"Kitna ho gaya iska?"

"Sattar rupaye sahab..."

Rakesh took his wallet and happily paid for what was in the paperbag. Had it been his past-self, he would have heavily bargained with the shopkeeper. Well, he wouldn't have purchased anything worth seventy rupees in the first place itself. But he has been happy since yesterday. And whenever he's happy, he does only one thing. Purchase something for Naina.

On his way back home, he kept humming his favorite Kishore Kumar songs and lost in his own thoughts. Naina would be so happy to see this. He mused. How much he likes to see her expressions whenever he gets her something from his own money. For all those colorful pens, pencils, the stationary, the diary, the dress; he had seen her getting overwhelmed with happiness. That lone happy tear in her eyes that she would try hard to hide from him, gave him ultimate satisfaction. He had missed being the reason behind his daughter's happy face since her childhood. Since Naina was a kid, he had only given her tears, punishments and apathy. But he had left all the things that happened in the past behind. He had left his unwilling personality behind. He wanted to be a doting father to Naina... and Sameer too... And he was trying very hard to become one.

He entered the house using his key and recognised that Naina was in the kitchen. She instantly came to him and he forwarded the paperbag towards her. He was keen to know her reaction.

He smiled brightly, "Naina yeh tere liye-"

But his statement was cut in by Naina's accusing tone, "Papa... aapke paas itne paise kaha se aaye?"

Naina's voice was sharp and blunt. This made Rakesh's hand holding the bag stop midway; his smile faded and a frown covered his face instead. "Kaunse paise?" He asked.

"Wahi... jo aapne almaari me apne kapdo ke beech chhupa ke rakhe the..."

Rakesh kept the paperbag on the glass table and heaved. All his happiness and excitement had died down. "Kuchh chhupa ke nahi rakha tha... galti se kapde rakh diye gaye honge uspar..." He replied plainly.

"Papa yeh sau-do sau rupayo ki baat nahi hai... poore char hazaar rupaye hai... itne paise kaha se aaye, Papa?" Naina was firm on asking the source of money.

"Woh... bank se laaye the maine..." Rakesh avoided looking at Naina.

Naina was folding the dried clothes in the afternoon as the sun had come through the skies after many days. She arranged her and Sameer's clothes in their almirah in the bedroom and came back to the living room for Papa's clothes. As she opened the cupboard, she found it a little messy and thought of setting it right. After arranging his t-shirts and pants, she found a white envelope under some clothes. She certainly wasn't expecting to find eight notes of five hundred rupees when she opened it in curiosity. Wondering how this much money was found in such an envelope, she searched for the bank passbook to verify her doubt. But there wasn't any entry in it. At this time of the month, they could not have the amount of four thousand, as Rakesh Papa himself was maintaining the expenses.

Her bewilderment had soon turned into many questions regarding the money. What can be the source of this money that was presented in a white envelope? Did someone give it to Papa? Did he borrow money from someone? But borrowing money wasn't the case now. None of Sameer's or Papa's bank accounts lacked money that Papa needed to borrow from someone.

So what could it be?

Her mind was constantly directing herself to Papa's alternate day outings. Because it was the only option that was quite evident. And it worried her more than anything. Why was Papa so adamant on not sharing about where he goes, what he does? Why was there so much suspense around it? Both her and Sameer had been ignoring it for quite long, rather she used to defend her father against Sameer. But now it seemed to go overboard.

She spent most of her afternoon thinking about Papa.... and the days when he would go out. One thing she couldn't deny to herself was that she found Papa always happy with it. Probably that's why she didn't feel like questioning him much. But now she needed to know the details. She had taken her study books to divert her mind, but when that didn't help, her diary came as a great support.

Meanwhile Sameer joined Naina and Rakesh. He speeded freshening up listening to the voices coming from the living room, which certainly didn't sound good. While on his way he deduced that Naina was speaking to Papa about some money she found. He walked towards Naina instinctively.

"Papa maine passbook dekha tha... passbook me koi entry nahi hai paise nikalne ki... aur bank wale paise aise safed lifafe me bharke nahi dete..."

Rakesh didn't respond to Naina's counter and averted his gaze. Seeing his disinterest in sharing the information, it baffled Naina more and more. She questioned him straight, "Papa aap kaha jate hai dopahar ko? Itna bhi kya suspense banana iss baat par?"

Her frustration regarding everything happening with their life was coming out in the form of harsh words. "Mujhe toh samajh nahi aa raha hai yeh hamari zindagi hai ya koi picture chal rahi hai jo itna-"

"Chuupppp!!!!" Rakesh roared, pointing his finger at Naina.

