Part 3
Strangely, Prafulla was going on asking Raavi questions about her relationship with Shiva. It was annoying because she didn’t want to answer anything. What was wrong with people? Why was everyone so interested in her marital life? Rishita saw Prafulla asking her questions about Shiva, so she stood closer to them to hear Raavi’s answer. Raavi, of course noticed this and she was now super annoyed at her Maasi and at Rishita.
When Rishita saw that Raavi was evading all of her mami’s questions, she was disappointed so she decided to ask her herself.
“Dev mujhe bata raha tha ki tum aur Shiva shaadi ke pehle bohot close the.” Rishita said.
“Meri Raavi kabhi uss raakshash se close nahi thi.” Prafulla said.
Raavi sighed. Why god? Suddenly her eyes caught the sight of Shiva working on his logs. It had become her favourite sight over the last few days. She liked the glimpse of her husband hard at work with his biceps glistening with sweat. Raavi openly started staring at her husband and completely forgot about the two annoying ladies in front of her. Prafulla and Rishita followed Raavi’s gaze and saw her admiring her own husband.
Raavi quickly poured some water in a glass and took that to Shiva. It was her plan to get a closer glimpse of him. When Shiva looked at Raavi standing beside him with a glass of water, he was shocked. Why would she bring him water all of a sudden? Raavi was taking that opportunity to ogle at her husband and she desperately wished he had removed his vest for it.
Shiva took the glass of water and smelled it suspiciously.
“Zeher nahi milaya hai.” Raavi said.
“Tera bharosa kaha!” Shiva drank the water and Raavi saw some drops dribble down inside his vest. Maybe she could lick them-
Raavi immediately blushed and stopped herself. What was happening to her? Had she gonna completely crazy? She ran back to her room and Shiva kept looking at his crazy chipkali. What was wrong with her? He saw atleast ten emotions on her face but they changed so quickly that he couldn’t read any of them. So, he decided to let that go and concentrate on his work.
Raavi went to her room and stood in front of the mirror. She had been behaving like a tharki lusting after her own husband. Who does that? Raavi had been getting wild dreams about her husband ever since she saw him without a shirt. Dreams where he would just grab her and....
Raavi again scolded herself for getting lost in her thoughts. She took a long breath and tried to focus back on her Maasi and Rishita’s questions. Getting annoyed was better than getting turned on in this scenario. However, something Rishita said stuck to her mind.
Dev mujhe bata raha tha ki tum dono shaadi ke pehle bohot close the.
Were they? They fought continuously, in school, at home, in the store. The entire Somnath knew about their constant bickering. Shiva-Raavi were synonymous for enemies in Somnath. Raavi truly never considered him her enemy. She wanted him to see her as his family, as his friend. He was the one constantly fighting, but deep down Raavi always knew he cared for her. It was subtle but it was there.
But were they close? She didn’t know that.
***
“Krish, main shaadi se pehle tujhse sabse zyaada close thi.” Raavi told Krish, who looked surprise. They had been talking about his exams, and Raavi suddenly changed the topic.
“Aap close thi par aap Dev se zyaada close nahi thi?” Krish asked, then immediately regretted it. He didn’t want to take Dev’s name in front of Raavi, but he didn’t see any change in Raavi’s expression and he was relieved.
“Par Dev ne Rishita ko kaha ki main Shiva se sabse close thi.” Raavi was deep in thought.
Krish started laughing. “Aap dono toh humesha jhagda karte the. Par haa dekha jaye toh aap aur Shiva sabse close the.”
“Kaise?” Raavi asked.
“Shiva sabse pehle neend se uthke aapko gaali deta tha. Phir uski planning shuru hoti thi ki woh aapko ghar aane se kaise roke. Par aap bhi aa jaati thi. Phir dekha jaye toh 30-44 mins aap dono aaram se jhagda kar lete the. Phir aapke jaane ke baad Shiva phir se aapko 10-20 gaali deta tha. Aur din mein 50-60 baar toh aapko extra free ki gaali bhi de hi deta tha. Aur aap bhi kam kaha, aap bhi Shiva ka peecha kaha chorrti thi? Ghar pe, dukaan pe bas aa jati thi Shiva se milne.”
As Krish said this, he realised that Shiva and Raavi’s world always revolved around each other. They were happily living and breathing fire in each other’s lives. Then how did Dev even come between them? Raavi didn’t even see Dev half of the days and their conversations would hardly last 10-15 minutes but Raavi could fight with Shiva all day. His eyes widened at the realisation! Shiva and Raavi were made for each other.
“Krish! Krish!” Raavi shook him out of his thoughts. “Kaha kho gaya?”
Krish shook his head. Shiva was right. Raavi was a gadheri, but Shiva was a gadhera himself. Krish knew getting between them could kill him so he left to study instead. These idiots would realise in their own time. If not, then God save them all.
“Isko kya hua?” Raavi wondered.
She noticed Rishita and Prafulla spying on her. What was wrong with them? Raavi suddenly noticed Suman sitting and reading a newspaper. She went and sat beside her.
“Maa main aapko padke sunau?” Raavi asked.
Suman handed her the newspaper and Raavi read out the article to her. She again noticed Prafulla and Rishita pretending to play on their mobile while keeping an eye out for her.
“Mausam kitna achha hai, hai na maa?”
“Woh toh hai!” Suman said.
“Maasi aise mausam mein moong ke pakode khilati thi mujhe. Woh best moong ke pakode banati hai!” Raavi said. “Kaash, aaj bhi woh...”
Suman understood what Raavi was trying to say. She smirked. This girl liked annoying Prafulla just as much as her. They would make an awesome pair. “Ae Prafulla, idhar aa.”
Prafulla looked annoyed but she came without question. “Kya hua Suman bein?”
“Yeh teri beti bol rahi thi ki tu world ke best moong ke pakode banati hai. Toh chal jaa aaj sabke liye jaake bana de.”
Prafulla gave a look of betrayal to Raavi, then immediately set out to work.
Raavi laughed with Suman. One bird down now for the next one...
Raavi went outside where she knew Shiva would be. He was sitting on the stair and talking to Dev. Raavi was slightly frustrated to see Dev there and wished he would leave. But none of the brothers noticed her and kept on talking. She stood there for a minute then got another idea.
“Rishita!” Raavi called out.
Rishita was only a few steps away from her but she pretended as if she were coming from somewhere far away. “Kya hua Raavi?”
“Rishita meri ek help karogi? Thoda personal hai.” Raavi pretended to blush.
“Haa bolo na Raavi.” Rishita smiled.
“Woh maine tumhare luggage mein ek black dress dekha tha. Kya main woh borrow kar sakti hu?” Raavi asked.
“Sure. Par kyu? Woh toh party wear hai.” Rishita asked.
“Mere aur Shiva ke aaj raat ki dance party ke liye!”
“Kya? Aaj bhi? Tum dono sote nahi ho kya?” Rishita asked.
“Raat sone ke liye thodi hai?” Raavi winked and left.
Rishita stood there shocked, thinking about the implications of her statement.