Rab Rakha

Chapter 55

Shehnaaz felt a strong pang of sadness when she saw how worn out and unhappy Sidharth looked. Their breakup had left deep marks, and even though they were trying to move on, the hurt was still there. Reconnecting with him made her realize just how important it was to improve their communication and fix their misunderstandings. Now, he was happy, genuinely happy and glad about their reconnect but he looked so tired.

Seeing Sidharth like this made her want to be close to him and spend more time together. She hoped to make up for the lost time by enjoying quality moments and taking vacations together. The idea of sharing simple, happy times with him gave her a sense of purpose and hope. She wanted to help him feel better and see him smile again.

Right now, they were making their way to Advait's birthday dinner along with Madhu. As a gift they got the birthday boy a classic Cassio watch. It was Madhu's idea.

"Pasand aayegi na usko watch?" Madhu asked Sidharth, opening the box to show him the model.

"Bohot achi hai aunty, Adi apni wrist watches ka collection bana raha hai. He's gonna love it." Sidharth replied with a smile. Even though he had suggested a gift wasn't necessary, the ladies insisted.

"Mai thik lag rahi hu? Maine socha suit over na lage?" Shehnaaz asked him, once her mother had kept the gift back and got busy scrolling her WhatsApp texts. Since the couple were sitting ahead, they really wanted to hold hands a little but the mother wasn't making it easy.

"Pyari lag rahi hai! You always look cute in such tops!" He told her, blinking his eyes in assurance and she gave back a grin. She was wearing a white sweetheart neck cotton top with wide leg denims.

"Happy Birthday Adi!" Shehnaaz wished Advait, followed by Madhu who got him the gift while Sidharth joined them with a big cake.

Together the family sang the birthday song for Advait, he smiled like a child and cut the cake. Feeding Rita Ma before anybody else, he hugged his dearest grandmother and stood quietly while everybody took turns to feed him the cake and wish him again.

"Happy Birthday, get a job." Ajay wished his son and smeared some cake on his nose and lips instead of feeding him.

"Papa yaar!" Advait whined and tried to get back at his father with the whipped cream in his hands but Ajay was quick to dodge.

"Ajay! Bada ho gaya ab Adi! Stop it!" Preeti interefered and wiped her son's face with a tissue.

"Aur please uske upar placement ka pressure nahi dalo. Adi, baccha, teri job nahi lagi toh bhi koi baat nahi. College campus ke bahar bhi badi opportunities milengi." Preeti added, looked like she was talking to her husband.

"Mon se seekho! Ab toh campus interview me jaunga hi nahi." Advait teased his father, making a funny face.

"Suna? Suna isne kya bola?" Ajay asked everybody but all they just laughed it off.

"Shehnaaz, Aunty, please aaiye. Dinner is set. Iss baar aap log aa gaye toh acha lag raha hai. Neetu har baar Adi ke birthday pe nahi aa pati. Haina, Mom?" Preeti said.

"Han, mai bolne hi wali thi yahi baat." Rota Ma smiled and replied, taking everybody to the dining table.

"Aaj table pe sab Adi special bana hai." Shehnaaz commented, looking at the variety of dishes. Mostly non veg.

"Obviously." Advance smugly shrugged, acting pricey.

The dinner was nice, everybody talked. Preeti tried involving Shehnaaz and her mother into conversations and hosted them well enough to leave behind a good impression. The Shukla family was relieved to see how comfortable their guests were, it certainly indicated how the fight has been resolved. More than anything, this was the reason behind inviting Shehnaaz to dinner.