanted you to get ready by seven."
Sameer had already warned her of that today but still Meera couldn't hide her sour expression at the news. She was having the worst day possible and did not need this added misery.
She sighed.
One evening with the whole family would be enough to push her over the edge. And short of locking herself inside and throwing a tantrum like a child, she had no other way avoid this ordeal.
So, accepting her defeat, she grumpily plodded back to inside and did what any sane girl would do when the whole universe seemed against her.
She opened Spotify and connected it to her Alexa before sifting through her playlist until she found the right one- 'Taylor Swift songs to make you cry.' She sat on the bed and waited, with crossed arms and puckered lips until she felt the urge to cry again.
She sniffed and laid down, the music still blasting from the speakers, and closed her eyes.
People coped with their overwhelming emotions in many ways. Some fought, some cried, some screamed until their voice turned hoarse, some started playing the blame game.
Meera's coping mechanism was a little different. See, normally when she was upset, which happened often because she was a sensitive soul but not too often, she cried. But when things got too overwhelming for her, her mind would start begging for a reprieve.
Once, she remembered, she had gotten into a huge fight with her brother, over something as simple as which TV show to watch, which had then escalated to an entirely different topic. There had been a lot of crying- mainly from her side, and screaming match between them. And in the middle of that, she had started yawning.
Least to say, it had left Dev, who had been trying to mediate between them, thoroughly amused. And he had started calling it 'Meera's Sleepcapism'. Very original!
But it worked for her. Because nothing could torment her in her sleep. She even had a special playlist and a whole process since she was methodical. And when she'd wake up, she'd be good as new. For most of the days.
But not today.
Because when she woke up after her two hour nap, she felt just as crappy as she had for the past two days.
And when she stood in front of the mirror and took note of how horrible she looked, with her pale face and sunken eyes, a dark part of her whispered.
How would Dev feel if he saw you now?
Guilty.
Meera shook her head, clearing her mind. The temptation to play on his guilty conscious was there but she subdued it. Gosh, it was wicked.
Love did truly have a darker side because all she wanted right now was to make him witness what a mess he had made of her.
Ignoring the negative thoughts, she begrudgingly proceeded to get dressed, in an elegant brown midi dress with squared neckline and puffed sleeved held together with a thin glossy black belt. She pulled her hair into a neat ponytail, clipping away the strays.
With one last look at her reflection she concluded that she did not look as wretched as she felt inside and that was enough for now. The makeup hid her flaws and if she ignored her dull eyes, she'd say she looked pretty.
She silently thanked her mother's genes. Except for her black eyes and slightly darker hair, Meera looked exactly like her. And since her mother was beautiful, Meera was happy to be her diluted version.
Satisfied, she walked down the stairs and saw her mother sitting on the couch, distressed, muttering something under her breath.
"Whatever will I do with this family? They all are beyond me. Like father, like daughter. Both have made it a point to disturb my peace."
Her mother looked positively vexed and Meera knew when to stave off of trouble. An angry mother meant more work for her.
She was ready to make a U-turn back to her room but her mother spotted her anyways.
"Nice of you to finally come down."
Meera looked at the clock on the wall. "I am early," she pointed out. "You said to come down by seven."
"Doesn't mean you couldn't have come early to help your mother." Adira sniffed, clearly displeased at the lack of help from her family.
"What can I do for you Mama," Meera asked with as much sweetness as she could muster not wanting to aggravating her mother further.
"Go up to your sister and see to it that she had changed her dress into something more appropriate."
Meera nodded. Just then the front door creaked open and slammed shut followed by footsteps as her brother sauntered in, whistling a jolly tune, in a world of his own. He even gave a little sway before he realized that he wasn't alone in the room.
Adira looked at her eldest, happy to see him jubilant. "Someone's happy."
"Oh yes." Ayaansh grinned. He had a wonderful day. A contrast to the previous ones, today he truly enjoyed the last day of the fest with his friends. And, he brought home a friend. "Look who's here," he announced, revealing a Golden furball.
Meera let out a squeal. She bent down and put her arms around the dog as he nuzzled closer. She sighed. Her stress buster was here. Whenever she hugged Bruno, she could feel all the tension leave her body. Whoever said dog's were just an added work.
"I though Dev had him for the week," Her mother asked.
"Yes, but he'd not been in a good mood lately," Ayaansh replied with a frown causing Meera to stiffen. "So I thought I'll take care of Bruno for a few days. We have some catching up to do, don't we boy?" He smiled at the dog and ruffled his fur and Bruno barked in agreement.
Adira did not look very pleased at the prospect. "But today," she voiced out her objection. "The whole family is coming for dinner tonight."
Suddenly a thought clicked and Meera giggled. See, she was already feeling better.
