The Folly of Love

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That night as she lay in her bed, Naina blushed recalling his words. She wondered how he always managed to fluster her with his open innuendos. Whether it was five years ago when they had barely known each other, or now when they were days away from being tied in holy matrimony, he had always been disarmingly direct. The same words from anyone else would have probably seemed coarse, but when uttered by him they left her insides quivering in anticipation. Though she never voiced her desires, the blood in her veins had been simmering for long as well. She too impatiently waited for the self-imposed torture to end!

As she drifted off to sleep, Naina thought of the lingerie Deepika had bought for her. Not wanting to risk the women in her family finding them, she had asked Deepika to hold on them for her. She couldn't wait to see which one he liked the most!

* * *

Carrying a tray of disposable paper cups filled with steaming tea, Naina climbed the steps to the terrace. It was three days before the wedding. Her mother was assessing the temporary pandal installed. All the pre- and post-wedding functions at the bride's side were to be conducted here. A few of their neighbors were assembled there to help.

Rama uttered "Vikas bhai, this looks perfect! I am glad you suggested that we should choose the yellow and orange combination." Naina sounded excited as she offered them the tea "Yes Uncle! Orange for the Mehendi and Yellow for the Haldi!" Rama laughed "Look at her logic!" Vikas smiled indulgently "She is happy... that's what we want!"

As Naina moved on to offer the tea to others, Vikas said gruffly "Rama ben, our kids are all flying the nest. Paarth is already busy with his family in Mumbai, and now Naina will be gone too. Just us oldies left to keep each other company." For a few minutes they stood in silence, till Rama asked trying to brush away the gloomy thoughts "Paarth and Namita will arrive at two? After they freshen up, I will bring over the snacks. We are all eagerly waiting for them! Naina has got some toys for Aditya. It feels so good to have small kids running around the house!" He smiled "Another year or two and you will have your grandchild running around the house!" Her heart brimming with warmth, Rama glanced at her daughter who was talking with some teenage boys from their society.

"Didi, we are thinking of alternating two strings of white lights with one string of colored light. It will look pretty, right?" one of the young boys asked Naina. A thirteen-year-old girl spoke excitedly "Didi, I have borrowed dandiyas from my friends. We are going to play dandiya tonight, right?" Naina's eye sparkled as they finalized the plans for the evening.

She was discussing the arrangements with her neighbors when a boy called from downstairs "Naina didi! The guests from your sasural are here!"

Rama rushed to the parapet and exclaimed seeing the two cars being parked "Did you not say that they were coming at half-past-eleven?! It's barely past eleven!" Craning her neck, Naina muttered "I am sure he had said eleven-thirty... but it's definitely them." Rama chided her "Don't just stand here! Run home and change into something decent." and then addressed one of the youngsters "Raju, quickly go bring a crate of cola from the Sunil's shop. Tell him to add it to my account. And make sure all the bottles are cold."

Vikas urged her "Rama ben, you go and receive them. Vimla and I will join you soon."

Finding the guests already standing at their door, Rama ushered them in "Please come in. Sorry, we were upstairs checking on the arrangements." Mukesh said "Namaste Ramaji, this is my wife Keerti." Sameer added "Maa, you have already met Deepika and Oliver. This is my brother Rohan and his wife Sanjana."

Malati joined, as Rama warmly welcomed them "Rohan beta, Naina has told us a lot about your wedding. Sanjana, see you have been lucky for the family. Not even a year since you have entered their house, and already there are more wedding bells!" Sanjana smiled but was wondering was this really the sort of luck she had wanted to bring the family?!