Chapter 8
Yash sat in the bedroom. He had come home from the office early. He couldn't concentrate for thinking of the day ahead so he decided to call it a day. I would be a big day for him and the entire family. He was so nervous. Despite Aarti's attempts at motivation and encouragement he didn't not think that a few words would just bring about forgiveness in an instant. He was so blinded by his own pain that he had inflicted pain in the whole family voluntarily and involuntarily. And what was he going to say. With Aarti it was easy. She initiated it. She confessed her love for him first. She was once again so honest and open, not even expecting anything in return. He had a wry smile on his face thinking of her. How did he get so lucky to have such a phenomenal woman to call his own? One that loved him unconditionally, because had she not, she would have written him off years ago. Yet time and again she gave herself to him physically and finally had the courage to bare her heart and soul to a man that had over and over proven not to be trusted with those valuable items. But he was so happy that she did.
Now he had to make amends with the rest of the family and yes, she would be there, by his side, his support. But he had never had to bare his all to anyone else, but his mother, Aarti and Payal. His mother was easy. They had always been close and their love for each other was expressed in so many ways. She doted on him and vice versa. He had not realised till recently that their devotion to each other was exclusive of all other members of the family. He had loved Prateek since the day he was born, but it was a brotherly love that was never really expressed in words. And he was blinded by his mother's affection and devotion to him, and thus felt his father had a closer relationship with Prateek. Often he felt excluded. Now it was evident that his father overcompensated for their mother's lack of interest and affection towards their younger son. He could also see now why Prateek was so open to accept the place of a mother in his life. And then he made him feel bad for it as well.
But most of all he had to make up to his stepmom / mil for so much. He had disrespected her and her daughter so much since they moved there. Would his apology suffice? Would she be able accept him as a son, sil and father of her grandchild?
It had to be done though. After their morning "nap" he took Aarti and Payal shopping and they went to buy groceries for the supper and gifts for everybody. He still wasn't sure if it was enough.
"Babes" he was brought out of his reverie.
"Hmm"
"I am going to start supper now."
"Mmm"
"Yash, relax please. I don't want you to get a heart-attack before supper time."
"I'm so nervous, honey." he said.
"I know. But this is family. They all love you. It will all go smoothly. I promise. You trust my don't you?"
"Yes."
She gave him a hug and a kiss.
"I am taking Payal with me. Ma will probably want to spend some time with her seeing as I am cooking tonight."
"Ok" he said as he walked to the door.
Then he had an epiphany.
"Baby, do you mind if I cook tonight?"
She turned around and looked at him stunned.
"Are you sure babes?'
"Yes. Please?"
"Fine, love. Anything you want. This is your night. Let's go." she said and walked out of the room and he followed.
They went down stairs and their parents were sitting drinking tea in the lounge.
"Ma, Bauji, my dearest husband is cooking for us tonight." she said jokingly, looking up at him with a smile.
She saw Yash and bauji share a look.
"Yash, you haven't cooked since ..." bauji started but was not able to complete the sentence.
"Since Ma was alive." Yash finished,
"Yash, I didn't even know you could cook." said Radha.
"I ... I only used to cook with my mother." Yash said.
"Oh" Rhadha said.
"Sweetheart, do you need some help in the kitchen?" Aarti asked.
"Yes." He said.
Aarti, handed Payal to her mother.
"Ma. Would you mind helping me in the kitchen?"
Rhada was midway to taking her precious, when both her and Aarti halted midway and looked at him.
"Yash, did you ... did you just ...? Rhadha stuttered.
"I asked if you could help in the kitchen." Yash repeated.
She looked at Aarti. Happiness radiating from both of them. He called her Ma, and he asked her to cook with him. Something that he only ever did with his mother.
"Ma?" he said again.
She took her pallu and wiped her tears away.
"Yes, of course, beta. I'm coming." she said and gave Aarti another brilliant smile and followed him.
Aarti, was beside herself with happiness. She never thought that he would go to this extent to reach out to her mother. She looked at bauji. He had tears in his eyes. He knew more than anyone how much this moment meant.
"Bauji, this is big right?" Aarti confirmed.
"My sweetheart. This is the biggest. This is the day that I have been hoping and praying for. Did you tell him to do it?"
"No bauji. He did it out of his own."
"Then it is even bigger than I thought. It means he has finally accepted her. Yash and his mother had their bond and their favourite thing to do together was cook. Prateek and I used to sit and listen to them talk and laugh, but we were not welcome. That time was just for the two of them. And for him to ask her to help him cook ... Well, it just says it all, doesn't it?" He said through his tears.
She went to him and they hugged.
"Thank you beta. You are the best thing that has ever happened to my son."
"I love him so much Bauji."
"I know and it is evident he feels the same about you. You broke him away from that unhealthy attachment to his mother that she created. He can now move on with his whole family. I love you, sweetheart." he kissed her on her forehead as they hugged.
"I love you too Bauji." she replied.
They heard a peal of laughter coming from the kitchen and looked at each and smiled. Payal, who was still in her mother arms, started kicking and making noises? Her grandfather took her.
