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EPISODE FIFTY-FOUR
She stood there, infront of him, with her head lowered.
When Armaan didn't say anything for a few minutes, she looked up. The look in his eyes confused her. "Armaan..." she called his name. He didn't respond. "Armaan..." she called again. Still no response. Her eyes narrowed at his incessant gaze on her. He was looking at her, but wasn't reacting to her voice. Silly... she thought. He is lost... Sighing she turned around to leave.
Armaan felt the distance increase between him and her all of a sudden. With an immeasurably high speed he reacted and held her hand before she was out of his reach.
Riddhima stopped feeling his strong grip over her hand. She turned back and glanced at her wrist which was arrested by his large palm. Then shifting her gaze up, she looked at his still lost face. What is wrong with him? He wasn't pulling her hand of doing anything, but just standing there holding her hand. She tried to free herself from his grip, but it seems to have glued under his palm. He was stronger of course... way too stronger.
He was staring at her stupidly... lost somewhere. A few more attempts, but all went futile; after all, he was Armaan... Finally, she decided to give him a shake, maybe this time a strong one. Turning and facing him completely, she stepped closer to him and then with a glint of mischief in her eyes, she stomped... she stomped hard with her full strength... on HIS foot.
Armaan, who was busy gawking at her stupidly lost in his own world, unexpectedly felt something crash... crash on his foot. His brows wrinkled a little, still he smiled further. But then within fractions of second, he felt the load on his foot increase... as if something crash-landed on his... on his... foot... Then the veins in fingers of his foot were tightening as something starting to seep into his blood. What was that? Whats wrong with his foot? He realized it was pain...
"Aauuuuuuu..." he yelled all of sudden. Intantly leaving her hand, he held his own foot and started jumping up and down. "Ouch..." he groaned. When he heard someone chuckling, he looked up. He was shocked at the sight in front of him.
He saw the same person standing in front of him who he was talking to a few minutes ago. Yes, it was ATUL. He was chuckling at him. Armaan looked around and lugged himself up to see, who is behind Atul, but found none. He tilted his head and tried to search further through his huge cabin, but no use...
Where is she? She was here a moment ago, and now she is nowhere in sight, where the hell did she disappear all of a sudden?
Irritably, he stood up straight, but the pain made him bend again. He stomped to the nearby chair and sat on it. Frowning, he removed his shoes and messaged his foot over his socks. Once again he looked around to trace her.
Atul had seen him looking around earlier as well, but this time he noticed clearly. He had seen the look on Armaan's face... the shocked one... Then it changed into desperation... desperation to find something... then it was confusion, finally settling to annoyance. Why is he looking around? And what's with the animation of half a dozen expressions on his face?
"Bhai?" Armaan glared at him, "You almost cut off blood supplies to my foot..."
"Achcha? And what about this?" Atul asked showing his wrist to Armaan. His wrist was red, with some finger marks imprinted on it.
Armaan looked at him confused, "What happen to your wrist?"
"You don't know?" Atul looked at him unbelievingly, and then shook his head, "You almost paralyzed my hand a few moments back... I called you many times, but you wouldn't listen. And when I tried to self-defend myself, you blame me for cutting off blood supplies to YOUR foot? Wonderful... Do you even realize I only have ONE left hand?" he said sarcastically, rubbing his left wrist which Armaan had held a minute ago.
"WHAT? It was YOU?" Armaan asked shocked again.
"No, it was actually Kareena Kapoor. And these strawberry-shaped-red-colored-designer-creative-work-of-art on my wrist are made by her latest pick Saif Ali Khan, who awarded ME with this..." he pointed towards Armaan's finger-prints on his wrist, "...coz YOU were holding his girlfriend's hand... And since I am you brother, I have to bear the results on your behalf..." Atul sighed dramatically.
"Kya?" Armaan made a stupidly confused face at his production.
"Armaan, you idiot... of course it was me..." Atul barked.
"Oh..." Armaan replied looking down, embarrassed and more than that still confused. Then it striked him, that it sounded like somebody was calling him by his name, whereas Riddhima has never called him by his name.
"By the way, what or should I say 'who' were you searching for?"
"Searching?" he squinted his eyes.
"Yes searching. You were looking around just now as if trying to find someone..." Atul teased chewing his cheeks inwardly, "...or is it your new time pass... you know checking out your own cabin from time to time?"
