secrets woven in moonlight

chapter 14

A well decorated banquet hall with joyous and frivolously dressed people, who were dancing their hearts out to the loud music blaring through the speakers. Many people surrounded the bar and were getting drunk, as the rest few occupied the leftover tables made for seating, getting food to eat from the buffet set up at the corner. 

Purvi was seated at the table awkwardly, still adjusting to a new surrounding where she couldn't help but feel she knew no one there. Kavin popped up from behind, with a plate in his hand full of appetizers, as he ended up placing it in front of purvi, as she graciously smiled at kavin, who ended up seating himself beside her. 

"mere doston ka record hai...hamesha late..." remarked kavin, shaking his head in disbelief, as purvi chuckled. 

"par aapke dono friends, jinki engagement hai...kaafi ache hai..." stated purvi, as kavin nodded. 

"haan arjun and mahi toh dono bahaut ache hai..." agreed kavin, as purvi took the first bite of her plate. 

"woh toh aise baat kar rahe the jaise mujhe pata nahi kabse jaante hain..." remarked purvi, as she couldn't help but find the awkwardness seeping through her voice, making kavin sigh. 

"purvi yaar...dekho, mera past joh bhi raha hoon, ab tum meri biwi ho, ab mere saath har jagah tum aaogi, logon ko ab tumse aise hi baat karni hogi na..." replied kavin, becoming more firm with his tone. 

"haan, par, yahan toh sab soch rahe honge na ki tumhare saath, main nahi, koi aur hogi....jisse tumhari shaadi honi thi...sab usse jante the...main woh nahi hoon...aur, aur, mujhe koi problem nahi hai..." attempted purvi to explain her discomfort, as kavin intervened right in the middle of her words. 

"purvi it doesn't matter meri kisse shaadi honi chahiye thi, hui toh tumse haina...baat wahi khatam hojani chahiye...ab humne decide kia hai humein aage badhna hai toh bas..ab iss baat ko past mein hi rehne do." stated kavin bluntly, making it very clear to her what was his stance on the topic, as purvi only looked on. 

                                                               ***

Ishita and dushyant lay adjacent to each other on the opposite sides of the bed, as jia lay between them, asleep, as they both only glanced at her with a smile. 

"thak jaati hogi na pure din iske saath...shaitaan toh bahaut hai yeh..." stated dushyant, attempting to empathise with ishita, as she couldn't help but smile politely. 

"aapse toh zyada nahi...aap toh akele hi dekhte the isse, kaam pe bhi jaana hota tha...mujhe toh lagta hai ki aur kuch nahi toh dil hi laga rehta hai iske kaaran." replied ishita honestly, as dushyant couldn't help but smile at her answer. 

"pata nahi...main toh bahaut khush hoon ki finally sunday aaya...ab main pura din iske paas rahunga..." confessed dushyant, a tinge of excitement that managed to pop up in his voice, despite of trying to keep the volume low to not awake the baby. 

"actually...main soch rahi thi ki...aise saara din isse ghar rakhna bhi toh acha nahi haina...matlab bache ko bahar le jaana, thoda sa hi sahi, zaroori hai...toh, maybe hum isse park le jayein..." suggested ishita, reluctantly, not knowing how he'll take the suggestion. 

"acutally, main isse bahar le jaana isliye avoid karta tha kyunki premature hone ki kaaran, iski immunity bahaut hi kam hai...par haan, bahar lejaana toh zaroori hai...park le jaana bura idea toh nahi hai...." stated dushyant, taking the suggestion well, making ishita smile. 

"hum na picnic type karlete hain...usse humein bhi maza aayega na..." added ishita in excitement, as dushyant chuckled slightly, before nodding in agreement. 

"chaho toh tum bhi jhula jhul lena ek do..." joked dushyant playfully, as ishita rolled her eyes in annoyance. 

"aapko hamesha mera mazaak kyun udaana hota hai..." remarked ishita annoyingly, looking away from him, as he couldn't help but chuckle more. 

"acha baba, sorry...nahi karunga agli baar se..." apologized dushyant, still trying to withhold his laughter. 

"rehne do aap!" exclaimed ishita, not happy with what had happened, as dushyant just struggled to not laugh. 

Suddenly he got up from the bed, surprising ishita, as he ended up standing in front of her, held the lobes of both of his ears, and started to squat up and down continuously from the ground to stand straight again, as he mouthed 'sorry'. Ishita felt utterly embarrassed by this. 

"dushyant..aap...bas bhi kijiye na...maine kahan kaha ki uthak baithak karo...aap aaiye, so jaiye..." stated ishita, trying to stop him, as he couldn't stop his giggle, while she just shook her head in disbelief. 

"iski kya zaroorat thi!" exclaimed ishita, trying to sound stern, while dushyant just shrugged casually. 

"ab gussa hogi, toh manana padega na.." responded dushyant casually, as ishita was left only smiling endearingly. 

He too reciprocated her smile, only to place his hand gently on jia, who was also being caressed by ishita, and closed his eyes to go to sleep, while ishita just looked on.