Hawaiian Shirt and Mrs Grumpy
1457 Words
Beauteous shades of violet and pink had painted the sky beautiful by the time the employees of Écrits walked out of their conference room. They had been all cooped up in that room since the morning as they worked through the final checks and arrangements for tomorrow; the next day was really special for Écrits, it held immense value for everyone associated with Écrits.
“That'd be all for today. I'll see y'all tomorrow,” said Anna Roberts, the editor in chief of Écrits, to her colleagues as they prepared to pack up and call it a day. “And I hope all of you will put in some efforts to dress up accordingly for the occasion ‘cause we don't want our guests to believe that we are always in the mood for vacationing and don't take our work seriously, do we?” she asked, lifting her eyebrows at one of her colleagues who was wearing a vibrant Hawaiian shirt.
Everyone started laughing as they looked at the colourful printed shirt in the question. In fact, they all have been teasing their colleague in question in a playful manner since he walked in the office wearing that shirt this morning. They always made fun of someone or something or the other to keep the atmosphere cheery and comfortable to work.
“Don't worry Ann, no one will doubt our abilities anymore,” a girl, who seemed to be in her mid twenties, said as she walked up to Anna and stood beside her, “because our work speaks for us now! It shows how capable we all are and how much calibre we all have.”
Everyone nodded their heads in agreement.
“Ishi, you always—” Anna began but was interrupted by the girl again.
“But that does mean y'all can show up in whatever funny costumes you want. I hope everyone will follow the dress code tomorrow and won't give Anna or Onir a chance to give you an earful on such a special day," she told her colleagues. "Now on go, don't miss your beauty sleep because I know all of you want to look your best tomorrow."
“Yes, boss,” they all did a mock salute before bidding goodbyes for the day.
“Now, do you still want to say that I always take their sides?” the girl —who was barely over 5’1” and had a small, round face— asked as she raised her eyebrow up.
Anna shook her head with a grin before taking her hand as they began to walk out of the building.
“I hope everything goes well tomorrow,” Anna said as they entered the elevator and pressed the button for the ground floor.
“Me too,” the girl replied, a few sweat beads appeared on her forehead as she thought about tomorrow.
"Let's go through the checklist once more to see if we missed something," Anna proposed as the elevator began moving.
"Anna, this is the 34th time you're making me do this today," the girl whined.
Anna glared at her and she gave in.
She took out her iPad from her bag. "Okay fine! Let's do it one last time."
And throughout the elevator ride, the two employees of Écrits went through the checklist to make sure everything was fine and under their control. They couldn't take any chances as it's indeed an important day for all of them.
“I'll see you tomorrow, Ishi,” Anna said, as they reached the ground floor and she moved towards the cab that was waiting for her near the driveway.
The girl nodded with a smile and began to walk towards the nearby metro station.
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After an exhausting day at work, all she wanted to do was curl up in her bed and fall asleep but it seemed luck wasn't on her side.
“Miss Ishanvi Dixit, where do you think you are going?” thundered a voice the moment she walked past the living area.
Bracing herself for the storm, Ishanvi moved towards the living room and found her mom sitting on the couch. Her hands were wrapped across her chest and she looked kinda murderous to Ishanvi.
Ishanvi had no idea what she did wrong this time but she couldn't directly ask her mother about her fault either. So, she waited for her to speak further.
After a brief silence, her mother spoke up again.
“Exactly how busy you were this afternoon that you couldn’t even answer my phone calls?” Mrs Dixit asked, her tone slightly aggravated. “And even if you were occupied with something more important than your mother, didn’t it even occur to you to call me back once you got time? Or do you not care about your poor mother anymore?” her mother sniffed towards the end.
Ishanvi stared at her mother incredulously for a few moments before she inquired, “Maa, what did you have for lunch today?”
Her mother raised her eyebrows slightly. “Why do you ask?”
“So that I’d know what triggered your inner Mrs Grumpy this evening!” Ishanvi chuckled as she took a seat beside her mother.
“I didn’t have lunch,” Mrs Dixit mumbled quietly but Ishanvi heard her.
“What?? You skipped your lunch? But why?” Ishanvi asked, bewildered.
“Because I wanted to go out with you today for lunch and that’s the reason I was calling you all afternoon but you never answered my calls,” her mother explained. “I don’t know why I even bother with you anymore when you don’t even care.”
Her words hurt Ishanvi because if there’s anything she loved more than writing and reading, it was her family; she loved them to bits, especially her mother. So, when her mother said that she doesn’t care, the words pinched her.
She turned towards Mrs Dixit and held her hands in hers. “Maa, you know it’s not true! I love you and Papa the most. And as for not answering your phone calls, I’m extremely sorry for my negligence. I promise it won’t happen ever again,” Ishanvi promised her mother.
“I know Ishi but I really wanted to go out with you today,” her mother confessed in a small voice.
“Maa, did you forget that I’m extremely busy till tomorrow with all the planning, organising and execution that I haven’t even slept properly in the last few weeks?” Ishanvi asked politely.
Mrs Dixit's eyes widened at realisation dawning upon her. She looked guilty as she spoke, “I’m sorry Ishi, it completely slipped my mind that you’re handling all the preparations for the event tomorrow! How could I forget that you’ve been quite stressed these past few days and haven’t rested properly because you’re working all the time? and yet I troubled you—
“Maa… Maa,” Ishanvi interrupted her mother, “you didn’t trouble me. You never can. And no matter how busy I’m, I can always squeeze out some time for my Momma dearest. So what, if we couldn’t go out for lunch today? We can still have dinner together. And as for taking you out, I’ll plan a day out for us as soon as I’m done with all the work,” she promised her mother.
Ishanvi felt remorseful for not giving her mother and family enough time these past days as she was really caught up in all the work. But, she'd be free soon and she promised to herself that she'll spend some quality time with them then.
“Really?” her mother asked in a childlike voice.
Ishanvi nodded her head. “Now let’s get you to eat something so that your grumpiness can go back to rest,” Ishanvi chortled as she got up from the couch.
“Yeah, let’s go. I’m famished,” Mrs Dixit said, following the suit.
“If you know you can’t handle being hungry for long and it makes you super grumpy, why do you even try it?” Ishanvi chided her mother as she pulled her towards the dining area.
Their bickering could be heard for a while as they ate and it was only after they left for their rooms that the house regained its peace and calm.
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It is an introductory kinda chapter which is necessary, given that this book has just begun. But rest assured, so many surprises, twists and turns are coming your way soon ;)
Do let me know how did you find this first chapter of MOH MOH KE DHAAGE: a royal saga in the comments.
- Writer
