Incandescent

Chapter 22

Khushi alighted the metro at park central and pulled her orange-red dupatta a little more snugly around her neck so that it didn't keep slipping. She wore it with a plain white kurta with Lucknowi chikan (embroidery) work and a matching white legging. She then adjusted her bag across her body and carefully navigated the crowd towards the entrance. The humid air hit her on the face the moment she stepped outside the station and she started looking for an auto. Since a train had just come and left, and she was one of the last people to walk out as she had to walk all the way to the front from the last coach, she didn't see a waiting auto.

At around seven on a Friday evening, the traffic was at its peak and Khushi looked at the now familiar scene around herself. Sweet shops, yellow and green auto rickshaws, yellow cabs and call taxis, and delicious, mouthwatering street food. Jhal muri, puchka, rasgullas... her mouth watered. On a normal day, she wouldn't have thought twice about buying herself a plate before finally going back home.

But not today.

As she waited, she marveled at where she was in life at present. The last few months had been amazing and full of surprises. The week Arnav had proposed, Khushi had then cancelled her train ticket to Kolkatta, and left with him to Payal's wedding along with her parents who couldn't have been happier. They had had no qualms about accepting Arnav Singh Raizada as their son-in-law to be. While Shashi had agreed with Khushi's decision wholeheartedly, Garima had been happy about the man groveling, she was also a little disappointed and concerned about Khushi's decision. She had been happy when Arnav came back for Khushi when none of them were expecting it. Though she had tried to be strong, she had not been without worry about Khushi's future the past months.

"Khushi, two years is too long, don't you think?" she said when they were alone and packing. "Just because he has agreed to everything you say, don't stretch it too far, Khushi. Asking him to wait for two years is cruel. What if he decides he doesn't want to wait that long?"

For all the beautiful things he had said, Garima still couldn't trust him completely. And Khushi knew she couldn't blame her and yet she felt hurt and immediately tried to defend him.

"Amma, you don't know him as I do. Your concerns are —

"Baseless? How can you tell me to relax when a few hours ago, we were not certain he would even come for you," Garima countered and when Khushi would have spoken up, she silenced her by saying, "I know I don't know him as well as you do. In fact I don't know him at all. But do you know him, Khushi? Were you expecting him to come at all?"

Khushi could say yes. And may be it would be true because she had hoped and in a tiny corner of her heart believed that he would come even though she hadn't wanted to hope. It was safer to accept it now that everything seemed to be fine at last. But how can she fault her mother for what she was saying?

"And here, we have agreed for my daughter's wedding with him. That doesn't mean we trust him completely. It only means we trust you. And my concern is that..." she stopped and her cheeks turned pink out of embarrassment. She didn't know how to continue but still said, "Khushi, there's a reason some things are forbidden before marriage. Because once you give in to the temptation, once you have known what it is like to..." Garima stopped again and it was Khushi's turn to be embarrassed now as understanding dawned.

"Tu samajh rahi hai na? (You understand, don't you?) Your generation may be modern in your outlooks but our forward thinking only extends so far as to agreeing to a love match. We don't understand the live-in' business. We can't be comfortable about you two... and a man of his stature... I don't know how to say this... and if then he changes his mind again about marriage..."

Garima had calmed reluctantly after a lot of reassurance from Khushi that Arnav was not like that. She had told her mother that she would understand him better when she knew him a little more. There was more to Arnav than what was on the surface.