"Huh?"
"Arey, I thought since there is no one here... not even a girl, so you might have developed this new way to kill the time. I mean you have always had all these weird ways to do so."
"Bhai, what are you talking about?"
"Oh, that means, no new weird inventions by you..." Atul pretended to ponder over it again, then added cheekily, "Hey, if its not so, then who were you searching for?"
Armaan gulped, "Err... N-no... I wasn't... searching..." he fumbled groping over the thought.
"Yes you were." Atul said as-a-matter-of-factly, "Were you expecting someone else?" then widening his eyes as something hit his mind he added quickly, "...Or were you 'imagining' someone else? Oh my god, you are going nutters... Tell me you aren't Armaan, coz if you are, then I have to get some important chores finished ASAP, else Marvels will be in great trouble..."
"N-no... no-no-no... humppph... what gave you that impression? I am not going nutters... or anything like that. I wasn't, ahem-ahem..." Armaan cleared his throat, "...I wasn't imagining anyone... I-I was just looking around... casually... I mean, my cabin is so beautiful... don't you think so?" he grinned stupidly, "...Phrr... you are so funny bhai..." he explained fumbling and trying to create a laugh.
Atul continued to stare at him with a blank face. No need to say that he wasn't convinced by his lame, unsteady excuses.
Armaan himself found his explanation stupidly weird. If he wasn't convinced himself, then how can he expect Atul to fall for his imprudent clarifications? Atul is smart enough to read his mind... well almost.
Armaan realized his mistake. He 'was probably' dreaming or imagining... What? He was dreaming about Riddhima... Her presence...
Armaan, what are you doing? He rebuked himself silently and looked away to hide his widened-with-shock eyes from Atul. Gasping on the self-awareness, he blinked his eyes a number of times to compose himself.
Now how to shove away Atul? He will kill him with questions? He needed to do something quickly. The best way to do that is divert his mind somewhere else. Yes he will do that, he decided. Getting up, he picked up his shoes he had removed and stomped towards his chair. Sitting down, he started putting it on. Atul's eyes were following him... and he knew that.
Wearing his shoes, he sat straight and then picked up the blue print of the factory once again. "Ahem-ahem... err... d-do you need something Bhai?" he asked pretending as if he is busy with his work, checking the blue print of the factory.
"Yeah..." Atul nodded and he mumbled, "I need to transform myself into a detective I guess..."
"What?"
"Nothing..."
"You came back for some work?" Armaan asked again.
"No. I left my phone here actually..." Atul said picking his mobile from his table, "But when I came in you were..."
***BRRR-BRRR***
"Excuse me..." The incoming call saved Armaan. He silently thanked the person calling him for saving him from Atul's severe interrogation and got himself busy with the call.
Atul stood there for a few moments and when saw Armaan too busy on the phone, he left. He can talk to him later when he is not occupied.
As soon as the door closed, Armaan sighed loud enough to be heard by anyone in the next room. "Bach gaya..." he muttered under his breath and placed his hand on his heart. Then straightening again, he gritted his teeth, "Ye sab us-us Riddhima ki wajah se ho raha hai... Ek to saat dino se madam ne apni shakal nahin dikhaayi, aur ab, she is driving me nuts... What will Atul think of me? It was so embarrassing... I am sure he is gonna grab my neck very soon with his extensive questionnaire... I need to keep myself as busy as possible till he forgets today's calamity... Oh god, please save me."
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Atul closed the door behind him with his eyes still narrowed in suspicion. Outside, he paused at the door holding the knob of the closed door for a moment. Though, he came out seeing Armaan busy with the phone call, but he knew his brother well enough. Atul knew that Armaan was deliberately stretching the length of the phone call, just to avoid him.
Armaan's phone keeps him busy many times, but he is not a guy who talks lengths over the phone. He is a monosyllabic person when talking to someone professional. But right now he was using full-complete sentences while speaking. Sentences big enough to accommodate each and every part of a proper language, making sure there are no grammatical or any sort of mistakes done... Hindi or English doesn't matter. Atul shook his head thinking about it, he needs to stay alert for more information. Now he was more than just doubtful about Armaan's behavior. He was damn sure that something absolutely new is happening in his genius brother's life.
