Chapter 3- Two to tango
"To be fond of dancing was a certain step towards falling in love"
Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice
He wonders what to do with the watch he had been wearing and asks her if she can possibly keep it in her clutch, but she pouts adorably and says, if she tries to do that it will not close.
"Why carry a purse so small then Ishita? Aren't you usually carrying around that big handbag of yours?" he asks annoyed.
"It wouldn't have gone with the dress, silly!"
It is then he catches hold of his younger brother Romi,
"Romi... You liked this watch of mine didn't you?" he asks pointing towards his old watch.
"Yeah Bhai, I do. Why are you asking me this?"
"Because this watch is yours from now on, here have it." He places the watch on his younger brother' palm, shocking him as he happily hugs Raman thanking him for the unexpected gift.
"Bhai, what about you? Wont you need a watch for the party."
"I already have it." He proudly flaunts the first gift he ever received from his wife to Romi.
"OH GOD! A Rolex watch, Bhai! That is awesome. When did you get this?"
"Just now, your bhabhi gifted it to me."
Romi looks from his brother to his bhabhi and finally speaks up,
"Bhai can I borrow this sometimes from you?"
"NO, this is mine and only MINE. No one else's ..." he says loudly, the reaction has the trio shocked.
To cover up for his outburst he immediately adds.
" I mean you are so careless and Ishita has bought this with her hard-earned money not to mention it's a limited edition I can't lose it."
Romi is clearly dejected at not only the reply but also seeing that there is no use in appealing any further to his older brother, his mind is set and there is no changing it at all.
His eyes then land on his Bhabhi and he sweetly and shyly works up the nerve to speak to her,
"Bhabhi, two months from now my birthday is also coming up. Can I get something from my favorite brand as well in gift?"
Ishita laughs at the innocent request, while Raman clearly is not amused,
"You are so shameless, does anyone ask for a gift like that? Two months in advance?" he asks annoyed.
"It's ok Raman, sure Romi; let me know what you want for a gift alright, I'll get it for you on your birthday."
"Thanks Bhabhi, you are the best." he makes a run, before Raman could get Ishita to back on her word.
"Ishita... you shouldn't have agreed to his demand like that." He flatly states.
"It was a request and not a demand. Let it be, besides he can ask of us, we are older than he is. If he asks something nicely and sweetly too for his birthday gift how could I refuse?"
There was no way he could be annoyed with her after that, how she manages to make him see things differently is beyond him. All he knows is, somehow he has begun to like looking at things from her perspective, the way she looks at them.
Suddenly there was a call for attention when Mihir walked up to the stage and took the mike,
"Ladies and gentlemen, may I have your attention please. Thank you. As we know this party is for the purpose of the dual celebration of the recognition our company, especially our CEO, Mr. Raman Kumar Bhalla has gained recently and his birthday. May I have a huge round of applause for the birthday boy please?"
The people gathered around joined in and there was a thunderous applause for the man of the day, but the one that meant the most to him came from the woman standing beside him. So great was his joy in getting this appreciation from her, knowing this comes from her heart was the biggest ovation he felt he could achieve. It did not even occur to him there were three figures standing at the edge of the room who did not join the crowd, that of his ex, his son and his rival.
He graciously thanked everyone and before he could ask people to continue, Mihir spoke up again,
"Now that the formalities are out of the way, let's celebrate some- may I have some music please Mr. DJ? Bhai... Bhabhi please come on the dance floor, everyone please join in the beautiful couple."
The occasion to dance arose unexpectedly, but since they were already the center of attention, Raman and Ishita complied. She handed over her clutch to Ruhi, who happily grabbed it and asked her parents to hurry along and move to the dance floor.
As soon as the music began playing, the song blared from the speakers, Raman gave a sharp look to Mihir, knowing the song selection was of course his.
Teri Jhuki Nazar, played on as the couple took their position on the dance floor, amidst the others.
This was their very first dance, the first time they had actually ever held each other and to say they were nervous would be an understatement. They fumbled a bit, there was stepping on toes too, but by the end of the song, they had found their rhythm and somehow managed to get comfortable with the idea of this proximity.
When the next song on the list - Tum Hi Ho began, they were comfortable enough to have all but forgotten the crowd around them.
She felt a little less shy and looked into his eyes as the verse played-
Tujh ko diya mera waqt sabhi
Koi lamha mera na ho tere bina
Har saans pe naam tera
He looked at her as if she were the only person in the room besides him, and that made her nervous and shy making her blush... somehow he liked being able to look her in the eye more than to see her blush in the moment so he gently laughed,
"What?" she asked him curiously.
"Oh Nothing, nothing at all." He replied nonchalantly.
"There definitely is something. Why would you laugh otherwise? Is there something on my face or something?"
He had merely laughed to get her to look at him, but teasing her came so naturally to him, the words flew right out of his mouth,
"Only it seems this dress didn't give you the trouble to stay awake last night, see I knew perfect size and perfect fit - M."
Her jaw dropped and there was fire instantly in her eyes, on the next beat she purposely stepped on his toe,
"Ouch! What a man can't be happy he is right about his wife' size?"
"Shh... slowly do you want others to listen to what we are talking about."
"Sorry"
The next few moments were quiet, when he slowly spoke,
"Ishita... this color does look good on you."
With a quirk of her eyebrow and a tease in her eyes, she replied,
"Why is it because it is your favorite?"
His eyes widened at that and he immediately caught on the source of this information,
"Ruhi... of course."
They laughed quietly and glanced towards their daughter who was sitting between her grandmothers, the three pairs of eyes set on them like hawks. Somehow, the sight made them conscious.
Their daughter had an innocent smile on her face but their mothers... They looked like they were catching a live show of their favorite couple and it embarrassed them, making them quickly look away.
The song Ishq Bulaava, played next and they continued moving to the tunes,
"By the way this dress does look good on you."
"Thank you. You have a nice choice."
"I know." the way in which he spoke those words, they seemed to be about more than just a dress or his preferred color making the color rise on her cheeks,
The song changed once again and Baarish played on,
He does not know how or why but he said the words he next did, all he knows is being with her like this, so close in his arms looking in her eyes, somehow that affects him more than he can put into words.
The verse playing in the background though seemed to be in tandem with his feelings,
Aankhein Bhi Paighaam Yeh De,
Teri Nazar Ka Hi Yeh Asar Hai. Mujh Pe Jo Huaa.
"The moment I saw this dress, I just thought of you, I wanted to see you wear it."
As soon as he said the words, her eyes flew to his and before they could reflect more on that, the DJ announced the cake cutting ceremony would commence.
With the music stopped, they let go off each other and proceeded towards the dais where the cake was being brought placed on a huge trolley.
Though neither of them spoke a word during the few steps they took, their hands casually brushed as they walked while they quietly stole glances of each other.
Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi 2
Bade Achhe Lagte Hain
CID
9