Chapter 7- Mujhse vaada karo

"Buaji, Aunty, I know it's very late lekin main do minute aapse baat karna chahtha hoon" Arnav said, his voice coming out hoarse. "If you don't mind"

"Bolo bitwa" Aunty said, gesturing for him to take a seat.

"Aye Sanka Devi, Damaadji ke liye ek glass pani leiko aao" Buaji said, sitting down with a painful grunt and massaging her arthritic knees.

"Bitwa, aap chahe toh hum aapke liye chai bana de?" Aunty asked.

"Nahi Aunty, water is fine" Arnav said, looking up at Khushi who was determinedly avoiding his gaze.

She hurried into the kitchen as Aunty took a seat on the opposite sofa, waiting for him to speak.

The car journey had passed in mournful silence. Arnav had noticed the thick drops of tears falling into Khushi's lap and that she hadn't taken any effort to wipe them away.

As he drove, he couldn't help but remember how Khushi had barged into their room earlier in the evening claiming that everyone was brewing a plot against them. The irony of it wasn't lost on him.

On arriving at Buaji's home, he had walked ahead to help Aunty with Uncle's wheel-chair and returned to the car for his bags when he noticed that Buaji had pulled Khushi aside and Arnav couldn't avoid overhearing their conversation.

"Sanka Devi, sambhalon apne aap ko" Buaji had said, "Hum jaanath hai ki aaj joun sab hua uke vajah se tumhra mann bhari hui gaya hai, tum hi kya, hum sab ka mann bhari hui gaya hai Nandkishore. Lekin zara Damaadji ke baare me socho Titaliya"

"Buaji, hume unki bahut fikar ho rahi hai" Khushi had said, "Arnavji apna dard kisike saath nahi baant the aur aaj jo bhi hua'"

"Aaj jo hua, usse toh tum nahi badal sakthi Sanka Devi" Buaji had said, "Ab dekho, oo apan dharam nibhaye rahe tumhra saath deikhe, ab tumhri baari hai. Kuch samjhi ki naahi?"

Khushi had thrown herself into Buaji's arms.

"Chalo, aapan ansoon poncho" Buaji said, sternly. "Chalo"

Arnav had finally cleared his throat to make his presence known.

Khushi had wiped away her tears as instructed and helped him carry his laptop bag inside.

He took the glass from her hand and said, "Thanks"

She didn't sit down but went to stand behind her mother, facing him.

Arnav hadn't spoken this much in a long time and his throat felt a little scratchy. He downed the water, knowing there were things left to clarify. He cleared his throat and said,

"Agar aapko koi aitraaz nahi hai toh Khushi aur main kuch din yehin rahenge"

"Kaisi baatein karat ho Nandkishore" Buaji said, "Yeh tumhra ghar hi toh hai"

"Haan bitwa" Aunty said, reaching for Khushi's hand on her shoulder. "Isme aitraaz ki kono baat hi nahi"

Arnav nodded his thanks and said, "Main Aman se kehke jitni jaldi ho sake, ek apartment arrange karta hoon but until then'"

As he'd predicted, they began to protest at once.

He knew they were always welcome at Buaji's place but he was also quite sure that they couldn't live here.

Chosing his words with utmost delicacy, he said-"Buaji, mujhe galath math samjhiye but yeh ghar itna bada nahi hai ki do families comfortably reh sake"

Fortunately, they didn't look offended. Buaji actually looked around the room and sighed her assent.

"But I'll make sure ki apartment Lakshmi Nagar ke pass hi ho" Arnav said, hastily. "Taaki Khushi jab chahe yahan aa sakthi hai or'you can visit us"

"Jaisa tum theek samjho Nandkishore" Buaji said.

Relieved, Arnav moved to the next order of business.

"Also, main chahtha hoon ki Khushi aur main shaadi ki rasm puri karle" he said, "I know ki kal shayad nahi ho paye lekin agar aap panditji se baat karke kuch arrange kar sakthe hain'"

Blinking furiously, Khushi mumbled something incoherent and dashed away towards her room.

