Previously On...
AR & RaMusk arrive in Kasauli.
Riddhima remembers the last time she was
here and Armaan consoles her.
Pillow fight!
Chapter 90
Bi's Cafe, as everyone fondly called it, was just as quaint and
peaceful as Armaan remembered. This place had been his safe haven when he'd
been in Kasauli. He'd spend almost his entire day at the cafe, working or
studying, only going home to sleep. The first time he'd stumbled upon it, early
in the morning, all blurry eyed from the all nighter he'd pulled the previous
night to complete a project, Bi had been there to welcome him. He'd never left
after that. In her, he'd found a mom, someone he hadn't had all his life till
then, despite having a mother. She'd been there for him when no one else had,
not even Nikki. Suffice to say, he was extremely grateful to Bi for all she'd
done for him, and would always be.
"Yeh jagah bilkul nahi badli," Rahul commented, bringing Armaan
out of his memories.
"Bilkul nahi," Armaan agreed. "Ab bhi ghar jaisa lagta hai."
Rahul nodded fondly and ruffled Armaan's hair. "Tera toh ghar hi
tha na?" He asked. Rahul had seen Armaan around the cafe at all sorts of odd
hours enough times to understand that Armaan spent every possible minute there.
It had confused him before, because why would Armaan Mallik, the coolest dude
of college, spend his time at a hole in wall cafe when he could be out
partying? But, as he got to know Armaan during their internship, he realized
how incorrectly he'd judged Armaan and that the Armaan he had known in college
wasn't who Armaan was for real, at all.
"Ghar hi hai, aaj bhi," Armaan answered. Rahul smiled.
"Chalein?" Armaan asked the ladies, who nodded.
"Okay then," he said, holding out both his arms for each of them
to take one. "Shall we?"
Riddhima & Muskaan giggled but latched on to him, while Rahul
shook his head at their antics.
"Tu kabhi nahi badlega," he commented dryly.
"Jo badal gaya woh Armaan nahi," came the cheeky reply.
Rahul threw his hands in the air and walked inside the cafe,
muttering something about being stuck with these idiots for the rest of his
life. The trio laughed and followed him in.
Just as Armaan & Rahul had expected, the place was packed,
mostly with college kids. Soft music was playing in the background, excited
chatter filling the air and overpowering it.
Paying no heed to what was going on around them, they made their
way to the counter. A young woman was working it, someone who neither Armaan
nor Rahul had seen before.
"Hey," Armaan greeted her. "Bi hai kya?" He asked.
The girl looked up at the sound of his voice and was momentarily
taken aback to see not one, but two extremely good looking guys standing in
front of her. She blushed crazily, a dopey smile on her face as she looked at
both of them dreamily.
"Uhm," Rahul cleared his throat. "Excuse me," he said. Looking at
the name tag, he added, "Natasha. Bi hai kya?"
"Umm... kya?" Natasha asked, still dazed.
"B se Bi! Hai kya?" Riddhima asked, annoyed. She didn't like the
way this girl was blushing at the mere sight of Armaan & Rahul. The boys,
well versed with Riddhima's moods by now, chuckled at her annoyance, but shut
right up when Muskaan glared at them.
"Bi... um... haan. Haina," Natasha replied.
"Good! Unhe bulaane ki zehmat utha sakti ho? Ya bas yahaan khade
hoke aankhen faadkar humein ghoorti rahogi?" Muskaan asked.
"Bula... bulati hu," Natasha mumbled. She scurried away quickly,
intimidated by Muskaan and her abrasiveness.
Riddhima and Muskaan chuckled at this and high fived while the
boys just shared a look of fond annoyance.
"K se kaun hai? Kya c se chaahte ho? Woh bhi iss w se waqt?" Bi
asked, coming outside to the counter, not even bothering to check who was
looking for her.
"A se apni, p se pyaari si, b se Bi se, m se milna chaahte hain? T
se theek haina?" Armaan asked cutely, grinning wide.
