SS: The Wrong Name - Part 8

Cowboys And Indians 

Shyam watched surreptitiously as Khushi drank her tea mechanically with a stunned look on her face. He decided to rub it in a little more, give her the extra push she needed. 
‘You know, Naniji likes you a lot. She always wanted someone like you for her Chotey. Rani Sahiba too. But Saaley Saab .. well .. Naniji threatened to disown him if he didn’t marry soon. So ..’ He leaned forward, all the better to inhale that intoxicating perfume of hers, his hand still clasping hers.

‘I’m sorry, Khushiji, but, you should know the truth of the family you’re marrying into. Nobody will tell you all this. The only reason I did is because ... ‘ and this was the tricky part. ‘I, too, am an outsider in the family. Nobody told me about all this, until it was too late.’ He sighed, his eyes filling with tears as he looked into hers.

She looked at him, her eyes wide, unseeing, before looking down at his hand clasping hers. Slowly she tugged it away. ‘Can we go home now, please?’ she said in a very small voice.

Khushi sat quietly in the car, all the way home.

He could see the gears turning in her head. He smirked. His work was almost done. No way would Khushi marry a gold-digger and playboy like Arnav, he thought. She was far too good for him. He almost believed the tale that he’d told her, himself! But then, he wasn’t a lawyer and a good one at that, for nothing. Words were his tools of trade, and boy did he need to use them now! He dropped her off at her home, and then drove away, whistling to himself, Daiyya ho!

****

Khushi dropped her bag in the bedroom, and went to the kitchen. Pretty soon, the fragrant smell of jalebis frying wafted into the air. Nobody was at home, and she was all alone with her thoughts and doubts and dismay.

As usual, when Khushi’s mind was in a frenzy, so were her hands. All that she’d heard from Shyam today was distilling down into a few mere words.

‘He wants a prenup.’ .. ‘Arnav gets his inheritance’ ... ‘if he marries by twenty-eight’ ... ‘disowned’ ...‘Once he has his inheritance, if he wants to ‘ .. ‘before marriage’ ... ‘after divorce’ ... ‘prenup’ ... ‘divorce’ ... ‘inheritance’ ... ‘disown’ ... ‘prenup’ ...

The words echoed and reverberated inside her mind jumbling together, like the echoes in a Hindi film, complete with a black and white montage. Tears stood at the corner of her eyes but she refused to let them fall. Khushi Kumari Gupta was mad. She was boiling mad.

Laad Governor. Is that what he thinks he can do? Marry me and get his inheritance? It’s a pity he wasn’t here, she thought, ‘cause if he were, she would squeeze him through that tiny funnel, into that boiling hot oil, and fry him till he was golden brown. Like his eyes. No, no, Khushi, you can’t think about his eyes, now. You’re mad at him. And then I would gobble him up. She shook her head. Focus, Khushi... and poured more batter into the cloth. So he thinks, he can marry me, and then leave me for those .. those chudails? Like the ones in the photos? Heck no, he wouldn’t get the chance. A prenup, huh? Prenup? Ready for divorce before marriage? Rakshas! That’s what he was! Prepared for anything now, was he? I’ll give him a prenup, she thought. He can have his precious prenup and see how he likes it! She lifted out the jalebi from the pan and saw she’d made the word ‘Arnav’ from the batter! That was it!

She turned off the gas, marched into the bedroom and dialed.

****

Arnav was still driving home, when his phone rang. Khushi. Thank God. He picked up the phone. ‘Khushi, tum theek ho?’ he asked tenderly.

‘So you want a prenup?’ were the first words he heard, trembling with anger.

He sat up straight. ‘What?’

‘I said, you want a prenup? You can have it, Mr. Arnav Singh Raizada. After all, what else can you expect from a gold-digger, right? And in any case you’re a fine one to be calling me a gold digger! You’re no better yourself,’ her voice was now raised. She bit into the ‘A’ of the Arnav jalebi.

‘Khu--’

‘How dare you ask me for a prenup, Arnavji. How DARE you?! It’s all fun and games to you, isn’t it? A prenup?’ she was crying now. ‘So that you can have your fun and games with those... those.. bitches?’ She was chomping on the ‘rna’ of ‘rnav’ now..

‘Wha-? How do you know that word?’

She swallowed the jalebi in her mouth and yelled, ‘I work for you, Mr. Arnav Singh Raizada. Obviously, I know what that word means. And yes, if you think I’m going to make it easy for you, you’re sadly mistaken.’

‘Khushi, what the hell?-’ He was mad now because she wouldn’t listen to him. ‘How dare you?’

‘Oh I can do more than dare, Laad Governor,’ before biting decisively into the ‘v’ left of poor Arnav!

‘Just shut up, Khushi!’ he’d reached the end of his tether, and yelled back at her.

‘No, you shut up,’ she bawled into the phone. ‘I don’t want to see your face nor do I want to talk to you!’ And with that she hung up and turned off the phone.

He dragged his bluetooth from his ear and flung it onto the dashboard, slapping his hand against the wheel, a nerve jumping at his temple.

‘Bhai?’ Akash was looking really scared now, but that was more due to the way his brother was driving than at the look of pure anger on his face.

‘She wants a prenup? She’ll get a bloody prenup,’ he gritted.

‘Bhai, what happened? Prenup?’ Akash was now equally concerned.

Arnav drew a few deep breaths before saying, ‘Khushi wants a prenup.’

‘What?’ Akash blinked. He thought for a minute and shook his head. ‘Bhai, why would she want a prenup? Wouldn’t she be at the losing end if she did so?’

Sometimes Arnav wondered where Akash’s brains were. But then, at times like these, he was stunned at the cold logic that his younger brother could come up with. He smiled wolfishly and said, ‘I love you, Akash,’ before driving home in a marginally better state of mind, much to his brother’s relief.

He picked up the phone and dialed her number. Her phone was turned off.

****

She wiped her tears and went back to the kitchen. Placing a small stack of jalebis on a plate she took it into the bedroom, sitting in front of her statue of Devi Mayya and sorrowfully biting into the sweet delight.

This was the sight that greeted Payal as she walked in.

‘Khushi?!’ she exclaimed. ‘What happened?’ She shook her sister’s shoulder, and Khushi jumped at the touch.

‘Nothing, Jiji,’ said Khushi, numbly eating another jalebi.

‘Do you want some tea, Khushi?’ Payal asked. She was rewarded with a nod.

She brought the tea out to her younger sister, and both sat in silence for a while sipping. Finally, she broached the topic.

‘What’s going on, Khushi? Why were you frying jalebis? Is something troubling you?’

Khushi looked at her older sister before finally letting go of her fears and her anger and her sorrow. She started crying again. Payal hugged her younger sister, as she wailed on her shoulder. It took a while and a lot of soothing murmurs, before Khushi had calmed down to a few hiccups and straightened up.

‘Go wash your face,’ said Payal, gently cupping her face, ‘then come and tell me what this is all about.’

