Itefaaq

Chapter 16: Wedding Reception Part 1

Note: Sorry this took so long. I ended up splitting up this chapter so part two should be out soon.

For the most part, the following days were normal. They had resumed a schedule similar to when Mahi first got her job and Rajveer had his anger management classes. However, there were subtle changes. Rajveer couldn't tell if it was just in his head or if Mahi had grown more comfortable around him but he would often notice that she stayed closer to him. When they watched TV, ate together, really anything, she always chose the seat closest to him. This resulted in quite a few unintentional brushes against his arm or leg that drove Rajveer insane but he was able to manage.

Mahi in turn started to notice little things about Rajveer. His look of concentration when he was absorbed in whatever T.V. program they were watching, the way he tapped his foot along with a song that he liked and how he would quietly whistle the tune to himself later when he thought Mahi wasn't around were among those she found particularly endearing.

However, one of the biggest differences Mahi noticed in Rajveer wasn't a result of her feelings causing her to pay more attention to him. As a result of his new volunteer job, Rajveer went from simply answering 'fine,' when she asked about his day to getting so lost in telling her about all that was wrong with the system and how his first action when he returned to his job would be to assign a team to deal with the issues of the everyday people who were being overlooked and eventually pushed into poverty. Normally, Mahi would roll her eyes at anything remotely related to activism or trying to bring justice to those in need etc. She had learned the hard way that life wasn't fair and she wasn't about to go around fixing other people's problems when she and her family had to battle their way through their own problems without any assistance. On the contrary, others constantly made it harder on them and she didn't feel she owed anyone a thing.

But the way Rajveer described his plan made her listen. Attraction aside, what he said actually made sense to her. The way he described it made her think about how, if he hadn't agreed to take her in as a paying guest, she might have been in a situation similar to the ones he wanted to help. And it wasn't just empty promises; with his assertiveness and hard-working (or, as some might call it, obsessive) nature, she actually thought Rajveer could make a real difference. The way his eyes lit up as he spoke about the people he encountered throughout the day also made her secretly wish he would continue to volunteer when he got his job back - both as a reminder to stay grounded, and also so she could keep seeing that motivation in him.

The wedding came quicker than either of them had expected. While they were invited to most of the functions, they had decided to attend the reception and forgo the rest. One night of being whispered about behind their backs (or possibly straight to their faces), would be enough.

The reception was on a weekend and a day that Rajveer happened not to have a volunteer shift so the two of them were home in the morning. As they had both opted to simply give the couple money, there wasn't really much preparation left to do, save getting dressed up themselves. This proved to be a downside as both Rajveer and Mahi were anxious to skip straight to the evening.

Rajveer had already eaten his breakfast when Mahi entered. "Good morning. Are you excited?" he asked nonchalantly.

"Hmm no," Mahi said. "Aur tum?"

"What do you mean no? Phir kyun ja rahi ho?" Rajveer said, suddenly worried Mahi was going to back out.

Mahi shook her head, "No, main excited nahi hoon lekin main jaana chahti hoon. I don't know, ek taraf bahut der baad party jaane ko mil raha hai, lekin pichli party mein bhi log humare baare mein baat kar rahe the and it will be worse here. I just don't want to deal with the drama," Mahi explained.