IPKKND SS: Walking On Sunshine [Link to Thread 2] - Page 45

Khushi shifted uncomfortably in her seat while Anjali eagerly asked the salesman to show them the latest items they had. Payal put her hand on Khushi's shoulder and squeezed it reassuringly. Khushi gave her a wobbly smile and gulped a couple of times. She was having second thoughts about this whole buying new clothes thing. But she was Khushi Kumari Gupta after all and she never backed out after giving her word. Therefore, with renewed resolve, she looked at the clothes in front of her and began to choose.

She was quite surprised to see the kind of clothes that the salesman was taking out for her. She had expected terribly fancy outfits with frills and laces and god knows what but instead she was shown pretty and elegant clothes.

Anjali watched as Khushi continued to sift through the clothes in front of her, each passing moment making her fingers more determined and adding a new found excitement. She smiled because she was sure that Khushi had successfully recovered from her childhood trauma. The clothes were all according to Khushi's liking and she made a mental note to tease Chote about how he knew exactly what Khushi would like.

At the end of an exhausting hour, the three of them walked into the house, laden with tons of bags containing a variety of skirts, blouses, cropped pants, dresses, shrugs, t-shirts, formal wear and night clothes. The ethnic wear shopping had been left for the next day so that Khushi could choose hers while Payal picked out her wedding clothes simultaneously.

Anjali urged Khushi to go and try on one of her new clothes for dinner and Khushi hesitantly obliged.

...

Dinner was to be a different affair that night. Manohar and Manorama were not present and Akash and Arnav would be stuck in office till late at night, so Anjali had decided to take dinner over there and the five of them would enjoy the meal together. Her actual motive was to make Chote see Khushi in her new clothes. She hadn't missed the small sparks that had begun to fly between them and she intended to make things happen soon. Once she set her mind to it, no one was immune to Anjali Raizada's match making skills.

Anjali smoothened her yellow summer dress and put the car keys in her pocket. She turned towards Payal and asked her to go inside and set up the table in the cafeteria. Khushi was busy fidgeting with her outfit and Anjali smiled at her reassuringly.

...

Arnav sighed and pressed his temple. There was still a lot of work left but that would have to wait. Dinner had been served in the cafeteria and his Di had been yelling at him on the phone for being ten minutes late.

The smell of delicious food wafted towards him and he smiled slightly. Amongst the spicy smells of the various dishes, he could get the pleasant aroma of palak panner. Khushi...

He smiled to himself and sat down on one of the chairs. His Di served him hot chapattis and spooned a bit of the dal onto his plate. But he wasn't interested in all of that. He was only interested in the paneer and its maker.

He rolled his eyes as he saw Akash and Payal exchanging shy glances. She was wearing a sea green dress and Akash was practically drooling over her. He himself didn't notice much of a change because Payal wore dresses quite often. His Di on the other hand was looking very pretty. She usually wore smart corporate clothes and the sunny dress was a pleasant change.

He was becoming quite impatient as his paneer was taking a long time to arrive. He lifted the glass of water to his mouth and had just started gulping it down when the afore mentioned paneer walked in.

Akash immediately received a generous spray of cold drinking water as Arnav gaped at the person who had entered. Anjali stifled her giggles while Payal shook her head in amusement, going over to a highly irritated Akash.

Khushi gasped as Arnav caught a glimpse of her and spat out the water in his mouth onto Akash's unsuspecting face. He looked at her once again and Khushi felt goose bumps erupt on her skin as his gaze become more and more intense.

Arnav stared at her. She was wearing a peasant blouse and a pair of fitting black trousers. A bit of her stomach was exposed and her creamy, white shoulders with jutting out collar bones gave her a slender look. Her hair was pulled into a high ponytail. She was wearing white kitten heels and a soft blush was slowly forming on her cheeks. Arnav had never seen her look so beautiful before.

