Chapter 11

[MEMBERSONLY]

Khushi was warming milk for Adit and Adya in the kitchen when Hariprakash entered with a plate of food in his hands. 

As Khushi stared intently at the plate still laden with food, he explained  'Sahab said he is done'.

She sighed and asked  'What is he doing right now?'

'Ji, working on his computer'  Hariprakash relayed.

'Give this plate to me, and you fill up the bottles with milk. Don't heat it up too much. I'll be back in few minutes'  she instructed and left for Arnav's room.

It's been a month and half since that unfortunate evening. She could still feel the anxiety that she felt that day when she tried to wake up naniji from her nap for dinner and medicines, and she did not wake up. She had literally dragged a bewildered Arnavji from his room to naniji's. While he jumped into action seeing naniji not moving, she stood stupefied in the corner. Naniji was rushed to the hospital that instant. But doctors could not do anything. She did not wake up, ever again. Doctors deduced heart failure in sleep as the reason of her death. 

Raizada Mansion and its inhabitants were orphaned in a flash. It was hard on her and the twins. All of them were so dependent on naniji, so habitual of her presence around them, her smiles and her instructions for them. Adit and Adya might not remember naniji when they grow up, but she will always remember the only mother figure she had known in her life. 

Of them all, Arnavji was hit the hardest. And understandably so. Naniji was his mother for last 19 years. He was faring worst than he did at the time of  Anjali bhabhi's accident. He has retreated into a shell since then. She has not see him cry even once, but then she did not see him much these days. While Adit and Adya forced her to come out of her gloom for their sake, Arnavji had cut ties with everyone in spite of living in the same house. Whenever she tried to talk to him his answers were always in monosyllables. Sometimes he did not bother with even them. She knew he kept an eye on her and twins well being but that was it. Dining table did not see any member after that evening. Arnavji toyed with his meals in his room while she too started having hers in her room. But enough was enough. He can grieve all he wants after eating. Not eating will not bring naniji back. The sooner he accepts that the better. Her pace increased with a new found determination.

She knocked on the already open door of his room. He looked up from his laptop screen. 

'Arnavji, dinner'  she said keeping the plate on the table in the front of recliner on which he was sitting.

'I had my dinner'  he replied going back to his laptop

'Touching your food is not called having dinner. You NEED to eat properly. You are a diabetic for God's sake! Or did you forget that? Like you have forgotten that three other people also live in this house who are shocked and shattered too'  she said tightly.

If Arnav was affected with this tirade, it did not show on his face as he kept on working.

She sighed and continued   'Arnavji please eat. Not eating, not talking and not sleeping won't change the fact that naniji is not with us anymore'.

His fingers stopped for a nano second on the keyboard at the mention of his nani, but then resumed typing like there was no tomorrow.

'Please Arnavji, don't do this to yourself, to us. We all need you. You'll have to be strong for Adit and Adya's sake. Naniji will not be too pleased when she'll see you like this from up above you know'  she tried one more time.

'She can not see anyone. She is dead'  he said in clipped tone.

Him and his atheist thinking. But she was not going to give up today.

'Okay, how long are you planning to not eat properly, not sleep till wee hours of morning and avoid all of us? Tell me a time limit and I wont bother you till then'  she said trying to extract some answer out of him.

No response.

'Last night I saw the light of your room on at 4 am. Were you working that late?'  she fired another question.

Silence again.

'Fine. Don't sleep and don't talk. But you'll have to eat. PROPERLY. And I am not taking a no for an answer'  she said with a finality in her tone.

'Good Night'  he dismissed her without even looking up from the laptop screen.

Khushi did not move from there. She was WORRIED FOR HIM. Seriously, what will she do if something happens to him too? How can he be so stubborn?

'So you won't eat? Fine, suit yourself. You don't leave me any choice Arnavji. Rather then see you die due to lack of food in your body and see Adit Adya orphaned yet again, I would prefer to leave from here. If you refuse to co-operate then so do I'  and with that she left his room. 

After half an hour, while putting the kids to sleep, Khushi recounted  what all happened earlier in Arnavji's room. She had no intention to threaten him when she went in there. She did not know what made her say that, and had regretted it as soon as she calmed down. Arnavji can certainly do without all this drama of hers in his current state, she rued. And moreover, she DID NOT want to leave him and kids in this situation. Damn, what if he agrees to her threat? Khushi instantly decided that she will apologize if that happens. Next time she will not loose her cool. Definitely not. Not a good idea. Arnavji was single-handedly capable of getting angry on whole neighborhood's behalf. She need not join the club. She'll keep her patience until he comes around. He needs understanding right now, and she'll give him that. She never had any such deep rooted and long running relationship in her life like naniji's and his. The depth of his pain is something she does not totally understand. But she'll try her level best. Anything that makes him normal again. ANYTHING.

Later that night when she came out of nursery after feeding and putting the babies to sleep she saw Arnav sitting on the living room couch. So instead of going to the kitchen where she was going to keep their milk bottles, she headed towards him. He looked at her as she settled herself on the couch opposite to him.

'Adit Adya slept?'  he questioned looking at empty milk bottles.

'Yes'  she replied a little tensed at his sudden appearance on the lower floor of the mansion specially after her threat to leave.

But that was all Arnav said. They sat in silence for quite some time after that.

'Do you need anything?'  she said breaking the silence.

He just nodded in negative.

'Do you want to talk?'  she offered a few minutes later, in hope to put an end to the deafening silence that was enveloping them, the one at present and the one since last month.

Instead of answering he got up from the couch and fisted his hands on his sides. Khushi gulped while craning her neck upwards to look at his towering figure, mentally preparing herself for a lash out.

'I'll not repeat myself so pay attention. YOU.WILL.NOT.LEAVE.FROM.HERE.'  he chewed out his words, turned on his heel and left.

Khushi looked on dumb-founded at his retreating back. He came downstairs to say that? He was not angry? He did not ask her to act on her threat and leave?  She was relieved to say the least. She promised herself that she would not issue any threat to anyone in her life, ever. 

Later, in the kitchen sink, she saw Arnav's dinner plate. He had finished all the food in it.