Chapter 4
||Chapter 4||
Raavi wondered if she was living a dream. Since the day he had cared for her while she was on her period, it felt like every little thing the Bhootnath did made her feel so much happier and in love that she was pretty sure her heart would burst some time soon. As it is, her cheeks were starting to ache from the constant smiling. She caressed the flower petals next to her bed. Every morning, the Bhootnath got her flowers. All kinds of flowers, all in pink. Her room was starting to fill up with flowers at this point and she absolutely loved it!
And since that day, he never missed a chance to steal a kiss from her. In the mornings as she left her room, he would pull her into his room and kiss her. It did not help one bit that he’d be clad in just a towel. The warmth from his bronze skin, enveloping her, engulfing her, driving her mad with want. In complete contrast to her plan to not forgive the Bhootnath easily. When she was retiring to bed, he would pull her into a corner and kiss her soundly, reminding her to dream of him and their squishy babies. She’d be doing something in the kitchen and he’d randomly come up to hug her from behind and kiss her on the curve of her neck, which she now got to know was one of her erogenous zones. Sometimes, sitting with the whole family, he’d distract them with something random and take the chance to kiss her.
It was ridiculous, actually, how happy these stolen kisses made her feel. Like he couldn’t help himself from kissing her. And it felt like a permanent blush now adorned her cheeks. Her Maasimaa and Anita Di had on separate occasions asked her why she looked so flushed all the time. She had made some ridiculous excuse about the weather being so darn hot. When it wasn’t actually the weather but a certain Chattan Pandya who’d gotten her all hot and bothered.. all the time.
Who knew the Bhootnath could be.. so.. romantic?! Raavi tried to control the giggle that bubbled up within her chest. But most of all, the thing that made her the happiest was seeing her Bhootnath and Maasimaa getting along. They were nowhere close to sharing a normal bond. But they were consciously civil with each other. Shiva had even started to address Maasimaa as “Aap”. When she’d asked him about it, he shrugged his shoulders and said, “Mera unka jo bhi ho. Tere liye woh Maa jaisi hai na. Main nahi chahtha ki hum donon ke beech pisthi rahe. Tho bas.. tere liye itna bhi nahi kar paaya tho laanath hai mere pyaar par.”
For her. Her Bhootnath was doing all of this for her. He was being civil with his sworn childhood enemy just for her. Her heart did a little cartwheel in her chest and she felt heat crawl up her cheeks as a smile found a way to her face. “Bas kar, Raavi! Aur kitna khush hogi?” She chided herself, trying to focus on folding her clothes, a task she’d been engaged in for more than an hour at this point.
“Raavi Narayan!!”
Hearing her name over what sounded like a loudspeaker made her jump. She ran to her window and found Shiva standing underneath her balcony, casually leaning against his bike with a.. was that a loudspeaker in his hand?
“Ay Bhootnath! Kya kar raha hai? Yeh shor kyun macha raha hai?” She asked, noting how the passers by were slowing down to see what was going on.
“Raavi Narayan! Tujhse kuch kehna tha. Aur woh bhi poore Somnath ke saamne,” he yelled back.
Shaking her head, Raavi made her way downstairs. Was the Bhootnath drunk? What on earth was he doing? She rushed out the door and ran up to him.
“Muh khol!” She commanded.
“Kya?” Shiva was puzzled.
“Maine kaha muh khol!” She repeated.
Shiva obliged and Raavi moved a little closer to sniff his breath. Nope! No alcohol on his breath.
“Nasha karke aaya hai kya? Yeh kya tamasha kar raha hai. Chal andar chal,” she tried to drag him into the house but he stood his ground.
“Somnath waalon.. itne saal aap sabne mera aur iss Chipkali ka jhagda dekha hai, ek doosre se nafrat dekhi hai, hamara gussa, naarazgi, sab kuch dekha hai. Tho aap sabka haq banta hai ki hamari kahani ke naye mod ka bhi aap hissa banne!” Shiva announced while Raavi looked on horrified, wondering what he was getting at.
“Kya kar raha hai? Please yeh tamasha bandh kar aur andar chal!” Raavi tried again but Shiva was undeterred.
“Tho Somnath waasiyon, suno suno suno! Aaj main, Shiva Pandya, Raavi Narayan se kuch kehna chahtha hoon!” He reached over to the other side of his bike and pulled out a heart shaped bouquet of red roses. Surprising her further, the Bhootnath went down on his knee.
