Chandan ka palna
Gel & Tiku.😳
"Well it's the third time you have blown Dad off when he has tried to start the topic beta Himani Gupta sighed wearily.
"We have been through this so many many times Mata Avantika growled
She tied her long luscious hair in a messy knot on top of her head
"Come home this weekend, we can talk and Dad and you can agree on something
"Hum jaante hain Bauji aur aapka plan kya hai. Kaise karke bhi aap mujhse Chandan ki baat karenge, aur kaise karke bhi usko uske Nana ke ghar chhodkar aane ki zid
"Can I have some gel? Chandan stood in her bathroom doorway with an outstretched hand
"SERIOUSLY?
"You are FIVE. Tumhe 1st standard mein jaana hai ya hero banne
"I am in 1st he showed a finger "And then 2nd... 4 7 and 9th he showed completely different numbers
"That's right... sahi jaa rahe ho aap
"Nani se baat karogey? she put the phone in his ear
His mother cooed to the child...
"See made a BIGGG mess... he tattled on her to her mother
"Agle baar cake khaana ho to Kanpur jaakar Nani se banwana, ande na khayengi na banana dengi tumhe she smacked the boy fondly
"Tiku beta
"Maaa I AM NOT fat I don't have curly hair I don't screech like your hottie Tiku Talsania
Himani laughed
"He is not my hottie she said primly
"Hamein phir TIKU kyon kaha aapne?
"Aachha baba sorry... Can you come this weekend?
"Not to meet another a boy
"Chalo theek hai hum bauji ko keh denge
"Bhayya ko bhi... DONO KO AUR BHABHIYON KO BHI she said sternly.
She had two older brothers
Dhruv and Vibhu Gupta, who spent their days chasing after bigger and better business deals for the Sharada Group
They had three modest factories, textiles, cotton yarn manufacture in Roorkee, a Surgical devices manufacturing plant in Panki and a fledgling viscose rayon plant that wasn't doing much
Avantika lived and worked in Delhi.
"Aur koi shart? Ghar par arbi nahi banegi, Bhabhi lehsoon nahi banayengi, aur kya reh gaya?
"Hum tayar nahi hongey. Aur aap Srishti ke parents ki baat nahi karenge
Her mother sighed
"Ma... 7:17 ho gaya, hum late, aur yeh gelled gentleman bhi late she giggled
Chandan had gel dripping from his hair
She took a towel soaked it and wiped his hair off making a face
He stood solemnly, he looked exactly like her friend Srishti
"Bauji ko bohot pareshaan kar rahi ho tum "Kitne chakkar kaatenge who vakeel ke
"Ma... aap kitna jhoot bol leti hain? HE HAS A POSSE OF LAWYERS
"Haan theek hai who ghar ke kaam ke liye hai beta... we have a business, they have to deal with the government, pay taxes... par har dam... Chandan ki hearing, Chandan ki status report, waha se notice!! she cringed
"Koi aur notice aaya unke vaqeel se? she froze as she was locking up, she lifted the child as she quickly walked down the stairs of her building in Sarvapriya Vihar.
Her father had bought a second floor apartment of a private house awithout telling her, and ordered her to move into it if she wanted to have a "career in Delhi
"Hmm... aap aa jao beta... Yoon nahi chal paayega, I cannot see you taking care of the child for the next 20 years choosing him over your happiness
"How can you say that Ma, she was my best friend Avantika panted as she unlocked her Honda Civic
"Water bottle mein paani nahi laaye? she demanded
"I put bug inside yastoday he told her slowly handing her the thermos like bottle
She screamed letting both the phone and the bottle drop on the gear
"CHANDANNN she warned
"Tikuuu her mother cooed
"Ma hum sham ko baat karte hain she hung up aggravated
She bend down to retrieved the half open bottle afraid something was going to crawl out, the boy sat with BOTH his legs up on the seat too afraid
"Maza aaraha hai aapko? she demanded
"Two bugs daala he said showing three fingers
A man was tapping on her window, she jumped on her seat startled
He stood too close, she lowered her window, he pulled a letter out of her messenger bag and asked for signature
Handed it to her and left
She tore it open there was another white envelope inside the yellow one
There was no sender address
Only her family knew where she lived in Delhi
They wanted to keep it that way because she had begged her father for the secrecy
It was a lawyer's notice... her hands trembled as she read the legalese
It was about Chandan Vaidya... the first and last name were repeated many times across the document as if to heighten her anger
She re read it, and realized it had a name... Harit Vaidya.. in two places... her deceased best friend Srishti's husband Hemant's brother... Harit
The color completely wiped off her face, she could feel herself sagging, trying not to faint.