Part 15

Sashi and Payal had reached the gathering right when Garima and Nani’s conversation had started. Sashi had stood back and watched his wife with a hawks’ eye, ready to go to her if she needed him. Very early in their married life he had decided that he never wanted to see tears in his wife’s eyes and from that day made sure that if indeed there were tears they were tears of joy. Today he knew, there was pain involved but it had to be out of her system, so he waited in the sidelines ready to be her support if she needs it.

Payal was not new to understanding emotions, it was her job to understand them, when she heard their conversation a little she understood the pain was due to beautiful memories that were over shadowed by a bad incident. It will all be better when the beautiful memories surface stronger than the painful incident she decided. If she knew her mom even a little, she was sure her mom would hang on to the good and only the good.

She immediately looked for her sister, she knew Khushi’s emotional tolerance for pain, it was zero. Just as she thought, Khushi was quivering and shaking with sobs. Gaurav uncle was trying to soothe her by holding her in a side hug and rubbing her shoulder. No, her mom didn’t need her now. It was Khushi who needed direction.

She quietly walked towards Khushi and touched her shoulder, Khushi looked at her with tear filled eyes. In a flash Khushi was in her arms a fresh set of tears pouring down her eyes. Payal smiled at her innocence, she was sure Khushi understood nothing from the conversation that was going on. This emotional wreckage was due to seeing their mom cry.

That’s her Khushi, she will hide her pain with her smiles from her loved ones but if her loved ones were in pain, she was a broken soul. She will fight like a tigress when she needs to defend them and she will gladly give up her life to keep any pain away from them. She knew Khushi would be broken if even the slightest of worries touches their household.

Payal understood the scene in front of Khushi’s eyes was one of Khushi’s worst nightmares, their mom breaking down. “Ooh God, there are going to be enough Jelabi’s to feed the Indian army, made at their house tonight.”

During all this Payal didn’t miss the conversation that was taking place. She was proud of her mom, she was erasing the pain with good memories. She saw her father move forward when laughter broke out in the gathering and take Mrs.Raizada’s blessings. She heard her little sister trying to laugh through her sobs. Payal giggled at her, as Payal was sure Khushi still didn’t listen to any of the conversation but was now laughing as her family was happy.

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Garima smiled at her husband who came and stood beside her, after taking Maaji’s blessings. She looked around for her children. She saw them standing a little away, one’s eyes clear with understanding and the others eyes filled with confusion and uncertainty.

Even before she beckoned them forward, Garima knew what their reactions would be. One would do exactly what her mother wanted as she understood her mother so well. The other one would come straight to her for assurance that her mother was ok, the situation be damned.

And just like she expected Payal walked up quietly and touched Maaji’s feet. Khushi bolted to Garima and held Garima’s face in both her palms and said “Amma, are you ok?” she asked through her tear filled eyes.

Garima smiled her children, she knew them so well. She sighed and wiped Khushi’s tear strained face clean with her hands. Smiled extra for reassure for her little one and said “I am fine, beta. Go get blessings from Maaji.”

Khushi smiled whole heartedly, gave a loud kiss on her mother’s cheek and almost squeezed the life out of her by hugging her tight. Everybody chuckled at the scene, Garima laughed and patted her head and said “Enough now, go and do what I said.”

By now, Nani had blessed Payal and hugged her tight and blessed her some more. Now Payal was standing obediently by Nani’s side waiting for Khushi to come. And Khushi rushed forward and hurriedly touched Nani’s feet. “May nothing but happiness touch your anchal.” Nani blessed her whole heartedly.

Khushi stood up and smiled. Nani said “Bitiya, I am like your grandmother and I was also crying, don’t I get a kiss from my granddaughter.” Khushi giggled and said “Sure why not, Auntyji.” Stepped forward lightly hugged Nani and gave her a kiss.

Nani smiled and sighed held both the girls hands in her hands and said “Your mother and my daughter grew up together; their thoughts, their emotions and their feelings were the same. They never did anything without the other. Me and your Nani had an understanding, we had decided that these two were not separate but just one soul in two bodies so the treatment was same. When they were at my place, I used to feed your mother, dress her up, fix her hair, spank her when they got in trouble all the things that I did for my daughter. And when my daughter went to your Nani’s house the same rules applied. So bitiya, Don’t you think I also deserve to be called as Nani by you girls?”

The girls smiled wide and nodded.

Just then the security came up and said “Sir we need to lock up soon, please make sure you got all your things.”

Immediately there was a flurry of activity, everybody decided to meet outside. Sashi asked Garima if everything in the green room was out already moved to the car. Nani, Anjali, Buaji waited for Garima. As she had bent down to pick up the things that she had dropped. Garima called out to Payal to go and find Shobha and Lavanya and meet them at the front entrance. As Garima stood up she saw Khushi had her ghunghru on and said “Khushi take your ghunghru off.” as she started walking out with the other ladies, introducing Buaji to them.

Khushi walked to a wall nearest to her and leaned on it. Raised her right foot and placed it on her left thigh and lowered her head and started working on the knots on the ghunghru. As she was undoing the last knot, she had this strange prickling fluttering exciting feeling in her tummy. She slowly looked up to see what was causing this reaction in her.

One more time she found herself looking in to the eyes of the same man. He was leaning on the opposite wall of the corridor, one of his legs bent at the knee and its foot on the wall behind him for support. He had taken off his coat and it was hanging on his left arm and he had the phone held to his ear with the other hand. He seemed to be listening to the person on the other side of the line, but… but his eyes they were fixed on her, unblinking.

He kept looking into her eyes then his eyes traveled over her features. As his eyes moved over her face, she felt like he was lightly caressing her face with his own hands.

Then his eyes stopped fixated on her lips…” Is he looking at my LIPS??” and before she could register that properly his eyes were back to looking into her eyes with that magnetic intensity.

Her heart started thudding. Really fast, so fast that it felt like her heart was trying to break through her rib cage and go somewhere. Every part of her body seemed to disobey her.

Her eyes refused to move away from his, her heart would not calm down, her breathing was irregular, her blood was starting to gather around her face and neck, her fingers refused to stop shaking and undo the last knot.

Frustrated and nervous about these effects his eyes were having on her, she held one end of the ghunghru and yanked at it real hard. It came undone; she quickly put her foot down and stood away from the wall.

To her horror she saw that he too put his foot down and moved away from the wall supporting him. That was it, Khushi was terrified about what her reaction would be if he tried to speak to her, or worse come near her. She needed to escape.

Just then he looked down. Khushi immediately turned and ran one ghunghru in her hand and the other still on her foot. She ran till she reached the front entrance of the theater and stopped only when she spotted her jiji, Lavanya and…. Aakashji?