"Yes, even my princess knows all is well at home now." he said and started playing with her.
Prateek came home from the office with Pari that he picked up from a friend on his way home. He greeted and asked what's for supper as usual.
"Go look in the kitchen." his father said.
He went and came back just as stunned as they were.
"Bauji?" he said in confusion.
"He offered to cook and then he asked her to help him. Out of his own."
"Really?"
"Yes." confirmed his father.
He looked back to kitchen area again in utter disbelief. He finally looked back at Aarti with tears in his eyes too.
"Bhabhi, do you know what this means?"
She nodded and she got up from where she was sitting and hugged and cried for a long time. Pari also came in for the hug as she too could not contain her tears.
"Prateek."
They looked back to where the voice came from. Yash had come out of the kitchen.
"Yes, bhayia?" he said wiping his tears.
"You can come help if you want."
They both knew what he was offering but Prateek felt that the moment was for Yash and Ma to bond first. There would be others for them to enjoy.
"Not tonight bhayia. But definitely next time."
He nodded and went back into the kitchen.
The food was excellent and the atmosphere was even better. They were laughing and joking as they had never done before. Yash seemed like a new person. He was part of the family too now. After dessert he stood up and started to make his announcement. Aarti held his hand as he was standing next to her. She knew he needed her support. He cleared his throat.
"I have something to say to everyone."
There was a pause.
"I would like to apologise to everyone at this table for my behaviour the past couple of years."
"Beta, it's not necessary" said Radha.
"Yes, Ma it is.
"First Pari, I never treated you as a sister. You were always friendly and ready to have a relationship with me but I was completely closed off to any relationship and yet you never gave up on me. No matter how many rebuffs you received, you came back and were just always your normal nice lovable self. I can see why my little brother fell in love with you. You possess the same qualities as the woman I fell in love with. And I guess she had such a huge influence in your life. I know you didn't think I listened when you waxed lyrical about your sister when I was still a stubborn ass, but trust me, I heard every word. I never missed anything when it comes to her." He looked at Aarti and they shared a smile.
"Thank you for always encouraging me where my marriage and love is concerned and most especially thank you for loving my baby brother as much as you do. He deserves the best and he has found it in you."
The ladies were crying once again. Pari just nodded. Even if she wanted to, she wouldn't have been able to.
"And my Prateek." At his point Yash broke down in tears. He could barely speak. Prateek got up and hugged it.
"It's fine Bhayia. You don't have to do this."
He calmed himself down.
"No I have to do this. Prateek, you were my baby brother. It was my job to love and protect you and make sure you get all the love you deserve. But I just took all of mom's love and I was so oblivious to the fact that she had nothing to offer you. You never had a mother. All because of me. I am so sorry. I just convinced myself that you preferred bauji's company. I even resented your relationship with him. How could I have so selfish? He was all you had. I can never express how sorry I am. I let you down so badly. I should have told mom to include you in activities. And then when you finally had a mother, I tried to take that from you as well. Can you please forgive me? I will be a better brother fro you from now on."
"You are already the best brother I could have. I don't blame any of that on you. I understand completely. We're family. We will always be. I love you bhayia." They hugged again.
"Bauji. What can I say? As I said to Prateek, I always resented your relationship with him. I always thought you preferred him above me. I only realised what was happening when the same happened to me. When I too could not be part of my daughter's life. I resented your relationship with the girls too. They just stepped in the house and you had a report with them. I was jealous of that. And of course I resented you for replacing my mother so quickly. I resented you for being happy again while I was still grieving. I resented you for the relationship you had with Rhada-ma. You never looked so happy with ma. Your relationship was nothing like this" he indicated to the two of them.
"I doubted that you ever loved Ma. And it made me angry. But now that I can see clearly, I can see that she shut you out in favour of me. I now remember times that you wanted to touch her, interact with her and it would end in snub. Why did I not see it like that them? Why only now after everything, why did it take so long for me to realise this? Bauji, sorry that I did not respect you, your wife and your marriage. I am sorry that I failed you as a son."
His father too left his chair and came to hug him.
"You are my son. My first born. There is nothing that you can do that could stop me from loving you. No matter what you do or say."
"Thank you Bauji."
"And Ma."
"Beta, no please ..."
He went to stand next her.
"Yes, Ma. Especially you. I blamed you for trying to take my mom's place. But truth to tell you never tried to do that. You came in here and gave this home a breath of fresh air. You brought love here. A love for us all. Not just for your daughters, not just for your husband but for all of us. And I did everything in my power to undermine you. I disrespected you in your own home. In everything I did and said. The worst being what I did to Aarti. I am so sorry. I should have known that bauji was not so gullible as to fall for the wiles of an evil temptress. I just would not allow my mind to believe everything else. But trust me ma, it was a struggle as you and your daughter, no your daughters started creeping steadily in my heart. And despite what I did and said, I could still see the love in your eyes. You never judged me. You too never gave up on me and most of all, you trusted me with your most prized possession, Aarti. Even when I treated her so badly, I knew you were not oblivious to that, yet you never judged me harshly, you never asked me to change. You still trusted me."