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Same day in the evening Minnie called Riddhima. She wanted Riddhima to come over and stay with her till she gets married. Riddhima was like an elder sister to her and Minnie admired her suggestions and advises on things. Besides she really needed a sister's support at such crucial stage of her life.
"Hi Riddhima di..."
"Hi Minnie... how are you?"
"Don't ask. Why are you still at home? I thought you were coming over here tonight so that we can start early morning tomorrow onwards."
"Start early morning... woah, someone is sounding very excited..." she teased, "Do you think you will be able to wake up 'early' in the morning?"
"Di... I know I have never got up before 10:00am ever in my life, but tomorrow onwards I have to..." Minnie sighed. "After all I am getting married in three days and Mom says I should start getting up early in the morning. So I am starting to practice it from tomorrow. And I am sure you can help me with it... I know you are an early riser..."
"Bahut jaldi aadat badalne ki sujhi tumhe, just three days before your marriage..." Riddhima laughed, "I can help you tomorrow and may be for the following two days, but what will you do after that? I am sure the habbit will take a while to seep in."
"I know... its way too difficult for me. That is why I was thinking of you moving in with me till I get married... I mean its just three days left..."
"What? Are you mad? I mean how can I..."
"Why cant you... Di please, please do me this little favor. I know you have work and all, but it's the question of my life. Please..." Minnie pleaded.
"I don't have a problem with it Minnie, but I cant take this decision myself. I have to ask Mumma-Papa and bhaiya-bhabhi. Muskaan bhabhi is in her eighth month and Yash as you know is a mess. I cant promise anything Minnie. I am sorry..." she said apologetically.
"You don't have to worry about all that, I will talk to Uncle, Aunty, Rahul bhaiya, Muskaan Bhabhi... everyone." Minnie suggested.
"But Yash? Who will talk to him?"
"You will..."
"Huh?"
"Yes you will. I know he listens to you only, so there wont be any use of, me trying to convince him, so you will talk to him."
"And what if even I am not able to convince him?" Riddhima asked raising her brow.
"If he still is stubborn, then... then you can bring him along."
"Minnie, do you have any idea what have you just blabbered? I mean Yash at your house... and that too when a huge event is going to take place?" Riddhima replied unsure of the idea.
"I know it sounds problem, but I also know you can handle it well. And, I have another idea, I will help you with Yash." Minnie added.
"What? YOU will help me with Yash?" Riddhima's eyes widened.
"Yes... see, since I am getting married now, some day or the other I will also have my own kids, so this will give me a little insight of how-to-handle-kids..."
"Yes of course..." it was a sarcastic comment by Riddhima, "You are planning to learn everything in a span three days when you wont even have time to breath with your wedding rituals going on... Don't you think you are inviting troubles..."
"Di please... I am getting married and every girl needs a support, a sister at this time. You are my only support, my only sister... Please I beg you. Please-please-please..."
"Minnie stop it..." Riddhima tried to stop her, but when she didn't, she gave up, "Ok-ok-ok..." she heard Minnie stop, "But you will have to talk to my family..."
"That's not a big deal, I will do that. No fear when Minnie is here..." Minnie laughed.
So immediately after their conversation Minnie spoke to Kirti about this who agreed without any second thoughts, while Shubhankar promised to go with her to Riddhima's place to pick her up.
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That evening, when Riddhima came back home from work, Minnie was already at her home with Shubhankar. She has come to pick her up. She convinced everyone so that Riddhima can go with her. Proactively she even packed Riddhima's stuff at her own. It was only Yash who was left to be taken care of.
Riddhima tried to make Yash understand but he didn't buzz. So as per Minnie's earlier plan, they had to take him along. Yash was excited with the idea of this as he can skip his school, but Riddhima agreed to take him with her only if he obeys her and never sulk about skipping his school. Yash was a little disappointed, but agreed reluctantly.
So now the arrangement was ' Riddhima and Yash will go to Minnie's house. Yash will go to his school as usual from there. Shubhankar offered to drop him to school in morning for next two days. Since Yash goes by a school bus which can drop him at Rahul's house every afternoon after school, so that will remain the same, coz Riddhima will be at office at that time. Then while coming back from office she will pick Yash with her and go back to Minnie's place. Minnie took the responsibility to pick them both from Rahul's house and to help Yash with his homework. Riddhima has already informed in the office that she will be leaving office sooner than other days for next two days.
