ArHi FF: Highway to hell-2, chapter 38, pg 141 - Page 53

Ch 32: A wedding is arranged

"The hall is booked. The caterers have been informed. I have the best florists in the business to do the decorations. I went all the way to Kanjeevaram to buy some of the sarees. And you're telling me you're pregnant, so there can't be a wedding?" said Mrs.Murthy, frowning at the thought of her hard work going to waste, and smiling because she was to be a grandmother.

"No. No. Amma. We said we can't get married. But there will be a wedding. We won't let your effort go to waste," said Aadit, grinning conspiratorially.

"I don't understand," said Mrs.Murthy.

"Let me explain," said Aadit, drawing his mother aside.

The next day:

"You 2 are getting married!" said Aadit.

"Duh! We know," said Khushi.

"No. I mean you are getting married 2 months from now. On the 16^th of July to be precise," said Aadit.

"Err..we hadn't put a date on it yet," said Arnav.

"I know. Look, I have a proposition for you too. Anjali and I can't get married again, for obvious reasons. My mother had planned the perfect wedding. It's organized down to the last table centerpiece. And we, that is, Anjali and I would like you two to take our place. It would be our gift to you. And honestly, you'd be doing us a huge favor. My mother has gone to a lot of trouble to arrange this wedding and she'd be super disappointed if it won't happen," he said making those big puppy dog eyes that no one could resist.

"I was under the impression that your mother would be disappointed if YOU couldn't get married the way she liked. After all, it's the people that make the wedding, no?" asked Arnav sensibly.

"Well, of course she is. But she'd be even more heartbroken if all her painstaking organization went to waste. Besides, she likes Minnie." Said Aadit.

"She does not," said Khushi hotly. "She warned me to stay away from you the second time I met her. She thought I had my claws in to you, and of course I wouldn't do because I wasn't Tam Brahm with an unblemished horoscope to match," said Khushi.

"All in the past Minnie," said Aadit airily. "She'd love to host this wedding for you. Believe me, she would. And compared to Anjali, she thinks you'd have been a much better catch for me, you not being 10 years older and all. No offense meant," he said nodding at Arnav.

"None taken," said Arnav drily.

"Well, when you put it that way, how can I refuse?" said Khushi rolling her eyes at Aadit.

"Oh come on Minnie, I was kidding!" said Aadit. "Besides, my Mom really is fond of you. She thinks you are a woman of character. She told me that a long time ago, after you adopted Nita, I think."

"Hmmm. I'm not sure about this Aadit," said Khushi.

"Why ever not? Look, all you have to do is show up and look pretty. Rest is all planned out. Please, please, please. Pretty please," he begged.

"What do you think Arnav?" asked Khushi.

"Free wedding. I don't have to plan anything, or pay for anything. All I do is show up? I like it. I like it a lot. But it's your choice, of course," he said hastily, seeing the look in her eye.

"Cheapskate!" said Khushi, swatting Arnav's hand lightly.

"Hmm. OK. You talked me in to it," said Khushi skeptically.

"Oh, thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. I love you both!" said Aadit, engulfing first Khushi, and then Arnav in a bear hug.

"By the way, is it to be a Tam Brahm wedding?" asked Khushi suddenly.

"Err, yes," said Aadit.

"Aren't they about 7 days long and filled with rituals?" asked Arnav sounding slightly horrified.

"Nope. Just 3 days. And there are some rituals, yes. But we can cut it all short. We can make it 2 days," he said seeing the look on their faces. "OK, OK, one and a half days. And really, I can't go lower than that," he said seeing their unhappy faces.

"I'll make myself available for 6 hours. Squeeze it into that," said Arnav.

"Excuse me. It's a wedding. Not a business meeting Mr.Arnav Singh Raizada." Khushi rounded on him. "Day and a half is fine Aadit. And I quite like the idea of a South Indian wedding. I love Kanjeevaram silk!" she said, sounding excited.

"Alright then, should I tell Amma that a wedding has been arranged?" asked Aadit.

"Please do. And thank her on our behalf too." Said Khushi. "And thank you too Aadit. We appreciate this."

"It's nothing. You're doing me a favor," said Aadit. Khushi went into the kitchen to fetch a bottle of wine to celebrate.

"Good luck with the big, fat Tamil wedding ASR" said Aadit, winking at Arnav.

"What do you mean?" asked Arnav, sounding puzzled.

"Oh nothing. Just, you know, about 2 dozen poojas. Lots of complex sounding chants. And about a day and a half of smoke and heat and about 500 guests. You just signed up for all of that brother," said Aadit sounding pleased with himself.

"bas***d. Did you make my sister pregnant just so you could escape this unique form of Chinese torture?" asked Arnav.

"Maybe!" said Aadit, "Ahh there you are Minnie!" he said turning to Khushi as she walked in with a bottle of white wine. They drank to the impending wedding, Khushi excitedly, Aadit gleefully and Arnav, rather resignedly. "Oh well, at least I don't have to go shopping!" he thought to himself happily.

"Arnav, I think we must go shopping soon. There's so much to buy!" said Khushi, jolting him out of his reverie.

"Shopping? But Mrs.Murthy already bought everything, I thought?" said Arnav, sounding like a scared rabbit.

