“Dr. Nidhi. Aap yahan lunch kar rahi thi. Siddhi ko pick karne nahin gayi?” Ashutosh asked her when he saw her coming out of canteen after having lunch with her colleagues.

“Maine usse baat ki, Sir. She is fine on her own during the day. To mere liye bhi yahi behtar hai ki main apne colleagues ke saath socialize karoon. Office ke baad to main uske saath rahti hi hoon.”

“That’s great Dr. Nidhi. She is old enough to at least partially look after herself. Aapne sahi faisla liya.”

“Yeah. Aur Sir, ek baat kahun aapse…”

“Boliye. Itna hichak kyon rahi hain?”

“Sir. Aap mujhe ‘Dr. Nidhi’ aur ‘aap’ kah kar address karna band kar dijiye.”

“Matlab?”

“‘Nidhi’ aur ‘tum’ hi theek hai na?” she said so innocently that Ashutosh laughed out loud.

“Okay. That was odd. But I can manage that,” Ashutosh continued smiling.

“Main chalti hoon Sir,” suddenly Nidhi felt odd about her request and ran away from there awkwardly.

“Kya hua Nidhi? Tum theek to ho?” she ran into Priyanka while going towards the ward.

“Main… Haan. Main theek hoon.”

“Apni shakal dekho. Kaise laal ho rahi hai? Aur paseena bhi aa raha hai.”

“BP… BP high ho gaya hoga. I need to sit down.”

“Okay. Take care.”

—

“Siddhi! Tujhse kuchh advice chahiye thi.”

“Mujhse tumhein advice chahiye? Wow! Batao. Batao.”

“Shut up. Chidha mat mujhe.”

“Achchha. Batao to.”

“Siddhi. Dr. Ashutosh ne hamari itni madad ki hai. Unka birthday aa raha hai. Mera khayaal hai ki mujhe unhein kuchh gift dena chahiye.”

“Bahut nek khayaal hai.”

“Lekin kya gift doon?”

“Ab ye main kaise bataun? Unhein tum jaanti ho achchhe se. Kuchh aisa do jo unhein pasand aaye.”

“Siddhi! Gifts khareedne mein ustaad tu hai. Kuchh to help kar.”

“Party kahan hai?”

“Mujhe nahin pata. I don’t think party hai.”

“Party nahin hai? To tumhein pata kaise chala?”

“Maine papers dekhe the unke hospital mein.”

“To agar woh party nahin kar rahe hain, to tum unke liye ek surprise party de do.”

“Main? Party?”

“Haan. Surprise party will be the best gift.”

“Okay… Lekin kaise arrange hoga?”

“Offo. Tum rahne do. Main Rahul se baat karti hoon. Ho jayega.”

“Okay…”

—

“Rahul! Yahan andhera kyon hai? Hiraman Kaka!” Ashutosh had come home running after receiving a call from Rahul that he had fallen sick.

“Surprise!” The lights came back suddenly and Ashutosh saw Rahul with his maid, Hiraman Kaka, Nidhi and Siddhi standing behind a huge cake. The hall was decorated and everyone was dressed for party.

“Happy birthday Papa,” Rahul ran towards him. Others also followed and greeted him. Nidhi was wearing a simple calf-length black dress. Ashutosh couldn’t help staring at her for a moment. But he recovered quickly.

“Thank you Nidhi. Ye aapka plan tha?” Although Ashutosh had dropped “Dr.” while addressing her, “aap” hadn’t gone out of his vocabulary. She hadn’t insisted again. But it disappointed her.

“Actually nahin. Siddhi ka idea tha aur usne aur Rahul ne mil kar hi poora plan banaya. Main to…”

“Aap to?”

“Aapko ghar par bulane ke liye jhooth tak nahin bol payi,” she laughed nervously, “Isliye last moment mein ye responsibility Rahul par shift ho gayi. I’m sorry. Aap dar gaye honge.”

“Itna nahin dara tha. Nice surprise.”

“Cake kaatein?”

“Sure.”

—

Siddhi and Rahul ate first and then they went to Rahul’s room to play, leaving Nidhi and Ashutosh alone at the dinner table.

“Ye dress aap par bahut achchhi lag rahi hai. Pahle kabhi nahin dekha aapko ismein.”

“Siddhi again. Aaj kal apni parties aur gadgets par kharche band kar diye hain usne, to paise kharch karne ki khujli ho rahi thi. Mujhe bakra bana diya.”

“Bahut khoobsoorat bakra banaya hai phir to!”

Nidhi blushed and did not say anything in reply.

“Waise mujhe pata hai ki aap is party ka credit nahin le rahi hain. But still… Thanks a lot. This was really thoughtful.”

“Well… Ye hamare thanks kahne ka tareeka tha. Aapne mujhe aur Siddhi ka itna sambhaala…”

“Achchha. To agle saal nahin milegi mujhe party?”

“This is unfair. Jiska birthday hota hai woh party deta hai. Aap kyon nahin dete?”

Ashutosh sighed, “Itne dinon se kaam aur Rahul ki zimmedaariyon mein ye hosh hi nahin raha ki zindagi ke kitne saal guzar gaye. Koi yaad dilane waala bhi nahin tha. Lekin I think insaan ko hamesha apne liye bhi thoda samay to nikaalna chahiye.”

“Haan. Yahi baat mujhe bhi realize hui hai. Mujhe mahsoos hua ki mere aur Siddhi ke relations isliye kharaab ho rahe the kyonki I was giving 100% of my life to her. And without realizing it, it put an obligation on her ki woh bhi apni 100% life mujhe de. She is growing up, she is exploring the world. Obviously, she wants time for other people. So, she started resenting me. Things are much better now that I have stepped back.”

