Meenakshi

C39: Father

Aditya was in his father's chambers waiting for him to get ready so that he could speak to him. The past few weeks had been hectic for both Meenakshi and Aditya, and he couldn't find any time for his dad. He wanted to talk to him and spend some time before work consumed them again. He was grateful for the support Meenakshi offered. His workload had significantly reduced and his efficiency was way beyond his limits. He smiled remembering her face when he had made another tattoo, this time it was a snake, and he had told her how shrewd and cunning she was at times, making it nearly impossible to win against her. She had pouted and feigned annoyance, making Aditya cajole her with kisses and hugs.

"If you are missing your wife so much, then shouldn't you be in your chambers? What are you suddenly doing here? Wait, did she kick you out?" His father laughed. "Oh my god, she kicked–"

"Father, nothing of that sort happened." Aditya quickly cut him off, before he could come to any vague conclusions.

"Then? Did you guys fight?" He asked.

"Can't a son come and see his father whenever he wants. Why should I always find a reason to visit you?" Aditya frowned and sat on the bed as his father joined him.

"Well, he can visit, but this seems suspenseful enough." His father continued to tease him.

"Fine, I am leaving." Aditya stood up only to be pulled back to his previous seat by his father.

"I was only messing with you. I would love to talk with you. How's life now? People are greatly pleased with their new queen."

"They must be. After all she is worth all these."

"True. I wonder why Harshavardhan would not want such a lovely daughter. If it was me, I would have happily put you aside and lived my life for her, loving her, cherishing her."

"As if you don't do that now. From the moment she has stepped here, all you do is, Meenakshi please take of this, Meenakshi only you can deal with this, Meenakshi this. You even tend to forget your own son standing beside you." Aditya commented, sarcasm dripping in his voice.

"Oh that is the issue now. Hmm, are you jealous of your wife? This is not a good sign Aditya." His father elaborated, making Aditya palm his face. He wondered why the two people he loved, loved messing with him.

"I am leaving, both of you love making fun of me." Aditya stood up again.

"Oh, even she loves messing with you, then I must talk to her about it." Aditya gave his father a stink eye and began to walk away only to be pulled back again. "Okay, sorry. I won't tease you anymore. For now."

The father-son duo sat in silence, taking in every bit of comfort that the moment had to offer.

"Is she comfortable here? Does she like it?" His father asked.

"She does like it here. I think she has finally found her calling. Seeing her as a queen, as a wife is the greatest blessing I can think of. It's so fulfilling to see her at her best. I did wonder initially, when I wanted to make her my wife, whether we would be able to manage everything, run this kingdom, bear responsibilities, but now it feels that she was just born for me. She is perfect in every sense."

"That's true, everyone can see her commitment to the kingdom and to you. You make her happy, so never doubt yourself for that."

"Thanks father. I shall remember that." Aditya smiled at his father's confession.

"Oh, yesterday some ministers in the court were discussing an heir, saying that it's almost a year and the queen is not expecting yet. I had successfully managed to silence them saying that it is not right to comment on their lives, especially when they are so duty-bound towards the kingdom. That made them stop talking about this. Again, the only reason I am telling you this is that both of you may start facing this talk and gossip sooner or later. Be brave, be bold. Don't cower or give in to this. And also never let it come between you."

Aditya nodded at his father's words even though he had a far fetched look on his face.

"What's worrying you Aditya?" He asked, caressing his shoulders.

"I am scared of losing her, father." Aditya spoke, his voice heavily softer than previous. "I am scared of losing her. I almost lost her once because of my anger, and now I am scared that I might lose her to the wants of society." Aditya sighed heavily, caressing his face with his palms. He looked tired suddenly and looked as if he had been carrying a very heavy burden.

"Why will you lose her? Again?" His father asked.

"I don't want what happened to Ma to happen to her." Aditya said.

"Oh Aditya, whatever happened to your mom will not happen to her. Hmm... she was just fine when you were born. She took care of you for two-three years, she took care of us for us, she was always there for us. When she conceived your sister, she was for five months, until she caught the flu. And since she was pregnant, she couldn't eat a lot of foods and medicines, worrying that it would harm the baby and in the end both of them were quite sick. Nothing could be done. But yeah, she had taken a promise from me that I would take care of you no matter what, give you the love of both the parents, and never blame you or myself for what happened. She was strong for the three of us until the very end. She was brave, she loved us till the very end with everything in her. And even today, I can feel your mother's presence around me, I see her in you whenever you fuss over small things, the way you have a soft corner for animals, the way you pamper your horse, everything reminds me of her."

"Don't you miss her?"

"I do miss her, but I also realized that I needed to move on. I had you, and you were always there for me somehow. I couldn't afford to send you to gurukul for my own selfish reasons, I was, just like you, afraid of losing you, afraid of being distanced from you. I shall always miss her, but I shall always live for her too. Live and love for her. And I think that would be enough. Aditya, we will always have our fears, but we also must learn to live. After what happened with Chitra, I felt I didn't deserve love and I felt I had no rights to be loved, but your mother came my way. The marriage was arranged, but she only asked me to be patient with her and give her time. I did give her time for my own selfish reasons, my guilt talking for me. But then your mother told me something I can never forget. In life there are a lot of things that are out of control. Birth and death especially. But there are some things that we can control, and one of them is treating yourself well. We must never try to make a decision because it has occurred to someone else. We could have been unlucky once, but we need to get ahead too. Just like the time and the sun never stop for anyone, we need to move on to fulfill our duties and responsibilities. That's the purpose of life, karma and dharma. I chose to respect your mother and treat her well. We did fall in love again, and we had you and your sister, the best gits of our life. Both of us will never regret anything."

Aditya wiped the tears that had now wet his cheeks. He also patted his father's cheeks, smiling softly at him. His father pulled him close, hugging him to his chest.

"Thank you Paa. I am so grateful to have you as my father. Thank you for making me the man I am today." Aditya whispered, both dad and son chuckling softly.

"Look, I am very content with my life, Adi. Don't put any pressure on yourself too. She is a fine woman, and keeps her happy and well. That is all I need. She knows how to keep you grounded, and she is the best thing that has ever happened to us Aditya. And like you said, I am grateful to have you as my children." Aditya's father kissed his forehead and Aditya hugged him tightly. Giving him a tight smile, Aditya stood and walked out of his father's chambers into his own.

**********

This was an emotional one. Aditya never knew about his mother because his father neve deprived him of anything. But yeah, it felt nice to see that dad son bond.

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