Aditi took them to a guest room and showed them the washroom.
Aditi: Everything you need is there.
Priya nodded and went inside the washroom taking Pihu with her. She made Pihu sit on the platform and helped her wash her face with water.
Priya: Baby you are fine na? Sach sach batao mujhe. Don't keep it inside you. Batao.
Pihu(touching her index fingers together): Main darr gayi thi.
Priya: Hmm. Then?
Pihu: But I'm okay now. Mumma Bruno bad boy nahi good boy hai. Main hi pehchan nahi payi. Usne bohot khela tha uss din mere saath. Usse daanto mat.
Priya: Koi nahi daant raha usse. Okay?
Pihu nodded with a smile.
Priya: Thik lagg raha hai ab? Bahar chalein?
Pihu nodded. Priya helped her get off the platform and Pihu held her hand and they got out of the washroom.
They both saw Aditi pacing around the room a little agitated. She saw Priya and Pihu and walked towards them.
Aditi: Pihu you are okay na? I'm sorry. Mujhe khayal rakhna chahiye tha.
Pihu: I'm okay. Bruno ko mat daantna please. Uski galti nahi hai.
Aditi looked at Priya apologetically.
Priya(with a smile): It's okay Mrs. Roy. It was a misunderstanding. Pihu is fine now.
Aditi: Thank you for understanding. Actually Bruno ko bachhe bohot pasand hai aur Pihu se toh mil chuka hai toh I think he got overwhelmed seeing her here.
Priya nodded with a smile.
Aditi: Also...umm...it's not Mrs. Roy. It's Ms. Roy. Actually don't even go there. Call me Aditi.
Priya: Ohh...umm...I'm sorry I didn't know Aditi.
Aditi: No it's only normal to think like that. It's okay Mrs. Kapoor. I didn't mind.
Priya: Okay. And call me Priya please.
Aditi(with a smile): Okay. Priya!
Pihu smiled seeing them but her eyes kept searching for Abhi. Aditi noticed that.
Aditi: Abhi ko dhoond rahi ho?
Pihu nodded.
Aditi: Bahar hoga. Living room mein sab ke saath. Aao. Priya chalo.
And they all went to the living room and saw Abhi sitting with his grandfather. Ram gestured to Pihu and Priya to sit beside him.
Ram(whispering into Pihu's ears): Bachhe thik ho na?
Pihu nodded with a smile. Priya saw Abhi's face still looking sad so she gestured him to come and sit beside her. Abhi looked at her mother who nodded so he went to sit beside Priya.
Priya(caressing his head): It's okay Abhi. Tumhari galti nahi thi. Aise sad face banake baithe rahoge toh hume bilkul achha nahi lagega. Samjhe?
Abhi nodded with a smile.
Priya: Tumhari smile bohot khoobsurat hai.
"Please Priya yaar! Bohot hua.", Ram thought.
Abhi: Thank you Aunty.
"Meri Priya ko aunty kaise bola isne?", Ram thought.
Brinda: Abhi woh guiter pe tune tum baja rahe the kya?
Abhi: Haan.
Pihu's eyes got bigger with astonishment and Ram noticed that.
"Le yeh toh guiter bhi bajata hai. Aur Pihu ke toh yeh sunkar hi hosh udd gaye. Yeh ladka bilkul nahi chalega!", Ram thought.
Aditi: Arey aap logon ne toh snacks ko hath bhi nahi lagaya. Please have something. Pihu do you like Cheese Puffs?
Pihu nodded so Aditi served her some and Abhi too. Others also started munching on the snacks.
Ram totally forgot about the spread that was before him as he was busy thinking about Abhi. But tasting the heavenly Paneer Tikka, he put a break to his train of thoughts.
The minister started conversing with Ram, Adi, Vikrant and Kunal about business and politics. Brinda yawned silently after some minutes while Priya added some opinions of hers. Aditi saw both Pihu and Abhi getting bored.
Aditi: Priya, Brinda let's go upstairs. Bachhe bore ho jayenge yahan.
Vivek: Aditi rehne do na unhe yahan main stories sunayunga.