"A se Ammy? Tu? Aur... Saath mein R se Rahul aur R se Riddhima ko
bhi laaya hai?" She replied, shocked at the pleasant surprise. "Oh! Aur M se
Muskaan bhi hai!"
Muskaan smiled, relieved. "Mujhe toh laga ki aap mujhe b se bhool
gaye, Bi!" she exclaimed.
"Tujhe k se kaise bhool sakti hu? P se Patiala Express!" Bi
laughed.
Armaan and Riddhima bent to touch her feet when she was close
enough.
"Arre, r se rehne do. Itni bhi b se boodhi nahi hu m se main!" Bi
said, pulling them back up.
"Kisme kaha aap boodhi hai? Aap toh j se jawan hai! S se sola saal
se ek din zyada nahi dikhti!" Armaan joked.
Bi shook her head and pulled the two of them into a hug.
"Hum bhi hain!" Rahul whined. Wordlessly, Bi opened her arms wider
and both Rahul and Muskaan joined in on the hug.
"Bi... Maine aapko bohot, bohot, bohot miss kiya!" Rahul declared.
"Aur maine t se tujhe," Bi replied.
"Kya baat hai, Bi? Aap toh pehle se bhi zyada beautiful ho gayi
ho!" Riddhima commented, kissing her cheek.
"Haan, Bi! Raaz kya hai?" Muskaan egged Riddhima on.
"Chalo! Aisa k se kuch nahi hai. Main toh h se hamesha se hi a se
aisi thi! T se tum dono ne ab n se notice kiya!" Bi teased.
"Ab saari baatein yahaan khade rehke hi karoge kya?" Armaan asked.
"Chalo! Chalke baithte hain."
"Yeh tune bilkul t se theek kaha, A se Ammy!" Bi agreed. She
guided them to a corner booth.
"T se tum log yahaan b se baitho. Main k se khana bhijwati hu,"she said.
"Bi!" Riddhima scolded. "Aap kahin nahi jaayengi. Abhi humaare
saath baithiye."
"Arre par..." Bi tried to protest.
"Nahi, Bi!" Armaan joined in. "Basket sahi keh rahi hai. Aap
baithiye."
"Aur cafe?" Bi asked him.
"Toh... yeh dono mushtando ko hum kyu laaye hai, Bi?" Muskaan
retorted. "Yeh dono dekh lenge. Waise bhi, inko experience bhi haina."
Rahul made a face, but when he saw Muskaan glaring at him, he
said, "Haan... haan, Bi! Hum kar lenge! Aap kyu itni tension le rahe ho?"
"Waise bhi," he added slyly, "jab Armaan counter pe hota toh cafe
hamesha bhara - bhara hi rehta hai."
It was true. Back in college, whenever Armaan used to work the
counter, the cafe used to brim with people, all of them just wanting a glimpse,
a short conversation with him. Many girls, and guys, used to flock the cafe
just to ogle Armaan and his taut muscles in those half sleeve and cut sleeve
tee shirts as he punched numbers into the calculator, or wrote out invoices.
"What?" Riddhima asked.
"Haan, Riddhu!" Rahul told her. "Jab hum college mein the, aur
yahaan Bi ki help karte the, jis din bhi Armaan counter pe baithta tha, bheed
itni zyada hoti thi ki kya batau!"
Armaan stomped on Rahul's foot to get him to stop talking. This
boy would create huge troubles for him if he didn't shut up right away.
"Owww!" Rahul screamed. "Kya?" he asked Armaan.
"Rahul! Tu kya bekaar ki baatein lekar baith gaya! Chal. Dekhte
hain in logon ko kya madad chahiye!" Armaan announced. Not giving Rahul a
chance to respond, Armaan got up from his seat and started to walk towards the
kitchen, but was interrupted by Riddhima.
"Ruko!" She exclaimed.
