Chapter 53
Until they actually pulled up next to the dabba, Geet didn't really believe that Maan was driving them to her favorite kind of eatery. The familiar sights and sounds of the dabba brought a smile to her face, as did Maan's hesitant nature. She constantly challenged him about his reactions and behavior, secretly loving how easy it was to get a reaction out of the dusht danaav. She didn't care when he glowered at her, for she was too happy that they were actually sitting in a dhaba, where she could eat all her favorite foods. Her teasing went too far, though, when he took personal affront to her saying he could not eat mirchi.
The whole thing started when Geet said hello to a nice Sikh family that also stopped in the dabba. In the course of the conversation, the husband lamented about how his wife always requested him to eat mirchi as a proof of his love. Geet had been so impressed that he had been able to eat 15 mirchi, she had inadvertently taunted that Maan would never be able to do such a thing. She hadn't meant to, but when she said that no one in Delhi could do such a thing, that just lead to the wife suggesting that Maan could surely eat mirchi for her.
Well, that suggestion was too much for Geet to handle, who didn't like the couple assuming that she and Maan were in love. In her hurry to end the conversation, she actually declared that Maan was not able to eat such spicy food, hoping to leave it at that. However, her words seemed to end his tolerance of her teasing, and despite her protests, Maan began to eat the spicy chilies.
"Maan, please stop," she pleaded when he reached for a fourth chili, even as tears started to form in his eyes. "The chillies are really hot. You will get sick if you keep this up."
When he continued to play deaf to her pleadings, unceasing in his efforts despite coughing every few seconds, Geet had enough. Reaching her hand out, she physically removed the chili he was eating while holding a glass of lassi to his lips. While he drank the cool drink, she let him know in no uncertain terms how upset she was with his behavior. Her scolding was so much like how a mother would scold a child that Maan could only stare mutely, while their fellow customers watched in amusement.
"What was the need to eat all that mirchi?" she scolded heavily. "Don't you know that too much spicy food can make you sick? On top of that, you ate it on an empty stomach. You better drink that whole cup of lassi without any argument."
Of course both Maan and Geet's antics had the Pubjabi couple commenting on how much they loved each other, embarrassing the young couple immensely. Geet tried to protest, but was unsuccessful, while Maan just coughed and drank some more lassi. Eventually the older couple's children claimed their attention, giving Maan and Geet a respite from the awkward situation, at least, until Geet looked closely at Maan's face.
She had been so concerned about how many chilies Maan had eaten, that she had failed to notice the lassi residue that had formed a mustache on top of his own. When she did, Geet couldn't keep the smile from forming on her lips. She tried a few times to silently indicate what was wrong, but Maan couldn't understand her gestures. He kept brushing his cheeks for tears, completely misunderstanding her pointing toward his face. Eventually Geet leaned across the table to wipe the lassi off herself, tired of his inability to understand.
If she had been paying attention, Geet would have seen Maan looking at her like he had never seen her before. Instead, she missed seeing how utterly absorbed he was in studying her every gesture, because a band of Punjabi musicians had come with their catchy beat. Jumping up from the table, Geet hurried away with the rest of the patrons, eager to dance. When she noticed that Maan was not joining them, she didn't take even a moment to think before she grabbed his hand, pulling him towards the group and encouraging him to join the fun. Her smile knew no bounds when he finally let go and did a bit of dancing with the rest if them.
For the first time since they met, Geet felt a harmony with Maan, as if they were now both in tune, having danced so freely together. She hadn't had a chance to dance with such enjoyment for a while, and it was nice to share the experience with someone. When they were done, she insisted that Maan eat something else, have at least some roti with daal, just in case. Geet knew Maan was not that used to eating spicy food, so she wanted to be sure he had something else besides just the lassi after eating those chilies. Soon they had both finished eating and were bidding goodbye to the various people at the dhaba, with Geet taking extra time to say her farewell to the family they had met.
"It was good to meet you, Kudi. Your munda might be a little strange, but he seems like a good soul. I hope Babaji will let us meet again."
"It was good meeting you too, Bhabiji. Have a safe trip. Satsriakal Ji."
"Satsriakal," eched the couple, who then ushered they children back to the bus they had come on, the other passengers also getting up to leave.
"I guess you never thought that Maan Singh Khurana could enjoy at a dhaba, but now you know differently," stated Maan proudly to Geet, when the bus had departed.
"You know, you aren't as much of a dusht danaav as I thought," replied Geet with a little smile.
That smiled disappeared as soon as she realized what it was that she had actually said. Turning to Maan, Geet hoped that he didn't hear her properly. That hope was destroyed when it became very clear from his face and the way he questioned her, that he had heard her. Muttering an excuse, Geet grabbed her bag and hurried to the car, wanting to hide from his possible angry reaction.
"Dusht danaav?" Maan was sure that was what Geet had called him, and he was also sure that he had heard her mumble those words before.
Maan couldn't understand what was happening to him. For the first time in his life he had eaten at a dhaba and danced Bhangra, all with a person who referred to him as "dusht danaav". Geet was definitely making him crazy, causing him to do things he had never done before. What was it about this girl that made him act so out of character?
Not liking the direction his thoughts were going, Maan walked quickly to the car, urging Geet to get in as he wanted to go home right away. When she didn't do so, but stood outside laughing, Maan was annoyed. When he found out the reason for her humor, he moved from annoyed to furious. Having his tires stolen from his car was an experience he could have done without. It was all do to Geet that he was going through this, and the trouble didn't end there. Right after Maan scolded Geet for being the cause of the current fiasco, thunder broke the sky, with rain beginning to pour down heavily upon them.
"Great! This is all that we needed now!"
Precap
"I am changing. This Geet has changed me."
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