Childhood Romance
The house was brilliantly decorated. There were a million twinkling lights strung across the trees and hedges. I walked in, shivering slightly due to cold, no nervousness, I had grown accustomed to people staring and these public appearances. My black net saree was a bit thin for the mid-Jan weather.
'Shivam weds Tanya' shouted the welcoming board as I noticed the bride and groom standing on a massive orchid festooned stage at the other end of the lawn. The extremely invasive frisking at the gate had alerted me to the fact that many big shots were already and had I not been signing a deal with Shivam I would not have taken the trouble. I was ushered towards the VVIP seating and everybody was super obsequious as I swept in regally. Me, Tanisha Shekhawat was used to people staring at me as it came along with job culture.
I was never fond of such events, maybe because it showed me the mirror which reflected nothing but my loneliness. I quickly congratulated the couple and went to take a quick glance of the food stalls. I walked past huge stalls of fruits and salads, past laughing groups of people who all seemed to know each other, until I reached the bar. There was a long, noisy queue, full of ladies, chatting gaily. I went a bit forward and the waiter-type behind the counter came to view as he was juggling glasses and making drinks for everybody. He came to sudden stop on seeing me. He just stood there, staring at me, two glasses in his hands with different coloured drinks. Mocktails, I guessed. I stared at him back.
"I know you", he said in a voice so intimate it made me jump a little.
"Oh! Many people know me here", I relied rather blankly.
He was one handsome waiter. Tall with tousled hair. His black gala-bandh was exquisitely severe, though a hint of deep rose satin showed at his breast pocket. His skin seemed to glow pale honey gold, but that could have been the light from the coals. He stood still looking at me expectantly, waiting for me to say something.
"Come on moti Taani", he said grinning. "Jog that memory"
I frowned. Only two people called me Taani ' dadi and '. But that could not be true.
This tall waiter could not be '
But I knew those eyes.
"Rey", I exclaimed, beaming happily.
"Wow! I had forgotten that smile", he mocked.
Even I had forgotten this smile.
An awkward silence fell between us. I remembered the weirdness of our last parting. He whistled tunelessly between his teeth as me made a drink. We had some bizarre conversations.
"So what would you like to have?"
I looked at the drink in his hands.
"Why are you making drinks anyway?" I demanded. "Did your family go bankrupt?"
"Yes", he joked.
Reyaansh Singhania was the rich, spoilt, brat of one of the best choreographer of the country and his father also had a chain of dance academies in the metro cities.
"I like doing it", he said.
"Wow! I never thought you'd grow up to be so '. Metrosexual", I managed to say.
His eyes glittered combatively. I looked up quickly. His lips were smiling, but his eyes weren't.
"You are looking very nice in a saree", he said abruptly.
I felt my cheeks go hot. "Hey thanks", I said matter-of-factly. "You look nice too."
"Hey thanks", he grinned.
"How's ma?" I asked.
I was really fond of his mother, maybe because I did not have any. I had envied him a lot when I was a kid. He used to go out on outings with his parents while I used to sit alone with my dadi, who used to busy managing her company so that I could have everything I wanted. My parents had died in a car crash when I was 4.
"Good! How's your dadi?" he countered.
I continued standing there, watching him as my mind suddenly grew chaotic and I felt my eyes grow dangerously watery.
"She died", I said shortly. "3 years ago".
"I'm sorry".
He eyed me closely and suddenly I feared losing control. I never felt this whenever I talked about her death but today was different, maybe because someone who knew me and her personally asked. When dadi died I had no shoulder to keep my head on and cry. Instead I had to be strong and had to take her faith on me and her company forward and with this responsibility on my shoulders I could not fall weak. I had not shed a tear on her death.
Suddenly he asked, "Shall we go inside and talk".
He led me through the courtyard into a cosy study stocked with over stuffed arm chairs and lined with bookcases.
Rey and I had been unwilling friends at first but since all local kids in Delhi were day-scholars and we two out-of-towners, who met only on vacations, we had no option but to become friends and manage squabbling alongside. We used to play carom and climb mango trees all day. Finally one afternoon, I had said a whole lot of typical uncalled-for things oblivious to the fact that he was listening and Rey dropped out of my life forever. We were 16 then.
As I was sitting down, he caught my hand and pressed a soft kiss on the inside of my wrist and his lips brushed my skin.
I flushed red and gave him a glare.
"Okay let's talk"
I smiled at him and he caught the edge of my pallu and started to play with it. He had always been like this ' Casanova. In our 'hormonal' stage he used to be very flirtatious and I still remember the two kisses we had shared. The memory made me go red even now.
He grabbed my wrist and pulled me so hard and came up close against his side. Suddenly furious, I tried to break his grip but couldn't.
"You can't just walk into my life after 10 years and try to revive some juvenile little romance. I've forgotten all about you", I muttered.
He didn't say anything and just looked at my averted face. Then deliberately, he bent his head and pressed a contrite, lingering kiss on the soft skin at the back of my neck, the same place where he had kissed me 10 years ago. I closed my eyes and managed to stifle the sigh that threatened to escape my lips. I felt like a teenager driven my hormones and not an adult with reason and logic.
Anything could have happened if there wasn't the banging on the door, which brought us back to reality. I hastily pulled by pallu from his grip and ran outside before we could get caught.
I gulped down some wine to calm my nerves.
"Taani?" Rey emerged looking incredible. "Can we just talk?"
"About what?" I snapped, trying not to remember the incident.
"Anything. Like what did you do after Class X?"
"I shifted to London to pursue my further studies and did a designing course there. After dadi's death, I now head the Shekhawat Designs and lead my own fashion line."
"Wow! A big woman now, I must say."
"What do you do apart from bar tending?"
"I went to Mumbai for college and now me and my friends run a professional dance team and a chain of dance academies. Didn't you ever Google me", he smirked.
"No", I replied. "You dropped out of my life and out of my mind."
This is a two-shot inspired by a novel. Hope you like it. Would update as soon as possible.
Love,
Avni
Kumkum Bhagya
Tu Dhadkan Main Dil
Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi 2
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