*::.~FF Dostana~.::* OLD CHAP PUT UP AGAIN - Page 9

*.:: CHAPTER 7::.*

~ The one in which they share their secrets~

Khanak ran to her kitchen and poured hot milk into a cup and made way to her living room. She went to the sofa and covered herself with a blanket and rubbed her hands together before returning to her work, she took a sip of the steaming hot milk when the door bell rang. She looked at the clock on the wall; it was ten o'clock, 'itni raat ko kaun aayega?'

She reluctantly walked towards the door, and saw through the peep hole. 'yeh?'

She opened the door, 'Shan, tum yahan kaise? Tumhe mere ghar ka address kaise mila?'

'Aaj humara dinner reh gaya tha usse continue karne ke liye aaya hoon, aur maine Rohan ki address book chura li officed se.'

'Haw! Chor!' she laughed, 'come on in.'

'Thank you, you won't regret this Kapoor, I come bearing gifts.'

'dikh raha hai, bags main kya hai?'

'Chinese... tumne kha liya hai toh don't worry, main khata hoon, tum mujhe dekh sakti ho.'

'no thank you, main toh Chinese khaongi, veg ya non-veg?'

'both, but more non-veg.'

'good, main ghaas-phoos nahi khati.'

'me too, and I have one more gift.'

'sweet dish toh nahi?'

'nahi, mujhe pata nahi ki tum sweet dish mein kya khati ho, isliye... tada... sparkling wine, your second favourite.'

'thank you, and for future reference, chocolate fudge, black forest pastry ya baskin robin ki honey nut crunch ice cream, yum!.'

'Noted. And chocolate cheese cake, any ice-cream from London diary ya brownies from angels in my kitchen with lots of chocolate sauce, bliss...'

'yes sir.'

Khanak took out the plate, 'shan glasses uss cabinet main hai.' Shantanu got the glasses.

Khanak sat on the kitchen counter, while Shantanu shrugged off his coat and tossed it on the chair, 'cute pyjamas...'

'thank you, if you meant it and not funny if you didn't.'

'no, I meant it, Tom and Jerry PJ's very sexy.'

'hahahaha, chup chap bottle kholo!'

Shantanu laughed, 'waise tumhe kissi ne bataya hai ki tum bahut bossy ho?'

'haan, Tashu hamesha kehti rehti hai.tumhe kuch problem hai mere bossy hone se?'

'nahi, I personally love a bossy woman, they are very sexy...'

'flirt karna band karo.'

'kyun? Kaam kar raha hai?'

'thoda sa.'

'good to know I am not losing my touch.'

'whatever Khandelwal!'

'kher, mujhe ek baat batao.'

'poocho.'

'tum Mumbai se delhi aai kyun? I mean ...'

'family ko chod kar, friends sab kuch, and all?'

'pretty much ya...'

'dream tha, I was always interested in writing, but Tashu ki tarah novels and all nahi, mujh mein itna patience nahi hai, na hi itna confidence... journalism was the obvious choice and mujhe yeh murder, politics waghera pasand nahi isliye fashion journalism. I got a job offer of being a features editor and I grabbed the opportunity, I love my family but dream bhi toh important hai, plus internet zindabad, we stay connected. Aur tum? Tum hamesha tough, serious business man bana chahate the?'

Shantanu smiled, 'nahi.'

'nahi?'

'no, maine yeh kissi ko nahi bataya hai, not a soul in the world, but business mein mujhe interest tha, but no passion. Main business man nahi bana chahata tha, I went to business school just to please dad, that's it.'

'So what did you have a passion for?'

Shantanu took a deep breath, 'photography.'

'photography?'

'hmm... I even did a short course on it, one summer, when I was in New York,' he smiled, 'god, it was... amazing, you know, getting to know how to click a picture, capturing those little moments which we take for granted... I had decided there and then that I want to do photography. And after college I pursued it for a bit to.'

'then? What happened?'

'dad.'

'don't tell me that he is one of those dad's who don't let you follow your dream and tell you ki beta family business hi join karo!'

'no, Dad was happy that I am happy it's just, honestly he probably thought it was a phase, but he never stopped me but... Dad had a heart attack.'

Khanak put down her food and put her hand on Shan's shoulder to comfort him, he looked at her and in her eyes he saw understanding and acceptance.

'We came so close to losing him...' his voice broke, ' Tabse I started doing business, I joined the family business and started working hard. Doctors said, stress and body ko over exhilarate karne ki wajah se the heart gave in, since then...'

'tumhe lagta hai, tum jitna zayada kaam karoge, utna kam kaam tumhare dad karenge, you feel like you are protecting him, in a way... by not leaving him with any work'

'ya, I am closest to dad, I...I can't lose him, even if I have to give up on my love... I know it probably sounds stupid but... '

'no it doesn't, I know how that feels... meri mom died when I was young, even now sometimes when I miss her I feel I wish I could have done something, helped her in some way. Dad married when I was twelve, and I love Suman, my step mom, but there are just times when I feel kash mom hoti...'

'hmm... Chinese ke liye kuch zayaada hi serious conversation nahi hogayi?'

'kyun? Chinese food and serious conversation doesn't mix well?'

'no, Chinese food, with a beautiful girl in tom and jerry PJ's doesn't mix well with serious conversation.'

