Keep the car lose the man!!😆
Amma II and Sam went with Appa to shop for II's godh bharai saree
There was a change of plans for lunch, Amma told her Sam must come over since II had requested coconut rice and yogurt gravy (the Iyer karhi)
Sam summoned Sitaraman, and hosted lunch for all
Amma told Bala about the plan
His mother was again not doing well, so he declined the offer
II had sent over a collage of Shubhangs' 0-6 month pictures in a huge
glossy poster of sorts, 10 feet by 8 feet, with lil motifs of pacifiers, and trucks and tools strewn all over
The relationship between her and Akka was OK for the most part
After the hospital related debacle
II had sent flowers and chocolates three days in a row
Akka had finally called her at work and yelled
"Innum oru naal flowers anupiney ne, mavale onna vandu konnuduven" (send me flowers one more day I will kill u)
II had laughed and Akka had too
II had met her at Sam's for NY eve party
Her MIL was home from the hospital by then, Bala would have been broke if she had continued to be there from the week of Nov 22nd to January 1st
She was actually sent home mid December
She needed surgery for her liver, some obstruction of some sort
The fever was recurring until they detected what was wrong with her
The surgery was planned for March until her BP stabilized
"Athim what did Akka think of the poster?' II gushed
"Very nice kanna. She is in the shower now" Athim informed
"Shower at almost 1:30?" II expressed shock
"U know getting Shubhang ready, making breakfast, running around with the maid, grading mid term answer sheets from college" he defended his wife passionately
"I must record this and play it for Akka" she whispered
"She knows how much I care for her" Bala said smugly
"Akka is very lucky" II said somberly
Unable to speak for a few minutes after wards
"Have u had lunch?" he asked
"No we just came to Sam's house" II informed
"Amma told her she was making ur fave?" Bala laughed
"No Sam hijacked lunch and Sitaraman Mama is here making coconut rice and yogurt gravy" II explained
"JUST LIKE THAT?" bala asked sighing
"Sam is very stubborn" II said vehemently
"They are rich people" Bala said cynically
"Are u guys coming for lunch?"
"Not possible kanna" he said... firmly this time
She requested him to put Shravu on the phone, Shravu described baldie's reaction to the poster
And accused her of not doing anything for HER
"Your poster will be here within a week" she promised smugly
"Chithi NO pictures in diaper or naked"
"Poda!! Thats a determination I WILL MAKE Chithi the great" II said evilly
"If u do I will tell Uncle R how you fell on the subzi wala staring at the cute boy in D II 973" Shravu said
"PAAVI" II cursed
WHEN DID U BECOME SO MATURE?
I THOUGHT U WERE MY LIL INNOCENT BABY
WHEN DID U GROW UP?
AYYO!!
There was a tallish Kashmiri guy II ogled at occasionally, she was "involved with Subbu" but whats the harm in looking right?
Threeish years ago one Saturday when he had come by to spend the day, she went down
with him to drop off presswala's clothes and get extra Mother Diary milk for Amma and had stared at the dude and fallen over a reri wala's cart
"I texted Uncle R about it" Shravu said
"Peachy!!!" "Then u cant blame me for putting naked pictures on the collage" she chuckled
"What is baldie doing?" II sighed
"He is in Kamakshi paati's madi (godee) and sleeping, paati and him BOTH drool" Shravu laughed uncontrollably
II felt bad Akka was stuck with her maid and the deaf Athai
II had approached the topic yet again after her MIL had returned from the hospital
Unwittingly her lost car had ended her auto loan and insurance had given her FMV fair market value of a car that was
27% paid (she had bought the Altis LE for Rs.15.2 lakhs) until the day it was stolen
Her payment was Rs.14,500 a month, that was saved now
She had gotten approx Rs. 2.28 lakhs from insurance
There was a big fight over her car buy
A new S Class merc had shown up at the door LITERALLY GIFT WRAPPED, in a red silk ribbon, TWO HUGE bows one over the bonnet and one over the top
(takes two to wrap a new car?)
and a Sales Manager from Gurgaon MGF Merc was waiting in the lounge when she had returned from work
Thinking they must be a guest of Ranjan she went into the kitchen and sent snacks and chai out
Mahavir came back to tell her, they wanted to see her
"My FIL is not home, hes the car guy" she giggled sheepishly
"But this car is in your name, we just need a couple signatures" the semi balding man promised "OK thats a lie I need 22 signatures to be accurate" he laughed
"I" II began
She texted Ranjan instead
"Dad a Merc guy is here with a new car" she said
"Chaliye jee changa, bande ko pej den aap, gaadi phad len" he sent a series of ROFL
"Well he wants my signatures" II texted
"Oh teri... apne miya nu pooch raje" he coaxed
"There is a car guy at the door, and a bow tied car"
"In a second II" he said
Sauntering in the living room casually
The Logistics RTO girl ogled... patiently drinking in the check shirt the skinny cords and the green wool scarf and the two day old stubble
The Sales Mgr had smiled sheepishly and nudged her
"Mr Bhalla?"
"Hi!" he smiled
Bending down to grab a samosa from the plate
He waved to Mahavir to get him a Sam Adams
"We need her signatures" the guy said
"Thanks" R&B said
"Here you go Maam" the guy handed her two sets of keys with the keyless attachments
"Umm" II smarted, stepping back
"I have to talk with him first" she mumbled
"How about u sign first" said her QUIET HUSBAND
RAKSHASANEY!!
I DID NOT ASK YOU TO BUY ME A CAR
I DONT WANT A CAR FROM YOU
MAKES ME JUST LIKE CHACHU'S BAHUS
MAKES ME JUST LIKE ANOTHER JOR BAGH WIFE
"Can we talk?" she whispered
"After u sign II" he insisted
The employees looked at each other amazed
I mean WHICH WIFE will say no to a MERCEDES?
II sat on the Louis chair gracefully
"May I see the papers?" she said calmly
The employees handed her a stack
"Dad said they might find the car" she looke dup at her husband
"That would be great" R&B said expressionlessly
YOU PROBABLY THINK I AM SMOKING METH
LOST CAR FOUND?
IN DELHI?
BWAHA HA HA HA
She signed with flourish "Ishita Bhalla"
One signature did not like another one
She had never practised her married name, she didnt know how to get it to be uniform
When she was done, she stood up "Can I talk with u please?" she asked
They went into the cavernous formal living room with its grand staircase on one side
"Its an expensive car" she said
He stood hands tucked in his pockets
"I dont want a Rs. 45 lakh car" she said
"Its not quite 45" he murmured
"I want to pay you for it" she said
He had walked out!!
She hadnt driven it.
Left the keys in the Mandir
When the topic of his return came up end of December, before the whole Ranjan Chachu fiasco
"I wont go if u start driving the car" he offered her a bait
"Thats not even the truth yet I will bite it" she whispered as pressed on her one night, his hand between her legs
"Tomorrow" he had warned
She was too aroused to care at that point
He sat by her as she drove to Sarojini Nagar Ganpati temple and Malai Mandir
They had had two big fights over the cost of the car... more on that later
Bottomline she had enough free flowing cash to spoil her sister's kids ... for now...
comment:
p_commentcount