"Haan Pathak! Bol", said Raman on his phone. "Kab aa raha hai Trisha ke saat?...Accha?...Theek hai!", he hung up. Raman had invited Trisha and Pathak home for lunch before Trisha got back to London. Ishita took an off-day from clinic and worked her magic through Tamilian and Punjabi dishes. She forcefully made Toshi ji rest and she did everything on her own. Simmi doesn't even put her tea cup back in the sink, so there is no use counting her contribution in any of these.
Raman walked to the kitchen in his light green full sleeves and white casual pants. "Ishita...pani dena..", he asked. Ishita turned to the fridge to take a bottle of water. Her hair slipped from her back to her shoulders giving a clear view of the skin of her waist. She was wearing a dark brown south Indian cotton saree and that was a clear contrast to her skin tone. He awed at the area of his interest and adored her sketch. "Patli zaroor hogayi hai...", he thought and was simultaneously handed the bottle by Ishita. He erased the awe off his face and made his usual straight face in a second. He touched the bottle and winced, "Bahut thanda hai Ishita". "Le jaayiye...u need it...aap bahut garam ho gaye hai", she pinned her look straight into his eyes and continued to saute the vegetables. Raman left the place before she humiliated him more.
He walked into his room and stood in front of the mirror. "Yeh madrasan ko sab pata chal jaata hai! Usko kaise pata...ki main usko hi dekh raha tha? Bahut garam ho gaye hai...", he imitated her and gulped down the water.
Ishita rushed to the door when she heard the door bell. "Hiiieee...", said Ishita and hugged them both. "Come in", she said. Pathak and Trisha walked in with loads of sweet boxes and chocolates for the kids. Ruhi and Shravan ran into Trisha's arms and got the chocolates from her to head to the Iyers. "Aao Pathak...Hi Trisha...", Raman hugged them. Once they seated themselves, Ishita got glasses of Mango sherbet for all of them. She served it to Pathak, Trisha, Toshi ji, Bhalla ji, Romi and it was Raman's turn. She avoided him on purpose and served them all. She turned a blind eye towards him that he even wondered if he would get one at all. His eyes were filled with anticipation, not for the sherbet, but for a chance to look at his wifey up close.
She finally thought of giving him the respect that was due, bent forward and offered him the tray. He felt relieved that she does have a wee bit of courtesy and let out a sigh. He looked at her and raised his eye brows as if he did not know what to do with the tray. She showed the glass of sherbet with her eyes. He took the glass in his hand and told her, "Yeh bhi bahut thandaa hai...but ab mujhe zaroorat nahi hai", he smirked. "Aap ko aaj kal cold cheezon ki zaroorat bahut padti hai...round the clock!", she said.
"Kya bhabhi...Aap Raman bhaiya ko sherbet ki recipe bata rahi hai kya?", Trisha broke their eye latch. Everyone around let out a hearty laugh and that was enough to make Ishita blush and leave to the kitchen at that instant.
While all of them were busy discussing their marriage plans, Raman noticed a bruise on Pathak. On Pathak's lips. He immediately questioned him, "Kya hua Pathak?", pointing at his lips. Pathak comprehended where Raman was pointing at and he almost choked on his sherbet. "Bhai...kya...kya pooch rahe hai?". "Yahan pe Pathak...hua kya? Chot lagi hai!", he asked like a Police man. "Raman bhai...yeh...", he looked down and then looked outside the window and then looked at Trisha who was at the edge of her seat and tensely looking at Pathak as to what he would reply. "Ghir gaya tha bhai...", Pathak blurted out. Trisha let out a gasp.
Ishita was observing the whole conversation from the kitchen counter and she instantly perceived that this was not because he fell down somewhere and hurt himself, but a love bite. Yes, engaged couple and what does one expect. And that was the reason why Pathak wilted when Raman asked him about it. He made a Lawyer look for words. "Yeh Raman bhi na...", she grumbled and crushed her teeth.
"Kahan ghir gaya? Gaadi se?", Raman asked him with atmost concern. He was not one who would spare Pathak without knowing his x-ray and blood test reports. "Bhai...ghar pe...steps mein...", Pathak tried to mess up more. Ishita interrupted, "Raman...Aap itne saare sawaal kyun kar rahe hai...Chot lagti rehti hai logon ko... Itna inquisitive kyun hote hai aap? Aap zara kitchen mein aayiye", and kept the jug of sherbet on the tea table. "Aap lenge Neil?", she asked to receive a speedy no no from him. Ishita smiled at Trisha and she immediately looked down. Ishita ruffled her hair and showed her love for being such a lovey-dovey couple.
