"Uske baat kya hua?" Vibha nudged Vikky impatiently. She needed more. That was not how she wanted the story to end.
"Did they fall in love?"
"Did the prince marry the Ice-queen?" Vish chimed in.
Vikky looked at the boy with a smile, "You want the Prince to marry the ice-queen?"
He bobbed his head again.
"But you do not want the together. Remember what you said...."
"Oh! Ho Big-b! Tab mughe nehi pata tha ke Ice-queen itne cute hai. She is not the monster I thought she was" Vish sighed dramatically. "You were right, we should not judge anyone without knowing the whole story. Real Villain to koi aur nikala"
"Koi villain nehi hota, Vish. Halat insaan ko Villain banatey hai. I used to once believe that Villains could not redeem themselves. That some mistakes were beyond forgiving, but no one can hold on to hatred forever, and when the other person tries so much to earn forgiveness you will give in. You may never forget the pain they gave you but you can still forgive them. Love is a very powerful emotion, bacha. It makes you forgive anything and anyone."
"Aap Ice-queen ke baat kar rahe ho?" Vibha frowned. From where she was seeing she did not need any forgiveness.
"No I am talking about her father....."
"We are not interested in the heartless Evil King, Big-b. Tell us about the queen. Did she get her happy ending? Did the Prince fall in love with her again?" Vibha cut him off.
"The Prince was always in love with her, Princess." Vikky sighed. "He never stopped loving her. That was the reason that he could never look at another woman. She was the one for him."
"And the Prince was the one for the queen" Vibha's eyes softened. "She always loved him"
"She did. That was the problem all along."
"So what happened next? did they get their happy ending?" Vish nudged him again. He was getting impatient.
"A happy ending does not come easily, Vish. People have to work towards the happy ending. The queen had a lot of issues. She was insecure and uncertain. The Prince did not know she loved him. He treated her fairly but kept her at a distance. The boy became the thread that bound them together, but they still hung on opposite ends."
"Then how did they move along? How did they find each other again."
"Life happened." Vikky smiled remembering those days. He was thrilled to have his mother back home but it was not always roses. They had their good days and bad days. He was a teenager and his mother was uncertain. He could not control his rebelling steak and she she did not know how to deal with him. In other words he drove her crazy. Without his father as an anchor they would all have been lost.
A few days after Khushi came back and the novelty faded, he was back on brat mode. The more he stayed at home the more he got annoyed. All his friends had joined colleges. He was the only one who stayed home. He had music classes but they were not enough to keep him engaged. An empty mind a devil's workshop. It proved right in his case.
He was taking driving lessons from his grandfather every morning. That day his grandfather had to to go out on business call. He was annoyed because he had to spend the morning twiddling his thumbs. He walked into his mothers room hoping she was free to play chess with him. He saw her on a conference call and sighed in frustration. She was Chairman of an MNC. Her time was not her own. Now that she was back on her feet, she was almost alwyas busy.
She saw him come in and put the call on hold.
"Kuch chaye bacha?"
"I am getting bored, mumma" He whined.
Khushi sighed. She knew that very well. The decision to take a year off did not sit well with her. She wanted to tell him to go and join the college, but hesitated.
"I will be done in an hour, we can play then?" She suggested with a smile.
Vikky bobbed his head and left. One hour became two and then three. Khushi was still caught up in work. Vikky was annoyed. His dad never gave false promises. If he said he would come back in an hour he came back in an hour. He went in and knocked on his mothers room again. She looked up and sighed.
"A few minutes more, vikky...."
"It's been there hours, mumma." Vikky was frustrated. "You said one hour."
"The meeting is important, beta....."
"Fine! I am taking the car out. I will be back in thirty minutes."
"What" Khushi's eyes widened in shock. "Uncle wapes aa gaye kya?"
"Nehi, pops sham tak nehi ayenge. I will take a car for a spin. Bye"
He turned to go. Khushi shut the laptop and chased behind him. She saw him grabbing the keys and took it from him.
"Vikky you do not know how to drive. Let your pops come back...."
