Hope
"Did you show him the present?" Dadu goaded his grandson
"she did Dadu and I loved it"
"I can get you one" Dadu nodded compassionately
"Umm.. thanks but I dont wear women's jewelry. I am straight" he said calmly
Leela rolled on the couch hysterical
Trisha gripped his wrist and pulled "Ashwinnn" she whispered
"Aashooo" Mandira warned
"Good... I am happy... there is no law stopping a man from wearing women's jewelry, but I meant I will buy you Bvlgari men's watch"
"I have a couple, I am good Dadu" he said
He held Trisha's hand warmly
"You can stay, last night nobody was able to get home on time" Mandira coaxed her son
"i am sorry I cant, I have meetings today with the Asian F&B licensor, Chirag and I were hoping we can go scout for new office space. Our lease is running out soon"
"You do care" Sharanbir nodded in awe
"I get paid dont I, I am contractually obligated to work for the next few months, so I should go do my job" he said
"One day is not going to matter" Mandira was sad
"I can see u in the evening"
"Are u going too Ms Shanbag?" Sharanbir observed her letting herself out along with him
"Umm... no, just to the lift"
"OK, i will see you soon" he said pointedly
"Want to have lunch?" he asked her punching the button
"I have to go with Leela to bank no?" she said
"We can do both"
He stared at the static numbers on the LED
"can I ask you something?"
"No more cats?" she asked looking at Prasad's house longingly
"Ha... no... I wouldnt dare do that" he grinned
"i am waiting for your mother to go so I can bring her"
"women usually wait to do ... umm... stranger... umm... no more obvious things... after their mother in laws leave" he laughed
The elevator came and went, the other three were stuck now on various floors
They wandered around the circular atrium she peeked down to the ground floor. He held her back with one arm
"Its not scary" she smiled ack his protective hold
"I know... only bugs and indoor lizards" he muttered staring deeply into her eyes
"And even thief no?" she nodded
"Oh yeah.. imaginary ones" he agreed
"what will women do again?" she encouarged him to talk
"Oh yeah, they probably go get their nails done, or take naps or watch television" he laughed softly
"I can do all that no when she is here" she nodded
"So she does OK?" he asked hoping Trisha would like his mother
"she tells me to do proper cooking and umm" she stopped
"and pretty much all the rest of the gripe she has?" he asked not offended
"I am OK" she said
"she will probably nag you always do u realize?" he asked softly
"After studying I will learn to cook no" she said confidently
"she is your mother in law she will find things to nag" he informed
"she told me this morning I cant keep sugar in a different cupboard" she used the opp to tattle
"U shud do it anyway"
"Will u tell her u did it?" she challenged
"i will probably tell her it was you!!" he said mischievously
"then you cant be protective inside the house, only outside huh?" she struggled to free her wrist.
"Arent husbands supposed to mind their own business?" he gasped laughing under his breath as she fought his grip
"ashwinnn... "
"I bet you care take care of yourself, you dont need me to defend you..." he smiled gently, his eyes sparkling with suppressed laughter-tears
"OK I wont ask you for help" she nodded
"Trish..."
"what did you wnat to talk about?"
"Lets step away from this banister" he grinned walking over to floor to ceiling windows all around the waiting area
"I wanted to ask you if its OK if I can offer you money?" he said politely gently letting go of her arm
She rubbed it slowly "for what?" she asked
"Youve been here for weeks now, I ve asked you to open a bank Account, I need to take care of it too" he said softly
"I dont need money now" she said hesitantly
"I am sure you struggle to talk about money as much as I am right now Trish... its not an easy topic for both of us... we began this whole thing over money" he said shifting his laptop bag to another shoulder
"I know what I did Ashwinn" she said
"So do I" he nodded
There was a long pause
"You can just buy me things I need not give me money" she suggested
"Like?" he asked
"You know clothes and books, and journal rentals" she explained
"Yes to the last two... I might think about the first one" he whispered
It sunk in after a minute and she blushed furiously
"Like if I... you dont buy clothes means, I wont have clothes and wont be wearing at all?" she scoffed
"I can only hope!!" he said bending down and kissing her flaming ear
Geet - Hui Sabse Parayee