Raman's eyes flared in anger that she humiliated him in front of the guests. To him, that is humiliation. No one can talk like that to him, the mighty RKB. Ishita was of course, not included in that set. She was the only one who has the exempt but to demean him in privacy and not in front of guests. He walked up to her who was standing in the kitchen wiping the plates to place them on the table. "Kya hai? Kya problem hai tumhara?", he reduced his volume but not his fury. "Aap ko abhi baat karni hai? Guests jaane tak rukh nahi sakte? Har cheez mein jaldi..! You want everything yesterday!", she went on and on enough for Raman to break his shackles of decency. He held her hands and dragged her into their room, while making sure no one saw them.
He pushed her in and asked her straightaway, "Kya zaroorat thi...aise kyun baat kar rahi thi mujhse...who bhi guests ki saamne? Ghalat kya poocha maine? Bechaare ko chot lagi hui thi, isliye pooch raha tha... whats your problem, god damn it?".
She folded her hands and replied tranquilly, "Raman, aapko abhi bhi nahi samajh mein aaya woh chot kaise lagi thi?".
"Nahi pata mujhe...tumne bolne kahan diya usko...har baar taang adane ki aadat haina tumhari...tumhare alawa koi baat hi nahi karni chahiye iss ghar mein...hai na?", he blurted out.
"Raman, aap over react kar rahe hai! For god sakes, Raman, that's a love bite!", she broke the truth.
"Love bite?", he squinted his eyes.
She stepped closer to Raman, "Haan...it happens when someone kisses passionately...intensely...samajh gaye? Aap experienced ho! Come on!"
"Oh! Isliye sharma raha tha...Kiss karne se aise bhi hota hai?", he asked blatantly, inoffensively.
"Aap ko nahi pata? Oh please don't tell me Raman! Aap do bacchon ka baap hai! You seriously...I mean seriously don't know that this happens?", she kept her hand on her mouth and raised her eyebrows.
He walked out of the room. Ishita shrugged at his silence and walked out to arrange lunch on the table.
The guests and hosts waited eagerly for the lunch to be served on the lunch table as it was by their favorite chef Ishita. She served all of them, including Raman with a pleasant smile. Everyone was engrossed in the taste and were giving numerous compliments and appreciations to Ishita. Almost all of them kissed Ishita's hands for such a lunch, except Raman. He was not even speaking, let alone kiss her hand.
While he was drawing his fingers over the pulao, he pondered, "Ishita, I'm sure you are totally surprised and taken aback that I don't know such kisses exist being a father of two! Yeah, I actually don't know! In my relationship with Shagun, I was always at the giving end and was never at the receiving end to be in for such surprises. Shagun has never let me kiss her more than the U certificate level. She never allowed me to kiss her more than a second. I have only kissed her softly and just a peck, that too. She did not feel that kind of a passion for I looked bad, earned less. What was wrong between us? We were totally a mismatch. A kiss is like a clap. Two hands make the noise. When I was never reciprocated, how would I be even at the place of getting love bites? Uff! Such a lurid relation! I was always nervous around her, afraid if she would taunt me if ever I went overboard with my display of affection towards her. She cringed every time I wanted to kiss her. Even when I was burning with passion, she never realized it to give a damn. She would even sit and watch a soap but won't let me romance her. When I put my hand across her shoulder, her first reflex was to jerk and remove my hand. Bitch! She used me as a mere surname while she looked for a better life! You think I'm experienced? No Ishita! I now understand, it was attraction, mere attraction that has completely fizzled out! My heart never did beat for her in love! It beats for you! Sometimes I can hear them when you are close to me! I hear them when you reciprocate my underlying feelings for you - Feelings that are non-existent to the cosmos, non-existent even between us when we look at it with our earthly eyes!"
"Roti lenge ki nahi...Raman! Hello?", she kept her hands on his shoulders and shook him. Everyone laughed at him and he smiled slightly at Ishita to accept what she offered. He went back to his thinking mode - "Waise...things like lip bites? How does she know? She is not experienced like me! Oh hello...Subbu! Woh hai na villain mera! Shit! She was dating him! Did they ever kiss like this? That is how she knows? Oh god, why are you putting me in this situation? Why me? She is talking like a Love guru as if she wrote a dictionary on Love! Love bite...bewakoof aurat! Kaisa pata usko? Aaj pata karke hi rahoonga! Uska jawaab ke bina so nahi paaonga main! Nautanki! Aao tum kamre ke andar...dekh loonga tujhe!", he stared at Ishita incessantly.
Ishita asked him with her eyes, "Kya hua Raman! Kyun ghoor rahe hai mujhe?". The guests and the hosts moved to the sofa for the desserts. Raman washed his hands and searched around for a towel. Ishita handed him a napkin. Raman realized it was a perfect moment to catch hold of her as Ruhi was at the Iyers and the rest of his family were in the living room, busy chatting. He couldn't wait for the night to ask any of these. Ruhi sleeps with them. He held her wrist and took her to his room, again, that was just a step away from the wash basin.
