A hug?
He returned at 9 ish, Ranjan and her were in the huge kitchen watching some Hindi flick on the flat screen on the wall
Mahavir made vadas, she had called Akka as soon as she texted Ranjan, and asked to borrow dosa batter, and asked Mahavir to soak dal for vada, and when she got home she made the sambar
And they sat around the food and ate the vadas trying to be normal
He had listened to her sing asking her for meaning later, she had sang one other song.
They tried to be normal. She did not pry. She did not poke. She acted like it was another evening at Malcha Marg
But it was the beginning of a different evenings at Malcha Marg, they both knew that, the first week after the wedding, they would bump into each other in the stairs
He would tease her about R&B if she was taking Sam Adams up
Or bringing her empty chai cup down, "Puttar jee oye hoye kinni seva kinni seva"
She would chuckle "I am just going down with a cup" "I am just going up with a beer bottle" she would get all defensive
"Kaam to pehle nahi karta tha, ab aur lafanga hua pada hai" Ranjan would wave a finger
She would nod
"Yeh Iyer kudiyan kinni poli" he would shake his head
"dad" she would protest
"He would blow air kisses and says "Ja beta ja koi gall nahi" and then promptly text Sam about what he saw
She got up when she saw R&B
He reached for the frig
"Aaaja puttar vade kha le, ek dum tasty banaye hain" HE INVITED HIS SON
Like he no longer felt any trepidation any more. In one stroke of the pen his son had returned his courage, Ranjan was no longer a prisoner of fear and doubt👏
R&B looked a lil startled at such direct invitation
He lingered
"Do u want with green chutney or coconut? Sambar is not done yet" she asked
She looked lovely he noticed
In a orange kurta and a purple chudidar, the dupatta tied across her chest and around her waist like a kathak dancer
She wore all sorts of teeka on her forehead, he saw a faint smudge of the holy ash, she wore those if she sang, he wondered if she did
her hair had jasmine in it, "did she go to D II?" he thought
"BSE dekha aaj" Ranjan asked sipping his beer
"I didnt" he said in a daze
Ranjan tuned to CNN-IBN.
He uncapped his Sam Adams and approached the table
"Kulikareya first?" she asked walking upto him? (take a shower?)
She was as usual barefeet, he felt taller than the 6'4" (6"3" +the patent leather shoes) with his formal clothes
"Umm.. maybe soon" he said
She stood an inch from him and looked up longingly
Mahavir chatted with Ranjan
"Bhaiyya ko do" Ranjan ordered
"Kai alambu da" she ordered (Wash ur hands)
"My hands are clean" he said to her tousling his already messy curls, waving them in front
He followed her around the kitchen
"Inko crisp chahiye aap zyaada brown kar denge?" she asked Mahavir earnestly
He smiled, having no clue how tense things were. He was happy to see them together
Monday night father-son in Ranjan's office Tuesday night everyone together?
She carelessly picked up two steaming hot vadas and set it on steel plates,
plates her Amma had given her as part of trousseau she served Iyer food only in those
"Its hot" he whispered
"enakku sudale" (doesnt burn me) she smiled
He ate standing by her
She walked to Ranjan he followed, she sat, and he did too
"Tu kevein raaste aaya si" (What route did u take?) Ranjan asked
"Vasant Kunj" R&B said still dazed
"Airport side sab band" Ranjan shook his head
"Aaj Emad ne notice bheja customs ka for beer, kal tak clear ho jaana chahiye beer aur aa jaayegi" he smiled
R&B nodded
II ate quietly "Dad aapko ek aur dein?" she asked
"La puttar la, par dosa ek khaoonga" he said sternly
"pehle sambar ban jaaye phir baat karte hain" she said sheepishly
"Kya daala sambar mein?" he asked
"small onions... I HATE those, tel lagaakar dhoop mein sukhao, ghiso, peel karo" she chuckled
"Tujhe rasoi ka kaam kam pasand nahi na hai " he said cheerfully
"Zero to negative" she smiled, nodding
R&B got up, she did too
"I am going to go take a shower" he informed
"Yes yes" Ranjan smiled
And bent over his plate smiling...
R&B went up with his beer, she gave instructions to mahavir to place a batch of idlis from
the lil quantity akka gave her, and told them to have the rest of the vadas
She went up angst ridden, doubling up the steps...
He stood in the balcony, staring out at the ridge rotating the phone on the rail
She leaned by the curtain in her favorite spot
Clutching the folds of the luxurious drapes... and exhaled
He turned
"Hug venuma?" she asked breathlessy (do u want a hug?)" as if it was like "Do u want one more vada??"
as she took two steps forward eagerly
"Right now?" he half smiled, weakly,
"Oh?" she said stepping back rapidly, slighted...
He extended an arm his hand outstretched.. she ran and careened into him, he folded her into his
body like warm fudge syrup filling up the nooks and cranies of a pastry.
He inhaled her neck... long and and deep sucking in every atom of the Mysore sandal jasmine scent.
"U shaved and u combed ur hair?" she asked hugging him tight
He smelled woodsy, baby powdery, and of sweat, heat, weariness, exhaustion... she heard a soft groan
"U smell like Lasya" she said.
"Umm ya I cheated" he chuckled (I went and saw her)
She hugged him tighter.
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