Bonds of Trust

Gnawing insecurities

Dinner was quite a silent affair that night. Saheer had already packed up the kheer-puri which Veera had made and kept it in the fridge since no one was quite in the mental space to have it. He quickly prepared some aloo-matar and chapatis for all to have. He was not ready to face Veera, thanks to his own harsh words and sent Ovi to get her for dinner knowing Veera would not refuse her. He knew he had to apologize and had planned to do so after the dinner.

(Kheer is a sweet dish and a type of wet pudding popular in the Indian subcontinent. Puri is a deep-fried bread made from unleavened whole-wheat flour that originated in the India subcontinent.)

(Aloo-matar is a gravy made with potatoes, peas and other ingredients)

The moment Veera had emerged out of her room, Ovi by her side, Saheer cursed himself after seeing her red, swollen eyes and puffed cheeks, it was evident that she had cried. Cried a lot.

Throughout the dinner, he saw Veera keeping to herself, speaking only when spoken to. It was as though she had withdrawn into a shell of some sorts. Obviously, Ovi did the majority of the talking at the dining table. The kid that she was, she had already forgotten about the incident and was returning to her normal self.

As Veera got up to put her dishes in the sink, Saheer called out to her.

"Veera, can we speak?"

She glanced at him who was already looking at her. She held the eye contact for a few moments before averting her eyes and nodding affirmatively.

'Normally she would have reacted with a warm smile.', he thought.

'Well face it now', his subconscious retorted.

"VF", Ovi called out to Veera holding her hand.

Veera turned towards her with a soft smile, the first one that Saheer had seen since afternoon.

Ovi had already sensed that something was wrong with the adults in her home and she decided to try to make them happy.

"Will you please make some hot chocolate for you, me and papa? Its so yummy.", saying so, she licked her lips for the dramatic effect.

Saheer and Veera chuckled at her antics, before Veera's laughter was erased as though remembering something, causing Saheer to stop laughing too.

"Baccha (child), I would love to make, but please papa se pucho (ask papa). If he allows, I will go and prepare it.", Veera explained.

As it is she had overstepped a lot of boundaries concerning Ovi and now she wanted to be careful, very careful with the two of them. She could not lose her favourite people ever and she knew she had to change her behaviour to not make Saheer or even Ovi upset with her.

Saheer felt a punch in his gut listening to her words. No he was not angry, he was disappointed in himself. Though his intentions were right, the words he spoke in a bout of anger had done their damage. He already knew of Veera's insecurities and being the idiot that he was, he added up to them.

He knew Veera. She was not taunting him, or mocking his words, she was only sticking by them for everything concerning Ovi. Hearing her asking permission for hot chocolate, he knew he had a lot to make up for.

Even before Ovi could plead with her papa, Saheer said, "Veera, dear, please prepare the hot chocolate for the three of us. As Ovi said, its really yummy. Should I help you?"

Veera eyes lit up at his words, an assurance in her mind about him not being as upset as he had been.

"No, I will make it. You two wait here.", she sauntered off into the kitchen.