Good morning DevAkshi-ians!! Here is Part 3 of the OS for you!! Happy reading!!

Part Three

"What are you doing here Mr Dixit?" Sona glared, trying to dredge up her anger. She succeeded. Barely.

"I came to meet your baba," he replied. There was a tentative smile on his lips. The tightness around his eyes, that had been a permanent fixture after his break up with Sonakshi, seemed to have reduced a little. Not much but enough for her to notice.

"Shona," Asha diverted her daughter's attention. "Go and freshen up. You must be tired na. And hungry too." She waited until Sona went up the stairs to her room. "Dev babu, would you like to have dinner with us?"

"Ji?" Dev blinked. And blinked again, taken aback. Have dinner? With Sona's family? Have dinner? With Sona? Smothering the urge to leap and yell, YES, he managed a, "I don't want to put you to trouble yourself ma'am."

"It's no trouble, Dev babu. As you see, it is dinner time for us anyway," she replied with a smile.

Dev darted a quick glance at Bijoy, not really sure if that invitation had the older man's approval. But Bijoy chose that moment to pick up the scattered books from the table and arranging them in the rack. OK. Not an approval. But not a rejection either. He would take that. Dev, very rarely, if ever, had dinner at someone else's house. It was a strange situation for him and he only hoped he wasn't looking as awkward as he was feeling. Asha took his smile as his agreement and set about placing an extra plate on the dining table.

"Sourav," she called out to her son. "Show Dev babu the way to the washroom. Elina, Sona!" she called out in a louder voice. "Dinner time!"

"Yes maa." "Coming maasi!" they chorused.

Sona, dressed in her favourite pale pink and white PJs came to the dining table. Her startled eyes falling on Dev, who had removed his jacket and rolled up his shirt sleeves, wiping his hands on the towel that Sourav had extended to him. She looked at Dev, then at her baba, back at Dev and then at her maa. Why was he still here? Why was her baba seating himself so calmly at the dining table? Why was her maa serving Dev dinner like he was one of her chicks?

"Ms Bose, are you not going to join?" Dev asked expectantly. He stood beside his chair, waiting.

"Baba?" The worry and confusion, both were evident in her one word. She looked at her father.

Bijoy smiled and patted the chair next to him. "Come Shona. Today your maa has cooked dhokar dhalna. And I think I smelled mishti polao too!"

"Your baba doesn't cook but he sure is always ready to spoil my surprises," Asha grumbled. Smiling, she started serving Dev first. "Dev babu, it's all veg today but our food is going to taste different than the one you are used to."

"Uh, I'm sure it's going to taste lovely, ma'am. Thank you."

Dev took his seat and glanced around the table. He was seated at one end and daadi at the other end. On his left was Bijoy, on his right Sourav. Sona was on the other side of Bijoy and Asha seated herself beside her son. Elina had pulled up an extra chair and settled herself between Sona and daadi. Conversation flowed as the dishes were wiped clean. Asha Bose was definitely a wonderful cook. A talent that didn't rub off on her daughter, his smile widened at that thought. Bijoy and Sona were silent most of the time but it wasn't a fuming silence. Or an uncomfortable one, for that matter. Both Sourav and Asha made an effort to include him in their conversation, making sure the topics remained neutral. Even daadi made a witty comment or two, making him chuckle softly. He could feel Sona's eyes on him whenever she thought he wasn't looking at her. Like she wasn't sure she liked having him amidst her family. Or maybe she did but was trying to hide it. He hoped it was the latter.

But he liked, he realised. He liked being amidst her family. It felt...good. A little strange. But good. Definitely good. All in all, a very pleasant evening, he mused on his drive back home. He did not know if Sona would ever trust him again. He did not know if she would ever be ready to give him and their relationship another chance. But the despondency that had been dragging him down all these days and weeks had lifted. Hope filtered through. And tomorrow...tomorrow was something to look forward to once again. He had invited their whole family for dinner at his house. Sonakshi didn't say yes. And neither did Bijoy. But neither did they refuse. So he took it as a yes. He had offered to send his car to pick them up. A mistake on his part. It got Bijoy's dander up.

No, thank you. Hum log pahunch jaayenge apne aap, he'd said. Dev didn't push. At least that way he had gotten his confirmation that they would be coming. Parking the car, he got out and strode into his house, his eyes searching for his maa and finding her chatting with mamaji on the couch.

"Arre beta, you got late today. You must be hungry na. Go and freshen up and I will..." Ishwari made a move to get up but Dev was there before her, pushing her gently back into her seat.

"No maa. Relax. I had my dinner. At Sonakshi's house."

Ishwari blinked, taken aback for a moment but recovered immediately and smiled. "Oh really? Does that mean..."