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When they reached at Minnie's place, Kirti welcomed Riddhima and Yash with full heart. She had arranged a separate room for them. Yash stickered to Riddhima all the time.
After dinner, Riddhima tucked Yash in her bed, while Minnie came to her room and dragged her to her own bedroom. She showed her all her new brought dresses and asked for her opinion. Riddhima had seen most of them as they had shopped together, but some were new. She liked Minnie's whole collection and praised it whole heartedly.
Minnie asked her what she should wear while attending the marital rituals in next two days. Riddhima gave her some suggestions which Minnie acceptably adorably admiring her choices.
Riddhima was confused about Jewelry as she never wears any herself. She preferred light sort of Jewelry, but Minnie liked otherwise. Riddhima asked her to choose them at her own, so Minnie chose her Jewelry on her own.
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Next day, Riddhima got up a little late than her usual time at around 6:50am in the morning, coz Minnie kept her awake till 2:30am. She went straight to Minnie's room to wake her up. After a few tussle and efforts for 10 minutes finally Minnie forced her eyes to open.
When Riddhma dragged her with herself downstairs into the Kitchen, Kirti was already awake. She was undoubtfully surprised to see her daughter awake at such early hour in the morning. She gave Riddhima a thankful look, which was returned by a heart-melting welcoming smile by Riddhima.
Shubhankar almost choked his morning tea when he saw Minnie awake so early in the morning. Minnie sulked and whined over her parent's reaction while the three teased her for various reasons. Riddhima as per her habit offered her helping hand to Kirti in the Kitchen. Minnie just played around with vegetables, utensils and kitchen jars. The most she did was pass things to Kirti and Riddhima.
At around 8:00 am, Riddhima woke up Yash and got him ready for the school. She arranged his school bag and made him have his breakfast. Shubankar dropped Yash at his school while on his way to one of the wedding-service provider who was helping him in marriage arrangements. Riddhima left for her work soon after Shubhankar. But before she left, she made sure to help Kirti in few of her pre-marital chores, especially by instructing and handling Minnie and her stuffs.
Next two days passed in the same way with everyone busy with their tasks. Riddhima would come back a little earlier from her work to help Kirti and Shubhankar. Yash behaved himself, by NOT creating any mess as per Riddhima's instruction. He was happy doing so coz atleast he wasn't being pushed by anyone for home-work. Minnie did try to make him do his home-work, but he managed to dodge her easily. Riddhima didn't have time to handle him on that ground.
All this time, Armaan, of course did missed Riddhima, while Atul kept an eye on his every move, whenever possible. He knew that Armaan is missing someone, but didn't know who it was. It was clearly evident by Armaan's behavior, that he was restless due to somereason. Atul sent Sunaina to help Armaan, but Armaan turned her back saying that he can manage it himself as Riddhima is taking care of everything before leaving the office. The truth was, his heart wouldn't consent seeing anyone else sitting on Riddhima's chair or take up her place under any circumstances... even if its just a temporary thing for his own convenience.
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Finally Thursday arrived. It was Minnie's marriage. It was an early rising day for Chatterjee Villa. Every member in the house was occupied by their own responsibilities. Yash, Riddhima were, of course on offs from their respective school/ work.
On the breakfast table, Kirti asked Riddhima if she should wake up Yash to which she replied laughing, "Let him sleep till as late as possible Aunty, coz once he wakes up, there will be another BIG chore added to your day's schedule..."
"But he must have breakfast, feed him something and then he can go back to sleep again..." Kirti suggested pouring Juice in the glass.
"Oh no-no-no, devil once awake doesn't go back to sleep for many hours... Don't worry about his breakfast Aunty, I will take care of it when he wakes up. Till then I think we can finish up some of our important chores for the day... When is the Ceremony going to begin?"
"Ok... Punditji has given mahurat of past 11:15pm. Some close relatives might start arriving by seven in the evening. We, I mean me along with Shubhankar will have to reach the hotel sooner than everyone else, in order to attend the guest. I am taking my dress along so that I can get ready in the hotel itself. Ek beautician ko bhi bula liya hai wahan..."
"Theek hai. Now tell me, how may I help you?" Riddhima asked politely.