A much calmer Khushi came out and the two sisters sat on the bed facing each other. She still hiccuped occasionally, but finally managed to tell Payal about her tete-a-tete with Shyam. She was lying with her head on a pillow in her sister’s lap by the time she was finished.

The older girl sat stroking her sister’s hair as she listened. ‘Khushi, all this talk about inheritance. I don’t think it’s true.’

‘But the same thing happened to Salmanji in ‘Jab Pyaar Kissise Hota Hai’ and also in ‘Janam Samjha Karo’. He was going to be disowned if he didn’t get married. Bade bade ghar mein aise chotey chotey baatein hote hain,’ she misquoted.

‘Paagal,’ said Payal unable to keep from smiling. She gave her sister a hug, and smoothed back her hair. ‘Those are movies, written by people and made up stories. This is Arnavji we’re talking about.’

Khushi sniffled.

‘And all this you heard from Shyamji?’ Payal asked.

Khushi nodded.

‘Khushi, how long have you known Arnavji?’

‘A long time,’ in muffled tones.

‘Do you love him?’

Nod. Vigorous nod.

‘And how long have you known Shyamji?’

Khushi opened her mouth to respond and all of a sudden in her mind’s eye, all the reasons why she’d felt uncomfortable around Shyam came crashing back into her memory. She felt her face flush.

‘Just a few days,’ she muttered.

‘And Arnavji?’ Payal shook her head, and stroked Khushi’s hair. Without waiting for an answer, she asked, ‘Do you trust Arnavji?’

Khushi turned over and looked into her eyes. This was a question that she would have to answer for herself. She thought long and she thought hard and then said, ‘I made a mistake, didn’t I?’ Her eyes were large, innocent and so full of confusion.

Payal nodded sadly.

‘I should call him,’ she started looking around for her phone.

‘No, Khushi. You have to talk to him face to face about this. You can’t hide behind a phone. Besides its getting late. Go to sleep,’ she said, kissing her sister on the forehead.

Khushi lay down, tired in the aftermath of the emotional storm that she’d been through. Soon she was breathing deeply and evenly in dreamless slumber. But not before she mumbled, ‘I have to tell you something more about Shyamji.’

***

Arnav dialed Khushi’s number and it rang before it went to voicemail. He dialed again and again and each time it was the same. She wasn’t answering the phone he realized, but then dialed again, just in case. Voicemail. And she hadn’t even set up a proper outgoing message, so he could have at least listened to her voice before leaving her a message.

He was pacing in his room, restless as a panther before feeding time in a zoo. He waited five minutes, five agonizing, anguished minutes before dialing again. No luck. Finally, he threw it disgustedly on his bed. He didn’t stop pacing though, and even his beloved plants couldn’t help him today. He needed to talk to Khushi and clear this stupid business out. What the heck?!

She’d been crying. Of course, she would cry. He would have laughed at that, except he knew she was hurting and he couldn’t go to her, gather her in his arms and kiss her red little nose and tell her that it was all a big misunderstanding. She was so cute, but so crazy and she drove him up a wall. Though he’d rather be up that said wall, than live his life the way he did before she came into it, with her glitter and her antics and her wide smile. Dammit! He had to resolve this.

He had to let her know that he hadn’t even thought about a prenup and there was no way he was going to let her go. Ever. Period. She was his. For this life and the next however many lives they were accorded together.

The phone buzzing interrupted his thoughts. Khushi. Relief brought returning anger with it. He hit the ignore button. Let her call.

****

Payal picked up Khushi’s phone and saw 10 missed calls! Okay. So he was at least trying to call her. She tried his number from Khushi’s phone. It was ringing but he was not answering. She scowled in annoyance. What’s with these two? she thought. She tried again and this time the call was cut. One more try. Ugh!! These two are like children. First she yells at him, then he is mad at her. How the heck did they ever manage to fall in love and actually confess their feelings to each other? she had no clue. But this couldn’t go on. She tried once more.

Half an hour of incessant pacing and ignoring the phone’s annoying buzzing later, he heard a knock on his door. He opened it. Akash was standing there with a grim look on his face.

He slammed the phone he held onto Arnav’s chest. ‘Payal. Talk to her,’ he bit out.

Arnav raised an eye brow and the phone to his ear.

‘Payal?’

‘Arnavji, what’s the point of having phone if you won’t answer it? I’ve been trying it for the past half hour,’ she accused.

‘Er.. ,’ he turned away from the door. Akash came and stood inside, arms folded, eyebrows raised.

‘How’s Khushi?’ Arnav asked, in a softer, gentler tone. He knew how ferocious Payal could be about her younger sister. He wasn’t picking another quarrel with her.

‘She’s fallen asleep. You both need to talk. Pick her up at 8:30 tomorrow,’ she said.

‘What? but Payal, what happened?’

‘I think she needs to tell you herself,’ said Payal, before she hung up.

Arnav looked at the phone. Tomorrow couldn’t come fast enough for him. He handed the phone back to Akash who looked at him with a measured glance. He got a sheepish look back in return.

Attagirl, Payal! Akash thought. The Gupta sisters certainly knew how to tame the Raizada lion! Correction - Raizada lions! in the plural, preening to himself.

****

At eight thirty a.m. sharp Arnav picked up Khushi right from in front of her house.

He drove to a hillside, one that he sometimes passed on his way and parked. There was a calmness to their companionship today, he thought. It was almost like the morning after sex - all passion and heat and intensity the night before, then the exhausted sleep. All peace and calm the morning after. His lips twitched at the analogy, but he dared not smile.

They’d barely spoken to each other so far, and he wanted to hear from her exactly what had caused that huge meltdown the night before.

She was subdued today and the dark blue color of her salwar heightened the paleness of her skin, contrasting with the deep black of her hair that she’d left loose. He thought she had never looked more beautiful. He, on the other hand, was in a white shirt, and casual black jeans, his aviators snugly on his nose, for once foregoing the hair gel to allow his hair to flop onto his forehead.

They sat on a grassy mound in silence, looking out at the scenery before them, the lush green foliage, the rolling hills and a temple of Devi Mayya visible in the distance. It was quiet and peaceful up here.

He glanced at her woebegone face and put an arm around her. ‘Are you going to tell me what happened?’ he nuzzled her cheek.

She sighed and looked at him, her grey-green eyes full of guilt and remorse, his caramel ones only held love. He kissed her softly and said, ‘tell me.’

She told him hesitantly all that Shyam had told her. The mammoth web of lies that he had spun around the two of them. There in the shade of a mango tree, she spewed it all out, leaving nothing out - including her increased distaste for his brother-in-law.

Arnav listened in silence, interrupting her only to clear up something that he didn’t understand. This was too bizarre! Yet knowing Khushi, he knew it couldn’t be anything but true.

She was in tears by the time she finished, but these were quiet ones, not the heart-wrenching ones of last night. These were of a pain that was felt, but now was shared.

‘Sh... Sh.. It’s okay.. ‘ He kissed her on the forehead, his hands cradling her head, a long, slow kiss as the bells in the temple of Devi Mayya rang out. ‘It’s all okay, Khushi,’ he said. ‘We’re together, that’s what matters.’

