Chapter 11: Iss pyaar ko main...
"Desperate times call for desperate measures" said Arnav. He
needed advice. He played with his niece and nephew, of course, but he had never
had to impress them. They were born impressed with him and had been taught to
love him, just as he loved them. No effort necessary. Now Khushi's girls. That
was a whole different cup of tea. He needed advice, and he needed advice from
someone who knew little girls and what they liked. Payal. "And try not to say anything sarcastic or hurtful
Arnav, or she'll cry" he told himself firmly. He knocked on the door of her
room lightly.
"Come in" said Akash. Arnav walked in. Payal and Akash were
relaxing with cups of chai in their hands.
"Hello, bhai. What's up?" asked
Akash.
"Not much. Wanted to talk to you guys. To Payal actually."
He said, seeing her make a move as though to get up.
"Me, you want to talk to me, Arnavji?" she asked, looking
like a deer trapped in the headlights.
"Yes, Payal. I need your help
with something." Said Arnav.
"What is it bhai?" asked Akash,
eyes twinkling.
"Well, actually, its about
Khushi." Said Arnav, with difficulty.
"What is it Arnavji? Is she OK? Is there a problem?" asked
Payal, sounding worried. It was so atypical of Arnav to seek her out that she
was flustered.
"About Khushi. What about her? I
thought she hated your guts?" asked Akash directly.
"She does. I mean, well she kind of does. But she doesn't
hate me completely. I mean she hates me for what I did to her, but I think she
maybe willing to overlook that." Said Arnav, now totally confused and looking
thoroughly embarrassed. He really didn't want to tell Akash his problem. Payal,
at least wouldn't make fun of him.
"She's willing to overlook your false accusation of
entrapping your no-good brother-in-law and throwing her out on the streets with
nothing? Wow! Mighty large-hearted of her." Said Akash.
"Who's side are you on anyway?"
asked Arnav sounding annoyed.
"Umm. Since my wife is Khushi's sister, I believe I'm on her
side. Besides, she was guiltless." Said Akash quietly.
"What do want from me Arnavji?" asked Payal quickly, before
Akash and ASR got into a tiff.
"I need you to teach me how to impress little girls."
Said ASR very quickly.
"Come again, I didn't catch
that." Said Payal, looking bewildered.
"He needs you to teach him how
to impress little girls." Said Akash, grinning.
"Impress little girls? Why? And what does this have to do
with Khushi?" asked Payal, now thoroughly confused.
"She won't go out with me unless her kids like me" said ASR, in
Japanese bullet train mode again.
"She won't go out with him unless her kids like him."
Explained Akash, before Payal could ask the question.
"She agreed to go out with you?
Like, on a date?" asked Payal, excited.
"Well, not a date. Just lunch. She made it amply clear it wasn't
a date." Said Arnav. "And the condition was that I have to impress her girls.
If they like me, she'll go to lunch with me. Once. I have one shot with her.
Help me, Payal, please." Asked ASR humbly.
Payal smiled. She liked this humble Arnav. A far cry from
the man who yelled instructions at everyone and had little patience. Oh, he'd
mellowed over the years. He was always polite to her and very gentle with the
children. But with his office staff, domestic staff, Mamiji, and occasionally
even Naniji, his temper came to the fore. She was about to say something, when
the sound of Akash laughing hit her. She looked at her husband who was doubled
over.
"So, let me get this straight. Khushi Kumari Gupta, will go
out with you once, on a non-lunch date, if her kids, aged 5 and 2 like you? And
you agreed to this? ASR, the man who drives the hardest bargain I know, gave
into this ridiculous demand? I guess you really do love her." Said Akash,
laughing away.
"Shut up Akash." Said Arnav,
flushing red. "Will you help me Payal?" he asked.
"Yes Akash, do be quiet." Said Payal, turning to her husband
fiercely. "Of course I'll help you Arnavji. But I don't see what I can do to
help?" asked Payal.
"Tell me what to do to make them like me." Said Arnav. "I
mean, what kind of things do little girls like? What sort of gifts should I get
them? How can I make them like me?" asked Arnav, sounding desperate.
"Arnavji, you are doing this all wrong. You can't make
anyone like you. Least of all, children. Children are excellent judges of
character. They decide for themselves if they like someone or not. So I don't
think the most expensive gift in the world can help you" said Payal.
"Well, I know I can't buy their love. But surely a doll or
something will help, right?" asked ASR, clutching at straws.
"Arnavji, I think you need to be yourself with them You are
so good with Arjun and Khushi. Surely you can be the same with Khushi's girls
too. Take them gifts, by all means. But take them something you'd want your
kids to have. I think the best thing you can do for them is to treat them like
your own children." Said Payal. " I think Khushi will be impressed by that too"
she finished.
