Part 3- TauntingIshita had seen him stealing glances at her brushing her hair in the mirror. Whilst she brushed her tresses, she looked at Raman's reflection in the mirror. She also glanced at him- there he lay; tired, half-asleep and half-awake. She wondered why he glanced at her secretly, and assumed it was because he was getting annoyed at her for wasting his time brushing her stupid hair and was growing impatient for her to finally turn the lights off so he could sleep.
What more could she expect of him?
Raman again woke, without seeing Ishita's face. He really hoped that she wouldn't make a habit of leaving so early for the clinic every morning. He liked their daily Nok Jhok, it gave him some routine to his day and replenished the fire and passion inside him that was needed to begin his day.
Raman's attention turned to a note stuck to his mirror, written by Ishita.
"Aaj bhi subha nikal gaye. Nashta ready hai, aur Papa Ji Ruhi ko school drop kare ga.
I'll be home at 6 to get ready for the party."
The woman he had originally found flawed, had become the same woman that ensured there was no room left for any flaws in his life. Why was she able to take care of everything so smoothly, even when he made her angry? Why did she leave nothing for him to criticise?
Baffled at what more to say and hoping it would distract him from this sudden web of tangled emotions, Raman got ready to leave for the office.
Raman had been at his desk for atleast 3 hours now, the direction of his thoughts had not budged one bit. 'Ishita, Ishita, Ishita' his mind echoed. His thoughts danced around all the differents ways of getting her to notice him; whether he should call her to enquire about Ruhi, or whether he should show her the anaesthetic video of her to make her laugh when he got home, or whether he should buy some Idli and make some jokes about her weight to grab her attention.
"Bewakoof aurat. Mujhe kya lag te hai? Galti karun, tho taane mar ti hai, joke karun, tho phir be taane mar ti hai, leken abh chup rehne lagi hai?" Raman blurted in frustration. She could call him Raavan Kumar all she liked and she could joke about his height or how kaarus he is, but he couldn't stand her silence. The reason why their relationship works is because, both of them could never stay silent. He needed to do something to see her madness again, he needed to hear her curses, her witty remarks... atleast something.
Ishita sat at her desk, for the first time unable to concentrate on her dentist duties. A part of her soul admired her bravery and applauded the way in which she was getting on with life- how she had finally managed to avoid his daily taunts by sneaking off early. The other half of her craved his wittiness, his constant jibes that kept her on her toes and
constantly stimulated her brain so that she could equal his wit. She loved their childish rapport, which strangely began her mornings in the exact way she wanted. She thought about whether she should just call Mihika and excuse herself from the party, so she could end her day in the usual way; finish work, serve dinner and spend time with Mummy aur Papa Ji, Simmi, Romi and with her precious Ruhi, then finally listen to Raman's tasteless jibes before falling asleep. No, her head told her. She needed some time to herself, she needed to realise her own worth, she needed to see if there was anything out there for her too. Before she could finalise her decision, the phone began to rang.
"Lunch abhi kar liya tum ne?" Raman's voice rang.
"Nahi. Tumne?"
"Bewakoof. Brain thoda use karo na time to time? Aur kis liya pooch raha hu main? General discussion ke liya?"
"Bas karo. Sirf shout karne liya phone kiya tha?"
"Arre sirf mazake kar raha tha. Tum kitne stressed rehte ho, is liya maine socha ke shayyed lunch be tumne forget kar liya hoga? Main clinic pe bas poch raha hu. Bas do minute aur."
A sharp, but small pang of happiness went through Ishita. For atleast that one hour, he spent the time serving her food, asking how her day went, cursing his employees and of course taunting her. It gave her a sense of contentment though. It was when she got home later that evening, she realised she craved love not contentment.
Raman sat on his bed under the pretence of working on his laptop, after the family had dinner. He enjoyed seeing her running about trying to get ready, whilst he felt uneasy about what Mihika had planned, he knew she deserved some time to herself. The truth is, he trusted her more than anyone he had ever known, be it family or friends, and knew she was mature and wouldn't let things get too far. Or so he told himself. He tried not to be so possessive about Ishita, he knew she deserved freedom and was too independent for him to solely control, but still, he felt a certain possessiveness over her. There was a fact he constantly hid from his ego- and it was the fact that only one woman was his equal, and she was Ishita Raman Bhalla.
His eyes glossed over her when she was completely ready. Last night his imagination had not done her justice. How divine she looked as the black silk hugged her bodice, and hung loose from the waist down to her feet. Her heels made her an inch taller than him which he didn't like one bit. Could her doe like eyes look any bigger than they already did? He concentrated, as her thick lashes caressed her bright, brown eyes. Her lips looked so tempting, so angelic...but tempting. There was one criticism he had.
As she stood in front of the mirror searching for some bangles and completely oblivious to her surroundings, he walked behind her and slowly lifted the clip that held half of her hair up, out of her hair. He smoothed her tresses with his hands and whispered so low that only he could hear, "perfect."
"Kya kaha tumne? Kya kar rahe ho tum Raman?"
"Party me bashan karne wali lagna chaati ho? Nahi? To chup chap mujhe karne do. Tumara woh normal hairstyle is dress ke saath suit nahi ho ne wala, is liya socha I'll save you from embarrassment."
"Kuch bhi tum kehte ho. Karus adhmi! Accha phone uttan le na! Aur Ruhi ko-"
"Ruhi ko sola de na. Patta hai. Mere be bacchi hai."
Whilst Ishita left the room with a visibly annoyed face, Raman smiled at how he had finally heard the taunts that he had wanted to hear from her all day.
"Abh kya karun time pass karne ke liya, Madrasan ke party kab khatam ho jayege?"
Raman laughed whilst replaying the video of his pagal but adorable wife on his phone, pausing at the part she said "I love Bhalla", hoping it meant something and wondering if he could use it to annoy her later when he would pick her up.
Edited by RamanIshitaRu - 11 years ago
Pati Patni Aur Panga
Jaane Anjaane Hum Mile
Tum Se Tum Tak
Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi 2
Mannat Har Khushi Paane Ki
Vasudha
