13 vs Thirteen
"I am not sure what he expects Nivi to be doing" R&B asked scathingly
"Hes old and he is old fashioned, well hes not old fashioned he just expects Nivi to participate" II mumbled loading the two industrial size dishwashers
He rinsed off the dirty dishes and stacked them on one side
"Nice attempt at trying to defend him" R&B said bluntly
The family had eaten in the formal dining room with fine (er) china and silver (for Amma Appa), Sam and Tan had arrived for dinner Lasya and Nivi giggled and played around with food not eating much running up the stairs giggling breathlessly
The boys were eager to know what the girls were talking about. The girls were in their own world
Lasya 15+, her braces had come off recently, she was not very tall, had Sam's round face and dimpled chin like her Mamaji
Short wavy hair dyed purple or orange or pink
Today it was dyed green in places
She wore sweats and an old tee
Nivi wore jeans and a baggy tee
They couldnt stop looking at the phone all through dinner
II had rules
NO PHONE at dinner
But today was a exception since Nivi had cramps
"Amma too rich" "Amma too oily" "Amma the naan is under cooked"
The coal fired angeethi in the back yard was spectacular
But Nivi was a "teen" now
Life was full of drama
The boys watched their sister giggle with Lasya longingly
Sahana was in a corner being "handled" by Jenny
Appa and R&B did not exchange a word
Tan, Amma Sam and Ranjan chatted cheerfully
"Did u want me to send a turkey sandwich upstairs?" II asked kindly
"Umm.. no.. I had a consultant over for lunch and Mahavir did a take out from House of Ming at Taj Mahal" he said quietly
"Appa you want more salad?" II asked
"You have made so much kannappa I cant eat so much" Appa cooed
"Nobody gets together any more. I go to Sam's to eat and never invite her"
"She is afraid I will steal her kids uncle" Sam giggled
"No I am not" II squirmed hot and bothered
She was extremely possessive of them, it was a popular joke in Chanakyapuri
"Uncle jab yeh raat ko soye tab iske kaan mein jaakar Siddu Vedu kehkar dekhen" Sam laughed
Appa did not enjoy that comment
First his grand daughter was being a brat second his daughter was being made fun of
"Aap Sahana kehkar dekhen main mudkar doosre side so jaaoongi" II lied
The moment her name was said
She ran across the giant formal dining room with the grand staircases going through them
The girls got up with a secretive smile
"Hey, arent u going to finish?" R&B asked them
"Daddeee we are going up to watch videos" Nivi giggled
"Amma is OK with that?" he asked
"Amma said it was fine" Nivi claimed
II looked piercingly at her daughter "Mac n cheese venum nu kettey I made it" (u asked for it)
"Amma I promise I will eat later, I am not hungry" she claimed
"Athey can Lasya stay tonight? pleezpleez pleez?" she begged
"Usko SCHOOL hai" Sam said loudly
"Inko bhi hai aaj chhutthi lee hai kal shaayad hi" II mumbled
"Amma cam me go to Sam athey's?" the boys hatched a quick plan
The dogs' ears cocked up
"Seriously? we havent been to Shanti Niketan in FOREVER dude" Chuck yelped
"Mo you may not" II mimicked
"II" R&B bristled
"I am kidding... I am not mocking them" she said her eyes dancing
"Daddeee" they petitioned
"You guys both have school
"Nandu na comed" Siddu said
Lasya had lied to them earlier
"On velaya dee?" II hollered after Lasya
"Mami I told them HE COULD be coming" she said primly hiding her fib
"Dont do that raja, they are still babies" II was disappointed
The girls were of a different league when they were together
They were some times like mean girls
"Ammaaa" Sid dropped his napkin his spoon and eventually his water tumbler
"Paavam dee, give them to me I will feed them"
"No ma... they are over 5+ the school says I shouldnt even been asking them to eat" II said sadly
"Paavam di, what school is that" Amma did SMH
"Nee KV poney what went wrong?" Appa demanded "Send them also to KV no" Appa nodded happy with his diktat
"Appa they were a terror at home" II said glumly
"I can see that I say, Mr Ranjan my daughter was not so belligerent" Appa said smugly
"They must take after me then" R&B said coolly
"Uncle isne bahut sataya hai Ma aur Dad ko" Tan supplied
"Yes yes... I know that, 10? 12 years? no 14 years ago? also he was like that only" Appa said gleefully
"Lekin Uncle bahut seedha hai mera bhai" Sam was proud
"Sure" muttered II
Sahana now perched in Amma's lap and ate mangoes hungrily
The boys had 90% of their dinners still on their plate
Mavvy knew what to do
He brought out a new plate of steaming baby naans and paneer II shifted to the chaise lounge chairs along the wall and started to feed them
"This school is double work and so much waste of food" Ranjan muttered
"All kids these days no respect for food" Appa joined
"They eat when they get hungry" R&B said
"They also help the mother when they want" Appa reminded R&B of Nivi's blatant disregard of his request
"Shes 13 Mr Iyer" R&B said
"thirteen" Appa said loudly
Amma stopped her convo with Tan and looked at Appa in shock
Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi 2
Iss Pyaar Ko Kya Naam Doon
