Chapter 12
She looked at him from behind taking one giant step after thus widening the distance between them. After diwali got over he insisted on accompanying her for the morning walks otherwise earlier she used to walk alone in the lawn at her own pace, smelling the fresh flowers and listening to the sweet chirping of the birds but ever since he joined her she missed enjoying all this as he walked briskly and she literally ran after him, the simple easy going exercise prescribed by the doctor had now been changed into a tiring task because of him. Sometimes she wondered whether she was on a morning walk or taking part in some marathon? She tried to convince him many times that she could manage all this alone and he needn't lose his precious early morning sleep but he was adamant on participating as much as he could towards the growth of his baby. She took a deep breath and began walking quickly but twisted her foot, she sat on the grass holding her foot and glared at his back in annoyance, it had been more than a month since he had started coming with her, each passing day his increased speed forced her to increase her level of tolerance as well but now she was in no mood to run after him so continued to sit quietly. Few seconds later he turned around and saw her way behind, he rested his hands on his waist and walked back to her," ye kya nakku ? tu yahan mazze se baithi hui hai..chalna nahin hai kya?" hearing him say that she was happily sitting down irritated her more, she pressed her lips hard in order to control her losing temper," doctor ne mujhe chalne ko kaha hai ..bhagne ko nahin aur apke saath mujhe lagta hai main koi daud laga rahi hoon." He lend his hand out to her and said," accha theekh hai hum aaraam aaraam se chalenge ..ab uth." She was still upset with him and turned her neck to the other side ignoring him, he sighed heavily and said," chal ab uth nah ..nahin toh golu kya kahega tu itni jaldi thakh gayi." She stood up immediately and looked around wondering who was keeping an eye on them then asked," ye golu kaun hai? Kahan hai?" he pointed towards her stomach, her eyes grew wide in shock and she held her belly tightly," aapne bacche ka naam golu rakha hai?" he smiled and nodded his head," hmm mujhe gol matol (healthy) bacche bahut pasand hai ..isliye golu." His eyes shone in excitement while she shuddered at the thought of calling the baby "golu?golu dutta patil", couldn't he find a better name than this she thought and frowned at him then asked hesitantly," lekin sahab golu? Sab usey golu bulayenge?" he slipped his hands in his pockets and replied calmly," arey ye toh maine pyar se rakha hai jab ladka ya ladki jo bhi hoga tab kuch aur rakh lenge." She closed her eyes in relief and thanked god that this was just a nick name and he had said*rakh lenge* that meant her opinion would also matter. Once again he began walking ahead of her, seeing this she didn't move a step forward making him turn around, he raised his brow questioning her when she answered crossing her arms around her chest," mujhe laga tha hum saath saath chal rahe hain." He rolled his eyes and indicated with his hand to come up to him then they both slowly started walking together, she touched and admired the pretty flowers on the way while he accompanied her silently.
The whole family was having breakfast when kala and kishore came to meet them. Kala was thrilled as she had an important news to share with everyone," AS , roops ke liye ek bahut accha rishta aaya hai." AS was pleasantly surprised and narrowed her eyes when kishore explained," AS aap ravi ko toh jaanti hi hongi ? mere chachaji ka beta ..woh Pune se apni M.BA ki padai khatam kar ke aaya hai aur usey banglore ki ek badi multi national company mein naukri bhi mil gayi hai ..toh ab chacha chachi uske liye ladki dhoondh rahe hai." Kala interrupted and continued further," toh maine unse roops ke baare mein baat ki hai ." she waited to know everybody's reaction when no one opposed then she stated, "isliye maine un sabko aaj yahan sham ko chai pe bula liya hai ..maine theekh kiya na AS?" roops lowered her eyes shyly and AS nodded her head with a smile," haan yeh sahi kiya isis bahane dono parivar ek dusre se mil bhi lenge..kyun dutta?." Dutta raised from his chair and said," jaisa aap theekh samjhein..aur haan paison ki chinta mat karna woh main dekh lunga" Then glanced at baaji and said," chal baaji meeting ke liye der ho rahi hai." And left the house leaving the remaining people aghast with his remark, nobody was talking about money they only wanted to know his opinion about the proposed alliance. He was known to be brutally honest about his feelings but this time his comments really hurt everybody especially roops who lowered her head and went to her room quietly. Both AS and nakku saw her going to her room sadly, AS too felt bad but didn't blame her son, she knew her daughters had played with his feelings and all she wished that with time he forgot their betrayal.