Naina flinched and so did Sameer, but he quickly recovered and rounded his arm on Naina's shoulders, holding her caringly.

"Khabardar mujhse oonchi aawaz me baat ki toh..." Rakesh's eyes were fuming with rage. "Yaha aake thodi dheel kya dedi apne baap se baat karne ki tameez bhul gayi? Ek thappad lagaunga na saari akkad nikal jayegi..."

Naina's eyes pooled with tears as she grabbed Sameer's shirt in her fist. She felt shivers in her spine hearing the tone of her father after so long. The fear she used to possess due to Rakesh's presence around her caught her again and her lips quivered.

Sameer was merely a spectator to this scene. All he could do was stand as a support to Naina. He rubbed Naina's arm when he realized his shirt was in a firm grip of Naina's hand. But looking ahead, he noticed the red eyes of Papa. His eyes weren't red because of the wrath, but due to the tears gathered in his eyes too. He wanted to do something for both of them, Naina and Papa, but currently they were standing at two different sides. And before he could act on something, Naina left for the bedroom wiping her tears.

The two men in the living room stood still for moments. Rakesh had his hands on his waist and was breathing heavily. He used his index finger to clear the tear from the corner of his eyes, looking away. He regretted scolding his daughter like anything.

Sameer found himself sandwiched between a father and a daughter. The most difficult part of it was that they weren't random people to him where he can ignore the situation. The daughter was his beloved wife and the father was his father-in-law, but both stood apart from each other. Whom should he go to first? He couldn't leave Naina crying alone in the bedroom nor could he withstand Papa standing dejected here. Seeing him so weak, Sameer wanted to hug him, but he couldn't gather the courage.

He still strolled towards Papa, taking a long stride, but was halted with Rakesh's hand as a sign. "Uske paas jao." Rakesh mumbled.

To deny something commanded by Papa appeared a big danger for Sameer too. It was better for him to agree with it than triggering him more. He turned halfway to go back but spotted a paper-bag on the tea-table. He recognized Papa must have brought it. Something purple shone in the bag as he peered at it carefully and his heart filled with warmth, accompanied by a small smile on his lips.

In the bedroom, Naina was sorting the cassettes on the corner table that were spreaded across. The table looked completely messed, just like her chaotic mind. She was making a stack of cassettes, as if piling on all her emotions one over the other and forming a stack of them too. But the cassettes tripped down due to her mishandling. She tried again but her vision was blocked due to the salty water in her eyes. Result... the stack collapsed again, going out of balance.

Even these stupid cassettes were not listening to her. She thought.

When Sameer stood at the doorstep of their bedroom, he saw Naina near the cassette table, with her back to him. He sauntered in towards her, standing behind, and took a deep breath. The sound of cassettes clanging to one another reverberated in his ears and he held Naina from behind with his palms on her arms.

Naina had already known that Sameer was behind her, his body heat had alarmed her way before. She muttered in between hard breaths, "yeh cassettes bhi na... kitne bikhre hue hai... mai hamesha inhe lagakar rakhti hu aur tum hamesha bigad kar rakh dete ho..."

"Sorry..." Sameer whispered in her ear, stroking her arms affectionately. He knew that was such a meaningless accusation on him, but he had to calm her down first or rather let herself cry.

Naina continued arranging the cassettes in the corner while Sameer did not stop stroking her arm. She took some cassettes that were out of their covers and tried to put them back in place, but her husband's calm demeanor, his soothing touch on her arms and his warmth on her back did so many things to her. She felt all the choked up emotions in her heart getting stirred and a heavy lump formed in her throat. Her hands fumbled while putting a cassette back into its holder and Sameer held her hand, stopping her.

"Rehne do... mai kar dunga..." Sameer said softly, keeping the cassette on the table and now engulfing Naina in his embrace totally, locking his hands on her stomach.

Naina sniffed, trying to wipe the tears flowing down her cheek, only to find them ready again in her black orbs. A loving kiss on her cheek by her husband and her emotions made their way out. "Papa ne daanta mujhe..." She sobbed while speaking, her voice was feeble.

"Shshshsh...." Sameer hushed her, tightening his hold on her, still letting her continue to sob.

"Ab toh.. daantna kam kar diya tha na unhone?" She sobbed again and took a short breath. "Phir... aaj kaise chillaye mujhpe?"

"Hmmmmm..." Sameer only hummed again.

"Mai nahi baat karungi ab unse..." Naina mumbled, wiping her running nose with the back of her palm.

"Thik hai... mat karna..." Sameer seconded her. "Mai bhi nahi karunga Papa se baat."

