OS: Parley by the Poolside
Khushi sat by the poolside, looking at the stars outside. She loved this part of the Raizada home, with its high ceilings and large sky roof. The night sky was clear and twinkled back at her incessantly. The water lapped around the pool in lazy waves. She loved the sound of water. It was restful, she thought. It was a about a quarter past the midnight hour. She had slipped way after the usual celebratory hugs when the clock struck 12. Payal and she had been invited to ring the new year in at the Raizada home, and their mother had given in after Nani had made a phone call and made the request personally. The evening had sped past pleasantly enough. Payal and Akash were too wrapped up in each other to notice the world around them. Anjali was there with her husband Shyam. Fortunately he had made no attempt to approach Khushi that evening. She lived in dread of having to talk to him, look at him. When she saw him, she felt the bile rise up in her throat. It was very hard for her to keep her countenance and be civil to him. But for her sister's sake, and his sister's sake, she kept her cool and her counsel.
And him. He had made a cursory appearance early in the evening, and had left after one drink, pleading work. He hadn't put in an appearance at midnight, and only his sister had sought him out. Akash was too busy staring into Payal's eyes. Payal had no eyes for anyone but her ever loving Akashji. Mamiji couldn't spare a moment from her preening, Naniji had gone to bed at 10 saying that she was too old to stay up so late. Anjali alone had gone to his room to wish him a Happy new year. She came back shaking her head and saying that Chotey was working himself to an early grave. And Khushi. She just wanted to be alone for a little bit. She didn't want to think of him. Or of Shyam. Or of Payal's impending wedding. Or her father's health. Or the family's financial circumstances. She just wanted to breathe a little. She wanted to spend the first few minutes of the new year by herself. Collect her thoughts. Compose herself. For as hard as the last year had been, she knew the coming year would be even harder.
So she sat there by the pool, staring at the night sky. Searching for her mother's eyes in the stars. She closed her eyes and felt her mother's familiar smell wash over her. The smell of warm chappatis, mixed with the light talcum powder she dusted herself with. She remembered snuggling into her mother's embrace, hiding her face in the folds of her mother's sari. It was her favorite memory. Funny, she thought. Her mother had been gone for more than 10 years. But she still remembered her scent. And the feel of her work roughened hands, as they smoothed Khushi's hair. The laughter in her warm, brown eyes as she gently chided her daughter for being impertinent. The memory of that hug, of those smiling eyes, of that familiar, sweet scent always helped calm her. And when she opened her eyes, she felt a little more at peace. A little less like a storm tossed boat on a choppy ocean, likely to capsize at any minute.
"Chai?" said a familiar voice, holding out a steaming cup to her.
"What?" she said, looking slightly befuddled.
"Penny for your thoughts," he said, sinking down on the ledge next to her, still holding out the chai to her. She took it quickly.
"Thank you Arnavji," she said quietly, sipping her tea. They didn't speak for several minutes. They just sat there silently, drinking their tea. The silence didn't seem awkward. Nothing seemed awkward between them anymore. Not the bickering, the teasing, the sudden moments of electric awareness. None of it. All of it seemed to flow seamlessly between them. And they knew it.
"Happy new year Arnavji," she said after she'd finished drinking her tea.
"Happy new year to you, Khushi," he said. "Did you find her?" he asked.
"Find whom?"
"Your mother. That's who you were thinking of when I came in, right?"
"How did you know?" she sounded surprised.
"We always think of the ones we love most when we are lonely, and seeking solace. You looked tortured when you walked in here. And then you closed your eyes for a few minutes, and when you opened them, you seemed different. Lighter, almost," he finished, looking slightly embarrassed at the look she shot him.
"You were spying on me?"
"You were sitting outside my room. I didn't have to spy very hard!" he smiled.
"So, why'd you come outside to see me?" she asked.
"Because you looked lonely."
"So you took pity on me?"
"Actually, I took pity on myself. I was lonely too." It was quite an admission, coming from Arnav Singh Raizada. Khushi's eyebrows shot up her forehead. Arnav Singh Raizada was exhibiting an entirely different side of his personality tonight. One she hadn't thought he possessed. A pleasant side.
"I thought you liked being alone?" she asked tentatively.
"I like being alone, sometimes. Nobody likes being lonely Khushi. There's a difference."
"Good lord, it's like he went to sensitivity school or something", thought Khushi,now beginning to feel slightly alarmed at this changed Arnav.
"Arnavji, do you feel OK? Have you taken your medicines today?" she asked.
"I feel fine. Why do you ask?"
"Err. No reason. It's just, you sound so different tonight."