They sat there together for a while, arms around each other, just drinking in the peace.

But Arnav’s mind was nowhere at peace. His brother-in-law, his own brother-in-law whom he looked up to, had given his sister’s hand to, the brother-in-law who claimed to look after his interests, was the one who was .. his thoughts stopped right there. He’d fed monstrous lies and tall tales to his sweet Khushi and hurt her. And he was cheating - what else would you call it? - on his sister.

He couldn’t confront him now, nor could he tell his sister. How? How on earth was he supposed to deal with this? And he wasn’t letting Khushi go either. Questions - whys? whats? wherefores? swirled around in his head, as he held on to the woman he loved.

He untangled himself and walked away, unable to meet the implicit trust in her eyes. He made a phone call. Then he came back and helped her up, and led her back to the SUV.

****

He pulled over near a dhaba, and she looked at him, surprised. She definitely hadn’t expected him to come with her to a dhaba, ever! Arnav Singh Raizada did not do dhabas. But here he was pulling over at one on the highway - without her asking him to!

‘Dhaba, Arnavji?’ she asked hesitantly.

He nodded. ‘No one will think of me being at a dhaba. It’s the safest place for us,’ he said, quietly.

As Khushi exited the car, she was surprised to see her sister waiting with Akash near another car.

The four of them sat down on charpoys and ordered food.

Arnav broke the silence. ‘Payal, Thanks for last night.’

She looked at him startled, the innuendo not lost on her or Akash.

‘Bhai?’ Akash was confused.

‘I meant, thanks for telling me to talk to Khushi,’ he said.

‘Did you both talk?’ Payal asked.

‘Yes, jiji,’ Khushi said. ‘I told him everything.’

Arnav held her hand and kissed her knuckles, looking deep into her eyes.

Payal looked at Akash. See? That’s how you do romance, her eyes said.

He looked at her, narrowed his eyes and then dropped his gaze to her lips. She flushed, biting her lips. He smirked as he looked right back into her eyes. She held his gaze, as her lips parted, her breathing getting erratic.

Arnav and Khushi stared at them open mouthed.

‘Will you two stop ogling each other and get back to the problem in hand?’ Arnav finally asked disgusted with the blatant eye-sex going on in front of them. Ugh! The things that poor Khushi was exposed to. He wanted to cover her innocent eyes before they went any further.

Payal and Akash straightened up, cleared their throats and looked at him.

‘So.’ Akash opened the discussion. ‘Jeejaji told you, that you should get a prenup. And he told you, Khushi, that Bhai wants a prenup?’ Akash summed it up in one question.

Khushi nodded.

‘Weird,’ he stroked his chin. ‘Why would Jeejaji do that?’

‘That’s not all, Akash. If you look at everything that’s happened in the past few days, it’s Jeejaji who’s behind everything. He wants to break me and Khushi up.’ Arnav shook his head baffled by this conclusion. It made no sense to him, or to the others.

‘But why?’ said Payal. ‘What does he stand to gain from this?’

Khushi shuddered. ‘I hate how he always tries to get close to me, and ... and .. touch me,’ she whispered. All three of them looked at her, horror dawning on their faces. ‘He gave me a ride to work two days, came by one day, and then took me out for tea yesterday,’ she said. Innocent as she was, she was not unaware that she wasn’t ‘bumping’ into Shyam by accident. There was something more behind it.

‘He wants Khushi?’ Payal’s voice came out strangled.

The four of them sat silently, digesting that very indigestible idea.

‘How was he hoping to accomplish this?’ Akash’s brain was working on overtime now. ‘If you and Khushi broke up,’ Arnav glared at him. ‘Hypothetically, Bhai,’ he said placatingly, ‘even if you and Khushi broke up, how on earth was he going to get at her? The man hasn’t thought this through, has he? Did he honestly think that Khushi would go running to him, a man that was married to the sister of the man she loves? And even if she did that, what was he going to do, divorce Di and marry Khushi?’

Payal looked at him in astonishment. It was true! There was no way, that Shyam would have Khushi in his life.

Arnav smirked. His brother was right. Shyam wasn’t really thinking it all through very well, was he?

‘In any case. What about Di, Bhai?’ Akash continued. ‘What do we tell her? Or do we tell her anything at all?’

‘And what about Khushi, Akash?’ Payal pointed out. ‘How do you think she could get married into a family, knowing the dammed damaad was looking at her like that? How could she be safe?’

Arnav looked at Payal and said grimly, ‘Khushi and I are getting married, Payal. Make no mistake about that.’

‘We can’t tell Di,’ Khushi spoke quietly. ‘Think how hurt she will be.’ Her tender heart hurt for her sister-in-law-to-be. Her eyes glistened with tears.

Arnav reached out and held her hand. He sat silently, his jaws clenched. The two most important women in his life - both being held at emotional gunpoint by one man. He didn’t want to have to choose. He wanted to save them both. He needed to save them both.

‘But Di has to know at some point, Khushi. We can’t not tell her,’ he said.

‘Not before the weddings,’ Akash said simply. ‘How can we have a wedding knowing that Di is suffering?’

Payal looked at him. Shyam trying to break Arnav and Khushi up would have repercussions even on her! This was not tolerable! But what Akash said was true. They couldn’t start their own lives knowing that Di’s was broken.

There had to be a way to show Shyam that Khushi was out of his reach - but without hurting Di. And there was only one way to do that.

Fight back.

****

SS: The Wrong Name - Part 7

Circling the Wagons

Arnav Singh Raizada had a pain in his head and one in his rear. The events of the last hours had made him furious. For a while, he had given in to that fury, his mind blanking out as his viscera took over. But it was Aman’s calming presence that finally allowed the blind rage to come off his eyes and make him start to think things through. It was time to start planning and strategizing. After all, he hadn’t gone to Harvard just to get a degree in business and finance. He’d also gotten a degree in wheeling, dealing, and pulling the rug out from under his opponent’s feet, and he’d come through with flying colors. Witness the little empire that he’d built in four years time, and the intimidating reputation that he’d garnered while doing so.

He picked up the phone and dialed. He was just putting it down, when there was a knock at the door and Akash walked in, closing the door behind him.

‘Where’s Khushi?’ Arnav said, gesturing for him to sit down.

‘I sent her home, Bhai. I called Payal and told her to take care of her when she gets there,’ Akash informed him. ‘Told her also to take care of the Guptas should anything like this happen there.’ He hesitated and then offered a sympathetic, ‘she’s better, don’t worry, Bhai.’

‘Thanks, Akash,’ Arnav said quietly.

Akash hesitated a minute and said, ‘I think you need to talk to our in-laws, and ...’

Arnav nodded. ‘I’m having lunch with Uncle,’ he said. Another knock on the door, and Aman walked in without waiting for the usual ‘Come’.

