• Seven Days •

Day 4

Pihu ran her palm over the dress. The material was soft and rich. It felt different. She glanced at herself in the huge ornate mirror and loved the way the fabric poofed around her. It made her look like one of those princesses in the Disney movies she used to watch. She smiled. 

Surreptitiously, she looked at Ram. Pihu knew that it was his gift to her. She had secretly heard Sandy ask the designer to send the bills to Ram's office. She couldn't understand why he hadn't directly told her but perhaps, it had something to do with how their relationship was. Maybe Ram thought that she wouldn't take it or her mother wouldn't. 

"I want to thank him..." Pihu thought out loud. 

Priya looked at her questioningly. "Who?"

Pihu sighed. She pointed at Ram. It still didn't feel right to take his name. "Him."

"Why?"

"This dress..." Pihu smoothened it again. "It's the most beautiful thing I have ever worn. I really want to thank you for this. But I don't know how to approach him." 

Pihu saw Priya take a deep breath. She waited for her to answer. She didn't. They both lapsed into a thick silence. It was a rare occurrence for them to be so quiet with each other. But ever since they had come to Mumbai, Pihu had started to notice this a lot.  

As Pihu wondered how to talk with Ram, she picked up a malai tikka from the dish in front of her and stared at Ram. 

He was the social butterfly. He was meeting people, talking and laughing with them. She liked doing the same. Sitting in a corner, being invisible, wasn't really her thing. She wanted to move around and enjoy her Masi's party too. 

"Mom, can we go and dance?" Pihu asked Priya.   

Priya shook her head. "You can dance with Masi! I can't.

Pihu frowned. "Why not?"  

"Because I am not comfortable dancing in front of so many people." 

Pihu shut up. She knew that once Priya decided something, she would never listen to her. She understood that her mother was shy. She wasn't. And there wasn't anything that she could do about it.   

***************************

"Ram, you gotta go and ask Priya to be with you..." Aditya looked serious. "Otherwise, the minister will think there is a problem. We don't want that."

Ram rubbed his head. "I know."

Ram looked sideways. Priya and Pihu were sitting on a decorated table. He couldn't judge much of what Priya was feeling because she had that perpetual blank look on but he could tell that Pihu was bored out of her head.

He sighed. Perhaps he could try for the little girl. 

"Chal," he told Aditya. "Let me try."

Aditya nodded encouragingly. Ram squeezed Aditya's hand and walked towards the table. He smiled at them and suggested slowly, "Uhm, I think you should join us for a while." 

As Priya's gaze lingered on him for a moment, Ram's heart thudded. He hated this. He didn't like it. Being with Priya was the last thing he ever wanted to do in the cursed life he lived. Yet, he knew, that it was important for everyone's sake. So he swallowed his pride and stood there in anticipation. 

Priya looked at Pihu and asked, "Do you want to go?" 

A huge grin came on Pihu's face and she bobbed her head like an excited cat. "Yes!! PLEASE! I am so bored over here!"