Chapter 12
Font:
Text Size:
Theme:
[MEMBERSONLY]
Hi everyone,
Thanks for all your wonderful comments.
Eyes are the window to the soul' they say. Read on to find
out.
Desert Rose ' Chapter 11
KHUSHI
walked outside to meet Arnav. She wore a white Lucknow chikan suit with pearl
drop earrings.
'Hi.' He greeted her as he swung
himself off the jeep lithely. He was wearing beige cotton trousers which hugged
his lean hips topped by a white cotton shirt, which he had tucked in, with the
sleeves turned up to reveal his tanned forearms. With his hair tousled in the
breeze and two of the top buttons undone to reveal a light sprinkling of chest
hair, he looked devastatingly sexy.
Khushi swallowed her mouth going a
little dry as she said, 'What are you doing here?'
'I wonder why you keep asking me this
question,' he said his mouth twisted in smirk. 'But this time I will tell you.
I think we should talk.'
'Good.' Khushi said constrictedly, 'I
wanted to talk to you about the deal as well.'
'Oh.' A strange look flashed through
his eyes and was gone so fast that Khushi thought she might have imagined it.
'That is what you wanted to talk about,
isn't it?' she asked hesitatingly.
'Yes, of course,' he said his face
stoic. 'What else could it be? I knew it would be a matter of time.'
'How?'
'You were running out of time.' He said,
his mouth twisted, 'You have a life to return to --- a job you need badly.
Maybe someone waiting for you back home.'
His tone insinuated that it was more of
question than a statement.
'That,' Khushi said quietly, 'is none
of your business.'
'Then let's discuss the real business
and get it over with. So, you want to negotiate a settlement?'
'You'.you have left me no choice.' Khushi said unable
to meet the intensity of his gaze.
'Alright, I will come by this night
after dinner with the details of my proposal.' His tone was very
matter-of-fact.
'Oh no.' That was not going to work, thought
Khushi. 'I had hoped that we could talk ' privately, first 'before I let my
sister know about this.'
He shrugged. 'Ok ' when?'
Khushi took a deep breath. 'How about
now?'
'Now?' The dark brows lifted, his dark
eyes speculative. 'That's not possible. I am going to Katariasar, a village on
the outskirts.'
Khushi crushed the sides of her kurti
with her hands, as he asked, 'Can I come with you?' She saw the surprized look
on his face and hurried on. 'Now that I have made up my mind I don't want
things to drag on. And, anyway, I have hardly seen anything of Rajasthan, and
this could be my last chance. That is if you don't mind a passenger,' she
added, waiting as he stared in silence.
'No,' he said at last, his smile
crooked. 'I don't mind at all ' if you are prepared to risk it.'
'Risk?' Khushi looked beyond him at the
Jeep. 'The vehicle seems to be in a good condition. Do you drive very fast?'
Arnav laughed out loud and Khushi was
stunned to see Arnav's transformation from a serious businessman into a
carefree man. It took years off his face.
'Never mind.' He said sobering down quickly. 'That
is not what I meant.' He said enigmatically. He let his gaze deliberately go
over her hair and gave a small satisfactory nod.
Khushi realized that she had forgotten
to tie up her hair and the look on Arnav's face told her what interpretation he
put on that one small fact. His next words confirmed her suspicions.
'What happened to the school teacher
image? As I told you yesterday, you shouldn't hide behind it. This is much --- better.'
Khushi thought for a moment that he was going to say something else. 'What
brought about the change I wonder?'
'I told you before --- I dress to
please myself and no one else. Give me a minute to get my purse. I will be
right back.'
When she came back five minutes later,
she had tied her hair up in a bun and put on her glasses. Khushi lifted her
chin up in a challenge as she sat in the passenger seat. Though he didn't say
anything, his body language told her she had irked him quite a bit.
By asking him to take her out like
this, Khushi knew she had given him the wrong idea. But as Anjali had told her,
this would be her last chance. She would be fine she assured herself. She sent
up a silent prayer.
Khushi trained her eyes on the scenery
which was not becoming very familiar to her. The landscape which had seemed
inhospitable to her a week ago, now looked peaceful, tranquil and pristine.
There was rare inexplicable beauty in its vastness and Khushi was beginning to
fall in love with it.
'Why are we going to Katariasar?' she
asked curiously. 'Is there something special there?'