Anjali saw the connection their eyes had made and smiled knowingly. Soon their hearts would form a connection as well...

...

Work was left as it was and the five of them got into the car. Arnav insisted on driving and Anjali wondered whether the reason was that Khushi was sitting at a place best viewed from the driving seat. She was just about to pass a comment regarding the same when her phone rang.

"Satvik says that he's finished his work as well and wants to join us for dessert."

Khushi noted how Anjali's face became ten times brighter and she felt really happy thinking about how lucky she was to be getting a Bhabhi like her. Payal would be leaving her but she would be gaining a wonderful person like Anjali. So all was not lost.

She self consciously tugged her top, all too aware of Arnav's piercing gaze in the rear view mirror. He hadn't spoken a word to her all night. But then he hadn't said that she looked bad either. She wondered why she kept feeling like this whenever he looked at her. I mean, he was her best friend right? So there was no reason to react like this.

She turned her attention towards Anjali and began teasing her about Satvik.

...

"What? You don't have jalebis?"

Khushi whined at the shopkeeper who shook his head uncertainly.

"This is an ice cream parlor Ma'am. We don't sell sweets here."

"How does this place manage to run anyway? No jalebis? What is the world coming to? I tell you..."

She mumbled along as Anjali, Akash, Payal and Satvik chose their respective ice creams. Payal had a strawberry cup while Anjali had a double scoop of butterscotch. Akash asked for a cornetto and Satvik opted for a vanilla cone.

Arnav had been observing Khushi the entire time. He couldn't help the smirk that had formed on his face. Really, she was just something else!

Once he was certain that the others were not paying attention to them, he grabbed Khushi's hand and pulled her away from the shop. Khushi squealed at the sudden movement and her eyes grew wide as saucers when she saw their intertwined hands. She really needed to fix this whole blushing-every time-Arnav-came-near-her business!

He felt her try and tug her hand away but it was a very half hearted attempt. He turned to look at her once and marveled at the way her flushed face made her look even prettier. A few strands of hair were coming undone from her ponytail and perspiration had formed a magnificent sheen on her already pink face.

He finally stopped outside a small stall with only one occupant and very few pieces of equipment. There was a large kadhai with steaming hot oil and a make shift counter behind which stood a tired looking old man. He looked haggard and worn out except for his eyes which shone with brightness.

"Arnav, where have you brought me? And who is this old man?"

"You don't recognize me do you bitiya?"

Khushi stared at him for a little while and then shook her head.

"How will she Kaka? She hasn't visited you for more than ten years."

The old man laughed hoarsely, exhibiting how there were more gaps than teeth in his mouth. He rubbed his moustache thoughtfully and then spoke to Arnav.

"So what will it be beta?"

"The usual. Jalebis, kheer and chai."

Khushi's eyes widened as she realized just where Arnav had brought her.

"Why are you crying Khushi?"

"Amma said that if I have anymore jalebis then I'll spoil my new teeth as well!"

Arnav stared at the wailing Khushi and bit his lip. He didn't know why but he couldn't stand the sight of her tears. He turned away from her before walking into the kitchen to talk to Om Prakash.

"OP mama, can you tell me something?"

Old Om Prakash nodded his head. He was very fond of Chote Babu. He reminded him of his youngest son Hari Prakash. The question brought a smile to his lips and he whispered something into the little boy's ear, making him smile in delight.

"Arnav, where are you taking me?"

"Just shut up and walk, will you Khushi?"

Khushi folded her arms across her chest and sulked. She was currently sitting at the back of Arnav's bicycle and was irritated because of three reasons. The first being that she had been denied jalebis by her mother, the second was that Arnav wasn't telling her where they were going and third was that he was riding the bike and she had to sit at the back.

Arnav walked over to the brand new shop and peered over the high counter. A middle aged man came out from inside and smiled at him.

"How can I help you beta?"

"OP mama said that you make the best jalebis in Delhi."

The man nodded his head, slightly amused by the little boy.

