Part 11: Mind the GapIt was a mad day at work, like a seriously, unbelievably, makes no sense at all kind of mad day. Khushi swore at the printer, which seemed to strangely enough have a mind of its own, as it spewed out random squiggles and lines as it pleased.
Why does the universe hate me so, Khushi said out loud, not really seeking answers.
"Well, it doesn't hate you. Far from it, in fact," a familiar voice said.
Khushi turned around and saw that it was Vishesh, the office busybody and gossip par excellence.
Groan, now I will need to find a way to escape from this idiot's clutches, Khushi thought.
"Hey Vish! Whassup," she said, trying her best to be friendly.
That was enough as the man launched into what exactly was up, even as Khushi looked upwards and offered the Gods a little prayer.
"' So looks like you are after all going to be on the Ostrich Books account," he said concluding his monologue.
Wait. What did he say? Did he say Ostrich Books?
"Come again," she said, this time giving the man all the attention.
"I said that Anita has decided that you will manage the Ostrich Books account after all the mishaps that Brian and his team pulled on the account. I guess you are meeting them this afternoon. Didn't Anita tell you," he asked, looking at her curiously.
Khushi checked her Blackberry and sure enough there were 14 mails from Anita, each of them had the subject Ostrich Books. So, this was happening. She had to avoid Anuj at all costs, Khushi thought. Could she feign a life threatening ailment and stay out of the meeting, she wondered. Except that she had taken the last two days off from work because her life had indeed been threatened. No, that wouldn't do. Plus, she had worked very hard over the last few months and slowly but steadily making an impression on all the bosses. No, now was not the time to do something stupid and ruin the good thing that she had going for her. She would just pray or something and hope that he was not around. Yes, that was her plan.
"Khushi, do you want to get a drink this evening. Please say, yes," Vishesh said, as he took his now ink-filled hands from the insides of the printer. Suddenly the printer picked steam and it spewed out all 300 pages, in full colourful glory. What the heck, Khushi thought, the guy fixed a printer, I should let him buy me a drink.
"Sure," she said and gratefully picked up the papers and ran towards her work desk.
She dug out her personal cell phone from her bag and found two messages waiting for her. One was from Anuj and the other from Arnav.
She replied to only one.
**
Beep
I am okay. I just took printouts of 300 pages. Beautiful pages of PowerPoint charts. I am so exhausted.
Aww. Poor thing.
I know, right?
I meant them dead trees that sacrificed themselves for those 300 pages of printouts.
Whatever, Mr Killjoy, I got to run now.
Sure. Want to meet this evening, soon-to-be-Mrs Killjoy?
**
"Oh my God! This is the day I have waited for all my life. My brother is finally getting married," Anjali Di said, clapping her hands exuberantly.
Manorama Maami chimed in excited at the prospect of another wedding in the family.
"Sheesh Mahal is lucky for the family," Maami said.
Aakash and Abhi smiled indulgently at the women. While Payal looked on, a worried expression on her face.
"Payal, aren't you excited," Anjali Di said turning her attention towards her, "your younger sister will be your sister-in-law too."
Payal smiled and nodded, after which she excused herself in the pretext of a phone call.
She went and sat on the couch in her room as she played back the conversation that she had with her sister earlier in the day.
"Whiney Poo, I got two proposals in the week that went by," Khushi had said breezily.
"TWO PROPOSALS," Payal had screamed, "Wait. What kind of proposals?"
"Stop yelling," Khushi had said, "Two marriage proposals. Not bad, right?"
"Very impressive. Let me guess, one from Anuj and the other from Arnav," she had asked Khushi.
"Wow! My sister is so smart," Khushi had gone in that overtly dramatic tone that she sometimes took to annoy people.
"So, whom did you say yes to," she had asked her sister, though deep down she knew the answer.
"Actually that is the thing.." Khushi had begun.
Payal immediately figured that things must have gone wrong and braced herself for the worst.
"Anuj really proposed to me and Arnav fake proposed to me," Khushi said.
"What?! Khushi, even by your standards that is weird," Payal had pointed out.
"It is true. I was hopped up on morphine when Arnav said rather glibly that we should marry. So I agreed," Khushi said.
"Khushi, I don't think Arnav is sort of guy who would fake-propose," Payal had pointed out worried.
"Of course, he WAS not that kind of guy until recently. But he is acting in some mainstream Hindi movie now. He will do anything. Give him some more months and he will probably do a towel dance or something," Khushi had said.
Payal could not wrap her head around the idea of her uber serious brother-in-law doing a towel dance, but Khushi always was the one with the imagination.
"Are you sure, Khushi," she had asked her sister again.
"Of course, Whiney Poo, I am sure. We have been having random conversations over text, full of funny repartees and all. All izz well," Khushi had tried assuring her.
"Fine. What about Anuj. Did you say no to him," Payal had asked.
"Yes," Khushi said.