"Oh, Sameer is going to have a fit."
She looked at Ayaansh and they both shared a look full of amusement and mischief and let out a laugh. Both knowing the cause of Sameer's horror.
"Bruno is good boy, aren't you?" she cooed and scratched the back of his ears and he wagged his tail in agreement.
Adira still did not look convinced and was very close to ordering Ayaansh to take him back to Dev but when he assured her that he won't cause any trouble, she relented.
"He better not." She gave a stern look to to the oblivious and happy dog but then gave in to his charms and petted his head. "Be nice."
Bruno seemed to understand since he nodded, then rushed in and settled on his favourite place, which was at the entrance of the kitchen, just beside the island separating it from the dining room.
"Now, tell me. What did you do today?" Adira patted the seat beside her inviting her son. As he had grown up, he had grown distant. It was rare to find him in such a good mood where he would want to indulge her with snippets of his daily life.
Ayaansh shuffled on his feet. He had expected that. His mother had always wanted to get more involved in his life and he never let her in. Not since he was fourteen.
Meera, who was still standing there frowned, "Now you're not busy?" she asked her mother, who just seconds ago was breathing fire.
Adira glanced back, "You're still here?"
"But you're busy, I can come back later." Ayaansh said, oh so innocently and Meera resisted the urge to roll her eyes. He just needed an excuse.
But Adira stopped him, holding his arm lightly. "I always have time for you," she smiled wanting to let her son know that and then faced Meera, "You go and help your sister."
Meera scowled and turned back, promptly ignoring her brother's smug face that said, See? It will always be me.
She stomped up towards Alvira's room. Knocking on her door, when she heard a grumbled come in, she stepped inside only to gape at the mess her little sister had created.
"What have you done!"
It looked like there had been a flood of fabric inside her cream coloured room, as if she had poured out her closet onto the bed and the floor, while she stood in front of her floor length mirror holding a red outfit on her and twisted her lips.
"I couldn't find something decent enough to wear, according to mom," Alvira replied with an eye roll.
Meera took a look at the fallen clothes, pulling up a lacey white dress with spaghetti sleeves from the pile, grimacing.
"I mean, what is wrong with what I am wearing?" Alvira asked, with annoyance laced with her voice.
Meera took a good look at her dress and bit her inside cheek. She could point out a hundred and one reasons as to why the black, sequenced halter neck top and rugged capris were not an appropriate choice for a family dinner with their grandparents.
No wonder her mother asked her to assist Alvira, not wanting to be at the receiving end of her grandmother's taunts about bad parenting.
Alvira huffed st her judging look. "Fine! Then you decide."
She gestured at the countless dresses scattered around and Meera got to work, holding up the dresses she liked, to see which one would work.
"Not this one." She threw a dark green velvet dress aside, not liking the design.
"Too gaudy."
"Too simple."
"Very revealing."
After discarding the eleventh dress from the pile, Alvira exclaimed.
"Oh my god! Just choose one already!" She cried out. "You're worse than mom."
Meera tsked, discarding yet another crop top. "Your wardrobe is not making it very easy. You don't have anything appropriate to wear. What's the use of having so many clothes?"
Alvira shrugged casually. "Maybe you just lack fashion sense."
Meera gasped. "You did not just say that!"
Her sister just grinned cheekily before sitting beside Meera on the carpeted floor with an exhausted sigh.
"What is mom so stressed about anyways?"
"She just wants everything to be perfect."
"So, Grandma can't fault her." Alvira completed, her mouth forming an O. "Oh man, and the whole family is coming," she tittered, shaking her head.
Meera nodded. "Exactly."
"There's going to be some drama," Alvira sang and nudged their shoulders and they both giggled.
Meera arched her brows, "You want that?"
"Heck yeah!" Alvira leaned back with an impish smirk. "It's the only reason I'm going down."
Meera shook her head, chuckling at her drama queen sister. "You're so weird."
"It's fun, really. When you just see it from the outside without getting involved," said Alvira. "If Chachi doesn't gossip or Bua doesn't criticize someone, you know something is wrong. They add spice to our gatherings."
Meera's lips twitched in agreement. It was indeed fun, just as long as the tables weren't turned towards her, which it did whenever her Bua was involved.
Meera sighed, getting up and brushed her dress.
"Now, let's find you something you can actually wear to this spicy dinner."
********
Kabir Raichand traipsed cautiously towards his wife who was sitting with their son. She wasn't dressed yet but he was smart enough to not point that out and anger the already angry lioness.
Adira glanced at him when he entered but promptly turned away and continued talking to Ayaansh.
Kabir sighed. "Adi." He approached her softly and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Baby," he called out and she shrugged off his hand.
That slip of tongue was costing him heavily.
