Back to the present, Teju winced at the memory of the night and Karan finally began to see what Teju and his mother must have seen, heard and felt.
"Beta, I don't want to put you on the spot but you do understand why am I bringing this up hmm?", questioned Suneeta.
Unsure of how to respond, Teju shook her head sideways with a pout.
Smiling, Suneeta explained, "Teju when Sunny's father or I refer to you as our fourth daughter or the 'heart of the family', we are not just saying it for the sake of it. We mean it. My Sunny might be wrong about a lot of things but one thing he was 100% right about - his mother would fall in love with you and she has. I am sure you know by now that I am not a very easy person to please but Teju, you are exactly the kind of girl I was looking for, for my Sunny. You are perfect for him, the missing piece of his puzzle. But I also want to make sure that my Sunny is perfect you because you deserve nothing less. And I know there is more to the story behind what happened tonight, so tell me honestly, why didn't you say something or tell Sunny to stop the 'jokes' at your expense?"
Overwhelmed by her emotions, Teju hugged Suneeta and broke down with her head in her lap. A few feet away, watching his eternally first child cry, Karan also had tears clouding his vision.
Switching from the little baby sobbing with hiccups; Teju sat up, wiped her tears and composed herself. Gathering her breathe and emotions, she then said, "Aunty I hate that feeling, you know when you feel alone in a room full of people? There were times I felt so misunderstood in that house. Don't get me wrong, Sunny was always there with me, for me but I never wanted him to feel torn between me and his friends. Just because I was only interested in talking to him, doesn't mean he could not make other friends right? And you know better than anybody, everyoneee loves Karan. After all he is such a sweetu, who can resist his pure heart? But I wasn't able to maintain those relationships, even if it was just for his sake and after hearing the taunts time and again, I almost started believing them.
I am very confident in my skin, Aunty. I might get angry easily but I also cool down just as quickly. But I won't let my childishness or mood swings spoil anything for my Sunny. My world is very simple, it's Sunny, my family and his family. So others can say whatever they want about me and to me; till my world is happy and proud of me, I really don't care about them. Them saying something disrespectful to me won't diminish the respect I have for myself.
That's why even tonight, I did not bother saying anything because I know how badly Sunny wanted this dinner to go well and mere hurt ka kya hai? By tomorrow, I'll forget all about it, because frankly I have neither the time nor energy to still play that sly game. If I had said something, my words could have been twisted and I did not want to create a scene or give them an opportunity to come between Karan and me".
Karan felt like someone had stabbed, punched and kicked him at the same time. His bachha had so much bottled up in her heart but she never let him know. <<Why should she have? He should have understood her turmoil in the first place. How could he be that oblivious to her hurt, her insecurities, her worries? >> Karan thought to himself. Even though Teju had shared a lot with his mother, Karan could now hear everything that was left unsaid in her silences, in her tears.
"Teju, I will not defend or side with my son just because his is my son. I know you don't need someone to fight your battles, but I wish he had stood up for you.
Then again, I understand why Sunny might not have even realized what they did, tonight and in that house. When you have been emotionally hurt to the extent that Sunny was two years ago, even you would shield yourself from seeing the bad in people.
My son is a good judge of character, after all he did truly manifest and crack this nut that he is so proud of.", Suneeta said and knocked on Teju's skull on the word 'nut'.
Then with a sad smile, she continued, "But he is also scared of being alone again. That's why he never wants to be the one to break his relationships. He will distance himself but never initiate a confrontation. It's not reason enough for not speaking up but I guess he never understood their true intentions because selfishness and suspicion have no place when it comes to a genuine friendship for him. And if nothing else, my Sunny is loyal to a fault- to his family, to his work, to his friends and to his partner.
Initially even I thought that maybe they behaved the way they did because of the game or the house, but what's their excuse for the way they treated you tonight?
I rather Sunny be surrounded by few but 'true' well wishers like you, Omi, and Jessica than the three that came tonight. 'True' is a far cry, I am not even sure I would like to call them 'good' or 'actual' friends", Suneeta said making a face and surprising Karan. It was so not like his mother to make a face but he knew that expression oh so well. This was definitely inspired by his expression queen.
