Any ways here's an OS from my side . Happy Anniversary Frnz !!
The Ice-Cream Promise
It was just an ordinary evening. Damini was in the kitchen of her and Prithvi's home. She had finished making dinner. Dhara and Dhruv were sitting in living room, watching Cartoons. Damini popped her head into the room to check on the kids as they were unusually quite.
"Druv-Dhara, What are u doing?" she asks the twins.
"We are watching Donald Duck mama" they both answer, out of synch.
"Did you finish your homework" she inquired
"Yes mama"
"Did you pack your school bag?"
"Yes mama"
"Dhruv beta don't sit that close to the TV...it will weaken you eyesight." She told her 8year old son.
"Yeah ... then he will also wear thick glasses like shobha aunty ...right mama" little Dhara giggled.
Dhruv simply made a face sticking out his tongue at her
"Stop it both of you ...if you fight one more time I will hide the remote" she scolds her little devils. They were quite a handful. Always fighting with each other
"Dinner's almost ready, and Daddy should be home soon," she tells them.
"Yayy ! then we will go for Ice cream" Dhara chirped happily
The kids clapped their hands gleefully, they were practically beaming with happiness. Damini smiled at them. They just adored Prithvi. Their father was their hero. Prithvi too loved them more than his life. He always made it a point to spend time with his family when he came back from work. Playing with the kids, reading to them, take them for shopping, picnics and vacations. She had never expected him to be so much involved in their life as he was very reserved and quite when they were married. He was simple man who was always immersed in his work. Theirs was an arranged marriage and she had a hard time adjusting with him initially because they were very much alike. They both were egoistic, stubborn, unpredictable and they both had a very foul temper. But gradually as she discovered his good qualities she started admiring him. He was sweet, caring , protective, honest and he respected her parents just like his own. This admiration gradually turned into very deep love. Sure they had their share of fights and whenever they fought it was nothing short of a World War. But they always made up. And in 10 years of their marriage he was always the first one to say sorry after a fight. That showed just how much he loved her although he did not say it enough. Damini thanked God every single day for blessing her with such a loving husband and such adorable kids.
-----
Suddenly, headlights shine through the windows of the house breaking her reverie. A car door is heard slamming, and then the front door of the Saxena house bursts open. Prithvi walks into the foyer, looking very tired and angry.
He puts his briefcase down muttering something angrily.
"Nice to see you're home honey," Damini calls from the kitchen. "What happened at work?"
"Don't ask...had a really long day" he says, walking into the kitchen and giving her a quick kiss.
"Well, Dhruv and Dhara have been waiting for you to come home. They were hoping you will take them for ice- cream like you promised" she tells him in a calming voice.
"Tell them I'm in a bad mood, and I have a terrible headache" he says quickly. "I'm gonna go get changed."
"Okay, your grumpy pants better be off by the time you come back down here," she says.
He gives her a confused look.
"You better have cooled off about work by the time you come back down here," she sighs.
"Oh," he says. He walks out of the kitchen and back into the living room.
"Hi Daddy," Dhara says as he passes through.
He ignores her like she was completely invisible and she is taken aback.
"Mommy, how come daddy is not talking to us?" she asks innocently.
"He had a rough day at work sweetie," she tells her daughter.
"He could've at least said hi to me," she pouts.
"I know," Damini says. "He'll calm down soon." She puts the last of the food onto plates. Then she goes into the living room and takes away remote from Dhruv and instructs him to go into the dining room.
When the kids settle on their chairs she tells them that their father won't be able to take them out as he was tired. She sighs deeply as their faces fall.
-----
"Prithvi, dinner's ready!" she yells.
Prithvi comes bounding down the stairs, and Damini cringes a little. He was still upset.
"What's for dinner?" he asks, still looking mad.
"Butter Chicken," she says, putting the food in front of him.
"Thanks, I come home mad one night and you feed me food that can kill me in the long run!" he quips. "I love you too!"
"It's your favorite" she reminded.
"Wow!! That makes it very healthy." He retorts.
"Do I have to tell you again?" she asks. "No sarcasm in front of the kids!"
"I'm sorry it's just my nature," he tells her. "I can't help it."
"Well you're gonna have to help it if you don't wanna sleep on the couch tonight," she says bitterly.
Dhara and Dhruv give each other worried glances.
Everyone starts having dinner quietly. It was Dhara who dared to break the silence
"Are u gonna take us for ice cream daddy."
"No ...i'm tired."
"You promised." Dhruv ventured into the conversation.
"I said I'm tired...may be some other time." he shrugged
"But you promised daddy!!" he whined
"Dhuv be quite and have your food... Go to your room if you're done." Prithvi thundered.
Damini merely looked on with a frown on her face. No one talked during rest of the dinner.
-----
After dinner, Damini enters the kid's room only to find that Dhruv was playing with his toy cars, and Dhara with fiddling with her Barbie doll. They both looked visibly gloomy.
"Mama," Dhara says, looking up at her mother. "Is... is Daddy mad at us?"
"Of course not honey," she tells her daughter. "He just had a bad day at work."
"He did not even play with us tonight." Dhruv complained.
"He has a headache baby! He'll be fine in the morning alright!! Now both of you' brush your teeth and go to sleep."
"But it's not even bed time yet ...its daddy time." Dhara pouted.
"Okay!! you guys can play for some time. I will come later...alright!!" she said patting her cheeks lightly.
Damini let out a deep breath as she entered their room. Prithvi was sitting on the edge of the bed with his back towards the door. He looked exhausted. Damini shook her head and slowly made her way towards him. Settling behind him on the bed she placed her one hand on each of his shoulder and started to massage gently.
