Part 2..
Prachi opened the door & was surprised to see Dev at this hour it was late at nightโฆ๐ฒ๐ฒ also he hadn't informed even he wud be coming.
Prachi(surprised)โDev, tum is waqt yaha sab theek toh hai?๐
Dev(assured her)โsab theek hai bhabiโฆI hope aap log soye nahi the abhi tak?
Prachiโnahi not yet, aaj kabir office se late aaye the toh we gonna have a late dinnerโฆ
Dev(seeing Prachi not letting him in)โab yaha darwaze pe khada rakhengi ya โฆandar aa sakte hai ๐๐
Prachi(realizing)โoh sorry! Come on inโฆ๐๐๐
Massi Kabir Rj were also surprised to see Dev at this hour & asked same question as Prachiโฆ๐๐
Dev(joked)โaap log itne surprise kyun ho rahe hai?๐๐ I didn't knew mere achanak aane se yeh reaction milegaโฆ๐๐
Ranvijayโab surprise toh honge Bhaiโฆhumesha hume aapko bulana padta hai aaj aap bin bulaye aagaye toh zor ka jhatka zor se lag gayaโฆ
Dev(just smiled)โactually main aap logon ke liye surprise hi laya thaโฆinfact do surprisesโฆ๐๐
By then Pallavi & khushi also joined themโฆMassi was very happy seeing them thereโฆhugged both of themโฆ๐ค
MassiโPallo,khushiโฆtum dono yahaโฆso good to see uโฆmain dev se kehne hi wali thiโฆki tum dono ke aate hi mujhse milne le aayeโฆ (to dev) yeh tune acha kiya dev inhe milne le aayaโฆ๐๐๐
Devโsirf milne nahiโฆyeh abse yahi rahengi โฆHope its Ok with all of u๐๐โฆ(tried to explain) who main
Massi (interrupted)โsirf Ok nahiโฆyeh toh bahut acha haiโฆ๐๐ mujhe bhi company mil jayegi...waise bhi pura din akele rehti hoon kabir office chala jata hai, Ranvijay collegeโฆaur Prachi apne boutique โฆmain bore ho jati hoon yeh dono pariyaan mere saath rahengi toh mera bhi mann lag jayegaโฆ๐๐
DevโThank you Massi, ๐๐ I know inhe mujhe apne saath rakhna chaiye thaโฆye meri zimmedari haiโฆpar aap janti haiโฆkaam mein busy rehta hoon , zyadatar out of town bhi jana padta haiโฆ aise mein theek se dhyan nahi de pata inheโฆaur naya shehar hai, nayi jagah, naye log โฆaap logon ke saath rahengi toh they will feel betterโฆ๐๐ So,Thank you so muchโฆ๐๐๐
Pallavi looked at him surprised he didn't told anything abt what happened back at houseโฆHere Dev is giving totally a different reasonโฆ๐๐
***
Back at Dev's house
Before Ramsingh could answer Dev the voice of a woman could be heard.
Both girls looked back to see a woman in her early thirties, wearing a black designer dress...
Woman--'Don't you dare Dev Khanna ๐ก๐ก๐ก !!!!!! Who the hell are you to decide โฆ๐ก๐ก is ghar mein kaun rahega? Who the hell are these girls yeh mere ghar mein kya kar rahi hain?๐ก๐ก
Dev had back to the womenโฆhe turned back & in a very composed wayโChillane ki koi zarut nahi haiโฆ
Not paying heed to his request she pointed her finger towards him and the woman started shouting again
Woman-- Don't you dare to tell mโฆ..!!!!๐ก๐ก
Before she could finish her sentence Dev raised his right hand to indicate her to stop and said with a strict voice that could scare anybody
DevโMaine kaha naโฆchillane ki zarut nahi hai Maya ๐ก๐ก ek baar mein baat samajh nahi aati tumheโฆ๐ก๐ก๐ก aur rahi in ladkiyon ki baat to yeh meri mehmaan hai, Badi Maa ki betiyan. Yeh yahi rahengiโฆUnderstood๐ก๐ก
Maya(angry) -NowayโฆDev Khannaโฆ . !๐ก๐ก๐ก๐ก
.
