"Hi Mama, wassup?!" Advait picked up his uncle's call.
"Adi! Kya kar raha hai?" Sidharth asked his nephew.
"Kuch nahi, just came back to my room." Advait replied.
"Okay, did you see the pictures I sent you?" Sidharth asked, he could sense that the boy wasn't really happy.
"Dekha maine, mere bina bohot enjoy karte ho na aap!?" Advait answered, frowning because his uncle celebrated his birthday without him.
"Achaaw!? Abey, tune khud apna course chuna aur bahar gaya! Ab gussa kar raha hai!" Sidharth replied.
"Toh mujhe nahi pata tha ke mai aap logo ko itna miss karunga!" Advait mumbled. The boy decided to do a certificate course after his fourth semester during the long break.
"Aww. I'm missing you too mera baccha! And just so you know, maine koi enjoy nahi kiya. Bas kuch colleagues ne treat mangi thi, mera toh birthday ka dinner bhi ghar pe bana tha." Sidharth assured him, not wanting his nephew to feel left out.
"Okay. Also, you were looking good in that shirt I suggest you buy." Advait replied.
"Yeah? Took you so long to notice!" Sidharth chuckled.
"Mama, how about I come over for this weekend. Christmas me, lamba weekend mil raha hai." Advait asked.
"Sure, aja. Do you want me to book your tickets? Teri mummy se baat karta hu mai." Sidharth asked back. A break would be good, the boy was really missing his family.
"Ha thik hai." Advait said, feeling a lot better now. The boy had lived all his life with his family, this was the first time he had decided to do a small certificate course to have some good things in his CV. This was his final year in his degree of engineering and the studious kid he was, he badly wanted to get placed into one of the good companies his campus promised.
Advait got that trait from his mother, Preeti. She was the most studious among the three siblings. She was that one nerdy kid who used to study during her free period and visited teachers for better guidance. She began to teach other kids while she was in college. As a consequence of her passion for teaching, she was a lecturer in a high school as well as a tution teacher to those who wanted to clear competitive entrances.
"May I come in, Mam?" Sidharth knocked at her classroom door. His sister was going through some papers, which looked like her students' answer sheets.
"Aana, Montu." Preeti smiled, pulling off her glasses. She has had them since she was 20 and since then, it suited her round face. She looked cute.
"Adi se baat hui meri, miss kar raha wo sabko idhar." He told her, taking a seat infront of her table.
"Ha, meri bhi baat hui thi usse. I could sense that." She replied.
"Toh iss aane wale weekend pe bula lu usey? Christmas break milegi usko iss weekend." He asked her.
"Toh decide kar liya hai tum dono ne? Kar deti hu uski tickets." She smiled, realizing that the two boys already made their plans. Even though she missed her kid, she wanted Advait to experience the change and learn to adjust without his family around.
"Kitni der rukegi? Aur kitne tests leti hai baccho ka? Kaha fass gaye bichare!" He mentioned and chuckled, looking at the pile of copies she was correcting.
"Aise hi JEE nahi clear hota beta! Padhna padta hai." She shook her head.
"Tujhe ya students ko!?" He laughed commenting and so did she.
"Wrap it up! 8 baj gaye hai bhai, tereko lene driver nahi bhejunga. Sath me chal." He insisted, getting up and picking up her handbag for her.
"Thik hai." She nodded, folding her glasses into their case and getting up from her chair. She sighed loudly as she stood up, it had been a while since she got up and stretched. It was a task for a middle-aged woman to sit for long hours and work. The sigh was more of a mentally exhausted sigh after long hours of paper correction.
"Buddhiya." Her brother commented and it made her frown.
"Mar khayega, Montu!" She warned him with big angry eyes. Even though she was 50 years old, she had maintained herself well enough. She hardly looked a day older than 40 the way she styled herself, she was very conscious about her health.
They joined the rest of their family for dinner where Rita Ma, their mother and Ajay, Preeti's husband were waiting for them.
"Adi Christmas break me ghar ayega." Preeti told them.
"Chalo badhiya. Badi yaad aa rahi thi uski, wo ghar ayega toh uske liye noodles banaungi." Rita Ma sounded excited.