'Yes, my friend Keshav Rathore's
sister's sangeet ceremony. But the main reason for my visit is to see his baby
who was born a month ago.'
'Oh!' Khushi swallowed. 'I didn't
realize I was going to be intruding on such a private occasion. I am sorry.'
'If I thought you were intruding, you
wouldn't be here.' His tone brooked no arguments.
'Oh.' Khushi imagined how easily she
could have been left behind today. 'Thanks but I think I might not be dressed
for a ceremony.' She looked at herself in the mirror.
'That can be resolved very easily.' He
reached out, pulled the hair-stick which confined her hair and tossed it
casually out of the moving vehicle.
'What are you doing?' Khushi demanded
furiously, trying to control her flying mane with her fingers, and failing as
the breeze gleefully whipped it all over her face.
'Today ---' Arnav drawled, 'you are not
the tied-back, buttoned up, responsible sister. Today, you will enjoy
yourself.' He paused, 'And your eyes will smile at me.' he said huskily.
'What?' she asked not sure if she had
heard him correctly.
'By that I mean you need to get rid of
this as well.' He reached out once again and took off her glasses and tossed
them out like the hair-stick.
'Stop the Jeep!' yelled Khushi,
infuriated with him. 'I said STOP.'
Arnav brought the Jeep to a halt on the
shoulder. Khushi got off the Jeep and ran back a little ways trying to find her
glasses. She realized there was no way she was going to find them in this
terrain. She strode back angrily.
'What did you do that for?' she
demanded when she saw him lounging casually by the side of the Jeep. 'Are you
crazy?'
'I am not -- but I think you definitely
are for wearing those horrible plain
glasses.' He said. 'I checked yesterday when I took them off.' He explained at
her surprized look and went on, 'What are you trying to hide behind those
almond beauties Khushi?'
'How could you?' she spat out and pushed
his hard chest with all her might.
'Believe me, it was simple,' he said as
he caught her hands in his, then pushed her back and pinned her hands against
the Jeep. 'This --- is the complication.' Without any warning, he bent his head
and captured her lips in his.
Khushi felt the cruel dazzle of the sun
on her face, beating against her closed eyelids, as his kiss deepened, taking
control, forcing the lips apart to admit the invasion of his tongue. When
Khushi felt the familiar sensation assail her body, she gave in to the hunger
and opened her mouth, allowing him entry into the warm sanctuary.
As
a liquid heat pooled in the pit of her stomach, he released her as abruptly as
he had grabbed her.
He took her chin in his hand and lifted
her face up to him and said, 'Don't ever wear that dirty brown lipstick again.'
He strode back to the Jeep and took the wheels.
An hour later, they reached Katariasar.
It was a small village ' a straggle of houses, painted colourfully. They parked
outside a house which was clearly a wedding venue with colourful multi coloured
shamiyana dominating the front courtyard. There was also a welcoming committee
Khushi noted in dismay.
She said, 'I think I will stay here in
the Jeep --- I don't know anyone.'
'Don't be silly,' he chided her,
'Keshav will be offended if you don't come in.'
He took her arm, urging her forward as
his friend Keshav came up to him and enveloped him in an embrace. There was a
whole battalion of people who came up to Arnav and shook hands with him. She
saw him smiling at them and saying a few words to each and every one of them.
This was such a strange scene that left Khushi baffled. Who were all these
people and how did Arnav know all of them? she wondered. He then moved away
from them as he seemed to have received a call on his cell phone.
Keshav Rathore walked up to Khushi and
asked her politely, 'Madamji, can I offer you something?'
'No thank you Keshavji. Please call me
Khushi.' She was surprized at his formality.
He immediately gave her a toothy smile.
'I am so honoured that Chotte sahib and you were able to come to our small
function.'
'Of course,' said Khushi surprized that
he had addressed Arnav as 'Chotte sahib'. 'How can he not come to see his
friend's baby?'
'That's his humility that he considers
me his friend Khushiji. I am just the foreman in his factory you know. My
father, and my grandfather before him, worked for his father and grandfather. But Chotte sahib is the one who crossed the
barrier of difference and embraced me as his friend -- only because I happened
to teach him cycling when we were boys.'
'He told me about that.' Khushi said
quietly.
