Chapter 4

Zaroon and Kashaf drove towards Mrs.Ahmed's place. Zaroon was humming the song being played on the radio while Kashaf was enjoying the long drive sitting beside him. She felt something strange next to him these days. There was a sudden need, a sudden urge for his attention. She liked being around him. She liked how her stomach would be all jittery when he came close. But the problem was that they hardly spoke. It wasn't that they didn't have any topics to discuss. They could talk about plenty of things but every time they were next to each other they fell short of words. Kashaf gazed at him for a brief second smiling at the way he was enjoying the music being played and then rested her head looking towards the window.

On reaching the house Zaroon like a gentleman opened the gates for her and then led her towards Mrs. Ahmed's place. 

The dinner went well but Kashaf felt a bit out of place. She did talk about the things she liked-business, market,politics- but she could hardly say anything about the best designer outfits,the jewelleries,etc which interested Mrs. Ahmed and her daughter more. Zaroon knew Kashaf was one girl who hardly cared about the materialistic aspects of life. He had sensed that the discussions over dinner were hardly about anything she liked. He smiled at his wife who was so different from the rest. Though he has always enjoyed how excited his mother or sister  would get seeing the branded collections but this simplicity had another charm he thought. He had always expected his wife dragging him to malls, forcing him to buy stuffs and getting angry for not picking up the right dress for her but here was Kashaf who he knew could do none of them or may be she could,he wondered.

"Kashaf."

He called out while sitting in the driver's seat.

"Hmm.."

"Tumne kuch sahi se khaya hi nahi.Tabiyat toh theek hai?"

He asked a bit concerned.

"Haan theek hai."

"Toh phir?"

"Sach kahun?"

"Haan."

"Mujhe sea food pasand nahi hai."

She said making a face and laughing at herself.

"Acha..Waise even I don't prefer sea food for dinner isliye maine bhi bohot small portions khaye."

"Toh phir tumhe to bhook lag jayegi."

"Haan lag jayegi. Isliye Chalo aaj main tumhe ek bohot special jagah le jata hoon. "

He said igniting the car.

"Kaha?"

She asked being curious.

"Chalo to sahi."

She looked at him and nodded her head in disbelief.

Zaroon drove her to a really small but a beautiful shack sort of a place. 

"Yeh Kya hai?"

He asked trying to read something written on the board.

"Yeh Sara aur meri favourite chaat place hai. Yaha ki chai aur chaat world ke best hai. Sara aur main humesha chup kar yaha ate hai because you know Mom sometimes can be a freak about such things. "

He said in a bit of excitement. May be the excitement was because he for the first time was sharing something with her that was a personal information. She smiled and said

"Toh yahi baithna hai ya ander bhi chalenge."

"Chalo."

He said moving out and then helped her come out of the car. 

He held her hand this time out of a sudden urge and gazed at her for a response. She didn't look at him but simply tightened her grip. He smiled a bit and entwined their fingers this time. They headed towards the place and Zaroon ordered his usuals before taking a table.

"Sara ko pata chalega na toh woh bohot naraz hogi ki main uske begair yaha agaya."

He said sitting on the chair opposite hers.

"Haan naraz toh hona hi chahiye. "

Kashaf spoke looking at the interiors. It was a small place but had a kind of warmth which was lacking in most places. The staff seemed jovial and was really friendly with her husband. She liked how Zaroon found happiness more in a small place than a porch restaurant. 

"Lekin tum mummy se iska zikr mat karna warna woh yaha health inspection karne chali ayengi."

The two laughed thinking about Ghazala and her possessiveness towards her children and their health.

The waiter soon brought their plates and asked Zaroon looking a bit surprised

"Aaj Sara baby nahi ayi? Pehli baar aisa hua hai ki ap unhe chor kisi aur ko laye hai."

"Haan aaj Sara nahi ayi par yeh Kashaf hai, meri biwi.Ab shayad Sara, Kashaf aur main saath dikha karenge tumhe yaha. Adat dhal lo."

Zaroon said smiling at her.

Kashaf too smiled in response.

After thoroughly enjoying the chaat and the special tea, Zaroon and Kashaf moved towards the car. The drive home was long and tiring and on reaching home they directly headed towards their room knowing that the others might be asleep or at least resting in their rooms.

"Kashaf tum change kar lo main Ahmer ko paani ka keh ata hoon yeh intercom ko pata nahi kya hua hai."

He said moving out of the room.

Kashaf was still struggling to remove her jewelleries when he returned to the room. With her hair on one shoulder, she was struggling to remove the necklace. Looking at her struggling, Zaroon offered to help. She looked at him though the mirror and nodded allowing him to open the neck piece for him. He gently caught hold of the necklace and while fixing his gaze on her managed to open it for her. She saw his reflection in the mirror and uttered

"Thank you."

His proximity was already making her tremble when he added

"You looked beautiful tonight."

And smelling her hair slightly moved towards the other side of the room. Her heart beat had started pacing faster than ever and realizing how good his closeness felt, she smiled looking at him and managed  a 'thank you' which was barely audible.

He enjoyed seeing her blush and then moved towards the closet to grab his clothes.

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