Aditi: Papa aap log baat karo. Let them play a little. Aa jao Pihu Abhi.
Priya and Brinda stood up. Abhi and Pihu ran towards their mothers and held their hands. Pihu waved at Ram before going upstairs. Ram waved back at her with a sad smile.
"Chali gayi. Aise hi kabhi sach mein chorh ke chali jayegi iske saath, mujhe bye bye bolke.", Ram thought, feeling a heavy weight in his chest.
. . . . . . . . .
Aditi first took them to the terrace to show the garden. Priya, Brinda, and Pihu all were very surprised to see the vegetables they were growing up there.
Pihu: Wow! Tomatoes. Mumma dekho!
Abhi: Capsicum, Lemons aur Chillies bhi hain. Come come I'll show you.
Abhi started giving them a tour of the whole garden.
Priya: Bohot pretty hai yeh garden.
Aditi: Thank you. Mujhe toh time nahi milta yeh sab dekhne ka. Abhi loves to do gardening and all. Maali hain do woh help kar dete hain of course.
Brinda: Bohot achhi baat hai. How old is he?
Aditi: He turned 6 two months back.
Priya and Brinda nodded with smile.
Aditi: How old is Pihu?
Priya: She's 4.
Aditi: Okay. I tried to search for her at the park after that day par nahi dikhi.
Priya: Haan actually woh park hamare ghar se durr padta hai thoda. Toh Pihu ko lekar jaana roz possible nahi hota. But she went there yesterday. Par Abhi nahi mila. Aake bol rahi thi mujhe. I didn't have your number. Nahi toh I would've contacted you.
Aditi(with a frown): Oh but aap log toh Bandra mein rehte hain na?
Priya: Umm...nahi. Ab nahi rehte.
Aditi: Oh.
Priya got a hunch that maybe Aditi didn't know anything that was happening around them.
Aditi: Actually it is very unlikely for Abhi to get along with other people in this short period of time. But he's at ease with Pihu so much.
Priya: Abhi is Pihu's only friend in Mumbai as of now.
Aditi got kind of confused. Pihu didn't look like a shy, introverted kid to her.
She smiled awkwardly.
Abhi and Pihu came to them running. Priya noticed that there was a Champa flower in Pihu's hair.
Priya: Yeh phool?
Pihu: Abhi ne diya. Pretty hai na?
Priya: Bohot! Thank you bola na tumne Abhi ko?
Pihu nodded with a smile.
Aditi: Chalo niche chalte hain. We can play some games also.
Pihu: Okay.
They all went downstairs and sat in Abhi's room. Priya saw drawings of stars and planets and rockets all around her. There was a chart explaining Big Bang Theory.
Priya: Abhi tumhe Astronomy pasand hai?
Abhi: Haan.
Priya: Mujhe bhi. Even Pihu ko bhi.
Abhi(with a smile): Ohh.
Priya: Big Bang Theory kya hai tumhe pata hai?
Abhi(nodding): Haan. Bohot saalon pehle actually 13.7 billion years pehle universe bohot chota tha. Uska temperature aur density bohot zyada tha. Then one day woh burst ho gaya aur chote chote planets aur galaxies bane. Uss mein se ek hamara Earth hai.
Priya(caressing Abhi's hair): Correct. Bohot kuch pata hai tumhe.
Abhi smiled widely. He liked Pihu's mother. He found her very sweet and caring.
Abhi: Mujhe Astronaut banna hai aur Mars pe jaana hai.
Priya: Achha? Moon chorhke Mars kyun?
Abhi: Moon pe toh bohot log gaye hain. Mars pe toh koi nahi gaya ab tak.
Priya smiled widely listening to him.
Priya(turning to Aditi): He's very sharp.
Aditi(smiling): Aur Pihu tumhe kya banna hai?
Priya: Pihu ka kuch fix toh hai nahi. Roz change hote rehta hai. Kal tha Doctor, parso Painter, uske pehle din Chef. Aaj kya hai Pihu?
Pihu(scratching the back of her head): Papa jaise banna hai.
Priya was quite surprised with the answer.
Priya: Why?
