Part 5
Arjun was in a meeting when his phone rang. He saw the number and cut the call. The meeting continued when his phone rang again. He checked the number and excused himself from the meeting.
Coming out of the confrence room, he gritted his teeth and connected the call.
"Main tumhara guardian nahi hu jo tumhe college se lene aaunga. Aur nahi tum bachhe ho ki akele nahi aa sakte. What is wrong with you Romit???"
"Bro… aaj Saturday hai… college ko chutti hai." Romit stated blankly.
Arjuns voice immediately raised. "Toh kyu phone karrahe ho mujhe baar baar. Mein ek meeting mein hu, and I hate it when…"
"Koi aapko meeting mein disturb karey… I know. Lekin baat hi kuch aisi hai Bro. I need your help."
"Kya hua? Are you alright?"
"Haan woh… Darasal mein shopping mall mein shopping karne aaya tha lekin mera credit card decline bata raha hai. Toh maine socha ki agar aap shopping mall mein aane wale hain Raj ke liye video games lene, toh meri bhi help kar dete."
Arjun sighed at the stupidity of his brother, his mind alerting him after a second. "Tumhe kaise pata ki mein shopping mall mein Raj ke liye video games lene aane wala hoon???"
"Woh… mujhe… Mujhe Raj ne bataya!!! Jab se aap office gaye ho, tabse ussne poorey ghar mein announce kiya hain. Ab tak toh poorey Chandigarh ko pata chala hoga ki aap mall aa rahe ho."
"Fine. Lekin meri meeting khatam hone mein abhi aadha ghanta baaki hai, mein usske baad hi aaunga. Tab tak tum…"
"Koi baat nahi Bro… I'll wait." Romit said smiling. He cut the call and send out a text. Whistling to himself, he set off to the food court to help himself to a coffee.
***
Arohi was reading in her room when Shefali barged inside.
"Ye kya??? Tu ab tak ready nahi hui???"
"Kyun??? Aaj teri shaadi hai??!!"
"Stupid. Humey mall jana tha na… shopping karne. Don't tell me you forgot Arohi!"
"Oh… haan. It slipped my mind. Give me 5 minutes, mein abhi tayar hojati hoon."
"Teri woh white waali dress pehenna. Ussme tu ekdam princess lagti hain."
"Shefali hum mall jarahe hain. Fancy dress competition mein nahi ki mujhe princess aur tujhe pauper dikhna hai."
"Kya??? Mein pauper lag rahi hu? I knew it… ye brown colour mujhpe bilkul suit nahi karta." Shefali pouted looking at her dress.
"Meri maa… tu bohat khoobsurat lag rahi hai. Ab tu neeche jaayegi? Mein 5 min mein ready hoke aati hu." Arohi paused thoughtfully. "Lekin Shefali… Hum mall jayenge kaise? Ghar pe toh koi nai hai, sivaay DJ ke. Gaadi to chaachu le gaye."
"Kiska hai ye tumko intezaar… Mein hoon na!" Arohi turned to watch Sanchit stand against the door frame, leaning against it, a set of keys dangling from his fingers.
"O Shahrukh Khan ki bigdi hui copy… Agar chachu ko pata chal gaya ki tuney unki jeep ko haath lagaya, toh wo tujhe lock up mein band karke third degree torture karenge."
Sanchit smiled. "Chachu ne khud mujhe apni jeep ki chaabi di hai. Aur kaha 'jaa beta… jeele apni zindagi'!"
"Haan… taake baad mein mein tujhe zameen mein zinda gaadh saku!" Arohi continued keeping the dramatic expressions on her face.
"Tum bhai-behen ka drama khatam hogaya ho toh chalen? Arohi, tu aam kha na ped mat gin. Point of the fact is that Rajveer chachu ne Sanchit ko apne jeep ki chaabi di. Ab kyu di, kab di, hamey isse kya! Hamara kaam to bann gaya naa? Ab jaldi jaa aur ready hojaa… Hum dono neeche tera intezaar karrahe hain."
Shefali pushed Arohi towards the bathroom and pulled Sanchit out of room towards the stairs.
"Itna time kyu lagaya? Tumhe Arohi ko ready rakhna tha." Shefali whispered to Sanchit angrily.
"Sorry. Woh jeep ki duplicate chaabi churaane mein thoda time laga. Police waalon ka ghar haina… Chori karna itna aasan nahi hai." Sanchit winked.