'hmm... you were wrong.'

'about what?'

'you are losing your touch, just a tad bit...'

'just a tad bit?'

'itna sa,' she indicated the size with her index finger and thumb.

They laughed.

:::::

'meri address book kahan hai!'

'yahi hogi, aur kahan ho sakti hai?'

'Tashu yahan nahi hai!'

'god! Maine kitni baar kaha hai, ek digital planner le lo, main gift kar deti hoon...'

'please old school zindabad, mujhe digital planner nahi chahiye...'

'fine! But how will we go to your friends party now?! As it is this emergency meeting of yours has delayed us...'

'I am sure Shantanu has taken my book!'

'And why would he do that?! ... Wait a minute, what if he has taken it to take Khanak's address... and they have a nice talk!'

'Earth to novelist, come back to reality!'

'very funny!'

'Tashu those two have decided to be friends, so...'

'You know what it is a good idea, jab dono ko realise hoga how perfect they are for each other, at least they will be friends, they will be able to work it out...'

'Tashu, they are friends, they won't fall for each other!'

'please they will, and Shantanu will fall in love first.'

'no they won't and Shantanu will never fall in love.'

'they will! And Shantanu will fall for her, pakka , believe, me i know!'

'they are not the characters of your story janu, they... won't fall for each other.'

'Bet? They will fall for each other.'

Rohan looked at her for a second, then smiled, 'fine, but what do I get?!'

'humare do friends ek couple, isse zayaada tumhe kya chahiye?!'

He leaned in and looked at her seductively, 'bahut kuch...'

'Rohan no!'

:::::

Shantanu and Khanak, cleared up the dishes and moved to the couch, with the wine bottle and their glasses. Shantanu looked at her with a serious expression.

'kya?'

' don't mind me asking, and you ... you don't have to answer...'

'kya Shan?'

' Tumhari mom...um... kya hua tha?'

'she committed suicide...'

'oh! I am sorry...'

'kyun, unhe suicide ka idea tumne diya tha?'

'Khanak!shut up!'

'I know! I'm ... mera defence mechanism, whenever mom's topic comes I make stupid joke, or just stop talking... she was sick... bipolar disorder, they are always at a high risk of suicide.'

'hmm...' he held her hand, 'you okay?'

'nope, but I will be when you pour me some more wine...'

'here you go, waise nice place...'

'thanks.'

'main bhi sooch raha hoon apni ek alag jagah le loon, mom dad and bro mujhpe joint hamla bolte hai, ekele rahoonga safe rahoonga.'

Khanak laughed, 'waise mere opposite jo ghar hai, woh khali hai, sunna hai market main hai, the owner wants to sell it...'

'perfect!'

'tum seriously mere neighbour bana chahate ho?'

'haan, it'll be fun.'

'come to think of it, it will be... i guess.'

'but I will see... moving out ki baat par mom kahi gussa na ho jaye...'

'hmm... anyway, ek question pooch?'

'haan...', he poured himself more wine.

'did you ever fall in love, like really in love...'

'of course yes!'

'really! Kaun thi?'

'Collage main, her name was Aisha...' he took sip of wine and started looking around the living room.

'And?'

He looked at Khanak, 'and what?'

'what happened, why did you guys break up?'

'we just fell out of love, we dated for two years, but then the relationship seemed more like a chore than love...'

'hmm...'

'aur tum?'

'I have never been in love.'

'what! No, I don't believe you!'

'It's the truth, I have had boyfriends and crushes, but I don't think it was love, when I lost them, there was no void, I just moved on... and when i looked back, I think... i feel, I was more in love with the idea of falling in love with them, than falling in love with them... do I make sense?'

'Ya, matlaab, you are one of those who are looking for life altering love and all...'

'no, no it's... not like that.'

'ya it is, and nothing really wrong with, but you have to be careful.'

'of what?'

'that the guy you choose, should be the guy you love, not the guy with whom you love the idea of being in love, it is a very slippery plane, shayad you think you love someone but you are, actually in love with someone else...'

'tum itni achchi advise de rahe ho, pyaar par? Wow.'

'I have my moments...'

'oh my, it's almost eleven thirty! I have an early meeting tomorrow, ' she shrugged, ' god, editors meeting! Horror!'

'my, pata hi nahi chala , time just flew...'

'ya...'

The smiled at each other, 'mujhe pata tha.'

'kya?'

'that we two will be great friends, and look at us, we know each other for less than a month and we know each other's secrets... '

She nodded, ' ya you are right, we can talk, I feel like I can tell you anything, it's weird, I have never felt like that with someone so soon, after meeting them...'

'Me to.'

They sat in silence, looking at each other and smiling for a moment, ' I think I should go now...'

'ya, but this was fun, I am glad you stole Rohan's address book...'

Shantanu smiled, 'usse paat chala toh woh mujhe maar daalega!'

He got up and fetched his coat, ' we should do this again, sometime...'

'ya, we can make a tradition out of it, Shantanu – Khanak friendship tradition, but not on Thursdays...'

'how about Saturdays?'

'perfect.'

'good, so this Saturday, same place?'

'ya, but not same time, how about eight?'

'sounds good, oh and next time, Mexican?'

'and scotch?'

'great combo.'

The hugged, lingering on for an extra second, before they bid farewell...