Pihu: Because Papa bohot fun karte hain Office mein Adi chachu, Kunal Chachu aur Vikrant Chachu ke saath.
All the three ladies started laughing their hearts out while Abhi looked at Pihu with confusion.
Brinda: Yeh toh sach kaha fun toh karte hain woh chaaron. Par kaam bhi bohot karna hota hai Pihu.
Pihu gave a nervous smile to her. Priya's eyes fell on a game of Bagatelle.
Priya: Yeh toh Bagatelle hai. Maine bohot khela hai yeh meri beheno ke saath bachpan mein.
Aditi: Haan maine bhi bohot khela hai. It's too much fun.
Abhi: Hum khel sakte hain agar aap chaho toh.
Priya nodded with a smile and looked at Brinda.
Brinda: Mujhe shikha dena.
Pihu: Mujhe bhi nahi pata.
Aditi: Hum shikha denge. Baitho baitho. Abhi ek notepad lao scores count karne hain.
Abhi went to his bookshelf and came back with a pen and a notepad.
They all sat down making a circle on the bed.
Aditi: Look here are some scores written all over the board. 10 is the lowest. Usse badte jaata hai. 20, 30, 40 and so on. And the highest is 500 jo tough hai score karna. Here's a pen kind of a thing and some small silver balls. Total 10 balls hain. Tumhe iss pen se inn balls ko push karna hai. Yeh ball jis jis scores ke neeche atak jayega uska total karke you'll get one round ka score. Aur jo jo balls niche ke surface pe atak jayega unke liye no scores. Samajh aaya?
Brinda nodded while Pihu looked completely puzzled.
Priya: I think Pihu ko samajh nahi aaya.
Aditi: Haan I think she's too young to understand this. It's okay Pihu. You play. We will help you. Okay?
Pihu nodded with a smile.
They started playing the game. Priya and Aditi started scoring high scores like the pros while Abhi and Brinda scored medium scores and Little Pihu was getting the lowest scores as she couldn't figure out how to play the game.
While playing the 3rd round Priya hit the 500 once eliciting a gasp from Abhi who never saw anyone scoring that.
Abhi: Aunty aap bohot achha khelte ho.
Priya: Thank you. Your Mumma is no less.
Aditi: Please Priya mere 500 nahi aaye kabhi.
Brinda: Mere toh muskil se ek baar ek 100 aaya. 500 toh sapne mein bhi nahi aayenge.
Priya smiled listening to her and they played for another two rounds and decided not to play anymore because Pihu was getting annoyed as she still couldn't understand the game.
At the end Priya won the game. Aditi was on the 2nd position, Abhi on 3rd, Brinda on 4th and Pihu of course on 5th.
Pihu sat there making a sad face as she hated to lose in any game. Aditi smiled and held a Chocolate in front of her.
Pihu: Yeh kis liye? Main toh nahi jeeti. Main toh last aayi hoon.
Aditi: Haan par yeh tumhare patience ke liye hai. Tumne participate kiya, hamare saath game khela itni der uske liye. And also because tum sabse choti ho iss group mein iss liye.
Pihu accepted the chocolate happily.
Pihu: Thank you.
Priya mouthed a "thank you" to her silently to which Aditi nodded with a smile.
Pihu: Aunty?
Aditi: Haan?
Pihu: Can I meet Bruno? Please?
Aditi looked at Priya asking for her permission who nodded.
Aditi: Abhi please Bruno ko lekar aaoge?
Abhi nodded and went out of the room.
A minute later Abhi came back with Bruno who looked pretty sad due to what happened before. He slowly walked towards Pihu who was smiling at him. Pihu got off the bed and caressed his head.
Pihu: Sorry. Main darr gayi thi. Sab ne tumhe scold kiya. You're a good boy Bruno. Abhi Sorry bolo tumne bhi Bruno ko daant lagayi.
Abhi(caressing his back): I'm sorry Bruno.
Finally Bruno's mood lifted and he started wagging his tail.
Bruno: Woof! Woof!
Abhi: Idher dekho. Bruno handshake!
Bruno kept one of his paws on Abhi's right hand making Pihu sqeal in joy. She also wanted to try it.