‘I tried the courier, ASR,’ he quickly got to the point. ‘They paid in cash. No trace of who sent it. They couldn’t even remember if it was a man or a woman,’ he said.

Arnav nodded. He hadn’t expected anything less. ‘Aman, I’ll be out for lunch for a couple of hours,’ he said.

‘I’ll handle it,’ said Aman, reading his mind. The three of them left the cabin together.

***

Arnav sat at his table, sipping on a glass of water, waiting for his future father-in-law to show up. Soon enough, he spotted him and waved him over, standing respectfully until Shashi had sat down.

‘So, Arnav babua, I’m sure you didn’t call me here just to enjoy my company,’ he said.

Arnav swallowed. This was going to be harder than he thought.

‘What is it, Arnav?’ Shashi could see the unease in the younger man’s eyes. ‘Is it about dowry...?’ his voice trailed off.

‘What?!’ Arnav choked. ‘No! No. Dowry? No,’ he said emphatically. ‘I don’t believe in those customs,’ he said. ‘If a man can’t support his wife, he shouldn’t marry in the first place,’ he muttered.

Shashi was surprised and pleasantly so, but that still didn’t explain why Arnav wanted to meet with him, that too, away from the house.

They ordered their food, and Arnav began. ‘Uncle. You know that I never believed in marriage. But, Khushi, she’s made me see things differently,’ a small, tender smile tilted his lips, before he got back to the conversation at hand.

‘I have enemies, Uncle. People that will do things to hurt me, and now they might try to hurt Khushi. Until we’re married, please look out for her, uncle,’ he said, looking straight at Shashi.

‘What happened?’ Shashi asked.

‘Someone sent pictures from my past to Khushi. She was upset.’

Shashi was not unaware about his son-in-law-to-be’s not-so-pretty past vis-a-vis women. But then again, as long as it did not affect his daughter's present and future he was willing to let it go. He believed Arnav was marrying Khushi for all the right reasons, in fact, he was sure of it. There was anger in his eyes at someone, anyone trying to hurt his titalya’s happiness.

They ate in silence for a bit, before Shashi said, ‘do you know who it is?’

‘Not yet, but I’m working on it,’ said Arnav grimly.

‘Do that.’ Shashi nodded approvingly. He didn’t doubt that his son-in-law would bring down the wrath of the heavens on the person who tried to harm a hair on his daughter’s head. ‘But do it soon,’ he paused. ‘And don’t worry, Arnav. We’ll take care of her.’

The relief he felt in that statement was something that he hadn’t even prepared for. Knowing that uncle would take care of his Khushi when he wasn’t around was enough for him.

***

Wednesday morning Khushi was walking along the road. She’d cooled off after her initial fury at the pictures of Arnav with other women. Actually it was more like jealousy, she realized. Payal had known what had happened and helped her see the light of Arnav’s love again. She looked at her watch and realized she was running late. Picking up her pace, she was almost at the corner, when she spotted the white car. She stopped in her tracks, and slowly backed into the nearest store, which happened to be a music store, she hid behind a fortuitous life-size cut out of a shirtless Salman Khan. She peered beneath his arm and watched as the car slowed down to a crawl and stopped. She waited. The car waited for a few moments, before speeding away. Letting out the deep breath she didn’t know she’d been holding, she finally flagged down an auto and made her way to work.

****

Arnav was reading through the report once again. Why had Shyam come to AR that day? He really didn’t have any work with him, so why had he been here? He said he’d given Khushi a ride, and yet Aman’s report didn’t show him as having any business to be in that part of the town. What was he missing? He raked his fingers through his hair, frustrated at himself.

Then he turned back to his real work.

It was about half an hour later, that he got a call from his brother-in-law. He’d arrived the night before, he knew, but hadn’t met him yet, as their schedules seemed to be slightly off.

‘Jeejaji,’ he said, with just a little hesitation in his mind.

‘Saaley Saab, congratulations!’ he could hear Shyam’s smile down the phone.

‘Thanks, Jeejaji,’ he said. He had to be mistaken, he thought. His Jeejaji was one of his best friends.

‘Listen, I’ve a meeting with a client at two in your area. I was wondering if you would like to have lunch together? I’d like to hear more about your wife-to-be!’ Shyam said. If only you knew how much, Saaley Saab, he thought.

‘Sure, we can do that,’ Arnav readily accepted. ‘Let me tell Aman to make the reservations at my club, and I’ll call and confirm.’

‘Sure thing,’ Shyam said. ‘I’ll see you later then.’ Time for the second volley, he thought gleefully.

They met at the small, exclusive club for lunch. Shyam was already there waiting for him, sipping on a vodka martini - shaken, not stirred. He didn’t know however, that a martini - especially a vodka martini, actually tastes better stirred. Ah well, he’d always been such a James Bond fan!

Arnav slid into the seat across to him. An attentive attendant was by his side instantly waiting for his order.

‘A single-malt on the rocks, please,’ he said.

‘Which one, sir?’ the attendant asked.

He flipped open the wine list and handed it to Arnav, who closed the leather-embossed list and handed it back to him. ‘Do you have the Bruichladdich? The anniversary edition?’

The attendant nodded reverently. The 135th anniversary edition of the 35-year-old whiskey was definitely available. ‘Yes, of course, sir.’

‘Thanks,’ nodded Arnav. The attendant walked away.

‘Whiskey for lunch, Saaley Saab?’ Shyam had watched the whole interchange with interest and not a little jealousy. To be able to order a glass of whiskey from a bottle that went for about Rs. 25,000 without blinking an eye must be nice, he thought.

‘I needed a break,’ said Arnav.

‘I never heard of this one before, though,’ Shyam raised questioning eyebrows.

‘It’s one of my favorites. From Islay. Beautiful place, bleak and beautiful,’ he said.

‘You’ve been there,’ Shyam stated.

Arnav nodded. ‘It’s the peat moss that give the whiskey its distinctive flavor when its burned in during the malting process,’ handing out a small lesson to Shyam on whiskey making.

Whiskey lessons aside, that wasn’t what Shyam was there for. So he went straight for the jugular, ‘so tell me about your Khushiji, Saaley Saab? How did you decide to get married to her?’

It was only later when they were having dessert that Shyam started fidgeting in his chair. Arnav noticed it and raised an eyebrow. ‘Is something the matter?’

‘I .. ‘ Shyam hesitated, looked at the table, then away. Finally he looked back at Arnav who was still staring at him with an expectant look. ‘Saaley Saab, have you thought about a prenup?’ he blurted out - but it was a planned blurt, of course.

‘What?’ Arnav was shocked! ‘A prenup? Why would I do that?’

‘Look, I know you care about her and she cares about you. But she is after all, a middle-class girl. And if, God Forbid,’ he said fervently, ‘something should happen, you should be protected, Saaley Saab. I am thinking of your future and any possibilities. It’s always good to hedge your bets,’ he finished, hoping he didn’t sound too pushy.

‘Jeejaji, a prenup presupposes the notion that our marriage won’t last,’ said Arnav. ‘I’m not in it just for a short period of time. I want Khushi to be my wife forever,’ he frowned. ‘I’m not having one, Jeejaji,’ he said with finality.

