Hues Of Dusk

Chapter 48. A small step

I had never felt this nervous before. My knees were trembling and my forehead was covered with sweat. No matter how many times I wiped it off, it remained persistent. I took a deep a breath and rang the bell.

Trrrriinng!

I tapped my fingers on my thigh as I waited for someone to open the door. I thought of going back but at the exact moment, the door opened and Uncle's bright face came in my view.

"Good morning, Uncle," I greeted.

"Good morning, beta. Why are you standing outside? Come in," he said and welcomed me.

I got in, removed my shoes and put them in the shoe rack. I followed Uncle in the living room and he motioned me to take a seat. Aunty was in her room so I decided to wait for her and sat down on the sofa.

"So, beta. Your dad didn't come today?" Uncle asked and joked how dad had already given up on the bet.

I laughed along with him and it helped to calm my nerves. I had been anxious since last night. I had prepared a long ass speech and was going through some important points in my head over and over again. But I wasn't sure how they would react.

Aunty also came after few minutes and hugged me when she noticed me chatting with Uncle. She went in the kitchen to prepare coffee for us. I excused myself and went after her.

"Aunty, I want to talk about something," I said as I entered the kitchen.

"What is it, Sandhu?" she asked as she dropped some coffee in a vessel and added some sugar to it.

"It's really important. So, I want you to come in the living room."

"Why do you sound so serious? Is something troubling you?" She stopped her work and looked at me in worry.

"It's not about me, Aunty. Can you please come with me?" I assured her and her face became relaxed.

She followed me and I made her sit beside Uncle. I took a chair from the dining table and sat in front of them. I rubbed my palms and counted till ten in my head before I started. Both of them exchanged glances and aunty told her husband to mute the TV volume.

"When will Nikhil be back?" I asked.

"In about an hour probably," Uncle replied.

"Okay, then. We can start now. First of all, don't worry. I am not going to announce any bad news, so you both can relax. And second, I want your full attention. Can you please do that?" I glanced between them.

They both exchanged a look and nodded. Uncle switched off the TV and put the remote on the centre table. I smiled at them to remove any doubts they might have and they returned the gesture.

"Before I begin, I just want to inform that whatever I am going to say now is totally my opinion and I don't intend to hurt your feelings. So, if you feel that I am stepping out of my boundaries, you can stop me and tell me to leave.

"But, I would request you both to hear me out till the end because it's really really important and I don't think I will get another chance to say it. So, are you ready to listen to me?" I asked and sighed in relief when I got the positive response.

"I am not here to talk about my friend, Nikhil but about your son, Nikhil Avasthi. Yeah, I know. Sounds confusing but I will explain. I will like to start with praising your son for being such a nice and caring friend. I really value him and wouldn't exchange him for anyone else.

"Thank you for giving birth to him and raising him to be a man who respects women and knows how to treat everyone with kindness."

I stopped to drink some water and noticed that Aunty's eyes had become glazed. Uncle was staring at me intently and was noticing my every move with detail. I knew he was trying to read my thoughts. After drinking water, I continued.