It was close to evening now. Amina had returned home before lunch. Aryan and Darpan had been registering entries for orders and organizing the shelves.
" Was a clay pot set written in the last order Bhai? "
Aryan asked wiping his sweat with the back of his kurta sleeve. He had been moving around the boxes of sculptures and organizing them simultaneously.
" No, why do you ask? Have any sets been left behind?"
Darpan asks slowly opening the register to check if any order for pot sets had yet not been delivered.
" I don't really know but I have been seeing that wheel with the clay and mud at the back for a while now. Does Baba even plan on doing something with it? "
Aryan pointed towards the clay and mud packs sitting beside a pottery wheel.
" The orders I have seen haven't mentioned it yet so this must be leftovers from a previous order. Should we throw it out?"
Darpan got up to take a closer look at the items placed at the back of the store.
He indeed had seen them there for a long time now. If there were no more orders then the packs should have been closed but it was out in the open everyday.
" Um..no , I mean we don't even know why it's kept like this so let's ask about it to Baba first then decide what to do."
" Okay, if you say so. I thought it's been open for such a while it might have gotten cold. If it's really leftovers then maybe we should just make a few pots and finish the packs. What say?"
Aryan asked staring at the clay packs. Aryan had always been interested in different forms of Nakshi. So naturally,he developed a fascination for traditional and earthen arts which included pottery. He had made a few clay pots and pans when he was a little young. Though not so great, they were definitely usable.
His passion and love for the techniques had grown along with his skills now. Most of the ceramic statues and utensils displayed in the store had been made by him.
" I'll pass. But you can if you want to. It's better to put it to use rather than letting it waste here. It might be a little hard to start from scratch though. Aren't you tired from all the work you did before?"
" Nah, this type of stuff really puts my mind at ease and relaxes me. I'm fine. I can make a three piece set today in fact!"
Aryan assured Darpan he was still very much full of energy as he got cleaned up a little and prepared the materials. With a slight nod Darpan made his way back to the desk.
Darpan was totally opposite of Aryan in this scenario. While he had an interest in all forms of art, he couldn't deny Literary arts was his area of expertise. He had mastered the art of prose and often wrote short stories for the Town newsletter. Though as well versed as he was in this area ,the only thing that he could never learn was exactly this - Pottery. No matter how hard he tried or how long he and his Baba sat across the wheel discussing the shaping spin, he just couldn't get it right. Pottery sure wasn't one of his strong points.
He had been at the desk a while now when suddenly some angry feet could be heard marching in. Before Darpan could even mutter a greeting of welcome, a loud shrill voice boomed through the small shop.
" Which one of you is Vishay Batra? "
The man seemed to be in his late fifties, quite tall, greying hair, small black tunic with white pajamas and curved brown sandals. His build was a bit small but broad. A mustache hovering over his pale lips curving upwards at both sides.
" Yes, Sir? What business do you have with him?"
Aryan asked him, hastily cleaning his hands and approaching the raging man cautiously.
" You don't get to ask me that! Just answer me .Where is he? "
The man took a few steps forward scanning the whole place with his eyes as if Vishay could be hidden behind any of these shelves.
" Uhmm. Sir, He is our Baba and as you can see, currently he is not present here. May I please ask you again as to what business you have with him?"
Aryan tried again to get the man to state his business. Darpan just stood at the desk. Too scared to interrupt the conversation. He was bad at dealing with strangers in the first place and people who displayed overwhelming peaks of emotion only frightened him more.
He was just glad that Aryan was there to handle this. If it would have been only him he would have definitely not been able to speak a word and then anger the man further.
" That is my business, lad. Don't cross question. Tell me where he is right now!"
The man spoke with a louder voice now.
When Aryan didn't answer, he turned to look at Darpan and glared at him.
" You! You tell me where that rat is!"
Darpan froze there and shrank his shoulders with his eyes on the ground.
" Sir! I'm afraid we can't give you the answer you want until you state your business. I can't just give anyone our address . I'm sure you understand so please tell us why it is that you need him?"
Sensing that Darpan was scared, Aryan was quick to run and put a distance between the two of them.
" Fine, then. Your father replaced me as the wedding organizer for Sharma's daughters wedding. I was working on it already and had money already being put to use. All those accessories and decoration items I bought and the time I wasted! Where did he even come from huh? In the middle when the planning had already started. "
The man ranted as he spoke about how Vishay just randomly came in and was made the organizer. while he had to butter up to the Sharma's to get this opportunity.