"And he was okay with it," Payal had asked just a little worried.
"I don't know," Khushi said again.
"What does that mean, Khushi," she asked her sister.
"I am just avoiding him ever since I said no to him," Khushi said and hung up.
Unfrikkinbelievable, was all Payal could think
And now it seems that Payal's hunch was right after all. Arnav was dead serious about the proposal. She sent out an urgent email and text to her sister.
Should she take Aakash into confidence, she wondered.
Why Khushi, why? Arnav was never going to do a towel dance.
**
Beep.
Sorry, I have a date this evening. Tomorrow, maybe?
You have a WHAT this evening?
Date, you know. Okay, to be honest, not a DATE date, just a date.
Eloquent as ever, are we?
Sarcastic as ever, are we?
Touch.
BTW I am waiting to meet your girlfriend.
Eh?
Ex-girlfriend.
You are meeting Asya?
The one and only.
How come?
I will be handling Ostrich Books account for my agency, which is how.
Nice. Perhaps I should swing by, seeing that I am the star of Ostrich Books and all.
Swing by, Tarzan.
Groan. Why are you jokes so godawful?
I don't know. I think of it as my superpower actually. Ooh your girlfriend is here. God, I hate her, she is so perfect.
Haha. You didn't seem like the insecure sorts to me.
I am not. But have you met Asya? Wait. Of course you have. She has perfect teeth.
So Asya:2 and Khushi:0. Actually Asya is a brilliant editor. So Asya: 3 and Khushi: 0.
Gee,thanks! I am already feeling so much better.
Say my hello to Asya.
You do that yourself. The two of you should marry; your kids will have creepily perfect teeth, perfect nose and perfect hair.
You think I have a perfect nose, perfect teeth and perfect hair? Is that why you agreed to marry me?
Nope. I am only marrying you so that I can attend the premiere of your film Accidentally in Love and touch Shashank Kapoor's abs.
That seems like a fair deal. I have known people who have married for lesser.
Good for them. So why do you want to marry me?
Because you are funny. Life might be interesting.
Oh well. That is disappointing. I thought you asked me to marry you because of my hospital gown.
Sorry?
Yeah, once Nandu asked after my well-being he said that I looked sexy-as-heck in my hospital gown. Maybe he was high too.
You and NK are actually perfect for each other.
Too bad the universe has different plans.
Yes, unstoppable forces and immovable objects.
But I think yours is a good reason too. Marry for bringing funny into your life. Just like they are legalizing gay marriages, someone needs to ensure that legal marriages are gay.
Groan.
Oh my God, he is here.
Who? Shashank Kapoor?
Dhatt! Anuj Tripathi, He looks pissed. Later.
Is everything okay, Khushi?
**
Your messages could not be delivered. Dammit! Payal flung the phone on the floor.
Khushi, Khushi, Khushi.
**
Khushi had a feeling she was being followed. It was just a hunch. The meeting had Ostrich Books gone on forever and then the drink with Vishesh, or Vish as she called him had followed. He was nice enough, but also had this immense curiosity about everything that made her uncomfortable. But he was the only desi in her office Khushi felt some kinship with, mostly fueled by their shared love for Kathi rolls. Yes, most of her significant non-familial relationships somehow were formed around food, except for Arnav, with whom she had spent all day exchanging funny messages with. She really could marry him and ensure that 50% of the babies she made were perfect. Sigh. Vish had insisted on walking Khushi home, but she had been determined to get rid of him and got off at a couple of stations before home feigning some errands. She needed some alone time.
Earlier at Ostrich Books, Anuj had understandably been upset with Khushi, for turning him down. So she had gone into his cabin trying to explain, but he was in no mood to listen and had used some choicest words. Khushi let him vent, she deserved it perhaps. When there was no more to be said, she had apologized again and left.
After the disaster with Anuj, Vish was a welcome relief and she listened with wonderment about all the office gossip almost gratefully. God, her workplace was like some kind of American drama, full of loving and lusting happening in elevators. Who would have thought?
She stopped by a florist to pick some flowers and as she tendered the exact change, the feeling that she was being followed intensified. She started walking quicker and when she reached a slightly deserted bylane, she wished that she had taken up on Vish's offer to walk her home. Vish you were here, Khushi thought and giggled at her bad puns. Arnav was right, her jokes were terrible. The uncomfortable feeling in her gut was interrupted when her phone began to ring. She stopped and tried to find her phone buried deep inside her bag. It was Payal. Khushi cut the call and decided to speak with her stalker sister after she was safely inside her house.
Just as she was about to enter the street where her house was, she found a pair of arms grabbed her roughly and pushed her to the wall.
"How dare you turn me down, you bitch," he sneered.
"Anuj, you are hurting me. I am sorry, but frankly it was not working out. I am sure you will find someone better," Khushi said, wincing at the way he was handling her. She didn't want to get confrontational with him just yet.
