It Wasn't Supposed To Happen

14

Every time Bondita came near him to  serve food, he felt like pulling her to sit beside him and feed her with his own hands. He knew he would have done it if he was at his home. She had eaten nothing since they had arrived. He had been force fed a snack here and there but not Bondita.

Thakuma was way too orthodox for his liking. When she visited them in Tulsipur, however briefly, she had made it plane clear she didn't like the freedom her grand daughter was enjoying. She had expressed that this was all against their culture and such ways would ruin her of becoming a good wife. But she had had no power to actually impose her ways there. But here the situation was different. He was in her territory. He knew she didn't particularly like his side of the family and was repulsed by his views and was rubbing it in his face by using Bondita.

" Bondita...!" She scolded her when Bondita let slip the serving spoon which made a little bit of kheer fall on Aniruddh's feet.

" Ooo...oh...!" Bondita immediately sprang to action taking her saree pallu and was about to wipe his feet with it.

" No...!" Aniruddh protested, a bit forcefully at that, making him cough. " No need...! I will go wash it off."

" Don't get up while you are eating pati babu. Here...let me do it."

" Bondita...!" He held her hand to stop her. He didn't like her touching his feet and he was strictly against her doing it in front of other people. " No means no."

" You really should not stop her." Thakuma was done observing. They could pull off any sort of western mockery of a culture anywhere else but under her roof. " After all this is her purpose, isn't it ? Sumati, tell me if I am wrong."

It wasn't that much of an issue to argue over, Bondita was now looking from her pati babu to thakuma to her mother. It really wasn't !

" All that you are... teaching...her is ok, your choice but don't try to take away the teachings her mother gave her. And besides her hands won't get tarnished by that. She should consider herself lucky. It is said pati is parmeshwar and in his feet is heaven of the wife. Bondita...! What are you doing just sitting there ? Wipe it off...! " She snapped at her.

Oooo...her pati babu was getting red in the face.

" Pati babu..."
"WHAT...?!" He snapped. He really was not going to control himself now. Thakuma was deliberately trying to get on his nerves. That too using his Bondita. How could she?

" How is it any different...?" Bondita whispered to him, leaning in, looking straight in his eyes. He surely looked scary to other people around him but he looked like a wounded cat ready to pounce to her. But listening to her words his brows twitched. They both were replaying the same memory, the sweet memory of him wiping the kulfi off of her foot in a full busy market place.
" Its ok pati babu." She looked right at him trying to convey her feelings through a smile and reaching for his foot simultaneously. " We are equal right ? I am just doing what I know you would do for me."
He was no way going to return her smile. He was barely constraining himself from violently getting up at the touch of her fingers on his foot trying to wipe the kheer using her saree.

" See...? Done...! " Bondita got up not giving him a chance to say anything.

"See...?" Thakuma just didn't want to let this slide. " It wasn't that difficult,was it ? They are quite easy to train jamai babu, girls and wives I mean, a firm scolding, if not a firm hand can easily do the trick."

This time he did get up.
" I am full." He had sat there quietly as he didn't have an answer for Bondita's tarq but he would be damned if he sat this down quietly.