Sorcerer's sleeve
She wore a gorgeous Kanjeevaram in sapphire blue with gold doves etched all over,one of a kind creations that Sam had connections to.
He didnt go to pick Makarand from the airport
II had no idea about the veracity or the tone of discontent between the siblings
Sam assumed he was busy and so sent Tan and Ranjan to bring his family home
The immediate family stayed at MM
The 8 or so other family members were put up at maurya Sheraton around the corner.
The engagement mehandi event turned into a spontaneous sangeet
Sam summoned Mahavir to go bring the dholki from her house
No one could locate him between Noon and 5
She didnt try to.
He didnt ping her either, out of guilt or the not so subtle pressure she put on him to address the fall out
He was too busy anyway
He drove in at 5 and found the two lil girls investigating every new contraption in the giant front yard
The guard made way for them as they wandered
Nivi's gauzy pink dupatta falling off her shoulders
She pretended to be an adult and tried to hold on to it (tho it was securely pinned)
He grinned at the sight, taking quick pictures leaning on his car.
He walked over to them
They were too eager to explore so both screamed and wanted to be let go
He just picked them up by turns and kissed their fat cheeks
Nivi showed him her gauzy bangle
"Babble" she said clearly
"Yep, thats what it is" he nodded appreciating
"sassaka" she said for Lasyaka and pointed to the silver ones on the older girl's wrist
"She looks pretty too" he muttered
"Can we go up and enjoy it from the balcony?" he begged
"MO" Nivi shook her head a million times
"Ofcourse" he grinned
"Please?" he asked grinning again
"MO MO MO" Nivi said shaking her head
He watched her mesmerized
"I missed u" he muttered on her neck
She made a face and pushed his face away, scratching her neck
"My Mom loves this.. not ME" "Wrong girl dude" she had that look on her face
"sorry" he muttered
He had walked into the lounge to see a bunch of women in shorts getting their legs and arms hennaed
He wasnt sure if the wedding was tonite he cackled to himself
His wife was missing
He really wanted to see her
He speculated where her henna was, reminding himself of the floral buds on the mole trio on her soft cleavage
He texted as he weaved his way through the gaggle of women some he knew, in fact he knew THREE he thought
"Parul something?" he thought looking at a busty chick with beady eyes, "Leher Majumdar" he grunted spotting the tall curvaceous one in the corner, she was animatedly showing the henna artist how to fix a pattern...
The third he couldnt recal the name "Neelu?" he thought approaching the grand staircase... "Nilofer" he paused and turned around
Manya was making her way down they glanced at each other he was in formal work clothes, khakhis and a orange and green plaid
Dull copper color sperry boat shoes
There must be 20 women he decided or more... as more made their way down
None were his wife... he exhaled
Neelu came up to him panting
Manya made way for her... relieved? she didnt have to talk to him
"Do u remember me?" she asked breathlessly
He grinned "i do... Neelu right?" he asked
"NILOFER for YOU" she poked him with her index finger
"i am a graphic designer that builds web pages for paint companies and custom interior choices" she laughed
They both reached and hugged
"I cant believe I kissed YOU" Neelu chortled almost gasping... cracking herself up
"Well she set us up" he pointed to Manya
Manya tried to look a lil aloof
But didnt want to give herself away
"Well he was desperate for my girlfriends, dont blame ME" Manya rolled her eyes
"Well we didnt date for long... so FEEE UUU dude" Neelu laughed "I am married now haan... abhi koi panga nahi karna"
He threw his head back and laughed at that order
"Understood he said
Unawares his wife had caught the last part of the convo
Passing through the 1st floor lounge and theatre, going to check on Nandu and Shravu
"Is Makarand here?" he asked Manny politely
"Umm... haan... airport mein ruka rehta kya?" Manya began in a warm
proprietorial way to scold him then quickly checked herself and cleared her throat "they are all here Tan went" she said accusingly
There wasnt any remorse in her kid brothers eyes so she just wasted her time
"Hey when u meet my husband just tell him we used to date haan?" Neelu interrupted
"And... ISKI wife ko?" Manny was bristling
"I met her... she is a south Indian?" Neelu asked shocked
He nodded
"U just went clearly in the opp direction nah? First a bunch of modern types, then that CMU girl then French?" Neelu laughed
"Hes a good boy now haan?" Manya defended him much to his surprise
Or not so much to his surprise, because she happened to like HIM
His wife was who she had a beef with
"Boy?" R&B cackled cynically trying to go up the stairs
"Hes sooo handsome now, why doesnt he shave?" Neelu enquired as they giggled and made their way down
"He hates it he says, he only shaves once a week or less" Manya said all knowingly
"His wife is OK? I will kick my hubs to the kerb" Neelu laughed
He didnt hear what Manya said
He went up grabbed a beer from his 2nd floor frig and opened and sipped noisily
Ranjan was going down the stairs
Dinner was downstairs
Engagement was on the terrace, Ma's second fave place in the house
"Saara din kithon?" Ranjan was not happy
"I had to meet a new VC"
"Shaadi pen di haigi tey anjaan musfar di?" he demanded
"Umm... sorry" he mumbled
"Kinne log haingey ne gharich?" Ranjan questioned
R&B lowered his gaze
"Chache ne kaam sambhala hoya" Ranjan supplied
"Ofcourse" R&B muttered under his breath
"Koi bakwaas nahi... samajh aayi gall? they are south indians... lets atleast put on a decent front" Ranjan beged
"Have u seen my wife?" he asked
"Ladke maayke peja hoya hoga toone" Ranjan gulped
"Umm.. no" R&B said pissed "Ive had a long day" he said
"Ghar pe tera doosra jeeja vi haiga, gall karo jaake, beer hore qitaaben jara ik din ren do" he ordered
R&B didnt answer
He texted his wife
"Can u come up please?"