"No mumma, I am bored. And I know how to drive. I will only go to the play ground where we practice. I am familiar with the place. I will manage. Bye." Vikky took the keys back from her.
"Vikky mere baat sun, bacha. It is not safe...." Vikky hugged her without giving her a chance to protest and walked out. Khushi followed behind him. She was overwhelmed with worry. She wanted to command him to stay back but they were just building a relationship. She did given him enough reasons to hate her. She did not want to add on to that.
"Let me come with you, give me ten minutes Vikky. I will end the meeting and come"
"Aapke meetings kabhi khatam he nehi hote mumma. It's okay. I will be back in thirty minutes. Aap stress maat lo"
He sat down in the car without paying heed to her pleadings. He started the car without a second thought and pressed the accelerator. The car zoomed ahead. Vikky panicked. It had never happened before, because Vedant always urged caution. He forgot the first rule of driving and pressed the gas hard.
Khushi's eyes widened as she saw the car zooming ahead.
"Break daba, Vikky" She yelled in fear. Vikky knew he should hit the breaks but in his panic he did not remove his leg from the accelerator. The car zoomed ahead and crashed into the neighbors gate. The gate broke into pieces. The jolt, made Vikky leg slip from the accelerator. he remembered to press the break. The car came to a scratching halt right before the neighbors house. The old couple rushed out to check. They were shocked to see the condition of the gate, but more scared about Vikky. They had seen him grow up before their eyes. The old lady baby sat him as a kid. The man rushed to help Vikky out of the car.
The airbags had deployed on impact. Vivek made sure his car had all the safety measures. he refused to take risk with himself or his family. Vikky hit his head hard on the steering. There was a slight gash on his forehead. The old man helped him get out but it was not easy to cut though the airbags. Khushi rushed to help him.
"Vikky tu theek hai bacha?" The old lady came to him and caressed his head gently. Vikky felt his head spinning. Khushi held him gently. Her eyes were filled but she was bubbling with fury. She wanted to shake him up, whack him for behaving like a fool. But she could not do that. She was scared of pushing him away.
"Ise hospital le jana hoga, Khushi ji" The old man spoke gently.
"Main gadi nekalta hoon"
Khushi looked at the car crashed before their driveway. There was no way he could get his car out.
"Thank you uncle, main driver se car nekalne ko kehtey hoon. I am sorry for what happened. My security will clean up the mess. I will make sure everything is repaired....."
"Woh sab baad me Khsuhi ji, bache ko hospital le jayeye pehle. Main Vivek ko call karke batata hoon"
"Nehi kaku" Vikky protested immediately. "Dad ko call maat karo aap. Ghabra jayenge woh."
"Par beta Vivek ka janana zaruri hai. Dekh kitne chot laga le tune....."
"Nahi kaku, I am fine. Aap dad ko kuch maat batao please. Mumma aap kuch bolo na please"
Khushi took a deep breath to control her anger. Vikky was pushing her buttons.
"Main Vivek ko call kartey hoon, Uncle. Aap chinta maat kejeye. Thank you fot your help." She spoke politely. The elderly couple agreed and went inside. Khushi guided her son to her car. The driver was already waiting for them. She looked at the security. She did not need words, they rushed away to take care of the mess.
"Dad ko call maat karo, mumma" Vikky pleaded. "Ghabra jayenge. It was just a lame accident."
"It was not a lame accident, Vikram" Khushi hissed. "You could have hurt yourself. You could have hurt someone else. What were you thinking"
Vikky looked down. She looked so angry that he was scared. If his dad was in her place he would not have hesitated to slap him. Her behavior put him on the edge. She loved him but somewhere he felt that she kept him at a distance. He did not know what to expect from his mother and that worried him.
"Sorry" He muttered under his breath.
"Sorry does not cut it close, Vikram. You cannot behave so carelessly. I told you not to drive, did you listen? What will I tell your dad now?"
