" Hmmm, so you're the reason Little Miss Mischief is up and running around right now "
Vishay asked, taking a sip of his Morning Chai, Looking up from his plate.A small smile visible on his face, he gestured to Darpan , who had been helping his mother out in the kitchen to come and sit.
The old wooden chair made a screeching sound being pulled across the floor.
" Well, She's going through her 'rebellious phase ' I guess. Mathematics problems tame her though. Never fails. Ever."
Darpan chuckled plopping down on the chair.
Neema who had been cleaning up the kitchen slowly walked in carefully placing a plate of Poha* on the table.
" Careful. It's hot. " Neema warned her Son who was about to dig in as soon as the plate was placed in front of him.
" So did she go? I haven't seen her since she and Aryan ran out after breakfast.?"
Darpan fanned himself after taking a spoonful of hot Poha in his mouth.
" Well Aryan had to drag her back, get her changed and fed , and look presentable before she went around apologizing to anyone. "
he sucked his teeth due to another hot bite he had just took.
" I told you it was hot!"
Neema chuckled and lovingly stroked Darpan's hair back. She didn't know if she had been a good Mom but she certainly felt she was the happiest Mom. The adorable bond between the siblings made her feel like she had succeeded in raising them right.
As Neema made eye contact with Vishay , they shared a knowing look. Neema quietly sat down opposite Darpan , now looking worried or perhaps, nervous for some reason.
Darpan who was still chewing his last bite was distracted by his dad's forced coughs. He looked up to see his parents fi with a worried or fearful expression. Now, he had known them enough to know this was time for some serious talk. Judging from how they picked a time when none of his siblings was around, this was some real adult matter.
He just hoped it wouldn't be ' that ' kind of talk ; after all , he was too old for that and it would just make things awkward. He quietly kept aside the plate and slid it beside him on the table.
" So, what is the matter?" He calmly asked wiping the corners of his mouth with his sleeves. The air was a bit heavy now. A serious talk with parents can never not be heavy and awkward. Darpan already dreaded whatever was going to come.
Vishay cleared his throat and finally spoke up.
" Well, Darpan . While you were away yesterday , the Sharma family visited. They , uhm- handed us this. "
Vishay slid a yellow envelope towards Darpan. Darpan had no clue what was going on but since it was connected with the Sharma family, it certainly had to be bad.
Slowly, Darpan opened the envelope, and inside it was a wedding invitation. Normally, one would not think negatively of a wedding. But this is the Sharma's we're talking about.
" Something is fishy here" Darpan stated shifting uncomfortably in his seat.
" Yes. We know. Moreover they asked for you and your dad to be the organizers of the event. I really don't know what they're thinking at this point."
Neema furrowed her eyebrows.
" I don't think I want to know either, if i am being frank. "
" Well, they could have changed. I mean maybe they are trying to turn over a new leaf and apologize; but that's all an assumption."
Vishay had started but seemed to give up halfway through. Now, would it be that bad to hold hope for the best?
" They didn't elaborate on anything? like did they just invite us and ....left?"
Darpan asked, leaning forward.
" Kind of, they just gushed about their daughter and how happy they would be if you guys accept to organize it and all. I mean what if they just want to do is bad or something like that?"
Neema now propped her head in her hands leaning on the table.
" Right, What if it's all a plan just to humiliate us like last tim - oww"
Vishay yelped, cut off by the sudden unexpected elbow nudge by his wife.
" I meant, they for sure have something planned. yeah." Vishay mused quickly regaining his posture.
" Whatever it is, I just prefer not to get involved. So you both- won't you reject the offer?"
Neema asked or rather stated that this offer should not be accepted. She could not risk something like last time happen again. It was better to be safe than sorry.
" Mom, Dad . I don't really think they would do anything though." He pointed out the red letters in bold.
" I mean , it's Vaidehi who's getting married. So I doubt they'd do something to sabotage their own daughter's wedding. But why would they ask us- out of all the people here in the town to be the event organizer? That is the one question that makes me doubt the credibility of the wedding itself!"
Everything felt so complicated to Darpan. As long as he'd known, The Batra's and the Sharma's had been at odds. What started out as business rivalry had turned to familial enmity and nobody knew how. Since then there had been lots of attempts at tarnishing the Batra family's image but none had been quite successful till the last one. It was such a mess; Just thinking about it gave Darpan a headache.