'He proved it when the factory had to
be locked up when his father died in the accident. From whatever money the
family received from the sale of the Haveli, he gave some to me so that I could
keep my family afloat for some time. After a year when he made his money in the
business he came back and made sure he revived the factory back to its former
glory.
'It is the livelihood of most of the
people you see here Khushiji.'
Khushi was stunned at what Keshav had
just told her. She looked at Arnav still talking on the phone and realized that
he was a man with a great sense of responsibility. Guilt assailed her but she
stemmed it immediately when she thought about Payal. She had a responsibility
toward her family as well.
'Shall we go see the baby now?' Arnav
had finished his call and come up to them.
Keshav took them inside the house which
was bustling with activity. Strings of alternating yellow and orange marigold
flowers were strung up all over giving the house a very festive atmosphere. Khushi
observed that the doorways were decorated with rangoli designs. Women dressed
in bright, colourful sarees and lehengas, moved about serving the guests. In
one corner, there was a group of musicians playing Rajasthani folk songs,
accompanied by little girls dancing to the tunes. Khushi's eyes lit up when she
saw the little girls doing the Ghoomar that she had learnt back at the hotel in
Bikaner.
In the room, Pari, Keshav's wife was
sitting up in bed holding her baby in her arms. She was a pretty girl, a
contented glow on her face, in spite of the weariness. She smiled at them in
greeting.
Khushi sat on the bed and bent down and
told Pari that the baby looked just like his father. Pari put the sleeping baby
in her arms and Khushi happily began to croon to the baby.
She looked up to see Arnav gazing at
her with a strange look in his chocolate eyes.
'Would you like to hold him, Arnavji?'
she asked him.
'Oh, no' Arnav took an alarmed step
backwards. 'He is too small. I might drop him.'
'Come on Arnavji,' she encouraged him,
'come sit on the bed if you think that will be easier.'
Seeing the expectant look on everyone's
faces Arnav muttered an expletive as he sat on the bed gingerly. Khushi handed
the baby over to his reluctant arms. A murmur of approval went about the rest
of the family clustering in the doorway.
Clearly, a visit from such an important and
respected figure was an event in their lives, Khushi thought. He was central to
so many people's lives here in this little village ' quite apart from being the
business tycoon.
As the baby snuggled in his arms
smiling in sleep, Arnav's face broke into a tender smile.
Khushi's
heart skipped a beat. 'See I told you it was easy.' Khushi said as she leaned on
his arm unconsciously to touch the baby's chin.
As the baby let out a wail of protest,
Arnav promptly handed him over back to her. Khushi rocked the baby and began to
coo to him to calm him and he relaxed back into peaceful slumber.
She was a natural with babies, thought
Arnav looking at Khushi. She would make a great mother someday he realized with
a pang. Suddenly, one small starfish hand emerged from the shawl he was
cocooned in, and moved to splay her breast. The little baby puckered his lips
as he turned ' seeking.
A strange anguish lanced through Khushi
as she wondered for the first time in her life what it would be like to bear a
child to the man you loved. To be the focus, as Pari was, of his pride and
adoration.
Hey Devi Maiyya'I wish'.she stopped the
dead at the directions her thoughts were heading.
As if magnetized, she looked up at
Arnav, her eyes widening, her parted lips tremulous. His face was serious and
aloof, his lips pursed in a barely controlled temper.
He probably resented the way she, a
stranger, an unwanted outsider at that, had been drawn into this intimate
family moment, she thought painfully. Nor could she blame him, considering the
deception she was practicing on him.
An old woman from the group of onlookers
came up to Khushi, put her hand on her head and began to speak rapidly in a
Rajasthani dialect. Khushi shook her head in incomprehension.
Sona, Keshav's sister and bride-to-be, supplied
the cheerful explanation, 'Dadisa says that both of you are a good looking
couple and will have beautiful babies one day.'
Khushi
felt a wave of helpless colour sweep into her face. She did not dare look at
Arnav as she handed the baby back to Pari. Luckily everyone left the room to
rejoin in the activities and they were asked to come outside to where the table
was being set for lunch.
As Arnav
was escorted ceremoniously to the dining area, Khushi walked behind slowly lost
in thought. She didn't see the young girl serving orange sherbet to the guests
and crashed right into her, spilling the contents of the jug onto her white
kurti. The girl shrieked in terror at the mishap and Khushi began to console
the girl and explained to all the women surrounding them that it was her fault.