Vikky remained silent. Khushi palmed her face. She was getting very upset. She did not wish to say something damaging. She did not know how Vivek would have handled the situation. She did not wish to look like a monster mom. She pulled herself together and called Vivek. Usually she made sure to stay clear of Vivek. His presence stirred feeling inside her. Made her wish to rekindle what they lost, but she knew Vivek had moved on. She did not want to end up as the pathetic clingy ex.
Now she had no other choice. Vikky was Vivek's child. He had the right to know that he was injured. Vivek was shocked to hear about the incident. He told her that he would come to the hospital immediately. By the time Khushi reached the hospital, Vivek was already waiting there. The hospital was very close to the cafe. Vikky saw Vivek and rushed to hug him. His head was hurting a lot.
Vivek held him close to heart. His heart was pounding in the chest.
"Kaise chot lag gaye bacha?" He pulled back and cupped his face gently. Khushi had told him that she was getting vikky to the hospital because he was hurt, she did not tell him how he got hurt. Vikky paled. If he told him what he had done, his dad would skin him alive.
"Bacha...."
"He needs stiches, Vivek. The doctor is waiting" Khushi nudged them along. She wanted vikky treated first. Vivek could pamper him all he want later. She was upset at Vivek. She hoped that Vivek would bash some sense into the kid but he was showering him with love. In her agitation she completely missed the fact that she had not told Vivek anything about the accident.
Vivek escorted Vikky to the doctor. Getting the stitches was no easy task. Vivek had to hold Vikky down to get though the procedure. Khushi watched from a distance, she shared her sons anxiety. She wished the doctor would come up with another way of treating Vikky, but they had no other option. So she looked away as the doctor tortured her child. Vikky hissed in pain.
"Lag rahe hai buddy" He complained in protest.
"Aram se doctor" Khushi hissed. She was very close to loosing her calm. "If you cannot do it get someone qualified."
The doctor gave her a incredulous look. He was the chief doctor. No one spoke to him that way.
"He is a doctor, Khushi" Vivek glared at her.
"He is hurting, Vikky" Khushi protested.
Vivek sighed. Khushi was alwyas the protective one.
"Why don't you get Vikky some coffee? I am sure he will need it after the stitches"
Khushi walked out. She knew she was over reacting but she could not help herself. It was best if she stayed away till the stiches was one. By the time she was back with the coffee the doctor had already dressed his wounds. He wrote the prescription and handed it to Vivek.
"He would need these pain medicines. Its going to hurt a lot. Take care."
Vivek nodded his head and guided Vikky out of the doctors room. Khushi followed behind him. The drive back home was silent. Vikky refused to let go of Vivek for even a second. His heart was still pounding. He knew he had to tell his dad about the accident very soon, but till then he needed to feel his protective embrace.
"Kaise laga chot bacha, batayega nehi?" Vivek caressed his hair gently. Vikky remained silent. Khushi looked at Vivek. For the first time she realized Vivek was clueless about the situation. She looked at Vikky. He was silent.
Khsuhi sighed. The car was not the place to talk about what happened. She waited till they were back home to tell Vivek what happened. To say he was furious was the understatement of the year. She had never seen Vivek become angry with Vikky before, but she was shocked to see the anger.
"Did you drive the car without your pops?" Vivek's voice boomed. Vikky flinched and looked down. He was too scared to answer.
"Look at me, Vikram. Tell me what you did!" He grabbed his arm harshly and made him look up.
"Sorry dad....." Vivek cut him off with a SLAP. Vikky's eyes filled up but he stood there with his head lowered.
"How many times I have told you that you cannot drive without an adult around? You think you are a grown up now? You will do exactly what you please?"
Vikky shook his head as tears rolled over. Vivek raised his hand to slap him again but Khushi held his hand at the last minute.
"Kya kar rahe ho Vivek. Use pehle se chot aye hai....."
"Aur chot kaise aye hai? How could you let him drive alone Khushi?"
"Mumma ne mana keya tha dad......" Vivek pulled his hand back from Khushi's grip and slapped him again,
"tere mumma ne mana keya aur tune suna nehi? How dare you....."
"Vivek bas" Khushi had to physically pull him back. She had never seen Vievk so angry before. She wanted him to bash some sense into Vikky, but when he was doing just that she became upset with him.