"Listen to Payal, bhai. She
makes sense" said Akash.
"But I'm ASR. I get all angry and upset easily. I yell and
scream. I can't be myself, I'll scare them away" Said Arnav, now totally upset.
"Do you yell and scream at
Khushi?" asked Akash.
"Not this new Khushi, No. She'd
knee me in the groin if I did." Said Arnav.
"Well then, she's these kids' mother. You think she'll let
you get away with yelling at her girls? She'd do worse than just knee you in
the groin for that!" said Akash.
"Point." Said Arnav. "Well, I guess just I'll just have to
be myself, but not my old self. My new, improved patient and loving self. Man,
this is going to be so hard." He muttered. "Thanks Payal. I'll be going now" he
said, walking to the door.
"No problem Arnavji." Said Payal, smiling at him. She shut
the door of the room behind him. Arnav heard Akash and Payal burst into
laughter as he walked away. "Damn you Khushi! My family thinks I'm nuts now!"
he said under his breath.
Akash turned to Payal who was wiping tears of laughter from
her eyes. "Dayum Payal! Khushi's got him all flustered. That's the first time I've
seen ASR ask for help!" he said, sounding amazed.
"She has changed so much. And all for the better. I can't
believe what she has become. I wish she would talk to me, Akash" Said Payal.
"She will. Give her time. If she's talking to Bhai, she'll
talk with you too." He said softly, holding her hand. "In the meanwhile, enjoy
the merry dance she is leading him" he said chuckling.
4 days Later.
Arnav rang the bell. In an effort to look casual, he was
wearing jeans and a white sweater. He'd shaved and his hair was still slightly
wet from the shower he'd taken before coming over. He held a pink gift bag in
one hand and he looked slightly nervous. He was at Khushi's door, at the
appointed hour, to meet her girls. The door swung open suddenly.
"Hey! You must be ASR. I'm Nigel. Come on in." said the very
handsome blond haired, blue-eyed young man who had just opened the door for
Arnav.
"Oh! Hi Nigel. Pleased to meet you." said ASR, stepping in
and wondering why all the men in Khushi's life were so damn good-looking.
"Girls and Minnie are up in her room on the second floor. Go
on up, she's expecting you." said Nigel. Arnav swallowed slightly. "OK ASR.
This is it. You can do this." He said ascending the stairs slowly. The sound of
music floated down as he climbed the stairs. It was some Bollywood number, and
he couldn't make the words out. Nigel walked up with him. "Girls love this
song. They listen to it all the time." He nodded sagely.
"Rabba mere rabba rabba, rabba mere rabba. Rabba mere rabba
rabba, rabba mere rabba Iss pyaar ko mein kya naam doon?" crooned Sonu Nigam.
And with him, 2 little girls and their Mon were sing their heads off too. They
were jumping up and down on the bed as they sang, and the pillows had been
flung on the floor.
"Bechain dil ko kaise aaraam
doon?" they sang the next line.
"ASR's here, Minnie." Said
Nigel, breaking in loudly.
"Oh. Hi ASR. Said Khushi. She jumped off the bed. She was
wearing black tights and a loose Blue tunic. She wore a pair of glasses on her
nose, and her hair was in a long ponytail. It was the first time he's seen her
with her hair down since he'd met her at the launch party. "Come, meet the
girls." She said, lifting one off the bed and motioning the other to get off it
too.
ASR stared into the most clear grey eyes he'd ever seen.
"Hi!" said the little one in Khushi's arms. She had dark brown hair, rosy
cheeks and she wore her hair in 2 little pigtails. She was wearing yellow
shorts and a green top.
"Hello." He said to her. He held out a hand gingerly. She
took it, and let it go in a minute. "This is Nita." Said Khushi. "Now come,
meet Sheila." She said.
"Hi Sheila." He said, holding out a hand to the other little
girl. She hid behind her Mother quickly. "She's a little shy. She'll come
around." Said Khushi.
"Mommy! Pee-pee." Said Nita.
"OK. I'll take you." said Khushi. While Arnav looked on,
fascinated and disgusted alternately. "OhmiGod! He thought. There was all THAT
too."
"I'll take her" said Nigel. "Come here, poppet" he said
reaching out his arms to Nita. Nita cuddled in to him and they went away to the
bathroom. Khushi's cell phone rang. "Shoot, I have to take this. It's Freddy.
Watch Sheila for a minute, will you? I'll be back." Said Khushi, walking out of
the room before he could say anything.
"Want to go into the living room?" he asked Sheila, who
looked at him for the first time. She had the biggest eyes he'd ever seen. Big,
light-brown eyes and a cute button nose. She was wearing pink capris and a
white shirt. She nodded at his question, and walked on, ahead of him. He
followed her in to the living room.
