Raghvi Drabble Series: Journey-[Final drabble updated 15/06 on page 9] - Page 7

Dance

Pallavi’s Kathak performance had been a success. She asked Aayi, Baba to go home and chose to go to the shop for some alone time. She sat in the dimly lit shop, smiling while thinking about the evening. Being on stage after so long had felt amazing. For a while, she had forgotten about everything; Deshmukh Saree Emporium, Mandhaar, and responsibilities. On that stage the only thing on her mind was Kathak. And after the performance, when she looked at her family, her happiness was multiplied. She chuckled as the memory of Baba, Siddhesh Dada and Nikhil standing up and clapping loudly enough to attract everyone’s attention came to her mind. Aayi was crying. Manasi and Milind Kaka were all smiles. In fact even Amrutha and Sulochana Kaku had admitted that her dance was decent. That alone was one of the highlights of the evening.

Keerthi and Jaya aunty hugged and praised her. And then there was Raghav. He had said nothing to her in the auditorium and chose to stand silently beside his mother and sister. She would have thought he hadn’t liked the performance if it hadn’t been for his eyes. She could see pride and admiration in them as they followed her throughout the evening. Pallavi’s chain of thoughts was broken by the sound of someone clearing their throat behind her.
“Am I disturbing you?”

Pallavi turned around to see Raghav. She smiled.

“A little. But now that you have come, feel free to stay.”

“I’m sorry, I just wanted to speak to you. I went to the Deshmukh house but Nikhil told me you weren’t at home. I assumed you were here so I came. I can leave if you want.”

“No no. Stay. I’ll admit I wanted some alone time which is why I came here but weirdly enough I don’t mind your company. Have a seat.” Pallavi said as she patted the space beside her.

“Thank you.”

He stayed silent allowing her to initiate conversation if she wanted to.

“So what did you want to say to me?”

“Your performance was one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen.”

“Thank you. But is that all?”

“There is something else related to me. But today is your evening.”

“Don’t worry, I’m not very possessive about it.”

“Amma and Keerthi are moving into the Rao Mansion.”

Pallavi stood up in surprise.

“What? When? This is great news! Why did you wait for so long to tell me?”

“Amma told me after we had left the auditorium.”

“What else did she say?”

“She said she had been considering moving to my place for a while now and you telling her about my support convinced her to take the decision.”

“I’m glad things worked out well.”

“Thanks to you Pallavi.”

“I only stated the truth. What did Keerthi say?”

“She just gave me a hug. But I know my sister, she was glad that Amma decided to move in. This would really help Amma’s health. She’s a bit more wary about me than Amma but eventually she’ll come around too. I’m not going to force her into it.”

“This is still huge! We must celebrate.”

“And what do you propose we do?”

“One second.”

Pallavi walked to the back of the shop and pulled two glasses from a rack which she filled with water. She walked towards Raghav and handed him a glass.

“We’ll begin with a toast.” she said as she raised her glass, “To the Raos.”

“And to Kathak.” Raghav said with a smile. “ I must say this is quite a unique toast.”

“In my defence, I don’t drink alcohol and this is the only thing at hand. So please be grateful.”

Raghav raised his hands, “ I apologize. Now, what do we do?”

“Dance.”, Pallavi grinned.

“Dance?! Didn’t you just finish a stage performance?”

“It’s been a while since then. Besides, you underestimate my stamina. I can dance all day. I’m obviously not going to make you do Bharatnatyam in a suit, but we can dance to songs on my music player. I’m warning you though, I’m hard to keep up with.”

“Don’t worry, I’m an excellent dance partner.”

And with that, there was no room left to argue. Pallavi started the player, and they both began to dance with Deshmukh Saree Emporium as witness. They moved fluidly throughout the shop, spinning and laughing. They danced as if they had been dancing together forever. The music changed to a slow song. Without giving it a thought they both moved closer to each other, locking eyes. Until all of a sudden Pallavi realised the position they were in. She abruptly pulled back and paused the song.