"Shit!" Armaan muttered under his breath before turning to her.
"Kya hua, Basket?" He asked innocently. A little too innocently.
Riddhima smiled at his efforts to get off the hook, but she wasn't
mad. Not at all. She knew what kind of a person he'd been back in college. So,
it didn't surprise her, this little piece of information that Rahul jad just
provided. But, it was cute to see Armaan's reaction to the whole thing,
thinking she'd get upset. He really was so cute.
"Baby," Riddhima said, her voice saccharine sweet. "Jo main baat
thi, woh toh ki nahi! Bas aise hi idhar udhar ki baatein karke time waste kar
diya!"
"Ohhh!" Armaan exclaimed. Of course! How could he have forgotten?
They were here because him & Riddhima needed Bi's blessings.
"Haan. Idhar aao!" she instructed him.
"Yeh m se main baat k se kya hai?" Bi asked. "Jo t se tum mujhe b
se batana yahaan tak a se aaye?"
Riddhima looked at Armaan, who was already sporting a huge grin,
expectantly. She wanted him to be the one to break the news to Bi. Because of
course, she was his Bi. Riddhima would always love and adore Bi as if
she was her own mother, just like Mom (aka Ananya), but this was something that
Armaan should be the one telling Bi about.
"Bi, woh..." Armaan started. To everyone's surprise, he was
blushing.
"Arre! Itna s se sharma kyu raha hai? J se jaldi bata ki b se baat
kya hai!" Bi told him.
"Bata raha hu, Bi!" Armaan whined. "Aap mujhe 2 minute bolne ka
mauka toh do!"
"Haan! Chal. D se diya. B se bol ab!" Bi told him.
"Bi, woh..." Armaan started again, scratching the back of his neck
as he gave her a sheepish, yet goofy, smile.
"Bi kya? Uske aage bhi k se kuch bolega?" Bi asked.
Armaan blushed and looked at the floor as if it was the most
interesting thing he'd ever seen in his life.
"Tu r se rehne de!" Bi scolded. She turned to Riddhima and said,
"T se tu bol! K se kya hua?"
"B... bi... bi... woh... woh..." Riddhima stuttered and turned to Armaan.
"Tu... Tum... Tum bolo na!"
"Nahi!" Armaan replied. "Tum bolo!"
"Tum."
"Tum."
"Tum."
"Tum!"
"Tum!"
"C se chup!" Bi interrupted their bickering. "Aur t se tum dono
bhi b se bilkul chup!" she added, looking at Rahul & Muskaan who had been
laughing heartily at Armaan & Riddhima's predicament.
Turning her attention back to the couple of the hour, Bi said,
"Yeh kya l se laga rakha hai? T se tum dono mein se k se koi toh kuch b se
bolo! A se aakhir baat kya hai?"
Armaan & Riddhima both blushed and looked down.
"D se dono, s se sharma toh a se aise rahe hain jaise dono ki s se
shaadi ho," she commented.
Her words were met with gasps by both Armaan & Riddhima, who
blushed even deeper, while Muskaan lost control and started laughing again.
"Bilkul sahi kaha, Bi!" Rahul exclaimed, smirking.
"K se kya?" Bi asked, confused.
"Bi," Rahul said, "Armaan aur Riddhima ki ab bohot jald shaadi
hone wali hai. Isliye hum sab yahaan aaye hain. Taaki yeh dono apni nayi
zindagi, aapka aashirwaad leke shuru karein."
"Tu s se sach bol raha haina, R se Rahul?" Bi questioned, her eyes
brimming with tears.
"B se bilkul sach! P se pakka promise!" Rahul replied.
"A se Armaan? R se Riddhima?" She turned to them.
"Bi... Woh... Woh..." Riddhima tried to say something, but blushed and
kept quiet, unable to finish her sentence.
"Bi... Rahul theek keh raha hai," Armaan finally admitted. "Main aur
Riddhima... hum dono shaadi karne wale hain."