Ayaansh watched in amusement as his father tried to make up for whatever it was that he had done to anger his wife.
"So-"
Adira got up abruptly, flickered her eyes towards her husband and headed towards the stairs while muttering, "What is taking the girls so long?" completely disregarding whatever Kabir was going to say next.
Kabir looked at Ayaansh for help but he just shrugged. He'd always have his dad's back but he liked to see him struggle a bit before helping him out anyways. It was always amusing watching his all mighty father, who ruled the business world with an iron fist cower in front of his angry wife.
"-Did you have a nice day?" Kabir redirected his question to Ayaansh, dismayed by his wife's ignorance.
"It was great," Ayaansh replied.
Kabir came to sit on the space recently vacated by his wife and watched his son scoot further away with a twinkle in his eyes. "As great as yesterday?" He asked casually, leaning against the sofa.
Shit! How did his father find out?
"Um....yeah...I mean no!" Ayaansh stuttered. He had made certain that nobody saw him when he came home late last night. "How was office?" he jumped to switch topics before he got caught.
"Usual, nothing interesting. You tell me. How was the club?" Kabir gave a knowing look.
Ayaansh sagged. Nothing could be hidden from his father.
"How many?"
Ayaansh looked away, guilty. "One," he mumbled, "- okay two," he confessed. He didn't tell his dad that it was Dev who got wasted. "How did you know?" he asked, narrowing his own eyes, so similar to his father.
Kabir chuckled, "I'm your father. I know when my son comes home late at night."
Ayaansh scratched his head sheepishly. He'd forgotten that his parents' balcony overlooked the driveway.
"Thanks for not telling mum," Ayaansh grinned. His dad was cool that way.
"Tell me what?"
They both looked like two deer caught in the headlight as Adira came around with a hand on her waist, looking sternly at her husband.
"That- that you look so beautiful," Kabir stuttered, his eyes raked up and down his wife's attire. She was wearing his favourite bottle green Saree with golden thread work. He let out an appreciative sound.
Adira rolled her eyes and looked behind Kabir. "Ayaansh, go and change," she said.
"But I'm so tired," he stretched on the couch and yawned.
Adira's eyes softened and she brushed the unkept hair falling on his forehead. "You can sleep till late tomorrow."
Just then Alvira came flying down, in her maroon, boatneck skater dress. She immediately hopped over to her brother. "Bhai!" she called in a sing song manner and rolled on her heels expectantly. "Did you bring me something?"
"I don't always have to bring back something for you whenever I go out," he drawled.
"But you did today." She beamed confidently. She had been nagging him for days to buy her a bracelet as soon as she'd heard that there was going to be a stall selling trinkets at the fest.
Ayaansh grunted but shoved his hand in his pocket to take out a small packet. It contained two small dreamcatchers, one white and the other navy, embellished with feathers and beads, reckoning how much his little sister loved these random accessories to decorate her room with.
He handed over the package to his sister who gave a happy squeal seeing the gift. "You're the best!" she launched on him but he was ready.
"I know," he replied, self assured. It felt nice to hear that. Felt nice to feel needed. She still viewed him as her older brother, to whom she could demand anything and be assured that she'll get it. And he had yet to disappoint her.
"You reek of smugness," Alvira moved back, scrunching her nose, "and sweat. Take a shower," she said, giving him a shove which at last made him move.
Meera watched her family from her place on top of the stairs as the four of them were happily chatting.
Kabir was trying to making up for his mistake, trying to touch his wife who kept flicking him away, all the while smiling and listening intently to Ayaansh, who was grinning as he recounted something funny from the day. Then she brushed his hair and said something to him, to which he nodded and got up when Alvira interrupted him. He gave her a small box and she squealed before hugging him. After, she whispered something to him. Ayaansh ruffled her hair in response, eliciting a whine from her as she pushed him away. He barked a laugh and backed away.
They were in their own secured bubble, happily bidding their time when they heard the bell.
The bubble popped.
For nothing would be the same once they opened the door.
-----------------------------------------
Hi everyone!
This chapter was just wasn't ending so I have divided it into two so I can write about each member of the family and their relationship is detail.
Are you excited for the Raichand family??
Edit- It had totally slipped my mind that today was the date so this chapter is coming late🙈
I had actually fallen asleep in the afternoon and when I woke up for dinner I remembered that I have a chapter to publish.
So this chapter is coming to you at night.😅
Next time if I'm delayed don't hesitate to remind me in the evening.
Anyhoo, it would be lovely if you could show you appreciation and vote. It's not very hard. Just click on the star button once. It's absolutely free.
And if you think this story is worth it then you can share it with your friends. I'll be much obliged.
Thanks!
Next update on- 16/12/2022