Pallavi's eyes widened in shock ๐ฒ๐ฒ not because the woman just said they couldn't live in that house, but the woman had the guts to defy what Mr. Khanna said ๐ฒ๐ฒ โฆshe thot to herselfโฆ Agar is tarah mujhse baat ki hoti toh inki baat mana karna toh door ๐๐ โฆmeri awaaz bhi nahi nikaltiโฆ๐๐ In this tone of voice I would probably have said 'yes' and 'amen' to about anything & everything he said...
Her chain of thots broke when Maya continued to shoutโฆ.
Maya-- I will not let any1 in my house Dev ๐ก๐ก๐ก โฆ. Yeh ghar tumhare baap ka nahin hai ki tum kisiko bhi yahaan par rakh lo, samjhe!!! ๐ก๐ก๐ก Hote kaun ho tum?inhe yaha rehne ke liye kehne waleโฆ๐ก๐ก๐ก Yeh mera ghar haiโฆkoi Khairaati dhramshala nahiโฆjahan tum apne so called mehmaano ko rehne ke liye le aaoโฆalready tumhe is ghar mein bardasht kar rahi hoon wohi bahut haiโฆ. ๐ก๐ก๐ก (dev tried to say something) Dev, ๐ก๐ก tumse behas karne ka nahi mujhe shauk haiโฆNahi mere paas faltu waqt hai barbaad karne ke liyeโฆ๐ก๐ก already I am lateโฆ& main chahungi jab main wapis aau toh mujhe mera ghar Ghar hi lage Dharamshala nahiโฆ๐ก๐ก (abt to leave but turned back )& mind u Dev Khannaโฆ ๐ก๐ก Just because we are married iska matlab yeh nahi hai ki tum jo kahoge main manugiโฆtum๐ก๐ก
Dev (his voice sounded like the thunder) โStop it right there Maya! ๐ก๐ก Ek bhi lafz aage mat kehna!... baar baar mujhe jatane ki zarut nahi haiโฆMujhe already pata hai ki yeh ghar mere baap ka nahin, tumhare baap ka hai, ๐ก๐ก lekin Ghar mere naam par zaroor haiโฆ Aur rahi humari marital status ki baat, to yeh main sab ke saamne discuss nahin karna chahta hoon!! ๐ก๐ก & you know me mujhe explaination dene ki adat nahi haiโฆ๐ก๐ก Tumhare liye itna janna kafi hai... ki yeh dono yahan rahengi...Hope its clear enough๐ก๐ก๐ก
Both Pallavi & khushi felt out of place...๐๐ They never really saw a married couple fight...๐ coincidently they happen to be the reason of fight... this was open hostilityโฆ๐๐
Ramsingh who was still standing there, gave the girls a reassuring smile and continued to do what he was doing namely looking down at the marble floor.
Maya finally left withโI don't care a damn Dev Khanna ๐ก๐ก โฆ mujhe apne ghar mein koi bahar wale pasand nahi haiโฆ๐ก๐ก (coming closer to him so that only he can hear) & yes if u are thinking them to send them to ur outhouse toh tum jante ho it might just not be safe thereโฆyou never know inke saath kuch bhi ho saktaโฆ๐๐ baad mein mat kehna I didn't warn youโฆ ๐ก
Maya gave a last look at her husband & walked out giving an angry look to the girls. ๐ก๐ก
Dev(still there was anger in his voice)โRam Singh! Inka samaan lejao...guest room mein (Dev turned around to climb the stairs again)
Its when pallavi tried to say something in an unsteady voice. โUhmmm (She was nervous seeing Dev's anger).Mr Khannaโฆ(dev turned to look back at her) agar koi problem ho toh(she fumbledโฆas she was nervous) hum kahin aur reh lengeโฆwe can understandโฆ it's okay.