"Abhi Adi aaya nahi, aur uski Nani ne preparations chalu kardi." Sidharth teased his mother, it made the rest of them chuckle.
"But Ma, aap toh next week Mausi ke ghar jane ka plan kar rahe the?" Ajay asked her.
"Wo toh hum sab ja sakte hain. Unless koi bohot busy ho..?!" She replied, side eyeing her daughter and so did everyone. Because Preeti only took breaks on Sundays.
"Uh- Ma come on! Mere students ke exams pass aa rahe hain!" Preeti mentioned her reason. Also, she was not much of a person who liked to socialize. She was an introvert.
"Pri come on yaar, thoda humare sath bhi time spend kiya kar. You're always about your work as if we don't matter to you anymore." Ajay dramatically pointed out. His wife didn't buy his acting.
"At least Ma ke sath toh aise mat kar, unko kyu ignore karti hai tu?" Sidharth added fuel to the fire, it was like all against one. Everyone except for Preeti was holding back their laugh and just trying to push her to the edge of her patience.
"Oh shut up! Mai bhi chalungi Pune! Fine? Happy? Kitne nautanki ho bhai tumlog!" Preeti rolled her eyes at her family.
"Bhai, sirf wo hai.' Ajay commented in a whisper, winking at her real quick.
Done with their meal, they had moved to the TV room while Sidharth freshened up to leave for his place. He stayed in Bandra, closer to his office while the Shukla's main residence was in Juhu.
"Ma, kab jana hai Pune? Meri shayad ek meeting ho sakti hai, aap abhi bata do. I'll reschedule it accordingly." He told his mother, while adjusting his hair as he walked into the TV room.
"Friday ko jayenge." Rita Ma replied, a little engrossed in the movie that was on.
"Thik hai. Chalta hu mai." He nodded, waited for her to walk out with him and kept waiting.
"Ha, bacche. Aram se jana, good night." She replied.
"Ma!" He whined because she didn't notice that he was standing right behind her.
"Come." She chuckled, turned back and pressed a kiss to his head when she found him on her level. She got up, holding his hand.
"Bol." She said, once the two were out of the room. Being a mother, she could sense and read out that he wanted to talk to her in private. There was something about mothers, they knew what their children wanted to do just by looking at their body language.
"Kon kon Pune aa rahe hain? Aap logo ne meet up plan kiya hai?" He asked her.
"Actually tere Mausa ki tabiyat thodi on and off chal rahi hai, toh Radha (Mausi) ne bola ke thoda sabse milenge toh unko acha lagega. Even I'm not sure who all are going to be there." She answered him.
"Kya baat hai, Montu?" She asked him slowly.
"Ma, mai soch raha tha ke agar Divya bhi waha aayi toh shayad thoda awkward ho jayega. Don't you think?" He asked her for her opinion.
"Kyuki tum dono ke rishte ki baat aage nahi badhi?" She asked back.
"Ha. Divya ke parents ko lagta hai, maine usey reject kar diya. Par aap janti hai na, yeh humara mutual decision tha jo maine samne rakha tha." He told her. His aunt's family brought a nice proposal for him, the prospective boy and girl went out for a few dinners but decided against the family's decision. The girl's parents didn't take it well because he suggested that they weren't very compatible, ignoring the fact that their girl felt the same later on.
"I know beta. Par hum unko aur kitna samjhate rahenge? It's okay beta, unhe baad me realise hoga." She assured him.
"Hm." He nodded, stopping next to his car and hugging her before moving into the roads. Just talking to her would relieve his stress and help his world function better.
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Hello ji! Meet the Shukla's!
Lemme know who you liked the most? Obviously other than Sidharth! Duh.
Rita Ma fans! Raise your hands!
Also, we've finally reached the triple digi! A thousand followers on Wattpad! Thank you people! You guys are the best!!
Also, I'm going on a trip with my family. Merry Christmas in advance you all! I'll be back on Wednesday most probably so I'll try to update once I'm back! Please bear with me for a few days! Thanking you all for being so good to me already!