One of his/her own
"Exaggeration much?" he asked irritated
"No" she said coldly
"OK... lets not dig ourselves into that hole right now, I am about to get on the subway for work" he said
"I have to go to work too" she said sitting up
"Well then..." he muttered
"Umm... bas... tell Sam I said Hi!" she said quietly
"I can text u her number" he said sarcastically
"OK finee" she grumbled
"Call me when u get home from work" he said
"Can I say the same to you?" she asked
"Well I said it first..." he warned
Appa had accidentally overheard Amma when Amma put Akka on the speakerphone as she scooped up dosa batter from the grinder on to her tupperware
"Enna vai dee anda mami ki" (what a loud mouth Tan's Mom is) Amma was shocked
"Bala kept his cool Ma" Vandu said softly
"Its like we keep spinning from one crisis to another, Shravu, Mukund, ur in laws, Ishita, her miscarriage, and now this" Amma sighed and turned on the faucet filling up her grinder vessel
Appa was listening
"Take that boy home I say" Appa was furious
"Appa" Vandu was shocked
Amma turned from the sink startled
"I was telling ur mother we shud go to receive her at the airport, looks like she is busy " Appa was mad
"Ayyo, her flight got delayed and she only arrived at 9 AM, I am using my day off to make dosa maav and talk to Vandu, dont make a big conspiracy theory out of everything" Amma admonished
"Paavam kozhandey, she has come alone, that boy chose to stay back to pamper his sister, Vandu is watching her child and getting punched in the face" Appa was sad
"Sam anD Tan are nice to all of us" Amma insisted
"How can his mother talk to Vandu like that I say?" Appa was shocked
"You were not supposed to hear that. We know u are very sensitive Appa. I am sorry" Vandu was tearful
"See Amma and I did many sacrifices to raise you. You have not got many things because of Periapa. By the time Ishita grew up we were in a better position, we have denied you Raja" Appa teared up
Letting the tip of his tongue moisten his lips, pursing them in order to hold back tears
"I dont like it when my children are treated like servants" Appa said
"This is help to a friend, dont think like that" Amma reassured him comfortingly
They walked to the living room with the phone
"Ur good heart Vandu, ketteya? ur pure heart" Appa nodded sitting down
"Is he still there?" Amma asked quietly
"tan called in the evening to check on him after returning from Chennai, he didnt seem to know" Akka explained
"That mami is shrewd she knows Tan likes our family" Amma said proudly
"Who knows" Appa shook his head bitterly
"Its been two days since this happened why didnt u tell us kanna?" Appa asked
"Appa no big deal, Shravu's mistake is a fact, whether that aunty said it or someone else, it is what it is" Vandu was deflated
"In the same breath Nandu misbehaving is a fact" Appa said honestly
"when kids grow up sometimes tensions between siblings rise" Amma said quietly
"they will never fight" Appa said proudly about his own kids
"Amma Ishita has bought me a purse" Vandu sighed
"Text pannina" Amma was smiling
"Kozhandey, even when she is unwell she fills up her suitcase" Appa shut his eyes and yawned
"Lets go meet her this evening, Appa varela?" Akka asked
"sure kanna" Appa nodded
"Anda vaal "they they" (for athai) sollum" Akka chuckled
"He only taught her his own sister's relationship, he shud have taught her "Perima" Appa knocked his R&B
"Not everything is his fault pa" Akka chided
"Yes yes..." Appa mockingly disagreed? agreed?
"He must be in pain too" Amma said with a frozen expression
As Appa chatted with Vandu, Amma picked up her purse, signaled Appa she was going to buy fruits and II's fave snacks to take with them in the evening
She waited at the elevator
She dialed R&B's number
"Mrs Iyer?" R&B asked shocked
"Yes yes" Amma smiled
"How are you?" he asked
"I just made dosa batter, I had taken the day off to go receive her since her flight was delayed, we didnt end up going, I also took the day off from school" she said sheepishly
He chuckled
"She has arrived safely" Amma said
"Thanks" he smiled
Amma walked towards her car
"how are you doing?" Amma paused by her car
"I am OK" he said quietly
"I have been thinking about you...umm... beta? umm" Amma paused akwardly
"Thanks" his lips twitched in a smile
"We dont routinely use that word in Hindi in our house no? We say kanna" Amma smiled
"Ive heard that one" he nodded
"she uses it for Nivi" Amma said cluelessly
"Yep" he said "Her too" he thought
His wife had sang for him, songs of Krishna, in agony and in ecstasy
She had sung for him that first time he had gone after her after their first fight
"I dont have words to say. I want you to know Mr Iyer and me are there for you" Amma said choking up
He exhaled
"thanks" he said
"Your sadness is ours beta" she said boldly this time
He nodded speechlessly
"Nivi is a blessing, she embodies the goodness of both of you" Amma said in a raspy choked up voice.
"thanks" he said in awe
"See Uncle... what do u call him? Oh yes Mr Iyer... yes yes... Mr Iyer and I have done so much prayer, we spend every waking minute wishing good things for our children, nothing bad will come to u" Amma said confidently
He teared up for the first time in the conversation
"Dont lose hope.I send u my blessings virtually." Amma said choking up
" You have handled everything so wonderfully" Amma praised him
He cleared his throat
"I wish you had accompanied her. You could have come here and stayed with us" Amma said
"Its a good thing Samyukta is there. You should never be alone in a foriegn country" she decreed
"I wont" he smiled
"I struggle to tell Ishita to forgo her career" she admitted
"U shudnt tell her that" he said calmly
"U have to promise you will think of Uncle & I and call us for any need" Amma ordered "You see when you married our daughter you became part of our family" Amma explained
"She is emotional and impulsive but she is not selfish. If she has not offered her parents help till today, I do it now" Amma smiled
"I will Mrs Iyer" he smiled
Amma hung up and shed tears for the young man
The young man hung up and let his tears roll down his cheeks...
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