Pihu: Bruno handshake!
And that time Bruno kept his paw on Pihu's hand.
Pihu: Mumma! Jaan! Look!
Priya smiled awkwardly while Brinda also went to pet Bruno and Bruno was more that happy to receive so much love. Abhi, Pihu and Brinda sat on the floor playing with Bruno while Aditi and Priya sat on the bed watching them lovingly.
Suddenly Brinda's phone rang. So she excused herself and went to the hallway to attend the call.
Pihu was looking all around her and a question came on her mind.
Pihu: Abhi tumhare Papa kahan hain?
In a moment all the happiness got wiped out listening to that one question. He couldn't meet Pihu's eyes. Priya saw Aditi letting out a sigh and she felt very bad as she could understand that there's something wrong.
Aditi(calmly): Pihu beta Abhi ke Papa hamare saath nahi rehte. Woh alag rehte hain.
Pihu: Ohh. Koi nahi. Mere Papa bhi hamare saath nahi rehte the. Par ab rehte hain. Main bhi toh kuch din pehle Papa se mili. He's nice. Waise hi Abhi ke Papa bhi aa jayenge. Tum sad mat ho.
Abhi looked at her and gave her a sad smile.
Abhi: Woh nahi aayenge Pihu.
Priya's eyes shifted from Abhi to Aditi whose eyes were fixed on her son. Priya didn't know what exactly happened but her heart pained seeing that little boy suffering.
It was like she could feel what he was feeling at that moment.
Bruno saw Abhi's sad expression so he jumped on him. Putting his arms on his shoulder, he started licking Abhi's whole face. Priya smiled seeing Bruno's care towards him. Abhi finally smiled a little feeling the abundance of love he was getting.
Aditi(with a soft smile): Abhi tum Pihu aur Bruno ko lekar jao aur toys se khelo. She would like that.
Abhi nodded and went to the next room with Pihu and Bruno.
Priya noticed Aditi's gloomy expression.
Priya: Aditi I'm sorry. Pihu Abhi ko hurt karna nahi chahti thi.
Aditi: No. No. Of course. I understand that Priya. Pihu bachhi hai. Curiousity hogi usko aur yeh normal hai. Actually Abhi's father and I got divorced. Aur Abhi ke liye yeh manna muskil hai ke hum saath nahi reh sakte.
Priya: Abhi ke Papa usse milne nahi aate?
Aditi lowered her head and let out a hollow laugh.
Aditi: Woh aata toh meri life ki aadhi problems nahi durr ho jaati?
Aditi looked up and her eyes met Priya's which held so much empathy for her. She felt as if Priya could read between the lines and that made her a little conscious thinking that she's blurting out the deepest wounds of her life in front of a person she just met an hour ago.
Aditi(awkwardly): Main bhi kya baatein karne lagi. Let's go and see yeh teeno kya kar rahe hain.
Aditi stood up from bed and waited for Priya to follow her and they went to the next room. As they entered there, the happenings of the room made both of them smile widely. There's a bowl of watermelon cut into pieces and Pihu was feeding them to Bruno with a fork who was happily eating.
Pihu: Mumma dekho Bruno Watermelon khaata hai!
Priya: Haan dekha maine. Tum kuch shikho usse Pihu. Bruno ko bhi pata hai ke fruits healthy hote hain.
Abhi laughed with his hand over his mouth listening to that. Pihu frowned deeply and threw a glare at him before going back to feeding Bruno. Aditi and Priya looked at each other and smiled, controlling their laughter.
Pihu's eyes fell on the guitar kept in a corner of the room.
Pihu: Abhi tum guitar play karo na please....
Abhi looked at all the people around her awkwardly.
Pihu: Pleaseeeeee...
Priya: Abhi you can say no. Agar tumhara mann hai toh hi bajao. Pihu Abhi ko force mat karo please.
Pihu sat there with a small pout, keeping her mouth shut. Abhi looked at Priya with a smile and nodded. He went to get the guitar which brought a smile on Pihu's face instantly.
Abhi: Kaunsa play karoon?
Aditi: Kuch bhi jo tumhe achha lage.