She didnt...
He had to go find her in the server room by
Ranjan's room on the 1st floor office, trying to unplug and replug the cables because the wifi had died
"Whats going on?" he asked by the doorway
She didnt turn to look she was lit up, Sam had briefly gone home to convince her MIL to attend
"Wifi died" she said
"II" he demanded attention
He hated the house was full of strange people
He wanted it back to himself... his baby and his luscious wife
He spent hours making out on the couch when he had bad days at work
"Hmm" she still didnt look rebooting the master system
"Ive already been asked three times why I didnt go to the airport, so dont start" he warned
"Oh no... I wont" she said
"Its an engagement ceremony, I didnt even miss it" he argued raising his voice
Walking in and shutting the door not so gently as two aunties walked in the corridor
She looked up finally
"Tumhari aadat jaanti hoon main. When u decide u dont want to resolve something you can avoid it for years"
"Pot shots II?" he asked, hungry and tired
"Ek ek karke ghar pe kisi se baat mat karo" she said unhappily
"U dont even care about her why do u give a damn?" he asked mercilessly
"Thats true... my bad..." she said her eyes glinting with tears
"II" he persuaded
"Chachu se baat nahi karogey, Chachi se nahi, Dad se nahi... Manya se nahi" she listed
"LET IT GO" he hissed...
"Kyon? Is ghar mein rehti hoon" she said
"Arent u the one that wouldnt touch a dime of Bhalla fortune? U seem to have have an unusual interest in the family well being" he snapped
"Thats your defense for not going to the airport to greet Makarand's family?" she was horrified
"Well... did YOU go?" he asked arms folded across his chest
"If she had asked me to... I would have" she said her expression one of sadness
"Good grief" he muttered not believing what his wife had just said
Manya didnt even invite her to go and yet she was blasting him for not going?" a maudlin overwrought outburst of righteousness?
He cudnt believe his wife
Manya's coy accusation in the stairwell angered him more now
His wife had decided to wear a sorcerer's sleeve and fight a dumb battle of zero consequence
He was astounded by his wife's lack of emotional sophistication,
He realized Manya had some deep emotional damage that couldnt be cured with a stint in rehab or a wellness spa.
A part of Manya still existed in the time 15 years ago, where she cud do nothing wrong, the most popular
girl in high school going on to make foolish shitty mistakes as an adult and yet being unwilling to see it.
Her fear of being alone causing her to walk in and out of one catastrophe after another...
"Whats wrong with the wifi?" he asked gruffly
She didnt respond, she had ruined the mehandi in her left hand
"U dont use the phone anymore?" he taunted, (why cudnt u call me?)
"Its not from CMU its from Georgia Tech but I have an IT degree too" she retaliated
"Congratulations" (he warned huskily walking up to her, an inch of her) probably just scored a 10/10 on flipping my rage switch" he bit down on her face
"I told u I went to a good school" she said agonized
"Enough" he warned
His three? 4 day old beard in its worst form...
She stepped back pushing him away
He sat down in his Dad's chair, cursed and slammed the reboot key again
"The boys are in the theatre" she said as if she was informing the help
And left him with a pile of cables and the blue screen...
Edited by Nisha0604 - 8 years ago
