Been

Shot 4

"It must be early morning over there ..", he mumbled to himself as the phone rang.She didn't pick up and he was about to call again when she herself called,

"You okay chote?', she asked in a hoarse voice.

"Yeah ...what happened to your voice ..", he asked worried if she caught flu or something, especially with the little girls now.

" Noo...no ..I am fine ...wait a second..", she said and he held on as he heard sound of door cracking.

'Yeah ..tell me ...", she asked yawning.

"I am good ...", he replied.

"Hey Bhagwan !!Don't you have show today Chote ..? Go and sleep.", she asked and he chuckled,

"It was today Di ", he whined and he knew she was smacking her head on the other side. She was truly his mother after his mother.

"And before you ask let me tell you .... it went well........The staff here planned a success party tomorrow and they wanted me to attend ..", he said softly.

"Great .......I am proud of you ..wish you well....You deserve all the happiness in the world....", she blessed and continued,

"And once again I am sorry .....I thought today is Saturday ....but what to do, with these two muchkins ...I don't know what day or date it is ...the whole day passes by just seeing them ...cuties they are ..", she said merrily.

"I am happy for you Di....", he said in a whisper.

"I am happy for you too Chote .."

"Di...um......", he said and paused not knowing how to continue or what exactly to ask,

"What is it Chote ..all good with your health ?', she panicked.

"Yeah ..yea..all good ....its just ...I ..I wanted to ask you something..", he said sitting up.

"What is troubling you?", she asked softly.

"I ...I don't know ....I ...I miss Maa..", he said looking up and above.

"I miss her too....but that is not it, is it?", she asked sensing there is something else.

"That and there is something else.....I met Amy and Patrick today ..", he said and paused.

"The tall guy and that spectacled girl?", she asked to check if she was right.

"You remember all of them, don't you ?", he asked amused.

"Ofcourse I do ..you had very few friends...how can I forget them ...this Patrick guy took to hospital once when you caught fever ...may be in the first year there ..", she said remembering how worried she was when he was in Harvard.

"He did ....", he smiled, despite his rude nature, people had always been kind to him, may be they knew, he isn't rude from within, or may they are justskind souls.

"Now ..come on, stop beating around the bush and tell me what is it?", she said checking time.

"I feel lonely Di....", he said finally.

"Do you want me to come to London to stay with you for a while ...", she asked feeling bad for him, she had been so busy in her own life, he must have felt left out, he had been living alone for three years now.

"No....no....I...I .....I am coming ...I am planning on coming to Delhi next week or the week after that ..", he said now playing with the grass infront of him.

"You are homesick Chote ..",she concluded and smiled.

"I feel like I don't have a home Di ...", he said painfully and that hit her hard.