"bacha hai woh. galti ho gaye hai usse...."
"Galti?" Vivek glared at her, "He could have hurt himself, worse he could have hurt someone else."
"I know that Vivek. I am upset with him too, but use marke kya milega?"
"Pyar ke bahsha samjah aa rahe hai ise? Tumne mana keya tha na? mana woh...."
"Nehi mana. Ground him. Punish him anyway you want, but calm down first. This is not the way to handle him. Please Vivek. Clam down"
Vivek walked away to calm himself down. She was right he was letting his fear cloud his judgement. Vikky was already hurt. He needed to calm down before talking to him.
Khushi sighed and faced Vikky. The boy was crying silently. Her heart went out to him. She walked to him and gently pulled him into her embrace.
"What you did was very wrong, Vikky. Your dad is not wrong beta...."
"I know mumma" Vikky pulled back and wiped his eyes. "I was wrong. Please aap dad se baat karo na. I will not do anything like that again. Bohot gussa ho gaye woh...."
"Gussa kyun nehi hoga woh Vikky. You put yourself in harms way Vikky. No parent can accept that. What were you doing Vikky. Maan to karta hai ke ek keech ke lagao....."
"Aap bhi maroge mumma? Dad ne kitna mara"
Khushi whacked him gently. Any inhibition she had melted away after seeing Vivek's reaction. No parent would tolerate what Vikky had done.
"Nehi to kya tere dad tere aarti utartey? You scared him bacha. You scared us. Jaan nekal gaye the mere. what were you thinking?"
"You are supposed to be on my side mumma" Vikky whined. "You are supposed to......"
Khushi whacked him into silence. His whining was rubbing her the wrong way. vikky winced.
"Aab aab bhi bache ko maar he lo...."
"Ek aur baat apne zuban se nekale na Vikky to I swear I will belt you! You are eighteen not eight! You know you had no right to put yourself at risk"
"Haan to galti ho gaye na mumma. Dad ne maar bhi deya. aapne bhi maar leya. Aap to gussa maat kro please. Stupidity ho gaye yaar. I am really sorry. Please koi to mere side lo"
"Hum dono tere he side me hai vikky" She cupped his face gently. "Your dad was not angry. He was sacred. You are our only child Vikky. You are the light of our life. If anything happened to you...." Her voice closed off.
Vikky realized his mistake immediately. He hated seeing her tears.
"I am sorry mumma. Please aap uspet maat ho. I am sorry I behaved that way. I am sorry I did not listen to you. I will not do that again mumaa. Please don't be upset"
Khushi blinked off her tears and got up. Vikky held her hand immediately. "Gussa ho?"
Khushi shook her head. "You dad looked very upset. I will go talk to him. Go and rest Vikky. Apne dad ko aur naraz nehi karna hai."
Vikky nodded his head, "Aap dad ko samjhaoge na?"
Khushi nodded her head. He looked so sad that she did not have the heart to scold him any more.
"Promise me you will never do this again"
"Promise mumma. Stupidity ek baar hote hai. baar baar nehi. I will never do anything like this again"
Khushi was relived to hear that. She escorted him to the room and helped him settle down.
"rest. I will get your lunch to the room"
'Dad se baat karo aap please. woh gussa hotey to mughe bilkul acha nehi lagta. Tell him I am really sorry. I will take any punishment. Please ask him to talk to me. Please"
"he will come and talk, Vikky. Don't stress. Vivek can never stay away from the people he loves. Don't over think. I will go and talk to him"
Vikky bobbed his head. She placed a warm kiss on his head and went looking for Vivek. She looked around, she was relived to find him sitting on the steps outside. She sat beside him silently. The Vivek she knew the most easy going person around. He never lost his calm no matter what. She was the one who had anger issues. The one who found it hard to control her unruly mouth or actions. She was the one who got into fights and arguments. He took everything with a smile. But the boy she knew was a carefree teen, the man she was reacquainted with a father of a teenager. She could appreciate the changes.
"Did he eat anything?" Vivek was the one to break the silence.
