xix | reckless

key:

ishita / jai

i'll not be coming in today

why

Ishita's mother, Latha, was the coolest 50 year old amongst the airport crowd. With her hair streaked pink and blue and her shoulder-length curls, the way she pushed the mini trolley nonchalantly while her husband followed with a cart full of their luggage was so iconic. Ishita couldn't stop grinning.

"Wow wow Latha, did you find a time machine on your trip by any chance? You look no more than thirty," Ishita cooed, bringing her mother into a hug.

"Really? Is that why the middle-aged man on the flight hit on me?" she joked, laughing to herself.

"That's because you are too beautiful for your own good," Ishita's father joined the duo, grumbling. "Your mother wouldn't tell the man she is married, do you know?"

"I didn't have to tell. You had your arm around me like someone might steal me while you dozed off," Latha shot back.

Ishita watched them banter and threw her arms around them. "I missed you guys," she said.

"Hard to say the same, Ishi," Latha said, earning a mock sniffle from her daughter.

Prem kissed his daughter's forehead. "You never join us."

"I want you to enjoy when you can, Daddy. If you wait for me to be free, I'll be holding you back."

"Ishi, did something happen? Did you cry last night? Why are your eyes puffy?" Latha asked.

Ishita laughed, shaking her head quickly. "What, Latha, I was just praising your youth. Now you seem to be having eyesight problems."

Latha's forehead creased. "Whatever it is, I know when something is wrong. I am your mother, Ishi. Are you going to tell me on your own or should I emotionally blackmail it out of you?"

Ishita sighed. She hated that her parents had to arrive just when she was facing some turbulence in her life. And the worst part was that it was about a man. She never discussed men with her parents. The last time she did was in eighth grade when she had a crush on a Marathi boy and that did not end like she wanted.

"Come on, let's go somewhere else and talk. I'm hungry. Eating Korean and Japanese food for four weeks straight makes me crave for biriyani and parotta. Let's go to a restaurant and talk?" Prem suggested.

"Yes, good idea," Latha agreed, expertly hailing a taxi in a flash and getting the man to load their luggage in.

Ishita's phone pinged and she saw that Jai had texted. let's talk it out, please. don't stay away from me, ishita.

"Is it your job? Did you get fired again for the wrong reasons?" Latha asked, once in the taxi.

"Latha, lets go there and talk. Be patient. She doesn't want to discuss it with us. Give her some to at least prepare herself," Prem said, calming his wife.

She snatched the duppata that he was tapping on. "You won't understand. If you don't confront her, she'll keep hiding things from us. She never tells us anything except that she is happy and not to worry about her."

"I'm just saying, be patient. You can grill her when we go somewhere private."

Ishita bit her lip. It wasn't going to be easy escaping the conversation. Her mother was influential. It was the main reason she didn't tell her her problems. She would use her connections and solve it for Ishita instead of giving her the space to solve it herself. Even if she cooked up a fake problem, she'll solve that too. That's why there was no running.

When they sat in a restaurant and placed their order, Ishita's mother began. "What is it?"

Ishita had no other choice. "It's a guy."

The expression on her mother's face came as a shock to her. Latha was grinning. Ear to ear. Meanwhile, her father didn't look very happy about the topic of conversation. Too bad.

"Who is he?"

Ishita threw her palms on her face and mumbled, "Don't be too shocked, okay? It's... Sahana's ex-fiancé." She peeked and took in her mother's dropped jaw. "It's Jai."

"The guy you went on and on about how he was no good for Sahana, or for any woman at all?"

"It just happened. He is the one who gave me the job. He is my boss."

"A workplace romance? It's like the ones in the dramas you watch," Prem told his wife. "Isn't it not allowed?"

"It's not a romance. At least... not yet."

Latha demanded more with just her eyes. Ishita admitted defeat and told them everything about how they met at the bar (which caused some questionable inch-deep creases on their forehead) and how he lured her into the job and how she started knowing him better. And how differently she had assumed him to be and how he had shown a type of subtle affection and warmth that she didn't know she craved.