Naina swiftly turned in his hold, leaning behind on the table, she asked, "Tum kyun nahi karoge?"

"Arey, meri itni pyaari si patni ko rulaya na Papa ne..." Sameer said, while cleaning his wife's wet cheeks with his thumb. "Toh ab mai bhi nahi karunga baat..."

"Nahiiii... tum karo baat... mai nahi karungi, thik hai?" Naina proposed as if a deal, her sobs had subsided by now.

"Thik hai..." Sameer agreed while stifling his laughter. He saw the innocent and childish Naina peeing out and he let her be.

"Toh Papa abhi jo tumhare liye lekar aaye the, woh sab mera?" He asked her dramatically, raising his brows.

Naina's eyes shone with a sparkle acknowledging that Papa had brought something for her. She remembered the small paper-bag in Papa's hand when he entered the house.

She shook her head in half yes and half no reluctantly. Sameer pursed his lips controlling himself and pretended to step back while at the same time Naina caught his forearm.

"Kya laya tha Papa ne?" She enquired innocently.

"Lekin woh toh ab mera hai na?" Sameer quirked his brow.

"Haan toh dikhaoge bhi nahi?" The innocent child in Naina wasn't ready to compromise on her gift, especially when it was from Papa.

Sameer smiled and took his hand to his lower back where he had tucked a folded paper bag into his jeans. He rolled it to open, blowing up in the packet to open it more and tilted it towards Naina to show her the content in it.

"Chocolates!!!!" Naina squealed in happiness, snatching the bag immediately from Sameer.

"Arey arey arey... yeh ab mere hai..." Sameer tried to fight with her, pulling the bag to him.

"Haan toh jo tumhara hai woh mera hi hai na...", came the quick and quirky reply from Naina.

She dipped her hand in the bag and took a handful of chocolates in her palm. Her eyes glittered in happiness as she found almost all kinds of chocolates, right from bars to toffees to lollipops and what not. There were a few bars of dairy milk, some of milkybar, kismi bar, chocki, toffees like swad, coffee bite, poppins, maha lacto, aam pachak. It literally had everything.

"Tumhe pata hai Sameer, yeh saari meri bachpan ki favorite chocolates hai..." She was overwhelmed.

"Jaanta hoon..." Sameer replied with a warm smile, to which Naina frowned, wondering how he knew what chocolates she liked in her childhood. Reading her face, he answered, "Papa tumhara bachpan hi toh jee rahe hai abhi... hai na?"

Naina only nodded as her eyes moistened again. Sameer took a dairy milk out from the bag, tore up its wrapper and fed it to Naina to alter her mood. He didn't exactly know the reason behind her crankiness today... it sure wasn't her period... that had a time of more than a week... so was it the calls or the money she found... He let it go for now and smiled brightly when Naina too fed him the chocolate.

"Mere liye kuchh nahi laaya Papa ne..." Sameer pouted, complaining cutely. That wasn't in the plan though, it came genuinely from his heart after seeing something only for Naina.

"Achchha? Iss mahine ka bus ka pass kisne bana ke diya aapko Mr. Maheshwari." Naina defended her father, her voice was still heavy.

Sameer chuckled looking at her state. "Papa ne..." He accepted that Papa was subtly doing things for him too.

He cleaned the remnants of tears, if any, from Naina's face and gently kissed her forehead. They smiled looking at each other for the first time after Sameer had returned home. He then pulled her to his chest and embraced her in a warm hug. Naina too rested her head on his heart and they both sighed. It was something they were needing after an emotionally draining day. They discerned that had they hugged as soon as they saw each other, the environment at the home wouldn't be this disturbed. Their arms tightened around their spouse and they released all their fatigue, frustration and angst.

After a minute, Sameer slightly withdrew from the hug and voiced, "Chalein Naina?"

"Kaha?"

"Papa se maafi maangne..."

***

"Preeti... 15 minute ho gaye hai..." Shubham whined. "Ab jau mai nahane? Mai bandar lag raha hu isme..." He grimaced looking at himself in the mirror.

"Offo Shubhamji... abhi sirf 5:15 baje hai... aur 10-15 minutes to rehne dijiye... tabhi toh asar dikhega na..." Preeti stood behind Shubham with her hands on her waist. She looked so small in front of his tall figure.

"Tum bhi na... aur yeh saare experiments tum mujhpar kyu kar rahi ho? Tanvi pe karo na jaake..." Shubham grumbled, going back to the bed and grabbing a cushion on his lap.

