SS: Waves and Particles [Completed] - Page 13

Chapter 4:

"What are you doing here?" Arnav asked pain evident in his voice. She thought it was probably because he was nervous about the date #2 but then again it could be tummy ache.

"I came to select your outfit, of course," she said and pushed past time.

"Why do I need you to pick my outfit? I dress myself fine and I really don't need recommendation from a person whose outfit is so bright that the alien beacon thing might be already in progress. NASA might even hire you for few hundred rupees more," he snapped at her as she completely ignored his rant and did whatever she wanted to.

"You should wear something casual but something really you," she said opening his closet.

"You don't feel odd to be in a man's room like this?" He said gathering all the huskiness he could manufacture.

"I am in your room," she said and took out couple of blazers.

His jaw hung open.

"What does that supposed to mean?"

"I am in your room sir so I am quite safe," she said holding up a jacket against his chest. She wrinkled and shook her head.

"Are you saying I am not capable of taking advantage of you?"

"No, I am saying you aren't capable of taking disadvantage of me," she said holding up a shirt against his chest.

"What does that even mean?" He asked her baffled at her random sprouting.

"Advantage never really made sense to me you know? How can what a man's inappropriate behavior be advantage? It's momentary advantage to the man of course but in the long run it really isn't. So I replaced it with disadvantage," she said. His shoulders slumped. He knew it. It was a bad idea to wake up that morning. He wondered if he can get electronic security system installed for his room. It was disturbing how Khushi came and went as if she owned the damn place.

"Wear this and don't be late. Brush your teeth before you leave and don't be too generous with your perfume. " Mother Goose mode was back full on. He didn't bother to respond.

"I am taking this DVD by the way," she said and stuffed the box into her bag.

"Thanks for telling me," he replied sardonically.

"Yeah, well...you are so touchy about it and you happen to be here," she shrugged. He shook his head. He was too young to go to jail. But then again if he recorded all their conversations, judge may actually take pity on him and give him a light sentence.

"Chop! Chop!" She clapped her hand startling him a little. "The mission is on sir get moving." She said hurried.

He promptly shut the door on her face making her yell.

*****

She had been laughing for two minutes straight now. The two had gone to the rendezvous point, as Khushi insisted on calling that restaurant, and had split up at the parking lot. She had unnecessarily sneaked inside the hotel behaving like a total nut case and he was glad that people didn't see them together. Once inside, they had chosen separate tables as reserved earlier.

The girl, Madhuri, had come at the dot of time which made him check his watch and look at the woman in front of him. He stood up and extended his hands while the girl offered him a polite 'Namaste'. He smiled involuntarily at this action both taken aback and slightly impressed.

And then her older brother had come in to join the 'meeting'. A moment later, older brother's wife and her younger sister joined them. The oldest brother was delayed by five minutes because he was stuck in traffic for which he apologized; since it was Sunday he thought even his three kids should join them.

"Please talk," the girl's oldest sister-in-law said with a toothy smile. He could hear Khushi's choked laughter in his ear piece.

"Ask them why they didn't bring their neighbors." Her voice came in smoothly. He looked past the oldest brother shoulder to see Khushi look up from the book she was trying to read.

She had the gall to wink at him then.

"This is a very nice restaurant," he said bleakly. The witch cackled in his earpiece.

For the next eight minutes, the second oldest brother explained the history of the hotel. He swallowed a yawn and motioned the waiter for coffee.

"You should stop talking, let the girl and the boy talk," his wife hit him fondly on his forearm.

"What do you do in your spare time Madhuri?" Arnav asked feeling a tad bit sad for the girl who was hovered by a group of people. He loved and enjoyed privacy but it seemed like the girl on date didn't have a clue about that word.

"She is an excellent cook and she is very cultured." The second sister in law butted in.

"How is being cultured a hobby?" He asked little fascinated. You don't want to go there sir, he heard Khushi warning him but he ignored her.

"Oh it takes a lot of effort Guddu," second sister in law said. Wait. Wha...?

"Who is Guddu?" He could see Khushi's confused face across the table.

"You are Guddu. Last night there was a family meeting and this name was picked out for you since you are practically family and all," the older woman explained.

Khushi burst into laughter. Arnav looked scared. He was too flabbergasted to respond and he looked at Khushi helplessly.

"Well, coming back to explain how cultured Madhuri is, she is very pious and traditional. She visits temples every day, does puja every day at home and celebrates every tiny festival with reverence. It is very important to go to temples if you have to be cultured." She said seriously.

