"Guru..." Sharad said. He sniffed me. "Smells like something is burninhg. Maybe you better hit the shower before going out."
"Shut up, Sharad...before I have you moved to that apartment we rented for Soumya."
"Tsk tsk...someone's jealous. Why? Because Suhani Bhabhi is going to go out wearing the dress her childhood friend Ankit brought her, and she looks happy, and excited?" He winked.
"SHARAD. Do you like having a nice, small nose?" I asked.
"Ok, Ok...fine, I get you...but better try to smile a bit...it's the least you could do for the girl who has so much faith in you." He said. He was rubbing salt into my wounds. I was in the worst mood of my life. Nothing was going right these days. First I was in deep hot water with Soumya, who kept following me around, giving me looks, smiles, trying to touch me, trying to do wifely things for me. I couldn't get rid of her no matter how hard I tried. I was sick of her and sickened by her. I hated her. If she wasn't my wife's best friend, I'd have taken sterner actions against her. I wondered how in the world I ever had any feelings for her. How? It was a mystery.
Now this Ankit had arrived to complicate matters even further. Everything was happening at my house. The amount of unwanted people at my house was increasing with every single day. I just wished they'd all disappear and leave us all alone, at least leave Suhani and I alone and at peace. I wanted things to go back to how they were, desperately.
Ankit was Suhani and Soumya's mutual childhood friend. Soumya's Mom was interested in him as a possible match for Soumya. I could hardly care. I just wondered how my house had become the official meeting spot slash matchmaking spot. Tonight, Ankit wanted to take Soumya out on a date. I was thrilled. It meant they would both be gone and I would get my house back. I would get my wife back and spend time with her and talk some sense into her. I was losing her to all this mess.
But it was ruined the moment Soumya invited us. I knew WHY she invited us. She wanted to be the leech she was and stick to me, oogle me, annoy me, and assert some invisible rights on me, which I had apparently given her because I was once stupid enough to like her. Suhani couldn't refuse her best friend for the life of her, and I was trapped. To top it all off, this Ankit brought Soumya a dress and one for Suhani as well. Soumya was in a red one and Suhani in blue. It was a backless gown, with no sleeves and sheer fabric around parts of the neckline. I didn't want Suhani to wear it. It was bad enough that this guy was buying gifts for my wife, but to have to see her wear it, what on Earth had I done to deserve this?
I squirmed in my seat as Ankit got up and left to get ready to go out with us all tonight. Soumya gave me her usual "I know you want me" looks which made me gag, and then Suhani was already trying to find something I could wear that would match her gown.
"Don't you have a blue suit?" She sounded so happy.
"No, I don't..."
"Yes you do, let me find it..." She dug through my cupboard. "Here it is..." She held it in front of me, triumphantly.
"Whatever. We don't have to match, you know?" I said.
"But what's wrong if we do?" She asked. She sounded a bit down hearing my tone. I felt bad.
"Ok, fine...I'll wear that..." I said. She became happy.
I dressed and waited for her. For the first time since our marriage, I saw Suhani wearing a Western gown. She also curled her hair and wore it differently, over on shoulder, and her lips looked glossy, while her eyes sparkled. I got lost staring at her long eyelashes and glossy pink lips. I was completely smitten. I couldn't believe how stunning she looked. She looked like a model or an actress. I was sitting on our bed and going through messages on my phone. I pretended not to look at her, to not notice. But I was noticing her. Every pore on every inch of my skin was noticing how stunning she looked. The dressed fit her snugly and accentuated her figure, her curves. The color of it made her glow. In short, she looked like a knockout.
She turned around. "Is it ok? It's not too much, right? I still look like me?" She sounded so self-conscious. I wasn't used to her ever being self-conscious. She was always confident in how she looked. How ironic was it that on the day she looked absolutely drop-dead gorgeous, she felt so insecure? I didn't know how to answer her. Something that her male friend had chosen for her, a guy who knew her longer than me, who she knew longer than she knew me, had picked it out for her. It looked so good on her, that I didn't know whether to curse him or appreciate what an eye he had.