"So, what happened??" she asked calmly
"Bad day!!" he sighed.
"That I can gather...wanna talk about it??" she asks concerned.
Prithvi looked at up her. She was gazing him with questions in her eyes.
"I told you about this new security system design I was developing for the company ...Remember??"
"Yeah!! What about it??"
"A new idiot hired by the boss meddled with my laptop while I was away and screwed it up ...now I have lost it ...all of it ...6 months of hardwork down the drain ...now I'll have to start all over again ...the whole day was spent trying to recover the data and the design but all my efforts were futile...I wish I could kill that jerk..." he clenched his teeth.
"Its okay honey!!" she whispered softly and ran her fingers through his hairs. "I'm sure you'll find a way"
"I doubt that...i have already tried everything."
She leaned over to him and hugged him softly from behind. Her right hand wrapped around his waist and left hand gently patting his arm as she placed her cheek on his shoulder .Prithvi found that gesture very reassuring.
"You know Prithvi... I am a firm believer of the phrase "everything happens for a reason"...I'm sure you'll make an even better design ...what's done is done 'no amount of sulking is gonna change that...it was an accident ...Everything will be fine." She murmured softly. They stayed like that for some time not uttering even a single word.
"You are right...there is no point mopping on about it ..."he said finally.
"That's better." Damini smiled at him. "Now get some sleep ...think about it in the morning alright!!" she told him as she stood up and made to leave. Prithvi caught her hand and stopped her.
"Where are you going??"
"To put the kids to sleep."
"Ohh... I shouldn't have yelled at them before."
"They think that they did something wrong to annoy you."
"I was the who was wrong... it was stupid to take out my anger at them like this'. do you think I messed it up??"
"Well!! They were looking forward to this ice cream treat you promised."
"You are right..."he says it more to himself than anybody else and Damini looks at him suspiciously
"What are you thinking Prithvi??"
"Hmm...nothing ...I'm just thinking of keeping my promise."
"Is it not a bit late for that...they have school tomorrow."
"Come on Damini it's just nine thirty" he says looking at his wristwatch "we'll make it quick."
"You can take them some other time." She said still not convinced.
"But I made a promise for tonight...and tonight it's gonna be...a promise is a promise...I can't teach them to break promises. "He rests his case
"Prithvi I don't think it's a good idea...they need proper sleep...otherwise they'll be cranky in the morning and besides you have a headache too ...I think let's just call it a night." she said as she made her way out of the room.
On hearing that Prithvi got off the bed and strode across the room to where she was standing, a mischievous sparkle in his eyes. He snaked an arm around her and pulled her to himself holding her there, his other hand brushed the strands of silken hairs off her face making her shiver.
"Hmm...someone seems very eager to go to bed tonight." He said suggestively raising an eyebrow. Prithvi smirked as he saw color creeping up her face. After 10 years of marriage he could still make her blush. The thought warmed his heart.
"No...I mean...I just..." Damini tried to retort but nothing meaningful came out of her mouth, she was caught off guard by his sudden change of mood. Event after a decade of togetherness she had still not figured out this man completely.
"I just wanted to spend some time with my entire family...have a goodtime...but if your possessive heart wants me all for yourself tonight...I'm all yours biwi...I'm sure we will have a very good time here too." He continued to tease her.
"Fine!!...let's go...but we will make it quick...I don't want the kids to get late for school tomorrow." She laid down the rules finally relaxing in his arms.
"Okay biwi ...I'm just as eager as you are to return." He winked at her only to receive a slap on his arm.
"Will you stop now." she chides him and he makes his way towards the kid's room grinning.
She shakes her head. There was no point arguing with him knowing just how stubborn he was . Besides she was happy that he was finally in a better mood. She did not wish spoil it by nagging.
-----
"Vroom!" Dhruv shouts, zooming one of his cars across the floor. He bumps into a pair of feet and looks up to see Prithvi.
"Hey bud," he says with a small smile. "Watch where you go!!"
"Sorry Dad," he mumbles.
"No no, it's alright beta," Prithvi assures his son.
Dhruv gives him a confused look, not understanding his father's changed mannerism. He looks at his sister and then at his mother.
"Daddy are you still mad at us??" Dhara asks tentatively.
Prithvi sat on the floor and pulled them both towards himself such that they were sitting on his either side. The kids had a solemn look on their faces.
"C'mere guys," he tells them, "I'm sorry ...I know I got a little mad before, but it wasn't because of you guys, okay?"
"Promise?" Dhruv asks him innocently.
"Yes I promise," he tells them. "You guys can never make me mad- at least not now, but when you're teenagers, forget about it."
Damini laughs a little.
"After a hard day at work, I look forward to coming home to this," he tells them. "No matter how crazy and stressful things are around here."
"I'm sorry daddy !! I should have listened to you when you said you were tired."Dhruv says with his eyes downcast.
"It's okay Daddy !! We understand... we can go for ice cream some other time." Dhara added.
Prithvi and Damini looked at each other then they smiled down at their little kids who were acting all grown up.
"Acha!!...but your mama and I are going to the ice cream parlor right now...it's okay if you guys don't want to come ." Prithvi shrugged fighting a smile
"We'll be back in some time ...you guys can take care of the house till we return." Damini played along.
"No ways!!!"
"We are coming with you!!"
"Yayy!! Ice Cream!!"
The kids shout in unison jumping at the opportunity. They gave each other a Hi5.
PriDa chuckled at that.
*****
...True love...
Mahadev And Sons