"Dandruff aapke sar me hai... Tanvi ke sar me nahi." Preeti answered, narrowing her eyes. "Aur aap itna kya mooh bana rahe hai? Isme sirf dahi, nimbu ka ras, adrak ka ras, methi ke daane, kadipatta aur..." She was counting ingredients on her fingers, remembering, "thodasa shahad hai... bass aur kuchh nahi..." She shrugged while finishing.

"Aur kuchh nahi??" Shubham was amazed. "duniyabhar ke saare masale toh daal diye tumne mere sar me..."

Shubham wasn't that bothered by the hair mask Preeti had applied on his scalp some time before. He just liked to have some small banters with her. Because when he would remark something annoyingly, she would laugh at it with all her heart. And her laughter was the most soothing music to his ears.

"Aur yeh kaunsa ajeeb sa mahurat nikala hai tumne yeh lep lagane ke liye..."

Preeti giggled looking at his annoying face. "Ab dinbhar me aap isi waqt mere bhagya me likhe hai toh mai bhi kya kar sakti hu?" Preeti put the sweetest smile on her lips, not missing the chance of teasing her husband.

Unable to hold anymore, Shubham chortled. He was more than happy to be a guinea pig for his wife's experiment. Although, he knew that it wasn't an experiment, rather it was a sure shot formula to get rid of dandruff, coming from the secret tips of grandmothers they all had forgotten to put into use.

Holding Preeti's hand, he made her sit in front of him and adored her. Watching her all chirpy and smiling and giggling after a tiring day at the office was his best way to rejuvenate. All their evening snacks and tea were already done and he could get some of Preeti's free time. They chattered for some time, allowing the hair-mask to complete at least 25-30 minutes.

Shubham returned from bathing for the second time of the day after half an hour. He could have easily postponed this grooming session for the next morning, but then he wouldn't have gotten Preeti's personal attention and her time just as other busy mornings. And he wanted that. So he agreed when Preeti suggested this home remedy for his dandruff at this odd hour of the day.

With a towel in her hand, Preeti approached Shubham who sat on the dressing stool. She started wiping his wet hair with the towel, while examining his scalp and hair to see if her remedy worked.

"Shubhamji... apke baal bhi badh gaye hai... jyada nahi... thode... katwa lena salon me... " Preeti voiced casually.

Shubham eyed her and saw her brows knitted. She looked so focused on his hair, as if studying it. He didn't know how but his heart took a faster speed to beat with. As if that was something so fascinating he found. "Tum hi kaat do phir..." His tone was gentle and loving.

He found it incomprehensible how he reached the stage to say that statement aloud. He was a man of certain beliefs and it was a general belief for years that hair should be cut at the barber's. He wondered what made him say it, but since he had spoken it out, he was ready to mean it from his heart. It must be because of the incertitude in his mind about Preeti's wish to do a parlor course and then Naina's story actually moving him from inside. And even after all this, he observed a smile on his own lips.

"Huhh??" Preeti looked at him astounded. She couldn't fathom if she heard it clearly since her eyes and mind were busy measuring the length of his hair in her fingers, contemplating how she would shape them if she had scissors in her hand.

Did he read her mind?

"Haann..." Shubham said as if it was so obvious what he meant. "Abhi samay bhi hai hamare paas. Toh tum hi kaat do."

"Shubhamji... Mummyji dekh lengi toh bura maan jayengi..." A crease formed on Preeti's forehead instinctively.

"Maa abhi sundar-kaand padh rahi hai... itne jaldi nahi uthengi..."

"Aur unhe baad me pata chal gaya toh?" She still had some questions.

"Preeti... tum Maa ki chinta mat karo... unhe mai sambhal lunga..." Shubham held her hands in his. His eyes bore calmness.

Preeti felt the warmth of his palms, it was so comforting. But more than that the warmth of each of the words he enunciated touched her soul. She beamed in happiness.

An old newspaper, a mug with water, a scissors, two combs and an old towel was collected within five minutes and Shubham was turned towards the mirror on his dressing stool. Soon the scissors in Preeti's hand worked as a wand of a magician. The out of proportion hair were now brought to proper length and style.

Meanwhile Shubham kept looking at her through the mirror with a bright smile on his face. He observed her keenly and what he saw was a glint in her eyes. A sparkle he used to find in himself when he played with numbers while doing the accounts. Yes, pretty boring for others, especially for his wife. But he always loved it. The sight of Preeti cutting his hair made him content. He wished the beautiful smile Preeti's face bore to never fade away.

Why did he show much disinterest in Preeti's request for a parlor's course before?

