Whines & Vines
"No I am not" Manny spoke too quickly
She turned angrily towards Tan "I need help, aap mujhe advice mat do yaar"
"Meri baat to sun"
"Has ANY of you bothered to ask Dimpal why he lives abroad?" Has anyone bothered to question him why he didnt participate in the
family business, he is the sole MALE hier remember" she said mockingly
"Even before all this happened he said he didnt care to sell cars" Tan said sadly
"THATS not a big deal? Par mera AGM mein na hona bahut badi mushkil hai, kyon?" she whined
"Becoz he does something wrong, doesnt make ur wrong a right"Tan argued
"I shud have gone back to sydney sooner, I wasnt here the year Ma went... uske do saal bad ab aayi hoon, 11, 12 I wasnt here,
13 May I was here... 14 I wasnt, and now I am here in 15"
"13 u were here for ur divorce" Tan informed
"Haan court jaana tha mujhe, mera har atom chooskar le liye us scoundrel ne Jeeju, U KNOW THAT" Manny accused
"I know" he reached for a hug
Manny began to cry...
"Maybe I shud have sat in AGM as he accused me of being a mentally imbalanced wife?" she asked
II walked out with Mahavir to a herb garden on a raised wooden box...
"That story is over Manya" Tan said softly
"My story has been over for two years" Manny stared at II plucking herbs
She looked at something on her phone... and plucked some into a basket
They walked up to her... "Parsley looks like coriander" she chuckled
Manny didnt have any comment
"Hey Ms Iyer, kaisi ho?" Tan asked
"I am trying a new recipe aap dekhen kaisa nikla baad mein" she said
"Ms Iyer?" Manny turned to Tan
"Naam bhool gayi?" "ishita Iyer" Tan teased
"U didnt change ur name?" Manny asked accusingly
GET A GRIP WOMAN!
U FIRST THINK I AM GOING TO ROB YOUR BROTHER AND LEAVE HIM ON THE STREETS
NOW U ACCUSE ME OF NOT BEING FAITHFUL TO HIM?
not taking his name?
U DO KNOW RIGHT? TAKING HIS NAME MEANS I GET HALF OF WHAT HE HAS?
II chuckled derisively
"Umm.. no.. I wanted to keep it Iyer" II mumbled
"He was OK?" manny asked grieving
"He doesnt care" Tan smiled
"does Dad know?" Manny asked
"I am not sure... I think he may" II said
"Khaana kab khila rahe ho aap?" Tan asked flicking the parsley
"In a half hour" Ii smiled
"U have the prettiest hair" she said admiringly
"Every Iyer girl has hair like this" II said smiling
"Well u are the first... and" Manny stopped
"THE LAST?
"Pretty box" II muttered
They stood staring at the herb garden Savvy planted when the kids were little
The herb box had art work and letters of the kids' names hidden in between the vines
All handpainted by her...
"Ma made it" Manny said
"Oh! wow!!" "She was really talented" II said stunned
"My Mom was really talented Ishita" Manny said with pride
"U all have gotten it" II said kindly
"No... she was different" Manny said
"I am sorry" II muttered
"U dont have to be... it was not YOUR fault" Manny said somberly
"Did u know ur names are carved in it?" she asked
"She didnt tell us at first, one evening when we came home from school she brought us here to show it" Manny smiled at II for the first time
"Tell her about R&B" Tan smiled
"Oh haan.. this is funny... he didnt get HIS name until he turned 7 or 8,
I would bully him every evening saying We have no records of u. If u are ever lost u will remain lost"
"thats mean" II said passionately
manny nodded indulgently
"one of the many ways Manny tortured ur husband ishita, u can take as much revenge as u want" Tan hinted gently
"Oh really?" II pretended not to know..
"thats between bro and sis" Manny gently indicated to II that she wudnt take any defending from R&B's new wife, lying down
"the wife is in the picture now" Tan chuckled
"I bet they all had lots of fun" II said cheerfully
"WE had fun, he got beat up" Manny said smiling
"Thats not very nice" II smiled
"Ma liked him a lot, hum kaise maan le is baat ko? He came as a surprise and Ma loved him the most..." Manny chuckled
"Dad adores u" Tan reminded
"Dad is never home... Ma is a stalker dude" Manny said losing herself in the thought
"Ma WAS " she corrected
Manny watched her walk inside
"What do u want me to do?" Tan asked going back to the topic
"Tell Dad... I want to be gone" Manny said bluntly
"And its not about the scandal" Tan said
"Ofcourse its not, if it was I wud not enter this house" "I wouldnt have ever visited India" Manny said somberly.
"U are here, its AGM time, its a reasonable request, voting is over due, u owe it to Dad" Tan listed everything rationally
"He should keep Ma's share. I couldnt touch it" Manny said
"Will u atleast keep urs?" Tan asked
"Is he giving Ma's to Ishita? Do u know?" Mannya sked
"I did not ask" Tan said honestly
He truly did not know what came of Ranjan's conversation with II
"She is the DIL, she is the rightful hier or hier's wife..." Manny muttered
"Ma would have liked her, dont u think?" Tan asked
"I dont know... Ma LOVED HIM, THAT I know... I love him to bits... USKO rota hua nahi dekh sakti"
Manny said looking towards the huge kitchen windows watching II chop and clean the parsley
"Itna filmi mat ho, tere bhai ki izzat ko koi khatra nahi hai" Tan laughed hysterically
Hmpphhh" Manny grunted
"U know ur brother, u are being unfair to that young girl... it seems like he gave it all up to marry her.. THATS very melodramatic. We all have the fear somewhere he might flee when he tires" Tan reminded her
Manny was ashamed for a second, she knew what a vagabond her brother was
"she is so trusting" Tan said
"Zabardasti ki shaadi nahi hai jeeju" Manny said pulling a stalk of cilantro...
"I agree.. nahi hai... but u know who she married right? " Tan prodded
Manny was unable to defend R&B explicitly, she respected Tan too much to come up with some bullshit argument just to win the case
"shes really pretty" Manny said sadly
"Shes gorgeous, inside and out" Tan reaffirmed his faith in the young 28 year old who displayed a gebuine disregard for the Bhalla wealth and scandal
"We dont know her much" Manny said doubtfully
"Begin then" Tan coaxed
"the process of knowing her" Tan explained
"AGM chhodo, Kufri chhod doon I shud do this?" Manny asked always looking for a logic to twist
"Give one thing a chance Manny everything else will fall into place"Tan said maturely, calming her down
comment:
p_commentcount