Dev(very calmly)โtum log yahi rahogeโฆ& its end of the discussionโฆ(controlling his temper) Actually โฆmaine Maya ko pehle nahi bataya tha ki tum dono aane wale hoโฆ& she doesn't like surprisesโฆtoh gusse mein kafi kuch bol gayiโฆplz don't mind herโฆuski taraf se I am sorryโฆ๐๐ Main usse baat kar lunga she will understandโฆI will manage her โฆtum log yahan reh sakte hoโฆ (he turned to go back when)
Ramsingh though being a little elder than Devโฆ still apprehensive to defy dev's ordersโฆtried to say something
Ramsingh(in a low voice so that only Dev cud hear) โDev Beta whoโฆmain keh raha thi kiโฆ (dev indicated him to continue) .Maya madam maraaz ho jayengi...aur koi problem hui tohโฆMaya madam ne inhe kuch kaha toh...
Devโtumhe pata hai Ramsingh jab tak main hoon aisa kuch nahi hogaโฆ
Ramsinghโpar aap toh zyadatar bahar rehte haiโฆaapke peeche se kuch kaha tohโฆ๐๐
Dev agreed Ramsingh has a valid pointโฆhe cant be here 24*7 to keep a eye on themโฆ.then thot to himself the only place they wud be comfortable wud be only oneโฆhe wud take them there.๐๐
Pallavi thought that they landed from a boxing match with fighting spouses into a tennis match where they were the tennis balls b/w boss & Master..๐๐
Dev(finally deciding)โtheek hai Ramsingh inka samaan car mein Rakhwa doโฆ main dekhta hoonโฆ(to girls) tab tak aap dono kuch lengiโฆtea coffeeโฆanything (Both nodded NO & mumbled thank you) theek haiโฆphir chaliyeโฆ it is already quite late.
***
Now here they are at Khanna houseโฆ ๐๐
Pallavi came out of her thots when she saw Massi almost scolding Devโฆ
Massi(pretended to be angry) โlagta hai mera thapad khane ka man kar raha hai...shayad isliye thank you bol raha haiโฆ๐ก๐ tujhe pata hai teri problem kya haiโฆtu sabke liye sab kuch kar sakta, par tere liye koi kuch kare toh tujhe lagta hai who ehsaan kar raha haiโฆ๐ main koi ehsaan nahi kar rahiโฆKiran meri liye Sudha ki tarah hi thiโฆuske saath zyada waqt nahi bita sakiโฆpar ab uski betiyon ke saath waqt mila hai...yeh yaha rahengi toh sabse zyada mujhe khushi hogiโฆ ๐๐๐
Dev (nodded)โOk massi thank you nahi kahungaโฆhappy (to kabir) Bhai aapse kuch discuss karna thaโฆ(kabir nodded)
They both were abt to leave when Massi stopped Devโฆknowing there might be something business related to discuss abtโฆ she knew it wud take time. ๐
MassiโDev, sirf kabir se baat karke wapis mat chale janaโฆtera liye bhi dinner lagwa rahi hoon chup chap kha lenaโฆ๐๐ (dev tried to refuse) aur yeh mat kehna tu dinner kar chuka haiโฆwaise bhi yeh bachiyan bhi dinner karengiโฆso jaldi aanaโฆ ๐๐
Dev knew there is no point in arguing he just agreed to massi... while he was leaving ...she saw Both girls comfortably chatting with Prachi & Rjโฆ๐๐ Massi instructing Prachi to show them their roomsโฆalso asking them to feel at home, introduced them to Prachi,& Rj.. He knew it's a good decision he took, they will be comfortable here more than in his house or outhouse fending for themselvesโฆ๐
