Clang! Thud!Bam! The sounds from the kitchen was nothing less than a WWIII+ Diwali dhamaka recording. "Maine aapse kaha tha na Chachu, aaj vrat rakh lete hain? Bade challenge lagaane aa gaye! Ab in do Master chefs ke orchestra sun kar hi pet bhar lo!" Viren grumbled to Inder who smacked his head, looking towards the kitchen side. Jeevika and Kadambari laughed at their poor husbands while recollecting how the dinner time had shifted from 8 p.m to 10 p.m.
It had been exactly one week after Manvi's challenge to Virat about him becoming an expert at office work. Miraculously, after a lot of pleading from Chachu, bribing from Viren and over the top encouragement from Dadaji, Virat had done it! He had become an expert and today Manvi had agreed to complete her part of the deal. Right from the morning she had cordoned off an area in the kitchen where she started preparing for her feast. Jeevika, Chachi and Vanshika had tried to help Manvi but she had pushed them out "Maine apne partner se promise kiya tha! Agar wo mere liye office jaa sakta hai, to kya main uske liye khana bhi nahi bana sakti? Aaj khana main hi banaaungi!" she was adamant and started preparing Virat's favourite dishes. She took out the list she had prepared in the morning "Ok, aloo parantha, rajma chawal, gajar ka halwa, badam kheer, lassi…Chal Manvi shuru ho ja! Dinner aaj raat ke liye banaana hai, kal ke liye nahi!" she tied the apron around her waist and started.
Virat heard some noise as he passed by the kitchen and was surprised. The Vadhera house kitchen was always so silent that it could be called the eerie bhoot bungalow mini version. He peeped into the place and stifled his laughter. Manvi was moving in fast forward speed with the same bowl in hand round and round the kitchen. He slowly went inside stood near the counter. "Ye akele akele kaunse race mein bhaag rahi ho Ms.Bolt?" he asked , making Manvi drop the bowl. "Arey yaar!" Manvi screamed in frustration "Chep! Tumne kya mujhe daraane mein PhD kiya hai? Jab dekho achaanak se tapak padthe ho!" she grumbled as she tried to clean up the mess. Virat raised his eyebrow and helped her in cleaning "Waise, tum kar kya rahi ho? Mujhe laga tum dinner banaane wali ho par yahan to tum koi vegetables ka circus organise kar rahi ho? Itna saara preparation kis liye Bandariya?" he asked as he saw the entire kitchen messed up. Manvi glared at him " Sharam naam ki koi cheez suna hai? Yahan main tumhaare liye apna khoon,paseena, bhook sab kuch ek kar ke khana bana rahi hoon, aur tum mera taang kheech rahe ho? Chepness ki koi level hoti hai ki nahi?!" she grumbled and continued with her work. Virat smirked at this and folded his arms "Achcha? Toh ye tumhari dinner preparations hain, huh? Mujhe to laga ke kisi shaadi mein daawat pesh karne ke chakkar mein ho. Ek dinner ke liye poore dukaan ka saaman yahan par daal diya tumne?" he teased. Just as Manvi was about to retort, her list fell down and Virat picked it up. He read the paper and was shocked. "Manvi..Ye kya hai? Tumne mere saare favourite dishes ka bio-data likha hai kya? Itne saare dishes? Poore Chandigarh ke liye khaana banaa rahi ho kya?" he asked with a stunned expression on his face. Manvi snatched the paper back "Tumhe kya? Meri marzi. Main aaj khush hoon, toh apne khushi ko is khaane mein express kar rahi hoon. Koi problem hai?" she sneered and tried to push him out. But Virat grabbed her hands and pushed her inside again. "Theek hai. Agar tumhe yahi karna hai to phir main bhi tumhaari help karta hoon." he said and tied another apron around his waist. Manvi tried to protest but Virat was adamant to help out his partner today.
Virat made Manvi agree to reduce the number of dishes. Finally it was agreed that they would make just roti, aloo sabzi, pulav and kheer. Both of them were horrible chefs but were the best partners. It was as though they had made a pact that if one cooked bad then the other would cook worse. Virat was in a mischevious mood and kept coming in Manvi's way. After he had teased her for the 10th time, he felt something fall on his head. "MANVI!" he yelled and shook his head, making the flour on his hair fall on his face "Bandariya! Roti mere shakal mein banaane waali ho kya?!" he screamed making Manvi guffaw. He warned her to stop laughing but Manvi just couldn't stop. He looked just like a cute snowman minus the cone beak. Virat glared at the giggling Manvi and grabbed her by the waist. "Bohut hasi aa rahi hai? Ab haso. Has na?" he challenged as he lifted her of the ground and rubbed his face against her cheeks. "Virat! Kya kar rahe ho! Chodo!" Manvi tried to yell but he didn't stop and pinned her against the wall. Inching his face closer to hers he held her gaze. Manvi felt her breath hitch and stared into his endlessly deep eyes. Both of them went silent , their breathing shallow, Virat smirked after a few moments."Dekha? Ruk gayi na hasi?" he whispered and rubbed his nose against hers one final time befor going back to the counter.Manvi stood shocked for a few minutes , shook her head in amazement and joined him back, giving him a sound whack on his back.After that, both of them concentrated on the food more and on food fights less for a while.
"Virat! Kheer mein doodh daalte hain, dahi nahi! Dahi to raaita mein daalna hai!" she screamed when she saw Virat fumble with the curd. Both of them shook their heads at the mess they were making. "Dinner kam aur abstract painting zyaada lag raha hai na?" Virat asked meekly and Manvi nodded her head pouting. Both of them looked at each other for a few seconds and started laughing. "God…aise toh hum aaj raat tak kabhi khaana nahi banaa paayenge yaar" Manvi told between peals of laughter. Virat agreed and came up with an idea. Within half an hour, both of them sneaked back of the house and brought in the home delivery of food from a nearby hotel. Within 15 minutes Manvi called everybody to have dinner.
"Waah bhai Manvi!" Dadaji praised for the 100th time during the dinner, "Kya laajawaab khana banaaya hai tumne!" he exclaimed and everybody agreed. "Dadaji, sirf Manvi hi nahi, Virat ne bhi uski madad ki, hai na?" Jeevika informed everyone and smiled at her devar. Virat glanced at his partner who winked at him. Both of them were congratulating each other through their signs when they heard Dadaji comment "Waise beta, itna achcha khanna khilaaya hai tumne aaj ki mera dil khush ho gaya. Aur is liye, main chahtha hoon ki tum har roz dinner banaao!" he declared and everybody agreed vehemently. "Nahi!" two voices shouted and everybody turned to see Virat and Manvi standing in shock covering their ears dramatically like 60's heroines. "Haan!" everybody replied unanimously and the partners stared at each other, imagining the next food fights to occur.
Ufff Yeh Love Hai Mushkil
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