Next morning all rituals were done by the family members while the newcomers slept over..
Mishti and Kuhu had enquired about Ketki during Aarti. and Meenakshii and Parul educated them on jet lag and it's symptoms and remedies..
" Koslu ka toh pet gadbad ho jaata hai..."
Meenakshi said smilingly...
"Haan...Aur Nidhi ko sir dard hota hai..."
Parul reminisced the last time they came to US..
"Mein Kethu ko dekh ke aati Hoon.." Mishti said..
"Yeh bhi le jaa sakthi ho Mishti...adrak vaali chai..kuch pareshaani ho tho wo theek hoga.."
" Of course Choti ma...aap sab keliye de dijiye...Mami Aur Mamu ko bhi de aati Hoon."
" Aur mein ..mein kuch Kar sakthi hoo Meenu aunty.?"
Kuhu volunteered as Mishti arranged the tea set..
" Haan Kuhu...tum Green juice banane mein Meri help kardo.."
Parul suggested...
" Inke liye breakfast ka khana heavy lagega...toh hum juice piladenge.."
"Yes Parul aunty.. consider it done.."
*****
As the breakfast progressed Koslu Nidhi and Ketki joined the family..
" Di Adrak vaali chay toh kamaal Kar diya...I feel fit and fresh.."
Koushal said over enthusiastically..
Nidhi too nodded fervently..
Kethu looked rattled a bit eyeing the breakfast...
"Mamu Maami... Kethu.. aapkeliye special... breakfast Hein.."
Kunal announced as Kuhu brought in the big glasses of Green juice..
Kaushal and Nidhis face looked like they have bitten something sour..
" Woh...pichle time vaali.... haripatta vala ..juice...??"
Nidhi tried hard not to sound ungrateful...
As her parents looked uncertain whether to drink or not...Kethu took it and guzzled it in one go..
Abir patted her back..
" Dekho Maami...Kethu toh champ nikli...ab aap bhi pee lijiye.."
" Haan Abir.. Kethu toh hotstar heina..."
Nidhi eyed her glass with difficulty..
" Hot star nahi maariwali.. super star bolte Hain..
Hey bhagwan iss ek mahine mein aap hi ise thodi English dhang se sikha lo.."
Kaushal said in an exasperated way...
" Mujhe English nahi aati...Aur kuch kuch toh Mishti Aur Abir ne 12 saal pehle padhaayi thi..Haina Mishti.."
" Haan Maami hum donon ko yaad hai...kaise bhoolenge..."
Mishti said with an open smile as Abir coughed in an attempt to curb down his laugh..
" Phir yeh donon hi Chala Gaya...Aur mein Rajkot mein kis se English mein baat Karthi...Jugnu se ...huh?!"
Nidhi made a face...
" Jugnu bhayya..!!"
Mishti asked with incredulity..
"Aap logon ke saath abhi bhi Hain??!"
" Haan Mishti..aur mujhe yeh batane ko kaha hai ki woh aapse katti hai...time dekhke call karleta Hoon Aur aapki baat karvathi Hoon.."
Ketki told Mishti...
Mishti was looking at Abir..
He raised his eyebrows in question as he took a bite of the butter toast ..
"Tum ne bataya nahi ki Jugnu bhayya ab bhi aap logon ke saath Hain..."
She turned to Kunal..
" Tum bhi nahi bataya..."
Abir justified both of them.
" Ismein batanewala Kya baat hai...woh bhi is family ka hissa hi toh hai...tumne poocha nahi..isliye ..."
" Waise tum donon ke jaane ke baad mein thoda English uspe try Kiya tha ....lekin phir woh mere saamne se bhaagne laga.."
All laughed at Nidhi Mami's comment..
Mishti and Abir looked at each other..his eyes asked her the question..and she nodded slightly..
" Woh Maami...hum donon aapko thoda English sikhaaya... lekin thode tede andaaz mein...humein bohot maza aata tha..aapko padhaane mein..."
Abir said with a smile tinged with contrition..
" Matlab aap dono Mami ko pappu bana rahe the..."
Kunal started laughing and others too joined..
Mishti got up and hugged Nidhi ...
"Meri pyaari si Maami ko aaj see mein achi tarah see English sikhane wali Hoon..Aur dekhna ek mahine mein kaise fluently bolne lagegi.agreed Mami..??"