‘It’s better to be safe than sorry, Saaley Saab. I know you’re probably wondering why I brought this topic up now, but .. this is the only time you have to think about it. You know I’ve always regarded you more like my younger brother, than my brother-in-law and I have only your best interests at heart. So think about it, Saaley Saab,’ he said, his heart pounding wondering if Arnav would take the bait.

‘Okay, Jeejaji. I’ll think about it,’ Arnav conceded although with misgivings.

‘Good!’ said Shyam and wisely let the topic drop at that point.

Arnav returned to work, his mind in a whirl. The conversation with Shyam bothered him. A prenup? With Khushi? No way was he going to do that. It was strange, he thought. In a few days he would be marrying her. As long as they had been dating everything seemed to be fine. And now, when he was ready to take the next step forward, things were happening that he wasn’t prepared for. The photos, Shyam’s insinuations that the relationship wouldn’t last and what was it that was bothering Khushi so much? Granted they hadn’t had much time together in the last few days, but .. he still needed to find that out.

He dialed her extension and said, ‘Khushi, my cabin, right now!’

She looked up at his cabin. She had to tell him of her unease. This was the best time.

****

Khushi stepped out of AR’s offices, tired after an exceptionally busy day. Aman had kept her running around after so many things. Work had suddenly piled up and she was having difficulty concentrating. Arnav and she had barely spent any time together lately, she thought. Even today, he was still busy when she left, but she had to return home today. No late night dinner for them. He really was working late, trying to get everything in order, before he took time off for their wedding. But she was glad she had finally told him about her discomfort about his brother-in-law. Strangely enough, he hadn’t been as dismissive of her as she’d thought he would be. Wonder why?

So wrapped up in her thoughts was she, that she didn’t notice the white car that stopped beside her. Shyamji! Again! Oh no! she thought in dismay.

‘Khushiji!’ he looked delighted to have met her.

‘Shyamji,’ she said wanly, trying to curve her lips in a smile.

‘Come, Khushiji. Let me drop you home,’ and he swung open the door for her.

Just then, drops of rain started falling, gathering speed.

‘Get in, Khushiji,’ he urged. ‘You’ll get wet! Then what will I answer to my Saaley Saab?’

She sighed. Not again! But she slid into the passenger seat and clipped her seatbelt on. It was better than waiting in the rain for an auto. At least she was dry, she consoled herself.

Shyam sighed in contentment, the smell of Shalimar delighting his senses once more. He had so missed it. Which is why he now had a bottle of it in his bag, for his Rani Sahiba, of course. A little self-deception didn’t hurt anyone.

‘So, congratulations, Khushiji!’ he smiled at her. He shifted the gear and accidentally on purpose brushed against her leg.

She shifted her leg away, with a little shiver. ‘Thank you,’ she said eyeing him warily.

‘How about a cup of tea until this storm passes?’ the smile was kind.

‘No, I’d rather go home, thank you,’ she said.

‘Khushiji, you are soon to become a part of the family. And I didn’t even get to go to your shagun. So have a little pity on me, huh?’ he smiled winningly at her. Actually, he hadn’t been able to stop smiling since she got into the car.

‘Okay,’ she nodded, not quite knowing how to say no to him. He was after all, Arnavji’s brother-in-law. She didn’t have a way to refuse him outright, as he hadn’t really done anything.

He pulled up happily at a shop and they ran inside. Ordering cups of adrak-waali-chai, they sat in uncomfortable silence on her part, blissful silence on his.

It wasn’t until their teas arrived that he prepared for his volley number three.

‘I met Arnav for lunch today, you know,’ he said.

‘Oh!’ she said.

‘Don’t you want to know what we talked about?’ he asked, strangely a little serious.

‘About us?’ she guessed.

He nodded looking away. ‘You do know I am a lawyer, right? He wanted to discuss the prenup,’ he said in a soft voice, still not looking at her.

‘A prenup? What is that?’ she looked at him, not quite sure she should be having this conversation with him, but unable to walk away either.

‘A prenup is an agreement a man and a woman sign before getting married, which says what each one will get in the event of a divorce,’ he looked down at his tea, almost as if he had the biggest interest in it.

‘What?’ she voice came out in a whisper.

He hid his smile at that. He was right. She was the weakest link. Good Bye! ** He turned it into a pitying smile and said, ‘tell me Khushiji, how long have you been dating Arnav? A month?’ he’d already got this information from Arnav earlier, so he knew it was pretty accurate. ‘Didn’t it surprise you that he would agree to marry you so suddenly, when all his life he’s been saying he’s not interested in marriage?’

She stared at him horrified. The ugly clouds of doubt had gathered in her mind. This was true. She knew it to be true.

He sighed, a deep, resigned sigh and held her hand. She was too shaken to even register it.

‘Khushiji, there is something I should tell you,’ he said firmly, as if he’d just made up his mind about it. He paused for effect and then said, ‘you are marrying into the Raizada clan, Khushiji. You should know about them. Both Anjali and Arnav get their inheritances only if they marry by the time they are twenty-eight. Anjali married me just before her twenty-eighth birthday.

‘Everyone thinks we have a wonderful marriage. But it’s hard being married to someone, knowing they married you only to get their own inheritance.’ He stopped, sniffed and continued. ‘Anjali doesn’t even want children, it would ruin her size-zero figure and she’d have to stop wearing those net sarees that she is so in love with. That’s what she says.

‘And Arnav? If he doesn’t marry, his deadline runs out. You fit the bill, Khushiji. You come from a traditional family and your sister is marrying Akash anyway. Once he has his inheritance, if he wants to...’ he left the sentence unfinished. No more was needed. The seeds of doubt had started to sprout in her mind. He could see it in her eyes. Shyam Jha had finally found his mark!

*****

Arnav had sat thinking over his conversation with Khushi.

Was it - and he fervently hoped he was wrong - was all this connected? The timing was too ... perfect .. he thought. And only a few people had known at that point that he and Khushi were engaged.

Shyam was one of them.

But why would his happily married brother-in-law try to break him and Khushi up? None of it made any sense to him. He slammed his laptop shut, putting his elbows on his desk, clasping his hands together and resting his chin on them.

This was all getting too complicated!

****

Author's Notes:

Circle the Wagons:
When the pioneers in the wild west of America would be attacked by Indians, they would put their wagons in a circle with the women and children in the center, thus defending themselves from all sides. This maneuver today is used to mean - taking a defensive stance, gathering all your resources and making ready to defend no matter from which direction the attack comes or how many enemies there are.

** The Weakest Link is a game show originating in Britain. As each contestant is eliminated the host used the tag line ‘You ARE the weakest link. Good Bye!’ to the departing contestant.

SS: The Wrong Name - Part 6

Ab Kya Boloon Main

Another Saturday morning at the Raizada household. 
Shyam had already left early for his trip, and breakfast was over. Arnav was in his garden waiting for a ‘Good Morning’ text, feeling just a wee bit nervous, after the previous night, covering it up by pottering around his plants.

