Faasla

Seven

The family dinner was a survival game show for the two of us.

We weren't allowed to slam cups down on the table, or bang doors or stomp away. We had to be nice to each other, and ever since I moved in with Darshan Raval, that word had been stripped off my dictionary. For the first time ever, we had to "talk" to each other, and even worse - smile.

For me, it was a hard pill to swallow. But The Darshan Raval pulled it off with ease, as though he was built for this; as though he was privately trained at Karan Johar's school of acting. In short, all I have to say is - he's such a nautanki.

He hogged over his dinner, and stole Hari from Payal Di because she wouldn't stop crying. And Payal Di was right about Hari feeling some sort of warmth around him; she simply fell silent in his arms, and giggled at the faces he made at her. I couldn't stop staring at that sight; it was so contradictory from what I look at every day.

"Didn't Payal tell you?", his mom keeps her hand over mine, drawing my attention away, and I smile. "Hari is honestly a piece of his heart", Aunty utters.

"I can see that for sure. I didn't know he was good with kids", I tell her. "He's not. He used to be allergic to kids! But Hari was born when he was going through a rough phase in his life. He used to take care of her as a distraction, and it worked. I don't know if he healed, but he stopped being the cold person he was", Aunty's words throw me into a dilemma.

Rough phase? Cold person? He was a cold hearted person before meeting me? And what did he have to heal from? I've too many questions bouncing off the walls of my mind now, but how can I even ask her? She'll find out that something's off, and that's against the contract. He won't spare a moment to think before suing me.

Brushing all my thoughts off, I simply smile at her and look down at my hands.

"Is he okay at home?", a concern raises in her voice. Where do I start from? "I mean...he's okay with you, right?", she rephrases her question when I take longer than a second to respond. What does she know that makes her suspicious about his behaviour towards me?

Without a choice, I force a smile at her and nod my head. "He's okay", it hurts to lie about how he truly is, but I'm bound to a piece of paper.

"He's very sweet. He's so caring, and loving. He always has been that person. But sometimes people go off track. When good people change, it's mostly because of circumstances, or because they don't have a choice---", she takes a pause.

I dont quite agree with that. I don't know what his mom's talking about, but I know for a fact that people never run out of the choice to do, and be good. One's struggles are personal, and it honestly does not give them the power to put someone through hell simply because they're cold. Everyone's going through something, every day, and if all of us reflected our internal sufferings on others, the world would be a bitter space to live in.

But can I even argue with a mother against her own son, whom she evidently loves with all her heart?

"I honestly don't know what's going on between the two of you, but I really hope you don't give up on him when he needs you the most. I don't want him to go through that. Again", she stirs confusion in me, and I simply look on in sheer silence.

Just then, Darshan walks towards us with Hari and his mom turns away, meeting pin-drop silence out of nowhere. The two of us simply pretend that a conversation as such never happened between us.

At around 10, Darshan and I drive back home. Just the two of us, and a car echoing with silence.

"What did Maa say?", a long moment later, he cleared his throat and looked out of the window. "Nothing. Just---she told me about you", I shrug casually.