Pieces of a Cracked Mirror [An OS series]

Cramps!

Consider this after one month of Care. It's a continuation of that timeline... 

Pallavi Deshmukh groaned in frustration as the sixth customer left without buying anything. She was running out of both energy and patience. It has been months since the shop has seen any influx of new customers and even the old ones were soon getting bored of the stock it seemed. She had always had a creative disagreement with ba.. Mr. Vijay Deshmukh from the time she has taken over.

The new age wanted contemporary styles of saree, they wouldn't be happy with the typical olden days traditional wear. Yet, Mr. Deshmukh was adamant at keeping the 'sanctity' of his designs the same. She had accepted defeat after a lot of struggle (after all, who was she to take any major decision.. she just ran the shop, not own it) and just tried tweaking the designs to the minimal possible extent.

No wonder, the sales were getting affected.

Anyone who is still wondering what is she doing in Deshmukh Saree Emporium even after being kicked out of the Deshmukh Nivas should be made aware that at this juncture Pallavi was still employed in the shop as a manager (not as if the shop ever had any other staff except herself and Krishna) because according to the contract Sharda had insisted, to be made on her behalf, after Mandaar's passing, stated that she couldn't be kicked out of service without a valid reason and had a share of the ownership of the shop.

So, much to Vijay's and Sulochana's utter discontent Pallavi could still legally earn from DSE even as she strongly refused to come back to live with them.

A certain man's legal team, which had more sharks than humans on it, having more clout in the ambiguous Indian Judicial system than the Deshmukh's had brain cells, may have had a hand in making the above matter inescapably clear to the aforementioned duo as well.

But, Pallavi didn't have to know that.

The man did own the shop still.

Sharda, Milind and Nikhil had visited her the very next day after she had been so gracefully thrown out and begged her to come back but to no avail. Pallavi was adamant that she would not return to that place until and unless Vijay and Sulochana personally come to her and apologize.

That being clearly out of question, they had to leave disappointed and Pallavi started living with Krishna as her mother had shifted to her brother's place permanently when his health deteriorated drastically.

She walked or rather it should be said limped towards the counter from her place at the cashiers' to see what new stocks they had gotten last week. Suddenly a sharp pain shot up her lower stomach and she almost doubled over whimpering. Krishna had taken a small tea break so she was alone in the shop. She sat down sloppily on the seat and held her cramping stomach discreetly through the folds of the biscuit orange saree she was donning.

This was that time of the month when she hated being a woman.

She wanted nothing more than to curl up in her bed with a book and probably a hot water bag and pray that she gets a good night's sleep, instead of toiling needlessly in a shop which will probably never have any buyers coming.

Suddenly as she had closed her eyes and leaned against the wall behind, she heard a familiar sound of a car zooming to a breaking stop in front of her shop. And for the first time in her life she wished the man coming out of the latest model of the Lamborghini would just f**king leave even though she looked forward to his almost regular visits to her humble working place with an embarrassing eagerness.

But when had God heeded to her wishes...

Here we go again..

"Saree ka Dukaan!!!!"