Nakku couldn't stop herself from reaching out to roops, she had always seen the good side of roops, also she knew that roops cared about her and her brother a lot. Though she must have made mistakes in the past but now she only wished to see both of them happy, in fact whenever needed she was there along with baaji to bring both of them closer. Nakku saw her standing and weeping near the window, she kept her hand on her shoulder and turned her around, roops immediately wiped off the tears and forcefully brought a smile on her lips. Nakku could see the pain in her eyes, roops lowered her head to hide her emotions but couldn't control them for long when nakku lovingly brushed her fingers through her hair. She engulfed nakku in her arms and sobbed silently resting her chin on nakku's shoulder. Nakku patted her back gently to console her then after some time broke the hug, she wanted roops to speak up and lighten the weight on her heart so lifted her head so that both could look into each other's eyes,"main jaanti hoon ..sahab ne jo kaha tumhein uska bura laga..unhein aisa nahin kehna chaiye tha." Roops shook her head in negation," nahin vaheni ..bhau apni jagah theekh hain ..hum behno ne unke saath bahut bura kiya tha..unhein sautela samajh kar kabhi unke pyar ki kadr nahin ki." Fresh tears came in her eyes as she remembered how selfishly they had manipulated his love and used it for their personal benefit. Nakku couldn't see her crying, she knew deep down all the sisters regretted what they did with him especially roops as she was the youngest and closest to him, she tried to defend her," par ab toh aisa nahin hai nah? Ab toh tum sab apne bhau se bahut pyar karte ho." Roops smirked through her tears," kitni ajeeb baat hai nah..pehle bhau humse pyar karte the par hum nahin aur jab hum karte hain toh woh nahin." Nakku knew that though still somewhere dutta was hurt by all that had happened with him but that didn't stop him from caring about them," aisi baat nahin hai roops..sahab bhi tumse pyar karte hain." Roops rubbed of her tears and took a deep breath then said," pyar karte hain lekin dikhate nahin ?humein maaf kar diya par kuch bhi bhoole nahin..shayad yahi hai humari sazaa." Nakku's heart went out for her on hearing her words, dutta had a wonderful family around him only if he could forget everything and accept them. Roops pressed her hand lightly and said," vaheni aap agar bura na maaane toh main kuch waqt akele rehna chahti hoon." Nakku blinked her eyes and left the room giving her some time to spend alone.
He came back home early in the evening to meet ravi and his family over a cup of tea. He dropped his car keys on the bed and picked up the fresh pair of clothes to change. Nakku brought a glass of chilled lemonade for him, she knew tea would be served soon when the guests come over and she wanted to clear a few things with him and for that it was essential for him to keep his mind cool. He came out of the bathroom and saw him with the glass, he frowned at her, he was certainly not expecting lemonade from her but later on took it and sat on the bed. She gulped the lump down her throat and asked," sahab aap har rishta paison mein kyun tolte ho?" his eyes shot up sending chills down her spine on understanding the real meaning behind her words, he paused for a moment then replied bitterly," kyunki maine aaj tak har rishte ki keemat chukayi hai ..yahan paisa har rishte se bada hai." She slowly sat next to him and looked at him," jo hua aap usey bhool kyun nahin jaate." He grinned inwardly, it was easier said than done, she didn't know what it felt like to be cheated by those whom you have loved selflessly. She kept her hand on his knee and said," roops ko apne kiye par bahut pachtaawa hai." He sipped on to the cool drink as he remembered how heart broken he was when he had seen the real faces of his sisters, roops being the youngest was loved the most my him, he had never refused her for anything and pampered her to no extent. That was why he was shocked beyond belief on knowing that she too only cared for his money and not him. Seeing him silently have lemonade she thought of pushing the conversation a little forward," aap un sabko maaf nahin kar sakte?" he kept the empty glass on the tray and replied dryly," kar toh diya maaf ..main kahan kisi se kuch kehta hoon." It was true he had forgiven them all but couldn't forget anything even though a part of him still cared for them like before. He was cordial with them but didn't wish to display his love for them fearing that they might take advantage of his emotions once again. Baaji knocked at the door to inform them that ravi and his family had come over, dutta got up to exit the room when nakku said from behind," kal ko roops ki shaadi ho jayegi toh woh is ghar se hi nahin balki is shehar se bhi door chali jayegi..tab agar aap ussey kuch kehna chahenge bhi toh bhi nahin keh paayenge." He clenched his jaws hard on hearing her statement, his mind didn't wish to acknowledge the truth behind her words nor did it appreciate the way she was awakening the dormant feelings residing in his heart.
Families from both the sides gathered, dutta glared at ravi, checking him from top to bottom, listening to what he had to say as well as attempting to read the actual thoughts running in his mind. A while later roops was brought before the families by kala and leela, on seeing ravi's gaze shift to his sister, he pressed his lips firmly. Although dutta didn't like the idea of ravi and roops exchanging some words alone but he had to stop himself from opposing when he saw that even AS had no problems with it. As the evening came to an end the families accepted the proposal and fixed a suitable date for engagement as well. When everybody left the hall, dutta ordered baaji," mujhe is ravi ke baare mein saari information chaiye..kahan padai ki ..kahan naukri kar raha hai ..iske dost kaise hain ..yeh khudh kaisa hai..isse judi har choti badi baat mujhe pata karni hai..roops ki puri zindagi ka sawaal hai ..main koi risk nahin lena chahta." Unaware that nakku was listening to him from behind, baaji scratched his neck and agreed," theekh hai bhau ..do din mein iski puri janam kundli tere haath mein hogi."