Nidhi smiled at Mishty...
"agreed beta..aur Abir Tum humare aaspaas bhi mat aana...yeh toh tab bachi thi..tumhi ne ise behekaya hoga.."
"Haan Maami ..wohi hua tha"
Mishti winked at Abir who was about to refute her claim...Kunal,Kuhu and Kethu saw this too and doubled up their laughter seeing Abir's expression...
" Maami aap nahi jaanti..ki aap kis jhamele mein padne wali ho...apne bhaanje see zyaada kisi aur pe itna believe karna theek nahi Hain..
Meenu, Parul and Kaushal.. looked at each other in satisfaction seeing the kids enjoying especially Abir...who never was this much vocal...or alive...in years.
Only Nanu's face registered a shadow of sadness..
*******
As Abir entered his CEO 's chamber Mark was waiting for him with the planner ...
"Good morning Sir..umm...an urgent video conference is being scheduled regarding the Toronto project..."
" Everything all right there .?..I get the daily updates..umm..slow work..but considering the set back it is okay.."
" Well...Piya ma'am.is getting agitated at the staff..and their morale too is low. This I got from the grapevine....sir"
Abir sat on his chair in thought..
" What about Neil's out put..?"
"That is another aspect.. Sir.. actually Neil sir is not there in any official capacity...and to be frank he is disengaging from the project swiftly to concentrate on the Toronto fashion week...His " Eve & Tal" company is gearing to participate in it ..so..."
Abir rubbed his temples .
"All good in the home front and European franchisee???..."
"Home front in the sense of US is fine ... European franchisees are implying the new code of conduct as previously discussed and updating..umm..the Indian team do want an audience though..."
"Okay..set up that meeting..I am tied for this week so will have to ask Piya to handle things smoothly at Toronto... let's get on to it.."
"Okay sir"
Mark followed Abir to the conference room..
*****
Kunal Kethu and Kuhu planned for an eve outing ..
Kaushal and Nidhi too wanted to join..but Meenakshii had another plan for them..
" Hum bohot dinon we bappa ka darshan nahi Kiya...aaj shaam ki aarti hum Ganesh mandir mein karenge...theek hai na Bapuji... Rajshri ki surgery success Hui uska bhi sukriya karna hai mujhe.."
Nanu nodded in agreement as Nidhi Maami looked longingly at the girls making plans with Kunal...
***
" Wow...last time I missed seeing the museum..Kuhu have you seen New York..?"
Ketki asked Kuhu who shrugged..
"Well..just around my college only... Mishti had an impromptu tour of central park though.."
Her voice was a bit low...
Kunal sat straight as he heard that..
" Okay then.. from now onwards we are officially on the roll...mein Mishti ko call kartha hoon ..tum ready ho jaana..first to Museum then some chillout place.."
Ketki clapped her hands in Joy..
" Abir Bro..?"
Kuhu looked at Kunal..
" Umm..will call Mark too to see whether Bhai is free..nahi toh hum hi chalenge na..mein Mishty ko call kartha hoon.."
He got up speeddialling Mishti..
" She is not picking up....ek aur baar try kartha hoon.."
Parul came to them..
" Hum sab shaam ki aarti keliye mandir jaa rahe Hein...tum log kuch plan bana rahe the..kaha jaane ka Socha Hain?"
"Woh Massi hum museum jaayenge aaj...bas Mishti ki confirmation aajaye.."
Kethu said enthusiastically..
Kunal looked at his phone .
" message bhi nahi dekh Rahi Hain.."
"Kaun.. Mishti.?. Kunal uska phone Shayad switch off hoga..mujhe phone Kiya tha ki woh thodi late ho jaayegi...koi debate session Hain preparations karni Hain use team ki saath.."
Parul informed the trio..
Kunal looked miffed at the prospect of going out without Mishty...
"Hum Kal jaayenge phir... Mishti ko bhi dekhna hoga na yeh sab..."
Kuhu said .... noticing disappointment in Kunal's face...her voice quivering a little...her doubts getting stronger and stronger about Kunal's feelings for Mishty...and the unknown squeezing in her heart...
