Rab Rakha

Chapter 18

"Ache se ho gayi na shaadi, I'm so glad that I could make it." Neetu said. Her family had made their way to Mumbai to spend a few more days with her family before returning to their work.

"Ha na. Acha kiya tu aa gayi." Rita Ma replied, picking her cup of tea and taking a seat in between her daughters. Neetu had been staying over for a week and it was almost time for her to leave.

"Aap hi logon ke mazey the, mai toh kitna bore hua. Sab aap ke pehchan ke the, mere age ka koi nahi tha." Advait mumbled, scrolling through his phone.

"Kyu? Mai nahi tha tere sath?" Sidharth snatched his nephew's phone away and eyed him.

"Mama yaar! Kitne busy the aap kisi na kisi ke sath!!" Advait whined, snatching back his phone.

"Atharva tha toh tere pass!" Preeti told her son.

"Wo mere pass nahi tha, mai uske pass tha. Aap log sabse mil rahe the, mujhe bitha diya babysit karne ke liye." Advait replied, looking over to his 10 year old baby cousin who wouldn't leave his toy car behind for anything.

"Bhai hai wo tera!" Sidharth smacked his head.

"Adi!?" Neetu added, in a sad tone.

"Masi bura nahi maan na, lekin kitna rota hai Atharva!" Advait complained and everybody chuckled. What else would a eight year old boy do in a house full of people? Atharva clung to Advait all the time while they were in Delhi for the wedding and wanted to go home most of the time.

"Packing kar li? Pata hi nahi chala kab aayi tu, itni jaldi ja rahi hai ab?" Rita Ma mentioned.

"Time itni jaldi nikal jata hai na? Phir aungi na Mom, Atharva ke exams hai March me. Uske baad naye session start hone se pehle aayenge." Neetu replied, resting her head on her mother's shoulder.

"Thik hai." Her mother nodded. The family spent another evening together, having tea and talking about when they'd get to meet again.

Sidharth smiled, taking part in the conversation in between but then at times, his eyes would drift towards his phone. He didn't know why he checked every time there was a notification, he would probably assume it was Shehnaaz, wanting to know how she was doing. It had been a week of no contact in between them. As per their decision, they didn't see each other after their last encounter on the terrace. There were no calls made, nor any texts exchanged since the last few days. He agreed that he should stick to it because somewhere this thing that they had in between them was baseless.

He sighed as he settled himself on the bed, he would get over it soon. She was right, the more they'd remain out of contact, the easier it would get. After all, he was simply attracted to her. Was he looking for a relationship? No, not as of now. Was he willing to make a difference for Shehnaaz? No, again not as of now. He had work to do, a family to cater. He practically didn't need anyone in his life at this point but Shehnaaz was like the seasoning on a plain salad. Her presence was distracting and he wouldn't deny how amazing it was to have her in his arms. In other scenarios, he did connect with her at certain points. She was entertaining, real and full of expressions and above all he liked talking to her.

Shehnaaz on the other hand went to Chandigarh after seeing her friends off to their honeymoon. Her father's health wasn't really improving so she was suggesting that they opted for another doctor's opinion in Delhi.

"Sare doctor dawai likh dete hai, banda thik na ho test karao kehte hain. Naya doctor, uske naye siyyape!" Jagjit shook his head.

"Papa tests kyu karwayenge phir se? Abhi toh last month itne sare tests huye hain aapke. Bas milna hai Dr. Singh se ek baar, aapki reports dikhani hai." Shehnaaz replied.