Part 2
Riddhima read over the piece of paper that she was holding in her hand once more, just to make sure that what she's reading was really written there.
"Kya hua di?" asked Anjali who was looking at her older sister's movements very intently as if she was some sort of science experiment.
Riddhima took in a deep breath before screaming.
"YESS!!" Riddhima ran over to Anjali and hugged her really tightly.
"Arre kya hua?" asked Padma when she heard Riddhima's sudden exclamation.
"Maa!!" Riddhima abandoned Anjali and ran over to her mom and twirled her around in excitement.
"Ab kuch batayi gi bhi." Requested her mother wanting to know what is the reason for making her daughter get so happy.
Riddhima stopped twirling her mom and said, "Papa ne.. haan kardi!!"
Anjali got up from her seat, knocking the chair down and went to join her sister and mother.
"Are you serious? Let me see." Anjali grabs the letter from Riddhima and reads it.
After being satisfied, she gives her mom and sister a big hug.
"I can't believe it! We're finally going to Mumbai!!" she shouted.
"I know! Hum itne saalo ke baad Papa se milenge." Riddhima said excitedly. "Mein abhi packing shuru karti hoon."
"Mein bhi." Agreed Anjali.
"Arre, par tumara nashta." Padma called out to Anjali who was running behind Riddhima to go start packing.
"Ab mein agar kaoongi toh sirf Mumbai mein. Papa ke saath!" Anjali replied.
Next day in Mumbai
Padma, Riddhima and Anjali entered their new hom animatedly along with their father, Shashank Gupta. Shashank seemed a bit too calm to Padma regarding the fact that Riddhima and Anjali are bombarding him with questions and their personal expriences back at Banaras, considering he couldn't tolerate childish behaviors from mature adults.
Shashank opened the door to their home and they all entered.
Riddhima and Anjali take a few steps in and look around trying to familarize themselves with their new home. Shashank puts his arm aroud Padma and they both look at their two daughters looking at everything fascinatedly.
"Welcome home." Shashank whispers to his wife full of love and longing. He kisses her on the forehead which Padma accepts with a smile.
Next day
Shashank is sitting down at the head of the table while flipping through the newspapers. Padma lays down his black coffee in front of him, while Riddhima and Anjali bring rest of the breakfast. Shashank closes his newspaper and takes a long sniff of the coffee and then exhales. Anjali and Riddhima look at him curiously as they haven't seen anyone sniff coffee before. Shashank opens his eyes and meets his daughters' curious ones.
"It's been a very long time since I drank coffee made by your mother. It brought back old memories." He explained.
Anjali and Riddhima both smile and give him a hug. Everyone sits down around the dining table and start eating. Halfway through breakfast, Shashank remembers something important that he wanted to tell Riddhima.
"Mm.. Riddhima." He swallowed and attracted Riddhima's attention. "You're gonna have to go to college for a couple of days."
Riddhima stopped chewing and looked at her dad with a questioning look.
She swallowed and said, "College?"
"Yes. You have to finish one more exam before we can let you become an intern at Sanjeevani." Her father explained.
"But dad, I thought I had covered everything." She said, not wanting to go back to college again.
"Yes I know, but this exam is really important. And besides, you're not the only one doing this test. Other people who want to become interns at Sanjeevani have to do this as well." Shashank reasoned.
"Okay." Riddhima agreed hesitantly. "When do I have to give the exam?"
"In a couple of weeks. I'll let you know the exact dat by the end of this week." He smiled at her.
"Alright dad." Riddhima smiled back.
"What about me? Do I have to give an exam?" asked Anjali who was feeling very left out of the conversation.
"Of course you do sweety." Teased Padma.
"Really? 5WH!" Anjali asks excitedly and totally falling for Padma's joke.
"5WH?" asked Riddhima not getting what her younger sister was saying.
Anjali rolled her eyes then said, "Who, what, when, where, why and how. Duh!"
"Well, it's simple." Said Padma. "Who - you. What - interview. When - whenever it's available. Where - whatever company you want to join. Why - so you can get the job. How - you figure it out. Duh!" Padma mimicked Anjali on the last word while she pouted.
"This is not fair! Why do we have to give interviews for?" she asked like a little child.
"Because we can't just hire people like that. They have to be qualified for the job." Shashank explained.
"Bu-" Anjali was about to say something but she got cut off by Shashank's pager.
He looked at his pager and saw that it was an emergency. He quickly took in the remains of the coffee and gave each woman a kiss on the forehead before leaving.
"Sorry darlings. It's an emergency. I'll try to come back early. Okay." He apologized for ruining such a sweet breakfast.
"It's okay dad. We understand." Says Anjali with a smile on her face.
But on the inside, she was upset about how she never gets to actually spend some quality time with her father. From as far as she can remember, it's always been Riddhima first. Yes, she's older than her but somehow sometimes, she doesn't know why, but she feels like an outsider in this happy family of three.
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