Part 27
Gayatri: Beta this is all yours. Every last bit of it.
Rajveer: No it isn't. And I have killed my self-respect to come here. But my self respect isn't more important to me than Naina or my baby. Having said that, I won't accept charity. If you don't accept this cheque..
Gayatri: Give it to me! I'll keep it up.
Next morning
Raj had gotten ready for work and was feeding Naina breakfast.
Naina: Raj I can't eaten more.
Raj; Shh. Finish this. Naina, you are sure you'll be fine right? I am just finishing up the security upgrades at the base and I have to e there for a few more days. Otherwise I would never leave you alone..
Naina: I'll be perfectly fine.
Raj: And promise you'll be in bed most of the day. The doctor has said you can move around a bit. But an hour at the most. And I have given the staff specific instructions about your medicine and your food. And I'll call in to check.
Naina: Raj I am fine. Everything is perfect just like anything you do. Now get going. Or you'll be late.
Raj began walking away and Naina called him from behind.
Naina: Raj. where are you off to? Where are our kisses?
Raj laughed and came back. He kissed Naina and placed his hands gently on her bump.
Raj: Beta, make sure your mom behaves herself.
Raj winked and Naina hit him playfully.
Gayatri came to check on Naina at noon.
Gayatri: All ok my dear?
Naina: Yes Gayatri ji. I am just very bored. Would it be possible for me to sit somewhere else?
Gayatri: Sit? No. The doctor has given strict instructions for bed rest But let me get a bed placed for you in the verandah. That'll give you a view of the garden and will be a good change of scene
Naina: Gayatri ji this is amazing! It's so beautiful and calm and lovely!
Gayatri: Priya designed it. Just before Raj was born.
Naina: She seems very talented. Harvard educated lawyer, biker, and now designer. Mumma must have been an exceptional woman... Priyaji I mean.
Gayatri (teary eyed): Call her Mumma. I am sure she wants that. She was. Exceptional! Priya always needed something to do in her life. She was working till her eighth month. Yes. She had had a very smooth pregnancy. So she was completely active till the end. I took a picture of her on the her last court hearing. Do you want to see it?
Naina: Of course I do.
Naina: Mumma looks radiant and so energetic.
Gayatri: She was. I had to force her to take time off. But then in typical Priya style she started doing projects around the house. This garden was one of them.
This garden is our favorite spot in the house. It helps us stay connected to Priya in a way.
Naina stayed there for an hour and then went inside for lunch. After lunch she read a book and then fell asleep. She got up in the evening and Gayatri was there to have evening snacks with her.
She was shocked to see Raghuvendra walk in.
Naina: Raghuvendra ji... Umm.. How are you?
Raghuvendra: Fine. Naina beta. I hope you are feeling better now. I am sure Gayatri is taking great care of you but if you need anything just ask.
I know it must be boring for you to be in bed all day. You can come and use my personal library. I have picked out a few books for you. Here! These are books that Priya really liked.
Naina thanked him. She was surprised and touched. So far she had seen him as the man who hated her husband and consequently caused him a lot of pain. But she figured things weren't as black and white. He wasn't a unidimensional villain.
Raj came home and was happy to see Naina looking well rested and engaged. Throughout the week he noticed that Naina always ahd a lot to tell him. Gayatri obviously made a lot of effort to keep her engaged.
Raj was grateful Vey grateful No matter how much he resented his grandparents for abandoning him, he couldn't thank them enough for what they were doing for Naina. While Naina was at home in the palace instantly, Raj always felt like a fish out of water. While Raghuvendra didn't want to see his face, he avoided Gayatri on his end. The late evenings were hard for him. Naina slept early and he didn't know what to do. Finally when the weekend came, he felt quite lost.
Gayatri had noticed this. She had also noticed that he often wandered towards Priya's room. But never actually went inside.
After lunch, Naina was sleeping and Raj was walking around.
Gayatri: Raj you can go to Priya's room.
Raj: I.. umm.. I just happened to be here..
Gayatri: Raj this is your mother's suite of rooms. We have kept it the way she left it. Go inside.
Raj was overwhelmed. This was the closest he had felt to his mother ever. The mother he yearned for.
Gayatri: You must be wondering why she has a dining table, a living room here? in some ways this was her own little mini-apartment inside the palace. She loved us but she was also very free spirited. When she moved back from the US, it wasn't easy for her to lose all her freedom and space. So we made a deal. She built this mini apartment for hersellf. It even has it's own little entrance and exit. And in return she stayed on in the palace. Do you want to see something? The room that was dearest to her.
Raj nodded and Gayatri opened a door.
Every single piece in this room was picked by her. She even painted this wall herself. Come have a look
Gayatri: This painting was very dear to her. It obviously signified you and her. But in some ways it also signalled that she accepted and loved the fact that she would be a single parent. That it would just be the two of you and that you could still have a happy, colorful and fun-filled life.
Raj was crying by now.
Raj: I wasn't unwanted that means? She didn;t want to abort me and for some reason couldn't.
Gayatri: You were as wanted as a child ever was. Priya had accomplished a lot in life. But more than anything she wanted to me a mother to you.
Raj went around touching everything. Trying to find his mother in that room. He finally turned to Gayatri
Raj: If I meant so much to Mumma, to your daughter, how could you put me in an orphanage, Forget how unfair that was to me, it was worst thing you could be doing to your dead daughter.
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