Aunty made to call after her but perhaps decided against it. Turning to Arnav, she said- "Haan bitwa, hum kal subah hi panditji se baat karath hain"

"Jitni jaldi ho sake rasm puri honi chahiye Babua" Buaji said.

"Ji, I know it aap sab ke liye yeh bahut important hai" Arnav said, his eyes on Khushi who had stopped at the door. "And main bhi nahi chahtha ki aage jaake kisi ko bhi Khushi aur mere rishtey ke baare me kuch kehna ka mauka mile"

She turned away quickly and went inside.

Arnav stood up to follow her when he remembered yet another issue to settle. He didn't think they'd mind but he felt obliged to ask anyway.

Buaji and Aunty, who had both gotten to their feet, paused when he turned around.

"Uh'voh, um" Arnav mumbled, wondering if there was anyway to ask without feeling embarrassed. "Aapko koi aitraaz toh nahi'I mean, Khushi aur main ek hi kamre me'"

Aunty smiled and said, "Bitwa, aaj aap saabit kar diye ki aap Khusi ke sache jeevan saathi hain, ab voh humri nahi aapki amanat hai"

Scratching his chin, Arnav mumbled an awkward thanks.

"Haan lekin ek baat hai Nandkishore" Buaji said, "Sanka Devi ke saath, ooke dahej me aapko ooka sanak bhi leike jaana padi hai. Bheetar jaane se pehle agar tum eeke baare me fir se soch vichar karna chahat ho, toh alag baat hai Nankishore"

Arnav smiled, in spite of himself.

Looking at Buaji, it was hard to guess that she had such a unique sense of humor. It made Arnav wonder if she'd been a Sanka Devi herself in her youth.

"Buaji, I think uske liye thoda late ho gaya"

She laughed and circled her hands around his face, cracking her knuckles at her temples to ward away any evil eyes to befall him.

Saying goodnight to both, Arnav pushed open the door to Khushi's room.

He found her standing on a chair, pointing the remote at the a/c.

"Kya kar rahi ho tum?" he asked, shutting the door behind him.

"Dekhiye na, Arnavji" she said, "Lagtha hai ki a/c fir bandh pad gaya. Itne dino se kisine chalaya nahi na, shayad isliye. Lekin hume samajh me nahi aa raha hai ki kharabi remote me hai ya puri ki puri a/c kharab ho gayi hai"

She hoisted herself on the table and straightened up.

His breath catching in his throat, Arnav strode forward hurriedly.

"Pagal ho gayi ho tum?" he said, "Neeche uthro"

"Ek minute, haan" she said, beating the side of the a/c as if that would get it started.

"Ek din bina a/c ke so so jaunga toh kuch nahi hoga" he said, holding his hand out. "Tum neeche uthro, abhi"

With a last dirty look at the a/c, she took his hand and climbed down.

She made it to the chair safely but her leg gave way as she reached the ground.

Arnav caught her by the shoulders and steadied her, all the while wondering if her ankles weren't permanently damaged by the number of times this girl fell.

She stepped back and adjusted her dupatta, colour rising in her cheeks.

"Hum machar marne ka bat leke aate hai" she said, turning away.

Arnav caught her by the wrist and spun her around gently.

Hesitantly, she raised her eyes to his and his heart just broke seeing the pain in them.

He drew her close and put his arms around her.

Her whole body was trembling with the effort not to cry.

"It's ok Khushi" he said, running a hand down the length of her hair.

She clung to him, her fingers curling into his kurta.

"Arnavji" she whispered, "Aaj jo hua voh sahi nahi tha"

He stroked her back gently, understanding her need to let it out. For a change, tonight she'd been the one keeping her silence.

