Part 60
"No one ever fell in love gracefully" - Connie Brockway
Khushi and Arnav sat in the waiting area as they waited for the boarding status of their flight to be announced over the speaker system. Khushi had continued to remain quiet, as they had checked in their luggage, and lugged their carry-on with them through the security check. Khushi had been unsure about where the queue for women's checking was, however Arnav had gently nudged her in front of him as they waited for their turn to come, calmly telling her that there were no separate queues for men and women.
He had noticed that her shoulders had remained tense since she had spoken to Payal on the phone, and a small frown was resting on her forehead as she sat next to him, staring off into the distance. Her hands were twisting her dupatta around her slim fingers, the red of her nails a sharp contrast to the paleness of her skin. Arnav sighed, nad looked straight ahead, still unsure of how to broach the subject of comforting her.
He wanted to say something, do anything to tell her that everything would be okay.
He had lost his family at a young age too, and so he knew the pain and fear that settled in a person at the thought of losing a parental figure. But he had never been close to his father, and as he had grown older, he had started to despise him for everything he had done.
Arnav closed his eyes as he tried to wipe the memory of his father from his mind, and looked back at Khushi. Her hair was messily ied behind her in a lose bun, a few tendrils had escaped and were resting on her cheek. Her eyes were mindlessly starng forward, while her lower lip jutted out in deep thought.
She wore no makeup, and he found his eyes taking in her clear skin, and the natural flushness in her cheeks. Being surrounded by models who were constantly decked up in makeup, he had to admit, seeing Khushi without any was refreshing.
He looked ahead again, but a few seconds later, his eyes travelled back to her. She still had not noticed him looking at her, and so he let his eyes wander down, as he saw her collarbones getting prominent with every breath she inhaled, and her chest falling down as she exhaled. She was wearing a pale pink suit, with a white salwar and white dupatta. Keeping it simple.
Arnav's eyes now wandered around the airport to see if there were any people clicking pictures of them. He knew that there was a lesser chance of him being snapped at the airport, and that too an international airport, however he always preferred to be aware of his surroundings and react accordingly.
Khushi cleared her throat, and Arnav's eyes snapped back to her again to see her reaching for the bottle of water they had bought after the Security check, and taking a sip from it. Arnav averted his gaze as she opened her mouth, tilted her head back and tipped the water into her mouth.
Arnav finally cleared his throat as she leaned forward to place the bottle back in her bag, and she looked up at him questioningly, extending the bottle towards him, thinking he wanted a sip too.
"Tum theek ho?" Arnav asked, and Khushi looked down for a few moments, before meeting his gaze again and sitting up right.
"Ji" She answered, and then smiled up, "Thank you" She said, and Arnav nodded, understanding what she was trying to say.
He opened his mouth to tell her that it wasn't a big deal, that he wanted to do this, but he felt the words catch in his throat, as he felt awkward letting his emotions known. He closed his mouth, and stared back ahead. Thinking Khushi may have been offended, he chanced another glance at her; she had gone back to staring straight ahead, but he noticed that her shoulders were no longer tense.
--------
"Yes, Nanheji" Khushi said into the phone as they boarded the flight.
Arnav walked in front, with his carry-on in his hand, as Khushi walked behind him, wheeling hers with her, as she spoke to NK.
He had called while they had been lining to board, and Arnav had rolled his eyes as he had answered the phone.
NK, after a brief conversation with Arnav, had requested to speak with Khushi, and Arnav had begrudgingly passed the phone to her. He had not failed to notice the smile that had stretched across her face as she spoke to him, and Arnav had bit the inside of his cheek as they walked down the carpeted ramp, to board their flight.
"Thank you, Nanheji. I really enjoyed my time in Melbourne. I wish we could have had a chance to see you once more before we left, but since we had to leave urgently, we were unable to do so" Khushi explained, as Arnav grabbed her carry-on from her, and put it in the compartment above. He motioned for her to go in and take the window-seat. Looking at his own ticket, he saw that he was not sitting in the same row as Khushi, rather he was in the one behind, in the window-seat.
"Khushi" Arnav said, and Khushi asked NK to hold as she looked up at him, "We haven't got our seats together. I am in the one right behind you"
Uncertainty flashed in Khushi's eyes as she looked up at him, but she nodded in understanding anyway.
"I'll try to see if I can swap with the person next to you," He said, and she nodded, a small smile flittering past her face, as she settled back in her seat, continuing her conversation
Arnav squeezed into the seat right behind Khushi, as he waited for the passenger next to Khushi to arrive, so he could swap with them.
"Absolutely Nanheji" Khushi said, giving out a small chuckle, "Yes, you will have to come to India to have more jalebis!" She said, and Arnav rolled his eyes as he looked down at his blackberry.
Due to the poor service, he was hardly getting his emails, and that made him on edge. He needed to know exactly what was happening with the company, and to know exactly what Aman was up to. He had to go back and have a conversation with him.