A delirious and disbelieving laugh escaped Bi at Armaan's
proclamation and she slapped her hands on her mouth to stifle her gasp while
her tears finally fell.
"Mere bachche!" she exclaimed, pulling both Armaan & Riddhima
into a tight hug.
Rahul & Muskaan joined in the hug, too, all of them so very
ecstatic over the news.
After the proclamation, Bi had 10000 things to ask Riddhima, so
taking their cue, Armaan & Rahul left to help around the cafe. Rahim Chacha
was all too happy to put the boys to work.
"Tu k se khush haina?" Bi asked Riddhima, when they were finally
alone. Muskaan had gone to attend a phone call.
"Bohot khush," Riddhima replied, blushing bright red.
"Tujhe pata hai? A se Ammy tujhse b se bohot zyada p se pyaar
karta hai!" Bi told Riddhima, as if it was something she didn't know already.
"Jaanti hu, Bi," Riddhima replied. "Armaan... woh... Woh mujhse bohot
pyaar karta hai. Aur mujhe pata hai ki woh mujhe bohot khush rakhega."
"Aur t se tu bhi usse b se bohot k se khush rakhegi," Bi said.
"Woh k se kisi aur ke saath, kabhi k se khush nahi r se rehta. U se uski saari
khushi toh t se tujhse hi hai. H se hamesha se."
Riddhima nodded in agreement as tears fell from her eyes. She
really was lucky to have found someone like Armaan, who loved and respected her
so much. Not everyone in the world was so lucky.
"Arre! Itni k se khushi ka m se mauka hai. Aur tu r se ro rahi
hai? P se pagli!" Bi teased, wiping her tears.
Riddhima giggled and wiped her tears completely before remembering
that Muskaan had been gone for quite some time. "Arre! Yeh Muskaan kahaan reh
gayi? Itna time ho gaya hai usse gaye!"
"A se aa jaayegi. Tu itna p se pareshaan mat ho!" Bi pacified her.
Just then, Muskaan came back.
"Lo! A se aa gayi, M se Muskaan," Bi exclaimed happily on seeing
her. Muskaan smiled and sat next to Riddhima.
"Kya hua? Phone pe bohot time lag gaya," Riddhima questioned. "All
good?
"Haan... haan. Woh bas... woh... um... woh Yuvi ko ek patient ke baare
mein kuch poochna tha," Muskaan replied.
"Oh," Riddhima replied. "Okay."
"Ladies!" Armaan & Rahul greeted, coming back with a tray
assorted with all sorts of food.
"Yeh sab kya hai?" Riddhima asked.
"Aaj... humne socha ki... tum teeno ko apne haath ka bana khana
khilaye!" Armaan replied.
"Sachchi, Hero?" Muskaan questioned, excited.
"Of course, Muski! Main tujhe jhooth bolunga kya?" Armaan
retorted.
"Tu nahi... lekin iss... Kaankhajure pe mujhe bilkul bharosa nahi
hai!" Muskaan exclaimed.
Rahul looked scandalized. "Tu... tu har baat pe mujhe kyu sunaati
hai?"
"Sunau nahi toh aur kya karu? Piddi, gadhe, idiot. Tu itna bada
useless insaan haina!" Muskaan cribbed.
"Toh tu jaise koi hoor ki pari hai? Jhalli kahin ki. Tuchchon ki
leader!" Rahul exclaimed.
They were about to start pulling each other's hair soon, so Armaan
and Riddhima pulled them apart.
"Tum dono kabhi toh break le liya karo, yaar!" Armaan scolded. "Ek
din nahi ladoge toh marr nahi jaaoge!"
"Lekin main..." Muskaan tried to explain.
"Chup!" Armaan reprimanded her.
"Armaan main..." Rahul started, but was stopped by Armaan.
"Ekdum chup!" He instructed Rahul.