She shook her head, "He is scared, Vivek. You scared him."
"Nehi to kya uske aarti utarta, Ashi? How dare he risk his life?" Vivek could not hold back the anger. No matter how much he tried he could not control his anger.
"He is a teenager, Vivek. Impulsiveness is the bane of teenage years. He was getting bored...."
"So he will risk his life. You said no to him Ashi, he should have listened."
'May be I did not know how to say no properly" Khushi sighed. If she had stood her ground, Vikky would never have defined her. It was her hesitation that crated the problem in the first place.
"What?"
"I should have insisted, Vivek. I should have forced him to stay back. I could not do that....."
"Why?"
Khushi sighed. She needed to talk about her fears. She did not know who else to talk to. Veer was a good friend, but he was dealing with problems of his own. It did not help that Vivek and Veer had a strained relationship. She had no other friends, Vedant was very warm and approachable but they were just getting reacquainted with each other. That only left Vivek. She hoped he would understand her dilemma.
"I don't know how you deal with Vikky, Vivek" She told him honestly. "I know how much he adores you. You are the best parent any child could ask. I feel.... I don't know how to say it Vivek. I don't want Vikky to hate me. He does not know me. If I say something to upset him...... I can't loose him Vivek. he is the only one I have......"
"You are also the one mother he has, Ashi" Vivek gently patted her hands. He could understand her hesitation. He knew how much she was trying, that tugged at his heart. No mother should try so hard. Vikky loved her, but she hesitated to exercise her rights.
"He loves you, Ashi. I think you know that too. The reason you are hesitating is because you do not know how he will react, but how will you know his reaction if you hesitate every time? Ek baar haq jatake dekho, Ashi. Yeh dar apne aap mit jayega. Vikky tumhara beta hai, you do not have to think before talking to him. Gusse se daat doge to kya hoga? Zyaada se zyada woh rooth jayega na? To rootne do. Bacho ko sahe rasta maa baap he dekhatey hai, Ashi. Aaj hum uske galti nehi sudharenge to kal wahe galti uske adat ban jayege. He should know he cannot risk himself. He should no when his mothers says no, it is a no. You have to teach him that. Aaj use takleef me dekhke sabsse zyaada taqleef tumhe he ho rahe hai. Haq jatatey to shayad yeh nehi hota. I am not blaming you, Ashi...."
"I know Vivek" Khushi sighed. "It's just that I am confused. I do not want him to hate me, and I do not want him to do something wrong. What should I do?"
"Well that confusion will not fade away any time soon" Vivek smiled. "That is the dilemma that every parent faces. We need to be tough, Ashi. For his sake we need to be firm. Don't let your hesitation stop you. Yeh jo akhe tum sabko ko dekhate ho na, wahe ankhe apne bache ko bhi dekhao. Trust me if he will stand no chance. He will agree to what ever you say without a word."
"really? my eyes are so powerful?" Khushi raised her brows.
"Mesmerizing" The words slipped out from Vivek's lips. Her eyes still had the power to bring him to his knees. They looked into each others eyes, for a minute there they were back in time. They could feel each others emotions. Khushi looked away breaking the eye contact. She was ogling Vivek shameless. It was becoming difficult for her hold herself back.
"Andar chalo. I will cook something for Vikky"
Khushi got up and followed him inside. She watched him dice the vegetables and offered to help.
"Koi zarurat nehi hai, sit and peal the peas" He handed her a bowl full of peas.
She looked at the peas disgusted. It was the only thing he asked her do.
"You will not use these, will you?" She could not hold back the question. He turned away to hide his smile. He was getting extra peas to keep her occupied. She always wanted to help but cut herself every time she held the knife. Peas was his best solution. She was catching on fast. Khushi was always smart, that was what he found attractive in her. Not her beauty but her smartness and her sass. He wished he would get to see her sassy side again. He could not relate much to the quite Khushi.
"You can teach me to dice Veggies" She put the peas down and reached for the knife. "I can learn."
