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Chapter 4
Mrs. Bhalla, eager to show off her business tycoon son, would have rushed her entire family into getting dressed and reaching the Iyers before the clock had struck six. However, at the very last moment, Raman received a call that required him to sit down for a skype meeting with some clients. He told the rest to proceed without him and that he would join them later.
A somewhat disheartened Mrs. Bhalla would have postponed their visit but her enthusiasm to see the Iyers was only exceeded by Ruhi. The little girl nearly dragged her grandmother off her feet in her rush to meet her 'Ishita aunty'. But to the child's disappointment, when they reached the Iyers, an eager Ruhi was told that her Ishita aunty had just stepped in for a bath and will be out in a bit. So she sat herself down on a couch, dangling her legs and glaring at Shravan. Vandita noticing the children's animosity, quickly arranged for them both to be given a bowl of chocolate ice cream each to keep them pacified for a while.
Mrs. Iyer ushered in her guests, talking nineteen to the dozen to hide her disappointment of not seeing Raman with them. Her husband welcomed his neighbours with good grace and soon he and Mr. Bhalla settled down to have a convoluted argument over the infrastructure of the housing society joined by inputs from Bala and Subbu. Vandita sat listening in to the conversation while Romi and Rinki traipsed off with Mihika, the Iyer daughter, to have their own chat session in her room.
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Ishita revelled under the stream of water that cascaded down her body. It had been a hectic day. On returning home from her clinic, she hadn't really had any time to freshen up. Her mother-in-law had insisted that they start on the preparations for dinner and Ishita had done so. The heat of the kitchen mingling with the day's tiredness now left her feeling drained.
Her thoughts turned to Ruhi. The little girl had been absolutely jumping with excitement at the prospect of the dinner party. On the way home, Ruhi had warned her to get ready early so that she could meet Ruhi's 'Papa' when they arrived. Ishita laughed as she remembered how Ruhi had even gone so far as ignoring the boys and not give in to their attempts at teasing her like usual. It was strange how full her life was with the joy that children brought despite the cruel fate destiny had dished out for her.
As she dried herself and slipped into the salwar suit, it was Ruhi who reigned largely on her mind. The little girl was definitely a bundle of joy. Her father was lucky to have her in his life. She imagined for a moment a world where she and Subbu had a daughter as precious as Ruhi. Images of Subbu cradling their child in his arms flashed through her mind and Ishita stifled the dull pain that inevitably came with such daydreams. Ishita looked at herself in the mirror. She was Mrs. Ishita Iyer and she would never be a mother. And the sooner she accepted the fact, the better it would be for her. With her head full of such thoughts, Ishita stepped out of the bathroom and in her hurry to get to her room, she walked straight into a man who stood in her way.
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When Raman finally arrived after having seen to the 'minor issue' that had cropped up at work, he was met by enough exclamations of delight to satisfy even Toshi Bhalla's proud maternal heart. He looked at the smiling faces welcoming him and felt a twist in his heart. He had built a career for himself, but he could never build the secure world of homely joys that these people took for granted. He keenly felt the chasm that seemed to separate him from these happy souls. Ever since Shagun had walked out of his life, he had lived with this feeling. In an effort to shake this uneasiness off, he tried to greet his hosts with trained politeness, hoping they would not notice his lack of warmth. Raman Kumar Bhalla was a man who wore a mask always, but the world need not know about that.
However, a slight accident delayed Raman's sitting down and joining the drawing room conversation. Ruhi rushed to her father eager to have him taste her ice cream. In her hurry, she bumped into him and got a nice spot of chocolatey goo on his cream shirt. Raman laughed at his daughter's excitement and was led down a corridor to the wash basin next to the bathroom door to wash the spot off before it caused a stain. The conversation in the drawing room continued unabated.
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As Raman cupped some water into his palm and splashed it on his shirt, trying to get rid of the stickiness, the door of the bathroom opened and out stepped a girl, smelling of lavender and jasmine. A fluffy towel was wrapped around her hair and drops of moisture clung to her face and neck. Her face was bent down and she stepped forward and walked straight into him. Reflex made him reach out and catch hold of the body that was about to fall down due to the impact as well as gain some balance himself. The next minute he wished he hadn't. He was holding onto a woman who seemed to be all softness and curves. Startled eyes were staring at him and even as he looked at her, a deep blush spread across her cheeks. Somehow the RKB in him found an outlet and he managed to straighten himself and her. However what does one say in such an occasion? A glance at her showed that a blush had by now spread down her cheeks to her neck.
The woman quickly threw an end of her towel around herself to hide the lack of a dupatta. But the towel did little to conceal the lush sensuality of her curves. She cast a look steeped in awkwardness in his direction and then nearly ran towards an adjacent door. Raman watched as she opened the door and disappeared into the room. The fire in Raman Kumar Bhalla's eyes blazed forth. Had the woman still been standing before him, she would have trembled at the sight.
He turned to the mirror. He felt the stirring of an interest inside. So this must be the girl Romi was talking about, he told himself as he dabbed at the wetness on his shirt with a towel.
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"Ishita aunty!!" Ruhi exclaimed and ran towards her friend as Ishita walked into the drawing room, hair freed from her towel and dupatta firmly in place. The little girl leaped into her arms and Ishita good-naturedly swung the child up in the air. At Ruhi's exclamation everyone looked up towards her. But it was Raman alone who choked on his coffee. The woman he had taken to be Romi's 'maal' was his daughter's 'Ishita aunty'! He tried to recover from his bout of coughing as Mrs. Iyer along with his mother offered him their kind and unsolicited concern and attention.
However, Raman had another surprise coming. Instead of simply sitting down, Ruhi pulled Ishita by her hand until she had her standing before her father.
"Papa, this is Ishita aunty!" the little child announced, ignorant of the looks of surprise that travelled around the room.
"Ishita aunty, this is my Papa," was Ruhi's next declaration as she beamed at these two special people in her life.
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Note: Sorry for making you all wait, but my schedule these days is sort of deadly and I can only promise once a week updates. Thank you for the wonderful feedback. It really encouraged me. Hope this chapter did not disappoint you all who were so eagerly awaiting the IshRa meeting. It is kind of cliche-filled, but will try to keep things more real as we go along.
Also, it would really help if those who want PMs can simply buddy me.
Bade Achhe Lagte Hain
Anupamaa
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