Foresight

Chapter XXXVI

"Mom, I need to talk with you." Rajesh speaks up nervously, as he sits up on the kitchen slab, nibbling on a carrot, while his mom is flipping chappathi's on the side.

"What is it my son? Why are you sounding nervous?" she asks, not taking her eyes off the stove.

"I was thinking of having a friend for lunch on tomorrow. Is it ok with you?" he asks her, trying to sound as confident as possible.

"Yeah. How are you going to guide her to our house" she replies non-chalantly.

"I will bring her..... Hey. how did you find out that it's a girl" he asks, suddenly caught off guard.

"Well you are asking permission. And you said it's a friend and skipped the name. So I knew it a girl." she replies, smirking from the corner.

"Yeah you guess it correct mom. She is a girl. A colleague of mine. She works at SIDCO, the company with whom we have been doing steady business for the last couple months." he explains his predicament.

"Hmmm. No need to defend yourself too much. I am not judging you for communicating with girls. Also won't think low of you if she is your girlfriend" Mrs. Khuranna replies.

Rajeshjust truns around, opening his eyes wide in astonishment, thinking as to how did she guess and how he will get out of this trap.

"She is your girlfriend isn't she?" Mrs. Khuranna starts her attack.

"Naah maa. Nothing..like..that. She is.. just a colleague. I am inviting her over for sort of congratulatory lunch. For all the hard work she did. Nothing more. You don't start building castles and start naming your grandchildren." he replies, trying to distract her off.

"Whatever you say Mr. Rajesh Khuranna. I won't believe you until the day she steps into our house. By the way, what is her name?" she asks with a curiosity.

"Pallavi Mehra. She has been with SIDCO for around five years now and she has been working with us over half a year. Real talented girl. Beautiful too. You two will get along very nicely." he answers, as Pallavi's face comes into his imagination.

"Look who is day dreaming now" she mocks him.

"That's it. I am going to meet Neeraj. We have to discuss some project stuff that we have to do this week." he answers, hopping off the kitchen slab and heading to the door.

"Come back in time for lunch" Mrs. khuranna hollers from the kitchen, as Rajesh makes his way down the stairs.

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Rajesh lights up his cigarette, as his steaming cup of tea gets ready. Taking a sip, he dials through to Pallavi.

"Hey Rajesh. What happened? Anything wrong?" she answers with a concern, owing to the fact that Rajesh rarely calls her up before lunch time.

"Hay Pallavi. It's all ok. Just wanted to call you up and hear your voice" he answers, trying to woo her.

"Stop beating around the bush Mr. Khuranna. Tell me what's the matter" she warns him.

"This is what i like the most about you Pallavi. Your no nonsense attitude. Anyway coming straight to the matter, we can have lunch tomorrow?"

"Duh... That's what we planned already. Lunch and beach. Did you forget already?"

"No no. I didn't forget. Just a small change in plan."

"What is the change?"

"I asked my mom permission to bring my friend for lunch tomorrow and she agreed."

"That's great Raj..... Whoa. You want me to meet your parents?" she asks, literally hyperventilating through the call.

"Yeah Pallavi. I know it's a big step. But I think it's essential that they meet you and get to know you"

"I understand that Rajesh. But don't you think it's too soon. I think we should wait for some more time"

"Pallavi, I know it soon. But it feels right" he convinces her, pacing around, with his cigarette in one hand and tea cup in other.

"Rajesh. I will have to think a little. I will give you a sure shot answer by the evening." she replies, with butterflies forming in her stomach.

"Ok baby. I will wait for your call in the evening. Love you."

"Love you too" and she hangs up the phone.

'Oh my god. Meeting his parents is huge. I don't know whether I can pull it off' flashes through her mind as keeps her phone back on the desk. Overwhelmed by her thoughts, Pallavi heads for the restroom to freshen up. She returns back to her desk, little flushed. She decides to concentrate on the remaining day of her work, as she had only two more hours, before she calls it a day.

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Pallavi goes to the park which is present close to her hostel, to catch some fresh air. Spending some time in the park, watching little children's play and run around here and there, took her edge off. She kept thinking about what answer to give Rajesh, regarding his proposition of meeting his parents. Being the gentleman he was, Rajesh did not pester her over her decision. He kept his talks as usual. This showed a sense of maturity in him, which was hard to find. This was one of the reason of attraction for Pallavi towards him. Looking at the kids running around in the park, her mind wanders to the past.

 'It would have been great if my life hadn't taken a turn to the worst. I would have been just like these mom's, watching my kid play around' she contemplates, welling up. 'I too would have been sitting with my husband in one of the benches, leaning against him'. At this point she breaks down. Tears start flowing down her cheeks. As she closes her eyes, the image flashes through her. Surprisingly, in that image, her husband turns out to be Rajesh. This jolts her from her trance.

'Why am I dreaming of Rajesh as my husband?' she contemplates, wiping away her tears.

"But I did seem happy in that vision" she murmured to herself.

Just as she was about to get up, a ball comes and rolls near her feet. She turns around, looking for the owner of the ball, while picking it up from ground. She finds a small girl, looking at her direction with a puppy dog eyes, waning to come and ask for the ball but afraid to take a step. Looking at that cute face, her heart melts and she takes a small step towards that girl, extending her hand and flashing a smile. This instills a confidence in that girl and she comes towards Pallavi, taking tiny steps. She kneels down, handing over the ball to the girl and brushes her hair. The small girl, overwhelmed with the sudden affection from a stranger, runs away shyly.

"You will make a good mother. Your husband is lucky" come's a voice from her side. Pallavi turns to her side, to find an elderly woman sitting on the bench. She flashes a smile and bows down in respect to that lady. That lady acknowledges her bow, gets up and walks to her.

"I just saw you giving the ball to that child. To earn a child's trust is a huge thing and you did it in a matter of seconds. You are going to be a wonderful mother and an amazing wife' that old lady tells, while running her hands through Pallavi's hair.

"Thank you mother" Pallavi replies and touches the elderly woman's feet and takes her leave. As she walks towards the garden gate, the image of family with Rajesh keeps playing in her mind. She and Rajesh pushing their child in the swings, letting her play in the slide as they both sit in the bench, holding hands. It brings a broad smile and a huge confidence in her. Taking it as positive sign, she decides to meet up with his parents.

'I will meet with your parents tomorrow. Pick me up from my place at 10 she types up and sends it off to Rajesh. She then heads to her hostel...to decide the most important thing for tomorrow: What to wear?