Part 40...
Shree rang the bell and patiently waited for someone to open the door and when it finally did, he couldn't wipe the huge smile off his face.
"Shree!!" Riya exclaimed as soon as she opened the door.
"Hey! Kaisi hain?" he walked in and gave her a side hug.
"Main thik hoon par...tum...aunty ne tujhe drive karne diya?"
"Ab tu bhi shuru math ho jaa yaar! I am fine now...sab kaha hain?" he asked looking around when he didn't find anyone in the house.
"Sab Anu ke room main hain...chelo..." she said dragging him into the room.
Shree was surprised and a little disappointed to see Arjun, Mr and Mrs Rawte all in Anu's room. He greeted them all and sat down on a chair next to the bed as they continued with their conversation from before he came. Both Anu and Shree kept stealing glances at each other, Shree because he desperately wanted to talk to her and Anu because she could sense that he desperately wanted to talk to her.
This did not go unnoticed by Riya, she observed them for a while and decided to help them out. She nudged Arjun and slowly whispered to him,
"Mujhe lagta hain we should let them talk..." she pointed towards Anu and Shree and immediately saw Arjun's eyes gleam with mischief. She shook her head warningly and pointed towards Mr and Mrs Rawte. Arjun sighed and turned to his parents,
"Maa, papa baahar baite? Ab iss choti si room main aur kitni der..."
"Haan chelo, baahar chelthe hain..." Mr Rawte immediately got up and nudged Mrs Rawte out of the room while she kept giving confused looks to Shree and Anu.
As Shree got up to follow them, Arjun stopped him,
"Arre tum kaha chele? Tumhare liye hi toh bhagaa raha hoon sab ko..." saying so, he closed the door leaving behind a stunned Shree to talk to Anu.
Shree turned around to Anu and voiced still in a stunned state, "Yaar, Arjun sir toh...bahut cool hote jaa rahe hain...aur aaj kal mujhe heart attack dete jaa rahe hain..."
"Oye! Mere bhai ko kuch math kahiyo!! Woh humesha se hi bahut cool hain..." Anu said defensively.
Shree clasped his hands together in front of her, "Meine tumhare bhai ko kuch nahi kaha hain, mujhe bhaksh do..."
Anu slapped away his hands and both laughed. Shree sat next to her on the bed and let silence prevail for a few minutes. He entwined his fingers through hers and held them close to his heart.
"Ghussa kum hua ab madam ka?"
"Ghussa nahi thi Shree...bas...darr...darr sa lagta hain jab bhi tum, uski baat karthe ho toh..." she stroked his hand with the pad of her thumb as she spoke.
"Hmm pata hain, a...ab se baat nahi karoonga...thik hain?"
Anu gazed at him for a few moments and shook her head in negative.
"Nahi, tum mujhse kissi ke baare main bhi baat kar sakthe ho Shree. Bhai ne mujhe samjha diya hain, ab toh yeh sirf shuru waat hain. Aage jaake aise kahi incidents ho sakte hain na? Mein chaah thi hoon ki tum mere saath sab share karro...and I promise, main daroongi nahi. I will talk it through with you..."
Shree smiled at her and slowly leaned in for a hug. Making sure not to hurt her, he hugged her gently and stayed like that.
"Accha aage ki baat tumne chedi hain toh...meri taraf se next step toh le liya hain. Ab tumhari baari..."
Anu frowned and parted from him.
"Next step matlab?"
"Mom se baat karli hain maine...humare baare main. Aur unhe ya Dad ko koyi problem nahi hain..."
Anu's eyes widened as he finished his sentence, "Are you serious?"
Shree narrowed his eyes at her playfully, "Nahi, joke tha. Tumhe samajh nahi aaya?"
"SHREE, stop playing with me!! Sach main bata diya??"
"Haan baba sab bata diya!!" he said and laid down on the bed, putting his head on her lap.
"That's...that's awesome!!" she exclaimed and ran her fingers through Shree's hair and he closed his eyes in content.
~oOo~
"Shree aur humari Anu!" Mrs Rawte exclaimed just as Arjun finished telling his parents about the couple.
"Haan maa, Shree bahut hi accha ladka hain. They'll be great togeth..." Arjun trailed off without finishing the sentence as he glanced at Riya. She had been sitting next to him since they came into the living room and he started telling his parents about his sister and Shree. She had this huge smile plastered on her face and happiness just oozing out of her. Her eyes kept glancing towards Anu's room and then back to the three of them.