"Kya hogaya aapko Raman? Kyun baar baar keechke le aa rahe hai andar? Problem kya hai?", she burst like a volcano.
He didn't release his hold off her wrist. "Chup!", he placed his finger on her lips.
"Tumhe kaise pata...Yeh lip bite ship bite ke bare main?", he tightened his grip.
"Hello? Yeh sab sabko pata rehta hai!", she tried to remove his hand off her hand.
"Tumhe zaroor experience se hi pata hoga!", he decided to let go of his unresolved tension to resolve it.
"Arey! If you jump from 20th floor, you will surely die! Yeh samajhne keliye 20 malik se khudna padta hai kya? You know it, that's it! Is mein experience kahan se aaya?", her anger was full on as well.
"Tum Subbu ko date kar rahi thi na? You would have kissed him...tab hi tumhe yeh sab pata hai!", his eyes were painted red.
"Oh ho Mr. Raman Kumar Bhalla! I now know your problem! You can't bear that another man kissed me or I kissed another man! What do you think about yourself? No one should live their lives apart from you?", she was not going to give up.
"Haan! Accept karo na! Ki tumne kiss kiya hai, isliye pata hai! And for your kind information, I'm not experienced as you said, at least not in the sense that you meant it! I have not kissed Shagun enough to get bruised", he pointed a finger in front of her face. Ishita mellowed down at that instant, listening to a saddening morsel from his painful previous life. Her eye brows that were raised all the time, came down and she stopped trying to get off his hold. Her lips parted in disbelief. She regained her composure the next second.
"Raman! Hello!", she snapped her fingers. "Maine bhi aisa kuch nahi kiya hai! I'm a woman of principles. Bina shaadi kiye I didn't want to involve with him, at all! I never wanted to, in the wildest of my dreams. Of course, I was attracted to him! But not to the extent of letting go of my principles! I have an enormous amount of self control that can keep me in my skin even with any amount of provocation! You should have known about it by now!"
"Matlab? I should know what?", he loosened his grip from her hand.
"That I have enormous self control! Even when I was provoked enough!", she folded her hands.
"Who provoked you? Subbu!"
"Arey buddhu! Not subbu!"
"Ishita kya bol rahi ho? Subbu nahi hai toh aur kaun? Koi aur bhi hai kya jo tumhe provoke kar sakta hai?"
She walked close to him, close by a feet. "Kaun provoke kar sakta hai? You Raman! You! You keep telling me that I don't leave a single chance to touch you! But you know what, actual mein, aap koi bhi chance chutne nahi dete! You have touched me more times than I touched you! Tab bhi control mein rahi na main?"
Raman sighed and let out relief. "Accha, toh woh main hoon! Hmmm!". He smiled and reached out to her hand and brought her close to him.
He smiled, "Okay okay! Tum bahut acchi ho! You have a lot of self control! Tum mere saat bhi control mein rehte ho! Par socho...control mein rehna zaroori hai kya?", he grinned like a Cheshire Cat and Ishita centered her brows doubting his intentions. He continued, "Ok...main manta hoon! Tumne aisa kuch nahi kiya hai Subbu ke saat! Par tumhe kaise pata yeh love bite ke bare mein? Chot dekhe hi pehchaan liya tumne!".
Ishita hit his chest hard, "Oh please Raman! Aap jaana chahte ho love bite ke bare mein?"
"Haan!", he said. "Par tum toh gawar ho...yeh sab kaise aata hoga!"
"Oh really? Gawar hoon? Waise humhari shaadi ho chuki hai, aur meri principles ke khilaf bhi nahi hai!", she stepped closer to him.
He opened his mouth to ask, "Toh?", but before he closed Ishita held his head with both her hands and planted her first ever kiss to Raman. Raman hugged her at that instant across her waist and helped her prolong the kiss. After a good amount of time, when they ran out of breath, she broke the kiss. "Mujhe jaana hai!", she rushed out to the kitchen.
The guests left after a long chat where Raman, the whole time was stealing glances at his wife, who was busy chatting as if nothing happened between them. Ruhi was back by evening, her tuitions were on after that and everything revolved around them in a normal, everyday fashion.
Raman woke up the next morning and went into the bathroom to pick up his brush. The man who walked out, stopped in his tracks to look at the mirror. He moved close to the mirror and touched the bruise on his lips. "Aaah! Aise office kaise jaaonga!", his mouth opened in a perfect O.
--Part 2 Page 11 đ
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