Southern Avenue

Chapter #13

Chapter #13

A knock broke Sharanya's trance, as she looked up from her laptop, and the man's face made her smile instantly. They had been going on and off, tagging along with each other almost every day to visit Sharanya's mother. The tea and coffee breaks together had made their equation friendly as they got to know each other better.

She was at his office's waiting room, working from her laptop, typing away fervently and reading even avidly. Working directly from her laptop made it easier on her because being an entrepreneur she was her own boss. While she was her own boss, there were people who worked along with her or under her who depended on her abilities to do the work.

"Good Morning Mr Shekhawat." She smiled looking at him, and looked back at her laptop, typed a few quick words and closed it back.

"Nice way of sarcasm Miss Devyani," Ranvijay scratched his neck taking a seat beside her, "What brings you here?"

Sharanya chuckled and shook her head, "Mom."

Ranvijay snapped air, suddenly feeling tensed, "Is Hridya maa alright?"

For the last two weeks they both had been going on and off in the hospital and three days ago, they had brought Sharanya's mother back to her apartment. The discharge had been easy; her doctor was positive about her health but not in a hopeful way.

It had been the first time Ranvijay had went there but they both had already bonded over the few days, their hospital visits had played a very important role in that which in turn made Hridya happy, knowing that they were depending on each other. Calling whenever the other needed consultancy or when they were in problem had become their own thing. They were there as a backup to each other whenever the other needed help. They also mindlessly indulged in Hridya's random requests – like they had done that weekend.

"Mom is alright. But, you haven't been coming from two days, and she really wants to see you. She's being a little grumpy about it and asking for you." Sharanya answered, as her smile became smaller and turned into a mild frown.

She didn't want to tell Ranvijay, but her mother's health was seeping below normal. The doctors had given the deadline but her mother wanted to breathe her last in the house she lived in, that had been bought by her daughter's hard earned money. The doctors continued to tell her that her mother's state was stable and there was nothing else that they could do in her current situation.

Telling Ranvijay that she was being grumpy was a mild way to turn down the seriousness of the matter. Yet somehow, it seemed that he had caught into that matter rather quickly. There was no hiding these things from him.

"I'm done for the day," Ranvijay said looking at his watch which showed that it was lunchtime, "We can leave if you want to."

"Don't you seriously have work? It's a chain of industries we are talking about." Sharanya said, playfully.

"My board of Directors manage themselves well," Ranvijay teased back, "And they can always call me back if they need me."

"Sure, if you say so." She nodded smile on her face and putting her laptop into her side bag, stood up beside him.

Ranvijay stood up and waited for her to follow him. When she didn't, he looked back her with a frown on his face as he noticed her suddenly quivering hands. He had been correct about her trying to play down about her mother's situation. Without further ado, he held her hand in his, to which she smiled at him and they walked out of his office towards her house.

While in the car on the roads, it reminded them of the moments in the weekend they had spent.

* * *

Two days ago, Sunday, the day after Sharanya's mother had gotten out of the hospital; Hridya requested the both of them to get out and have some time well spent. Her excuse had been that her daughter needed to live her own life a bit. After much thought, Sharanya had called up telling Ranvijay about it and he had asked her to meet up.

The meeting turned had out to be early in the morning.

"Do you know how to ride a bicycle?" Ranvijay had asked. It had been 5 AM in the morning while both of them had met up.

"Yes, why?" Sharanya had frowned.

Ranvijay had grinned. Somehow he had gotten hold of two bicycles and they had ridden over the lanes of Southern Avenue like he used to in his teenage. They had gone out on the roads, laughed, had tea and ice-lolly's, talked randomly about their beliefs and thoughts and came back home after three hours feeling refreshed from the early morning workout.

They had also had breakfast in one of the early morning cafés that Sharanya loved as a teenager, close to the Southern Avenue.

It had been the most weekend-ish thing that either one of them had done in a while, that too in a moment's prompt decision, away from their busy life schedules.

* * *

Looking at Sharanya, no one could ever say that her mother was almost dying and that she'd had a terribly rough childhood. She smiled at everyone that was nice to her; there was something bold and confident about the personality that drew in everyone around her and it was noticeable to whoever around.

Ranvijay couldn't help admiring her, as she talked with her mother's nurse over the phone who said that she'd fed her the lunch and that her mother was now sleeping.

She had slept a lot from the past few days. When the doctor was consulted, he'd said it was because the body systems wanted to rest. Sharanya didn't budge much about it. Yet, sometimes the fear caught her at night when she was alone sleeping in her room.

"Do you want to have lunch at home or at some restaurant?" She asked looking at him, as he drove her car. She'd been busy talking and he'd taken it as a chance to say that he'd drive.

"Anywhere will do. You have lunch at home?" He asked looking at her, who gestured him to keep his eyes on the road.

"I cooked before coming to meet you." She shrugged as if it was the most normal thing to do.

"Oh! You cook?" Ranvijay smirked at her, making her laugh as well as roll her eyes at his direction.

"Of course I do." She cringed her nose in annoyance.

He drove towards her house, and she couldn't help but smile at his gestures. He was a really playful person, and in the last two weeks, he had been there for her whenever she had needed him. Not only that, he himself had called her for help when his pet Golden Retriever Nikki had suddenly fallen ill, and wasn't responding to anything, although at that time her mother had been in the hospital.

That had made her feel that someone other than her mother also needed her to be there. The way he'd held her hands to reassure that they were not quivering anymore was a gesture enough for her to understand that he needed her and she needed him the same way.