While playing in the room, Isha came and sat on Shruti’s lap and indicated that she was sleepy. Shruti was aware by now, that she had the habit of listening to songs sung by either of her parents while being put to sleep and readily sang for her. It was such a beautiful feeling… she couldn’t put it into words. The little baby went into deep slumber while still in her arms, leaving her chachi with no option but to cradle her. She was in her own world, when….
To be continued….
She was in her own world, when her mobile rang. She quickly silenced the ringer and didn’t receive the call, so as not to wake up Isha. After sometime, when she was sure that Isha won’t wake up, she carefully made her lie down on the bed, put a light comforter on her, and went out to make the call.
Atharva picked up in one ring and asked, “Where were you?”
She grinned at his desperation, “Isha slept in my arms while we were playing in the room. That is why couldn’t receive your call.”
Atharva responded, “Oh.. okay.”
He haltingly continued, “Shruti…. Are you alright?”
She queried, “Ya.. why are you asking me?” He mentioned about the incident with bua and apologised saying, “Don’t mind whatever she said. Every family has a nosy relative, and she belongs to that category.” She was appalled at his choice of words and corrected him, “Atharva!!! It’s okay… you don’t have to use that kind of a language… please learn to keep a latch on that tongue of yours.”
It was Atharva’s turn to be astounded. There were very few who could speak against him or point out his mistakes. So it was a shock for him, although, for a change he accepted that he did lose his control more often than he liked.
He cleared his throat and conceded unwillingly, “Ya ya.. I know.. it’s just that I tend to speak my mind.”
She murmured, “Hmmm..”
He questioned, “Did you have lunch?”
She nodded, “Yes.. long time back… alongwith Isha in fact… was watching her school’s nursery rhyme video.”
He could hear that smile in her voice, “You both have bonded really well in a short time. I am surprised that she slept in your arms. Mere paas toh kabhi nahi soyi.”
She teased him, “Of course… she knows how melodious your voice is… kaise neend aayegi? She doesn’t want to get nightmares.”
He retorted, “Oye! Zyada ho raha hai ab..” Shruti bit her tongue, realising she had overstepped and said immediately, “Sorry Sorry.. was just pulling your leg.”
Atharva mentioned, “listen… you gonna wear Indian outfit na since we have to meet dadi?”
She replied, “Yes… why?”
He said dreamily, “Do remember to put bindi.”
She blurted, “Arey why are you so obsessed with bindi? Gud dhana ke time pe bhi bindi ke peeche pade thhe.”
He said, “Ya.. it suited you so well. Mera dil atak gaya tha teri bindi me.”
Her eyes widened with surprise, “Atharva! I didn’t know you can talk lovey dovey stuff.. shakal dekhke lagtaa nahi.”
He replied sheepishly, “Even I didn’t know. But sachhi… I loved your bindi on that day… do remember to put one tonight.”
She couldn’t do more than murmur.
She tried to deviate from the topic, “Can we talk about something else?”
He but his lip and said naughtily, “Yes sure! Missed kissing you yesterday night.”
Her face flushed with colour, as she too had missed him. He knew she wouldn’t answer, and continued, “Can’t afford to miss tonight… you are leaving tomorrow na.”
Shruti’s mood instantly changed from cheerful to feeling desolate.
Atharva questioned, “Hello… you there?” Shruti tried to act normal and responded, “Ya.. Chalo cya.. I think bhabhi needs me.” He said reluctantly, “Cya… bye.”
She reminded him, “Please come on time.” He nodded, “Yes… I will try.”
Atharva got back to his work, not wanting to be late and Shruti went in search of Preksha to let her know that Isha had slept.
Atharva had texted later that he will be home by 8 p.m. Shruti wanted to be ready by then, and was pondering over what to wear. She wanted the outfit to be appropriate enough to visit the eldest family member; moreover they had to go with his friends as well directly from there. She would have preferred wearing western of course with friends, but then didn’t have an option.
At last, she decided on a purple outfit with paisley motifs and a beautiful silk dupatta to go with it. She was almost done with her make up when she heard the door bell ring. In another minute, she heard a knock on the door and knew who it was. She opened the door to find him waiting outside.
It had been another gruelling day for Atharva, but the moment he saw her, he felt rejuvenated. He observed that she had decked up in a lovely silk outfit, just as he liked. He came near her and she instinctively stepped back.
He smugly said, “Want to check out the texture of the fabric… it’s woven…”
Shruti hit her head with her hand and babbled, “Ye dekho.. And here I was thinking that this guy was restless to meet me.”
He couldn’t control himself and chuckled, “Hmmm.. that too.”
She couldn’t look into his eyes, knowing his intentions. He was about to come close to her, when he heard his mom calling out for him to hurry up.