"Tujhe koi kaam karne ki zaroorat nahin hai. Tujhe yahan kaam karwaane ke liye thode hi leke aaye hain hum. You have only one, but the most important responsibility. Tu bas apni is paagal choti behen ka dhyaan rakh. Ise time se Parlour le jana. 02:00pm ki appointment hai, don't be late for that. Aur waise bhi ispe nazar rakhni zaroori hai, kahin phir se koi nayi problem na khadi kar de..." Kirti said slapping back of Minnie's head lightly.
"Mom, what do you mean by 'pagal choti behen'? Aur aapka matlab main problems khadi karti rahti hu... " Minnie retorted.
"Pagal to tu hai hi. Aur haan tu problems khadi karti rahti hai..." Kirti teased Minnie while finishing her breakfast.
"I wont talk to you..." Minnie sulked. Just then her phone rang, so she got up and left the breakfast table smiling to herself, "Hello..."
"Don't worry aunty, ise main dekh lungi. Aur ise jaldi se tayyar karke Hotel le aaongi 5 baje tak..." Riddhima said as she saw her going towards garden in the back yard.
"Arey nahin, itna jaldi aane ki zaroorat nahin hai. Hum to guests ki wajah se jaldi jayenge, tum araam se parlour pe kaam khatam karwaa ke, 7:30 ya 8:00 baje tak aa jana."
"Par, appointment to do baje ki hai na, iska matlab jyada se jyada 2 ghante legenge ise tayyar hone mein, baaki time hum kya karenge?"
"2 ghante?" kirti laughed at her innocent calculations, "2 nahin kam se kam 4 ghante lagenge Minnie ko tayyar karne mein. And don't be surprised if it takes longer than that. We are not talking about you here Riddhima, its Minnie we are dealing with..." she explained pinching her cheeks lovably.
"Achcha?" Riddhima wondered about how Minnie will take so much time. "Agar aap kah rahi ho to theek hi hoga..."
"Waise bhi, she is the getting married today, so being the center of attraction, she will need more time to ornament herself." Kirti added furthermore.
"Haan ye baat bhi hai. Lekin humein to parlour do (02:oopm) baje jana hai na aur abhi bas 08:30am hi baje hain. What will I do till then? Mumma kahti hai ki shaadi wale ghar mein bahut kaam hota hai, especially ladki ki shaadi mein. Itne saare kaam honge karne ko. Koi bhi kaam ho ghar ka, ya baahar ka, to mujhe bataiye, main kar dungi..." Riddhima offered again.
"Arey kaha na, koi kaam nahin hai aisa, sab kaam pahle hi poore kar chuki hu main... Aur thode bahut jo kaam hain bhi, to wo iske bhai apne aap dekh lenge... let them take some responsibility as well." Kirti got up to leave for the Kitchen.
"Kya Atul bhaiya jaldi aa rahe hain?" Riddhima asked excitedly.
"Haan... abhi bas thodi der mein aa raha hai. Phone aaya tha uska... Anjali thodi der se ayegi, shayad Aarti Bhabhi ke saath kahin jana hai use..." Shubhankar said munching his breakfast.
"Aur Armaan bhaiya? Wo aa rahe hain ya phir se koi kaam mil gaya unhe meri shaadi ke din bhi late aane ke liye?" Minnie asked as she came back to the breakfast table.
"Minnie, he has too many responsibilities to handle. He never does anything intentionally. Do you need explanations for how much he loves you?" Shubhankar said.
"Don't try to defend him papa. I know you are his Legal advisor, but he need to learn and give some time to his beloveds as well."
"Hmm, I agree bete. Whenever its possible for him, he do spend time with all of us. Doesn't he? But he has to take care of thousands of people who work in his company as well, Minnie..." Shubhankar defended Armaan again.
"Whenever possible... Huh? Jab unki shaadi ho jayegi na, tab dekhungi kya karenge wo?" Minnie added.
"Jo bhi karenga achcha hi hoga wo... He can never do anything wrong. And the girl, who marries Armaan, will be the luckiest girl on this earth..." Kirti too tried to safeguard Armaan's image as she came back with another plate of fruit salad.
"So to hai... Armaan bhaiya hain hi itne sweet." Minnie added smiling while Riddhima looked at her amazed with the abrupt change in her opinion, "Lekin phir bhi, whoever she is gonna be, she will have to marry two at the same time..."
