Shaadi Mubarak!

Chapter 13

Shaurya roams around the progressively emptying venue with a bright smile on his face, his niece clutching his hand and sister somewhere stuffing her face with pani-puri now that most of the guests have eaten and gone. But that’s ok. Shaurya doesn’t mind her hooligan-ness right now, not today. It’s his engagement party after all.

The thought has him gazing at his newly ringed finger sending giddy waves through his body. He grins.

He still can’t believe that it was mere hours ago that Rati and he exchanged the rings. He can’t forget the knowing looks his mother and her mother had sent their way when they had seen his ring already adorning her thumb making the girl blush and him to fall just a bit more in love with her.

He is too on the clouds to accept that he and Rati are an official couple now, an engaged couple, an engaged couple soon to get married, just in two weeks. He can’t fathom that his Rati will soon be his wife, that he gets to sweep her off her feet and bring her to his home.

The said girl though is nowhere to be seen though and maybe that’s the reason that he is roaming around the venue, trying to look for her.

A small tug at his kurta has him looking down. His niece has her arms thrown towards him with a pout on his face.

Shaurya coos. “Aww, is my little Reet tired?” he asks, picking up the girl in his arms, adjusting her frock and brushing back the bangs that threaten to go in her eyes. He never really was fond of this hairstyle. But he would be open to an opinion change if Rati were to wear the hairstyle.

This little kid though is unable to manage so.

“Comfy?” he asks as the girl snuggles to his chest, putting her head on his shoulder, all ready to sleep and subsequently drool on his kurta. But it’s ok, he doesn’t mind in the slightest.

“Mimi...” the girl mumbles in his shoulder, evidently not asleep?

“What did you say, sweetheart?”

“Mimi.…”

“Mami? Mami!” Shaurya’s eyes widen slightly as he deciphers the sleeping mumble. He turns around trying to find Reet’s line of sight not wanting to disturb the almost sleeping girl with his questions and sure enough he sees… Mami aka Rati.

Or maybe just a hint of her.

He sees as she looks around from behind the partially closed door, an expression of slight distress marring her face.

Oh no, he can’t let her be sad today. Or ever.

It’s right at the moment that he sees his sister walking towards him. And he know that she won’t let him go see her. Because before it was just some bad convictions that had stopped him from seeing Rati but this time it is the family pandit saying that he can’t see the girl until the day of marriage. But that applies from tomorrow because surely, he has seen a lot of her already today and anyway, he knows the real reason behind the tradition, the fear that parents felt decades ago if the groom were to see the bride before marriage and deem her unattractive, but this is neither the same time nor he is that type of groom. And well, it’s their engagement, they should be allowed to see each other today, Shaurya at least wants to say a proper bye to her before he is unable to see her face for long fourteen days and nights. Oh, the misery!

But her sister, even though sometimes very understanding won’t really understand that. She wants his good and somewhere she too thinks that the good will only happen if he were not to see Rati.

And so, with determined yet soft steps mindful of the baby in his arms, he walks towards his sister, a wide smile on his face. Though the sister doesn’t mirror his expressions.

“No, Shushu, please keep her with you today.” His sister pleads before he even reaches her, and he shakes his head.

“Not happening my dear sister. I have some important work.” He says, carefully manoeuvring the now sleeping Reet to his sister’s arms but not without a small peck on her temple.

“Why are you handing her to me if so, much of your love is oozing out for her. You know I don’t get to enjoy the functions properly; Ritwik is also not here.”

Oh, Shaurya knows that. Captain Ritwik Rawat is rarely at home, busy fighting for his country, and as much Shaurya respects and looks up to him for that, he also pities his sister a little who spends most of her time here, in her marital home. The pity is not because she shouldn’t do so or anything orthodox like that but merely because she doesn’t get to spend time with her husband whom she really loves and misses.

Reets wakes up yet again from her light sleep, crying as soon as she does and doesn’t stop even when she sees her mother.

Uh oh.

Naina makes a face of betrayal, but Shaurya has a solution.

“You have your phone?” he asks his sibling who makes a face but then grants a reply.

“Yeah, but the battery is only 5%.” She says and narrow his eyes as if challenging to do something about it.

He grins and quickly fishes out his own phone, opening up one of the games that he solely downloaded for Reet to play. The music of the game has the girl stop her crying in mere seconds, an action that both of the sibling find hilarious.

“Here, love.” He hands the phone to the girl who takes it happily, and then turns to his sister. “If you take care of my niece for me for one hour, I’ll take care of her for all the days you are here.” He says and chuckles as his sister’s eyes light up.

“Are you serious?”

“One hundred percent serious.”

“Ok!” The girl grins and it doesn’t take more to convince her to turn around.

Shaurya smiles to himself as he makes his way towards the room, he had just seen Rati inside, all the while thinking about his sister’s and her husband.

He really won’t have to take care of Reet after two days, not when her father would be surprising her mother. Oh, she’ll be ecstatic

As he comes closer to the room, he sees the girl clearly and also the expression on her face.

She is clearly distressed. He hurries.

“Rati…” he says, and the girl jumps at the call, probably not expecting him.

“Shaurya, what are you doing here? You should not – you shouldn’t be here. Pandit ji said –”

The girl fusses and Shaurya nods understandingly. “Hey, calm down. I know what he said. And I plan on not seeing you until our wedding day but from tomorrow. We’ve already seen each other today, haven’t we?” he asks and the girl nods, his frown melting into a small pout.

“And really, I was looking for you just to say a bye but clearly, I can’t do that now. You seem worried.” He observes and Rati’s brow come together into a furrow yet again.

“I am sorry, Shaurya.” She says half of her body still behind the door. “I too wanted to you see you once before…” she says, ducking her head making Shaurya’s head spin with the amount of fondness he holds for her.

“But I am in a bit of a problem.” She says then, finally admitting to the reason behind her stress.