Hold Me Tight

Chapter 11: Dilemma

"You keep me safe.....
I'll keep you wild."

Ishani

"Isha how many times I've told you there's no need to come here everyday? It must be so tiresome to come all the way here and go back within your lunch break." Dadi (Grandma) complains as I put the empty food containers back in my bag.

"And how many times I told you that I love to come here and spend my time with you?" I retrot back with a playful tone. She sighed and speak again,

"But this is not good for your health, you're over exhausting yourself. And on the top of that you cooked my meal everyday and feed me like a child. Isha the hospital is well paid for taking care of me, you don't need to waste your precious time to a gone case." I gasp at her last statement.

"Dadi I swear if you ever said that again I'd...." I couldn't complete my sentence as I felt a bile up in my throat and my vision blurred. Her health is getting worse day by day, doctors tried their best to ease her pain and she tries hard to not show her struggles to us but her feeble body and pale face clearly indicating her poor condition.

If it's upto me I'd take her with me and look after her on my own, but in this condition it's best to keep her under surveillance of doctors 24×7. Dadi don't want any of us to stay here in the hospital for long, it made her felt like a liability, this is the sole reason she choose to admit in the hospital rather than continuing her treatment in the house. So I decided to spend my lunch break here with her, in that way she couldn't deny me coming here. I just don't want her to feel lonely at her last few days of life.

"Isha my child, I don't want to bother you. You are newly wedded and you should spend time with your husband." She said with a smile while brushing her hand in my hair.

"You'd never bother me Dadi, and I don't think Adi had any problem with me spending time with you more than him." I said as a matter of factly. She sighed and replied in defeat.

"Okay okay I quit, never gonna win against you in any argument."

"Good girl, now stop being a child and take your medicine." I said as passed her medicine and glass of water. She chuckled and gulped down all her medicines.

"By the way your homemade food is way better than those bland hospital foods, I'm really appreciate your effort Isha. You proved to be the best choice for my Adi, he is so lucky to have you in his life." She said with a proud smile and I gave her a half hearted smile back. Saying my good bye I took my leave.

In my way back I talked to doctors about her condition and they gave me that same sympathetic look I hated the most. They just told me I'm doing a great job to keep her happy, ever since I started coming here she seemed more cheerful than usual, and suggested me to spend as much time as possible.

I checked the time and almost ran towards the bus stand, my lunch break would over in 10 minutes, I'd be late for sure. Although Adi might notice about my over time lunch break he didn't seem to care and punish me for that so far, maybe because he knows that I go to meet dadi and spare me for that reason only.

Actually his behaviour has changed a lot ever since that gala night which is almost 10 days ago, it seems he deliberately avoids me at any cost. He left home early before I woke up and returned home after I've already been asleep, and in office too I rearly get any sight of him. He even stopped me from joining meeting with him and I've been appointed only with my accountant work, within my small cubical all day long.