" How much money are they offering? "
The young man raised his eyebrows , wanting to look at another side of the situation. " We need to calculate this to know if it's real or a bluff. I doubt they'd put at stake a big amount either though "
Vishay nodded in approval. The Batra's never really hated them but avoiding problems was preferable rather then acquiring fame for something not so appropriate. They should tread carefully.
" If my memory serves me right, they talked about 45₹ for the wage.Said all necessary items and costs will be covered , just make sure to put effort or something along those lines."
Neema sighed ,not understanding what or why should be done in this situation.
" Ohh, that's a pretty big amount for daily wage. Our daily sales go upto 120₹ at the store. They're really offering more than half of a good day's earnings." Darpan muttered, deep in thought while staring blankly at the invitation card.
" Okay , I know this is going to sound weird, but I think we should give it a try."
As soon as the words came out of his mouth, Darpan's parents stared at him wide-eyed.
" I mean, I know that we have this whole rivalry thing going on but do we really hate them? As far as I remember it's always been them creating trouble for us. So now that they have taken the initiative, wouldn't it be better to just try and solve everything once and for all?"
He felt that now that they are probably trying to change, they should give them a chance. It would nullify the sour air floating in between them.
" Plus, we're making good money too, aren't we? I just feel that let's do it and be cautious about it. it would lessen the future troubles too if they had any in store for us."
" Darpan,I know what you mean. But I was worried that after the last event, I think you know what I am getting at; you wouldn't want to.."
Neema added her reason for hesitance. She didn't want to remind him of that incidence again but she felt like there was something coming for them this time around too.
" Yes, Darpan. Your mother is correct. I think whatever they do , they might be planning something. We barely managed to survive the humiliation last time. I am really worried for what could happen to you three children the most too. "
As a dad, Vishay could not hide his concern for the children and their state after going through something humiliating.
" I know, but like I myself feel that we should look at this as their chance to redeem themselves. We will be aiding it, although the ultimate decision to change or not rests in their hand. So , I want to give it a try."
Darpan really wanted to end this rivalry between them. If this proved to be a chance to end all the bad feelings, he was willing to take a risk. Plus ,he was grown now. he could handle what was to come. He was sure they didn't like this constant negativity in their life either.
" Okay, then . The only reason we hadn't accepted it yet was we wanted to hear your opinion. Now that you've made up your mind, what choice do we have. I'll go and inform them today then"
Vishay replied finally setting down his empty cup of Chai that made a sweet Ka- ling sound.
Neema was a bit worried still,But ultimately it was his decision and maybe things would turn out for the better. She lightly squeezed Darpan's hand and nodded.
As if on cue, Aryan and Chhaya had walked through the main door.
Chhaya came running down the hall to jump and sit in Vishay's lap. Aryan kept standing leaning on the wall opposite to the table.
" What are you guys talking about?"
She chirped while wiggling to find a comfortable sitting position on her human chair.
" Nothing that concerns you, I'm sure of"
replies Aryan smirking. He had already predicted the dirty look coming his way. "Avert your eyes, little bugger" he responded in the most menacing tone he could manage.
This whole thing got a laugh out of everyone but Chhaya who was currently very offended by her new nickname.
" Honey, if you could get up. Baba has to go out for some work. " Vishay asked Chhaya carefully putting her on her feet when she nodded.
" Lemme accompany you!"
Chhaya excitedly yelled.
" But aren't you tired? You both just came back from being in the Sun. Won't you rest a bit?"
Darpan asked, worried she would get exhausted out in the sun. She had been most likely running all day.
" Oh , I'm not old like you. I can run very far too, thank you. Maybe you should take a rest with the math homework though. At this point you've spent more sleepless nights getting me to study than me in fear of failing "
Chhaya responded , still a bit irritated at the lack of respect her older brothers had for her. For the last time, she wasn't a child!.
The family erupted in laughter with a shocked Darpan staring deep into space and still processing what just happened. Chhaya seemed to have evolved into a bigger menace now.
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1. Poha- A dish made of seasoned puffy rice mostly eaten as a breakfast or snack.
2. Batra's - Our protagonist and his family's surname.
3. The money thing - It seems ridiculous now probably but in olden times 50₹ would probably be a dream. so understand that the money system is modified according to the olden system. which means 120₹ is probably a sh*t load of money during that time , so don't come at me for wrong calculations. More would be explained in later chapters.