His mind and beliefs were overtaken by the norms of this patriarchal society that always raised a question whenever a woman wanted to stand and grow up. His values were the outcome of this years-long conditioning that women only look at the house and spend their life raising children. He has seen the examples in his own house itself. But time was changing and so was the need for society to upgrade with it. Even his office had women working there, he himself had talked to Naina about the articleship and all; then why do things change when it came to his own house? His own wife?

Was it the profession Preeti chose for herself bothering him?

Did that really matter?

He soon came to the conclusion that if he wanted Preeti to be happy in her life and not compromise on her dreams, then he needed to wash out all his notions about Preeti's interest. That he should stand as a support behind her and push her to persuade her dreams, just like how Naina had written.

"Ho gaya."

Preeti's exuberant voice brought him out of his thoughts. He looked at his reflection in the mirror attentively. His hair length definitely appeared shorter than before, but he couldn't deduce what exactly had Preeti changed in the style. Preeti laughed looking at his perplexed state.

"Rukiye do minute." She said, before coming back to him with brylcreem in her hand. Taking a small quantity of the gel on her fingertip, she spread it on her fingers and started styling Shubham's hair. Shubham again paid attention and witnessed a change in his hairstyle within a minute as Preeti's fingers worked through his hair.

His wife was indeed so smart.... He mused.

The style of his hair actually suited well with his face-cut. Hair length not too long and not too short. Wow! She even saved his twenty rupees in the salon.

"Kaisa laga?" Preeti queried, putting her hands on his shoulder.

"Perfect!!" Shubham exclaimed looking at Preeti's happy face through the mirror. He smiled and took one her hands in it, bringing closer to his mouth and kissed on the pack of her palm. He was genuinely so impressed by Preeti's artistic skills.

She has miles to go from here... with the kind of potential she had, she is born to shine...

His heart told him. He was nobody to stop her from doing so. All he needed to do was to create a favorable environment at home for Preeti's parlor course.

And he was ready for it like never before.

***

Rakesh had a book in his hand as he was seated in the corner of the sofa. He had picked his favorite book so that he gets immersed in reading it and forgets what just happened. But the book wasn't helping him either. He had shouted badly on his daughter and was repenting over it since then. But her tone had upset him the most. He saw Naina and Sameer coming to the living room through the corner of his eyes. He glanced at them to see that Naina was standing behind Sameer, holding his shirt again.

Is she still scared of him?

But he decided not to dilute so easily, especially not after the tone she had used. So he crossed his left leg on the right and turned more towards the corner, showing he is still displeased.

Naina's courage failed more after seeing Rakesh's body language. She certainly didn't want to get slapped by him. Sameer pursed his lips knowing that the scene is again going to be filmy and entertaining for him. He dragged Naina ahead of him while Naina stumbled to walk towards Rakesh. Finally taking some deep breaths, she regained courage again and walked to the sofa to sit beside Rakesh.

"Papa... sorry..." She said in the pleading voice, the urge coming straight from her heart.

"Hmmmm...." Rakesh didn't unsettle.

"Papa... sorrryyy naaa..." This time she held his forearm that had the book and shook him, preventing him from reading. The apology was turning slightly childish now.

"Haa thik hai..." Rakesh melted a little seeing her innocent eyes and here on the single sofa chair, Sameer hid his chuckle behind his palm. He wished for Papa to not melt so soon and he had popcorn to enjoy the scene more.

Naina pouted her lips, "Mujhe pata hai aapne mujhe maaf nahi kiya... Papa mai aage se aisa kabhi nahi karungi... kasam se..." She pinched her throat like a kid promising her father she would score good marks next time.

This made Rakesh look at her and close his book. He had already given up his stiff demeanor with her first apology. This gave Naina a push and she added, "Papa, mai bass thoda chaunk gayi thi woh paise dekhkar..."

Sameer made a disapproving face and rolled his eyes. This scene didn't even last for 5 minutes as he thought.

Oblivious to his faces, the father-daughter duo smiled at each other. Rakesh placed his hand on Naina's head and voiced, "Mujhe bhi tujhe daantna nahi tha...." They both conveyed an apology through their eyes once again, thinking how their equation had changed so much. The past Naina wouldn't have had any courage to go even close to Rakesh in such a situation. And the past Rakesh wouldn't have spared her without slapping, for her raised voice. Sameer couldn't resist a smile on his lips this time.

"Ek minute." Rakesh got up and opened the cupboard. He took the white envelope and handed it over to Naina after getting back to his seat. "Yeh... meri yaha Mumbai ki pehli kamayi... tere liye..."

Both Sameer and Naina frowned, listening to the word 'kamayi'. "Yahi jan'na tha na tum dono ko ke mai kaha jaata hoon." They both nodded, still very much astonished. They sat in alertness, ready to get surprised or shocked with whatever information will be thrown at them.

