29.
They looked at each other, deeply, for a couple seconds before Pallavi fully woke up from her dream.
“Oh shit, saat bhaj gaya. I have to get ready, I have to finish breakfast, Amma wanted me to help her get some things ready for a puja she’s doing at the temple, and then I have to get to the shop—“ Pallavi said all this really quickly, and before she could finish or fully get up, Raghav put his finger over her lips and said “shhh, calm down. itna stress subha subha body ke liye accha nahi hai.” His finger lingered on her lips, until she looked down, and backed out of bed, almost tripping over the sheets. Raghav laughed, and Pallavi, glaring, “ah yes, your wife almost falls down and you laugh.” And she grabbed her pillow and threw it at him. It took him by surprise, and he almost fell over backwards.
“Yeh kya tam, tum apnea hi pathi ko mar rahi ho?”
Pallavi grinned, “Jaa ke apne police force se FIR likhwaalo,” and before Raghav could pull her back into bed, she dashed into the washroom to shower.
Raghav tried to go back to sleep, but as soon as he fell into Pallavi’s pillow, Saanki Baba’s voice echoed in his head, “Woh Pallavi ke liye teek nahin hain. He’s not trustworthy, he will destroy her.” Was Amma right, did he destroy everything that came near him. He caused his father’s and his brother’s death. Because of him, Amma and Keerthi spent most of their lives angry, scared, and alone. And Pallavi, just because he married her didn’t mean he deserved her.He stared at the washroom door, willing it to be the door to Pallavi’s mind. What was she thinking, did she feel anything for me? Or was her trust and faith once lost, unretrievable? He got up, and decided on a workout before a shower. He had to win Pallavi’s trust, somehow. She thought he ruined her family, so maybe he could fix it. His workout was rough, every time he hit the tire, he imagined it as someone else who he needed to hit, but couldn’t anymore, he promised to Amma that he would stop acting like a Don. He also realized, if he didn’t stop living in his anger all the time, then maybe Pallavi wouldn’t be able to stand it anymore. His thought went back to that day when he caught her dancing in the studio, the fear, the worry in her eyes when she saw him. He hit the tire again, and again, over and over again until his shoulders ached.
“Anna, stop, what are you doing?” Farhad jumped in and tried to pull the hammer from him.
“Farhad, how many times have I told you to not bother me when I’m exercising. Mereko mere concentration nahin khona.”
Right then he heard humming from the dining room. Keerthi were humming along to a song, a Telugu melody he remembered from when he was a child, but the voice wasn’t Amma’s, it sounded like, Pallavi’s.
“Tum toh bahut acchi gaathi ho, Pallavi,” Amma said walking in the room, “but where did you learn this song?”
“I heard from a mother one the street one day, and since then I couldn’t get it out of my head, you know half the time I’m trying to learn Telugu, it’s because I want to be able to sing this song perfectly.”
Raghav dropped the hammer, barely missing his foot, whatever happened, he had to try to win Pallavi’s trust, and the only way to that was through her family.
“Amma, I’m leaving for the showroom, today’s our new season’s photoshoot, I’m very excited. I kept all the puja items you needed in the mandir room.” She started to walk out the door, and before she left she turned to look for Raghav. She saw him standing in front of that tire, his eyes catching hers. She smiled and waved goodbye, he smiled back, his hand automatically raising. When she left, Farhad started snickering.
“Shut up, Farhad,” Raghav left to shower, grinning on the way up the stairs thinking about Pallavi’s goodbye wave and her smile.
Farhad prayed, “Allah, I pray to you with every fiber of my being that Pallavi and Raghav finally understand each other. You’ve already given us many miracles in their relationship, but just one more…”
Continued...
30.
Raghav finished his early morning meetings at home over the phone, and was about to talk to Amma and Keerthi to convince them to go with him to talk to Asha aunty about Mansi and Rahul, when he noticed a lunchbox on the dining table. That was Pallavi’s tiffin box. Why didn’t she take it? Was this a test to see how good of a husband he could be? Is she seeing if he calls her to tell her, or does she expect him to bring it to the showroom? Get a grip on yourself, Raghav, you’re acting insane. He decided to text Pallavi, something funny instead of serious, thinking about how she threw that pillow at him this morning.
He started typing…“Saree ke Dukaan”
No, he needed to try to be a new Raghav, she doesn’t trust the old Raghav.
He deleted and started over, “Pallavi”
Or… “Pallu” his thoughts jumped to Rahul yelling “Pallu Baby” and spinning Pallavi around in his arms.
No.
A voice message was the best.
“Pallavi, tumne apni tiffin ghar mein bhool gayi, tho kya, main khaa saktha hun.”