Akash went looking for Di. He found her folding laundry in her room. Apparently, this was the favorite pastime of women in the Raizada household. That and cooking. He walked in and said, ‘Di.’

She raised questioning eyes to him. ‘What is it, Akash? Can it wait?’

‘No, Di,’ he said. Outside the window he watched Arnav watering his precious plants as he chatted with someone on his Bluetooth. ‘Come on down, Di,’ he was positively giddy with excitement.

‘Why down?’ she frowned. ‘Can’t we talk here?’

He popped his eyes wide and gazed towards the window. She followed his eyes, watching Chotey for a bit, before it finally hit her. Her eyes now as wide as his, she said, ‘did you..?’

He nodded vigorously. She dropped the clothes in her hands. This was way juicier than laundry, especially with her beloved Shyamji gone for the week.

The pair of them headed down to the study and sat down.

‘Di, last night I was talking to Payal,’ he whispered, building up to his moment of enlightenment, as they both leaned with their heads close to each other.

‘And?’ she asked wondering at all these dramatics. Really, he should grow up, after all he was getting married in about two week’s time; and here he was, behaving like a teenager with ants in his pants.

Before he could say anything further, Nani’s voice came over their shoulders, ‘what are you two whispering about?’

‘Nani, Akash was telling me something about talking to Payal,‘ she glared at him. Really? This was what he wanted to talk about?

Devyani Raizada sat down next to them and proceeded to settle the pleats of her sari. ‘So what did Payal bitiya tell you?’ she asked kindly.

Akash shook his head. It wasn’t important. ‘What is important is that I found out who Bhai is seeing,’ he blurted out, finishing his thought.

‘Khushi bitiya,’ Nani calmly dropped the bomb.

‘Dadi? you know?’ asked Akash stunned.

‘Nani?’ Anjali too spun around to look at her grandmother, who had a self-satisfied look on her face.

‘Yes, of course,’ she said, looking mildly surprised at her two grandchildren who looked as if she’d just announced that she would be dancing to ‘Reshmi ujala hai’ ** at Akash’s sangeet.

‘Akash, how does this fit into what Payal told you?’ Anjali was completely confused.

‘Dadi, how did you know?’ Akash still looked slightly dazed at the mental image of his Dadi dancing .. oh Yuck! As if last night .. never mind... Akash’s mind was running in all kinds of different directions, scarred forever by such frightening thoughts.

His Dadi looked at him pityingly, ‘Akash, I am your grandmother. You don’t teach your grandmother how to suck eggs,’ she said. ***

‘But we don’t even eat eggs,’ he protested.

Anjali had been looking from one to the other during this, completely baffled at the turn the conversation had taken.

‘Wait! What have eggs and Payal got to do with Chotey?’ she wailed.

‘Nothing, Di,’ Akash held his head in his hands, now completely confused as well.

‘Chotey likes Khushi bitiya,’ Devyani summed it up succinctly in one sentence, with a knowing air.

‘Oh!’ Anjali’s hand went up to her rounded mouth. ‘Is she... ?’

‘Yeah, Di,’ Akash mumbled, ‘she’s the one he’s been having dinners with.’

‘Oh!’ she said again.

‘So I am thinking, we should go to their house and ask for her hand,’ Devyani said.

‘Of course, Nani,’ Anjali jumped up from her seat, ‘let’s go right now.’

‘Anjali bitiya,’ said her Nani. ‘Calm down. We’ll go later today. I have to call the Guptas first, but the talk of the rishta must be a surprise for them, okay?’

Anjali nodded her head obediently.

‘Akash,’ he looked up dully. So much for his Eureka moment, he thought. ‘You will not tell Payal anything.’ Devyani wagged her forefinger at him. ‘We’ll go this evening to their house.’

He nodded to show his compliance as well.

‘Oh, I must tell Shyamji,’ an ecstatic Anjali announced, her fingers flying over her phone’s buttons. To her immense disappointment, the call went straight to voicemail. ‘He must be busy,’ she thought and hung up, pouting.

****

It was three in the afternoon when the now-familiar white SUV pulled up in front of the Gupta house. The Raizadas had arrived en masse - this time for another rishta, and just like last time, the Guptas were blindsided. But more on that in a bit.

Khushi stood in the kitchen, hearing the excited chatter going on in the living room, while she brewed cups of tea. Rough fingers trailed softly up her back that was laid bare by the plait she had made. She jumped and turned around, more than pleased to see that it was Arnav that was standing there, and not Shyam. Why did that thought pop into her head? She had to talk to Arnav about her uneasiness, she thought.

‘Hi!’ he said with a tender smile. It was strange and new to him to be talking to her in her own house.

‘Hi,’ she responded to his smile, blooming like a flower turning to the sun.

‘I need to talk to you,’ he said in a low voice.

She looked at him alarmed. ‘What’s the matter?’

‘Shh.. ‘ he said. ‘Just come with me.’ He held her hand, and quietly led her out of the kitchen. Following her directions, he led her to her bedroom, shut and locked the door.

She stood there nervously, twisting her dupatta in her hands, fervently wishing she had a jalebi close by ... or a two ... or a plateful. That would do.

He came close to her and lifted her chin up so she could meet his eyes. Devi Mayya! He wasn’t going to do anything inappropriate now, was he? Her eyes showed her fear and he leaned forward to just kiss her on her forehead.

‘Do you know why we are here?’ he asked her.

She shook her, mesmerized by the intensity of his caramel eyes, and the resounding dhak-dhak of her heartbeat.

Taking her hands in his, he looked at them, comparing them. Hers so tiny, and fair and slim. His, so big and dark, and engulfing hers. And yet, when he entwined their fingers they just fit. Just like everything about her fit into him. The way she fit into his arms, his thoughts, his heart, his life.

Raising her hands to his lips, he kissed her knuckles and then said, ‘Khushi.’ And stopped.

She looked questioningly at him. What on earth was going on with him?

He straightened up, as if resolving something, and then slowly went down on one knee, ‘I know you deserve more than this, and probably a better man than me. But Khushi Kumari Gupta, will you marry me?’

She looked into his eyes, seeing the uncertainty and pleading in them, the hope and the very slightest hint of fear at the possibility of rejection. Arnav Singh Raizada was on his knees, asking her to marry him, and waiting, holding his breath to hear her answer. She could never resist him, not those eyes, and not her own heart. She took a deep breath and opened her mouth.

‘Titaliya?!’ she heard her buaji in the background. ‘Where are you? Are you bringing the tea or not?’

‘Coming, buaji,’ she yelled in reflex.

Arnav closed his eyes. Talk about ruining a moment, he thought, his head hanging in despair.

‘Arnavji, I have to go,’ she twirled on her feet, and then felt her dupatta being yanked. He had it firmly in a hold.

‘Khushi? you never answered my question,’ he said mildly, his hand wrapped around the dupatta, that was slowly slipping off her neck.