" Nahi Kuhu... Mishti said it was an international debate...her professor has given her responsibilities...toh Kal bhi woh free nahi hongi...
Tum log jaao aur enjoy Karo..aise mooh latkake baithoge Kya..?!"
"Haan Kunal bhayya chalthe Hein na..."
Kethu looked at him making a puppy face..
"Okay ..Maine kab Mana Kiya jaane se...fatafat ready ho jaao...and no risque dressing okay...do do beautiful ladies ka eklautha bodyguard banke aaa Raha hoo..."
" Ooh... beautiful...mujhe to aap aise tarif karne see Raha... Kuhu...he clearly meant you.."
Kuhu blushed and she slapped kethki lightly..
Kunal's eyes got struck at her face for a fraction of a second...but turned away checking on his phone..
*****
Abir walked in to the dimlit hall...
The only light coming was from the far end of the hall ..
Mark had informed him that family went to mandir and also that Kunal had called him to say that 'they' were going for an outing and if Abir will be free to come with them...
He put down his laptop bag on the settee with a thud...... And raked both hands through his hair....
disappointed at himself..
Mark usually didn't interrupt video conferences..but this time uncharacteristically he did ...to give him Parul's and Kunal's message..
How he wanted to cancel the meeting...
But what the Rajkot team was updating him with was intriguing and he had to have all facts and data at his finger tips..
He rubbed his tired eyes ..and walked towards the dining table and drank water from the jug..
The sound of a vessel clattering in the kitchen made him to turn and in just a second he felt all his tiredness and tensions leaving him physically...
❣️❣️
Mishti after freshening up went to Rajshri and spent some time with her.. Rajshri had a physio day and she was exhausted... Mishty let her take rest and came to the kitchen...
Parul had made all arrangements for the dinner but staff were still waiting for her .
She told Sam and others to take some time off as she would take care of herself..
She decided to make some extra dishes and decided upon stuffed bhindi and moong dal khichdi.. smiling at the khichdi conversation she and Abir had before his birthday...at the park..
❣️
And she was doing exactly that...
totally immersed in preparation...
Enjoying the solitude as she slowly grooved to the music from her headphones...her chashma kept on the kitchen platform..
As she sauteed the spices she felt an odd feeling.. enveloping her ... causing goosebumps..
She looked at the window AC pinching her brows and shrugged away the feeling.and continued her away ..
But the persistent feeling of something feathery moving at the nape of her neck prompted her to turn...
And a yelp escaped from her throat as her eyes fell on the person leaning on the entry passage....
Abir...
Tired , messy hair..., his tie loosened around the few undone buttons of the white shirt.
" Tum??!"
He slowly walked to the kitchen as Mishti took off her headset..
Promptly simming the flame she turned to him flustered...
" Tum Kunal ke saath nahi ho??!"
Abir looked at himself..
" I am here na...toh mein Nanko ke sath kaise hoga..?!"
" Lame joke..!..Kunal message Kiya tha ki woh tumhein bhi sath leke jaa rahe Hain..toh Maine Socha.."
Mishti paused .. looking at him .. unsure what to say or do...
" Tum batao Tum kyun nahi gayi."
He walked in inspecting the dishes..
" Woh..debate session..I was late "
Mishti was now more jumpy as Abir's presence near her made her light in the head..
" Wow..yeh tumne banaya ...moong daal ki khichdi.."
Abir inhaled the aroma and appreciated Mishti..
" Acha ...ab khichdi ache lagne laga hai tumko..?!"
Mishty couldn't let go the opportunity to pull his leg...
Abir laughed at her dig..
" Tum se woh baat kehna nahi chahiye tha......ab regret Kar Raha hoon... Lekin tumhein yeh sab karne ki Kya zaroorath thi.... Sam dekh lete.."
Abir looked at her and she shrugged as she continued sauting ..
" Mera Mann Kiya bas...umm ab tum fresh hoke aajao..mein coffee bana deti Hoon.."
He nodded ..his eyes trained at her..
Abir was not ready to leave her ...but since it would look odd..he moved out ..
" Abhi aata Hoon.."
And with a spring in his walk he took his bag along with his coat and mounted the stairs effortlessly..
❣️
Mishti leaned on the platform exhaling and picking up the rhythm of her heart beat...
Abir...!!