He immediately saw the three dots on the bottom of the messaging app. He did a little fist pump in the air, and then made sure Reddy or Farhad weren’t there to see that.
Pallavi responded with a voice message: “Ha ha. Very funny, *Baby, Shona, Jaanu Ghamandee Rao*, are yaar, yeh nickname Rhoda lamb ho gaya. Anyway, tere liye main ne tiffin pack kar di, fridge ke undar. Woh kaa lo, mere tiffin fridge mein rakh do, aah mein bahut busy hun, mein ghar make kha loongi.”
Raghav laughed at the message, and then listened to it maybe four more times as he went to the fridge to take out his tiffin, and thought how many other husbands received nicknames from their wives that was longer than their own name. Then as he looked at his tiffin and Pallavi’s on the dining table. He decided to be spontaneous. Asha aunty could wait until later. He got in his car and booked it to the mall, he would surprise Pallavi with lunch.
Continued... (again the next one might take longer, but also don't worry, I don't think I plan on ending this FF anytime soon lol)
Awwwww, she made him lunch and finally waved him goodbye
Awesome chapter again!!!
Also though I don't mind, but you can take a break come back sooon and never end it 😆
Told ya 🤣
It was fun though.
I hardly comment on my own post, here I kept shooting my opinions. 🤣
What a treat to get almost 30 episodes of your story in one go........
Very very nice story and can't wait for next update.......
31.
He knew technically he wasn’t doing that much, she did cook it after all, but he was restless to see her. Even though she had only been away for a few hours. He made his way through the mall, carrying the two tiffins, almost skipping like a little boy. As he approached the showroom, he stopped just 30 feet short of the door. Through the big windows he could see three or four women, tall, beautiful, and decked up in saris, Pallavi, and, much to his chagrin, Rahul. Then Pallavi’s words this morning to Amma came back in his head, “Today’s our new season’s photoshoot, I’m very excited!” The glass door was wide open, as customers came in and out, admiring the models and then being helped by Krishna.
Stupid Mansi, I know I broke up her wedding, but she couldn’t have done this job for her so called “sister??” Raghav contemplated going in, but he didn’t want to make a scene. Pallavi had said she was very busy today, what if she really didn’t have time to eat lunch? But what if that Saanki Baba actually convinced “Rahulu” to come here to show Pallavi what a trustworthy man looked like? He watched Rahul take photo after photo, Pallavi directing the models to change their positions, changing the lights. Why didn’t Pallavi ask him for help. He’s The Raghav Rao, sure he’s not a photographer, but he could have hired the best photographer in Hyderabad, why this goon? He kept a close eye on Rahul, and then he saw Rahul talk to Pallavi, she was laughing, why was she laughing. He moved closer to the door, straining his ears.
“Pallu, you’re the owner, the manager, you design more than 80% of these saris, not Baba, you have to appear in at least some of the photos. What do you lot think, PalluBaby here can model right? She’s beautiful.”
Raghav clenched his fists, the tiffins forgotten on the ground next to him.
“Rahul, first, do not call me that at work, are you crazy, people don’t realize what you’re talking about. And second, no way am I doing this.”
“Then I guess I have take my camera home Pall..avi” Rahul teased.
“Fine, just a few.”
Rahul pushed Pallavi towards the models, making Raghav just a little bit angrier. But soon he got lost in Pallavi’s smile, the way her eyes shone even from this far away. How her hair looked like rippling silk. Raghav snapped out of his trance when he saw Rahul walk in front of the camera to fix Pallavi’s pallu and then tuck in her hair behind her ear on one side. His fingers lingering a little too long for Raghav’s taste. That’s enough, Raghav thought, I’m going in. He took a deep breath, picked up the tiffins, and walked into the showroom.
Pallavi looked at Raghav and she almost tripped with shock, one of the models helping her stand back up.
“Raghav, tum? Yahaan?” Pallavi asked
“Haan, main. Yahaan. Why is there a problem?” Raghav responded, his gaze turning to Rahul, who was shorter than he was, so clearly that was a win.
“I brought lunch, well your tiffin, and I brought mine, because well I didn’t have any more meetings today—“ Raghav started to stammer, what the hell was wrong with him, never in his life had he been this awkward talking to a woman, never. What was going on?
Pallavi smiled as Raghav looked pointlessly at the two tiffin boxes in his hands, and then back at Pallavi. His tension relaxed a little when he saw her smile.
“Pallu, food, obviously very important, but today’s busy isn’t it?” Rahul jumped in.
