'She wasn't looking for a knight,
she was looking for a sword'
-Atticus

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From home to the office

Sadhvi's POV

Monday morning found me standing in front of my dressing mirror, getting ready for work.

Wearing my final accessory, my watch, I picked my bag up the couch kept near the window of my bedroom and walked out to join my family for a quick breakfast.

My Papa ji is Assistant commissioner of Delhi Police, Vasant Vihar and my mother is a teacher, she teaches physics in a coaching centre, much to my amazement.

My sister is a solicitor, she just started working in a corporate law firm nine months ago and my brother is right behind her, solicitor aspirant.

Papa ji is three years away from his retirement and Mummy, is not even planning to retire anytime soon, she says she is still young.

My brother is interning in the same company where my sister is working so they leave for work together.

Mummy and I leave for work together because her school falls in my way.

Papa ji has his office car driving him to his work and fro. Perks of serving the nation.

White big cars, personal driver and an escorting hawaldar

Mummy was serving parathas which she has cooked waking up early in the morning and my sister was serving juice

The maid in the kitchen was doing dishes.
I sat on my chair passing smiles to everyone,
" You make the most lethal gobhi parathas in the world mummy."

She laughed sitting beside my father once done serving.

We ate breakfast in peaceful silence when my fathers' phone pinged with a message.

"Acha, I forgot to inform you, Meheka's Boss will come to your clinic today with his sister. Harpreet, is having backache for some time now."

"Okay I will inform the reception"

He nodded and his phones ringed again, its been like this since forever now.

Papa ji and his phone calls, he talk on phone more than he talk to us. I might be exaggerating but you don't know what I lived through.

He has two handsets. One for official calls and one for personal calls, which doesn't really change much because everybody knows both of his contact numbers so both the phones ring everytime.

Everytime I try to call him his phone is busy. Both of them.

"Done reading the file of the case you were talking about" I asked my brother to which my sister snorted

"He kept knocking my door the whole night, he is very nervous about it."
She said looking at him and then me

"You will do good"
I said bumping my shoulder with his since he was sitting to my right and my sister to his next.

"Easy for you too. I am under so much pressure. All four of you keep asking me"

"Hey we are worried about you"
I said

He only nodded, "I know. I will try my best in presentation"

"You will do good beta" Papa ji assured him and Mummy smiled

"You were presenting just fine in front of us yesterday" Papa ji tried to boost his confidence.
He nodded once again.

"Anyways we are getting late, Meheka chal" he asked my sister once they were both done eating breakfast

Sanidhya, picked his bags and coat from his room and came out buttoning his cuffs, I walked upto him and did it for him,
"You will do just fine"
and patted his chest

"thank you"
he said smiling and walked to stand at the door of mine and my sister's room to call her out, "You coming?"

My sister called, "Are you out of your mind? Why are you screaming? Coming right out."

She walked out in her own black suit and white shirt adjusting her collar.

Sanidhya picked his car keys and walked out of the door saying
"If I am late for the presentation I am going to blame it on you"

Meheka, too mumbled something under her breath and followed out behind him.

But not before kissing mummy and papa ji on the cheek. It has been a ritual since our childhood.

Papa ji walked out of their bedroom in his khaki uniform and kissed my head going out of the house. He picked his bag and lunch box from the dining and said bye to mummy and me.

We went to the balcony to wave him good bye and I saw his helper less driver opening the car door for him, waving us bye his car went out of our drive way.

We live in Defense Colony, a building with 2 floors and a terrace.

The terrace we have is half terrace garden and half open air dine place.
All of us designed and decorated the house by ourselves. It was a dream house after we gave up the government allotted quarter.

Looking at the clock, it was 8 in the morning and I needed to be at the clinic by 8:30 because the keys are with me and I need to open the doors.
I rushed my mother to get ready and together we left the house.

After completing my post graduation I went to Canada, I completed my post-graduation internship program from there and did 6 months training in 'Lamas' and 'Pilates' additional 6 months.

Rajveen and I together rent 2 floors in a building, as our clinic, we named it 'Happy Mom and Yoga Physiotherapy centre'

The upper ground floor belongs to me, where walking past the entrance you will see there a chamber which belongs to the interns and co-workers, we often eat together there and the next door, my name written on the door to my cabin.

Next to these rooms, we have a treatment room with four beds separated from each other by curtains making suitable treatment areas, fulfilled with physiotherapy equipments.

Then there is a big open hall where I take 'Lamas' and 'Pilates' sessions alternate days.
What makes the hall comfortable for the mothers and Pilates students is the big glass wall we have made in both of the floors.

Rajveen's floors is identical to mine but instead of intern's chamber there is second treatment room with four beds. We have all total of eleven treatment beds in our clinic along with that we give lamas, Pilates and Yoga training.

Rajveen gives yoga sessions. I am more like a cardio person.

The basement has a reception desk, where appointment are done and our nursing aids stay.

After dropping my mother I entered the building wishing good morning to the receptionist and arrived helpers who were arranging their desks in the ground floor.

" A patient will be coming today by my father's reference, ring me up. Okay?"
I asked and they nodded.

"Yes mam"

This was Rajveen's and my dream clinic and we have dedicated our everything to it.

During our beginning years it took all our patience to reach this stage, from one floor to two floors and now renting the whole building, it sure is a big success.

It is like it was just yesterday we were both crying over the finances. We invested loads of money in this and the work started to profit us just 2 years ago.

Initially it was just earning enough to pay our debts-trust me we had many and now we are splitting the profits.

With us two senior therapists and references from Ortho-pedicians and obstetrics and Gynaecology experts, we are working well off.

