Vani One Shots

Saiyyara #2

To say the least, Bani was annoyed. A crew of workers hired by Balwant Singhania had arrived at her place to repair what was damaged at around 11:00 A. M. They started clearing up the remains of Veeranshu's car without checking with her. They were successfully doing more damage to her greenhouses than had  been done in the first place. They dragged their feet around  not caring about her precious vegetation. They were senselessly uprooting the plants in the name of cleaning the space. Also, they were throwing away the equipment which could be repaired and used. She hit her forehead seeing how one of the workers plucked and started eating a tomato instead of what he was supposed to do. Her insurance is not going to cover the loss caused by the antics of these people. Her heart and brain where singing a loud chorus of despair.  Without enough insurance money or the income the crop would have yielded in a few weeks,  she did not know how she will repay her loan, let alone all the other bills that sat waiting.

She stood in the middle of the debris of her once intact greenhouses and witnessed hastily constructed scaffold boards and erected plastic sheets. Her temper was rising. She wanted to fight. Except, that someone she wanted to fight had been taken to the hospital with a concussion and other possible injuries.

Bani wanted to let it all out. She thought of making good use of her already rotten  mood. She will call her cousin Mehek who would relay the information to her mother, Bani's Rashmi Chachi. After all the times when her greedy Chachi has come to ask for her share of profits even when she has none in this  business, Bani wanted to tell her everything that happened so that she does not create a scene for profit this time.

Bani was born in a home where her parents lived with her Chacha Chachi. Her cousins Mehek and Dehek were born when she was two. She has good memories of her childhood until and unless her parents died in a plane crash when she was nine. Relationships went downhill from that point. She lived in the legal guardianship of her Chacha and Chachi for nine years. And they left no stone unturned to make her life miserable. They kicked her out of their house as and when she turned eighteen. With the fixed deposits  secured by her parents in her name, she came to her parent's farmhouse to take care of the green houses. She can recall how much her mother loved spending time here and how much her dad loved the business. It is not that Bani has not tried to build a relationship with her Chacha's family but every time she made effort they stooped to a new low. "Stay mad bani, it will make this a lot more easier, " saying she dialled Mehek's number.

"What on earth do you want Bani? Now is not a good time. I am busier than ever." Mehek said blowing air from her mouth to dry her nail polish.

"I am sure you are." Bani taunted.

"Listen, I have a million things to do which are more important than doing chit chat with you so make it quick." Mehek grumbled and Bani could feel her ready to hang up the phone.

"Stop acting like a bimbo Mehek. A BMV crashed in my greenhouses and destroyed half my crop. I think I might lose everything." Bani almost yelled into her phone.

"OMG OMG OMG!" She asked sounding more surprised than concerned.

"I am fine, the driver is in the hospital and men from his father's company have done some temporary repairs. Point being, I have lost a lot of my crop so please tell your mom not to show up at my door screaming for any profit." She was thankful that her voice had not broken yet.

"BMW huh? The guy who crashed must be loaded then?" Mehek asked speculatively.

"His family  is. And I think his father is thankful that Veeranshu did not die. Just tell Chachi it was an accident." Bani admitted trying to hold on to the frustration and not break into tears.

"Veeranshu who?" Mehek asked trying to place the name.

"Veeranshu Singhania as in Singhania Industries." Bani filled in the blanks.

"OMG OMG OMG, we can sue the pants off them then!" Mehek whistled in the phone.

"Mehek I am not suing him." She said tentatively. "Nobody needs to know he was at my place. I have no interest in being a part of the media circus that surrounds him."

"I am sure they will settle everything out of court to avoid any nastiness.  That dude is always in so much trouble. I am sure his family is used to it. The reason they are acting so fast to fix things for you." Mehek reassured her.  "Especially if you let mom do the negotiations." Mehek added and Bani could tell she was grinning.

"I am telling you for the second time that I don't want to sue anybody and Chachi does not need to get involved in this." Bani groaned.

"Are you kidding Bani? You want mom on your side this time. The only way to save your little farm is if you let mom step in. I will talk to mom and we will come to your farmhouse as soon as possible okay? Hang in their till then and don't accept any offer the Singhania's make. Okay?" saying Mehek disconnected the call.

Bani did not feel any better speaking to her cousin, in fact, she felt worse. "Oh God" she whispered. "This is a mess of my own making." She hid her face in her palms, and not for the first time in the day she cried.