"NO" Vivek too the knife back from her hands. "If you cut yourself again, your son will blow a gasket"
"Fine. Teach me to cook then"
"You almost food poisoned me the last time you tried making something. No thank you"
"Well I can learn" Khushi insisted.
"Fine! You cook and you feed the dish to your son. I am not being the Guinee pig"
Khushi glared at him, "You are being mean Vivek"
"I am being practical khushi. Waise bhi tumhe cook karne ke kya zarurat hai? All your men know to cook. Just sit and enjoy. Why do you want to tax yourself?"
He pulled a chair for her and forced her to sit down. "Peal the peas. I will make peas palav. Vikky likes it very much"
Khushi sat down. She could not hear past "All her men" statement. Did vivek actually mean it? Was she overthinking? She did not know she was very confused. Vivek got back to cooking. They heard footsteps and she looked up to see theirs son hesitating at the door.
"Aa na wahe kyun khada hai" She spoke with a smile.
Vikky looked at his father and looked back at her. Khushi smiled. He looked cute when he acted like a scared child. She was sure he was actually scared of Vivek. She never thought she would ever have to play the cooler parent role, but she was ready to embrace it. As long as Vivek was there to play the mean guy she could play the cool mother. Something that would help her gain her sons affections. She was glad in many ways.
She gestured Vikky to come in. The boy walked inside, taking baby steps. She sighed and looked at Vivek. She did not understand how he was able to remain angry. Vikky had already melted her heart.
"Vivek, Vikky ko tumse kuch baat karne hai" She nudged Vivek gently.
"Kya baat karne hai use. Shouldn't he be resting?" Vivek did not even look back.
Vikky gave khushi a pleading look. He hated when his dad acted so mean. His pops always played the middle man, with him out of picture he was depending on his mother to do the same for him. He was she was taking his side. He had always imagined it that way. His mother playing his savior. He rushed to his mothers side and hugged her from behind.
"kuch karo mumma" he whispered in her ear.
Khushi sighed and glared at Vivek, "Vivek! Ek baar dekh to lo bache ke taraf"
"Ask him to go rest, Ashi. I don't want to talk now"
"Aise kaise baat nehi karoge?" Vikky stepped back from behind khushi. "Baat to aapko karne he hoge. You cannot say you will not talk to me...." He walked to Vivek and turned him around. "That is not fair dad"
Vivek raised his hand to whack him, Vikky filched but did not step back. Vivek lowered his hand.
"Go vikky! Right now I am mad at you. It's best you go back to your room"
"Marna hai to maar lo dad. But I will not go."
Vivek took a threating step towards Vikky. Khushi came between the two of them. Her son was proving to be an idiot. "Vivek please Bacha hai yaar. Bohot gussa kar leya tumne uspe. Aab to maaf kar do. Please. He will not do it again."
Vivek glared at vikky.
"Sache nehi karunga" Vikky pleaded and held his ears.
"Dekho Vivek. Bacha kitna mana raha hai, maan bhi jao na. It is not like you had a very uneventful teenage life. Bhool gaye kitne baar uncle ne tumhe ground keya? you were worst than Vikky. At least he drove a car, you were racing......" She railed off when she saw Vivek's sharp glare.
"Sache?" Vikky wanted to know.
Khushi wanted to kick herself. She was a big time fool.
"Thank you" Vivek hissed under his breath.
"Dad racing kartey the?" Vikky wanted to know. Both Vivek and Khuhsi whacked him at the same time. Vikky looked at them shocked.
"Humesha galat baat pe focus karne ke zaruart nehi hai" Vivek scolded him. "You are in enough trouble, Vikky. Don't think your mother can save you now. I will...."
"Vivek please. Maar leya na use. Aab ground kardo do teen maheno ke leye. Take away all his privileges, put him on dish duty. Stop scolding him"
Vikky looked at her shocked. What was she saying. he would rather take his fathers whacks then that. His father was actually being kind. She was the mean one. Who punished a child that way?
"Does not sound like a bad idea, Ashi" Vivek smiled seeing the look of shock in his child's face. Ashi had come up with the best punishment.
