Chapter 50 #3
“You had rajma chawal for lunch also.” Atharva pointed, seeing him polish off the last of his rice.
Samar sat back, unable to hide his appetite that had resurrected after months.
The garden was fragrant with fresh tandoori food; there were more dishes on the table, but he had seen a good rajma-chawal and only helped himself to that.
“How do you know?” Qureshi frowned.
“He knows everything.” Adil threw a chole into the air and caught it in his mouth.
“How did you do that?” Daniyal piped up.
“Open your mouth and sit back.”
“No!” Iram yelled but the chole was already in the air and pinging off Daniyal’s nose. Before anybody else, Yathaarth began to clap his hands, sitting in her arms.
“That’s not how it’s done.” Atharva picked a chole and cleaned off the gravy.
“Atharva, no,” Iram warned. And he instantly dropped it.
The entire table burst out laughing. Including Samar.
He hadn’t smiled this much in… he didn’t remember how long.
Maybe during their initial founding years.
After that, things had become solemn, gritty.
Blood had been painted on their paths to protect the party and their future.
Everything had become serious, at least, for him.
Samar eyed the table now, populated with all the people he had started the adulthood of his life with, now with partners and children. He had a partner, a potential partner here too. If this did not make a man want to climb out of the well, then nothing could.
His eyes stopped at Yathaarth. He was asleep on Iram.
“He slept?” Samar exclaimed, realising that he had said it out loud. Iram glanced down, patting at his head. She smiled back up at him — “He can fall asleep anywhere.” She got to her feet, Sarah following her to deposit the baby inside a cot that they had set up beside the table.
“You used to sleep in the back of transport vehicles on our way into missions sometimes,” Samar said softly to Atharva.
He smiled — “Good times.”
“I was worried for your mental health if you could fall asleep just before launching a strike.”
“You slept for four hours a day. Somebody had to sleep for both of us.”
Samar chuckled. “Lately I have been sleeping a lot more.”
“It’s the recovery. Take it easy. I still think you should not jump into Himachal… and before you throw it at me that I don’t trust you with HDP, listen.”
Samar held his words in tight. Atharva leaned towards him, their chairs close enough for them to talk without anybody overhearing. The table was anyway filled with commotion too happy to care about them.
“You both are not on the same page.” Atharva made a gesture with his eyes that didn’t even need to point to Amaal.
“Something is wrong. I won’t ask what, that’s your personal matter, unless you want to talk.
But this is the age to build this life up.
Work will wait if it has to. We can loosen resources from KDP for you to dispatch them across Himachal.
Take the funds, take the people if needed.
But stay back here and make base in Jammu and Srinagar if you want to remain close to her. ”
“Hello, Begumjaan.” Samar deadpanned. “It’s been a while.”
Die. Atharva mouthed. He chuckled, but shook his head. “My way to her goes through my work.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
He stared at Atharva, ready to talk but having so much to say that he didn’t know where to start. This clearly wasn’t the place either.
“Later.” He sighed, taking his arms off the table as it was cleared. Platters of desserts were laid down, including ice cream bowls, some kind of cake and Amaal’s barfi.
“Where’s mango ice cream?” Atharva called out to Iram.
“You believed it?” She asked. “Mango season is still a month away, Janab.”
“Why would you lie to me about mango?”
“To make you take the Sunday off. Look, your Ministers and Party President and especially your Press Secretary are so happy.”
Amaal was mid-yawn. Everybody stared. And she broke into a sheepish grin.
“Look, look.” Iram pointed at her. “She hasn’t been getting enough sleep.”
“That’s due to her romantic comedy marathon,” Samar smirked.
“Which romantic comedy marathon?” Iram grabbed Amaal’s shoulder. She did not answer.
“Fifty shades.” Samar filled in for her.
Adil spat the water he was drinking. At him.
“Watch it.” He grabbed the napkin from his lap, patting at his chest.
“Fifty shades?”
“Romantic comedy?” Iram laughed.
“It’s an erotica.” Daniyal grinned.
“What’s erotica, Amaal Aapa?” Maha asked. Samar gaped at Amaal. She was red, her mouth tittering, holding in a laugh or a cry, he couldn’t figure out. But it was a good moment.
“You don’t study your science books but this you know.” Qureshi glared at Daniyal. And the temperature at the table suddenly dipped.
“Water, everyone?” Iram broke it.
“Yes! Cold water!” Amaal chimed.
“You don’t know Fifty Shades?” Adil asked him softly, still laughing. “It’s all over the newspapers nowadays.”
“I read the adults’ sections.”
“This is in the adult section.” He guffawed at his own joke.
“Samar,” Atharva called.
“Hmm?”
“Have you heard anything from your Awaami sources lately?”
“About?”
“About anything related to the PoK trip.” Atharva pushed closer, lowering his voice. “Iram’s name.”
“I haven’t kept on top of things since I was in the hospital. Let me ask around. I have to renew payments also. Without money, nobody talks.”
“Can you do that remotely?”
“How urgent is this?”
“As soon as you can manage.”
He nodded. “I’ll make the calls tonight.”
Atharva’s phone buzzed. Samar felt movement in the periphery of his vision. Atharva’s Head of Security — Altaf.
“Hello?” Atharva picked it up, pushed his chair back and walked away, meeting Altaf. Samar glanced at Qureshi, then Adil.
Serious?
Yes.
Yes.
He looked at Amaal. She was on her mobile too. Without a word, she pushed out of her chair and strode to Atharva. Their conversation went on for a minute. And then they were all striding back.
“I am sorry, we will have to take a round of the Secretariat. You guys carry on, we’ll be back,” Atharva tapped Adil’s shoulder, giving Samar a look. No questions asked.
“But why?!” Maha whined. “You stay, Amaal Aapa.”
“We’ll be back in half an hour,” Atharva patted the top of her head. “Don’t eat all the ice cream.”
Amaal’s eyes met his, and she blinked. That’s it.
Before anybody could do or say anything else, the CM’s convoy was pulling out of the second driveway, Amaal with them.
It was three hours later, as Samar was getting ready to board his flight to Shimla, that he got the update.
The news about the blast targeting Atharva in PoK had been leaked. Momina Aslam, the Awaami leader of opposition had leaked it, and was now calling for the CM to resign.