"Two?" Kirti raised her brow while Shubhankar & Riddhima's stared at her curiously.
"Haan, one is Armaan bhaiya himself, and the second one is his 'Work'..." Minnie laughed.
"Waah, kya baat hai Minnie. Bilkul sahi kaha tune... Hi Kirti Aunty, Shubhankar Uncle... Hi Minnie..." Atul butted in as he joined them on the breakfast table. "Arey Riddhima tu bhi yahan hai?" he turned to Riddhima pleasantly surprised to see her there.
"Hi Bhaiya..." Riddhima greeted him with a warm smile as Atul gave her a side hug, "Main to yahan pichle teen (3) din se hu..."
"Achcha? Phir to Office jaane mein tumhe ulta rasta lena padta hoga... tune mujhe bataya nahin. If you had informed me, I would have arranged an office cab for you..."
"Its ok bhaiya, its not that difficult. Shubhankar Uncle mujhe aadhe raste tak chod dete hain aur uske baad main taxi kar leti hu..."
"Hmm..." he nodded. Atul picked up an apple from the fruit bucket lying on the dining table.
"Arey Atul, Armaan is waqt hai kahan?" Shubhankar asked, "Us se kuch baat karni thi mujhe."
"Uncle wo Hotel gaya hai kuch kaam se. Bas abhi ata hi hoga..." Atul informed.
Hearing Armaan's name, Riddhima made a face. 'Armaan sir office mein mera sir kha jate hain, to yahan pata nahin kya karenge...' she thought.
As Atul took another bite from his apple, he saw her mumbling something to herself. He knew what she 'might' be thinking as he heard her mumble Armaan's name, followed by some comment. He smiled and asked, "Kya hua Riddhima?"
"Huh? K-kuch nahin bhaiya..." Riddhima replied.
He bent a little towards her and then said, "Tu yehi soch rahi hai na ki wo tera Mr. Irritating boss tujhe yahan bhi pareshaan karega?"
Riddhima looked at him shocked, "A-aa-aapko kaise pata?" she revealed innocently.
"Bas pata chal gaya." Atul laughed, then added smiling, "Waise tu chinta kyun kar rahi hai, wo yahan tera boss thode hi hoga. Wo yahan sirf Armaan hai, not some Mr.Armaan Malik..."
Riddhima's face brightened, "Arey haan... Wo yahan mere boss thode hi hain. To main kyun darun unse? Thanks bhaiya." She said elatedly side-hugging Atul.
"No need to say thanks baby..." he teased her, but this time she didn't retorted. He turned to Minnie who was busy once again busy with her phone, "Ye dhekho ise, aaj madam ki shaadi hai aur ise ab bhi phone se fursat nahin hai?" saying so he snatched phone from her.
"Atul bhaiya?" Minnie yelled. Atul held it up in the air so she jumped to snatch the phone back from him. "Give it back to me, or else..." she warned.
"Arey baap re... le yaar le-le tera phone. Waise bhi main kya karunga Harsh se baat karke..." Atul blurt giving her phone back to her.
It was obvious to everyone that Minnie was busy talking to Harsh, but Minnie glared at him to blurt it out loud. She turned to Riddhima, "Riddhima di chalo, hum apni dresses tayyar karte hain..." she pulled her hand as Riddhima silently let Minnie drag her along.
The girls left for Minnie's room while others got busy with their chores.
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Around two hours later Armaan walked in the living room with a few men following him as he instructed them about some arrangements.
"Wo wahan pe abhi tak tum logon ne lights nahin lagayi na..." he reprimanded one of the guy as he looked in the direction Armaan pointed in.
"Sir abhi lagwa deta hu..." the man replied.
"Abhi kyun, kal ya parso lagwa dena bhai... itni jaldi kya hai..." he scoffed sarcastically. Then glaring he added, "Maine tumhe ye sab 1 hafte pahle bataya tha, aur pichle 2 ghante mein teen baar bata chukka hu. Ab kya stamp papers pe likh ke deni padegi ye sab choti-choti cheezein?"
"Sorry sir, main abhi ke abhi khud karwata hu ye kaam..." the man said and walked away.
Armaan saw him go and turned to the other guy, "Wo phulon ka arrangement karwa diya hai na?" he asked.