Ashutosh looked at her smilingly.

“Kya hua?” she asked becoming conscious, “Aap aise kyon dekh rahe hain?”

“Aapki maturity appreciate kar raha hoon. Kai bachche paalne ke baad bhi log ye chhoti si baat nahin samajh paate hain. Ki the best way of parenting is to let go slowly, and not try to cling to your child for your life. And I hope ki mujhe bhi ye yaad rahe as Rahul grows up. Kyonki samajhne ke baad bhi, letting go is extremely tough.”

“Uski chinta mat kijiye. Main aapko yaad dila doongi.”

Asutosh laughed out loud,”That reminds me to tell you something else. Aap ye kab tak bachchon se dosti kar ke apna man bahlati rahengi? Ab jab aapko realize ho hi gaya hai ki aapko apne liye samay nikaalne ki zaroorat hai, aur aap apne colleagues ke saath socialize bhi karne lagi hain, then take another step. Make some friends.”

“Aap to aise kah rahe hain jaise mera koi dost hai hi nahin?”

“Kaun hai?”

“Tell me if I am being presumptuous. Lekin mujhe laga ki we are friends.”

“Oh.. well.. yeah.. Of course,” Ashutosh became slightly embarrassed, “But this is not what I meant. Friends of your age, with whom you can hang out, unwind, fall in love someday and move on in life… You know what I mean.”

Nidhi didn’t reply.

“Kya hua? Maine kuchh galat kah diya?”

“Nahin,” Nidhi looked distracted, but she smiled, “Aap kabhi kuchh galat nahin kahte. Mujhe jaldi se khaana khatam kar ke nikalna chahiye. Warna subah Siddhi ko school ke liye uthane mein der ho jayegi.” She gulped down the last few morsels of food in her plate, ate a little dessert for the sake of eating and got up without waiting for Ashutosh to finish.

Ashutosh also stood up after her, “Kuchh to baat hai Nidhi. Aap mujhe bataiye… Agar maine kuchh bhi aisa kaha…”

“Aap please mujhe sharminda na karein. Koi baat nahin hai. Main Siddhi ko le kar aati hoon…”

“Main aap logon ko drop kar deta hoon.”

“Aapko jaane ki zaroorat nahin hai, Sir. Aap driver ko bol dijiye.”

Ashutosh was confused with her behavior, but he did not insist. After she left, he picked up a wrapped packet that was lying beside a flower vase on a small table. “From Nidhi”, it said with a smiley face following it. He had seen it soon after entering the hall, But she seemed to have forgotten about it. Why? What suddenly came upon her?

—

“Di. Sab theek to hai?” Siddhi asked when they reached home.

“Kyon? Kya hua?”

“Tum bilkul khoyi hui ho. Meri baat bhi nahin sun rahi ho…”

“Bas thak gayi hoon Siddhi. So ja. Kal baat karte hain.”

“Di. Kuchh aur baat hai. Dr. Ashutosh ne kuchh kaha kya?”

“Let me be, Siddhi,” Nidhi snapped and went to her room, leaving Siddhi slightly shocked. She didn’t snap like that even when she disapproved her actions.

—

“Siddhi,” Nidhi caressed her forehead while trying to wake her up.

“Di? Kya hua?” she woke up with a start.

“Kuchh nahin. Tera alarm baj raha tha… Maine band kar diya. Main tere liye chai lai hoon.”

“Chai? Tum mere liye chai layi ho? Aise to kabhi peene nahin deti.”

“Bas sorry kahna tha. Kal raat main tujh par chillayi. Woh bhi bina wajah ke.”

“Kitni formal ho rahi ho tum? Lekin Di baat kya thi?”

“Kuchh nahin. Meri tabiyat kharaab thi. BP high tha. Dawai kha kar so gayi. Ab theek ho gaya.”

“Sure Di?”

“Haan baba. Chal ab uth. School ke liye taiyaar hona hai.”

—

“Sir. Aapke sign chahiye the in discharge papers par,” Nidhi entered Ashutosh’ office.

“Nidhi. Aap theek hain?” Ashutosh asked as he signed the papers.

“Ji. Main theek hoon. Kal raat ke liye sorry.”

“Hua kya tha?”

“Kuchh nahin. Mera BP badh gaya tha. Shayad isliye thoda irritated feel kar rahi thi.”

Ashutosh smiled, “Ek doctor se, woh bhi apne boss se jhooth bol rahi hain aap. Lekin main insist nahin karoonga. Aap jab comfortable feel karein bata dein. Aur agar meri wajah se kuchh…”

“No. No Sir. Aapki wajah se kuchh bhi nahin hua. Ho hi nahin sakta.”

“Good to know. Aur Rahul ne mujhe bataya ki aapne cake kal khud banaya tha.”

“Ji.”

“Thanks. Ek to bahut achchha tha. Doosre aapne itni mehnat ki.”

“Sookhe thanks se kaam nahin chalega Dr. Ashutosh.”

“Achchha. To phir mujhe kya karna hoga?”

“Umm… Aapko hamein treat deni hogi.”

“Okay… That is doable. Bataiye kahan chalna hai?”

“Ab itni to mehnat kijiye. Aap decide kijiye. Apni favourite jagah le kar chaliye.”

“Lekin aapko pasand nahin aayi to?”

“Mujhe pasand aayegi. Don’t worry about that.”

“Theek hai phir. Dinner tomorrow? Hum hospital ne nikal kar Rahul aur Siddhi ko pick kar lenge.”

“Ji. Sure.”

—

To be continued