So close yet so far

Part 24

Dev and Sonakshi sat at their balcony enjoying the beach view. Sonakshi sat on the chair with Dev stood in front of her. 'Kitni shanti hai na Dev? I love it' Said Sonakshi. Dev smirked and said 'I know, lakin yeh Shanti bas kuch dino ke lea hi hai Mrs. Dixit. Bas, ab kuch dino mein humare ghar koi aane wali hai'. Sonakshi interrupted saying 'ya aane wala hai'. Dev smiled at her and sat next to her in the floor. He rested his head on her llap and said 'I know, I have never been so excited Sonakshi. Ab jaldi iss ghar mein bacche ke kilkariya sunai degi, har taraf toys bikhre honge. He sighed. Sonakshi caressed his hair as they saw the sunset.
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'Dev......mere protein bars khatam ho Gaye hai...' Sonakshi yelled from the kitchen. Dev walked towards the kitchen surprised. 'KHATAM?'He Asked as with his eyes widened. 'Last week he toh maine ek poora box laya tha'. Sonakshi looked at him with a puppy face and said 'woh sab toh maine khatam kar lea'. Dev sighed and said 'huh....theek hai, main supermarket jakar aata hu. Protein bars ke alawa, kuch aur bhi chahiye?'
'Haa Dev, do tub icecream....ek chocolate, ek strawberry'She Said. 'Do tub? Tum theek toh ho na?' He Asked.
'Devvv....please na....I love you....'
Dev rolled his eyes. 'Yeh sahi hai....I love you bol ke sare demands fulfill karti ho Mrs. Dixit.' Sonakshi giggled. Dev grabbed his car keys and left for the supermarket.
Dev was stuck in traffic on his way to the supermarket. His phone buzzed. He grabbed his phone it was Tina.
'Haa Tina, Bol' Dev said. 'Sir, aap se ek important baat karni thi. Is it the right time? She asked. 'Ha bol....' He said. 'Sir, Lakhani industries ke saath deal fix ho gai hai, lakin Lakhani industries ke project paper office mein Nahi hai'. Said Tina. Dev rubbed his forehead and said 'Arey haa....woh file toh ghar pe hai'.(Dixit house)
After a long pause, Dev said 'accha, main ek kaam karta hu, main ghar ja kar woh file collect karta hu. I would like to go through the details of the file once. Main aaj raat ko baitkar sab analyse kar lunga. Tum parso office ke staff ko bhej kar woh file le lo.
'Sir, parso? Parso tak bhaut late ho jayega. Lakhani industries ke saath meeting kal ke lea schedule ke gai hai'. Said Tina.
'Kal?' Dev said in a shocked tone. 'Huh...theek hai, I am sure ki project department and technical department will take care of the meeting'. Tina hesitated and said ' sir, actually....Mr. Lakhani ne clearly instruct kia tha ki woh yeh meeting sirf aap ke saath karenge'.
'Tina, thume pata hai na ki main abhi office Nahi aa sakta, Sonakshi is nearing her delivery date and hume kabhi bhi hospital jana pad sakta hai. Mujhse bina pooche Tum be yeh meeting kaise fix kar di?' Dev was really pissed off by now. 'Sir, I am really very sorry, lakin Mr. Lakhani is flying to London this week. Aur agar yeh meeting kal ke lea schedule Nahi hoti toh yeh project six months ke lea hold pe chala jata. She said.
Dev rolled his eyes and said 'Kitne baje hain meeting?' '11:00 am sir' Said Tina. 'Okay fine. I will be there and I will get the file along'. After this conversation, Dev was really stressed. He called up Sonakshi. 'Hello Dev....' Said Sonakshi. 'Hello sonakshi, main ghar ja raha hu,office ke kuch important files ghar par hai. I will be back soon'. The traffic got cleared. 'Accha Sonakshi, I will talk to you later,abhi drive kar raha hu'. Saying that, he cut the call.
Dev entered the Dixit house and walked towards his room. Ishwari heard some commotion in devs room and went to check. 'Arey Dev...tu yaha? Kab aaya.' She asked. 'Bas abhi aaya Maa. Meri ek file yaha reh gai thi, Toh bas woh lene aaya hu.' He replied. 'Accha....Sonakshi kaha hai?asked Ishwari. 'Woh ghar par hai Maa, main actually supermarket ja raha tha lakin Tina be call kar me bataya ki office mein yeh file chahiye.' Dev took the file and bent down to seek Ishwari's blessings. 'Maa,ab main chalta hu'. He said. Ishwari stopped him 'Kya chalta hu? Abhi abhi toh aaya hai. Ab aa gaya hai, toh khana kha ke ja. Dinner ka time bhi ho gaya hai. Main Bhola se khe kar khana laga deti hu'.
'Nahi Maa, aaj Nahi. Mujhe jana hoga. Sonakshi ghar par wait kar rehi hogi aur mujhe supermarket bhi jana hai'. He said. 'Dev....ab tu Kab ghar jayega...Kab khana banaega...yaha khana ready hai. Tu kha le, main Sonakshi ke lea bhi pack karke deti hu. Khana khakar chala ja supermarket. Dekh Dev,ab khane ka naam lia hai, toh mana mat kar'. Dev sighed and said 'theek hai Maa, jaldi se khana laga de'.
All gathered at the table for dinner. 'Aur Dev....beta, Sonakshi kaise hai?' Asked mamaji. 'Theek hai mamaji. Said Dev. Ishwari served Dev and sat next to him. 'Dev...thuje kuch pooch na tha....baat yeh hai ki, tu aur Sonakshi, Sonakshi ke delivery ke baad yaha wapas aa rahe ho na?' Asked Ishwari. Dev hesitated and said 'na...Nahi Maa abhi Nahi. Main aur Sonakshi, kuch aur time ke lea us ghar mein reh ne wale hai'. 'Kuch aur time......'Said Ishwari. Mamaji interrupted saying 'Yeh sahi hai beta....isse karan Tum dono ko bacche ke saath jada waqt mil jayega'. Mamaji could sense how bad Ishwari felt after hearing devs decision and he said 'Ishwariiii....Dev ne jo socha hai,woh biklul sahi socha hai. Akele reh kar bacche ke lea sab kuch khud se kar payeenge. Yaha aa jayenge, Toh tu kisi ko bhi kuch karne Nahi degi, sab tu hi karegi. Agar yeh dono Nahi karenge toh Kab seekh payenge?'. Ishwari was still not convinced, but she did not wish to say no to Dev. She gave them a nod and walked towards the kitchen to pack dinner for Sonakshi. After dinner, Dev left for the supermarket. He quickly grabbed all the items before it was time to shut the supermarket.
He reach home and opened the door. The lights were shut and it was pitch dark. 'Sonakshi....?'..... he walked towards the room and saw Sonakshi asleep. He walked towards her and caressed her forehead. 'Sonakshi...?' He whispered. 'Sonakshi quickly woke up as had been waiting for him since long. 'Dev...aap aa Gaye...'she said Ina sleepy voice. 'I am so sorry Sonakshi, main late ho gaya. Bhook lagi hogi na thume? Maa me tumhare lea dinner bheja hai. Come I will feed you'. He helped her get out of bed, held her hand and walked towards the dining table. She sat at the dining table as Dev went into the kitchen to reheat the food. 'Aap ne kha lea?' She asked. 'Ji Haa. Maine kha lia. Ab Tum kha lo'. With that he fed her. 'Sonakshi, ab tum soe jao. Mujhe thoda sa office ka kaam hai, I will sleep in some time'. After dinner, Sonakshi went back to sleep while dev rolled his sleeved up and began his work with a strong cup of black coffee.