Aboli

Part 82

"Hi Champ! Why are you sitting alone? Where is Pebbles?" To K2 it may have appeared as if Randhir had materialised out of nowhere but that was not the case. Randhir, who was there for a very good reason,  was quick to observe his son sitting quietly by himself, unlike on other days when he would be engrossed in play with Pebbles. 

"Hello Coach! Pebbles and her Mom went to Ahmedabad yesterday, for rakhi!" K2 answered. The listlessness in the boy's voice touched Randhir. He set his bag aside and sat down beside K2.

"Is that so?" Randhir often stopped by on his way from work to check on the progress on the refurbishment on his new apartment. He always took care to pick the time carefully, when Sanyukta was busy attending to her patients. He did not want her to notice his growing presence around K2. 

"Guess you are missing your girlfriend then!" Randhir would have loved to ruffle K2's hair but he just sat there patiently waiting for his son to take the initiative to bond with him.

"Her cousins live there. She goes to Ahmedabad every year with her Mom for the rakhi holiday. But this year she did not want to go." K2 said rather matter-of-factly.

"And why did she not want to go?" Randhir's eye was quick to spot the fidget spinner in K2's hand. He made a phone call in order to reschedule a meeting. It was more important to spend quality time with his son when the boy was feeling low.

"She said she wanted to be here so she could play with me. But I aked her to go." K2 gave the spinner a gentle twirl. 

"So, you are sad because she chose to go?" Randhir deftly caught the spinner as it slipped out of K2' s hand.

"No, I don't miss her that much. I know she will have lots of fun with her cousins!" K2 avoided looking at Randhir. 

"Hey Champ, just like Pebbles goes over to Ahmedabad to visit her family why don't you come to Goa? Do you know that is your hometown?" Randhir knew Sanyukta had steered clear of Goa after her kidnapping debacle so K2 could not possibly have been there. But he deserved to know his roots. 

"Abby says we cannot take a holiday because she has to look after her patients! And if Dadu and you live in Mumbai then who lives in your house in Goa?" K2's eyes spoke far more than his words did. Unlike most  children who had uncles, aunts and grandparents to pamper them K2 did not have many to call his own. Harsh did visit them whenever he could but it was not the same as being an indivisible part of an extended family. Little wonder then that the mere mention of a family holiday in Goa had appealed to him! 

"Yes, I know that Abby has to work hard so she can take care of you. And that the Shekhawats are currently based either in Mumbai or the US! But Abby and you can join Megami and her Mom to visit our home in Goa. Do you know that we have a huge house with a swimming pool, lawn and a garden too?" Randhir could not wait to welcome his son into his family home but he could not possibly share the thought with the boy, at least not yet.

"Yes, Dadu told me about the Goa house. But Abby does not want to go,  I think it is because we lost my Dad in Goa!" K2 stopped spinning the device in his palm. His words hit Randhir like a cold shower. So Sanyukta had told K2 about Vishad having gone missing. It was rather ironic that K2 thought Vishad was his father, though it was natural for both mother and son to assume that. Neither of them knew who K2's actual father was and Randhir could not reveal it to them. They remained silent for a few moments.

"Coach, my and and you were cousins. Can you tell me what he was like?" K2 asked, hope budding in his eyes. It was obvious that he was seeking answers to a number of hitherto unanswered questions. Randhir's memories of Vishad and his rift with him came flooding back. He was in a fix, he could neither tell K2 the truth about Vishad nor could he disappoint the boy by refusing to share facts.