He knelt down and lay his head at her feet and sobbed.
"Please forgive me Ma. Please. I am so sorry. I promise you I have changed. I will be a good son. I will be a good husband to Aarti and father to Payal. I love them so much. From now on Aarti will only see the best of me."
Rhadha was sobbing along with him. She lifted his head and put it on her lap and rubbed his head while he cried. Once most of the sobbing died down she lifted his head and looked him in the eyes.
"Beta, you are my son. As much as Aarti and Paridhi are my daughters you and Prateek are my sons. The moment I agreed to marry your father I had accepted you in my heart as my sons. I would never have married him otherwise. And ever since that day, I have prayed that both you and Prateek would accept me. And today my prayers were answered. And yes, I trust you with my heart, meaning my Aarti and my Payal. After all you are the son of an amazing man. And I never want to replace your mother. I just want to have a place in your life. And if you could love me just a little, it will be fine. Nothing to forgive, my son. And this evening, when you invited me to cook with you ..." she couldn't anymore. She just hugged him and cried.
When they all had gained composure Aarti spoke up first.
"Enough of this crying now." She said as she wiped her tears.
"Baby, you still have gifts to hand out."
"Yes." he got up from his mother's feet and went to get the gifts.
Pari was gifted new clothing and jewellery and a new mobile phone, Prateek was gifted a new laptop.
"And Ma and Bauji. This is for you. It won't make up but I hope you will enjoy."
They opened the box.
"Ji, a 3 month trip around the world. This too much. No, it's too long away from my babies."
"Rhada, "your babies" are all grown up. And some of them even have their own child. They will survive without us. We both worked hard all our lives, we deserve this." bauji said.
"And when we come back, my princess won't even know me anymore. Absolutely not!" she objected.
"Ma, you deserve this. It will be your first one. You didn't have one with your first marriage and you didn't have one this time. You have to go. You can skype us and Payal can see your face and hear your voice. She won't forget you. Please let us do this for you. You have done so much for us. It will make us so happy to know that we can do something for you."
"But even you didn't have a honeymoon."
"Yes, Ma. We can do that when Payal is weaned. But you don't have any babies. So there is no exuse." Aarti said.
She looked at her husband and again and he looked at her lovingly and reassuringly.
"But it's such an expensive gift."
"Your son can well afford it. I know his net worth. Maybe we should insist on a 6 month trip." he joked.
"No, not 6 months"
"Rhadha Suraj Pratat Scindiya, if you don't go on honeymoon with me then I will be forced to romance you in front of our children for the next 3 months. And ..." He left it hanging.
"And what?" she asked.
"I will tell them what you call me in the privacy our room."
"No!" she shouted, blushing furiously."
The girls gasped and Prateek and Yash, chuckled.
"Yes, please Ma. Please just go with him. This topic is becoming way too uncomfortable. Nobody wants to know or see what their parents do in the privacy of their bedrooms." said Prateek with an exaggerated look of disgust that did not fool his family.
"Yes, please Ma. Spare us." said Yash.
"Ok, seeing I am being blackmailed I suppose I can't decline. This is just to make you all happy. But if I don't like it, I am coming back."
"Of course."
"But I can't it costs too much money."
"The money is no object ma. As bauji said, I can afford it. Please just enjoy yourself. And if you don't like it, just come back. Whatever makes you happy?" Yash said.
"Tonight, all of you. This makes me happy." she said.
"Group hug." shouted Prateek. And they all hugged. Untill Payal who was in her mother's arms started crying because she felt claustrophobic in the middle of the hug. They all laughed and the hugged broke and they continued an evening of easy banter.
Later in their room ...
"Baby, tonight went well didn't it?" he said pulling her onto his lap as he was sitting on the bed.
"Oh Yash. It was so touching. See, I told you everyone loves you."
"I know. But what is most important is your love."
"You know I love you most in the world, babes."
"I know. I have something for you too."
"I thought you already gave me special treats." she joked.
"Yes, well in all fairness, you gave as much and as good as you got so, I do need to give you something extra too. It is not much but it means the world to me. I know you have accepted me back into your heart but I need you accept this too."
He took a jewellery box from behind his back.
She smiled and opened it. She looked at him tearily again. It was a brand new mangalsutra and her engagement ring, but the stones were reset. Each second diamond was replaced with sapphires.
"That day that you broke your mangalsutra and threw your ring on the floor, I was broken too. I still have it. But you to have a new one, for a new beginning. And the ring, the sapphires are for Payal's birth month. And it is has an inscription."
She looked inside. It read
"Love you for all my life times. Y<3A"
"Oh, baby. Me too. And I love this. From now on I will treasure these symbols of our love as I treasure you.'
"Good, so do I get a special treat for that?'
"Oh, baby, tonight you treat will be very special" she said and pushed him down on the bed. "She will be asleep for a couple hours, and that is how long you will have your treat for."
He gasped as she started her immensely pleasurable onslaught.
Ye Hai Mohabbatein
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