"Ji sir karwa diya hai, aur Wedding planner ke paas hi bhijwa diye hain..." the man answered.
"Good, aur kuch to nahin manga unhone?"
"Nahin sir aur kuch nahin, bas kuch Fairy-lights aur mangwani hai..."
"Theek hai, Kareem ko phone kar do, wo bhijwa dega..." he instructed.
"Ji sir, abhi kar deta hu..." the second guy said and went away dialing a number on his mobile.
"Armaan..." Armaan turned back as he heard Atul's voice.
"Hi Bhai..." he waved casually.
"Hi... sun ye kuch packets hain, shayad kuch relatives ki taraf se gifts aaye hain, ye kahan rakhwaane hain yaar?" Atul asked holding a big pile of gift boxes.
"Arey sambhal ke Bhai..." Armaan helped him taking a few boxes from him as he was about to drop them, "Ye sab to Kirti aunty se puchna padega. Mujhe kya pata unhone kaunse packets kahan rakhwaane hain..." he shrugged.
"Achcha? To theek hai, main..." he was interrupted by another voice.
"Arey tum dono ye sab leke yahan kya kar rahe ho?" Kirti came there.
"Thank god aap aa gayi aunty, ab jaldi se bataiye ye sab kahan rakhne hain..." Atul asked.
"Ye sab... ye upar guest room mein rakhwa do..." she instructed.
"Ok..." Atul nodded, but then turned back confused, "Kaunse waale room mein?"
"Upar waale guest room mein..." she repeated.
Atul looked up towards the stairs and then back at Kirti, "Which one is that...?" he asked again biting his tongue.
"Offo, second one towards the left..." she explained.
"Ok..." he started walking away, but then stopped again, "Which left? I mean your left or mine' or is it..."
"Bhai, there could be only two lefts... yours and hers..." Armaan interrupted him grinning.
"Hey bhagwaan..." Kirti slapped her head, "ek kaam karo, Armaan you take these boxes upstairs... aur Atul tum mere saath aao zara..." Kirti instructed.
"Ok, ye theek rahega. Waise bhi, roz work-out ye karta hai, main nahin. To heavy load bhi ise hi uthana chaiye na..." Atul replied grinning widely as handed over all the boxes to Armaan.
"Very funny..." Armaan said taking the boxes while Kirti chuckled.
"Armaan ye thode boxes aur bhi hain, inhein bhi le jana zara upar..." Kirti added pointing towards some more boxes lying on the coffee table and went away with Atul. Atul showed him a thumps up.
"Ok aunty..." Armaan nodded.
He sighed seeing almost 10 more boxes lying on the table as he held around 8 in his hands. He placed the boxes down scratching his head. Then he decided to take all the boxes in one go. They aren't too heavy, he thought. Towering the entire boxes one above the other, he smiled and then as he lifted them in his arms, grumbled, "Arey baap re, kya hai inmein...".
The 10 boxes which were lying on the table were heavier than the ones he was holding earlier. He adjusted the whole pile of 18 boxes again, but they couldn't be carried in one go, not exactly coz of their weight, but due to their uneven sizes. He decided to take them in two rounds. Adjusting the whole lot of boxes in two sets each with boxes of almost even sizes, he sighed approvingly. Then he picked up the pile with boxes of smaller size and went upstairs.
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Meanwhile upstairs in Minnie's room.
"Di, maine apne sandals pata nahi kahan rakh diye hain, zara dekhiye na..." Minnie requested as she bent down to peek under her bed. She has been searching them for quite a while but was unable to find them.
Riddhima nodded as she too bent to search the other side of the bed. When she didn't see anything there, she searched at other places... under the table, in the closet, in her shoe rack, in bathroom (Minnie would sometimes leave her footwear in the bathroom), behind the pile of gift boxes lying in the room, behind the couch etc. But she couldn't retrieve them from anywhere.
"Minnie, yahan to kahin tumhaare sandals nahi mile." Riddhima replied, "Are you sure you kept them here, in your room?"
"Yes I am..." Minnie said in confident tone while Riddhima raised her brow. Minnie thought for a moment and then added apologetically, "Errr... actually I don't remember where I kept them Di... I am sorry."