"So, Sheila, how old are you?
asked Arnav, trying to make conversation.
"I'm 5." Came they shy answer.
"I'm told you read very well. I have a gift for you." he
said, fetching a flat package wrapped in silver from the bag. "This is for you"
he handed it to her. She took it quietly.
"Thanks" she said, and kept it
aside.
"Don't you want to open it?" he
asked.
"I need to share with Nita. She
and I will open it t'gether" said Sheila, shyly.
"Oh! I have another gift for her." Said Arnav, reaching into
his bag, again. He brought out another gaily wrapped present. "Go ahead, open
this one. It's for you." he said.
She nodded her head, but didn't say anything or open the
package. This grave little 5 year old is making me nervous, thought Arnav,
racking his brains for something to say.
"Can you sing?" she asked him suddenly.
"Err.. what do you mean?" he
asked.
"You know. Iss pyaar ko mein kya naam doon?" she said,
saying it very well, even though her Hindi had an accent.
"Sure. You want me to?" he
asked.
"Yes. Lets sing it together."
She said, still looking very serious.
"OK. Then, you start." He said. She began and he joined in.
Soon, they were having a ball. He was singing at the top of his voice, "Iss
pyaar ko main kyaaa naam doon! Bechain dil ko kaise aaraam doon. Oh ho ho. Oh
ho ho. Oh ho ho. Ho. Ho." He sang with Sheila who was now dancing while he
sang. What's more, she was smiling.
"Rabba mere rabba rabba, rabba mere rabba." Said Khushi,
mock seriously as she entered the room. She smiled at ASR, as if to say,
"Gotcha!" and turned her attention to Sheila. Sheila jumped into her arms.
"Mommy. Mommy. He can sing. You said he couldn't. But, he can." She said excitedly.
"So he can, darling. I think it must be you. He couldn't
before." She smiled at her girl, and planted a kiss on her cheek.
"Hey! I could sing before"
protested ASR.
"I didn't mean Kadam-kadam
badhaaye jaa" said Khushi, laughing at him now.
"Hey!" he said. "Not fair. I
have a fairly decent singing voice, I'll have you know."
"Yes. I heard you." she said
plaintively. "Hungry?" she asked her girl.
Sheila nodded in assent. "OK. Let's go get dinner" said
Khushi. They walked to the dining table, where Nita was already seated at her
high chair, with a bib around her neck and a huge mess on the table in front of
her. She'd begun been eating her Mac and cheese. Nigel sat next to her, looking
at her fondly.
"Sheilster, you ready for your
Mac and cheese?' asked Nigel.
"I'm hungry Nigel" said Sheila, nodding. He placed a plate
in front of her. "Eat up" he said. She started to dig in, stopping in between
to talk to her mother and Nigel. Nita was busy making a humongous mess that no
one seemed to notice. Neither Nigel nor Khushi made any move to wipe up all the
Macaroni she'd spilt on the floor. ASR thought this weird. He wondered if he
should offer to clean it up and decided not to.
"Mommy, you look like Kareena
Kapoor" said Sheila, with her mouth full.
"Oh! Thank you honey." Said Khushi, "More food love?" she
asked Sheila, who nodded yes.
"No. She looks like Mommy" said
Nita, lisping a little.
"I know silly. But she looks like Kareena Kapoor a little. I
think." Said Sheila. "What do you think Nigel?" Sheila asked. Nigel shook his
head. "Dunno who Kareena Kapoor is, love, can't help you."
"Do you know Kareena Kapoor?"
asked Sheila, looking at ASR.
"Err. Yes." Said ASR.
"Does Mommy look like her?"
asked Sheila.
"So this is what it feels like between a rock and a hard
place" thought Arnav. On the one hand, he knew Khushi detested Kareena Kapoor
and on the other, this little girl obviously liked her quite a bit.
"Maybe a little" he said, trying to wiggle out of it. Khushi
stifled a grin. She understood his predicament perfectly well. Their attention
was diverted by Nita who banged her spoon the table loudly, then babbled 2-3
sentences in baby language, before spitting a huge wad of half chewed Mac and
cheese right into ASR's sweater. ASR looked horrified, and Khushi looked
apologetic. Sheila said to her sister, "Nita! Don't do that. Bad girl" Nigel
was the only one who seemed perfectly calm. ASR walked to the bathroom
to repair Nita's artwork. Dinner was barely 1/3 done, and he'd already gotten
into trouble, thought ASR, as he scrubbed his sweater clean of Mac and cheese.
He wondered what lay ahead of him...
Have a good weekend people😊
Edited by madmaxine - 12 years ago
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