“I am sorry! I am sorry har uss baar ke liye jab maine tujhse jhagda kiya. Har uss baar ke liye jab maine teri karat nahi ki. Har woh baath jo maine Kanwad yatra ke din boli thi, uss har baath ke liye. Jitni baar maine tera dil dukhaya, jitni baar mere ya mere parivaar waalon ko wajah se teri aankhon mein aansoo aaya. Sab ke liye, sar jhukake tujhse maafi maangna chahtha hoon. Main jaanta hoon ki iss sab ke baad main tujhe deserve nahi karta par tere bina jee bhi nahi paoonga. Ey meri Chipkali.. Tera yeh Bhootnath tujhse bahut pyaar kartha hai. Kya tu apne naam ka lihaaz rakhke zindagi bhar mujhse chipki rahegi? Mujhse shaadi karegi?”
Raavi’s heart lodged in her throat. She hadn’t noticed it before, but the entire Pandya family and her family was now assembled around them. Along with half of Somnath.
“Main..” She struggled to find the words. “Main.. main..”
“Bakri ki tarah main main kya kar rahi hai. Jaldi haan bol de. Mujhe aur bhi kaam hai,” Shiva teased her.
She hmphed angrily. “Aise koi propose karta hai? Jaldi haan bol de. Mujhe aur bhi kaam hai,” she mimicked him. “Aur tujhse kisne kaha main haan bolne waali hoon?”
“Tu aise nahi maanegi na? Tho phir theek hai,” he dusted his pants and stood up.
Here we go again, Raavi thought. His temper must’ve gotten the better of him. Now he was going to yell and scream and toss the bouquet of roses like he did New Year’s night. But to her utter surprise, he stood up and pulled her closer to him by her waist.
“Kya kar raha hai, Shiva?” She asked, panicked that everyone was watching them.
“Seedhe seedhe haan bol de, warna main poore Somnath ke saamne announcement kar doonga ki tere din ki shuruat meri baahon mein hoti hai aur tere raat bhi mere sirhaane hi dhalte hain. Aur yaad hai na,humne poori raat bhi tho saath guzari thi? Woh mahabhog ke pehle. Dhara bhabhi, Rishita bhabhi, sabne dekha tha mujhe subah tere kamre se nikalthe hue,” he whispered in her ear.
She was so shocked by his outrageous statements that her mouth opened in a perfect O and her big doe eyes widened even more.
“Dekh, tu na mujhe aise dekha math kar. Kahin mera control chhoot gaya aur maine tujhe kiss viss kar diya tho?” He continued teasing her. She was too shocked to respond so he continued, “Acha, tho tu chahthi hai ki main tujhe kiss karoon. Chal, teri yeh khwahish bhi poori kar dete hain. Waise, kaafi naughty khwahishein hain teri! Aise poore Somnath ke saamne kiss?” He grinned at her and she snapped out of her daze.
Pushing herself off him, she tried to make a quick escape but he caught hold of her arm and spun her back into his arms.
“Mere sawaal ka jawaab diye bina kahaan jaa rahi hai? Mujhse shaadi kar le? Please?”
Raavi’s eyes welled up with tears as she threw her arms around his neck and shouted in joy, “Haan! Haan! Haan! Ek nahi, ek hazaar baar haan!” He picked her up effortlessly and twirled her around before setting her on the ground and placing a long, lingering kiss on her forehead.
“Tum dono ki lipta lipti khatham ho gayi ho tho badon ka aashirvaad bhi lelo,” Suman’s voice cut into their moment.
Shiva clasped Raavi’s hand tight in his as he walked over to Suman and they bent to touch her feet.
“Khush raho. Hamesha khush raho.”
The process of getting blessings and congratulations from family and friends went on for what felt like forever. But Raavi constantly found herself sneaking glances at her Bhootnath. The Shiva Chattan Bandar Bhootnath Pandya had proposed to her! In front of all of Somnath! If she had trouble keeping her smiles in check before, now she was sure it would get only harder.
As everyone gathered at her Maasimaa’s place to discuss the dates and times for the upcoming wedding, Raavi’s phone pinged. It was a message from Shiva.
“Raat ko ready rehna. 9 baje. Maama Maami ke sone ke baad.”
“Shiva! Thodi tho sharam kar! Abhi shaadi ki baath chal rahi hai na. Shaadi se pehle kuch nahi,” she replied.
He looked at her from across the room with an eyebrow quirked.
“Ey! Tharki single haddi! Tera dimaag kitna ganda hai? Maana ke main gazab ka hot hoon aur tujhe apna banane ke liye tadap rahoon. Par abhi main aisa waisa kuch nahi karne waala. Bas tere liye ek surprise plan kiya hai. Tere tharki armaanon ko bhi poora karoonga.. Lekin shaadi ke baad ;)”
Blushing to the roots of her hair, Raavi made an excuse and ran into the kitchen to get herself some cold water.
***
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