Mithali was going past Abhi's room and the door was partially open..she could see that he was extremely frustrated about something because the next minute his calculator flew from his hand and hit the ground..

"Abhi! May I come in?"

He looked up and nodded..

"What's wrong Abhi?"

No reply..

She calmly went and sat beside him and made him look at him. "What are you so angry about?"

"Bhabhi, I hate Maths!"

"What?", she asked and burst out laughing..

"Bhabhi..I am serious", a 17 year old Abhi told her, looking at his book on his lap and giving a weird expression.."Who in the right mind would find calculus interesting? It is damn complicated and I have an exam day after"

"Were you not attending classes Abhi?"

"I was hardly there Bhabhi. There were throwball and volley ball matches back to back and I obviously couldn't miss them. Suddenly today morning my friend shows me a schedule for this so called test and God knows what I am going to do. I can't flunk,I have always balanced between sports and academics but THIS",he said staring at his book angrily..

'Abhi is a kid at times. Look at him staring at that poor book',Mithali thought and couldn't help smiling.."Abhi, I can teach you calculus if you want..Maths is my favorite subject and I graduated in it. I can be of help"

Abhi's eyes lit up instantly.."OMG Bhabhi you serious? You mean you can actually help me understand this thing ? Thank you so much !", he said grinning broadly..

"We might need a calculator though", she stated and Abhi smiled sheepishly looking at that device which was on the floor.

The study session continued till late in the morning and it was two thirty AM by the time Abhi got some confidence to solve problems on his own..He thanked Mithali immensely for her timely help.

"Don't keep thanking Abhi. We are family. Get some sleep at least for a couple of hours ..You have school tomorrow"

Abhi smiled and nodded wishing her a very good night. He felt a lot better now. His Bhabhi was awesome!

-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-

"Bhabhi? Why are you up so late? It's eleven!"

"Your Raj Bhai hasn't come yet Abhi. If I don't stay up he will comfortably skip dinner"

"Yeh bhai Bhi na..Always working late!"

"Why are you awake ? Don't you have that audition tomorrow in college ?"

"I do Bhabhi but I am nervous about that and not getting any sleep..Hey wait a min! Anyway we both are gonna be awake for sometime , chess?"

"Awesome! You go get the board and I will get us some coffee "

They played chess for a long time, sipping coffee and chatting occasionally. Raj came after a while and asked them to continue the game,assuring her that he will get his food from the table.

"Check mate Abhi!"

"Woah Bhabhi! I didn't see that coming. Smartly played"

Mithali lifted her imaginary collar "I know I know", she said grinning.."Go sleep now good night Abhi"

"Goodnight Bhai , Goodnight Bhabhi"

@-@-@-@-@-@-@-@-@-@-@

"Bhabhi! Happy birthday !", Abhi said hugging Mithali.

"Thank you Abhi! Where's my gift?"

"Here!", he said and showed her an email.

"What's this?"

"Read na Bhabhi"

"I have an interview tomorrow ?"

"Yep. You love Maths and I figured you might like to teach in Bunty'school so I applied on your behalf and apparently they would like to meet you tomorrow for an interview"

"Abhi! That's very sweet of you!! Thank you so much!!!"

"Bhabhi! Stop thanking me. You are always there for me and it's my turn now.Anyway, do you need help in preparing ?"

She smiled broadly and then rolled her eyes at the last part.."Yeah right, thank you for the offer but no thanks", she replied earning a chuckle from him.

"Good luck Bhabhi! I know you will rock it!"

"Thank you Abhi"

Just then the other family members walked in and wished Mithali and were happy on hearing about the interview. Dadi blessed her and Raj,Bunty and Bubbly wished her the best.

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"Congratulations bacha! You are a graduate !", Dadi said and Abhi smiled at her and hugged her.

It was Abhi's college graduation that day and Dadi,Raj and Mithali had gone to attend the event..The photo session with the graduation gown and the certificate followed and it was fun.They came back home and Abhi went to his room immediately..Mithali sensed something wrong cos though he kept smiling frequently,it didn't quite reach his eyes..

"Abhi.."

"Hey Bhabhi! Come in! Proud of me?"

"Of course I am! All okay Abhi?"