"Riya tum thik ho?" Arjun asked, almost laughing seeing her excitement.
"Huh?! Haan, ma-aunty...Shree bahut accha ladka hain, mera best friend hain...best friend kya, mera bhai jaisa hain...uncle usse accha aur caring ladka Anu ke liye nahi milega...sachi!!!"
"Accha, accha baba...thik hain! Humne na thodi hi kaha tha..." Mrs Rawte said smiling.
Arjun smiled widely before looking at his father, "Papa agar aap dono ko koi problem nahi hain toh...Anu fully recover hote hi, hum Shree ke parents se baat kar sakthe hain..."
"Humme koi problem nahi hain. Dekh beta, ab Anu ki zimedaari tumhe de raha hoon. Usne toh ladka dhoond li apne liye...ab uske shaadi ki zimedaari tumhari. Mein aur tumhari maa bus madap main baitenge...baaki sab tum sambhaalna..."
"I will look after everything! Aap bus aaram se baitiye papa..."
"Aaah! This is soo exciting!! I'll go whip up something sweet...muh meeta karne..." Riya got up and literally ran to the kitchen as Arjun watched her amused.
Mrs Rawte soon followed her and found that Riya was already busy in the kitchen.
"Beta ek baat poochoon tumse??"
"Haan aunty kahiye na..."
"Tum mujhe yeh aunty kyun bulaati ho? Kahi baar dekha hain ki maa kehte kehte rukh jaati ho aur aunty kehti ho..."
Riya looked away embarrassed. She somehow knew that this was going to happen.
"Woh...mein...actually...Arjun ne kabhi..." Riya struggled with words to explain the situation.
"Oooh samajh gayi. Arjun ne kabhi officially introduce hi nahi ki...yehi na?? Mere saath chelo..."
"Nahi, nahi maa please...aap..." Riya tried to stop Mrs Rawte as she dragged her out into the living room again. Once there Arjun and his father looked at them confused as Riya tried to hide herself behind Mrs Rawte as much as possible.
"Arjun tumne yeh bahut galat kiya"
"Kya maa?"
"Tum abhi idhar aao aur Riya ko officially hume introduce karro. Iss bechaari ko samajh main hi nahi aaraha hain ki hume maa aur papa kahe, ya aunty aur uncle..."
Arjun looked from Riya to his mom with a raised eyebrow, a mixture of amusement and confusion on his face. As his gaze met Riya's, realization dawned on him. He always wondered why Riya referred to his parents as maa and papa in front of him but called them aunty and uncle...now he understood. He smiled and got up, walking to his mom. He grabbed her hand and brought her forward so they were standing side by side and facing his parents.
"Maa, papa, yeh wohi ladki hain jiske saath...I want to spend the rest of my life with. Officially introduce nahi kar paaya sorry, woh hospital aur uske baad work ke wajhese..." He added the sorry bit more for Riya than his parents and she knew that.
"Ab toh unhe maa aur papa bol sakthi hona?" he asked her, earning a nudge from her elbow.
"Bol skathi hain, aur bole gi bhi..." Mrs Rawte said, giving Riya a quick peck on her forehead before turning towards to Mr Rawte,
"Suniye, aap Riya ke papa se bhi baat kariye na...mein toh kehti hoon Anu aur Arjun ki shaade ek hi din kardenge...kyun?"
Arjun immediately looked at Riya at the mention of her father and sure enough her face fell, a frown made its way between her brows and her shoulders tensed. She gave him an uneasy glance before getting distracted by Mrs Rawte.
"Beta, tumhare papa ka number dedo hum unse baat karlenge..."
Before Riya could reply, Arjun answered for her, "Maa, baat karlena aaram se...mein baad main aapko..." but he didn't finish the sentence as Anu came out of the room looking very happy with Shree right beside her.
Arjun and Riya looked at each other in relief, thanking Anu and Shree internally for their good timing. Shree sat with them for a while longer before excusing himself just before lunch. As soon as he left Anu told Arjun and then her parents that Shree's parents were more than happy about their relation.
Everyone was beyond happy, and in the midst of all this Riya kept glancing at Arjun to see a determined look on his face and she knew what was coming to her. He was going to make her talk to her dad by hook or by crook.
Precap: Office romance and an angry Arjun!
comment:
p_commentcount