"I see. What else does she do?" Arnav said fully giving up on talking to the girl.

"She doesn't have much time outside going to temples, talking to everyone in the family and generally be a good girl all the time."

"It must be tiring, isn't it?" He asked snidely. Khushi had now covered her face with the book she was reading and turned off her mike. Her shaking shoulders suggested that either she was giggling uncontrollably or there was something seriously wrong with her nervous system.

"Oh it is very tiring," first sister in law now jumped into conversation. "She is the princess of the family and we all love her very much," she added.

"Being a role model for all young women of her age can be very exhausting," oldest brother said in a deep baritone. He didn't bother a response.

"Yes. For example she should never feel bad if someone hurts her because if they are older than her, then it's all okay. She should never scold anyone younger than her and always pardon their mistakes because as a person older to them, she should be always forgiving. And most importantly - she should always smile."

"And Madhuri is all this?" He asked in wonderment looking at the girl in front of him.

The sister in laws nodded vigorously. Somehow he felt more tired than that girl.

"And there must be some God or Goddess that she feels totally connected to and treats them like her best friend right?" Arnav asked swallowing a smile.

"You are so smart Guddu! Yes, of course. She is an ardent devotee of Devi!" Second sister in law looked at him impressively. He shook his head.

"Are you going to a wedding or something? If you want to leave, then it's totally okay," he said feeling horribly casual in front of the family who were probably on their way to a very grand function. And not to mention the fact that he needed an immediate change in topic. He felt less accomplished in front of the girl given the way he generally behaved at home. He sometimes called his grandma sweetheart. If he called the girl with any of those endearments, the family would probably castrate him.

"Oh not at all," the oldest sister in law laughed. The diamonds on her ears twinkled bored of their stupid job of twinkling.

"We are here just to meet you Guddu," she said happily. "It is a special occasion to meet the prince who is going to take away our princess," she said nodding at the two of them. The girl, who was smiling and blushing for most part of the evening, blushed even more.

"How red is her face? Tomato red? Blood red? Raspberry red?" The lunatic was back on her mike. He ignored her.

"I am generally called Arnav and I prefer it that way," he said strangling his annoyance.

"Of course we totally understand that Guddu," the women nodded seriously.

"Just name the color, I'll update the website and we'll get the hell out of here. I promised grandma that there won't be any bloodshed," Khushi said.

"It's been nice meeting you all but now I have to go. I have um...err...meeting to attend." Arnav Singh Raizada never stammered. Everything had a first time, his subconscious said nastily.

"You have work on Sundays?" The second brother asked.

"I sometimes do," he replied.

"But you have to spend your Sunday with your family and not work," the older man didn't hide his disappointment. Arnav frankly didn't give crocodile's ass anymore.

"I run an empire and I really cannot always say that I need a Sunday off because I worked for the rest six days." His voice had turned steel. "My decisions can make or break families' sir," he said standing up.

"It was very nice to meet you all," he said pleasantly and walked out of the restaurant.

"I am hungry," he said as soon as she was in his hearing distance.

"What was the color?" She asked ignoring him. He rolled his eyes.

"Raspberry red!" He giggled like a school girl finally being on the team that was in the lead.

"YES!" She shouted sending a text to the network engineer.

"I am really, really hungry." He said sliding into his car. "Let's make a deal Khushi," he said seriously. Khushi looked at him expectantly.

"You remember puri and curry you got to office on Friday?" She nodded. "They were awesome."

"How do you know that?" She narrowed her eyes. He cleared his throat and ignored the question. He had sneaked into her cabin and stole two of them when he had sent her off on some stupid errand.

"Never mind that. If you make me that for lunch, I'll let you watch X-Files on my massive flat screen," he said. He wasn't a businessman for naught. He knew how to get work done.

"YES! YES! YES! We can do a complete first season marathon today!" She was jumping up and down in her seat. He felt very ill.

"I didn't mean marathon but..."

"Woah...complete season one back to back on a flat screen...I must have died and gone to drama heaven," she was in her own la la land and like always completely ignoring him.

"Khushi...maybe we can just go to our respective homes...I'll drop you..." He tried.

"...and I can borrow your wi-fi and laptop and simultaneously raid the X-Files forum and cross check all the facts and myth arc and understand the abstract references! This is so exciting!"

"Wait what? My laptop? No frigging way...Khushi...are you listening? Khushi!"

This was completely on him. He brought this on himself. He wondered if she would kick him for his idiotic proposal if he asked her to. She probably would kick extra hard just to ensure that her job is far above expectation.