***
back in another room
Kabirโkya baat hai Devโฆ๐
DevโBhai โฆek toh aapse khushi ke admission ki baat karni thi, maine Rj ke college ke principal se baat karli hai ๐โฆaap baki ki formalities dekh lenaโฆ& (giving him the file) yeh in dono ke insurance papers aur baki documents hai jo lawyer ne bhijwaye haiโฆbaba aur badi maa ki jo bhi savings thi & ghar ke papersโฆsab kuch isme haiโฆbaki aur koi expenses honge toh mujhe bata denaโฆ ๐๐
Kabir (interrupted)โDev yeh tu, hum log sambhal lengeโฆyeh dono koi bhoj nahi banegi hum parโฆ๐๐
DevโI know Bhai, but still badi maa inki zimmedari mujhe dekar gayi haiโฆso yeh meri duty hai ki main inka dhyan rakhu ๐๐ โฆI will have to take care of themโฆ plz bhaiโฆhope u understandโฆ
Kabir (sighed)โtheek haiโฆjaise tu chaheโฆ(its when he noticed Pallavi at the door) pallavi tum yahaโฆ
Pallavi (got little nervous composing herself)โermm who...Massi โฆaap dono ko dinner ke liye bula rahi thiโฆ
KabirโOh haanโฆchal devโฆwarna massi ko jantaโฆmere liye nahiโฆpar tere liye yaha khana lekar aajayengiโฆ ๐๐
Dev joined all of them at dinnerโฆDinner passed by to quickly for the girls
After a long timeโฆthey got to enjoy a dinner with other people besides themselves.๐๐ ..Every member seemed to have accepted the fact that they have 2 new members in their house and they looked pleased with it. ๐๐ Every member tried their level best to make the girls feel comfortable.๐๐
Rj cracked his stupid jokesโฆto make them smileโฆ๐๐ Massi pampered them with asking them for more foodโฆalso asked them to call her massi instead of Auntyโฆ Prachi & Kabir also made them feel at homeโฆ ๐๐
***
After dinner as he was leaving... Dev asked Massi again...
Dev-- Mausi aapse kuch baat karni haiโฆ.(massi indicated to continue) aap ko bura to nahin laga ki mai bina pooche in dono ko yahanโฆ.I meanโฆ
Massi(interrupted)โMaine pehle bhi Kaha hai Devโฆyeh yaha rahengiโฆ toh hume khushi hogiโฆ๐๐ koi problem nahi haiโฆ๐๐ aur dono itni sweet hai ...Main toh pehle hi inhe saath lane wali thiโฆpar ye aayi hi nahiโฆ (added sweetly) uparse Kiran aur Shrikant ki bachchiyan hai. Yahan nahin aati to aur kahan jaati.
DevโThank you mausi, (seeing massi glaring him..he just smiled)โฆI know aapne thanx ke liye mana kiya haiโฆ but still aapne meri problem solve ki haiโฆ(sighed) main darasal inhe apne paas rakhna chaahta tha but...
Massi (worriedly)โDev, Maya ne kuch kaha kya?๐Did she do something ๐๐
Dev(instantly) -- Nahin aisa kuch nahi hai, it's just that ....(she knew he was lying...Dev changed the topic) anyways mujhe un dono ke saath kuch baatein discuss karni hai lekin aaj nahin, kal kar lungaโฆ๐๐ Aaj bahut raat ho gayi haiโฆ& Mausi aap inke liye woh barawala karma ready karwadenaโฆdono ke liye jagah nayi haiโฆisliye saath rahengi toh acha rahegaโฆ
Massiโtheek haiโฆMain prachi se keh dungi...๐
Dev-- Accha mausi main chalta hoon, (hugged her) i will see you tomorrowโฆ๐๐ Bye & goodnight
Dev walked out... wishing Rj & prachi also goodnight...