"That is what we will do exactly. Started today you are grounded Vikram for thre...." Vikky blocked his mouth, "Don't say it dad please. Maar he lo aap. Don't do that please. Thoda to rehem karo apne bache pe"
Khushi looked surprised, he wanted to be hit instead? what was wrong with him?
"Kaise mumma ho yaar aap?" Vikky shot her an accusing glance. "bache ko maar daloge kya? Stop giving dad ideas. Dad aapne kuch nehi suna okay. You deal witn me your way. Pelease"
"No Vikky. Your mumma is right. Maar ke kya milega. Grounding will set you right. And for the stunt you pulled, you will not get car privileges till you turn 19" Vivek dictated the law.
Vikky paled and looked at his mother for support.
"Sounds fair to me"
"What is fair?" Vikky rebelled. "Nothing is fair. I am 18! Kids my age drive the car. I will drive too. You cannot stop me."
"Great then buy your own car." Khushi dismissed him "because we will not get you a car till you turn 19 and you will not be allowed to touch the one we have at home. Right Vivek?"
"Exactly! And coming to the one you crashed, the repair charges will be deducted from your pocket money...."
"You are being mean dad....."
"I am not done, Vikram"
"oh! I am done with you two. Pops ko ane do. Dono ke shekayat karunga main. This is so not fair. I am not talking to you two. Don't follow me"
He turned to walk away.
"Being grounded means you cannot walk out of the house kidoo" Vivek called out.
Vikky turned around and glared at him. Vivek did not relent in the end Vikky stopped his feet and went back tohis room. They heard the door close with a thud and winced.
"That went out smooth" Khushi sighed.
"That actually went out smooth" Vivek handed her a glass of juice. handling a teenager was never easy. He had experience, she was coping well but he did not want her overwhelmed.
"His reaction is....."
"Just like mine" Khushi shook her head. "I used to do that every time dad....."
She trailed off. Her fathers thought was enough to make her sad. Vivek waked to her and gently lifted her face. "Vikky is your photocopy Ashi" He changed the topic gently. "So I know that he will come down and apologize once he cools off. Just like you he will not be able to stay away from people he loves. And he loves us both. Hai na?"
Khushi nodded her head. she was grateful for his support. It was not easy to let go of what happened, but Vivek and his family was doing their best to show her that her fathers actions had no bearing on their relationship. She still struggled but she was learning. She had taken up counselling to help deal with pain. As a mother she wanted to give her best to her child, she could not do that when she was not at her best. She was slowing healing but there was a long way to go. She knew that as well as Vivek. They were all trying their best.
"He should go back to college, Vivek" She set her sadness aside and focused on her son. "he is getting bored, that is why he is chasing trouble. Ask him to join the college. It is not late. He only lost a couple of moths, the college will still take him"
"I thought about it, Ashi. But he just found you. He wants to spend time with you....."
"I can move to New York. " She suggested. The very thought did not sit well with her, but if she stayed there she would long for Vivek and it was not fair to him.
"He can join the college and come visit me when even he wants. or he can stay with me if that is okay with you..."
"Ofcouse he will stay with you" Vivek controlled his shock and assured her. he was not expecting her to leave. Over the past six moths she had become a part of his life. he was hoping they could.... he had no business thinking that way. She was khushi birla. Their worlds were different. He had to accept that. He took a step back and forced a smile.
"I think that is a good idea. How long will you work from home? You have a life there. So does Vikky"
"It's not about me Vivek"
"i know, Ashi. It's about our son. I will talk to him. I will convince him to join the college. Don't worry."
Khushi nodded her head but she felt her heart sinking. If Vivek convinced Vikky to move to New York she would have to leave too. Once she left she would never be able to see Vivek again. She should be elated that she would get her son all to herself. That is what she really wanted, but the why did she feel as if she was loosing something big? Why was her life so confusing? Why after eighteen years she wanted the one thing that she could no longer have! Vivek love! How pathetic could she be?
1--What was the best part of the episode?
2- What are your feelings on Khushi?
3- Do you think Vikky will agree to go back to college?"
4- Should Khushi leave with Vikky?
5- Do you think love will find a way?