Raghav was about to start in on him, but before he could Pallavi stepped away from the camera, moving towards Raghav, and said, “actually, I think the models deserve a lunch break, and so do you Rahul, I just really want to eat what I made for lunch this morning which is—um—um” In staring at Raghav she had completely forgotten what she had made to eat. Raghav grinned at her stammering, and Pallavi just told Rahul and Krishna, “I’ll be back in a bit.” And she walked out the door, waiting for Raghav to follow.
“We could have eaten in the backroom, but it’s so stuffy there, no windows,” Pallavi said, trying to fill the silence.
“I know where we can eat, it’s got a great view.” Raghav said, smiling, and he took her hand to guide her to an old building a few streets down from the mall.
“Why here?”
“Trust me.”
He knocked three times on the door, and an old woman answered after a few minutes, “How many hours this time Raghu?” she asked.
“Just a couple, Rupali Aunty.”
Pallavi looked quizzically at Raghav, who just smiled, and took the keys from the lady and pulled her inside, led her up what felt like 8 flights of stairs, and then at the top, he used the key to open this door. It was the roof access, but this wasn’t any roof. As soon as the door opened, Pallavi felt shaken by the intoxicating smell of lavender, jasmine, roses, lilies of the valley, gardenias, and so much more. She followed Raghav as he walked through the door, and she was suddenly in the middle of the most beautiful garden she had ever seen. Raghav had been here many times, only alone, he liked staring up at the sky, and the cityscape, taking in every last bit of the flowers he could. But today, all he was noticing was Pallavi, the way her face lit up as she saw the flowers and the view, he wanted to see her this awestruck and happy everyday.
continued... (took some liberties with hyderabadi geography, because...well i've never been to hyderabad.)
Originally posted by: varshaoforange
31.
He knew technically he wasn’t doing that much, she did cook it after all, but he was restless to see her. Even though she had only been away for a few hours. He made his way through the mall, carrying the two tiffins, almost skipping like a little boy. As he approached the showroom, he stopped just 30 feet short of the door. Through the big windows he could see three or four women, tall, beautiful, and decked up in saris, Pallavi, and, much to his chagrin, Rahul. Then Pallavi’s words this morning to Amma came back in his head, “Today’s our new season’s photoshoot, I’m very excited!” The glass door was wide open, as customers came in and out, admiring the models and then being helped by Krishna.
Stupid Mansi, I know I broke up her wedding, but she couldn’t have done this job for her so called “sister??” Raghav contemplated going in, but he didn’t want to make a scene. Pallavi had said she was very busy today, what if she really didn’t have time to eat lunch? But what if that Saanki Baba actually convinced “Rahulu” to come here to show Pallavi what a trustworthy man looked like? He watched Rahul take photo after photo, Pallavi directing the models to change their positions, changing the lights. Why didn’t Pallavi ask him for help. He’s The Raghav Rao, sure he’s not a photographer, but he could have hired the best photographer in Hyderabad, why this goon? He kept a close eye on Rahul, and then he saw Rahul talk to Pallavi, she was laughing, why was she laughing. He moved closer to the door, straining his ears.
“Pallu, you’re the owner, the manager, you design more than 80% of these saris, not Baba, you have to appear in at least some of the photos. What do you lot think, PalluBaby here can model right? She’s beautiful.”
Raghav clenched his fists, the tiffins forgotten on the ground next to him.
“Rahul, first, do not call me that at work, are you crazy, people don’t realize what you’re talking about. And second, no way am I doing this.”
“Then I guess I have take my camera home Pall..avi” Rahul teased.
“Fine, just a few.”
Rahul pushed Pallavi towards the models, making Raghav just a little bit angrier. But soon he got lost in Pallavi’s smile, the way her eyes shone even from this far away. How her hair looked like rippling silk. Raghav snapped out of his trance when he saw Rahul walk in front of the camera to fix Pallavi’s pallu and then tuck in her hair behind her ear on one side. His fingers lingering a little too long for Raghav’s taste. That’s enough, Raghav thought, I’m going in. He took a deep breath, picked up the tiffins, and walked into the showroom.
Pallavi looked at Raghav and she almost tripped with shock, one of the models helping her stand back up.
“Raghav, tum? Yahaan?” Pallavi asked
“Haan, main. Yahaan. Why is there a problem?” Raghav responded, his gaze turning to Rahul, who was shorter than he was, so clearly that was a win.
“I brought lunch, well your tiffin, and I brought mine, because well I didn’t have any more meetings today—“ Raghav started to stammer, what the hell was wrong with him, never in his life had he been this awkward talking to a woman, never. What was going on?
Pallavi smiled as Raghav looked pointlessly at the two tiffin boxes in his hands, and then back at Pallavi. His tension relaxed a little when he saw her smile.
“Pallu, food, obviously very important, but today’s busy isn’t it?” Rahul jumped in.