She was
quickly escorted by the women to Pari's room where she instructed the women to
give her a change of clothes. When Khushi apologized for the inconvenience,
Pari explained that it was no trouble as these clothes were a part of her shagun
anyway.
Her "shagun"
turned out to be a beautiful traditional Rajasthani lehnga choli. The lehenga
was a dark brown self-print kali skirt with a dark red border embroidered with
silver thread work. The front of the lehenga seemed to have a separate piece
attached which had wide horizontal strips of blue and green embellished with
silver edgings and scattered silver kairis
on them. The choli was blue with half sleeves and only a single tie up dori at
the back. The dark red chunri was bandhani with gota edgings and rosettes sewed
into it. She wore the ensemble with apprehension.
Khushi found herself surrounded by the
womenfolk who began to admire her complexion, her hair and beauty with openness
she found embarrassing. Before she could protest, they adorned her with the
traditional oxidized silver jewellery, the maang tika, jhumkas, necklace and bangles.
One woman plaited her hair and arranged her chunri over her head.
An hour
later, a girl came up to Khushi to inform her that her beend was looking for her. Some of the women there had addressed
her as beendni. That must be how they
addressed guests in Rajasthan Khushi thought to herself.
Arnav
stood waiting for Khushi in a small corridor away from all the hustle and
bustle. He was replying to an e-mail message on his phone when Khushi came out
of the women's chambers. He didn't recognize her for a moment and had turned
his head back to the e-mail message. Then he looked up again. Khushi looked breathtakingly beautiful!
Her radiant
face flushed with excitement, eyes, lined with dark kajal and her desert rose lips
mesmerized him. The dark coloured lehenga choli stood out in stark contrast to
her milky white skin. The short blouse and the lehenga riding low on her hips,
emphasized the long slim length of her curvy waist. He felt hot and his body
hardened at lightning speed.
As Khushi
walked up to him, she realized that she had nothing to be apprehensive about.
The look in Arnav's eyes told her everything.
Arnav put
his hand on her waist spanning it to rest on the small of her back. Khushi's
dhak-dhak began wildly as he pulled flush against him and she closed her eyes,
parting her tremulous lips in wild abandon.
'Are you
ready to go?' he whispered his lips just inches away from hers.
Khushi
opened her eyes shocked at his question when he pointed to their spectator. A
little girl stood a little distance from them, looking curious.
'Sona
didi told me to get you Khushi didi,' she said shyly.
'Sona
wants me to perform in a dance for her sangeet,' said Khushi hesitating a
little bit, 'We did a little bit of rehearsal for it. Is that ok?'
'Uh '.sure.'
Arnav said shrugging his shoulders casually, 'Did you eat anything?'
'Yes'.
they fed me while mehendi was being applied to my hands.' She said showing her
mehendi to him absently. As she followed the little girl, her throat was
chocked with guilt at his concern.
Khushi felt
the pangs of guilt again as she stood waiting for her dance to begin. She had
only herself to blame. If she hadn't gone along with Anjali's suggestion and
pushed herself on to him for the day, she'd have been saved all this
discomfiture. She could only pray that back at the Haveli everything had worked
out, and that the end would, somehow, justify the means she had chosen.
She had
decided to stay back for the dance, because the longer it extended into the
afternoon, the less time she would have to spend on her own with him, and the
less opportunity there would be for the kind of self-betrayal she dreaded, she
thought despairingly.
As she
was about to close her face with her hands she realized she had mehendi on them
and lowered them back. Suddenly, she realized why Arnav had stared at them for
so long. Intricately blended into the design was the hindi letter A. The women
had assumed that she belonged to him. It suddenly flashed to her why the old
woman had addressed her as beendni. It meant wife.
It was
time for the dance to begin and Khushi and some of the women took their
positions and began to perform the Ghoomar for the famous Rajasthani folk song,
Mharo Assi Kali Ro Ghagro.
Though
Khushi went through the motions of the dance she had begun to love, she was
conscious of the chocolate eyes looking only at her. Above the laughter and
chatter there seemed to be silent zone where the two of them existed alone. A
place where she could look at him, and smile, and say the words of love and
desire she dared not even think. Where his kisses burned on her parted lips,
and her body bloomed under the touch of his hands. A secret place, she thought,
which would haunt her for the rest of her life, tormenting her with all kinds
of unfulfilled yearnings.