He was abt to get into the Carโฆ when he heard someone call his nameโฆMr.Khannaโฆ
He turned around and saw Pallavi aproching himโฆ heard the same sweet "Cham-cham-cham" he heard the last time he had walked toward his car earlier... Unknowingly he smiled again...like hours backโฆ. ๐๐
***
As Dev led had them outside the house towards his carโฆ Khushi's eyes had widened seeing the beautiful silver car that stood there... ๐๐
Pallavi was in deep thoughts to notice anything... 'I don't want to burden anybody, maybe I made a mistake coming hereโฆshayad.hume nahi aana chaiye thaโฆ ๐
Dev could notice the excitement of khushiโฆbut wondered why the elder one was so quiet, was she walking behind him or did she stop midway?
Then he heard the sweetest noise he ever heard on this compound.๐๐ A faint "cham- cham-cham" was following him. His lips formed a strange curve. He smiled!๐๐ After such a long time he smiledโฆ๐ genuinely smiled coz he wanted to ๐๐ โฆhe smiled to himselfโฆon his ownโฆjust not to fool othersโฆ๐๐ it was the sweetest sound he heard! Even he himself was taken by surprise.
He suppressed the urge to look back and find out who gave him this melodious reason to smile...๐
Dev asked driver to call for the day as he gonna drive himselfโฆ also asked Ramsingh to make other workers to retire for the dayโฆ
As Dev took the driving seat he looked at the two girls who were still standing and looking at the car and elder one was still in deep thoughts.
Dev(clearing his throat)โahem, Chaleโฆ One of you can come and sit in the front โฆ ๐
Khushi just noddedโฆ
Throughout the drive Dev kept glancing in rear view mirror & kept an eye on Pallavi who sat in back seat still lost in thots...
Pallavi rested her head & closed her eyes-- what gonna happen in future...
๐
***
Dev came out his thots when he realized she stood next to him. A little scared to look up...she avoided looking at him...
PallaviโMr Khanna, just wanted to say thank youโฆ๐๐ thank you for calling us to Mumbai and for letting us stay here andโฆuhmmmโฆThank you,for everything. I hope we are not causing you any trouble & I am also sorryโฆaapke ghar pe humari wajah seโฆ.
Dev(interrupted)โplzzโฆmujhse sorry ya Thank you kehne ki zarut nahi haiโฆ๐๐ aur jo bhi hua usme tum dono ki galti nahi thiโฆ๐๐ & tum dono ko mujhe yaha bulana hi thaโฆKyunki main waha aakar nahi reh sakta tha...na hi itni door se sab manage karna possible hota ๐๐ isliye Maine wohi kiya jo mujhe karna chaiye tha๐๐ โฆinfact yeh sab mujhe kuch waqt pehle karna chaiye thaโฆ๐๐ I know tumhe bahut se sawaal poochne hongeโฆ you must be having a lot of doubts โฆbut I promise we will clear them very soon๐๐ . (gave a small formal smile)โฆ As for now just go to bed. Maine massi se baat karli haiโฆtumhe aur khushi ko kisi baat ki problem nahi hogiโฆ.dono behne saath rahogi toh you won't feel lost in your new house.. So, .Get comfortable here and we will talk tomorrow okay๐๐,(pallavi just nodded) So, Good nightโฆ
Pallavi-- Good night Mr.Khanna...
She stood there until she saw the silver car drive through the gatesโฆ
***
Pallavi & khushi were given same room as Dev had asked massiโฆ It was a good spacious roomโฆb'fully decorated โฆ
Though whole family had been so warm & welcomingโฆ ๐๐ being in a new place, new house among new peopleโฆit was difficult for Pallavi to sleepโฆ she had a lot of questions in her mind...The feeling of uneasiness of being at a new place didn't leave her...
She kept looking at the ceiling in the middle of the huge bed in the room, Mausi got ready for them. She looked at Khushi who slept peacefullyโฆ Finally giving upโฆShe got up to sit in the terraceโฆwhich she had loved as soon as she saw itโฆit had small swing tooโฆ She sat there lost in thotsโฆ how within a month her whole life took a complete 360 turn โฆ.