Abhi looked at Priya once who nodded at him with a smile and he started playing the tune of "Main Koi Aisa Geet Gaoon" again. Pihu started shaking her head matching the rhythm of the song. Bruno also sat there like a good boy, enjoying the music. Brinda entered hearing the sound of the guitar.
As Abhi reached Verse 1 of the song, Pihu started singing in her cute baby like voice. Aditi's eyes got bigger and she looked at Priya who gave her a broad smile.
"Tumko bulaun ya palkein bichhaun
Kadam tum jahan jahan rakho
Zameen ko aasman banaun
Sitaron se sajaun agar tum kaho
Main koi aisa geet gaoon
Ki aarzu jagaun agar tum kaho
Main koi aisa geet gaoon
Ki aarzu jagaun
Main koi aisa geet gaoon
Ki aarzu jagaun agar tum kaho"
From the living room, Ram could hear the music playing and suddenly heard Pihu's voice.
Kunal: Pihu gaa rahi hai na?
Ram nodded with a smile.
Vivek: Bohot pyaari awaaz hai. Chaliye uper chalke dekhte hain.
They went upstairs and stood at the door not wanting to jeopardize their little performance by making them conscious. Priya turned towards the door and saw Ram standing there smiling proudly. He gave her a smile and she smiled back and again turned towards Pihu & Abhi.
As the songs ended, the whole room got filled with a round of applause. Abhi looked all around him getting awkward while Pihu joined others clapping happily.
Vivek entered the room and praised Abhi & Pihu both. Ram also entered and finally noticed Bruno whose view he didn't get until then.
Ram(in a panicky mode): Yeh yahan kya kar raha hai? Pihu bachhe idher aao.
Pihu: Offo Papa...daanto mat Bruno ko. He's nice. Maine usse watermelon khilaya kuch time pehle.
Ram looked at Priya with a confused expression.
Aditi: Mr. Kapoor please don't be tensed. Bruno is really good with kids. He means no harm to Pihu.
Ram was still not convinced until Priya spoke up.
Priya: Mr. Kapoor Pihu thik keh rahi hai. Aap tension mat lije. Everything is fine.
Ram(caressing Pihu's head): Thik hai tum bol rahi ho toh thik hi hoga.
A househelp knocked on the door and informed that the dinner has been served. Ram & Pihu's eye twinkled as they heard about food. They all went downstairs to the dining room and settled down on the chairs.
The huge dinner spread left everyone especially Ram & Pihu spellbound. The whole table was full of multiple types of kebabs and koftas, egg devil, sweet yellow pulao, malai paneer korma, mutton curry, chicken biryani, chicken rezala, salads,
gulab jamun, rasmalai etc.
Vivek: Maine bata diya tha sab kuch less spicy aur less oily banane ko. Pihu kha sakti hai.
Aditi(letting out a laugh): Haan aapne toh sab se bol diya tha ke ek bachhi aane wali hai. Hume kya pata ke Pihu hai.
Vivek(smiling): Haan Abhi toh baatein karta rehta hai Pihu ke baare mein.
Priya gave a soft smile to him and Aditi.
"Pihu ke baare mein baatein karte rehta hai ka kya matlab hai? Yeh thoda zyada nahi ho raha?", Ram thought.
The table was a little high for Pihu to properly eat.
Vivek(noticing that): Wait main Karim ko cushion laane ke liye bol deta hoon.
Ram: Arreyy no no it's okay.
He was about to pick her up and made her sit on his lap when Priya stopped him by holding his hand.
Priya smiled and told the minister to ask for a cushion.
Ram(whispering): Kya hua?
Priya: Kuch nahi. Mr. Kapoor Pihu should learn to adjust. Har jagah yeh mat kije.
Ram got a little upset as he liked to feed Pihu and preferred to make her sit on his lap and he knew for a fact that Pihu loved that.
But Priya had her own reasons other than that. She didn't want Abhi to get more hurt witnessing the relationship Ram & Pihu shared. His sadness felt personal to her. She knew that she can't prevent him getting hurt like that but she wanted to protect him even if it's a little bit.