"Khushi, how many jalebis do you want?"

Khushi frowned at Arnav, not knowing why he was asking her such a question or why he was talking to stranger man behind a counter. But since it was a question related to jalebis, she couldn't not give an answer.

"Eight."

Arnav nodded while the man raised his eyebrow in surprise.

"Anything else?"

"What do you have which has the least sugar in it?"

"The kheer is very light and hardly put any sugar in it."

Ten minutes later, they were sitting under a nearby tree feasting on jalebis and kheer. Khushi had a wide grin on her face as she gobbled down her favorite sweet one at a time.

They saw a young man come up to the counter and order a mug of tea and a plate of samosas. There was an instantaneous communication between the two of them and Arnav hopped up to the shop.

"Two of what that guy ordered as well."

The shopkeeper smiled at him and nodded. He brought out two smaller mud cups and poured in his special masala chai. Arnav walked back to Khushi and the two of them sipped it slowly, feeling like important grownups.

Khushi smiled at the old man, taking in the wrinkles and other tell tales signs that time had left on him. It would have been almost impossible to recognize him if it hadn't been for his eyes. She took the paper plates from him while Arnav paid.

"Thank you Kaka."

The old man nodded and watched the two of them head towards the same tree they had spent countless hours underneath. The small boy was now a strapping young man while the tom boyish girl had grown into a beautiful young woman. What remained the same was the strong spark between them.

"You still remember this place?"

Arnav looked up from his tea and nodded his head. He noted how she had lost the slightly conscious air which had surrounded her since dinner. Food. That always managed to calm her down and bring out her true self. He smiled as she tried to wipe off the sticky fluid which was untidily clinging onto her mouth. He took out his handkerchief and wiped the place clean.

Khushi's eyes widened as she felt Arnav's handkerchief on her mouth. She gulped a few times, the usual blush starting to tint her cheeks pink. Arnav noted how Khushi stiffened slightly under his touch and fought back a goofy grin. He understood now why she reacted like this around him. But he much rather preferred her lively self. So he decided to get her mind off his hand near her mouth.

"See, no more flowers."

Khushi looked at where Arnav was pointing and burst into giggles when she observed the white cloth in his hand. There was just a small ASR printed on it and she giggled some more, thinking about how infuriated he would get when she teased him about his handkerchiefs all those years ago.

'What are they doing?"

"I don't know. They're so old but they're giggling like kids. Honestly, adults these days!"

Arnav and Khushi turned their startled eyes to look at a small boy and a slightly smaller girl, looking at them in disgust. The boy had his eyebrow raised which gave off the impression that he was trying to look older than he actually was, resulting in a very hilarious sight. The girl had her hands on her hips and she was staring indignantly at the two of them.

"They look just like us."

"They look just like us."

With that both Arnav and Khushi burst out laughing once again while the kids threw them some more disgusted looks before walking away.

Arnav watched as Khushi wiped the tears of mirth from her eyes. It was amazing how she could look pretty in whatever she did.

...

"So what's going on between you and Chote?"

Khushi jerked her head towards Anjali as her eyes widened slightly.

"W-what? Nothing's going on between us Anjali di. Wh-why would you ask something like that?"

"Well, Chote's eyes never leave you. You seem to have a permanent blush whenever he's around. And he pulled you away from our group tonight just to get you some jalebis. Now don't you dare tell me that nothing's going on."

Khushi gulped and started mumbling.

"Uh... That was just a treat from him. Nothing more. And trust me, Anjali di, there's absolutely nothing going on between us. He doesn't even see me as a girl, let alone anything else."

Anjali raised her eyebrow slightly but nodded her head. She would leave the questioning for a little later. For now she would let the spark get brighter.

Doesn't see you as a girl? Really? And pigs fly right? Honestly, how blind did Khushi think she was?

...

Let me know what you'll think. And please please please like AND comment.

Chapter Ten