"Silly. She's organizing the wedding. Obviously she can't buy the wedding clothes. At least, not all of them. And I want to select some of my own jewelry too. You'll come with me, of course," said Khushi.

"Of course, darling," said Arnav. Aadit choked back a laugh at the look on Arnav's face. He looked like he'd seen a ghost. Like any normal, red-blooded male, Arnav too hated shopping. And wedding shopping sounded horrendous to him. "Of course I'll go with you sweetheart. I'd love to help you choose jewelry," he said, in as even a tone as he could muster.

"Oh Arnav. You're so sweet!" said Khushi hugging him. "You are going to enjoy this so much. It's going to be fun, fun, fun."

"Fun. Fun. Fun!" said Aadit, raising a glass at Arnav. Arnav looked at him over Khushi's head and mouthed a very bad word at him. Aadit laughed silently.

"OK, Minnie, Arnav. I must be going. Anjali is waiting for me at home. I'll tell Mom and she'll call you OK?" he asked.

"Sounds good Aadit!" said Khushi, hugging him lightly as they walked to the foyer. After Aadit left, Khushi and Arnav walked back into the living room arms entwined around each other's waists. They plonked themselves down on the couch.

"Just think Arnav. 2 months from now, we'll be married!" she smiled at him.

"You'll be Khushi Arnav Singh Raizada." Said Arnav, sounding satisfied.

"Err. I'm not changing my name," said Khushi.

"Why ever not?" asked Arnav sounding puzzled.

"Because I like it."

"You don't like my name?"

"It's fine for you, not me. I'm Khushi Gupta. And that's who I'll remain. I'll be your wife, of course. But my identity doesn't change. I'll still be my own person."

"And you being your own person is linked to you keeping your name?"

"In part, yes. How does it matter anyway?"

"It doesn't. I'm just curious as to how you think. It doesn't matter to me whether you keep your name or take mine."

"Oh come on. Of course it matters to you. You just bit your tongue well in time. You were this close to going all alpha male on me, and demanding I change my name!"

"I was not!" he saw the look on her face. "OK. I was. But I didn't. I didn't. Keep your name. It's fine, I understand." muttered Arnav.

"Thank you for understanding. I've been my own person for too long Arnav. I've grown into this woman you see. And who I am, and what I've made of myself, it means something to me. It's not something I can let go of. Ever. And part of that is being Khushi Gupta. It's who I am. It's my professional name. It's how people know me. I can't change that. Don't ask me to."

"I'm not Khushi. You don't have to change anything for me. I love you, Khushi Kumari Gupta. She leaned over and placed a kiss on his cheek.

"By the way, I need to run something by you," said Khushi.

"What's up?"

"You know how Nigel's been wanting to take some classes at the Uni part-time? Well, he's finally narrowed down exactly what he wants to do. He'll be gone 3 days a week for about 5 hours a day. Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, he told me. He starts next week," said Khushi.

"OK. I guess we need to find a replacement Nanny for those days," said Arnav.

"Nigel already found one. She's coming in today evening, so we can interview her."

"Oh. Good. That's very efficient of Nigel. I assume she's trained and all that?" asked Arnav.

"Actually, she's only 17. School just closed for the summer. She'll be a senior in the fall. She really needs the money, Nigel told me. Apparently her family situation is not quite OK. I didn't catch the entire story," said Khushi.

"A high school student? Are you sure that's a good idea Khushi? Nita still needs careful looking after. Will she be responsible enough, do you think?" asked Arnav.

"Well, let's interview her and see what she's like. I'd like to give her a chance. Besides, you mostly work from home anyway. You can supervise her closely, and see if you think she's OK."

"OK," said Arnav, not sounding very pleased. He knew Khushi liked to give everyone a chance, especially girls in need of a break. She herself had been given just such a break and it helped her get where she was. He supposed it behoved him to support her. But for some reason, a high schooler with a troubled family history didn't sound like the best person to watch his girls. The bell rang.

"That'll be her. Get it, will you Arnav. I need to go to the rest room real quick," said Khushi sauntering away.

Arnav opened the door, and his jaw fell slack. A girl stood there. A very tall girl. She was taller than he was. She wore a tiny black micromini and a bandeau top. A short jacket covered her shoulders. Her midriff was bare, and he saw a belly button ring gleaming. She wore long, brown boots with 3 inch, pointy heels. Her hair was long and curly and fell in unruly waves down to her waist. It had streaks of pink and purple in it, he noticed. She was very thin. Almost painfully so. Her eyes were lined with liner so thick you could scrape it off with a knife. She wore blue eye shadow. Her cheeks were ghostly pale, and she she wore bright pink lipstick which made her look even more pale, and in his eyes, rather scary.

"I'm Malli," she spoke in a husky voice, as if she had scraped her throat with sandpaper. "I'm here to interview for the job."

Tell me what you think. And also, for those of you who nominated me and this FF (or my other works) for best FF, many thanks. I do appreciate it. I think it's very sweet of you all to take the time to do that, and I'm flattered you picked me! So, a big 🤗 to you folks. You know who you are.

Cheers!

Vidhya

the girl u described is 17 years old ONLY :O ..

wow...

btw gr888 update

continue soon..