Now how to hide her feelings which was becoming difficult to control...
❣️
Just as she finished making coffee and started stuffing the bhindi..Abir came downstairs..
and ....
She just couldn't move her eyes from the wet hair ... smiling face and the white kurta clad physique..
Exerting much willpower she bent her head .. inhaling hard and tried to adjust her hair falling in front of her face...
" Tumhara coffee lelo...aah..!!"
Abir was near her the next second she cried out..
"Kya hua Mishty..haath jal Gaya Kya..."
He held her hand which she was shaking wildly...
Her eyes were pinched shut with tears flowing down..
" Nnnaahi..my eyes...!"
That was when Abir noticed the spicy stuffing in her hand held by him..
He guided her to the sink fast and washed her hands first..
" Abiir... Aankhein jal Raha hai Abir...dhone do na.."
Mishti pleaded ..
" Nahi Mishti pehle haath ...agar pehle aankh saaf ki toh dubaarah haath jab face pe padega toh ek aur baar jalega.."
Abir said cajolingly as he washed her hand and holding her close helped her to wash her eyes....
As the irritation subsided a little Mishti became aware of their closeness...
Abir's arm hugged her tight side ways...water droplets from his wet hair fell on her bare shoulder...and the enchanting smell of him..was enveloping her...
She bit her lip hard ... schooling herself to be non responsive to his closeness...
Abir turned her to face him...
" Ab kholke Dekho...theek hua na....."
His palm cradled her cheek as Mishti slightly opened her eyes..
" Umm..theek Hoon.". she said turning away from him ...
"Yeh lo tissues...ab tum baitho..mein stuffing Kar deta Hoon..."
As Mishti started to protest .
" Sirf stuffing...baaki kaam tumhe hi to karna hain.."
Mishti nodded unwillingly...
" Lekin Abir pehle tum,.."
Abir had already delved into the stuffing of spicy mixture into cut bhindies..
" Tumhara coffee...tum itne tired hoke aaye Hain Aur ab yeh sab bhi..."
Abir tilted his head to look at her..
" Kyun tumhein bura lag Raha hai Kya.."
Mishti nodded..
"Toh pila do na coffee..."
"Mein??!"
" Aur kaun..Sam ?.. tum pehli baar toh nahi Kar Rahi na...phool gayi ..paani Tak mujhe apne aap peene nahi deti thi...ziddi ladki..!.okay tumse hoga nahi toh...mein..yeh khatam karne ke baad peeloonga... never mind.."
He said jokingly as he continued his work..
A hand with dangling dolphins appeared before him holding a cup of coffee ..
" Ab leke aayi hoon.... draamebaaz kahin ke..pee lo ."
She brought the cup to his lips and Abir looked at her in awe....
Then slowly took a sip... tasting it..
" Ummm.just as I like it..."
Mishti smiled...
" Parul Massi ki training Hein...'
"Umm...." He took sips and finished the stuffing by the time the cup emptied..
" Ab fatafat fry kardo...khichdi dekhke hi Mera bhook Chad Gaya Hein.."
By the time she finished frying..he did the clean up.. discussing mundane things such as her debate topic and his day in the office..
The air around them was thick with the vibes each of them were trying hard and hard to suppress...
❣️❣️
The voice of Nidhi Maami and Kunal's at the main door made them turn and move to the hall...
Sam hurriedly lit the hall and corridor lights...
" Mishti..!!..tum phone Kyu nahi uthayi...I called you..how many times...??"
Kunal came jogging to her as elders , Kuhu and Kethu came in..
" Woh...college mein meine phone silent mode pe rakha tha aur Ghar pe aake headphones ..."
She eyed the headset over the kitchen platform..
Nanu walked to the mandir and then retreated to his room..
Meenakshi, Parul, Nidhi, Kaushal and Ketki were seated in the hall..Abir went to them as Parul extended the Prasad to him.
Kuhu walked up to Mishti..
" Tujhe Kya hua ?..tum..tum..ro Rahi thi Kya..aankhen itni soochi kyun Hain..?"
Before Mishti could answer Kunal turned her to him lifting her chin up to examine..
****
Abir clenched his palm into a fist as he couldn't turn away from the sight before him nor he could suffer seeing Kunal holding Mishti...