"No maa. Nothing like that but I think her parents are coming around." His smiling glance fell on his mamaji who gave him a thumbs up sign. Grinning, he turned back to his maa. "Actually maa, I invited them all for dinner at our place tomorrow night."

"Oh!" she said, for once at lost for words.

His smile slipped a little. "Maa, tell me the truth. You really are OK with me and Sonakshi, right? You are not just saying it because you think..."

Ishwari closed her son's mouth with her palm and chided. "Yeh kya bole jaaraha hain? I told you I want Sonakshi as my bahu and that is final. I am ready to go to the pandit at this moment and fix a nice muhurat for your wedding." With all the love overflowing from her eyes, she cupped his face. "My son would be so happy so why in the world would I not be happy?"

"Maa, I was thinking, we should invite Neha and Ranveer too tomorrow."

Ishwari maintained her smile with effort. "Beta, they are a newly wedded couple. Let them have some time for themselves. Get to know each other..."

"Hmmm. OK," he agreed.

 "Now, go and get some sleep while I plan for the menu for tomorrow night's dinner."

"No," Dev vetoed, standing up and hustling her along with him. His maa's words fuelled his determination to win his Sona back and his hope that he would succeed. "You will do nothing of that sort. Whatever needs to be done, can be taken care of in the morning. And you will NOT do everything on your own. You will take Bhola's and Kichu's help. Is that understood?"

"Arre but..."

"Mamaji," Dev called out. "It's your responsibility to make sure maa doesn't overdo anything."

"Of course. Of course."

"Goodnight mamaji."

"Goodnight Dev." Mamaji echoed softly, eyeing the mom and son indulgently.

****

"Am I disturbing you bhai?"

Neha's voice reached him the moment he answered the call in his phone. "What are you saying Neha? You know I am never too busy for you. Tell me, how are you? How is Ranveer?"

"He is fine and I'm fine too. But I didn't call here to discuss about me. I called home and Nikki told me that Sonakshi and her family are coming for dinner? Are things working out bhai?"

"Define working out Neha." He sighed and continued, "If you're asking has she forgiven me, the answer is no. Not yet. But I think...I'm hoping her father...her family is willing to let the past go. And hopefully with time..."

"I know," Neha injected cheer into her voice. "I know my brother. He's not the one to give up. He has achieved so much and he will achieve this too."

Dev smiled. "When a brother has a sister like you..."

"Yeah, yeah. Enough, enough. Don't butter me up." She said in a more somber tone. "Bhai, remember. She is not questioning your love. It's the trust that's the issue. You need to rebuild it or your relationship won't have legs to stand on."

"I know Neha. I'm working on that. And I will win her trust."

****

"Bijoy, are you sure you are fine with this dinner?" Asha asked gently. "I can always call up and say..."

"No. I want to go. I want to go and see if things have really changed from the last time."

"All that is fine but you do realize, don't you? You can't lose your temper in front of Ishwari ji. It won't..."

"Ami jani, Asha." I know, Asha. "And I have no intention of losing my temper. Dev Dixit...Last night he conducted himself good. Bhala." Good. "He came and apologized and we now know he didn't do anything deliberately that night. But Asha...he is being nice to us because that's the only way to have our Sona in his life? Does he know the value of family? Not just his mother or sisters." Bijoy gestured with his hands. "But in general...See our Sona understands the love he has for his mother because she understands the value of a family. Of being there for our loved ones. What about him?"

"I know what you are getting at Bijoy. We've seen him last night. Today we'll see and talk to him some more. That's the only way we'll know, right?" Bijoy nodded.

****

"Bhai, Sona di and her family are coming for dinner na. Are you excited?" Riya asked playfully, the minute Dev returned home from work.

"What kind of a ridiculous question is that Riya di?" Nikki chided. "Just look at his glowing face and you have your answer. By the way, bhai, maa has gone all out and cooked so many things for the dinner. She is not allowing us to even taste," Nikki sulked.

"Bhai, you know Neha di had called this morning and we gave her the complete update!" Riya chimed in.

"Girls! Let him breathe!" Ishwari admonished, drawing pouts from both the girls. "He's just back from work and you have surrounded him. Jaa beta, go and freshen up. You can relax a little before Sonakshi and her family comes."

"No maa. I'm fine. I'll just change and be right back."

After a quick shower and a change of clothes, Dev got back down the stairs just in time to welcome the Bose family. Ishwari went out of her way, being the perfect hostess, greeting them warmly and introducing them to everyone. Mamaji was as warm and friendly as ever and for once RR too was behaving herself by staying silent. Riya and Nikki sat on either side of Sona, with Nikki updating her on her college events while Riya tried to converse with Elina and Sourav. Dev waited until Sona looked at him and smiled at her. A warm smile, full of joy. A smile that seemed to say, I missed you Ms Khargosh. I am so happy to see you. I love you Ms Sonakshi Bose. So very much. And he grinned to himself. This Khargosh sure had grown some pretty sharp claws. Maybe he should start calling her Ms Sherni. Lost in his amusings, he was startled a little when his phone started buzzing.