Raghav was about to start in on him, but before he could Pallavi stepped away from the camera, moving towards Raghav, and said, “actually, I think the models deserve a lunch break, and so do you Rahul, I just really want to eat what I made for lunch this morning which is—um—um” In staring at Raghav she had completely forgotten what she had made to eat. Raghav grinned at her stammering, and Pallavi just told Rahul and Krishna, “I’ll be back in a bit.” And she walked out the door, waiting for Raghav to follow.
“We could have eaten in the backroom, but it’s so stuffy there, no windows,” Pallavi said, trying to fill the silence.
“I know where we can eat, it’s got a great view.” Raghav said, smiling, and he took her hand to guide her to an old building a few streets down from the mall.
“Why here?”
“Trust me.”
He knocked three times on the door, and an old woman answered after a few minutes, “How many hours this time Raghu?” she asked.
“Just a couple, Rupali Aunty.”
Pallavi looked quizzically at Raghav, who just smiled, and took the keys from the lady and pulled her inside, led her up what felt like 8 flights of stairs, and then at the top, he used the key to open this door. It was the roof access, but this wasn’t any roof. As soon as the door opened, Pallavi felt shaken by the intoxicating smell of lavender, jasmine, roses, lilies of the valley, gardenias, and so much more. She followed Raghav as he walked through the door, and she was suddenly in the middle of the most beautiful garden she had ever seen. Raghav had been here many times, only alone, he liked staring up at the sky, and the cityscape, taking in every last bit of the flowers he could. But today, all he was noticing was Pallavi, the way her face lit up as she saw the flowers and the view, he wanted to see her this awestruck and happy everyday.
continued... (took some liberties with hyderabadi geography, because...well i've never been to hyderabad.)
Beautiful chapter 🤗
Amazing 🤩
🔜
32.
They sat on a bench at the center of the garden, looking out at the city. Pallavi opened her tiffin, “I’m starving.” Raghav just kept staring at her.
Pallavi took a spoon of her dahl chawal, admiring the flowers around her, then she looked at Raghav, “Are you going to eat?”
“Yea, right, right,” he absentmindedly opened his lunchbox, and started eating.
They ate in silence for a little bit, and after Pallavi finished, she closed her box and got up, walking around the garden, smelling each flower, her smile getting wider and wider.
“I want to design sarees that make me feel like this, this happy, this free.”
“I come here a lot when I need to feel inspired too,” Raghav added.
He opened the bottom box of the tiffin, dahi rice. His favorite.
“You made this?”
Pallavi looked at him, “yes, I noticed it’s one of the main things you’ll finish as soon as Amma makes it. I assumed it was your favorite. It won’t be as good as Amma’s but…”
“No one can make food as good as my Amma…” Raghav interrupted, taking a bite of the rice as he looked at her, “but tumhare hate kha khanaa kuch aur mazaa dehta hai.”
Pallavi grinned, “Accha ji, so is that the mazaaa you want, so much that you used to steal the food I made out of the fridge for weeks? I will let you know, Main ek independent ladki hun, much khana ke sivay bahuth kuch aathi hai,” she got up and made a superman pose to emphasize her point,
Raghav put down the tiffin, and pulled her wrist so she was sitting on his lap, “aur kuch? kis cheez tummy aati hai?” he asked, tracing his finger up her arm.
Pallavi played along, “sari ke design, scooty chalana, kathak, gaana, business—“
“Business, really? I had no idea.” Raghav teased.
“Ek aur challenge lagana hai, soch ke bolo.”
“Nahin nahin baba, mujhe ek challenge hi kafi hai.” he said, tugging his ears.
They laughed and talked for a while after that, their tiffins laid forgotten. Walking around the garden, at times their fingers touching, letting out waves of butterflies in each of their stomachs.
“Pallavi, I—mujhe tumhe kuch batana hai”
“Ok, kya, bolo, ijazat hai aapko,” Pallavi grinned, playing with a flower in her hand.
Raghav started to pace, Pallavi glanced at him, most of her attention on the flowers.
“I—main, Baat yeh hai ki sabse hum dono. Let me start over.”
Pallavi turned away from the view looked at Raghav again, what was wrong? What was he trying to say? Please don’t let him ruin such a nice day. Then she looked at her watch, “Oh shit, it’s already 1:30, Raghav we’ve been here for two hours, I have to go.”
She packed up the tiffins, and made her way to the door, “Raghav, are you coming? Come on, I have a photoshoot to finish, and I’m sure you have work too.”
Raghav remembered his promise to himself to meet Asha Aunty. He’ll tell Pallavi that he—he’ll tell her after he fixes Mansi’s wedding. Might as have the best possible cards to play before taking such a risk.
Continued...
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