She walked back to him and held his hands. Tears pooled in her eyes. Arnav Singh Raizada, Laad Governor, Rakshas, on his knees before her still. She tugged him to his feet, and threw herself into his arms. He had to bend down to hear her whispered ‘Yes’, because it was so soft.

She pulled back from him and he let her go, smiling at her, flicking her nose with a finger, before he turned around and walked away to the living room, giving a short nod to his grandmother on the way.

***

In the living room, the conversation had wandered around until Khushi brought the tray of tea in. Arnav jumped up to help her, before pulling out a chair for her to sit on. Payal was already sitting next to Anjali on the sofa.

‘Madhumatiji, you know for a long time, we thought our Chotey would never get married,’ Devyani began, sipping on her tea. ‘But finally, he has agreed to get married and we’re so happy about it.’

‘Oh! This is wonderful news, indeed,’ said Madhumati Bua, beaming, while Garima nodded enthusiastically. ‘Have you started looking for a girl?’

Shashi’s glance flicked from Arnav to Khushi and watched as his daughter blushed a slight shade of rose. His eyebrows rose as he realized what the Raizadas were really here for. He liked Arnav. Quiet, strong and responsible. Oh, he’d heard tales about how much of a slave-driver he was, and what a bad temper he had. He was also aware of the epic proportion fights that these two had had. On the other hand, Shashi trusted his gut when it came to people and he knew that this was a man that he would trust his daughter with. There was something remarkably honest and solid about him. More importantly, he would wouldn’t turn his daughter into a tame bahu, instead he would let her become the fiery lioness she was destined to be. Shashi Gupta had already given his blessings to this union, but he turned respectfully to Devyani as she continued speaking.

‘Yes, it is and no, we haven’t. You see, that is why we are here today. We would like to ask for you daughter’s hand for our Chotey,’ she smiled graciously.

‘Khusi?’ whispered Garima.

Arnav heard her, just like last time, but this time he just smiled. Khushi straightened in her chair and looked at her father.

‘Khushi?’ Shashi looked at his younger one. ‘Are you okay with this?’ He had already read her answer in her eyes, but he needed to hear it from her.

‘Arrey, Nandkishore! How will she not be okay with this?’ Madhumati shoved her brother on his shoulder. ‘Such a good family, and such a good boy. We couldn’t have expected better for her. Of course, she will marry him,’ she said loudly, smiling broadly.

Khushi looked on with astonishment in her eyes.

‘But let her speak for herself, Jiji,’ Garima the pacifist stepped in softly, hesitantly.

‘We’re not throwing her to the wolves, Garima,’ Buaji was quite authoritative about this. ‘This is a wonderful thing for her. If you search all of Delhi, you would not find a better boy, I am telling you this! Yes!’ She said with finality, folding her arms.

The Raizadas sat stunned at this outburst.

‘But, jiji, let Khushi at least say what she wants,’ Garima was still trying to make her point - albeit rather weakly. At the back of her mind were all the fights that she’d heard about between Arnav and Khushi.

‘Nandkishore! This is what happens when you give your daughter too much freedom. I will not say anything, but if she doesn’t accept this rishta, she will be making a mistake. A big mistake, I tell you!’ Madhumatiji would not be budged.

‘We cannot force her, Jiji,’ Garima tried one last time.

‘Hain? Force? Who is forcing her? No one is forcing her.’ Madhumatiji was outraged. ‘She just needs to agree to this rishta. That’s all!’

Finally, Devyani could take it no longer. She looked at Khushi and said, ‘Bitiya, what do you have to say?’

Khushi looked from Naniji, to Buaji to Garima and finally to Arnav, looked him in the eye, stood up and asked, ‘Ab kya boloon main?’ helplessly.

Arnav looked at her in astonishment before standing up himself, grabbing her upper arms and pulling her close. ‘Just say yes, dammit,’ he gritted out.

‘Yes!’ she said, nodded her head frantically.

Everyone heaved a huge sigh of relief!

****

It was on the way back to Shantivan that Anjali got a call from Shyam.

‘Rani Sahiba, I saw you called me quite a few times. I only just got off work. What’s the matter? Is everything okay?’ As always he was concerned about his wife.

She glowed and smiled and said, ‘Shyamji, we missed you today. You know, Chotey finally agreed to getting married!’

‘Really?’ he was thrilled. ‘This is excellent news.’

‘And you know, Shyamji, he even picked the girl himself,’ she said.

‘Is this the same girl that he has been seeing?’ he asked conspiratorially, lowering his voice.
‘Ji. And you will never believe who it is. And since it took Chotey such a long time to make up his mind, we didn’t want to waste any. So, we’d gone to their house today itself. As a matter of fact, we are on our way home from there. We completed the shagun,’ she happily informed him.

‘Oh wonderful!’ he exclaimed. ‘I am sorry to have missed this. Please forgive me, Rani Sahiba.’

‘No problem, Shyamji,’ she said sweetly. ‘Just make sure that you take enough time off to attend all the rasams and the weddings.’

‘Of course, Rani Sahiba, both my Saale Saabs are getting married! How can I miss even a single rasam?’

Anjali smiled at that.

Arnav, who was driving, flicked his glance towards the mirror and caught sight of his sister giggling away at the phone and smiled to himself. He knew he’d made her very happy today and a warm glow filled his heart.

‘But Rani Sahiba,’ said Shyam, ‘you didn’t tell me. What is her name? What does she do? Is she pretty? After all, if she has to be a Raizada bahu, and that too my Saaley Saab’s choice, I am sure she is very pretty,’ he said proudly.

‘Shyamji, you have no idea. She is very beautiful and from a very good family,’ she chuckled. ‘Wait, let me send you some pictures of their shagun. I’ll send them to your Whatsapp account, okay?’

‘Okay, Rani Sahiba,’ he said. ‘I’ll wait for them.’

‘When is Jeejaji coming back?’ Arnav called from the front seat.

‘Chotey wants to know when you’re coming back?’ she relayed to him.

‘Oh, I hope to finish off by Tuesday, Wednesday at the latest, I should be home,’ he assured her.

‘Okay, then we’ll see you soon,’ she said and hung up.

Shyam smiled indulgently at the phone. She hadn’t told him the girl’s name, but it must be from one of their own circle of friends, he had no doubt. Whistling to himself, he walked into the washroom to shower.

Twenty minutes later, refreshed and changed, he settled down on the bed in his hotel room. Ordering from room service, he picked up his phone and clicked on the Whatsapp icon. He waited while the images loaded and then clicked download.

One by one, the images showed up on the big 4.8-inch screen of his Samsung GS3 in all their HD super AMOLED glory.

Khushi and Arnav with the rest of the Guptas.

Khushi with Arnav with the rest of the Raizadas.

Khushi and Arnav with Mamaji, Mamiji and Naniji.

Khushi and Arnav with Akash and Payal.

Khushi and Arnav with Anjali.

Khushi and Arnav just by themselves smiling at each other, his arm around her waist.