"Yahi paas me, Andheri East me ek bahot badi library hai... State Central Library. Wahi jaa raha tha mai itne dinon se..." Rakesh's voice was calm as he started.

"Library mein? Lekin aap aise jaate the jaise koi zimmedari ho." Sameer countered instantly. He hadn't missed the pattern in the timings and days whenever Papa would be out.

"Haan... Pehle toh sirf kuchh padhne ya mann behlane ke liye jata tha mai... Lekin kuchh dino baad pata chala waha kaam karnewale 2 logon ke duty ke samay me kuchh samasya aa rahi thi..." Rakesh then narrated how he wanted to help the two people there to solve their duty timing issues, where a man whose morning duty would end at 2pm had to leave early by 12:30pm for some personal reasons and a lady who had to drop her daughter to her summer classes on the alternate days couldn't come before 3pm. He shared how one day he heard them discussing their problems and still not wanting to let their Head know about it, and then he decided to extend a helping hand to them by looking after the library for those 2-3 hours.

Naina was finally relaxed knowing this wasn't something major. She turned all smiles because her father used to go to his favorite place. "Papa, yeh toh bahot achchhi baat hai ki aap 2-2 logon ki madad karne jaate the. Lekin phir woh paise kisne diye?"

"Yahi kuchh hafte bhar pehle waha ke head achanak aa gaye aur unhone mujhe library ka register likhte hue dekha. Jab unhe pata chala ki wahan duty pe koi nahi hai aur mai hi library ko sambhal raha hu, tab mujhe unhe sach batana pada. 2-3 din pehle woh mahashay aur mahila ne bhi apni majboori unhe batayi aur woh samajh bhi gaye. Iss dauraan maine kuchh sujhaav diye the library me badlaav lane ke liye, jo unke kaam bhi aaye. Isiliye in saari baaton ko dhyan me rakhkar unke head ne mujhe inn 2 mahino ki tankhaw di. Mai toh mana hi kar raha tha, lekin phir..." He took a deep breath before continuing, "phir unhone mujhe 'apni beti' ki kasam de di. Isiliye maine rakh liye."

Naina heaved in happiness listening to all this. How couldn't she deduce that Papa's happiness lies in the library. She should have guessed it. Moreover, the fact that he was helping two people there made her proud.

"Aur aaj mai inhe tumhe sounp raha hu... isse tumhe jaise kharch karna hai waise kharch karo." Rakesh kept the folded envelope in Naina's palm and covered her palm with his.

"Lekin Papa..." Sameer tried to keep himself as part of the conversation. "Aap itni achchhi baat ko hum se chhupa kyu rahe the? Aur itna kya suspense bana ke rakha tha iss baat ke liye?"

"Kyunki mai... kyunki mai inn sab ko pichhe chhodna chahta hoon... Apne beete hue kal ko... uss 'khadus librarian' ki meri uss pratima ko... Nahi dekhna mujhe wapas uss mod ki taraf jo galat tha... boora tha... kitni baar maine khud ko rokna chaha ki waha na jau... jab mera pair mood gaya tha aur kuchh din mai jaa na saka, tab bhi maine socha tha ki abse waha jaana band kar doon... lekin... mere kadam phir se wahi rasta chunte the..." Rakesh was exasperated, his discontentment was clearly evident in his voice and on his face.

Naina smiled with her moistened eyes. She moved close to her father and looped her arms around his shoulders, resting her cheek on his left shoulder, she voiced, "Papaaa.... Aap aisa kyu keh rahe ho? Aur aap koi khadus-wadoos nahi the... aap toh kitne achchhe shikshak the..."

A genuine smile crept on Sameer's lips after witnessing the father-daughter moment. He instantly remembered Principal Sir's words when he had visited Agarwal's to convince Rakesh to attend Naina's wedding functions. That no-one in the school truly liked Rakesh as a teacher or as a person but there was only one student who respected him the most and liked him for the way he was.... Rakesh's own daughter.

Naina continued as she looked at Rakesh, "Aur Papa, aap wahi kijiye jo aapko pasand hai..."

Rakesh looked at her and smiled heartily. He tapped on Naina's cheeks gently and affectionately, learning once again that he was never a 'khadoos librarian' for his daughter.

Soon Naina got up and walked to the Lord Krishna idol to keep the white envelope at its feet and lit the diya. Sameer then joined her in the kitchen to help with the dinner preparation while Rakesh went to freshen up as he hadn't yet. He tried resuming his book as Naina and Sameer were cooking in the kitchen and talking non-stop on any random topic as usual, but once he lost his concentration, he couldn't get it again. Keeping the book aside, he stood and peered at the kitchen. Naina was smiling brightly and glowing in happiness, something he wanted to see on her face since he had returned home.

