DIL, DOSTI.. HUM!! ch25: pg 148,thread #2 link:pg1 - Page 38

Chapter 13

As we walked upto d dining table.. I cursed him under my breath.. why does he hv 2 b thr wen I do smthng stupid..!! n I clearly dint miss his tease wen he said I dint get a chance.. I knew he meant all tht had happened.. arghhh .. dusht danav!!

This was all thanx to my stupid dream n meer's continuous praisisng him!! all dis was getting 2 me.. but hw cud I 4gt tht he still remained dusht danav khurana.. and I was.. drooling.. ovr.. him!!! hey babaji!! Save me from his magic..

"geet bte y aren't u eating?" daadi asked

Wht was I to tell her tht her favorite grandson had ruined my appetite!!

"no daadi.. I m eating..!!"

I started eating.. wanting 2 avoid ny attension on myself!1

"meer.a cud u pass d rice plate?" maan said..

Again meera.. n why was dis girl not saying nythng.. her normal irritation at being called meera seemed to hv gone missing for maan?!! If twas one of us I m sure all hell wud break loose..

"maan beta.. u r callin her meer..a , call her meer, u don't really wanna c her temper!!" dad added..

"why? Whts wrong wid meera.. its such a beautiful name..!!"

"wo.. I prefer meer.. its more hip hop.. more me!! Bt its ok veerji.. u can call me tht.. but none of d odrs!!"

While othrs chuckled at her antics, I felt like throttling him..

Did he practice sm sort of black magic?

"well.. I don't know abt all tht.. I m gonna continue calling her meera!! N I m sure u don't really wanna hurt d person who gave u such a beautiful name!!"

Tht made me look up at him.. n I found him staring ryt bk!!

"its di who named me.. n she doesn't mind.. do u ?"

Yes, 'twas me who suggested this name for her.. I was about 6 wen she was born.. n don't really remember why d name fascinated me.. bt I wanted to name her meera.. n maa n dad dint hv much of a say!!

But d fact tht she dint like her name n abbreviated it all d tym.. did hurt me subconsciously!! But wht we shared was beyond such thngs.. n so I never claimed credit for naming her..

Infact apart fm maa n dad, only DD knew tht I had named her..

It was arnd d time.. a few yrs aftr DD had left.. I was arnd 12yrs n meer 6yrs!!

Meera hated her name n prefered meer except on paper wer she had no option!! She alwaz cribbed abt her name.. N it hurt me.. bt I cudnt voice it 2 ny1.. except my best buddy!! I was really feeling down.. while chatting I told him..

DD: "hey don't feel bad.. she s a kid ryt?"

G:"exactly.. n she hates me coz I kept such a name for her"

DD:"thts crazy.. hw can she hate u for keeping such a beautiful name?"

G:"no she does.. thts y she has asked evry1 to call her meer!!"

DD:"does nt adding 'a' make such a big difference.?"

G:"but still.. wht if she hates me?"

DD:"oh god geet.. d essence of d name remains same.. don't we use pet names? n dint u tell me.. she was like a baby for u.. her happiness matters d most, ryt?"

G:"umm.."

DD:"so call her wht makes her happy.."

G:"but I wish atleast she wud let me call her meera!! Atleast sm1 wud appreciate her name, n make her accept it too!!"

DD:"hey.. fine.. I ll try my best to persuade her.. bt promise me u wont force her nor wil u cry.. she's just a kid!! N u r her elder sis.. u gotta take care of her n alwaz make sure she's happy!"

I almost smiled at my silliness now!! Yes whts in a name? meer or meers or meera.. she wud remain my baby sister 4evr!!

Bt still smhw maan had struck a chord today n reminded me of my convo wid DD..

I cudnt really stay angry wid him nw for having unknowingly supported me!!

Dev.. he himself called her meer.. probably not wanting to force it upon her!!

Lost in my thots.. I realized i was d only one still having lunch! I hurried up n smhw ate smthng!!

"maan beta.. wht took u so long to cm for lunch?" daadi maa inquired

He looked at me..

"nothing daadi.. I had to take care of something!!"

"wht happened.. ny problem?"

I glared at him.. no I was wrong.. he deserved evry bit of my anger.. I wanted to say smthng in defense.. bt he spoke up..

"nthng much daadi.. sm work at office!"

"maan.. u r on leave.. dev especially went to Bangalore so tht u cud tk a break!!"

"I know daadi.. actually dis is a bit urgent!! The interior decorator whom sasha had hired for our new project.. her father had a heart attack.. so she had to leave midway..! n nw to hire a new one at such short notice, n den make him start afresh tht too wid deadlines approaching..!! it's a tricky situation!! U know I can never compromise on d quality of our work"

"don't worry beta.. I m sure u' ll find a suitable candidate.. after all.. who wudnt want to b associated wid KC?"

"yeah daadi.. bt d timing n all"

"veerji.. wht wil I get if I solve ur problem asap?" meer abruptly spoke up

"meer.. don't interfere in official work" dad warned her

"but.."

"its ok dad.. k meera.. u get whtever u want if u can solve my prob!! Bt if only u weren't pursuing medical.. I 'd hire u!!"

"oh veerji.. nywaz so u r takin me shopping? K?"

"meera I wud hv done tht nyway.. nywaz tell me d solution.."

"k.. for all of u who hv forgotten.. we hv an interior decorator at home.. geet di obviously.. I know she wanted a vacation.. bt she can definitely forego it for a short tym to do a project!! Hai na di?"

I had been a mute spectator to d entire conversation till now, n was shocked to hear meer suggesting my name!!

Yes I was a qualified interior decorator..

N my vacation was only to meet DD..

N then I was due to search for sm work.. which given my credentials wasn't a tough task!!

But working wid khadoos singh khurana?

I dint know if I 'd manage tht!!

Evry1 was lukin at me expectantly as meer's question hung in d air!!

Like I had ny option..

" mis.. umm.. geet if u don't mind I'd like u work on dis project."

"bt u haven't even seen my work.."

"um.. actually I hv.."

"wo.. geet beta.. I send ur portfolio to maan so tht it wud b easy 2 check out what opportunities u have here!!" dad added..

Thr was no way I cud let evry1 down..

"k. I m ready 2 work on this project wid u.."