As the weeks went by, their meetings went scarce. The longing was still there, but the justified reasons had run out and obligations had taken over. Avni still went to the Khanna house weekly but Neel was never there. But there was one phone call at the end of the night, that one phone call they anticipated for the entire day. It was the beacon of light in their busy lives. Avni was busy with trying to reform and rehabilitate Aman from Dayawanti's upbringing as well as finally learning how to cook. Neela hadn't insisted, it was Avni herself who had asked for the lessons. Neel was busy with his police cases. But right when the clock struck 9, either Avni or Neel would stop whatever they were doing, lock their respective rooms and just talk about their day. It was the one way they maintained their...friendship...amidst their busy lives.
However, the barrier of the phone calls also allowed Avni never to see Neel physically flinching whenever Avni bought up Ali in a conversation. But Avni also had a reason to believed that the face-to-face communication wasn't there, because that meant Neel wasn't able to see her face drop when Neel bought up Mitali in a conversation. Yet it wasn't these feelings they were trying to hide from each other. These feelings were reactions for a split second before the conversation took a turn. It was their giddiness whilst they were talking to each other that they were trying to hide. It was that smile that adorned their faces for the rest of the night that confused them.
NEEL'S POV
"Toh phir tum aare hon na? Avni asked him. Yet he didn't know what she was referring to, he had gotten lost in her sweet voice. Shayad mujhe coffee peeni chaiye, I can't seem to concentrate.
"Kahan aana hai, baba? Neel replies, in a nonchalant tone, hiding his glee at the prospect of seeing her again.
"Tum bhul ge?!
"Avni, main pakka sure hoon ki kal tumhare janamdin toh nahi hai. Woh toh tum mujhe bhulne bhi nahi doon gi. Nor is it our anniversary, toh phir kya hain kal? Neel answered her disbelief immediately, not even realizing he had talked about their wedding.
"Tumhe kye lagta hain, main bakki ladkiyon jaisi hoon jo hamesha apne pati se humare birthday aur anniversary bara pikati hain?
"Maine aisa kab keha?
"Aisa nahi hai toh bhi nahi keha na?
"Well, I can't lie, can I wifey?
"Neel! Theek hai, ab toh maine tumhare saath gal hi nahi karni hai!
"Avni! Don't hang up! Sorry baba, tum baki saab ladkiyon jaisi bilkul nahi hon. I swear! Sabse alag.
"Good. Abb suno kal Ali ka birthday hain, aur jab tak Rhea Ali ko apne saath baar lekhe jaigi, tum mere saath Chamko Caf decorate karonge. I don't want any excuses that you have work. It's Ali's birthday and we are his two best friends.
Jab se tum aayi hon, tabse woh mera dost nahi rahe Avni...
"Main kya karoonge wahan, Avni?
"Meri help? But if you're busy I can call DD instead, if he doesn't have work tomorrow.
"No, he has a lot of work tomorrow, Avni. You know what, I can try finishing my work now and help you tomorrow. What time should I meet you there? Neel answered. Unbeknownst to Avni, DD had the day off tomorrow. But Neel wasn't going to tell Avni that. He finally had an excuse to spend time with Avni. He wasn't going to pass up on that just because for some unknown reason he couldn't stand Ali anymore.
"Are you sure Neel? Zaade kaam hain toh main tumhe parashaan nahi karne chahti, Avni responded.
Neel chuckled, "Tum bhi bas, wifey, bilkul ek ajooba hon. Abhi toh tum keh rahi thi you don't want any excuses that I have work. Bas ab baton kitne baaje maine tumse milne hain?
"Bas main waise hi. Whenever you're free Neel is fine. I just want to meet..I just want you to come to the party so Ali can have everyone he's closest too there. Also, if its fine with you, tell DD to be there to at the evening. But if you have time to help me, come any time after midday. I'll be putting the decorations up, Avni replied, a bit shyly this time. Neel hadn't noticed he had called her wifey, but she had. It just rolled of the tip of his tongue so smoothly, they he didn't realize he called her wifey still at times.
"I'll meet you at yours at half past 11. We can go to the caf together, Neel asked in the form of a statement. I hope she doesn't think too much of that. It sounds like we're going on a date. Shit. Yeh tune kya kiya Neel, abb woh pata nahi kya soch rahi hain mera bara mein. Woh ha kehegi bi ja nahi.
"Ha, yeh theek rahega. Theek hai, kaal milte hain Neel. Now I'll let you go, so you can work and sleep adequately before tomorrow morning.
"Yeh, sounds good. Good night Avni.
"Good night Neel.
"Ok, bye."As Neel was about to hang up when he heard Avni voice speak up again, urging him to stay on the line.
"Neel, sorry ek minute. Do you know what you're wearing tomorrow?
"I didn't even remember I was going, remember? So obviously no, I don't,"Neel chuckled, he could imagine Avni's face flushing at his response. Her cute nose turning red with embarrassment too.
"Okay, I will choose your clothes for you tomorrow. You don't know how to dress nice anymore. Okay bye," Avni quickly added before hanging up straight away.
~~~~~~~~~~~~hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. Please do leave a review, it guides me what to write in the next chapter.
Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi 2
Bade Achhe Lagte Hain
CID