" And they were paying so well too!"
Darpan wanted to correct him on who had actually made that decision but felt like it would be better to stay quiet. Even though he didn't like the way his father was addressed.
" Sir, I'm really sorry. But that was not on us. In fact, we were totally unaware about any of this until now. The Sharma's themselves came to us with an offer to be the wedding organizer. I swear we had no idea you were kicked out of it."
Aryan tried to apologize for there was no telling what this man even wanted or could do if he so desired. The last thing he wanted today was a physical altercation.
" Oh, sure you weren't. Seems like I'm not getting any answers either huh? Just wasting my time around here, Tch."
He turned around and took a few steps when he suddenly stopped to face Darpan. He sized him up and down and then smirked .
" What was your name again pretty boy? "
Darpan was still quite rigid and barely managed to make eye contact with the man in front of him .
" Darpan" he breathed out.
Aryan did not like this. Seeing his older brother being treated like an inferior being. This also brought back some similar memories from a year ago and Aryan surely didn't want to relive it.
But he couldn't do anything now. As much as he hated it , doing something might only further enrage this madman and he didn't want Darpan to get hurt. So he just glared at the man hoping he would just leave soon.
" Oh , so you are Darpan! You're exactly like how people describe you. Though you don't speak so much, people all talk about you , ya know?"
The man again weirdly stared at Darpan's face.
" No wonder, huh? You're your Baba's son alright! Son ruins homes and the father ruins other people's jobs. Maybe it runs in the family?"
He spoke again looking for a reaction which he did get when Darpan was left wide eyed and shocked at the sudden recalling of last year's incident. How did this man know?
" Sir, you are stepping out of line. I cannot allow you to disrespect my family like this! You can talk about anything that you want to calmly; but do not resort to insulting my family in front of me!"
Aryan spoke, protectively pushing Darpan behind him and stepping up to stare the man in the eye.
" What? Insult? Hahahahahah! "
He erupted in laughter and smirked seeing the brothers' confused faces.
" Me insulting you? What do I need to defame when you've already rolled around in mud and shoved your dirty linen in the face of the world? Did you think people would not know? "
He again smiled to himself enjoying the pained and horrified reactions of Darpan.
" You really thought huh? Did it hurt you? remembering what you did? well if it isn't the consequences of your own actions yeah?
You really expected grinding on the groom to be on his wedding day and getting away with it easily? "
He let out an ugly cackle as he saw the way Darpan shut his eyes in disgust.
" Don't even dare to go there mister! My brother has no hand in this!"
Aryan spoke pushing away at the man's chest who had gotten uncomfortably close to them.
" Don't yell at me, brat! He was the one caught red handed with the groom, wasn't he? if he really cared about his reputation maybe he just shouldn't have done that to begin with.
And, with that face of his he surely could get a lot of grooms in bed , right? Maybe he's just an insufferable little whore behind that innocent mask. Say, tell me ; how much do you charge per night? I could probably give you more than you'll ever earn within this sorry shack...I could -"
Aryan screams and pushes the man against the wall. He is caught off guard and is still fazed with the hit to his head.
" I already said this before, don't make me repeat it. IT'S A WARNING! Dare utter another word again and I will not let this meeting end peacefully."
Aryan spat as he seethes with anger. he gave the man's collar a tight squeeze then released him.
The man slowly straightened up, brushing off his tunic ,while glaring at Aryan. The turned his gaze to the still frozen Darpan who had been watching the entire thing in shock.
" Fucking homosexual!"
He muttered as he started taking strides towards the door.
" Oh and tell your damned father that Raghu Seth had come to visit! Wouldn't want him missing out on the good news!"
Raghu Seth walked off muttering curses under his breath.
Aryan quickly ran over to Darpan's side and made him sit down on a chair .
" Here have some Water" he quickly handed a glass of water to the shaking hands of Darpan.
Darpan slowly brought the glass to his lips as he took a big sip all the while Aryan patted his back to calm him down.
There were only a few times when Darpan wanted to cry. This was one of those times .
He wanted to but he simply couldn't. He didn't want to make himself look more like a coward and scaredy cat than he already was.
He was still wondering how something that was not even his fault to begin with could have so much impact on him?
He was lost in thoughts when he started feeling something warm trickle down his cheeks. He didn't even know when the tears began to fall.
Aryan sat beside his crying older brother., patting him slowly on the back quietly murmuring
" It's okay, it's okay Bhai"