"Bhaagthe toh chor hai, humne koi galathi nahi ki" she said, "Rishtey aise nahi thode jaathe Arnavji, hume unhe samjhana chahiye tha. Hume'"

"I know" he said, "Main jaantha hoon ki chahkar bhi hum unn rishton ko nahi thod sakthe. Lekin aaj samajhne samjhaane ka time nahi tha"

And it won't be until they accept you, he thought to himself.

"Khushi, aaj mujhe tumhare saath ki bahut zaroorath hai" he said, "Tum dogi mera saath?"

She pulled back, her eyes asking him why he was even bothering to ask.

"Mujhse vaada karo Khushi" he said, "ki tum kabhi mujhe chod ke nahi jaogi, main tumhare bina nahi jee paunga"

Khushi raised a finger to his lips to silence him.

"Hum vaada karthe hai" she said, "Ke hum hamesha aapke paas aur aapke saath hai"

The earnestness of her promise brought a smile to his face.

He lifted her in his arms, savouring the way her hand reached across his chest to hold his lapel.

He placed her on the bed and she scooted over to make place for him.

"Ek aur promise karogi?" he asked, sitting down beside her. "That aaj ke baad har subah jab main apni aankhen kholoon and raat ko bandh karo, you'll be the one I see"

She gave him a bashful smile and looked away.

Almost at once, she turned back with a thoughtful expression on her face.

"Lekin agar aapko kaam se sheher se bahar jaana pade toh?" she asked, "Ya fir hum kisi kaam se Buaji ke ghar aa gaye toh?"

Arnav considered her question.

He pulled out his mobile and before her confused expression could change, he snapped a photo of her.

"Toh main ise dekh lunga" he said.

He couldn't believe that after all these days he didn't have a single photo of her on his phone.

Her mouth opened in surprise and she said, "Dikhaiye na"

He showed her the photo but snatched his phone away when she said,

"Chi, kitna kharab photo hai. Ise hata dijiye, humara matlab hai, ise delete kar dijiye"

Arnav rolled his eyes and refused to delete it flat-out.

"Ek minute" she said, jumping off the other side of the bed and running to the mirror.

She adjusted her hair and crumped lehenga before returning to the bed.

"Ab lijiye" she said, tilting her head slightly to the left. "Aapko pata hai, Babuji hamesha kehthe the ki hum baiye taraf se thode Madhuri Dixit jaise dikhthe hain"

Arnav bit his lower lip to keep from laughing and took another snap with a straight face.

He was just saving it as 'Sanka Devi' when he noticed that she'd opened her mobile to take a picture of him.

He snatched it out of her hands and said, "Khushi, mujhe apni photo khichana acha nahi lagtha"

"Haaw" she said, pouting. "Yeh kya baat hui? Fir toh hum Salman Khanji ka hi photo dekh lenge"

Arnav shook his head as they lay down on their respective sides of the bed.

"Khushi, kya tum zindagi bhar mujhe Salman Khan ki dhamki deti rahogi?" he asked.

"Ji haan" she said, turning her nose up in the air. And then reconsidering, she added, "Zindagi bhar nahi, agar unka koi beta hua toh hum uski dhamki denge"

Arnav snorted. "Beta tab hoga jab uski shaadi hogi"

"Haan" Khushi said, with a tragic sigh. "Ab toh humne bhi unhe dhoka de diya"

Looking at each other, they lapsed into giggles.

He took her hand in his and said, "I love you"

Giving his hand a little squeeze, she turned onto her back and settled into her pillow.

"Khushi, maine kaha I love you" he said, "Tum koi javab nahi dogi?"

"Yeh koi saval thodi hai jo hum javab denge" she said.

Arnav could see her poorly concealed smile even in the dark.

"Soch lo" he said, withdrawing his hand and turning away from her. "Agar raat ko tumhare tae-kwon-do poses se meri neend disturb hui toh kal subah tum bed ke neeche uthogi"

Grinning into the darkness, she reached for his hand hurriedly. "Hum bhi aapse I love you"