CHAPTER 23 - By the parents, for the parents
The next morning Swadheenta met Suhasini in the hallway, carrying a gift wrapped box in her hand. She handed it to her and said,
"I made this one for Adarsh. The one in his office is very bland looking. Ever since he saw Manohar's plaque as a kid, he wanted to have one with his own name on it. He had even designed one for himself. I had kept his design safely at that time and used the same for making this. I wanted to gift it on his birthday,but could not complete it on time. Can you please give it to him ?"Swadheenta took it and said,
"Sure Mom, why not "She knew why Suhasini wanted to give it through her. So she did not ask any further questions.
Suhasini then pointed towards the living room and said,
"Manohar is there, go and talk to him"She was about to leave when Swadheenta called her
"Mom..."Suhasini turned around with a questioning look
"I am sure Adarsh will like it a lot. And... he can't stay angry with you for long, you know how much he loves you."Suhasini smiled, but her eyes betrayed her inner turmoil. Then she walked away hurriedly.
Swadheenta saw Manohar in the living room, reading the newspaper. She went up to him and sat down on the couch opposite him.
"Dad , you must be knowing A.K. Chaudhary quite well, isn't it ?"Swadheenta came straight to the point
"Yes, you want any information about him?"Manohar got a whiff of what was going on in her head
Swadheenta told him about her recent finding and asked if he could any light to shed on the matter.
"Well, if I could remember correctly, there was a fallout between father and son regarding his marriage. Avinash was not willing to marry the girl of his father's choice. Maybe he liked someone else. But it could not be Reena. As much as I know him, he would never marry so low. However , he agreed ultimately. Possibly because she was the only child of a wealthy industrialist, and would inherit all his property. What surprised me in this case was that even Mr. Chaudhary's wife , that is Avinash's mother too was not happy with the alliance. I could not understand the reason for that because the girl was pretty, rich and well educated. There was something fishy in the whole thing. But I did not inquire further as it was their private matter. I don't know if this could be of any help to you"Manohar described what he knew of the incident. Then added,
"Avinash's wife has been staying in London for the greater part of the year since the kid was born. The boy also lives with her. So except their family members no one knows the exact age of the child. I think this arrangement was to escape any suspiscion.""Hmm..but it did not escape Suhasini Sinha's eyes."
Swadheenta said to herself in her mind. Then she said aloud,
"
Thank you Dad , I think you have cleared many things for me. I have to leave now. Adarsh has asked me to meet him at 11 o'clock sharp"Swadheenta was sitting on the park bench and looking frequently at her watch.
"Where is this Adarsh? Asked me to be on time and it is him who is absent"Swadheenta was mumbling to herself.
Just then someone covered her eyes from behind. She was familiar with the touch, warm and confident, her Robinhood. She smiled to herself but kept quiet. She was savouring his feel. Adarsh lost his patience and finally removed his hands and said coming infront of her,
"You were supposed to guess who it was."Swadheenta chuckled ,
"I already did.""Then why didn't you say it ?"Adarsh said , a bit annoyed
"
To see that face of yours, you look so cute with that grumpy face"
Swadheenta said mischievously
"Huff..You are impossible. Anyways , see what I got for you"Saying this Adarsh took out a lunch box. As he opened it, the aroma of simmering hot Sambhar , idlis and coconut chutney aroused her olfactory senses. Swadheenta realised that he brought them from Anna's Dhaba.
"So this was why you skipped breakfast today ? You should have told me, I am still full with the Aloo Parathas."Swadheenta said making a sad face
"So that I could tease you with these. You know you look so cute when you try to resist the irresistible pull of Anna's idlis"
Adarsh said, proud of making a comeback
"Whatever, you could have called me directly to Anna's dhaba"Swadheenta pointed out
"I did not want Anna to see me romancing my wife"Adarsh said , and dipped a slice of Idli in the Sambhar
"And you are ok with people seeing you romancing your wife in this public park ?"Swadheenta asked , taking a bite of Idli. Her appetite returned just with the smell of her favourite food
"Just look around yourself , everyone comes here for doing that. So no one will actually mind what I am doing"Adarsh said , pointing towards the other lovebirds
After they had finished , they wiped the coconut chutney from each other's nosetips. Then Swadheenta put her head on his shoulders and asked,
"Tell me now, what was the reason for this unannounced picnic ?"
"I have to go for a field trip next week, to Karnataka. And it is going to take me a week there. So wanted to spend some quality time with you before that. I have asked Suraj to help you with the case in my absence. Don't worry , I will be back before the next hearing."Adarsh assured her
Swadheenta , lifting her head -
"Oh , I am going to miss you a lot"then she suddenly remembered something,
"Adarsh, you said Suraj was having some problems in his family , are those sorted now ?"
"Oh yes, his parents , especially his mother was misbehaving with with his wife because she was having a problem conceiving. But now, she is pregnant and his parents are back to normal"Adarsh explained
"Hmm...sometimes parents can be real difficult. Adarsh, what if there had been a similar case in A.K. Chaudhary's family ?"Swadheenta tried connecting her clues. She explained to Adarsh about her talk with Manohar.
"I think you have a point here."Adarsh remarked, and then added.
"But how do we get our hands on the reports?"
"Do you think they approached any fertility clinic here ?"Swadheenta asked
"That is very improbable considering there are better facilities in UK"Adarsh reasoned, then suddenly remembered something
"But wait, she must have been to a doctor in Delhi, and every doctor takes the medical history of the patient. We just have to find that doctor and get a copy of the records"Swadheenta's face brightened up.
"You are a darling Adarsh. I love you"She was about to kiss him, then looked around and pulled back
"You owe me that kiss. It's already too late . I should leave now. Poor Suraj must be struggling with the files"Adarsh got up
"Sometimes , I wonder what would you have done without Suraj"Swadheenta chuckled, getting up.
Edited by Idiotboxer - 8 years ago
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