***
Barely 22, and in charge of the well being of her younger sister, though with her Mother's constant ill health she had been taking care of her mother & sisterโฆbut now it was more difficult of managing everything, her studies, with job & home to take care ofโฆ
Being not only a sister but also a mother, a father, a friend and most important a guideโฆ. To her Choti "Khushi," as she lovingly called her, Khushi looks upto herโฆfor every decision, she seeks her guidance... Khushi has only her as a family...
She saw her mother working so hard after their father's death, she has seen her working day & night so that she cud give her daughters the best, with No help from any relatives as her mother had eloped & married a middle class, orphan school teacher, her family broke all ties from them๐๐
Pallavi was only 15โฆwhen her father passed away, but whatever happened, she then had her mother to look after themโฆ๐๐It gave her a sense of securityโฆ๐๐
But now she was alone, somewhere she was scared... scared that she was responsible not only for herself but for her choti's life too...What if something goes wrong...what if she messes it up She is Scared to be in charge of her most precious possession in the world...
She might be a matured girlโฆbut still somewhere she seeks securityโฆseeks that feeling of someone is there for herโฆ๐ someone is there to be her strength... if anything goes wrong there shud be some one to tell her, everything gonna be OKโฆ.๐๐
She had been little releived when few days back she received...massi's call telling her abt the will & guardian... & Dev had asked both of them to come...since khushi cant come & stay alone in Mumbai... She will have to come along... Though Massi had cleared her doubts abt Dev...she briefed her abt Dev's & his Badi Maa's relation...
Pallavi was surprised...thot to herself โPar Mumma Papa ne toh kabhi kuch nahin bataya ๐๐ to ab yeh guardian kahan se aagaya...?Pallavi tried to recollect if anytime her parents told them abt any1 living in Mumbai...but she cudn't remember any...
2 days later their family friend & lawyer visited them...& showed her the will & gave her tickets to mumbai...
Inspite of being apprehensive... Pallavi was so gratefulโฆ She thanked God a million times that day. Of course she was scared to go to Mumbai and live in a strange city and in a strangers house, ๐๐ but if there was some1 whom her parents loved & trusted so much to give him responsibility of Khushiโฆ he could never be a bad person.๐๐
Pallaviโagar mumma papa ne unhe Chotti ka guardian banaya hai toh kuch soch ke hi banaya hogaโฆ ๐๐woh khushi ke liye koi galat faisla nahi lenge...
Now She would have some emotional support in raising her sister and she hoped she could continue upholding the values her parents wanted in them.๐๐ She could not afford to make any mistakes in taking care Khushi, and now she would have someone who would help her and would point out things before she made a serious fault. ๐๐
Pallavi decided it all ...that. till the time khushi would turn 18 she would try to get a good job and a nice apartmentโฆ๐๐ She will have 8 months to do that.
For advice about her sister upbringing, she now had the option of discussing with their newfound guardian. She would make sure gets well educated and well settled, and she could even give her life to accomplish that. ๐๐
Pallavi looked towards her mother's photo seeking her blessingโฆ also she asked God to give strength so that she makes a good life for her Chotiโ
Bhagwaan aapne humari zindagi mein Mr. Khanna ko bhej kar mujh par bahut bara ehsaan kiya hai. ๐๐ Ab mujhe utna dar nahi lagta hai. Mere baad bhi koi khushi ka dhyan rakhega, is baat ki khushi rahegiโฆ Thank you โฆ๐๐
She prayed silently againโฆto her Godโฆ"Ram ji", she had a deep faith inโฆ the only one with whom she ever expressed her insecurities, her fearsโฆ ๐๐
***
She dreaded what future has in store for her ๐๐ ... the insecurity she felt about their future doesn't seem to vanish by coming to Mumbai...as she had thought few days back ๐
Lost in thots she dozed off...sitting there on the swing...
โฆโฆโฆ.to be continuedโฆ..
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