"You cannot turn me down. Call your family and tell them we will marry in two weeks" he continued.
"Anuj, stop being an ass. You are drunk. I am sorry. But this is over," she tried to be firm and push him away.
"I have been drinking, but I am not drunk. Who do you think you are anyway? The only good quality about you is that your older sister managed to land herself Aakash Raizada," he sneered.
"Shut up, Anuj. That will be enough. Don't say anything more which you will regret tomorrow," Khushi said, now feeling completely crushed by his weight. God, where were her brown belt skills when she needed it. And where were helpful neighbours and kind strangers?
"Is everything alright," a familiar voice suddenly came from nowhere.
Khushi turned and saw that Tarzan was there. Caught unaware, Anuj also loosened his hold on her and she ran towards Arnav like she had only seen in Yash Chopra movies and enveloped him into a hug. Arnav seemed shocked for a few seconds, but recovered soon enough and held her close as he gently shushed her sobs. Khushi felt safe and then she saw that her flowers had wilted away.
"Oh no! My flowers are all wilted away," she said.
"That is the least of your worries now," Arnav had said gently, which turned into steel when he saw Anuj.
"The bas***d," Arnav muttered and started walking towards Anuj.
"No, Arnav," Khushi implored, placing her hand on his shoulder and shook her head when he looked at her.
Anuj walked away.
**
"So that was something," Arnav said as he handed over a cup of tea to Khushi. She had a nice apartment, sunny colours and full of bizarre knick-knacks that was typical of her personality. He was most amused by this photograph of a young Khushi, probably when she was six or seven with all her front tooth broken. And Payal had signed on it, mind the gap.
"You look cute in this one," he said grinning.
"Ya whatever, Mr Perfect Teeth," she had responded scowling.
"You turned out alright though," he said, as he considered her now and was amused that she seemed to blush a pretty shade of pink.
"So was Anuj your date that was not a date-date," he asked curiously.
"Mad or what," she said warming her hands on the teacup, "I was out with Vish."
"How many men do you have anyway? Thankfully, I am not an insecure sort," he said.
She looked a little flustered at this.
He got down on his knees, took the cup of tea from her hands and placed it on the side table.
"Khushi, I.." he began, holding her face in his hands.
"I love you too," she said quickly.
"I love you too, Khushi," Arnav said and pushed an errant strand of Khushi's hair behind her ear and kissed her firmly on her mouth, marking possession.
His week-old designer beard seemed to trouble him as she yelped an owww.
He watched her grimace as she she rubbed her cheeks with her hand, she was such a child-woman. Who would have thought that the girl who had snipped off the intercom wires at his brother's apartment was the one for him. The one, he thought to himself! Now he sounded like Anjali Di and not Arnav Raizada.
"So now what," Khushi demanded to know.
"Didn't some great person say, if you like it, put a ring on it," Arnav said in an even tone.
"Yes, the great person is Beyonce," Khushi said grinning.
Arnav shrugged and pulled out the engagement ring that he had been carrying around in his pocket for the last two days.
"See if this fits," he said almost gruffly as he placed the box on her palm.
Khushi opened the box and did the whole Ms Universe-OMG look while he rolled his eyes.
"This is so beautiful and... expensive. Which is a good thing, because this is the worst proposal ever," Khushi pouted as she slipped the ring out of the box and counted the number of diamonds.
"You mean to say you wanted me to bring you roses, light candles and quote Rumi," he asked, making a disgusted face.
"No, you are right. This is better," Khushi said and handed the ring to him.
He gently picked up her warm hand, and not taking his eyes off her face inserted the ring into her ring finger. Except that it didn't go after midway.
"Oh no! My fingers are fat. I am fat," Khushi whined.
"Shut up, Khushi. You are not fat. We will get it fixed tomorrow. Maybe we can get champagne as well," he said trying to pacify here.
But this was Khushi, she immediately started pacing up and down the room going on about signs from the universe. Then suddenly she ran out of the room and returned with a jar of Vaseline. She applied it generously on all her fingers, not just the ring finger and placed her greasy hand near him.
And that is how Arnav Raizada and Khushi Gupta finally got engaged.
**
"Sorry Anjali Di, couldn't take your call earlier. It is just that Khushi and I.." Arnav said, much later when he was back in his own apartment.
"I know, Arnav. I am sorry. I know you liked Khushi, we all liked her too. But too bad that she thought this whole engagement was fake. I really didn't understand when Payal told me.." Anjali went on.
Arnav had hung up already.
**
Beep.
Hey, it is me Shyam Jha. Hope you have been well. I am in London for a Chef Seminar, would like to catch up.
**
Part 12: https://www.indiaforums.com/forum/fan-fictions/3412364/arhi-ss-bucket-list-note-pg-94-12-08-15?pn=47 Edited by TabassumR - 12 years ago
Love Friendship Dating and Relationships
Suggestions / Comments
41