"I knew it..." Riddhima nodded knowingly. "Ab kahan dhundhe? Your cloths, jewelry and other stuff aren't even packed yet and its already 12:00pm. We have to leave for the parlour by 1:30pm." She reprimanded her.
"I know..." Minnie paused for a moment and then said, "I think they should be in the guest room..." she scratched her forehead in confusion, "When I came back from shopping that day, the guest room was open, so I might have placed them in there."
"You 'might' have kept them there?" she asked questioningly. Minnie nodded. "And may I ask your highness, why didn't you keep them in your room instead?" Riddhima asked closing the closet Minnie has left wide open.
"Wo... actually..." Minnie fumbled, she had left a few packets in guest room coz she got busy with Harsh on her phone. "I forgot..."
"Forgot?" Riddhima shook her head again, "Very convenient. You left your 'wedding shoe' carelessly at some random place, and we aren't even able to locate them ON your wedding day and you are very conveniently excusing yourself saying that 'I forgot'? Kirti Aunty is right about you... you are such a mess to be called a girl..." she chuckled.
"Di, ab aap mat shuru ho jana..." Minnie whined.
"Ok baba, I wont. You wait here, I will go and check if they are there in the guest room." She said turning towards the door. She paused at the door and said, "In the meanwhile you better start pulling together your stuff, which we have to take with us to the parlor..." and left the room.
Minnie sighed, slumping back in her bed. Then getting up she walked into the bathroom.
As she applied a face-pack on her face, she thought about Riddhima. She was happy that Riddhima was there with her. She admired Riddhima for many reasons. Riddhima was like a sister she always wanted. Minnie being the only child of her parents was a shoddily spoilt one. Many times when her parents were busy, she always dreamed of a sibling. If only she had a brother or a sister, she could share many of her 'adventures' with him/ her.
Few years back when Shubhankar started working for Armaan, she found a wonderful brother in him. He proved more than a real brother to her. He has always protected her, pampered her, favored her, loved her, saved her from Kirti's rage when she got angry at her and did everything she said. She adores Armaan too much for obviously endless reasons... but he is a boy and a girl needs a sister more at times.
Minnie has found a lovely sister in Riddhima. Riddhima was her elder-younger sister... a twin combination. Riddhima too pampers her, fusses over her, cares for her, scolds her lovably, accompanies her, advises her, and takes care of her as an elder sister. She never backs off on doing anything a real elder sister would do. And the loveliest thing about her is that she had no ego problem unlike many other real elder sisters might have these days.
At the same time, Riddhima was also a little girl when it came to many things. Her ignorance about many things made her like a little child, which too fascinated Minnie. She enjoys seeing Riddhima confused sulking face when Minnie talks in her own ways about her college experiences and typical girl things.
Minnie knows that most of the time most of her blabbering go over Riddhima's head, as she don't understand much of it. Its always amusing to see her fascinated facial expressions when Minnie tells her about new things (especially about men/ boys).
She often laughs at her innocence when she tells Riddhima something about men and she asks widening her big eyes wider while blinking them lazily in fascination, "Achcha? Aisa bhi hota hai kya?" She looks like an adorable little girl... like a little sister, who eagerly listens to her elder while Minnie talks about these 'new' things.
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Riddhima walked out of the room mumbling to herself, "Yahan to do (2) guest rooms hain, kaunse room mein rakhe honge sandals Minnie ne... I think I should ask her." She turned to go back and called out opening the door, "Minnie..." but Minnie wasn't there. She heard some noise in from her attatched bathroom, "I guess she is in the bathroom. Chalo, main pahle saath wale guest room mein dekh leti hu..." she sighed and left the room again.
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Armaan walked upstairs wobbling a little with the pile of 10 gift boxes in his arms. The boxes were making it a little more difficult for him to see his way, but he managed to reach room. Somehow he kicked the door open. 'Thank god it isn't locked atleast...' he sighed entering the room.
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Hi Friends 😊...
Hope you all are doing good. See, this time i am not tooooooooooo late. I am updating comparatively sooner. And i promise that if i got chance then, i may also post the next episode sooner.
I know many of you are disappointed with the first scene of this episode. But i assure you that i will be improving things very soon. However, please do reply friends. I am waiting for some of my heavy bandages to be removed or atleast lightened. After that, i will also start sending PMs as well. Till then, please bear with me.
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Edited by Wild.Aimee - 14 years ago
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