The Best of Things
(RagLak, SwaSan) Fan Fiction Series
By Bubble
Chapter 8
Lakshya came down to breakfast, dressed to go to work. Most of the family was there... although the partriarch, his father Durga Prasad Maheshwari, and his uncle, Ram Prasad Maheshwari, were missing... he knew they must have eaten much earlier and left for work.
His mother Annapurna and Choti Ma' Sujata were pulling their chairs forward to eat... Swara was doing the round of the breakfast table, serving them fresh puris and ladling out the sabzi for Sanskaar. Parineeta bhabhi brought out a bowl of more puffed puris. Lakshya frowned slightly, but even as the question formed itself... Ragini emerged from the kitchen.
He turned to look at her, and one after the other, everyone at the table fell silent looking at her. There were many reasons for this. For one, Ragini had dressed fulsomely for the role of the new bride' - she wore a bright red sari with gold sequins and trimmings, her hair was wet, and although she had pulled it back from her face, artistically loose and disarrayed. She wore a dressier hair ornament than was usual, and her mangalsutra was prominently displayed. And the sindoor! Nowadays the ladies tended to wear a small chutki' in the parting of their hair. Clearly that token hadn't been sufficient for Ragini this morning... she had liberally applied vermillion from her forehead to three-fourths of her head - it stood out like a beacon in shaft of morning light that she now theatrically stood in... looking and playing the suhaagan'.
And if the look' wasn't enough, Ragini herself completed the picture. She looked beautiful and more significantly, radiant. She caught sight of Lakshya and her wattage seemed to increase. She placed the large bowl she was carrying in the middle of the table and hurried up to him.
"Aayiye na, Laksh, hum aap hi ka intezaar kar rahe the!"
And she proprietarily wound her arm through his and dragged him to the dining table, casting coy, doting looks up at him. "Laksh, aaj hum itne khush hai, I can't even tell you how happy I am! I've made kheer to celebrate - and you will have the first serving. Please, baithiye na!"
Lakshya let himself be pulled forward. He groaned inwardly - this was not how he would have chosen to let his entire family know that this marriage was on, and that it was now consummated... but this was Ragini! Having been denied the proper marriage she had been wanting for so long, she now wanted to shout it from the rooftops. She was genuinely happy but she also wanted to announce it, see the shock on the faces of people around her and gloat.
He took a silent moment to compose himself. His impulse was to shake her hand off his, turn around and leave the house... but there was no sense in that. He had committed himself fully last night, and there was no reason why Ragini should not have her little celebration. He opened his eyes and smiled slightly at her.
He sat at the table and let her ladle kheer into a bowl and placed it in front of him. He took a mouthful and looked up at her expectant face. He raised his hand to gesture ok and said, with relish, "Superb!"
And then silently muttering, ok, what the hell!' to himself, he nodded her closer and raised a spoonful to her mouth. She bent, accepting it with a delighted look and swallowed shyly. The tableau around them seemed to have frozen into immobility. The mothers looked aghast, Adarsh a little foolish with his jaw slack with shock...
Sanskaar was watching them with an intent frown and Swara stood rooted to the ground behind him. What on earth had happened here?!
Ragini was moving to distribute the kheer into several bowls for everyone. She took one to Annapurna and said, "Maaji, please munh meetha karke, Laksh or mujhe aashirwaad dijiye ke hum apne shaadi shuda zindagi ko ek naye sire se shuru kar sakein! Give us your blessing for a fresh start." She turned around, and called "Laksh!" summoning him for the aashirwad.
Sujata's face was now a study in avid curiosity. Baap re! No dearth of drama in this house!
They both bent and touched Annapurna's feet, and the lady placed a bemused hand to their heads in involuntary blessing. In spite of the 'ek aur mauka' business, she had not really expected her son to accept this horrible girl...
"Laksh, beta, yeh kya...!?" she asked her son, in confusion.
"Haan, Mom," Lakshya said quietly, "aur aapka aashirwaad toh mujhe chahiye hi chahiye! I'll speak to you in the evening. Now I really have to go, I'm getting late."
"Bye, Ragini," he said to her, a hand on her shoulder.
As he gathered his bag and from the chair where he left it, he looked up. Sanskaar and Swara didn't appear to have moved a muscle in the past five minutes. Two pairs of eyes bored into him, throwing sharply pointed questions at him.
He smiled a fraction, and walked out of the house.
Kumkum Bhagya
Bade Achche Lagte Hain Naya Season
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