Part 1: The Proposal
“Thank you Anu! ” said Anuj breaking the long silence after Mukku left them in a tricky place with her passing proposal remark that made them rather conscious of each other.
However, he was slowly but surely becoming more receptive of his baby sister’s outspoken and audacious character and this was probably the only time he appreciated her being candid.
Though Mukku had caught them off guard, her point blank comment fit in quite well to continue the very interesting conversation they’d had in his office cabin earlier...
Perhaps Mukku was the catalyst they needed to bring about the result they both wished to consummate but were apprehensive to talk about it openly.
Both knew they had crossed over to the other side where love took precedence over the friendship facade but were timid enough to not accept it entirely. They thoroughly seemed to enjoy the exciting period of courting without having to name their relation, they loved playing hide and seek.
“Thank you kyu keh rahein hai Anuj, aap bhi toh hamesha aise hi mera saath dete hai...” Anu needed a little while longer to recover, so she covered up her nervousness with yet another redundant friendship reminder but Anuj had sensed her embarrassment and said “haan par phir bhi thank you, Mukku ko sambhalne ke liye”
There was a few brief moments of silence, as though to mark the end of the mutual compliments and to move onto more pressing issues that needed their attention.
Giving Anu a quick glance Anuj guaged that she wanted to say something...
“kya hua Anu? kuch kehna chahti ho?” he asked smilingly
“aapko kaise pata?” she hated how he could read her expressions without even looking.
“come on Anu, I think ab hamein aise sawal nahi poochne chahiye” he laughed flustering her a little....
“ab toh tumhe bhi pata hai aur mujhe bhi ke hum ek dusre ko kitna acche se samajhne lagey hai” unknowingly putting out what they’d been hiding effortlessly, Anuj felt a tiny sense of feat in his rather casual statement.
accha toh ab yeh mujhe itni acchi tarah se samjhne lagey hai huh, arey itna samajhte toh ab tak woh kyu nahi samjhe jo main kab se samjhane ki kosis kar rahi hoon, bas baatein karwa lo inse hmph
“kaho kya kehna chahti ho” he prompted
“Anuj mujhe lagta hai ab hamein ye thenks aur sori nahi bolne ki aadat daal leni chahiye” and he frowned
“wo jaise kisi film me bolte hai ne ki dosti ka ek usool hai mishter, no sorry no thank you?” tapering her voice to imitate the famous dialogue of all times Anu tried to humour him.
Pleasantly surprised at her unexpected movie reference, he cheered
“arey wah Anu, tum toh bilkul mere rang mein rang gayi ho, not bad huh” realising what he just said he rolled his eyes and kicked himself mentally and pouted to make it sound casual and followed it up with
“must say kaafi asar ho raha hai mera tum par nai?”
kya bol raha hai Anuj, soch toh liya kar bolne se pehle
“haan bohot zyada” she attested with a forced smile and a hint of sarcasm.
“of course, aur ho bhi kyu na jab tum mujhse itna pppp....I mean mujhse bohot zyada prabhavit jo ho?” arching his eyebrows playfully, he chuckled inwardly to rile her up.
hey bhagwan pata nahi kab tak ye mujhe aise chidhayenge uss baat ko lekar, Anu tu bhi na gadhi hai bol kyu nahi deti jo bolna hai, kyu baat ko ghuma rahi hai...
Assuming he’d made her a tad bit uncomfortable, Anuj spontaneously planned a diversion in the conversation and said..“but sach mein Anu, Mukku ki ootpataang baaton ko seriously mat lena, wo aise hi kuch bhi bol deti hai” he knew he was shooting in the dark this time.
nice save Anuj, bach gaya tu iss baar
Just as they approached the junction leading to his house she said “Anuj mujhe mere ghar drop kar denge?
“tumhare ghar.? kyu....Anu?” worried about the sudden change of plans, he rebuked himself for being overly stupid.
“I’m sorry agar tumhe bura laga, meri toh chot bhi abhi thik kahan hui hai, dekha tha na tumne abhi thodi der pehle mujhe thoda sa chakkar bhi aa gaya tha” he reasoned incessantly to dissuade her from moving out but made her furious instead.
“Anuj, aap bhi na, kuch nahi hua hai aapko, bilkul thik bai aap, suna aapne... bahane mat banayeiye” she scolded
“phir bhi Anu, kyu jaa rahi ho apne ghar.?” he pleaded and mumbled “mere ghar hamesha ke liye kyu nahi reh jaati?”
“hmm kuch kaha aapne?” she asked trying hard to control her laugh.
“nahi, mai bas keh raha tha ke 3-4 din mein jab mai poori tarah se thik ho jaaoo tab chali jaana? please...aur phir mujhe tumse kuch zaroori baat bhi karni hai” he begged...
3/4 din kyu hamesha ke liye nahi bol sakte the? kuch bhi bolta hai ye aadmi, mann mein kuch hota hai aur bolta kuch aur hai...
And when she couldn’t see him fret any longer she laughed and said “mujhe shaam ki party ke liye kuch kapde aur cheezien lene hai ghar se isliye keh rahi hoon ghar chodne, raat ko toh main aapke saath hi rahungi” she assured
“raat ko?mere sath?” he wasnt ready for this...
”kaise?...rahogi...tum...raat ko mere saath?” wiping the sweat off his face he wondered if it was all a dream.
“matlab abhi toh tum mujhse sirf prabhavit ho na? itna kaafi hai raat ko saath rehne?” innocently checking the terms and conditions of her impromptu night plans, he waited for her to confirm.
“Anujjj!!!! chup kariye!” she yelled to put a leash on his naughty chain of thoughts...”mera matlab aapke ghar pe rahungi, kuch bhi bol rahe hai aap!” she chided.
“oh accha, tumne toh mujhe dara hi diya Anu, phew! maine toh jaane kya kya soch liya tha”
thinking of the absurd consequences if that were to happen, both laughed uncontrollably to hide their awkwardness.
And as they pulled up by her house he said “accha suno, ek request kar sakta hoon?” undoing her seat belt she gave him an oddly satisfying look and replied “ kahiye...”
“raat ko tum mere liye...I mean party mein laal saree pehnogi?” she couldn't look into his eyes anymore.
“wo jaise aaj tumhare gaal pink ho rahe the na? mujhe laal hote dekhne hai” he added making her blush heavily as she stepped out of the car.
“aur baa...” he stopped when she turned around to give him a parting look...
“baad mein milte hai, bye!”
“haan shaam ko milte hai” she nodded and left him feeling all mushy inside....
***********
so that was part 1 of my festive offering, hope you guys liked it...tell me what you thought? please!
Happy Christmas to you all! have a blessed one♥️
Do check out the song in the post below, thought it goes really well with the scene above...
Part 2: page 5
Part 3a: page 8
Part 3b: page 10
Part 3c: page 11
Marathi TV
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