Anchored Tempest - Page 12

Blue eyes & Right

Mendy doesn't know it but those blue eyes were just right.

Freed chains

The only money she ever had came from her dad. Nothing of her own. Her job doesn't provide much. Pretty dead end situation for now.

Hello, I am so so sorry I just began writing the next chapter, not sure when I will finish I will post first thing AM

THANK U for reading Thank you for WAITING and WANTING☺️

Looking down & Looking up ❤️☺️

In Chembur Lynn helped Mrs Gomes pack over three weekends, insisted she meet Mrunal, Mrunal drove up from work one day to meet Lynn, she still wore her contacts though Lynn was struck by how good looking she was anyway

Aatreya had accepted a job with the Swiss Bank and had gone over to

Bangalore to spend some time with family, Mendy texted him that Mrs Gomes’s flat was sold and he needs to find another kind old lady to scam

Since Aarteya had no connection to Mrs Gomes he laughed it off.

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A month turned into 5 weeks, for the loan to be processed, stamp duty, registration, inspection, thinking of what to pack what to leave behind

She didn’t own any furniture the apartment had come with it, her father’s company owned it for foreign visitors hence it was at such a prime location

She didn’t know what kind to buy which ones to buy

It was a bunch of sneaking outs and days off, much to the irritation of Deb Sen, she got “talked to” twice in those 5 weeks

She didn’t care, she knew she needed the job, she knew she couldn’t let her Baba find out… ever

But she needed to tell one person and she didn’t know how

Jaidrith was happy and cheerful and talkative at home

He had a bunch of allergies and anxiety issues at school

He loved the apartment though he didn’t have any friends… literally no friends

He was socially awkward when she met mothers in the elevators, some were kind enough to send their boys over or invite Jai over

But the play dates ended up being less than an hour long

The other kids never invited him back

Mrunal coached him how to be social and free, how to talk to other little kids, how to talk about things they liked, not always about things he liked, Nintendo and Legos and books like Half upon a Time, Sky Raiders or Left Out. He read like a savage, when she said he could not play video games

Enough so she sometimes forgot he was curled up on his bunk bed reading the entire Saturday

The apartment was too high to be able to see kids and Dads playing down below

Even non traditional families had kids playing with older male cousins or uncles down below in the high end play area

When she left him with Pragati to go do grocery she noticed even kids that knew him saw her and did ask for Jai

No… “Hey aunty can Jai join us?” “He aunty can I go up and get him?”

Nope…

She even offered a few times

They were kind enough not to reject the offer but said “Our team is full aunty, may be next time? I PROHMISS”

The world wasn’t against her or anything, people just liked people that were different from Mrunal and Jaidrith

When she would return from her errands she often used to find Jai deep in conversation with Pragati showing her how to play a video game or explaining the plot of a teen anime book

Pragati would be mesmerized by how he explained though he spoke broken Marathi

She cried uncontrollably when she told her she was leaving the apartment

She begged to find another “solution”

There is none she explained without giving her all the gory details of how things had been the last 9 years

Amruta had the nerve to text her asking “can u go out for coffee?”

She ignored it, lay awake as the day approached fantasizing how it would be when she would lock up the apartment hand the keys to the custodian and just leave, never looking back

“I am tired of taking the elevator and I am tired of not having friends” she approached the topic nervously as he ate breakfast for dinner one evening in the sprawling marble counter kitchen

“U can make friends” he said looking up from his anime book

“Look who is talking” she thought with amusement

She had to explain everything…. Fast

“Lets go live in a new place OK?” she said not looking at him, pretending to load the dishwasher

He mocked her with a huge laugh

“I am serious, DRU”

“No u are not” he stuffed food in his mouth thinking it was her punishing him

They argued about it until midnight, he cried a lot, he had nothing connecting him to his apartment she realized, except for Pragati, well Pragati could not go because she could not afford a live in help, Pragati probably made more than she did after taxes

“I promise I will make friends in school” he begged

She did not know the long term emotional consequences of doing this to him

The next week she was walking on egg shells, didn’t force him to eat, let him watch TV or play video games or read

Homework did not get turned in, he punched a kid in school and she had to go talk to the principal Mrs Rachita Dhawan, Mrs Ojha his class teacher

In a fit of frustration she announced she will move to Canyon Oaks if he was able to get in

Not that they cared

She had a “talk” with him that night

“I am the only family you have you cannot hurt me so much” she wept

He looked ashamed

“But can we not move please? “Please AAI amhala ityechya rahudya”

“What so great about this place?” she shrieked in anger

“I can look down the window and see all the kids playing” he said innocently.

He broke her heart into a million pieces

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She moved on a Friday, Sai told her Friday was a good day to do such things

There was no party, her friends were all over the place, she would host one soon, she didn’t want news getting out to Amruta through Hemang or through Lobo that she was buying a flat

Sai showed up and so did Pragati and her work team

She ordered lunch and wore a magenta Paithani saree and a nath

Mrs Gomes had baked a ton for Jaidrith and left it all on the counter neatly, she had told her to take the empty Tupperware to Lynn Mendonza’s. Mrs Gomes had texted Mrunal Lynn’s number

“She can be your family like she is mine” Mrs Gomes promised

After her Sai and Pragati left as well, she dragged a moody grumpy “Dru” along 5 blocks to drop off the dishes, the guard at the society gate ogled as he watched a tall lissome 30 something waltz out with a bunch of cookie trays and dishes

She knocked on Lynn’s door… there was no answer

She didn’t know what to do

She left the dishes outside

Lynn’s neighbor across stared at her with curiosity

They made their way down the stairs and looked up at Lynn’s window

Aatreya had just gotten out of the shower, when Mrunal and Jaidrith looked up he froze in complete shock

Pulling the towel off his face angrily

Angrily? Why? Did he recognize that he was the father?

Nisha, can we have one more?

One More Please🥺🤍...I always get addicted to your every new story❤️❤️

No he missed her when she knocked the door😆

Nisha pls dnt stop now

Feel so bad for Her. Hopefully she will make some genuine Frieda so does the son. Can’t wait for their meet.