He went to the balcony to get some fresh air. It was humid outside even in the evening. They had dismantled the dessert cooler after the initial showers and now this humidity led him to sweating again. But he was least bothered about it as he was busy recalling all the happenings again. He felt like a burden was taken off his shoulders after sharing about his library outings to Naina and Sameer. He wasn't deliberately hiding it from them, but was himself in a huge dilemma to keep up with it. But in the end, he found himself happy while doing the work in the library as he used to do it in school.

Though Rakesh had shared where he was going all this time, he hadn't completely revealed why he was doing so. There was something beyond just helping two people adjust their duty timings that was still a secret in his heart.

He didn't tell Naina and Sameer that the man who needed to leave early from his duty due to personal reasons had a sick wife at home and was looking after all her medicines, her doctor visits and feeding her personally. He didn't tell them that the lady who would come late because of her daughter's summer classes was a widow and had no-one at home.

He had found himself resonating with those two people so closely, one with a sick wife and one being a single parent. He didn't want the man to fail at taking care of his ailing wife due to any negligence. Neither did he want the lady to miss out on fulfilling her daughter's demands to learn new skills in the summer. He wanted those two to be present at the right place and at the right time whereas he couldn't do it himself when it was required. Had he done that twenty one years ago, his life would have been so different.

"Papa..."

Sameer's voice broke his chain of thoughts. "Chaliye... khana tayyar hai..." Sameer informed him. Rakesh only hummed with a nod. Sameer lingered there for a while. "Ek baat kahu aap se Papa?" He uttered what he had held within himself.

"Bolo."

"Papa, aap apne jis kal ko galat keh rahe hai, boora bol rahe hai... woh aapke peshe ke wajah se nahi tha... jo bhi tha woh shayad aapki soch aur vicharon ke wajah se tha... jo ab pehle jaise nahi hai..."

Rakesh looked at his son-in-law keenly. Why had he thought of this boy as a lafanga and aawara and wanted to protect Naina from him? He had changed so much.

"Papa, mujhme jo yeh badlaav aaye hai na, yeh Naina ke wajah se hai." Sameer continued and Rakesh wondered if he could read his thoughts. "Aur mai jaanta hun ki aap bhi Naina ke liye hi apne aap ko badal rahe hai. Toh bass. Yeh badlaav jo aapki soch me aa raha hai, yahi kafi hai. Aur isiliye uss raste par wapas chalne me koi galat baat nahi hai... "

Listening to such mature thoughts from Sameer and knowing that Sameer had understood him so well in this brief duration in Mumbai, Rakesh was pleased. He smiled and patted Sameer's shoulder as a gesture of appreciation.

Rakesh wiped the sweat from his forehead with the handkerchief and seeing Sameer still standing there, he thought of sharing one more thing. "Unhone mujhe naukri ka prastav bhi diya hai... Aur mujhe bilkul bhi samajh me nahi aa raha hai mai kya karu." He looked straight somewhere.

Sameer was surprised to hear this new information. "Papa, kisi ki madad karne ke liye 2-3 ghante library jana alag baat hai. Lekin naukri ek bahot badi commitment hai." He shared his opinion.

"Jaanta hun." Rakesh affirmed. "Aur isiliye maine unse thoda samay bhi maanga hai. Lekin phir... sochta hun thode paise hi aa jayenge ghar me."

Rakesh didn't fathom what he had blurted but whatever it was, it pierced straight to Sameer's heart. He opened his mouth to speak but he couldn't form any cohesive sentence nor did any word leave his mouth. He was left speechless.

****

Sameer was sitting on the mattress with one leg folded, he had leaned back on the wall with his cushion while his right elbow rested on Naina's one. He was playing with the rings in his right hand, the red coral gemstone in his ring finger and the yellow sapphire gemstone in his index finger. He never knew why he was asked to wear these stones, he agreed to it only when Nanu persisted with him to wear them. After his engagement with Naina, he was requested by Vishakha to take the engagement ring out and wear the coral stone back. He was adamant on not removing the engagement ring and asked what was the significance of these gemstones in his life. As an answer, Vishakha told him that it would help him in overcoming hurdles and obstacles, that it would help him in draining away bad temper and extreme mood swings, and that it would help him to keep up with his health and wealth.

He scorned at himself by remembering the 'significance' of these stones. Were they really working for him? Because the hurdles and obstacles seemed to constantly appear in his way, nor did he find any ways to overcome them. He turned his hand and gazed at the lines on his palm. What is written in his destiny?

