Page 253 of The Circle of Exile
“When was the last time you spoke to Maha? She is now in secondary school. Do you even see how she is growing? What she is doing?”
“I speak to her.”
“And Ammi?”
“She is on his side.”
“She is not. She is caught between you two.”
“You don’t want me to live here? I will go. But I am not go…”
“Don’t make me thrash you right here.”
“Atharva!” Iram’s holler came from somewhere upstairs.
“In the hall!”
“Coming.”
He stared at Daniyal — “They are coming here to be happy for your final exam. Give them that. I will not stand by you if you fight this time.”
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Qureshi came. And he came with his CM’s convoy, which would not fit in the porch of Briarwood Bungalow.
“Atharva.” He nodded, smiling, walking inside in his patent pheran and pathani, more whites interspersed in the greys of his beard, eyes anything but trustworthy after the stunts he had pulled in the last three years.
“Qureshi,” Atharva nodded. “How are you, Sarah?” No point in asking Qureshi that. The four of them, the founding members spoke on a regular basis nowadays thanks to the final leg of the election campaign in Kashmir.
“I am very well,” she shook her head, a smile playing on her drained mouth. “You have kept Dani here with you and made sure he finished his graduation…”
“Only the exams are done, results are still pending,” Iram turned Sarah’s emotional rant into a joke.
“Still,” she went and clasped Iram’s hands. Atharva could feel his wife come into her hostess mode. She detested Qureshi, had her qualms about Sarah too due to her helpless loyalty to her husband. But she had invited them over tonight to celebrate Daniyal’s last exam. And, as Atharva had learnt later, to smoothen any doubts Qureshi might have about his ambition of taking over his chair again.
In the unlikely event that KDP ends up winning big, you will need Qureshi’s patronage. Convince him that you have moved on from the idea of becoming the CM.
Atharva smiled at his wife. The Plan D to his A, B and C.
“Where is Dani?”
“In the hall, come in,” Iram led them all down the alley. Happy screams of Yathaarth were audible, as were Noora’s shrieks.
“Look at him! Day by day Arth is looking just like you, Atharva!” Sarah halted, gaping at him trying to tackle Noora to the ground with Daniyal’s help. Daniyal glanced up and quickly set Yathaarth down from his shoulders.
“Dani,” Sarah crossed the hall to him and grabbed his shoulders. He smiled, embracing her even before she had. Yathaarth, thinking it was a game, turned and embraced Noora’s legs.
“Arth, come and say hello,” Iram held her hand out. He hid behind Noora.
“Arth,” her warning voice sounded.
Qureshi laughed — “Let it be, Iram. We are not strangers. And you remember how it took three yells for Daniyal to do one Adaab? And that was when he was a teenager.”
Iram smiled politely, going after Yathaarth, who made a dash for the kitchen. Atharva thanked the gods of shy naughty kids because he did not want his son to call Qureshi by his name.
“Abba was so excited that you are finally done with your exams…” Sarah kept talking, pulling Daniyal by the wrist until he stood in front of his father. “These three years passed in a blur. And it’s good you studied here, Iram tells me how responsible you have become. You turn your socks inside out, check your pockets for change, even wake up and eat breakfast…”
Silence fell. Daniyal did not look at his father, smiling at his mother then looking away, anywhere but at Qureshi.