The gown was floor length. There was sheer fabric up to her neck but it was quite transparent. Quite a bit of her body was exposed. It was still decent and proper, but I wasn't used to her wearing this out in public. Tonight, she looked too good to be out in public. All of this, her beauty, her figure, her skin, was mine to look at.
I nodded. "It's ok..." I said. She smiled. She held out my tie and I got up. "You want to wear a tie, or leave it?" She asked.
"I guess I'll wear it..."
She walked up to me and put the tie around my neck and made it for me, perfectly. I watched her making the knot and adjusting my collar. I tried not to look as attracted to her as I felt. Her long eyelashes, the black eyeliner, her glossy lips, were going to be the end of me.
"Where'd you learn how to put a tie on?"
"Youtube." She giggled. I smiled, though I was in no mood to smile.
I grabbed my car keys and we left. Sharad was waiting outside for us. He watched as we came out and clapped. "What a gorgeous pair, wow...Guru, wait...lemme take a picture of the two of you..." He grabbed my phone and took a picture of us. He did the same with Suhani's phone, and finally with his. I punched him in his arm. "Yeah, I'm your fanboy, what else is new?" I smiled. He was my unwitting support. Suhani went down and Sharad stopped me.
"Guru, take it easy...enjoy yourself."
"With that freak around, and then freak #2..."
"Look at Suhani Bhabhi, and forget the world..." He said.
"Are you sure? You were the reminding me of that smell of something burning..." I said.
"Whatever it is, it's pushing you in the right direction...towards her, whether you admit it or not." He smiled.
"I hate you, Sharad." I said. "Ok, time to go, bye..." I said. He waved. I waved back. We got in our car and drove to that five star hotel or whatever it was. This Ankit guy was such show off. What was the need to take Soumya to a five star restaurant? That was a bit too much, as if it wasn't a date but a wedding reception. I was double minded throughout. I thought of just ditching this whole thing and taking Suhani elsewhere, but that wouldn't sit well with her. We reached the place and I parked. If only I would get food poisoning and need to run back home. Ok, maybe that was a little bit extreme. My thoughts returned to reality when I felt Suhani's hand on my arm.
"I can't walk properly with these high heels..." She said.
"Well, that's what you get for wearing the dress Ankit got you." I said.
"Huh?" She asked, sounding surprised at my tone.
"Nothing." I shook my head.
We entered and there was a table of four reserved for us all. Soumya smiled seeing me and I frowned seeing Ankit. Could the ground just swallow those two pests up so I could have a nice dinner with my wife? Nonetheless, I was trapped. I felt like I was about to be slaughtered. Ankit was annoyingly nice to me, and then as soon as we reached the table, he pulled out a chair for Suhani and told her how beautiful she looked.
"This color really suits you. You look amazing. Suhani, you've changed so much...I mean, like...wow..." He tried to find the proper words and I tried to roll my eyes without getting caught. "Bro, it's called puberty, google it..." I muttered under my breath.
Saumya started at me and even had the audacity to compliment me.
"Wow Yuvraj, you look amazing in this suit."
"Thanks, I'm just trying to match my wife..." I shot back. She made that pouty face which irritated me further. I tried not to lose my appetite in the midst of such a repelling atmosphere. Suhani was her usual smiling, laughing, buoyant self. She looked so happy that it made my heart ache. Why was I such a pathetic husband? How come I'd never thought of taking her out this way? Buying her a dress? Ugh. Since I was the one at fault, did I even have the right to get angry? I decided I did, because if I took away my own right to be angry and grumble, then I'd become truly miserable.
Dinner was over by the grace of God and I was ready to go home. I took Suhani's hand in mine and gestured at her to get ready.
"Yuvraj, where are you going? I was thinking we could all go dancing upstairs. It's a nice, peaceful atmosphere, very romantic..." Ankit said. Soumya enthusiastically agreed because of course she was certain that I was just dying to dance the night away with her.