Just as Khushi wrapped up the conversation with NK, a middle-aged lady got into the seat besides him, passing him a soft smile as she did. Arnav let his lips twitch slightly at corners, in what he hoped was a smile, before looking at his window.
He could see her reflection in the window next to hers, and Arnav uncomfortably adjusted in the seat, not used to the economy seats anymore. The narrowness of it along with the lack of leg-space, made it all the more uncomfortable, and he tried adjusting in it some more.
Looking at each passenger that passed by, Arnav saw that someone had already taken the aisle seat in Khushi's row, but the passenger that was supposed to sit next to Khushi had still not arrived.
Most passengers had already come, and the flight attendants were starting to close the compartments above their seats, as they prepared to takeoff. Arnav hoped that whoever was sitting next to Khushi had decided to cancel their ticket, or missed their flight, so he could easily go and sit next to her.
Just as he thought that, a man, with a backpack on, and shaggy brown hair walked down the aisle, his eyes looking up to note each passing row number, till he came to the one where Khushi was sitting. His eyes settled on Khushi, and a smirk settled on his face, before he threw his backpack on the compartment above.
"Excuse me, mate" The man told the passenger sitting in the aisle seat, before he started to slide down, his eyes focused on Khushi, throughout.
Arnav's eyes narrowed, as he looked at the man. He was young, possibly in his early twenties, and had a lazy smile to his face; something similar to what NK at times wore when he was teasing Arnav.
He wore a casual t-shirt with shorts, and his muscles flexed as he took the support of the chairs, while he slid down the row, to his seat. Uncomfortable with the smirk on the man's face as he sat down, Arnav made a move to get up, and ask him to move, but the man was already speaking by then.
"Hey there" The man said as he sat down his smirk now stretching out to a full smile.
"Hi" She replied, smiling back, and then looked over her shoulder at Arnav.
Arnav nodded at the question that reflected in her eyes, and then bent his head down to ask the man,
"Hey mate. Would you mind swapping with me?"
The man looked at Arnav, and cocked an eyebrow, "And why would I do that?"
Not used to being questioned, and already disliking the man, Arnav leant forward, and said with more authority than needed, "So I can sit with my wife"
He saw Khushi's eyes snap to him as she detected the edginess in his voice, but she composed herself in time so when the man looked at her, she nodded in confirmation.
Chuckling, the man shook his head, and looked back at Arnav, clearly enjoying the situation more than he should be.
"Nah mate, not a fan of the window seat. I am sorry, I wish I could have done something" and then turned to face the front, ignoring Arnav altogether.
Khushi's eyes widened, and they darted to Arnav to see how he would react.
Arnav's lips had thinned, as he glared at the boy in front. He opened his mouth to retort, when Khushi's hands wrapped around his clenched fist, that was resting on top of the headrest of her seat.
"It's okay," She said hurriedly, "You're sitting directly behind me anyway"
Arnav scowled, his irritation starting to spike up. Ignoring Khushi, he shrugged off her hold on his hand, and spoke up again.
"Look," Arnav started, his eyes narrowing as the man did not turn around to look at Arnav as he spoke, "I am asking you-"
"And I have told you" The man cut him off, no longer smiling as he turned to look at Arnav, "I am not going to move. I paid for this seat, and I am going to sit here"
"She doesn't want to sit next to you" Arnav snapped, and Khushi groaned as she sat back in her seat.
"Do I look like I care?" He retorted.
"Oh, for heavens sake!" The lady next to Arnav exclaimed, "dear, why don't you come and sit here?" She asked Khushi as she started to get up, and Arnav and Khush both looked at her.
"Oh, it's fine-" Khushi started to speak, but Arnav cut her off,
"Thank you, we appreciate it"
Khushi passed him a look, which he ignored, and helped the lady grab her belongings.
The lady waved his thanks off, and slid out of the row. Khushi tried coming out as well, but the man refused to give her any space, and so she had to awkwardly step over him.
"Would you mind?" Arnav snapped.
"Is there a problem here?" The airhostess asked as she came to see what the commotion was about. A few passengers passed them curious looks, but Arnav remained unaffected.
"It's fine!" Khushi said, turning red in the face as she slid out, and gave space for the old lady to slip past her.
"Boy, you better move it, or you are going to get hurt" The lady grumbled as the man had still not moved, and the lady was waiting to slide past him.
The man scowled, and got up, exhaling heavily as he did so, glaring at Arnav over his shoulder.
Arnav passed him a smirk, as he put a hand to Khushi's back, and let her sit in his seat, before sitting in the middle seat, next to her.
"It wouldn't have hurt for you to have moved, would it?" The old lady reprimanded the boy next to her, but he ignored her.
Arnav turned to look at Khushi to see if she had settled in, but she looked out the window, her arms crossed across her chest, her nose red, and a scowl resting on her face.
Health and Fitness
Current Affairs
Anupamaa
Vasudha
66