Only as she spoke about Jai to her parents, defended him when his parents' eyes flashed with concern over something he did, did she realise how much of a fool she had become for him. She could feel her heart swell when she said his name, a smile curving her lips effortlessly. Every time she caught herself doing that, she had to consciously remove the giddy smile from her face.

"He likes you. You like him. I might even say love with the way your face is glowing. But what's the problem here, Ishi?"

"You know how I am. I am reckless. I take decisions on the spur of the moment. I don't even know the rules myself. I act however I feel like. That is me. That's why I've never been able to keep a relationship more than a month. Even for a month, I'll be barely holding it together. I am scared I'll ruin it." Her words were laced with frustration. Mostly directed towards herself.

"Ishita, you are a lot like me. You've got the spontaneity from me. I was in the same position as you. Head over heels for one woman but afraid I'll ruin it because of nothing but being myself. I'll tell you something your uncle told me," Prem started. "He said, 'There are two things you should keep in mind. One, when you are terrified of losing something, that's when you truly care about it. Two, you might believe you are hard to love but others may not.'"

Ishita's eyes glazed. "Did it help you?"

Prem leaned back and threw an arm over his wife. "You tell me," he asked, throwing her a wink.

"He definitely won the lottery," Latha confirmed.

Prem cleared his throat and coughed. "That's taking it too far."

Ishita laughed.

"Those words made me consider everything again. I still carry it with me. Think about it, Ishita. You will get some perspective," he said, smiling softly.

"Thanks, Daddy."

"And Ishi, you might be a little reckless but you are fierce. You have grown up to be one hell of a woman who takes no shit from others. You are passionate, you are strong-willed, you are kind. You love so hard. That's how I raised you. And that's who you are. I am proud of you. We both are," Latha began, taking her daughter's hand. "You shouldn't apologize for that anytime to anyone. If they can't handle you, it's their loss. You need someone who can see through your core, understand who you really are and love you for it. Otherwise they are not worth it. No matter if they are a millionaire or a cobbler on the street."

Ishita could only nod. She was overwhelmed. She wanted to hug her parents tight.

"You figure out if Jai is the one who is brave enough to love you and keep you. Or if he's one of the cowardly men who came before him," Latha continued. "If he's being too much trouble, just tell me. I'll make sure he is in pain. At least for six months."

Ishita laughed and wiped her tears. "Thanks guys. I didn't know you gave excellent relationship advice."

Prem smiled. "That's because you never came to us before."

Ishita was about to say she never came to them today as well but before that the waiter came with steaming plates of flavourful mutton biriyani and south-style parotta alongside mouth-watering salna.

"Nothing like the food of your home," Prem announced before helping himself to it eagerly.

She smiled at them and thought to herself, nothing like the love of her parents.

i wasn't at work today because my parents returned to india from their trip and they decided to spend a day with me before they went to my hometown

oh alright

how are they?

they are good. mom is glowing and looking like my sister. dad is a little pissed because she is attracting too much attention from men

how are you?

i'm okay

did you have dinner? are you home?

yeah had dinner. just reached home. you?

just ate.

will you come to work tomorrow?

of course

can we talk then?

yes, jai. i'm not running away, okay?

i can't stop thinking about it. wondering if i scared you away

don't give yourself too much credit, mr narcissistic. it takes more than you to scare me.

but still

are you anxious?

yeah i think i am

you don't have to be. we'll talk it out tomorrow and sort things. stop overthinking and sleep.

okay

do you have your anti-anxiety pills next to you? keep them next to you just in case, alright?

how do you know about it?

the invoice for the order you placed came in the mail

oh

and you didn't feel like asking about it?

i know that you would tell me about it when you wanted to. i'm not going to put you in a place where you have to share it with me

thanks ishita

no problemo

goodnight jai

sleep well

i'll see you tomorrow