Amma made pao bhaji and halwa and they had Gags and Preet over for dinner
Pushkar stepped down from his abode and actually spoke a few words to Gags much to Neel's amazement
He was a sullen, quiet man
Ruchi loved him to bits so Amma couldnt complain audibly
She expressed plenty of grief to Neel in private
"LOVE marriage hai, arranged nahi... jaante hain hum, he is not obligated to be social, he only cares for Ruchi, but yeh galat baat hai beta" she whined to Neel
"Amma har koi hamari tarah batooni nahi hai" he smiled innocently
Amma hugged him
And shed a tear on his shirt
"Bus aap royen nahi" he said gruffly
"Kyon nahi royen hum, batayen?" Amma demanded with blood shot eyes
Neel wanted to say he was happy... things were looking up
His heart raced at the prospect of meeting Suvi in the morning at work
It was a heady mixture of sexual attraction and need for companionship
He couldnt bring himself to tell Amma that
Amma poured out the bhaji in a glass bowl, and started buttering the sliced up buns
Preet and Ruchi were gossiping abt TV shows
Pushkar talked about his Dehradun days with Gags
"Layiye amma hum toast karwayen" Neel offered
"Seriously?" Amma scolded
"Arey,... I am an OK cook.. Nihar se poochhen" Neel joked
"Nihar? Woh aapki burayi karenge kabhi?" Amma scoffed
"To phir theek hai aap Preet ko poochhen" Neel said smiling
"Maybe she can be honest
Neel started toasting on the skillet
The kids came in with plates asking for hot paos
Neel served them
Chiragh waddled in Neel handed him a scrap of bun
"I wanted u to have a girl" Amma said
Neel's heart skipped a beat, as he imagined Aadhya growing up and becoming talkative like him
Or another lil girl... with Suvi's hair... and shy ways
He burnt a pao... Amma hit the exhaust
"U were bragging" Amma scoffed
"OK... the test starts NOWWW" Neel declared waving his spatula
"Amma Suvi makes excellent food... she is the most quiet person I have ever met" he said
Amma grunted
"I tell her if she spoke better Hindi she wud be more talkative" Neel chuckled
Amma didnt need to know how her son flirted with that girl
"I know what u feel about Nupur Amma... I will not give away her spot to Suvi" he said unwittingly putting his thoughts into words "she is a different person, she is not "stealing" anything per se... anything
that belongs to Nupur" "Not from our minds or heart" Neel explained
"Yeh zyaada brown ho gaya, gas kam kar lein aap" Amma said
"First ack what I said" Neel teased
"ZIDDI" Amma whispered
"I know" Neel hugged Amma
Nihar came in... "can I have one more?" he asked
Neel tossed one on to his plate
"How do u like it?" Amma asked
Nihar shrugged... "Its good Dadi" he nodded
"Is it the BEST EVER?" amma asked
"Umm..." Nihar struggled... as he wondered if he shud lie