Tissue For This Issue

Chapter 8

"Priya?" Anju called out to her daughter.

"Yes, Mumma?" Priya looked up from her bowl of cornflakes and towards her mother. It was Sunday morning, and Priya felt well-rested for the first time in weeks.

Ram was such a good host yesterday, and he made me feel so comfortable even though I grabbed his hand. Maybe that's why...?

But as quickly as she had that thought, she refuted it. Priya! You obviously slept well because you got to hang out with your friends and watch a movie with them. Stop thinking too much!

"I was thinking, why don't we invite Ram, Shardul, and Shalini Ji over for dinner today? Ram graciously invited you and Ritika to watch a movie, and so we should return the favor, na? Sanju, what do you think?"

"I think that's a great idea! This way, we can also meet Shalini Ji and thank her for raising two amazing men. Priya, why don't you call Ram and invite them after you're done eating breakfast?"

"Sure Papa, I can call and ask if they're free today!" Priya said before continuing to eat her cereal, smiling to herself over the fact that she would get to spend time with her friends again. 

Finishing the bowl quickly, she made her way into her room and stepped out onto her balcony, where she took out her phone and clicked on Ram's name from her contacts list.

"Hey Priya!" Ram spoke after the first ring.

"Hi Ram, how are you?"

"I'm good, how about you? Everything's okay, na?"

"Yup, everything's fine. I was actually calling to ask if you, Shardul Sir, and Shalini Aunty were free tonight. Mumma and Papa wanted to invite you all for dinner."

"Actually, Maa and Shardul left for our village last night and won't be back for a few days."

"Oh, you're home alone?"

"Kind of. Our helpers Tarun and Mohan are home, but I gave them a few days off. They deserve a break, and I can definitely clean up after myself and cook a quick meal. Let's ignore the fact that the quick meal would have just been Maggi noodles with scrambled eggs," he chuckled.

"Well, maybe your Maggi noodles can wait for another day, and you can instead have a meal cooked by the famous home chef Anju Sood. What are your favorite dishes?"

"Arre, don't tell Aunty to prepare anything special. You know I'm a big foodie, so I'll be happy with anything she makes."

"Ooh, sounds like a challenge for me and Mumma then. See you at 7!" 

---

It was exactly 7 pm when the doorbell rang. By now, everyone at the Sood House knew that Ram was very punctual, always arriving at 8 am on the dot to pick Priya up for work, so they had anticipated that he would come exactly on time.

Priya smoothed out her kurti and took a quick glance at herself in the hall mirror. She wasn't intending on wearing just her normal house clothes, but Anju had forced everyone to dress up for the occasion. She had also decided to add some light lip gloss and blush for makeup, trying to make herself look a bit more perky than usual.

She opened the door and there stood Ram, a bright smile on his face, a bouquet of flowers and a box of chocolates in each hand.

"Ram! Come in, come in!" Anju shouted as she emerged from the kitchen.

"Hi Anju Aunty! Priya mentioned that you love tulips, so I picked out the best ones from our garden for you. And Sanju Uncle, Priya said you're a huge chocolate buff, so I knew that you needed to try my favorite box of truffles," he said as he forwarded the gifts to Priya's parents.