A snigger grabbed his attention and he looked up. Naina was sitting in front of him, wearing her light blue night dress and the cutest smile on her lips.

Frowning, he asked, "tum kab aayi?"

Naina giggled again, "jab tum apne iss khoobsurat haath ko aur inn lambi ungaliyon ko aise pyaar se dekh rahe the... tab", she replied.

Sameer snorted, seeing his wife's failed attempt in recognising the correct reason for him staring at his hand.

"Waise iss haath ko aise dekhna banta bhi hai," Naina said, "iss haath me aur inn ungaliyon me na jaadu hai... subah ki hi baat le lo..." She whispered huskily, implying something totally off-track. Her cheeks flushed with a tinge of red remembering the moments of pleasure Sameer gave her this morning with his long fingers.

This time it was Sameer's turn to fail at recognizing the mischief in her voice and the direction of her statement. He had seen the white envelope in her hand that Papa had given her. It meant she would be keeping it with her. He snorted, "kuchh nahi rakha iss haath me Naina... char paise toh kamaa nahi paa raha hu mai..." He sounded dejected.

Naina stiffened listening to his tone. She moved closer to him, placing her soft palm on his cheek, she asked, "kya hua Sameer? Aaj ka audition achchha nahi gaya?"

Sameer shook his head looking down. He took Naina's hand in his and sighed. "Aaj production house ke office me Shefali se mulakaat hui." He shared.

"Kaun Shefali?" Naina scrunched her nose, she didn't catch whom he was talking about.

"Tumhari dost Shefali, Nainaa..."

Her eyes glittered with the remembrance of her sweet friend and she chirped excitedly, "Shefali? Kya? Kaise? Kab?"

Sameer chuckled pleasantly over Naina's excitement. "Haan woh modelling ke kisi kaam se aayi thi. Usne kaha mujhe filmon ke sath sath tv serial ke liye bhi audition dene chahiye."

"TV serial? Matlab... woh Rishabh Malhotra jaise?" Naina queried, to which Sameer nodded.

"Haan toh thik hai na... serial ke bhi auditions dena shuru kar do... matlab toh hero banne se hai na... chahe film ka ho ya serial ka... aur aajkal toh kitne naye tv shows aa rahe hai... aur... ab ek hafte me 4-4 din dikhta hai show... toh socho tum roz tv pe dikhoge...." Naina was speaking animatedly and it boosted Sameer's confidence somehow. But her next sentence made it collapse again. "Lekin Sameer, humne jo tumhe bade parde par dekhne ka sapna dekha hai... uska kya?" Her voice dropped.

"Naina yaar..." Sameer sounded agitated. "Ek toh mai pehle se hi itna confused hu... upar se ab tum bhi dono side se baat kar rahi ho..."

"Achchha sorry... sorrryyyyy...." Naina scooted towards him to sit beside him and hugged him while resting her head on his shoulder. "Sameer, tum jo bhi karoge, mai tumhare sath hu..." She assured him with a loving gaze at him.

That assurance in her eyes was enough for Sameer to relax. He rounded his arm to her shoulder and pulled her closer to him. Kissing on her forehead, he rested his jaw on her head. He decided to go for television auditions, but again that would take time too. For now, he needed to take some quick action for a few things. And he decided to do that tomorrow.

The next morning, Naina was in the kitchen preparing the morning tea and breakfast when Sameer returned from jogging. He took more time than usual today. Naina saw him immediately running to take a bath and when he came back wiping his hair with a towel, he dialed a number on the cordless from the diary.

She couldn't hear much at first but when she paid attention, what she heard was Sameer saying-

"Ji.. Mai Sameer baat kar raha hu... aapse kuchh zaroori baat karni thi... hum mil sakte hai?"

******************

Hey friends, hope you all are doing well. Here's the next chapter. Do let me know how you find it.

I  know Preeti- Shubham scenes are more from Shubham's pov now, but it is required as per the plot of their story. Soon the scenes would be there from Preeti's pov too. How did you find their scene?

Also, don't forget that Rakesh is not just a supporting character here. He is one of the main characters of the story. So he will have his own journey too.

What did you think about his outings now? Must appreciate that one of our readers pahul_gpk had guessed it almost correct. 👏

Sameer and Naina are currently just confused. Don't take Naina bursting out in anger as just her insecurities about any girl. That was just the surface. Her dilemma regarding her studies is lying underneath it. She is equally frustrated as Sameer.

Whom is Sameer calling now in the morning? Any guesses?

Do shower your votes and comments to this story. It can help me come up with faster updates.

Love.❤️