||BONUS 2||
《¤》
┊V A R U N┊
As if it was some pre-planned conspiracy, Mihir too joined the white picket fence families with a dog in the new family tree. It sat on the couch, huddling its head close to Pritha's to stare at the tablet in her hand. Some YouTube video played on it, probably some dog cartoon that had the two of them hooked to the screen.
Mihir poured the Goan chicken preparation I had brought with me into three bowls. "This smells great," he sniffed the air. "Kaha se laya hai?"
"We hired a new cook," I said, thinking back to the potluck instructions Arvika so very elaborately laid out for Rajni tai, but hadn't bothered kissing or even hugging me goodbye before her flight.
Adrija heaved a big pot of fried rice, setting it on the table whilst throwing a stern look in her daughter's direction. "Pritha, it's getting late. Brush your teeth, enough with the phone."
The poodle snuck closer to Pritha as both let out a non-committal whine. "Five more minutes, Ma, pakka!"
The married couple of three months exchanged a look before sitting down. Mihir had a growing soft spot for the kid, which explained the dog that he had presented to her as a bribe to marry her mother. I pulled a chair out and sat down, digging into the dinner.
"I thought Arvika ki flight kal ki hai," Adrija turned to me. "I really wish she could have joined us."
Adrija wasn't wrong. Her flight was scheduled for tomorrow. "She wanted to come too. Lekin a sudden change in plans made her prepone it. She said she wants to spend some time with her family before DEEV's anniversary or something."
"Or something?"
It was unsettling when both of them stared at me that way. "Yeah. Can you pass the Raita?"
Mihir did so. I plucked a spoon. Adrija inquired discreetly, "But Uncle-Auntie are in Mumbai, na? She was telling me ki woh idhar se hi board karne wale hai, aur fir Goa se directly Delhi jayenge for a few days."
They were, but the main question all of us had trouble digesting was Arvika seeking family time with them. As dark as it may sound, truth of the matter remained that the Deewan-s avoided family time. "Arnav aur Sanaya Delhi mein hai," was the only plausible explanation. "This is great, by the way."
"Thanks," Adrija said, still not taking her eyes off of me. "Pritha, five minutes over."
Begrudgingly, yet obediently, she set the device on the coffee table. The poodle followed her, as she stomped her way towards us in her white night suit. "Bye, Varun uncle. Arvika auntie ko bolna I will see her on the cruise!"
I promised her I would, and displaying her toothy smile, she bid us goodnight.
"Woh bohot excited hai," Adrija chuckled. "Mihir has promised to show her around the ship."
I remembered that Deewan Group had partnered with SENSES for the ship interiors. Mihir had headed the project then. "Are you bringing your dog along?"
Mihir shrugged. "Coco is still a puppy. I don't think that's a good idea. Hum dog sitters and pet boarding facilities dekh rahe hai."
I offered to ask Mikesh because the guy owed me multiple favors. Since he had politely declined the invite to the weekend getaway, the least he could do was look after another dog.
"Waise, Arvika abhi Dilli gayi hi hai toh kya tere uss cousin ke sath teri family ko laane wali hai?"
I shouldn't have gulped the rice so slowly and focused all my attention on the spoon, because Mihir's subtle questioning was getting him rather obvious answers. I cleared my throat, "No, my family won't be joining."
"Kyu?" Adrija asked. "She said to me parso ki unko woh guest list me daal rahi hai. She was nervous but she definitely wanted them to join."
That was what she had said to me last night, too. That was what had started the mini argument we had. We had both entered the house together, tired and hungry and stressed about work—her more than me because of DEEV's approaching anniversary.
We had just set the table to eat when she informed me that she had booked rooms for my parents, grandparents, and Jojji. That she was excited for Bebe to explore the ship with her, and on her way back from Delhi, she'd make a detour to Punjab to bring her safely.
I had frowned, finding it not just unnatural, but also unnecessary. "There's no need," I had said to her. "Why would you call them anyway?"
"Because I want them to be a part of it? Why wouldn't I?"
Given that her adoration for my grandmother kept strengthening each passing day, I still couldn't find a concrete reason for her to bring them there. "You don't have to invite my family for this. It's not like we're married or anything, Vika."
She had stopped chewing her food, and I just knew I should have not let my stress speak for me. She had this look on her face—I had only seen it once before, when she had slept over at my old place for the first time. Slowly, she pushed her food around her plate, calculative and inquisitive in her next question. "Hum kar kya rahein hai, Varun?"
Because I didn't want to ḟŭcк up more, I gave a very nonchalant, "Mhm?"
"Where is this headed?" She asked, sterner this time. "Do you think I'm not serious about you? Ya fir, kya tum mujhe leke serious nahi ho? Is this just a phase?"
"What? Where's all that coming from?"
"You tell me. It's not like we're married or anything."
She was stressed, I was dumbstruck, we were clearly in the middle of an argument and all I wanted to do was just go to sleep like we usually did. "Let's talk about this tomorrow?"
She mistook my confusion about her questions as hesitation about our relationship. Her decision was abrupt. "Mai Delhi jaa rahi hoon kal. To spend time with my family."
That was it. Next morning, she spoke with the cook and avoided me and was off to Delhi before I could even rub the sleep out of my eyes. And as I narrated the incident to the couple I could confide in, I realized, "I think I might have ḟŭcкed up."
