Meherun Nesa brushed off Nasir Saheb's words as if she were shooing away a fly. Making a face, she said, "I can't hear well, that's why I'm using this earphone (inton). You don't need to talk so much. If this earphone bothers you, go put locks on your own ears!"
Nasir Saheb didn't argue further. He used a knife to cut the fried egg on his plate into three pieces. He placed one piece on Ishrat's plate and another on Nusrat's.
Meherun Nesa's phone rang again. She answered it and leaned it against a water glass on the table for support.
From the other end, Helal Saheb said, "Assalamu Alaikum, Amma!"
"Walaikum Assalam!"
"Amma, are you well?"
"Mm-hmm!"
Meherun Nesa stopped eating and asked, "Son, how are you?"
"As you see me!" Helal replied.
Someone whispered from beside Helal Saheb, "Papa, tell her!"
Meherun Nesa frowned. "What is it, Helal? What are you going to say?"
Helal Saheb scolded someone off-camera, then looked back at the video and said, "Amma, I had something to tell you..."
"Don't play riddles, son. Tell me the real matter!"
The boy on the other side seemed annoyed. He pulled the mobile from Helal Saheb's hand toward himself and gave a loud greeting. Meherun Nesa replied to the Salam and asked, "What happened, Arash?"
Hearing the name Arash, a deep frown appeared on Nusrat's forehead. She glanced sideways at Ishrat and saw her sister looking back at her. With a silent exchange of looks, the two sisters busied themselves with their food.
Arash spoke in a grave voice, "Dadi, Papa is coming back to the country in two days. He kept hesitating to tell you. He wanted to come without informing anyone, so I forced him to call and let you know."
The frown on Nusrat's forehead relaxed. Hearing the news of Helal Saheb's return, a strange shiver ran down her spine. The hair on her arms stood up. Nusrat looked at her hands and feet in surprise, noticing a slight, unusual trembling. By then, the dining table was in an uproar. Everyone stopped eating and began firing questions one after another.
Meherun Nesa's eyes welled up. She wiped her tears with the corner of her white saree.
"Hey, Dadi, why are you crying? This is exactly why Papa didn't want to tell you!" Arash's voice sounded blunt.
Meherun Nesa wiped her eyes and smiled. She asked, "Are you all coming?"
Another boy chimed in excitedly, "If we come, will you get us married?"
Meherun Nesa laughed out loud. Helal Saheb glared at the boy.
"Alright, I'll find a beautiful girl and marry off both you and Zayin. So, are you coming?"
"Brother and I aren't sure yet," Arash replied.
Hearing Arash say they weren't "sure," the slumped-over Nusrat gave a mischievous smile. She began eating her breakfast with renewed energy.
Helal Saheb asked, "Amma, are you having breakfast?"
"Yes! What time is it over there?"
"Around five o'clock. Have you prayed?"
Meherun Nesa nodded. Helal Saheb asked, "Is everyone at home there?"
"Wait, let me show you!"
As Meherun Nesa switched to the back camera, Nusrat stood up with her plate. Ishrat followed suit. Both headed toward the kitchen.
Meherun Nesa called after them, "Hey girls! Where are you going? Talk to your father!"
Neither of them looked back; they couldn't care less about talking to him. Nasir Saheb called out, "Nusrat!"
No answer. Arash watched with a furrowed brow. He narrowed his eyes, noticing Nusrat's clothes first, and bit his lip while staring in the direction the two sisters had gone.
Two days later,
The house was buzzing with cooking preparations today. Helal Saheb was permanently shifting back to Bangladesh from abroad. He was returning after twelve long years with his three sons. It wasn't yet known if his sons would stay permanently, but Helal Saheb had confirmed that he and his wife were moving back.
There was a knock on the door. Daughter-in-law Jhorna asked for permission to enter.
"What are you two doing, Nusrat and Ishrat?"
"Just watching the video of Aunt's (fupi) wedding."
"Stop watching these and go take a shower," Jhorna Begum said. "Your sisters-in-law could arrive any moment."
Nusrat asked, "Okay, we're going. But answer one question first."
Jhorna Begum frowned. "What?"
Pointing at the laptop screen toward three small children, Nusrat asked, "Who is this boy?"
"Which boy?"
"The one standing to the right of Fupi."
"Oh, him? That's Arash! Your elder uncle's son. You don't recognize him?"
Ishrat said with annoyance, "How would we recognize him? We'd need to talk to him first! We last saw him twelve years ago, and probably last spoke to him twelve years ago too."
"Look at me, I came to tell you to shower and now I'm sitting here gossiping," Jhorna Begum said. "Go, go! Take a shower! Sister will scold me later."
Nusrat called out from behind, "Bouma!"
"Yes?"
"What time is the flight?"
"2:00 PM."
"What time is it now?"
"1:15."
Ishrat gave a short "Oh."
After Jhorna Begum left, Nusrat pushed Ishrat toward the bathroom. Ishrat pushed back. They kept nudging each other until Ishrat finally gave up and went to shower. Nusrat lay lazily on the bed, clearly in no hurry. She yelled into the bathroom, "Don't come out before an hour! If you do, I'll hang you from the balcony!"
Nusrat came down to the drawing-room from the second floor. She sat down right next to her grandmother, Meherun Nesa, leaning against her. The old lady was slightly annoyed by the physical closeness.
"Why are you sticking to me like this?"
"Oh, Granny, why so much anger? Who else will I lean on if not you? Since I don't have a husband today, I have to stick to an old lady like you."
"Go away! Get away from here!"
"Uff, Grandpa! Why are you acting like this?"