"You mean I'm not jumping down your throat for everything?" he grinned.
"That, and you're smiling. You've smiled at me twice tonight. That's very unusual." She said shaking her head worriedly.
"I'm fine Khushi. It's just'.look. Your sister is marrying my brother. We are soon to be related, if only by marriage. I thought we should try to get along with each other." It was a lame excuse, but all he could come up with on the spur of the moment.
"Oh." Was all she said. She didn't know what to say, honestly. He was being nice to her, and she wasn't used to that. So, she did something very unusual for Khushi Kumari Gupta. She kept quiet.
"So, do you think we can start over? A new beginning in the new year, so to speak," asked Arnav.
"Err. How do you mean?" she asked.
"Maybe we can be friends?" he asked tentatively. He really didn't want to be friends with her, but he knew she wasn't ready for what he wanted them to be. Friends with benefits. Friends with certain very interesting benefits.
"Friends," she rolled the word around on her tongue as if it were a nasty tasting drink. The thought of being friends with Arnav Singh Raizada was unusual. But not repulsive, she found, as she thought about it momentarily.
"You want to be friends with me?" she asked.
"That is what I said." He replied patiently.
"OK, then" she said, holding out her hand to him. He took it and shook it firmly. They both felt the jolt of awareness that ran up their arms when their hands touched. And they both pretended to ignore it.
"So, as a friend, can I ask you a question?" said Khushi.
"Shoot."
"Why didn't you come down at midnight to wish everyone?"
"I didn't know anyone cared that I was there. Di came and found me. Nobody else missed me."
"That's not true. I missed.."her voice trailed off, leaving the words unsaid, but the sentiments were certainly not unfelt.
His eyes gleamed. She had missed him. He felt a tiny hope flicker within him. "Well, if I'd known people cared, I'd have come down," he finished, smoothing over the awkward moment nicely.
"As a friend, can I give you a piece of advice?" he asked.
"Umm. Sure."
"Ditch the pom-poms. Please."
"What?" she asked, sounding a little surprised.
"The pom-poms. On your salwar suits, in your hair. Ditch them. They're ugly, and they get in the way," he finished.
"What are you talking about?" she asked. She thought he sounded a little crazy, and didn't know what he was referring to.
"They get in the way of my line of vision, that's what," he muttered. How to tell her that those pom-poms looked ridiculous and drove him nuts because they were always flopping around her. On her sleeve. In her long hair, slapping against her butt when she walked fast. It drove him crazy. "It's nothing. Forget I said anything," he said hastily. "Want some chocolate?" he asked. He fished a rather crushed bar of Cadbury milk chocolate from his pocket. She took it from him, and broke it into two. One large piece that she popped into her mouth. She held out the other miniscule piece to him.
"That's for you. Begin your new year with a sweet. It's a small piece. Won't do any harm," she said. He took it and ate it quickly. It felt amazing, the chocolate melting in his mouth. He closed his eyes and savored it. It had been ages since he'd eaten chocolate.
"Good, huh?" she asked, smiling.
"Very good." He said, smiling back at her. Her heart gave an extra loud thump when she saw that smile. He had to stop smiling at her like that.
"As a friend, can I give you a piece of advice?" she asked tentatively.
"Certainly."
"Stop smiling so often. It's disconcerting," she blurted out before she could stop herself.
He laughed at that. "You don't like my smile?" he flashed her another grin. Her heart thumped like it was running a race.
"You know what. Forget I said anything. I didn't mean it," she said. "What a sad beginning to our friendship. We both gave advice in one minute and took it back the next," she laughed. "What sad cases we are. Our families are out there celebrating the new year. We should be with them," she quipped. "Instead we're sitting here, giving each other bad advice!"
'Wanna go join them?" he asked.
"No. I'm OK here," she said.
"Me too, Khushi,"he said, feeling very satisfied that she was content to sit here with him.
"So, do you have any more advice for me Khushi? Should I growl less? Maybe, yell more? Talk more?" he asked.
"Shut up Arnavji! And what's a pom-pom?" she asked.
"Never mind Khushi. Never you mind."
When the sun rose on a flaming, pink sky to inaugurate a brand new year the next morning, only 2 empty cups of tea and a small piece of chocolate wrapper lying around on the floor bore silent testimony to their long finished conversation. The water, heaving around in the pool gently, would, if you asked nicely, tell you that they'd finally become friends.
So...any good? Let me know.
Cheers!
Vidhya
My other works:
FF: Highway to Hell
OS: A (modern day) Christmas Carol
OS: A poolside proposal (2)
Kumkum Bhagya
Anupamaa
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