"Uh, no, Ankit...I think I'm good with just dinner. You and Soumya go ahead." I said. Soumya bit her lip. She grabbed Suhani's hand. I got it now; she was changing up her strategies. She knew Suhani was the weaker party. She'd get through to her right away. "Suhani, I'm sure Yuvraj rarely takes you out anywhere, so if I were you...I wouldn't waste this opportunity." She said, in a snarky, double meaning tone. It was insulting and I tried not to let it pinch me. Suhani looked at me and squeezed my hand.
"Please..." She whispered leaning against me.
"Only for you..." I said. I smiled and squeezed her hand back. Soumya looked jealous.
We went upstairs and it was some sort of ballroom set up with light music playing. There was a bar and all and some people there didn't really look like they were there to dance, but to basically stare at other women. It put me off. Other than that, there were some couples dancing. The lights were dim and the atmosphere was indeed romantic. Soumya intentionally bumped into me.
"Isn't it perfect?" She swooned.
"Far from it, in fact..." I said. Her smile turned into a frown. Suhani and I sat down. Soumya danced with Ankit and stared at me in between. She was truly losing it. I felt uncomfortable. After they finished dancing, Ankit asked to dance with Suhani. Being the perfect gentleman, Ankit asked me if he could dance with Suhani. That perfection just made me want to beat the wind out of him even more.
"Yuvraj, may I, with your permission of course, dance with Suhani?"
"Yeah...cool. Go right ahead." I said. He took Suhani's hand and they started dancing. I kept my eyes fixated on their every single move. I watched as he held her hand, placed one hand on her back, and she held his. At one point, she tripped slightly on her gown and he grabbed her arm and steadied her. I gritted my teeth and fought the urge to separate them. Soumya was standing next to me. I knew she was going to open her mouth and say something, so I escaped and went to the bar. I had a drink and turned around, and Suhani was still dancing with that loser. Suhani laughed at some lame joke that idiot made and I was ready to just shove his head into a wall somewhere and be finished with him. Finally, they finished dancing and Suhani went over and sat down and looked in my direction. She smiled. I didn't smile back. I was sweating with frustration and anger. Soumya and Ankit were once again dancing. Suhani saw how upset I looked and held my hand in hers. "You ok?"
I pulled my hand away. "Does it even matter to you if I'm ok?" I said in a low tone, so that the schemers around her wouldn't hear and have any fuel for fodder.
Suhani looked hurt and bewildered. "Why? What's that supposed to mean?" She questioned me. Her eyes already looked teary. I was so upset myself that I didn't answer her. I saw Ankit shaking hands with two guys. Apparently, they were his friends. I was shocked because I recognized them right away. They were at the bar. They shook Ankit's hand and he introduced Soumya to them. Then he pointed in our direction and I saw them waving at us. I didn't respond back. Suhani got up and went up to them and shook their hands. That's when my evening began to take a turn for the worse. The guy walked up to me and shook my hand.
"Hi, I'm Nikhil...is it ok if I dance with your wife, Suhani?" He asked. Ankit was right next to him. Suhani looked at me for approval. She knew I was in a bad mood already.
"No, Nikhil...it's ok, I think we'll go home now, right, Yuvraj?" Suhani looked with a worried look, as if she was waiting for me to explode. I tried to pull myself together. I let Suhani dance with that guy and held my breath and waited for it to end. Throughout, I noticed him looking at her the wrong way, and as much as I hated Ankit, I had to admit that he never looked at her this way. Even Suhani looked slightly uncomfortable throughout, and she excused herself and ended the dance early. She walked up to me and begged me to dance with her.
"No, I'm not dancing tonight. Dancing is stupid, this place is crap, you have ridiculously bad taste in friends, and your friend's also have friends who are perverts...therefore, you better get ready to leave, and I'll be outside waiting in the car, while you say your goodbyes to your FRIENDS. Understand?" I said. She was stunned by my harsh tone. If I'd hurt her, I didn't care, at least not yet. I wasn't feeling like myself. I stormed off and went down the steps instead of taking the lift. I needed to cool off. On my way out, I saw that Nikhil chatting with another guy who I'd seen at the bar. I overheard their conversation.
"I don't know how she ended up with that guy, but she's hot...did you see her body? Wow." Nikhil said.
Pati Patni Aur Panga
Kumkum Bhagya