"Then how should I act? You tell me!"
"You should speak with love and affection, not like this. Why do you get so irritated? It's like someone sprinkled chili powder on you."
Twisting her face slightly, Meherun Nesa said, "Oh, look at my Princess! I have to speak to her with 'affection' now."
Nusrat suddenly called out, "Grandpa..."
"What Grandpa? How many times do I have to remind you I'm your Grandma?"
"Okay, I'll remember, Grand-pa-pa-pa-pa," Nusrat started singing. After a moment, she got serious.
"Grandma, I heard your grandsons are coming home today?"
"Yes, so? Are you jealous of my grandsons?"
"Why would I be jealous? I think they just have nothing better to do."
"You're the one with no work," the grandmother retorted. "You dance around all day and do nothing. What will you do at your husband's house? When they kick you out, then you'll understand the real fun."
"Don't worry, Granny! I have an idea. Even if he wants to, he won't be able to kick me out."
Meherun Nesa frowned. "What?"
"I'll just marry your youngest grandson."
Saying this, Nusrat burst into laughter, leaning onto Meherun.
Annoyed, Meherun Nesa pushed her away. Raising her hand, she said, "Don't rub against me. If you do it again, it'll be bad for you!"
Nusrat laughed off the threat. Ishrat was coming down from the upper floor after her shower. Noticing her, Meherun Nesa said, "There is my golden granddaughter. Why can't you be like her? You just spend the whole day going 'ha-ha hi-hi'."
Nusrat looked at her sister and then at her grandmother. The grandmother seemed very happy. Meherun Nesa reached out, hugged Ishrat, and made her sit beside her.
Pointing at Ishrat, she said to Nusrat, "Why can't you wear clothes like her? You spend the day running around like a boy. You look terrible."
Nusrat looked at her sister's outfit—a light blue three-piece with a matching scarf and trousers. There wasn't a trace of makeup on Ishrat's round, fair face. Nusrat stared at her strangely for a moment and then burst into laughter.
"Is someone coming to see you for marriage? Why are you all dressed up?" she teased, pointing a finger and laughing.
Meherun Nesa slapped Nusrat's arm. "Why are you laughing at my granddaughter?"
Hit on the arm, Nusrat stopped making noise but didn't stop laughing; she covered her mouth and continued to giggle.
"Look at this shameless girl! She's still laughing after getting hit."
Nusrat looked at Ishrat for a while. They both nodded at each other. Then, both sisters burst into loud laughter that seemed to shake the house. Meherun Nesa stared at Ishrat with an inflated face.
"You too??" she muttered.
One by one, three cars entered the Syed house. From the first car stepped Lutfah Begum and her two children: younger daughter Momo Chowdhury and second son Ashik Chowdhury.
From the second car came Lutfah Begum's eldest daughter Sajida Chowdhury, her husband Shuvo Ehsan Khan, and their son Shuvro Ehsan Khan.
From the third car stepped Mahmuda and her husband Sarwar. This couple had no children.
Everyone from the Syed household came to the door to welcome the guests. The second lady of the house, Nazmin Begum; the third lady, Jhorna; and the youngest, Ruhini. Along with them were Ishrat, Onika, Ahan, Irham, and Arisha.
Nazmin Begum looked around, searching for someone. Not finding them, her face showed dissatisfaction. She whispered to Ishrat, "Where is the Princess?"
"In the room," Ishrat replied shortly.
"Go call her."
"Okay."
Ishrat headed to the second floor. Nazmin Begum waited, but neither of them came down.
Nazmin muttered to herself, "That silly girl must have held her back. What am I going to do with her?"
After everyone entered the house and exchanged greetings, they were seated in the drawing-room. The ladies of the house began serving snacks. Meanwhile, a call came from Nasir Saheb; he said they had already started for the house and would arrive in half an hour.
Nazmin urged those who hadn't showered to go and get ready. Onika left the drawing-room to go to her room.
"Jhorna, I'll be back in a bit. You and Ruhini handle things here."
"Okay, sister, go ahead."
Nazmin Begum went to the first bedroom on the second floor. She saw Ishrat scrolling through Facebook on her phone while Nusrat was lying on the bed with her head hanging off the edge and her legs up on the mattress.
"You still haven't showered? Go, take a shower now!" Nazmin moved toward the bed with her hand raised as if to strike.
"Oh, Mom, I'm going!"
With one leap, Nusrat bolted from the bed and into the bathroom, closing the door.
Turning to Ishrat, Nazmin said, "Change your clothes. Take a new outfit from the cupboard."
"Mom, this one is new."
"I told you to change, so change!"
Ishrat nodded in agreement. Satisfied, Nazmin went to the kitchen.
Nusrat peeked her head out of the washroom door. She looked around to see if Nazmin Begum was still there. Standing at the door, she made a strange "koo-koo" sound. Hearing the odd noise, Ishrat turned toward the bathroom.
"What happened?" she asked, frowning.
"Is Mom gone?"
"Yes."
Nusrat didn't waste a second jumping back onto the bed.
"Aren't you going to shower, Nusrat?"
"No, not now."
"Then when? The guests are almost here."
"I'll shower in the evening. And what guests? Chill, bro. Remember, don't give them too much importance."
"Okay."
Just as they finished talking, the sound of a car arriving came from downstairs. The two sisters looked at each other, acting as if they weren't expecting anyone special. Then Nusrat flopped onto the bed, staring at the ceiling fan, while Ishrat went back to scrolling her phone.
To be continued...
Would you like me to translate any specific Bengali idioms or regional expressions differently, or shall I continue with the next part of the story?