Where Have You Been All My Life

65|Understanding Her

"We didn't do anything Raman. She was crying just like that. Suddenly...I mean, we don't know what happened..." Vandu tried to explain, comprehending well that Ishita's crying would not go well with Raman at all, especially when he is not in a good frame of mind if Ishita was not wrong.

"Don't...!" He shut her up, as the youngsters kept quiet, not at all interested to have a rift with him. He walked up to Ishita, to hold her in a half-embrace while she was continuing to blubber. "Hey...calm down. They won't trouble you... Just relax. Main hoon nah Ishita..." He consoled her, unaware of the fact that he was the one troubling her.

"No Raman... Everyone hurts me. They trouble me a lot... I can't handle this anymore..." She wriggled out of his arms while the trapped gang covered their mouth with their palm, frightened of the way this talk could turn out. "Mujhe toh mood swings bhi nahi hai!" She stated in a baby voice making the room go an "Eh!" in surprise. "I don't trouble anyone with my cravings as well. Kuch cravings hai hi nahi...! Sirf puke-puke-puke aur kuch bhi nahi karti!" She started sobbing again. "But everyone troubles me." She was crying uncontrollably while Romi huffed and exclaimed in exasperation.

"Haan, I was craving to have mango juice! Saara cravings toh mujhe hai. Pregnant toh main hoon!" He made faces at Ishita who was not at all listening to him.

Hearing him, Raman pulled him by his shoulder to face him. Romi was so into cussing Ishita's craving, which was making him run around these days that he did not notice how furious his brother was. It was then when Raman's hand softly caressed Romi's cheek that he looked at his brother with a meek smile, understanding that he would have slapped him if Ishita were not there; this is why he loves his sister-in-law to death! "Beta, you bought that mango juice?" He asked lovingly.

"Haan bhai. You want some?" Romi asked curiously.

"Nahi...woh kya hai nah..." He straightened Romi's shirt collars while he looked on apprehensively. "There's an off-white shirt in my washroom, which is now, yellow in color. Go and wash it." He said calmly hearing that Romi stepped back with a "What bhai, aap bhi nah...kuch bhi..." However, Raman was commanding enough with a small gritting gesture. "Right *pause* now." When Romi sulked out of there, leaving Raman to grin as he felt umpteenth happiness in taking revenge from Romi for winning Ishita from there, leaving him to have dinner alone, even so the entire family was present. He turned his attention towards Ishita after composing himself, when she was paused to the teary face, adeptly taking in the scene of the brothers and started crying again. "Jaan...don't cry like this... Come, let's go home." He tried to take her with him in vain.

"Won't you let me spent time with akka Raman?" There came her whining hearing which Vandu smacked her own head and plastered a cheeky smile.

"Haan...why not!" He extended his arms and warned Vandu. "Make sure you don't trouble her!"

"See who's talking!" Simmi stood up keeping her hands on hips.

"Simmi...shush..." Vandu tried shutting her.

"Let her talk Vandu di. He's too much...!" Rinki got up while Ishita was looking yearningly at the bowl of payasam from which she could have only two scoops before the scene turned extremely emotional (as per her feeling). "He's the one messed it up! Now he's lecturing us! How rude! This's not your office and you're not our boss bhai!" She could not help but accuse Raman, during which Ishita was relishing the payasam without them noticing that she is not at all bothered about their verbal war.