A housekeeper came with a cushion and that finally made Pihu sit comfortably.
Vivek: Ab thik hai na Pihu bete?
Pihu(smiling): Haan. Ab thik hai.
Pihu gave a smile to Abhi who smiled back.
Brinda: Abhi aur Pihu ne toh chaar chand laga diye.
Kunal: Bilkul. Yeh dono sirf size mein chote hain.
All laughed listening to that.
Adi: Achha hai hamari Pihu ko ek achha dost mil gaya yahan. Hai na Ram?
Pihu gave a toothy smile to Adi.
Ram(with an extremely sweet smile): Haann...Achha hua Abhi mil gaya. Hume mil kar bhi bohot achha laga.
Abhi gave Ram a sweet smile.
"Haan bohot achha hua. Mera sar phatt raha hai.", Ram thought.
"Main sure hoon ke andar andar kuch toh khichdi paka rahe hain yeh Abhi ko leke. Problem kya hai inki! Ab kya Pihu ek dost bhi na banaye!", Priya thought giving Ram a side-eye.
Chatting like this they all finished having dinner.
Ram: Khaana toh badhiya tha Minister Sahab.
Vivek: Khushi hui sunke ke aapko achha laga.
Pihu: Haan bohot tasty. Sabse zyada Rasmalai!
Vivek: Bachhi ne tareef kardi toh bass...maan gaya main.
The elders kept talking while Pihu played with Abhi & Bruno a bit more before it was time to go home.
Ram checked his watch and it was almost 10:50pm.
Priya: I think ab hume aana chahiye. Mr. Kapoor?
Ram: Haan it's pretty late. Aaj hume ghar jaana chahiye par Sir invitation raha aap sab ko hamare ghar aane ka.
Vivek: Bilkul Mr. Kapoor we'll definitely go. Mujhe kuch kaam hai kuch dino ke liye woh khatam ho jaye toh zaroor aayunga.
Priya(caressing Abhi's cheek): Aur ab toh Abhi aur Pihu dost bhi hain toh aana aapko waise bhi hai. Maine tumhari Mumma ko number aur address sab de dia hai jab mann kare aa jana. Okay Abhi?
Abhi: Okay. Aap bhi aate rehna.
Priya: Thik hai. Such a sweet boy. Thank you so much for inviting us.
Aditi(caressing Pihu's hair): Phir se aana thik hai aur aap sab bhi. It was nice meeting you all.
Pihu: Aap bhi aana hamare ghar aur haan Bruno ko lekar aana. Bye bye Abhi!
Abhi: Bye.
Aditi chuckled and nodded and looked at Bruno who was standing beside her. Adi and others also thanked the Roy's and invited them to visit their homes.
Adi: I think Bruno is sad.
Abhi(nodding): Haan he's sad.
Pihu pouted and left Priya's hand and gave Bruno a hug.
Pihu: Bye bye Bruno. Mujhse Milne aana okk...
Bruno started whining knowing that Pihu was leaving.
Ram: Pihu bachhe come. Let's go! Aa jao.
He went and held her hand. Pihu looked at him and Ram saw tears were about to flow down her eyes as it was time to leave her newly found friends.
She forwarded her arms towards Ram who picked her up in his arms.
Aditi gave Priya a sad smile as she saw Pihu's tears trickling down her eyes. Ram caressed her back trying to calm her down. He gestured to Priya to sit in the car. Priya sat on the passenger seat and Ram passed Pihu to her.
Adi, Brinda, Kunal and Vikrant sat in Adi's car after waving them good bye and started their journey towards home.
Ram gave a smile to Vivek, Aditi and Abhi and sat in the car and soon their car also picked up speed and soon was out of the driveway.
Abhi sadly looked at her mother.
Abhi: Mumma Pihu kyun ro rahi thi?
Aditi: Because tum aur Bruno hi dost ho uske yahan and she'll miss you both.
Abhi nodded sadly.
Vivek: Usse milne chale jaana Bruno ko leke.
Abhi: Haan.
Aditi: Let's go inside. Sone ka time ho gaya Abhi.
Abhi held her hand and they went inside the house.
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Hope you all liked the chapter!