Part 25

Nani walked to the breakfast table with a bright smile on her face. All the family members were surprised to see her so cheerful after what had happened last night but didn’t voice their thoughts as they didn’t want her to be unhappy again.

Nani greeted every one and even greeted her older grandson who seemed to be in one of his black moods this morning. He had just nodded at her greeting and said a brisk good morning to her and had gone back to his grumpy mood. But nothing could spoil Nani’s mood today.

She waited for HP and his help to finish serving and when the help had retired to the kitchen and her family had started eating. She took a deep breath and prayed to Devi Maiyya for blessings and said “I have something to say to all of you. Last night after the discussion with Chotey I have thought it through and decided that just because Chotey is not interested in marriage it doesn’t mean we have to ignore Aakash.”

All her family looked at her except her older grandson who behaved like nothing was new and had continued eating his breakfast. She noticed her son Manohar nod after giving it some thought. She saw that Manorama was weeping tears of joy and was hugging Aakash who was seated beside her. She saw Aakash who was trying to move away from his mother’s clutches. She saw Anjali looking so happy and grinning like a kid with a big candy in her hand. She saw the Sharma’s watching the Raizada’s with a smile on their lips.

She continued “I think I have a good girl in mind for him..” this got everybody’s attention back on her again except of course her Chotey’s who was behaving as if this was all old news to him and kept eating his breakfast. She ignored him and said to the rest of her family

“Her personality and Aakash’s personality will be a wonderful match,” she paused looked at the eager faces of her family and proudly declared her choice for Aakash

“I am talking about Khushi bitiya..”

“WHAT!!” came three horrified voices at once which almost gave her a heart attack and almost sent her packing out of this world.

Devyani had expected one voice but… three voices… she had not even dreamed about this. She saw Manorama standing and looking for a way to voice her thought to her mother-in-law, this she expected, she knew Manorama wanted a rich daughter-in-law, she also knew how to handle this issue.

Then she looked at Aakash who was also standing, she frowned what was with Aakash he didn’t like Khushi? Or maybe it was just the suddenness of her announcement but she knew whatever it was she would be able to convince Aakash quite easily.

Then she looked at her Chotey, who stood there fuming at her, “What had she done, now?” She had not said anything related to him at all. She saw him open his mouth and try to say something to her but he stopped midway and had stormed out of the dining area toppling his chair on his way out towards the stairs to his room. They also heard him bang his room door shut and also heard something crash in his room.

She looked around the table to see Aakash and Manorama leaving as well, she also noticed Anjali following Aakash to his room and she frowned she never seemed to do anything right now-a-days.

She had seen Payal and Khushi again last night and had imagined her house if the two sisters were her to stay for good in her house. She didn’t wish for much she just wanted her grandsons to settle down with their life partners. She had a secret desire to hold her great-grand-child in her arms before she bids good bye to this world.

She adored the two girls. She saw how Payal was strong and mature, she also saw how innocent and lovable Khushi was. She wanted both. She had decided that they would be perfect matches for her grandson’s. Payal would be able to handle Arnav and his infamous temper with her maturity and patience. It could not be Khushi for Arnav, like she had wished when she had first met Khushi, he would destroy her beautiful world with his cynicism.

But she was not ready to let Khushi go, Khushi’s smiles always brightened her day. Her Aakash would be the gentle lover that Khushi deserved. Khushi would be so good for Aakash’s introvert nature. Khushi’s open loving nature and Aakash’s affectionate nature would blend so well. Both couples would be perfect for each other she had thought and expressed her desire to her older grandson.

But her older grandson had chucked her plans in the trash bin after irrecoverably damaging them. She had felt defeated but thinking about it again, she had realized she still had Aakash to take care of. Just because Arnav did not want to get married doesn’t mean that Aakash has to stay away from marriage. Yes, she had decided what her course of action would be and had gone to bed much more at peace with the world.

So she had come to the breakfast table to express her thoughts and this was the result. She definitely understood Manorama’s reaction, she could also guess Aakash’s reluctance but what left her clueless was her Chotey’s reaction.

 He is so complex, she just decided to ignore his reaction and headed towards Aakash’s room to see what was bothering her not-so-crazy grandson.