“I think I should go home now. It’s late,” she said without meeting his eyes as she rushed out.

“Pallavi wait.”

Those words were enough to stop her. Raghav walked towards her.

“We need to talk about what just happened.”

She turned to face him, “I.. I don’t think I have anything to say.”

“Pallavi, I don’t want to force you to do anything. But I need closure, so can we please talk or at least let me speak. Please.”

Pallavi looked up to meet his eyes and nodded.

Raghav let out a breath.

“Pallavi, for the longest time in my life I was pretty lonely. I had Farhad, and some of my loyal staff, but that was all. I wanted my Amma and Keerthi back into my life but they were too far for me to reach. My mansion didn’t feel like home. And then you walked in. You said I came like a storm into your life, but you didn’t realize that you had just as much of an impact in my life. The only difference was that while I caused some damage along the way, you never did. First I found a competitor, someone whose belief in the power of truth was greater than their fear of me. Then I made a friend, who was bold enough to barge into my house on my birthday and force me to make a cake. Someone who managed to help me improve my relationship with my family and made a whatsapp group with my brothers. Someone whose Sunday visits were often all I looked forward to throughout the week.”

At this point, they both had tears in their eyes. Raghav cleared his throat and continued.

“And gradually, I fell for you. I don’t know when, where or how but I know why. Pallavi you are kind, selfless and strong. I had my apprehensions about love but even that couldn’t stop me from falling for you. I love you Pallavi Deshmukh. I don’t want to force you into a relationship. I just want to know what you think. ”

“ This isn’t possible,” she whispered, pain written on her face.

“What do you mean?”

“There’s so much that could go wrong between us.”

“Like?”

“I’m a widow, I’ve been in love before.”

“So have I, but that doesn’t make me love you any less.”

“Baba doesn’t like you.”

“I’ll convince him with your help and some of your Aayi’s help.”

“What will people say?”

“People never stop talking. Besides, since when do you care about society?”

“Your relationship with your family still hasn’t improved.”

“If at all our relationship has an effect on that it would only be positive.”

Pallavi said nothing.

“Pallavi, if you don’t love me, all you have to do is say it and I’ll walk away in silence. But if there’s any external factor stopping you, I request you to give us a chance. Even if we fall apart, I know we’ll make memories that’ll last a lifetime and I doubt any outcome could taint that.”

“It’s just that I’m scared. The last time I was in love I lost so much and I doubt I could recover from another heartbreak, ” Pallavi broke down.

Raghav placed a hesitant hand on her shoulder.

“I understand, I’ve had my heart broken too. Take your time to figure it out,” and with that Raghav began moving out.

“No, wait.”

This time, it was Raghav’s turn to stop. He turned back.

“I want to figure it out with you,” Pallavi said looking into his eyes.

Raghav stared at her dumbstruck. After a pause, Pallavi chose to sit. Raghav sat down beside her. They both allowed the events of the evening to sink in.

“So what now?,” Pallavi broke the silence.

“We go out for a cup of coffee tomorrow.”

“Like a proper date?”

“Yes, that’s the plan. When are you free?”

“I’m done with work at 6 in the evening.”

“Well then I’ll pick you up from here at 6. I also believe you owe me an incomplete dance.”

Pallavi chuckled as Raghav went to the music player and hit play. He then walked towards her. She placed her hand on his shoulder and he gently pulled her by the waist as they clasped each other's hands. In that moment nothing else mattered. Pallavi closed her eyes as they swayed to the music. They were going to be fine.

A/N:This is the final drabble. It’s also the longest one. Thank you so much for reading, reacting and commenting on my posts. Your support meant a lot to me and some of you motivated me to keep writing even when I was tempted to give up. If any of you want to pick up from where this left off and write their journey as a couple feel free to do so. Special mention to ReemShah, Avneel07, Me000w and SONIA441 for commenting on most of my drabbles. I don't know your real names and couldn't tag so sorry about that. Once again, thank you so much to all of you.

Lots of love,

hapc