Birds of a Feather Completed G

Chapter 22: Appearances

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Chapter Twenty-Two

Appearances

Khushi drummed her fingers against her teacup, forcing her eyes to stay open. She had just finished a thirty-hour shift at the hospital, when her mother-in-law called, reminding her to come early for a presumably-long-ago-planned Raizada family dinner.

Obviously, Khushi lied through her teeth in response, reassuring Satya that she was already on her way and then blamed the unpredictable Delhi traffic when she finally arrived at the Raizada mansion two hours late. Truth be told, Khushi had forgotten all about this dinner, which apparently was a tradition for the Raizadas. Every few weeks, all the cousins assembled for an evening of wine and gossip. Satya had called her almost a month ago, requesting her to not skip the event as Arnav often did. Khushi had –unthinkingly– agreed at once.

And now she was paying for it.

Arnav had again chosen to not come, though thankfully, he informed his parents ahead of time about it. Khushi was not given grief about his absence, and was instead warmly welcomed inside, where she was at once grabbed by Arnav’s numerous cousins, who insisted on quizzing her about her married life. After almost three hours of questions, which lasted all through dinner, Khushi finally found herself alone, wondering when it would be appropriate to call it a night and leave.

“You have to wait until Papa finishes the wine, that’s when it’s late enough to leave.”

Khushi looked up from the armchair she was sitting on, startled to see her youngest sister-in-law. “Erm, no…” she replied guiltily. “I was just thinking about… work.”

Lavanya laughed. “Do doctors lie even when they are not on duty?”

Khushi sighed, accepting defeat. She was too tired to argue anyway. “What happens if you leave early?”

“Nothing much… Mom will freak out over how boring it was for the younger generation and then after a week, she will go right back to planning the next one.”

Khushi snorted.

“Bhabhi, wine?” asked Bhagat, or Bhagi as everyone fondly called him, holding out a glass of red wine.

“No thank you,” she replied, holding up her teacup. “I don’t drink.”

“Well you should,” said Dev, another one of the Raizada cousins, settling himself on the floor beside her. “Putting up with Bhai cannot be done sober.”

They were joined by Mitali and Samriddhi –Sam– who were two best friends until Mitali fell in love in Sam’s brother, Bhagi. The alliance, happily accepted by the family, only deepened the two girls’ affection for each other.

“Then your wife will have to be downright tripping to live with you Dev,” Sam retorted.

“Please, I know how to take care of girls-”

“Didn’t you get me socks for my birthday last year?”

“Because you told Mitu that you can never find socks in the morning!”

As Dev and Sam settled into an argument, which Khushi was more than happy to simply observe, Lavanya leaned forward and asked in a low voice,

“So are both you and Arnav finally sleeping on the same bed now?”

Khushi almost spit out the tea she was sipping. “W-what?” she coughed. “Obviously me and Arnav sleep on the same bed!”

Lavanya snorted. “Okay, rule number one if our bond is going to be real – stop lying.”

Khushi looked around to make sure none of the others heard them, but they were all too busy laughing at Dev and Sam’s banter. “How do you know I am lying?” she muttered. “And what on earth makes you think me and Arnav are not…”

“Sleeping together? It’s obvious.”

“Obvious how?”

Lavanya hesitated, before saying, “You are reluctant with him, you act as though he is just another person.”

Khushi looked at her suspiciously. “That’s not what you wanted to say, was it?”

“Stop doubting me-”

“Rule number two if this bond is going to work,” Khushi interrupted. “You don’t keep things from me. No filtering, okay?”

Lavanya smirked. “Fine. What I wanted to say was that he doesn’t look at anything below your forehead.”

Khushi closed her eyes in mortification.

“You were the one who asked.”

“My sex life is not up for analysis!” she hissed.

“Yeah, because it’s non-existent.”

Khushi shook her head in exasperation and went back to sipping her tea.

Lavanya grinned, triumphant, before saying, “I think we are going to be great friends Bhabhi… I see it already.”

“Wait,” Khushi said seriously, sitting up in her chair. “Does everyone think me and Arnav are not sleeping on the same bed?”

Lavanya nodded.

“But they can’t all think like you?”

A new voice interrupted them. “I can hear your argument from a mile away! Why are you two fighting like spoilt children?”

Khushi looked up to see Arnav standing over her, his eyes tired, but his face smiling. He was talking to Dev and Sam, who instantly stopped arguing upon spotting him.

“Bhai!” Sam said, standing up. “You tell us – do you ever gift a girl socks for her birthday?!”

Dev also stood up. “And what if the said girl is in a desperate need of socks?”

“Shut-up Dev! No one is ever in a desperate need of socks.”

Arnav simply sighed, causing Khushi to instantly stand up and come to his rescue. “I thought you were working till late today?” she asked, trying to divert the topic.

“I am,” he answered. “And it’s late.”

Khushi didn’t follow.

“It’s midnight Khushi – I am here to pick you up.”

Lavanya snorted. “And you ruined yet another moment between us.”

“Bhai!” Sam interrupted. “Help me here!”

Arnav had no choice but to answer. “If the girl explicitly asked for socks, then it’s not a problem-”

Dev whooped in joy. “Thank you for being rational!”

“But,” Arnav continued. “If she didn’t say anything, then socks are a pathetic gift. Happy?”

Sam grinned, thoroughly satisfied.

“So what did you give Khushi for her birthday then?” Lavanya asked, a knowing smile on her face.

Arnav narrowed his eyes, understanding full well what his sister was getting at. “That Lavu, is not something meant to be heard by little children. Where are Di and Maa?”

Lavanya grinned and let it go. Together, all of them went back to the living room, where it seemed Lavanya’s predictions were coming true: Shankar had indeed finished his wine and was just announcing how late it was, when he was cut off by Aditi, the youngest cousin of the Raizadas.

“Arnav Bhai! You came!” she said excitedly, giving him a hug.

“Didn’t you say you had work Chote?” Satya asked, a small smile playing on her lips.

“On come on Satya,” one of the older ladies answered. “Don’t you know how it goes with newlyweds?”

The crowd laughed in response.

“So you are here for Bhabhi?” Aditi asked, naive.

Arnav cleared his throat. “Well, the driver took an emergency leave and Khushi can’t drive, so I thought I should come pick her up.”

“Of course you should pick her,” said Nand-Kishore, another first cousin, with a smirk. “None of us have cars or drivers, right Nannav?”

The laughter continued for another round. Khushi looked at the floor, wondering if Arnav’s arrival saved her or pushed her into more torture.

“Shut-up NK!” interrupted Aditi, frowning. “Arnav Bhai was probably worried for Bhabhi… it’s her first time here with all of us alone.”

Before NK could answer, Lavanya said with a wink, “It’s a newlywed thing Aditi. You will get it eventually.”

Everyone failed miserably to stifle their grins at poor Aditi’s clueless face. When they were all satisfied with pulling their leg, Khushi was given permission to leave. Remembering Lavanya’s comments, she slyly slipped her hand into Arnav’s as they exited the mansion. Fortunately, he didn’t object and instead continued walking as if it was the most natural thing to do, as though it wasn’t the first time they were consciously touching each other.

It was just as they stepped out of the front doors, when Khushi looked back to catch Lavanya’s knowing eye, that she knew her plan worked: everyone saw them holding hands.

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