Strings Of Love

Chapter 24

Sidharth couldn't understand how and why Shehnaaz had made that face at him. He really had no idea about it and decided to call her later.

Once his sister returned home, he went to her place the next day to spend the Sunday together. However, he worked till late Saturday night and woke up late and hungry in the morning. Moving lazily towards the kitchen, he yawned and opened the refrigerator to have something when he found the dining table empty.

"Nashta nahi bana hai kya aaj?" He mumbled.

"Time se uthega toh milega nashta!" His mother, Rita Ji, joined him there. She had her hands crossed against her chest while she glared at her son.

"Yeh koi time hai uthne ka?" She asked. It was a quarter past 12 and the rest of the family had their breakfast in time, together.

"Aaj Sunday hai Mom." He excused himself with that and grabbed an apple.

"Toh?" She raised her eyebrows challengingly, gesturing to him to explain.

"Come on! Abhi bhook lag rahi hai yaar, mere ko khane ko do na." He whined, finishing half of the apple in one go.

"Mere paas time nahi hai, I've to take Preeti to the clinic." Rita Ji left the kitchen, angry and fed up.

"Acha sorry. I'm sorry, kal raat kuch kaam khatam karte karte late ho gaya." He followed her out, enveloping his arm around her shoulders to stop her.

"Please." He requested again.

"Dekh beta, I know I don't need to tell all these even now. Tu bada ho gaya hai, kaam karta hai aur akele rehta hai. But when you're at my place, when you're here to spend time with us then be there! Samjha?" She scolded him.

"Samajh gaya." He obediently nodded and found his mother returning to the kitchen to heat up the breakfast for him.

"Preeti ne banaya uttapam." She told him.

"Kya baat hai!" He smiled, taking a plate out and serving himself. He was eating when Preeti and Ajay showed up, all ready to leave for the hospital.

"Mai bhi chalu? 10 minute me ho jaunga ready." He asked them.

"Jaldi kha phir! Already late hai hum." Preeti rolled her eyes at him, checking if she had all the reports with her.

"Aur kya plans hai?" He asked further.

"Phir dekhte hai, shopping chalenge." Ajay said.

"Shopping?" Sidharth mouthed him, uninterested.

"Preeti." Ajay mouthed back.

"Phir bhi, shopping?" Sidharth whined, knowing her sister would make them roam all around the mall. Just then his mother joined the dining table, giving him a short glance.

"Chalenge shopping, mai ready hoke aata hu." He agreed, finished his breakfast and left for his room.

It had been more than an hour since they were in the doctor's clinic, Preeti's increasing blood pressure was a matter of concern since she was conceiving in her 40s. She was set on low dose aspirin tablets to deal with the problem, otherwise the high blood pressure could cause Preeclampsia. Preeti was already told about it, a disorder that could affect all the organs in her body. It usually
developed after 20 weeks of pregnancy, often in the third trimester.

"All okay?" Sidharth asked when Preeti walked out all sulking and upset, refusing to answer.

"Batao koi? Ajay?" He asked his brother in law then.

"BP abhi bhi high hai, she needs major changes in her diet now." Ajay replied, caressing his wife's shoulder.

"It's okay baccha." Rita Ji consoled her daughter, as all of them walked out of the clinic.