Next,
Khushi began to dance to the famous Bollywood number from the movie Lamhe'.
Morni Baaga Ma Naache Aadhi Raat ma
Arnav
knew that Khushi loved to dance. He had seen how she could lose her inhibitions
while dancing in fun. But today she seemed different. Her body moved with a grace
and latent sensuality which was completely riveting.
As the
dance came to an end, amid a roaring applause, Arnav came up to her, his face
remote, his eyes guarded. 'It is time we left.' His tone was crisp, formal.
'Let's go and say our goodbyes.'
They went
up to Pari's room where some of the relatives including Sona had assembled.
Arnav handed Pari and Sona an envelope each, while Khushi hugged them both.
They were
escorted back to the Jeep and Khushi waved to Keshav and his family until they
vanished out of her vision.
'You enjoyed
yourself?' Arnav asked quietly.
'Of
course,' Khushi said without the slightest hesitation. 'I felt privileged to be
made so welcome. And I love weddings and babies.' Khushi blurted out before she
could stop herself.
He was
silent for a moment. 'They are simple people,' he said at last. 'I hope their '
openness didn't bother you?'
'No.' Her
face warmed again. 'I suppose they were bound to draw the obvious conclusion.'
She tried to laugh. 'I am not going to be seeing them again anyway. It doesn't
matter.'
'Right.'
The monosyllable was clipped and curt, and she ventured no other comment.
'I can't
believe I couldn't find my clothes,' Khushi said feeling awkward wearing those
clothes sitting next to Arnav. She had gone back into the room to change into
her old clothes only to find them missing. As she searched in vain, Sona told
her it would be impossible to find them in the chaos and assured her that she
would send them to her when she found them, forcing Khushi to go back home in
the lehenga. 'I feel odd wearing all this jewellery,' she said taking off her
maang teeka and her necklace.
Just as
she was about to take off her bangles, Arnav grabbed her hand. 'Let them be,'
he said quietly.
Khushi
removed the chunri from her head and arranged it in the normal way on her
shoulder. Though the sun was going down, the humidity was stifling and she felt
sweat trickling between her breasts. She put her hands to the nape of her neck,
lifting away the heavy fall of hair.
It occurred to her suddenly that Arnav had not
turned the Jeep back the way they had come, but had taken a different route.
She looked
at him. 'Where are we going?'
'You said
you haven't seen anything of Rajasthan right?' he returned. 'Since it is
winter, it is the Desert Festival season here in Rajasthan. There is a camp not
too far from here where they conduct these festivities --- music, fire dances,
camel rides and bon fire. I thought you might
enjoy this having come so far.' He paused. 'And, we could do our talking over
dinner.'
'Talking?'
Khushi repeated dumbly, aware that her pulses had begun to thump erratically.
'We have
negotiations to conduct,' he reminded her silkily. Had you forgotten?'
'Of
course not,' she retorted. 'But I thought it was getting late.'
His smile
widened. 'It's not late. It is perfect timing.' He left the words tingling between
them, and turned the Jeep into a curve.
As the
sun began to set in the faraway horizon, Khushi watched the vast, shape
changing environment. As they went deeper into the desert the land started to
look drier and more barren creating a sort of trepidation in her. It seemed
very quiet ' very lonely.
She
swallowed. She would have to keep him talking, she thought, touching her dry
lips with her tongue. Make it formal ' a discussion of terms. The problem was she
wasn't very good with numbers and had no real idea what bargaining power she
could command. She didn't even know what hypothetical amount she could ask for,
on Payal's behalf.
But Arnav
Singh Raizada would know, down to the last rupee, and could call her bluff
whenever he chose.
But the
question was, what else did he know -- or suspect? That was the real risk ' the
danger she needed to be on guard against. She remembered his words --
What are you trying to hide behind those almond beauties Khushi?
She could
never let him look into her eyes again in case he saw the pitiful truth she
needed at all cost to conceal; that against all logic, reason or even sanity,
she was in love with him.
I feel motivated to
write more when I hear from you so do comment and feel free to give me your
feedback.
My previous works:
[NOCOPY]
Your reaction
Nice
Awesome
Loved
LOL
OMG
Cry
1 Comment