She placed her one hand on her waist and bulged out her stomach while standing before the mirror. She straightened herself and picked up a small cushion and stuffed it under her sari then admired herself in the mirror. Just then dutta entered the room after having dinner and saw her swaying with the cushion tucked under her sari, he frowned at her through the mirror, she quickly turned around and removed the cushion then said sheepishly," woh main dekh rahi thi ki jab main moti ho jaungi toh kaisi lagungi?" he rolled his eyes and shook his head on hearing her," uske liye abhi waqt hai ..kamse kum 3-4 mahino baad tu moti hogi." She narrowed her eyes thinking she was still in her second month of pregnancy and after two more months her stomach would bulge out but how did he know all this," ye sab apko kaise pata?" he unclasped his watch and laid down on the bed without replying then rested the back of his head on his palms with his eyes fixed on the ceiling above. Some time later when she too laid down next to him he asked her," nakku woh mujhe pyar toh karega nah?" she turned her neck towards him, it was impossible for anybody to not love him," karega ..kyun nahin karega?" she questioned back, he nodded his head in agreement," hmm mera khoon hai ..mera apna hai.. toh mujhe toh pyar karega hi." The bias that he held towards blood relations often disturbed her but she kept silent about it because she knew his sisters earlier didn't value him considering he was their step brother, he still held that grudge against them somewhere," sahab rishte rishte hote hain ..woh khoon ke ho ya na ho isse koi farak nahin padta." This time he turned his neck to look at her as she continued," AS aur baaji se apka rishta khoon ka nahin hai phirbhi woh apke kitne kareeb hain." Those two relations were the only relations which helped him to survive and face this world, he never denied that but that didn't help him to ignore what happened with him in the past so much so that he lost faith in himself and in the people around him," tujhe kya lagta hai..main kaisa pitah honga?" he forgot that he would not only have to be the father but also the mother of his child, she was cent percent sure that he would be a wonderful parent," aap jitney acche bte, bhai aur dost hain ussey kahin zyada acche pitah bhi sabit honge ..mujhe pura vishwas hai." His lips broke into a smile, she always managed to lift up his down spirits, no matter how dark the situation was she succeeded to bring in that small ray of hope for him. He didn't know how and why she had this enormous trust in him," nakku tu mujhpar itna bharosa kaise kar leti hai?" he asked in surprise, according to her life and relationships were simple and not as difficult as he believed them to be," sahab pyar aur vishwas dono dil se kiye jaate hain ..dimag se nahin." Love? He didn't know but surely he was beginning to trust her, her thoughts, her point of view which was why he started sharing his innermost feelings and fear with her. He turned his back to sleep and said after closing his eyes," tu bhi jab moti hogi toh aur bhi pyari lagegi ..aur ye baat mein dil se keh raha hoon." She blushed on hearing him and pressed her lips firmly then a second later replied," hmm ab goal matol bacche pasand hain toh goal matol biwi bhi pasand aayegi hi." He smiled inwardly and continued to pretend that he was trying to sleep.
As the engagement day was fast approaching near, patil niwas was bustling in excitement, leela , kala, nakku were looking forward to their shopping expedition. Kala asked roops who was still feeling a little low ," toh roops bataa kaunse rang ka lehenga legi ..laal , haraa, neela?" roops kept quiet when suddenly everyone heard a voice," peela (yellow) ..roops par peela rang bahut khilta hai." She turned around and saw her brother standing who kept his hand on her head lovingly bringing tears in her eyes. He brushed her tears off and shook his head gesturing her not to weep. He stepped closer to nakku and said softly ensuring nobody else heard him ,"meri baat theekh se samajh..shopping karte hue kitne paise lag jaate hain pata nahin chalta ..isliye aur chaiye ho toh meri almari ke neeche wale drawer se nikal liyo." Now she had no problem in accepting the money because he was not buying his relations instead was valuing them. She opened his cupboard but forgot which drawer he had asked to take money from, she pulled his upper drawer and moved her hand searching in it searching for money, something else caught in her hand which pleasantly surprised her, books on pregnancy and parenting, she raised her brow and thought no wonder he knew so much about all these things. She grinned and kept them back then opened the lower drawer and took out some money from it.
Thanks for reading
Lots of love
Rose
next part pg-34
Iss Pyaar Ko Kya Naam Doon