Meenakshi's expression changed drastically as she looked at Parul sternly...
Parul seemed flustered at Kunal's action too..
Abir when he turned his eyes away from Mishti caught the disapproval and reproach on Meenakshi's face conveying Parul her displeasure...
His heart sank further...
*****
Kuhu felt like a stone weighing her down...
All evening One second Kunal would be attentive...then distracted ..
She never felt any kind of grudge against Mishti...
But this PDA of Kunal suddenly erupted the lava of jealousy surprising her ...as she tried to deny her feelings....
****
Kunal was unaware of the underplay going behind his back..
"Bhai se phir jhagda hua Kya...?!"
He asked in a low voice...
Mishti looked at him in dismay...
"Abir..nahi tho...woh mein stuffed bhindi bana Rahi thi ..
Aur aank mein Mirchi lagi..."
Kunal exhaled in relief...
Hearing " stuffed bhindi " Nidhi Maami jumped from her seat..
" Wah.. Mishti..tujhe pata tha na ki mujhe bhindi Kitni pasand Hein...tumne toh dekha hi hoga..tab mein Atul se president thi na..."
All erupted into a laughing spree..
Ketki gagged herself as Kaushal did the facepalming this time..
" Maariwali...kaise bolthi ho yeh sab... president nahi.. pregnant ..."
Nidhi though miffed at the correction smiled shyly eliciting another round of laugh..
The slight tense atmosphere was temporarily relieved...
***
Later as dinner was served Parul opened the bowl and her face changed a bit...
" Mishti..tum ne khichdi bhi banayi...umm..woh.."
Meenakshi looked at Mishti in surprise... then said to Parul..
" Usmein Kya hai Parul.. khichdi toh uski favorite hai..Mann Kiya hoga khane ka..Haina Mishti.?"
" Haan Chotimaa...thoda change toh banta hai na..."
She looked on as everyone was served the khichdi except Abir..
Abir was totally in soup now ...
For years he had maintained that he didn't like khichdi...well.. everyone abided by his preference all these years and khichdi was rarely prepared..
Mishti raised her brows in question to Abir as she chewed on the roti..
She got a sheepish smile in return..
Totally enjoying his predicament Mishti took the bowl of khichdi and extended to Abir..
" Tum bhi le lo....."
All kind of stilled for a second... expecting a polite refusal from Abir...
" Woh Mishti...Abir ko pasand nahi Hein...isliye.."
Parul said looking at Mishti but suddenly Meenakshii caught her hand..
" Dii Kya...."
She couldn't complete the question as she saw Abir serving himself heapful of khichdi...
Mishti now could not hold her laughter..
Abir rolled his eyes at her ..
" Chup ..ab khane bhi do.."
All others except Kuhu were having a shock moment..
" Lekin...yeh kaise ..."
Kunal guffawed ..
" Bhai aapki reputation ki toh band bajaadi Mishti ne...aap bhi isse darne lage...dekho Badimaa.. pehle kitna bada tantrums kartha tha....dekho kaise bheegi billi banke khichdi kha rahe Hain.."
" Mishti aise hi daraathe rehna iss gadhedo ko..."
Nanu said smilingly...
Meenakshi felt an inner calm fill her as she looked at Mishti...but then her eyes fell on Abir ..
Even though it was a light-hearted moment his eyes held a forlorn look...
******
After dinner all went one by one to do their own work...
The girls followed by Kunal went to Kethu's room.
Nidhi Maami cited tiredness and went to sleep..
Meenakshi and Parul checked upon Rajshri..
Nanu, Kaushal and Abir went to the study at Abir's request...
*****
It was late onto the night when Nanu and Kaushal left the study in a state of worry..
Abir closed his laptop and stretched himself...
And stopped short as he saw Meenakshii at the door..and turned away from her .. leaning on both hands kept on the table...
" Woh Kal Raksha bandhan Hein..Socha is baar Koslu yahaan hai toh manaoonga..Maine yahaan pe ek Pooja rakhvayi Hain...aur Nihaal ki family aur Awasthis ko bhi bulaya Hein...tum rasmein finish karke office jaana....thoda late hoga..phir bhi.."
Abir heard everything silently...
But nothing registered except the beginning..
" Kal raksha bandhan Hein"