***
"Dadi… Aap kahan hain? Mein aur Raj ready hain." Rashi picked up her phone and spoke excitedly.
"Mein bas mandir se nikal hi rahi hu puttar. Yaha bohat traffic hain. Tu ek kaam kar, tu Raj ko leke nikal, mein tujhe seedha Ahluwalia Aashiana ke baahar milti hu. Fir meri gaadi ko mein ghar bhej dungi aur teri gaadi mein wapas aayenge. Thik haina?"
"Ji dadi. Yahi thik rahega."
"Waise ye Raj ne kisi ke saamne apna mooh to nahi khola na?"
"Nahi dadi. In fact maine usse bataya hi nahi. Socha uske liye bhi surprise hojayega."
"Bada changa kitta puttar. Bachhe ki khushi dugni hojaani hain. Waha Arohi bhi ghar pe akeli hai, aur usske liye bhi surprise ho jaayega! Chal tu jaldi se nikal abhi. Thik hai?"
"Ji Dadi." Rashi cut the call and called out to Raj who was in Arjuns room upstairs.
Settling Raj in the backseat, Rashi got in from the other side and gave the address to the driver.
"Rashi mom… Hum kahan jaarahe hain?"
"Ek surprise hai aapke liye. Aapne itne acche bache ki tarah behave kiya haina, issliye meri aur dadi ki taraf se surprise."
Raj smiled. He loved surprises. The only problem was the anxiety of the unknown and the patience required for it to unveil.
Barely few minutes had passed when he spoke again "Bada surprise hai ya chota? Mehenga hai ya sasta? Koi game hai ya gadget? Kuch toh hint do…"
Rashi laughed at his restlessness. "Thoda patience rakho Raj. Bas thodi hi der mein hum poh…" Rashis sentence was cut off as the car jerked and banged against something. Instinctively pulling Raj closer to protect him, Rashi asked the driver to get down and check.
Rashi's driver had missed out on honking at a blind turn and a car turning in that street had crashed into them. Luckily the traffic had been heavy and hence the cars were not in speed. The opposite driver got down to inspect the damage and started hurling abuses at Rashi's driver. Soon a small crowd had gathered around them and Rashi stepped out of the car with Raj to settle the matter. However, the guy ended up screaming at Rashi instead, who was shocked at a stranger yelling at her in the middle of the road. Suddenly the crowd separated to allow a police officer enter the scene.
"Ye sab kya horaha hai???" Rajveers voice halted the chaos as everyone turned around to him.
"Dekhiye saab… Ye madam ki gaadi ne meri gaadi ko thok diya. Kitna nuksaan hua hai mera! Agar gaadi chalani nahi aati toh…"
"Aap gaadi chala rahi thi?" Rajveer cut off his rant as he directed this question to Rashi.
"Nahi… Driver chala raha tha. Mein inka nuksaan bharne ke liye tayyar hu." Rashi gripped Raj's hands, trying to calm down her nerves.
"Galti hogayi saab. Maine horn bajana chahiye tha. Mein inse maafi bhi maang chukka hoon, lekin ye hai ki madam ko kabse sunaaye jaa rahe hain." Rashi's driver spoke guiltily with his head bent down.
"Aur nahi to kya!!! Aapne mera nuksaan kiya hai… Bade log honge apne ghar pe. Agar raste pe gaadi chalani hai…"
"Aapko kisine tameez nahi sikhaayi?" Rajveer cut him off again, with his stern voice.
The guy stared at the ACP who was glaring at him. "Agar woh apni galti maan raha hai aur madam nuksaan bharne ke liye tayar hai to problem kya hai?! Kya aapko nahi pata ek ladki se kaise baat ki jaati hai???"
Rashi stared at Rajveer, unable to digest his reaction. He was actually taking her side? But why?
Rajveer kept glaring at the guy. "Aap police station chalke complaint likhvaayiye." He turned to Rashi and his stance softened. "Aapko bhi aana padega sign karne ke liye. Sirf ek formality hain."
Without waiting for her answer, he turned around as everyone followed him to police station around the block.