Both, Rahul & Muskaan, sat quietly after that.
"Good! Chalo khaate hain," Armaan announced. He served everyone.
"Waah! K se khana toh tum d se dono ne b se bohot achcha banaya
hai!" Bi complimented.
"Haan!" Muskaan agreed. "Bohot tasty bana hai!"
Armaan & Rahul both beamed at the praise and turned to
Riddhima.
"Basket, kaisa laga?" Armaan asked.
"Haan, Riddhu! Batana! Achcha haina?" Rahul pressed.
"Haan, batao na!" Armaan repeated.
"Pch. Riddhu! Tu kuch bolegi?" Rahul asked, miffed.
"Tum dono usse bolne doge toh bolegi na!" Muskaan screeched.
Armaan & Rahul bit their tongue and gave her a sheepish smile.
"Haan... haan. Theek haina. Ab hum kuch nahi bolenge," Armaan said.
Then, he turned his anticipatory gaze to Riddhima.
Riddhima looked at both the boys and smiled. They were so eager.
"Um... achcha... achcha hai. Really good!" She told them.
Armaan & Rahul whooped and hi5ed each other. All 3 of them had
loved their food.
After that little interaction, everyone turned their attention to
eating.
Armaan whispered to Riddhima, "Sach mein achcha haina?"
"Armaan," Riddhima whispered back, shaking her head fondly. "Bohot
achcha hai. Tumhe pata toh hai... mujhe tumhaare haath ka khana bohot pasand
hai."
"Hmmm," Armaan hummed. "Matlab tumhe khana bohot pasand aaya."
"Haan, baba," Riddhima replied. "Bohot pasand aaya."
"Toh mera reward?" Armaan asked.
"Kya reward?" Riddhima wondered.
"Arre! Itna achcha khana khilaya... Toh reward toh bannta hai," Armaan insisted.
"Theek hai, baba!" Riddhima agred, exasperated. "Kya chahiye?"
Armaan looked around and saw that everyone had their heads buried
in their plates. Personal experience told him that they would not care even if
someone dropped dead the next instant as they all practically inhaled the food
in.
Seeing that his coast was clear, he bent his face, shoving his
cheek close to Riddhima indicating that he wanted a kiss.
"Armaan!" Riddhima scolded. "Paagal ho gaye ho kya? Koi dekh
lega."
"Koi nahi dekhega. Woh sab khaane mein busy hai," Armaan replied.
"No!" Riddhima told him and turned her attention back to her
plate.
"Please!" Armaan gave her the puppy dog eyes that melted her every
time. "Chotu si. Please!"
He took a hold of her hand and pressed a quick kiss to it.
"Dekho!" he demonstrated. "Kisi ko pata nahi chala. Please!"
"Fine!" Riddhima agreed. She quickly turned her face towards him
and pecked his cheek, immediately taking a bite of her food lest someone see.
Armaan smiled at her and resumed eating as well. Both of them
missed the smirks that were passed between the other trio at the table, who
chose to remain silent so as to not embarrass Riddhima.
After a hearty meal and more hugs and kisses, Armaan, Riddhima,
Rahul, and Muskaan left for the night, promising Bi that they'd be at the cafe
first thing the next morning to spend more time with her.
As Bi saw the quartet walk away, laughing and joking, she sent up
a quick prayer wishing for their lifelong happiness before turning in for the
night herself.
xxx
Bi and her kiddos are all so cute! I had so much fun writing this one!
More Kasauli action in the next chapter, so stay tuned! :D
Waise, ab maybe shayad update 15 March ke baad hi aaye kyuki I have a test on 10 that is super important aur phir 13 March ko mom dad ki 25th anniversary hai toh bohot guests aane wale hain. Main pakka nahi bol rahi, but chances hai ki ab dono stories uske baad hi update ho. I'll try for an update in the middle, but agar nahi hua, toh 2 hafte baad milenge! :D
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