Mihir scoffed, a disdainful grin playing on his lips. "You think?"
An unusual traffic blocked up the road next morning. At quarter to ten, horns, beeps and cusses blew with the balmy October wind, forming a havoc of noise against the blinking stoplights and chain of vehicles zipping behind the other.
I was too tired to get out of my car and inspect the cause of it. After a wholesome meal topped with Adrija's paayesh for dessert, a good sleep was pretty much irresistible last night. But the thought of having ḟŭcкed up kept me awake enough to spend five hours straight doing miniscule tasks that I had no motivation to cross off before. 2 AM peak productivity.
I spared a glance at my phone again. Except for the exchange of a single text informing that her flight had landed, there had been no communication in over twenty four hours. She was pissed, I was the cause, but the reason behind all of it was more complex than simply popping the question out of nowhere.
There were so many levels of issues to factor in. Surely, I didn't need to word it all out for her to understand. The confusion followed me to BizNest, and stayed throughout the day, till the evening.
With a number of contradicting reports on a high profile merchant, I entered Mikesh's office. There was no sign of him, but a man was hunched over his prized possession, adjusting the sequins strung around the mannequin's chest.
"Aryan," I masked a frown.
The younger Oberoi turned around, no trace of shock evident on his face. "Varun."
"What brings you here?"
"I'm here to actually meet a... friend. Play catch-up."
That was long overdue. The Oberoi clan had avoided the media for nearly eight months, so having the heir in our Head Office could only mean that new developments were in progress. The journalist in me itched to know what these developments were, but chances were, my curiosity would only chase him away.
"Cool. I'll let Mikesh know he has a visitor," I said, turning towards the door.
"I'm not here to talk about my Uncle, if that's what you're thinking. I'm here to apologize."
I stopped to look at him for an explanation that he seemed very keen on offering. He smiled. "You and Arvika weren't the only ones with arrangements, you know."
I did, in fact. Mikesh had come clean about it to me a long ago. His arrangement with Aryan was different though, and for him to refer the negotiation that Arvika and I had back then as an arrangement irked me internally.
Hence, the defense built naturally. "It's not the same. We dealt with our arrangement differently."
He had the audacity to chuckle at that. "The origins were similar."
I reeled in my argument, because he was right. What it resulted in was unplanned, but we were fully aware of what we were getting into. Moreover, I didn't have the energy, presently, to explain the nuances of my relationship to Aryan Oberoi out of all people.
"Guess you're right. We've been impulsive since the beginning."
"You look quite bothered with the realization."
I watched him casually assume Rastogi's seat and point at another one for me. Sizing him up, I pulled the chair out and obliged.
"Well?"
"I'm afraid that... we are being impulsive even now."
The small admission somehow managed to lift a dead weight off my chest. To finally put it out in the open that it scared me that there existed a bigger possibility of our impulsiveness jeopardizing what we shared... eased the two-night conundrum in my brain.
"Now?"
"Yeah, now. The present, the future."
"Have you sorted through the past first?"
Even though the expression on his face remained neutral, I knew that the therapist in front of me didn't understand what I was trying to confess.
"Yeah. Arvika knows about my ex-wife."
"Not her, Varun," Aryan said. "You. Do you think your first marriage—and perhaps its failure—might be a reason why you feel this way?"
I opened my mouth to speak, but thought better of it. Before asking him what therapist bullcrap he was trying to theorize here, it dawned upon me that may be he had a point.
With Latika... everything had been pre-planned. We knew each other since childhood, spent long summer months together, were each others' firsts. We got hitched so early thinking we had a lifetime to spend together. All because there was a relief in knowing what was next.
Until predictability became the one thing I couldn't commit to.
"I feel like the serious relationships I have been in are on two opposite extremes of the spectrum," I told him honestly. "Either planned every little detail of life, or..."
"...have been with Arvika," he finished for me. "She's not the exact opposite, though."
"No, no. She isn't."
What with the roller-coaster beginning of our ride, predictability was the last thing she expected from me. I loved her, not because she challenged the wild, edgy, daredevil side of me, but because... she was my comfort even when we didn't know what was next.
As ironic as that was, it was true.
"We never plan mistakes, you know," Aryan stated matter-of-factly. "Galtiyaan honi hoti hi hai. We learn, we move on. Sometimes things don't go as planned, and sometimes the best experiences arise out of spontaneity."
Boisterous laughter from outside the cabin broke us from the discussion. We could hear Mikesh talking outside. I stood up and nodded at him appreciatively.
His grin widened, and as I turned to open the door, he posed one last question before parting.
"So, what are your intentions for my Vika darling?"
_____
Namoshtaii!
Honestly didn't think I'd be missing last year soooo much, and yet, here I am. Aditi planted this theme in my head in December for this bonus, and when I say planted, I mean legit narrated the whole sequence of events over a video chat, sipping on her coffee as the clock struck one while our mothers warned us to go to sleep (seriously, look at us badașșes) . So, a huge thanks to her for making this happen. You're the Madhu to my Maanyata. *insert teary eyed emoji*
Summer vacations are almost over, how did you spend yours? I finished binging Suno Chanda season 2 (because the vibes, oh my god!) finally and Shahana frikkin owns the show. Also started watching The Summer I turned Pretty but I'm not sure what I feel about it just yet. What are you binging tonight?
Read, vote, comment, promote!
~Shubhodiya