Page 189 of One Hellish Desire

Meera and I are at Devki Estate and I’m amazed at how quickly the old age home construction has progressed. Shukla, the manager of the estate, greets us and shows us around.

“Beautiful,” Meera murmurs, removing her sunglasses as she takes in the view.

“Indeed,” I nod and point to the open landscape spread over miles around us. “All of this land belongs to Devki Estate, Meera.”

“Really?” She smiles, impressed. “I’m jealous of Maa.”

I’m surprised by her comment. “Your dad loved her enough to gift something so priceless in the name of his love. What have you given me?” she asks, punching my chest. I laugh heartily.

I’m also jealous that my father could make his wife proud with such a gift, and I haven’t done that yet.

“What does my wife want?” I mean it. Meera gets serious. “Come on, Meera, think wisely. Name it, and I’ll give it to you.”

“Oh, please,” she shrugs. “Maa never said she wanted this. Your father did this on his own.”

“Okay, then allow me to surprise you soon.”

I mean it, but Meera takes it as a joke and drags me for a walk. After a long time, we are enjoying our time together, free from the burden of past mistakes.

After spending the whole day at Devki Estate, we return to find Maa sitting with Vikram and Maahi, discussing something. But the moment we arrive, they all go quiet.

“No secrets anymore, please,” I request, getting there with Meera, who looks tired.

“We were just talking about you both, Dad. What took you so long?” Vikram queries, turning to Meera. “You need rest, Mom.”

“I do, yeah,” Meera answers. “I never walked this much. Devki Estate is really beautiful. We had a nice time there. And the construction of the old age home is going well. I assume in a year it will be ready for inauguration.”

“Indeed,” Vikram nods. “Maahi has done a great job.”

Vikram and Maahi glance at each other and smile.

“Not me alone. It is Daadi’s vision, and if you hadn’t let me lead this project, I wouldn’t have been able to do much,” Maahi replies, and Vikram is still lost in admiring his wife.

My son has changed so much. It used to be him against the world. Now it’s him and Maahi against others. He has found his team, his soulmate, like I did with Meera years ago. I just never had enough time to actually enjoy and value my wife and the time I spent with her. I was always engrossed in work, but Vikram knows how to balance his time between work and family. I still need to learn that from him. Meera strokes my arm.

“I’m going to take a short nap. Can you wake me up for dinner?”

I agree. Once she leaves, I take a seat next to Maa. Meera got my share of time; now Maa needs it. I had promised myself to give them both equal importance and my share of love.

“You should rest too,” Maa insists. I remove my shoes and sit at her feet.

“Vanraj, what are you doing? Why are you sitting there?”

“I need a head massage,” I reply. “I remember you used to do it for me when I was young.”

Vikram and Maahi both stare at me and Maa, who suddenly goes cold and nervous.

“You remember that?” she asks painfully.

I hold both her hands and make her touch my head.

“I remember it all, Maa. Never got time to reminisce. Now that my son is handling most of my workload, I can’t stop thinking of old times.”

Maa begins to press my head softly, and I feel the warmth of her touch. It’s still the same. Despite being old now, I feel like that teenage boy who got the best sleep whenever his mother did this. I shut my eyes as Maa continues.

CHAPTER 50

VIKRAM

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