With a quick glance at the id and a soft, "Excuse me," he picked up the call. "Yes?" Whatever the person on the other end spoke, it brought Dev to his feet in one swift move. "What? Where? How is he doing now?" He barely gave a chance for the person on the other end to speak. "What do you mean he has not regained consciousness? Where are you exactly? OK. Just hang in there. Give me five minutes."

Disconnecting the call, he looked at his mom. "A guy in our sales team maa. He is in Mumbai now and has met with an accident there! They took him to some hospital and he is not conscious yet. Sir, I'm sorry. I just need to make one more call," he told Bijoy who nodded in understanding. Quickly tapping his phone, he started talking. "This is Dev Dixit. One of my employee has met with an accident near your area. Yes. I will message you the details. I want you to go to the hospital and stay with him and his colleague. Talk to the doctor..." Having zero knowledge in even the basics of medicine, he fumbled. He didn't know what to say.

Sonakshi quickly grabbed the nearest paper and pen, scribbled something and passed it on to him. He glanced at it and resumed talking. "Talk to the attending physician. It's probably a head injury and a neurologist needs to be consulted. Probably they need to do a CT scan. I need you to handle all the paperwork and whatever else is required, no questions asked. Keep me posted. Yes. Thank you."

Disconnecting the call, he said in a relieved tone, "Thank you Sonakshi." And her small, genuine smile was his reward. He looked at Bijoy and Asha. "Sir, really sorry. Just one more call. Maa, you all start the dinner. I'll join in a few."

"No, no." Bijoy vetoed. "It's fine. We'll wait."

Dev's next call went to Tina. "Tina, our sales guy in Mumbai, Anirudh. He's met with an accident. Get the details from Sharma. I just spoke to him. Contact his family members here and arrange a flight at the earliest for them to go to Mumbai. No Tina. Do it right away. A person's family is what holds him together. Anirudh needs his now. Not tomorrow. Tell them to contact you if they need anything else. And coordinate with Sharma and Chaturvedi. Yes. And keep in the loop."

He ended the call and found Bijoy looking at him with a smile of genuine appreciation in his eyes. Dev smiled back. His glance once again fell on his Sona. She was still smiling that small smile of hers, her face for once, free of agony and anger. The heartbreak that had been evident in her lovely, deep eyes, fading, allowing delight to filter through. Hope and determination in him, hand in hand, took one more step towards his goal, as the guilt and pain took a few steps down and away from him.

****

"It was good last night na?" Elina asked the next morning, perching herself on the bed, watching Sona get ready for her day.

"Hmmm," Sona's reply was noncommittal as she brushed her hair.

"Ishwari ji was very nice to us all na. And Dev's sisters too. She does cook awesome Sona. Even maashi was saying the same thing."

Sona laid the brush aside and asked tentatively. "What else did maa say?"

"The gift Ishwari ji had given us, the small Durga maa ki muurat...they liked it a lot. It was a nice gesture. And I think maashu was very impressed with the way Dev handled his employee's accident."

"Dev has always been that way, Eli." Sona agreed with a fond smile. "He takes care of the people around him. He is a nice guy." Her smile widened, a small laugh spilling through. "Of course, he probably drives Tina crazy because most of the time she is the one who ends up handling the logistics. But yeah, he is a good guy." Not giving herself time to think, she snatched her phone.

****

Dev was getting ready for work. Buttoning up his shirt, he had picked up his jacket when his phone rang. One look at the caller id, he almost leaped on the phone in his haste to grab it.

"Ms Bose? Good morning." Did he realize he was grinning like a fool? Probably yes but he didn't give a damn.

"Mr Dixit...good morning. I just wanted to know how is your employee doing. Did he regain consciousness?"

"Yes," Dev's sigh was relieved. "He is well on his way to recovery. The neurologist did a CT scan. Everything is normal but they are keeping him for one more day as a safety precaution. Other than a bump on the head, he has a shoulder fracture but nothing a few weeks' rest can't take care of."

"That's good. That's really good."

"Ms Bose?" he called out softly after a few moments of companionable silence.

"Ji?"

"Will you meet me this evening? For a cup of coffee or maybe dinner?"

That's it for now. Thank you for reading. Hope you liked it. Do let me know!!

Link for Part Four:

https://www.indiaforums.com/forum/post/137318959

Suvika.2016-09-22 01:46:04