Kavya smiled and said,
“Sir, I know that if you are not saying something there will be a reason behind it… and in this case I can guess…”
“Really? Ok, come on tell me! What’s your guess?”
“Hmmm… I think you wanted to say that I have many qualities similar to my… mother….” said Kavya with a teasing shine on her eyes.
Dinakaran smiled and said,
“Oh yes, Kavya you are very intelligent, I can see that…”
“Thanks for your compliment sir…” said Kavya again with a grin.
“What about your dinner?”
“Oh yes, I had my dinner. Thulasi bought me a food packet before leaving…”
“You are lucky Kavya. You have an affectionate sister, but see I don’t have any sibling to ask me about my dinner”
“I am sorry sir; I should have asked you this before… I guess your mother will be waiting for you at home, you can carry on sir, I will call and update you in case of any emergency…”
“Hey Kavya, cool down, I was just kidding. I am not that very hungry now and for your information, I am also planning to stay here tonight… So if you want, you can go home, I will ask my driver to drop you at home… You need not worry about him; he is a gem of a person…”
Kavya could understand the reason for Dinakaran’s disappointment sometime back… May be he was expecting Thulasi here… Really, Kavya herself was a bit surprised that Thulasi was not keen to stay back and preferred to go home… May be she knew that Dinakaran would visit the hospital… Hmmm… good match!
“That’s ok sir, I will also stay here…” she said with the same curious smile.
“Ok, come let’s sit here and talk… If you are feeling sleepy, you can go inside and sleep in the visitor’s bed there…”
“No sir, that’s ok…” she sat in the hospital corridor bench leaving some space between them.
Dinakaran started talking general topics and queried her about her childhood days when her father was alive. Kavya adored her childhood days as those were the days when she was care free with no problems to worry about… she happily shared her old memories and purposely added more information about Thulasi… But then within a few minutes she forgot about her hidden agenda she had and continued to talk about her family…
“…When Thulasi’s marriage was arranged, I can still remember the happiness in our home… The..”
“What, Thulasi’s marriage?”
Kavya was startled by Dinakaran’s sudden interruption and looked at him. Dinakaran himself was a bit taken aback by his emotion; he pacified himself and said,
“Sorry, Kavya, you were talking as if you were in a dream…So…”
“Oh I see…” said Kavya with a smile.
“So, what happened then?”
“Leave it sir, there’s nothing important there…”
Dinakaran kept quiet, scolding himself for not keeping his emotions under control. But, Thulasi’s marriage was arranged more than five years back? It was really hard for him to digest. So what happened to the groom? Can that be an arrangement out of love? It was too hard for him to even think that Thulasi might have loved someone…
“Kavya…” they heard Abirami’s soft voice and rushed inside.
Abirami who got up from her sleep was just calling Kavya to make sure that she is fine. Seeing Dinakaran her face showed signs of relief.
“Dinu is here! Then there is no need to worry…”
“Yes chithi, you continue to sleep… Kavya, you also sleep here… I will be in the bench outside, call me if you need something”
Kavya nodded her head in acceptance.
Dinakaran came out of the room, closed it softly and went to the hospital canteen to have dinner. He called Seetha and updated her about Abirami and asked her to take rest.
“So Dinu, you are staying in the hospital tonight?” asked Abirami.
“Yes mom!”
“Is there anyone else staying with Abi?”
“Yes, Kavya is there mom...” said Diankaran trying to hide his disappointment.
But Seetha understood his mind and she can’t but appreciate Thulasi. She was aware of Thulasi's soft nature. Thulasi would have never left her sister alone in the hospital if it’s not for Dinakaran.
Hmmm…. Nice competition!! She thought to herself cheerfully.
“Ok Dinu, you also try to have some rest… I will talk to you tomorrow morning…”
“Ok mom!”
After finishing his dinner, Dinakaran came and sat in the same bench. He tried to visualize Thulasi’s childhood days that Kavya shared with him some time back.
A beautiful house with many rooms… A separate room for each individual filled with everything they love… Whatever you ask it will be there in front of you as soon as possible… We used to tease our daddy calling him as our genie… You ask and there it will be in front of you… It’s not just about money, it’s about the love, affection and care…
How difficult it would had been for the three women to suddenly shift from a scene like that to their present condition? Kavya’s house came in front of his eyes… Three women without a single penny… one recently widowed, one in her teen age and the other in her early twenties… Oh god!
Still Thulasi has single handedly managed it… He appreciated her hard work, her self belief and self confidence… He also remembered the love and affection they still share… The family might have lost their head and money but they have the love and affection still intact…
He remembered his initial meetings with Thulasi… The first time at Abirami’s house where he had given an insulting glare at Thulasi… Then when she came to his home to return the money… He felt very ashamed remembering the way he behaved then…
“Dinu you should show some trust in people… Life is not just about money...” his mom’s words echoed in his ears.
How very true! If I had behaved properly, Thulasi wouldn’t have faced such a bad situation… How hurt she would have felt?
Oh god, I have made a big mistake… Help me to rectify it. Thulasi deserves a better life… Yes she deserves a life filled with love, affection and care… and some one to take care of her for anything and everything...
His thought flow got disturbed by a mobile phone. The phone was ringing so loud very nearby… he searched for it and found it next to him… Oh, maybe it’s Kavya’s phone… But it will not be good to go and disturb couple of sleeping women… He could see others trying to sleep in the bench looking at him, giving a irritating look… He took the mobile phone in his hands, planning to cut the call… But then looking at the screen he realized that Thulasi is calling Kavya and without a second thought, he attended the call…
“Kavy, what are you doing so long? The phone was ringing for almost a minute… So how is aunty? Did you have your dinner? Are you comfortable there? Did anyone else come to visit aunty?”
Thulasi was lining up questions without even giving slight gap for the other person to talk… Even otherwise Dinakaran wouldn’t have interrupted her… He has spoken to Thulasi multiple times… And she always maintains a business or third person tone when she speaks to him… But now, since she thought that she was talking to her sister, she was talking so casually with a slight authoritative note… Of course, Dinakaran liked it a lot!
“Kavy are you there? What happened? Why are you not talking? Hello? Hello?”
“Thulasi…”
That was the last thing Thulasi had expected… Dinakaran answering her sister’s phone… Is that’s real or is it her imagination?
Dinakaran was not surprised by the sudden calmness in the other end… he expected it… He whispered, trying to imitate her tone,
“Thulasi darling, I love you… I will take care of you and your family… I will not allow you to suffer any more… Now you go to sleep… Good night…” saying that he placed a soft kiss over the phone and cut the call...
To be continued...