<<Iss ki wajah se ab meri Maa ke bhi 4500 expression ho gaye hai>> Karan smirked and shook his head.
But before he got further sucked into his thoughts, Karan came back to reality and listened harder to what he mother was saying.
"Also Teju you have to give Karan the benefit of doubt. If people like them are actually able to come between the two of you, there is some real work to be done in this relationship. Communication and comprehension is key between life partners Teju. When the love is new, you might be able to understand each other's silences but as you grow together which I know you both will, you need to be able to freely explain your feelings and actually understand each other otherwise all you will have is silent chaos.
And Sunny... I know you are listening to our conversation so you might as well join us."
Abruptly jumping up in her seat and wiping her runny nose with the back of her hand, Teju in her broken Punjabi exclaimed, "Haww Sunnyyyy tussi chup chupke humaari baatein sunde si?"
"Oye chup kar, I just came up a minute ago", biting his tongue, lied Karan and took a seat next to Teju pulling her against him, partially on his lap without caring that his mother was right there.
With her 'specially reserved for Karan' frown, Teju squinted her eyes, wagged her finger into his face and said "Sunnyyyy Jooothaa! I can see your swollen eyes. You can't lie to us. We are the human lie detectors of your life and we miss nothing!"
"But I clearly missed everything tonight, didn't I?", replied Karan solemnly.
"Chado Sunny. We can't change what happened then or tonight. And I know that if you knew then that I was hurt, you would shut it down there and then. As long you promise to not make me attend anymore meals with them, I am good. Thankfully Aunty said something, otherwise I would have had to sacrifice my ghee wali rotis and then I would seriously not talk to you. What happened to your 'mujhe nahi pasand ki tera ghee koi aur khaye'?", mimicked Teju.
"I know you are downplaying it baby but I promise to do better next time because your self-respect is very important for me. I don't want you to walk behind me or beside me, you will always be ahead of me sweetie. No more meals with them unless you yourself want to. And actually it might be time for me to rethink some of these friendships as well.
Sorry to you too Mumma, I know I disappointed both the loves of my life but hopefully never again. I promise to be exactly what you and your parents were looking for you baby because Mumma is right, you deserve the world and more", said Karan while peppering kisses on Teju's cheeks every few words.
This time with a sigh of contentment, Suneeta got up from the couch, kissed their foreheads and said, "The two of you have a lot to catch up on so I am going to call it a night. But remember Teju, I don't want you to ever lose your voice - in front of your partner, your colleagues or the world. I say this not only as his and now your mother but also as a woman. And Sunny, you already know how I feel about these particular friends and what you could have done better tonight.
Now rest of the, what is that word you'll loving using? Oh yes, gaffe! You give each other and I'm off to sleep. Your dad returns from Jalandhar tomorrow and I would like the whole room to myself till then."
Watching his mother retire into her room, Karan hugged Teju tightly but did not say anything.
"Kya hogaya Sunny ko mere?", Teju asked.
Giving her a quick peck, Karan said, "Nothing baby. I am sorry for not realizing that you were hurt and I have no excuses for how or why I missed that. But Mumma ne jo kaha, it's true. We need to be able to tell each other our true opinions about people and situations. I don't want either of us to ever feel uncomfortable or disrespected while the other is in their own world. We will make mistakes along the way, but I rather we rewrite the wrongs than go on without addressing our concerns."
Nodding her head like an obedient child, Teju cutely said, "Sunny I understood everything that you and Mumma-I mean your Mumma, my Aunty said. Next time pakka, I'll speak up for myself knowing that you will be beside me always. Ab mainu neend aa rahi hai. Chale sone?"
"Yes madam", Karan agreed.
Karan got up and moved towards the bedroom. Upon feeling that Teju is not following him, he turned to see her tidying up the couch and looking around to see if they had left behind any of their belongings.
"Chal Ladoo"
"Check kar raha hoooon"
"Chal mera Laddoooo"
And with that Karan hugged her from the back and pushed Teju into their room.
End of Story.
Yay! My first ever OS is now complete! Thank you for reading and as always please vote/comment and let me know if you liked it. :)