He slumped on the bed. Bile rose at the back of his throat. Khushi engaged to Arnav?! His own Saaley Saab?! How? Why? When? What happened to his Saaley Saab’s famous ‘aukaat’? He swore then, roundly and fluently and colorfully, letting the stream of cuss words fly out of his mouth for a full minute. Why hadn’t he seen this coming? Why had nobody told him?

He sat for a long while, thinking .. thinking and finally picked up his phone and dialed.

***

Monday mid-morning at work, Arnav was reading through a report that Aman had sent. He’d specifically asked for it and it was in his email inbox. There was nothing untoward going on, from what he could see. Nothing that jumped out at him. Nothing that he could point at and say, that’s it! And yet, why was there a niggling sense of something not quite right?

Khushi was sitting at her desk. She glanced up at the blinds drawn across his cabin. Usually that was as good as a big fat sign saying, ‘Do not Disturb’ and most people understood that. She needed to talk to him, and yet, what could she say? Your Jeejaji creeps me out? He’s given me lifts two days in a row and I don’t like how it makes me feel? I don’t like how he touched me when he was offering me balm for my headache. She slapped her head. How could she tell him that? It seemed so silly and yet... it made her so uneasy. And Arnavji always knew what she felt .. well, almost always. And now that they were to be married, shouldn’t she be sharing everything with him? With that thought in mind, she picked up a pen and pad, and moved towards the staircase to his cabin.

She was almost at the top when she passed Aman going down. They smiled at each other.

‘Congratulations, Bhabi,’ he said in a low voice, before continuing down.

Khushi blushed and grinned to herself, before knocking on Arnav’s door.

‘Come in,’ he looked up smiling as his PA and now his fiancee walked through the door. He got up and walked to her, shutting the door, before taking her in his arms and kissing her thoroughly. Satisfied for the moment, he sat her down in the chair across from him and said, ‘what’s the matter? Did something happen?’

‘I don’t know, Arnavji,’ she hesitated a moment. ‘But I really need to tell you this,’ she said rapidly.

He raised his eyebrows and said, ‘tell me what?’

***

Aman was heading to the cafeteria when he heard Khushi’s name. He swung around to see a courier asking the receptionist for Khushi’s whereabouts, and promptly detoured towards him.

‘What’s the matter, Pam?’ he asked.

‘Sim, Sir,’ she corrected him.

Pam, Sim, they all sim-med the same to him, he thought with a mental snort.

‘Delivery for Ms Khushi Kumari Gupta,’ the courier said.

‘I’ll take it,’ Aman said, quickly signing on the receipt, and picking up the manila envelope. Whatever was inside was heavy and stiff. He shrugged and went to the cafeteria where he brewed a cup of coffee, dark and bitter, before heading back upstairs. Khushi was still not at her desk, he noticed.

Knocking on ASR’s door he heard the immediate, ‘come,’ and walked in.

Akash, Khushi and Arnav seemed to be deep in discussion about something.

‘Courier for you, Khushi,’ he said, placing the manila envelope in her hands.

She frowned and looked at it. There was no return address. Arnav looked at her expectantly, and she tore the envelope open. The contents spilled out on Arnav’s desk.

5x8 glossies of Arnav with women. Different women. In different poses, holding them, hands around them, dancing with them, laughing and snuggling with them.

Her normally pale skin turned paler as she looked at the damming pictures. Aman frowned as he looked at them. Arnav gulped as he looked at her. Akash closed his eyes and shook his head. Bhai was so done for!

She was breathing heavily now, her face turning pink as fury started bubbling up to the surface. Just then, a slip of paper drifted out of the envelope. She picked it up and read it. ‘Just to remind you of the kind of man you are dating. A well-wisher.’ It was printed.

Aman stared aghast at the pictures before something struck him. He picked them up and rapidly scanned through them.

‘These are all old pictures, Bhabi,’ he said.

Arnav and Akash turned sharply towards him, neither of them commenting on the familiarity of the way he addressed Khushi. She seemed not to have heard him, hot tears of fury rolling down her cheeks, hands clenched tightly together in her lap, her back straight.

‘Look at them, ASR, they are all more than a year, year-and-a-half old,’ he held out the pictures. The two other men looked at the pictures. Aman was right! These were old pictures. Someone was out to do mischief!

‘He’s right, Khushi,’ Akash said. ‘These pictures are old, they mean nothing. And Aman and I know that.’

She looked from Aman to Akash, hope dimly coming into her eyes.

‘Khushi, someone’s trying to play you,’ Akash said, reaching out for her hand. ‘They’re trying to get to you and Bhai.’ He looked at his brother, recognizing the signs of fury on his face in the pulse beating at his temple, the clenching of his jaws, the fisting of his hands, and the narrowing of his eyes. Bhai was still ominously quiet.

His older brother instincts kicked in.

‘Come with me, Khushi,’ he helped her up and put an arm around her, leading her out of the room, taking her to the quiet of his own cabin. He glanced back at his brother, who nodded shortly at him, his eyes still hot with anger.

As soon as the door closed behind Akash and Khushi, ASR turned to Aman. ‘What the hell is this, Aman?’ his voice was low, furious.

Aman shook his head. ‘Looks like someone wants to create problems for the two of you,’ he stated the obvious.

‘Who?’ the word snapped like a twig in an ice-storm.

Aman drew a deep breath and shook his head. ‘It’s just the timing, ASR,’ he spoke slowly. ‘Who knew that Khushi and you were dating? And just as your marriage is finalized?’

‘I’d tried to keep her out of the limelight,’ Arnav responded. ‘But someone could have seen us together, I guess. We do go to that Italian place quite often.’ He shook his head in disbelief. ‘Get rid of these,’ he said in disgust.

Aman gathered up the pictures, and looked at the manila envelope, a thought striking him. Perhaps the courier company might know something. The photos were headed for the shredder, the slip and envelope - those were his only clues.

Arnav sat back in his chair, eyes closed. If those pictures ever reached his in-laws, not only could he say goodbye to having Khushi redecorate his bedroom, even Akash could be affected. He would not allow that. Whoever it was, had called the wrath of ASR on his or her head. ASR was on the warpath with a foe he didn’t know as yet, but that wasn’t about to deter him. After all, his Khushi was in danger and he was not about to take it lying down. 

****  

Author’s Note: 

**

‘Reshmi Ujala hai’ is a hit song from the movie ‘Sharmilee’. The song was sung by Asha Bhosle and Jayshree T (aka Naniji from IPK) had danced a strip-tease cabaret number to it. It was also referred to during the Payash Sangeet when Anjali/Shyam announced Naniji’s dance, with a play on the lyrics of the song: 

‘Reshmi ujala hai, 

makhmali andhera, 

aaj ki raat, aisa kuch karo, 

ho nahin savera’. 

If you haven’t seen it yet, check it out on YouTube @ 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YAeky542SLE 

***

‘Teaching your Grandmother to suck eggs’ is a metaphor used to tell a novice not to teach a master how to do their job.