"Um..why do you ask Bhabhi?"

"I don't know..you just seemed kind of lost at times so.."

"Bhabhi..I miss ma and papa..I so wish they were with me today..", he said and couldn't stop the tears that ran down his cheek..

"Oh Abhi..", Mithali hugged him and slowly patted his head.." Don't cry Bacha..maaji and Papaji will be extremely proud of you today! You have come a long way Abhi and you are a very good person..They will feel bad if you cry..I can understand that you miss them but just know that they are watching you,guiding you in some way or the other always.."

"Yeah Bhabhi..I guess so..Its just that when I saw my friends take that usual graduation snap with their parents, I felt bad and I really missed them..you guys are always there for me though.."

"Yes Abhi I get it.. I have an idea..Why don't you think of all the happy moments you spent with them and pour your heart out in a diary ? Writing helps and trust me it works like magic..I have experienced it..Try it"

"Um..really? Okay Bhabhi I will do that", he said slowly getting back to normal. As always, his Bhabhi understood him. He was thankful that Raj bhai married someone as cool as his Mithali Bhabhi.

After a while Abhi came to the hall to see Mithali watching something on TV..

"Feel better Abhi?"

"Loads Better Bhabhi. That sure did work like magic and I am left thinking about my happy childhood..Thankyou"

She smiled at him..

"Wow Batman begins? Awesome".. and they settle to watch the movie and are joined by Raj later..

[[[[[${${${${${]]]]]]

"Bhabhi I am telling you she was awesome! So graceful..her expressions omg..It was the same girl I saw in the volley ball match last month .. Remember I told you how quick she was and seemed to know the perfect techniques? And today OMG! She dances beautifully! You can just keep watching!", Abhi continued ranting to his best friend after coming home from an inter college event. Abhi pursued his masters and was passionate about music..So he slowly started exploring his talent and was soon the lead singer in his college band..there was a cultural inter college event that day and he won the best singer award and he was talking to Mithali about the girl who won the best solo dancer award..

"Seems like someone has fallen in love "

Abhi blushed and replied with a "Bhabhi ! You love teasing me "

'I know what to do..How I wish..', Mithali excused herself saying she just remembered about a call she had to make..

"Hello..Hey Mithali here..How are you?"

"Omg after so long !! I am awesome Di!"

"How's everyone at home?"

"Everyone is fine,how about there?"

"Same same.. okay tell me this..there was an inter college event today right? Do you know the girl who won the solo dance competition ?"

"Umm yeah Di"

"Wow who is that girl?"

"I am"

-~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*-

"Dadi! I am just 26. I don't want to get married..Bhabhi tell her"

"But Abhi.. Just come and see the girl na, we can tell them if you don't like her.."

"You too Bhabhi .you know that.."

"Abhi..You know we always want the best for you..please come for Dadi's sake"

"Fine whatever. But I am telling her I am not interested in marrying her"

"Sure"

...

"Bhabhi! It's HER!"

"Of course it is !"

"Omg how do you know her? How did this happen?"

"Remember you told me about that inter college thing last year and how you couldn't stop talking about her? I called Pragya to ask who the girl was and was elated when I found out it was her.. I told her about you and thanks to going to the same college , she started observing you and started liking you soon..Apparently, you were stealing glances at her when you thought she wasn't looking and all? Anyway..she is a distant relative but we have always stayed in touch..She couldn't attend my wedding cos she had exams the next day, so you wouldn't have met her earlier.. But the expression on your face when we told you about going to see a girl " , Mithali explained and everyone in the room, except Abhi, burst out laughing. They were all a part of the plan.

The families spoke and so did the bride and groom and AbhiGya's wedding took place in a month..

_________________

"Algebra. Who even found that?", a frustrated eleven year old Aarav walked into the house.

"Hey junior Mehra, what's wrong?"

"I hate maths Papa"

Abhi and Mithali were instantly reminded of the calculus incident.. They caught each other's eye and chuckled without Aarav noticing..

"I know someone who can make you tell the exact opposite in just a day"

"That I love maths? No way papa! It's so confusing.. Anyway who is it?"

"Mithali Bhabhi", he said smiling at her and Pragya looked on.. She always adored the bond her husband and her Di,now Bhabhi, shared.