***
After the formalities were over, Rajveer offered Rashi and Raj coffee. Rashi was too tongue-tied to deny. Sitting across the desk, Rajveer saw her helping Raj drink as he sipped his own coffee. The last time he had seen her, she was in his house, sparkling with joy, asking for Arohis hand in marriage for Arjun. And had ended up broken, losing a child, and losing a hope of ever having one. Her soft demeanor, her gentle gestures and sweet personality made him wonder how did she land up taking birth to a devil like Rudra and a witch like Kumud. Even though she was a Singhania, he could not extend the same hatred towards her that he felt for the rest of her family. Why? The reason was simple. He was his fathers son. He did bend the rules and overlook morals at times, but in his heart he still could not hate someone without a reason. And when he hated someone, he hated with all his heart.
"If you want, you can send your car to the garage. I will drop you wherever you need to go."
Rashis hands stilled in the process of lifting her cup to her mouth. "Nahi usski koi jarurat nahi hai… We will manage."
"Its not a problem. Waise aap jaa kaha rahi thi? "
Alarm bells started ringing in Rashis head. She could not imagine his reaction if he came to know that she was headed to HIS house. She gulped her coffee in one go.
"Woh… hum… aise hi. Its ok… hum chale jayenge."
"Woh aapko nahi bata sakti." Raj interrupted, placing both his hands on the desk, leaning towards Rajveer. Rajveer stared at Raj in amusement.
"Kyu???" Imitating Raj, Rajveer also leaned across the desk towards him, as if having a pretend secret conversation.
"Kyuki it's a surprise for me. Aur jab tak mein yaha hoon Rashi mom aapko kuch nahi bata sakti. Agar aapko jaanna hai unko akele mein milo."
Rajveer jerked back slightly flustered.
"Waise hum sector no 33 mein jaarahe hain. Maine inko driver se kehte suna." Raj continued smartly.
"Sector 33 mein to mera ghar hai. Toh… chalo mein aapko drop kar deta hoon. Mein bhi ghar hi jaraha hoon."
"NAHI!" Rashi almost screamed. "Hum sector 33 nahi, sector no 23 mein jaarahe they. Raj ne galat suna." She gave a sweet smile to Rajveer and got off her chair. Raj glared at her for questioning his hearing capabilities. "Aur humey late horaha hain… toh humey chalna chahiye." Grabbing Raj's hand and her purse she turned towards the exit. Rajveer followed them.
"Thank you for the coffee." Rashi turned to Rajveer and smiled.
"You're welcome. And Rashi… I am sorry. For whatever happened." Rajveer said, sounding sincerely apologetic.
"It was not your fault Rajveer. Tumne kuch nahi kiya tha."
"Nahi. Par maine usse rokne ke liye bhi kuch nahi kiya. Isliye im sorry."
Unable to say anything more Rashi turned around and walked away. Hailing a cab, she got in and called Dadi to cancel the plan. It was going to be difficult to tell Raj that the surprise is cancelled. She might as well take him to the park like she had told Arjun. If Rajveer was going home, then there was no way that they could go there now.
***
Arohi sprinted downstairs towards Shefali and Sanchit telling them that she was ready to go. The moment she reached the front door the telephone rang. Thinking that DJ might be sleeping and should not be disturbed, she ran towards the phone but the ringing stopped. The green button on the handset flashed indicating that the call has been connected.
"Kya karrahi hai Arohi, chalna! Late hojayenge… jaldi wapas bhi to aana haina." Shefali grabbed Arohis hand and dragged her to the entrance.
Arohi's mind was elsewhere. She had seen the number on the caller identification and was trying to figure why did it look familiar.
***
"Tuney toh kaha tha ki ghar pe koi nahi hai."
The opposite person offered an explaination.
"Ab hum nahi aa sakte. Bechare Raj ka mood off hojana hai. Waise ek tarah se accha hua ki in dono ko pata nahi tha, warna bohat bura lagta donon ko. Khair… Koi gal nahi! Raj ko hum samjha denge. Agli baar aur saavhaani se plan karenge, thik hai? Chal hun phone rakhti hu."
Teji Singhania cut the call and sighed. She had thought of cheering up the two people she adored the most but in her language "rab nu kuch hor hi manzoor tha".
I've realised that im a descriptive writer and hence the updates are longer even though not much is happening in them. However, writing in this manner takes up a lot of time and is an issue for updating on a daily basis. So post diwali im going to try and increase the pace of the story through my writing, which is a challenge since i cant manage it right now Till then please keep faith in the plot and my writing 😊
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