"Naren Noodle"
"Neel?" she called out again when he stood staring at the shelf in the frig, where he recently placed the bhaaji
He turned to her, "Neel?" he said preoccupied
"Nahi NIHAAAR" she smiled confused, as to why he was suddenly so speechless
"Oh! haan, their kids have a 11 PM curfew, uske baad woh apne room mein as usual video games khel lega"
"Main baat kar sakti hoon us se" she claimed
"Aap 11 baje ke baad rukengi?" he threw a question back at her
They stood by the open frig talking seriously
"Haan barobar hai... mujhe bhi jaana hai na?" she remembered sheepishly
"Suvechha" he began to say something, his gaze lingered over her hers, slid down to her lips and down her neck
"Aajkal parties mein bache allowed kyon nahi hai?" she asked him
"Main maanta hoon galat hai" he nodded sadly
"Meri beti poore week ghar mein nahi hoti... aur aaj bhi" She dialed back a lil awkward at complaining to him since it was his party
"Aapko jaldi jaana hai ghar?" he offered
She was suddenly not so sure about it
"Abhi to ruk sakti hoon thoda time"
"Thoda time?" he teased
"Mala uphas naahi" (dont make fun of me) she said hurt
"Bus kabhi kabhi?" he begged
"Faqat, divasatoon ekada" (once a day) she ordered
They floated savoring those words, gazing at each other
The caterer tapped him on the shoulder, "Sir mujhe namak aur chahiye" he said
Neel shut the frig door
Suvechha went outside and mingled, they didnt talk face 2 face after that, much
Around 10 PM Suvechha called the playschool, the husband picked up
He said there were still many kids around, and so it wasnt a problem if she wasnt picked up yet
They did this every weekend usually, they kept the playschool open for parents "date night" or "movie night"
In the year she had been in Delhi this was her first time
She had no friends or social life
Her phone pinged
"Karhi kaisi lagi?" he asked
"UP ki nai hai" she informed him
There was karhi on the menu, with jeera rice, among many other delicacies
"Main bhi Mumbai ka hoon"
"Naveena nimith?" (new excuse for not making it yourself?) she asked
"Aapko do time banaane ka hai, main do time bhaaji bana lee" she ordered
Some left by 11, the neighbor brought Nihar, his face lit up when he saw her in the living room
"Aadhya is here?" he asked her
"No sorry... yeh sirf office ke liye tha" she explained
His face fell, he went to his room, she went after him, she saw him lay face down on the bed, and kick his feet rhythmically
"Nihaar" she cooed
He picked up his head and turned sideways
"Bore hai tumhe?" she asked in broken Englisj
Nihar smiled almost like Neel indicating her Hindi sucked
"Baitho" she urged, he sat up
His room was wonderful, huge with a nice bed study desk, a bean bag, a cotton rope pod swing, gadgets and toys and computers
It was neat and clean
She walked over to his desk and pulled out what looked like a drawing note book, long and plain
Sharpened a few pencils and sat down on the chair
She showed him how he could create a cartoon story board with stick figures, tellinga story
Simple, silly and goofy
She asked him for plot ideas
"Whats his name" Nihar asked pointing to the stick figure boy she had etched carrying a heavy backpack
"Umm... kya naam dene ka?" she thought
"Powerman" Nihar said everything a boy ever thought abt was force and power
"Naren Noodle kaisa hai?"
He burst out laughing and rolled on the floor
"His Dad's name is Noodle?" he asked choking
Suvi nodded, amused at how funny he thought it was
"Can I se ? he asked
She had made more funny pictures and goofy words...
When Neel came back with ice cream and gulab jamun for Nihar
He found them on his bed...Nihar spent 20 minutes laughing all over again as he introed Naren Noodle to him
and then followed by the story board and explaining the plot
"Can I finish it?" he asked
Suddenly charged up to write his first comic strip
Suvechha got off the bed "Isko story likhne ka bataya" she said
"Yeh bhi hasta hai meri Hindi ko" she said
"Chaliye iska matlab meri hasi galat nahi thi" Neel lounged on the study desk
She walked out of the room
"Woh mujhe Hindi sikhaye main usko comic strip... barobar!" she said
He followed her and she stopped and turned to see if he agreed
He stood an inch away from her on the corridor leading towards the kitchen and back yard on one way, and the family/TV room on the other
"Mujhse kya seekhengi?" he asked
"Aapko aur cheez seekhne ka hai Neel" "KAR-HEE" she spelled it how he wrote it
"KAD-HEE Suvechha" he said bending down and kissing her lower lip.
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