Connections is all what pays.

I walked upto the lift and reached my floor. Huffing over what we have achieved. It was happy huff.

.

.

It was half past one in the afternoon when one of the interns informed about the guest I expected.

I was halfway in my Pilates session when I answered the call from reception,
"One of you escort them to up here, they are my guest. So take them to my cabin and get them something to drink"

"yes mam"

I tied my pony once again returning back to my position in front of my Pilates clients and joined them.

My back facing the glass wall and they were facing it.

I walked around to check there positions since my junior was doing the work of guiding them, doing exercises as their model.

The reason of me being active and healthy is right here. I work out more than necessary, early morning I go for a run and at work I am exercising again.

If in old age I were to die, I will be dying because of over working. Arthritis is all together a different topic.

"Try to engage your core muscles too ma'am"
I crouched down to the level of my new client and helped her to the correct pattern.

"Take a deep breath in, fill your lungs and let you stomach go inside. Yes like that. Now hold it right like this and now lift your hips up."

The receptionist from downstairs escorted my guest inside my cabin and I nodded at them in greeting.

We passed smiles.

After the session and bidding good byes to the clients I went to the washroom in my floor to wash the sweat off and drying myself I walked out towards my cabin.

I opened my door and they both turned to look at me,
"Namaste Uncle. Namaste Aunty" I smiled greeting them properly this time

"Namaste bacche"
they both said in Unison and settled back on their seats.

"I am so sorry for how am I looking right now, Pilates class you see"
I made a face, I was wearing a maroon spandex top and black tights with flip flops.

Flip flops are easy to take off while working on patients so I prefer that in here.

"That not a problem"

I walked upto my chair and sat on it, not bothering to wear apron yet. I was filthy in sweat I need to change anyways so why get my apron messy.
It was hung happily near a cup-board.

I smiled looking at them both,
"I am so sorry for the delay. This was pre-scheduled session and I couldn't just leave like that."

"That's okay we understand"

I nodded, "You had something, tea or coffee perhaps?"
I asked them both and turned to pick the intercom

"No! we are okay."

"No please I insist. I was anyways about to have juice myself. Orange juice? Or lemonade?"

They both shared a gaze and nodded for lemonade.

I dialed downstairs asking them for three glasses of lemonade.

Till the arrival of our drinks we started with the assessment.

Meheka's boss, Samarpreet Dhillon, were my Papa ji's friend, they met somehow work related and were in good terms with each other.

His sister was a widow living with her brother and his family in Delhi, they were originally from Jalandar, Punjab, but settled in Delhi for a long time now.

Harpreet Aunty, Mr.Dhillon's sister was a 57 years old lady working as company secretary for a multinational company. Her job generally makes her roam around the country or often abroad.

She told me all these while we were in the treatment room, I was examining her and her brother was sitting in my cabin, waiting for us.

"I have two daughters, they are both married. The older one is 31, and is living in London. The younger one is also settled in London, she is 28 and is expecting her first child"

I was cradling her right leg and taking it up for full flexion checking for muscle tightness.

To avoid her holding breath I kept talking to her and she was intriguing anyways, "How many grandchildren?"

She laughed, "Two and expecting third in five month"

I smiled coming back to the floor,
"That's nice. You have a big family I see"

She nodded, "Yeah, it is all good. Bhaia- Bhabhi, their sons, me and my two daughters, we are quite a good pack."
She laughed and I laughed with her

"You live in a small family, Bhaia told me?"

We made our way back to my cabin to complete the assessment form.
"It is just we five. Lost touch with relatives long time ago, just superficial. We gather only on big occasions"

She nodded.

I don't care anymore what people assume about small families these days. It's not necessary every relation brings you happiness because any relative of mine never did.

They were way too jealous to accept our happiness.

They did nothing but ruined our friendship with important people and took advantage of my naïve parents.

I filled their assessment sheet and gave then the consent form to fill it up which I forgot earlier.
Then explained the problem to them and we settled upon a treatment protocol.

"You need to come here regularly for a week and after that we can arrange alternate days treatment schedule, until the problem totally disappears"
I asked them

"or if my clinic is far from your workplace or home then I can always write a prescription and you can get the treatment done from any nearby physiotherapy centre."

Harpreet aunty looked at her brother and then at the assessment sheet,
"It's okay, I can manage and beside I will get a good 2 hours lunch break from work for the treatment"

"So you are planning to come by lunch hours?"
I asked looking at her

She nodded, "By 2 in afternoon if it is okay with you? We can eat lunch together if that is a problem" she asked politely

I laughed, "That's no problem, I eat lunch by 1:30 anyways."

"Oh so we are delaying your lunch hour?" Samarpreet Uncle asked laughing,
"that's so rude of us. We should have asked your father for good time"

"Please thats not a problem" I denied and smiled looking at them both

"Regular for one week then, I'll see you from tomorrow?" I asked her

"oh, Ofcourse. I'll be there on time Doctor Sadhvi" Aunty said standing up from their chairs and started to move

I too got up and walked them out of the room, where I bumped into Rajveen who was coming down to eat lunch with me.

"This is Doctor Rajveen Kaur, my partner. And Rajveen, Mr. Samarpreet Dhillon and his sister Harpreet Singh" they shook hands and Rajveen went inside my cabin to wait for me for lunch

After I went back to my room once my guests were gone I joined Rajveen

Post lunch there was only three patients for me to attend and Rajveen had four. That was somewhat a regular pattern for Mondays.

Regularly we tend to 10 patients minimum each and from 12 to 2 in the afternoon we generally do sessions.

Except for Rajveen's early morning yoga sessions.

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