He said in a frustrated tone, “Kasem se… Kya timing hai!” Shruti couldn’t control herself and burst into laughter. He was on his way out, when he reminded her to wear the pendant set gifted to her during the Gud dhana ceremony.
Shruti turned towards the mirror and wore the jewellery which she had any ways planned to wear and had kept it ready. While securing the lock, she relived through those moments when her beloved had deliberately taken time and felt goosebumps. She was at last done when he dashed in and gave a quick peck on her cheeks before she knew what was happening. She was gaping at him when he said naughtily, “What! Chalo… we are getting late.”
She didn’t know what to make of this guy. She knew by now that he was not one of those to flaunt his love in public. But she thought, smiling to herself, these small moments bring the smile and made her feel cherished.
On that very day, he had once again stood up for her. She remembered the discussion they had during the initial days, when she had asked him haltingly, “Atharva… I hope there is no such expectation that I should call you ‘aap’.”
He had replied in a very straight forward way, “I feel that is for the two of us to decide.”
She had mentioned, “I have seen my parents share a very friendly relationship. In fact, they were friends before they got married. She didn’t start calling him aap just because they got married. I don’t have anything against it.. it’s just that I am not used to it.”
He had agreed, “I agree… I don’t want any formalities between the two of us.” And that had been the end of discussion.
She came out of her daydreaming and noticed that they had reached a building. They were all warmly welcomed in the house, with all eyes observing Shruti, which made her feel nervous. She took blessings of dadi as well as the other elders. They gave her an envelope as a token and after seeking consent from her mother in law, accepted it self consciously.
Shruti observed that dadi looked fragile due to age. They had a very formal dinner and Shruti was glad when they were done at last. Unlike her family, they didn’t seem to be very open minded. The male members talked business and the females were all busy serving and involved in the kitchen.
Thankfully, Shruti had to do little, although everyday she realised what a big folly it had been to have ignored cooking so far. After the lavish gujju dinner, it was time to leave. She heaved a sigh of relief as she and Atharva bid farewell to the others.
Atharva looked at her and commented, “You didn’t look too comfortable.”
She nodded and fumbled, “ya… I mean… don’t mind… but there is a lot of cultural difference in the way I was brought up. You know, we have always been very free even with the elders. We would joke, make fun, and there was always a very jovial environment. Get togethers in our family go on till beyond midnight with a lot of light hearted banter going around.”
He looked at her ruefully, “I admit that our culture and up bringing is different. In fact, I envy the bond that you share with your family. I myself have witnessed how jovial the environment at your place is. Ours was always a bit formal, though I wished to have a friendlier relationship.”
She was listening to him and musing over it, when they reached the café. They walked down the steps together to be greeted by his gang. She was introduced to all his friends… Krunal, Darshan, Anmol, Janki and Nirali. She was warmly welcomed to the group by them and got chatting with the girls.
She smiled when Krunal mocked, “Kya Bhai.. us din party nahi di tuney? We were all waiting for you to turn up at Curry Twist.”
She smirked at the mention and said, “Didn’t get the chance to thank you personally. Thanks to you and Minishbhai, could get even with him.”
Atharva glared at her, and it dawned that maybe she had blurted out something that she shouldn’t have. She knew that Krunal was his bestie and was his closest confidant. But realised only after she looked at him, that may be the others weren’t aware of the entire scenario.
Atharva looked at others and intervened, “Don’t take her seriously. Kuch bhi bolti rehti hai… she is like Janki…. Thodi der se zyada agar muh bandh rakhti hai, toh it’s a miracle.” Everyone, including Shruti, had a hearty laugh.
Meanwhile, the waiter had come with their order. Shruti as usual preferred cold coffee laced with caramel sauce, whereas Atharva had asked for cappuccino, and specified to make it double strong with less sugar. She hated having very strong coffee, especially coz of the bitter taste. Still, when Atharva offered her to taste, she took a sip just to get an idea about his choice.
She instantly grimaced and quipped, “How do you like that stuff? Not my taste,” to which he grinned. They indulged into some freshly baked cookies, and amidst loads of talks and teasing, didn’t realise where time flew by.
Overall, they had a good time and with promises to meet up again whenever Shruti was next in Mumbai, they parted ways. Atharva called up Minish to know about their whereabouts.
He answered, “Shankar and Preksha have gone along with Mansi, Suhasini and Manthan for a drive. And I came back home with the elders since they weren’t interested.” Atharva drove back and in another 10 minutes they reached.
He was about to ring the door bell, when his mom opened the door and indicated not to make noise as his dad was almost asleep.
He inquired, “Where is Masi?” She replied, “She was also tired and retired to her room.” He nodded and sat down on his favourite swing, indicating Shruti to join him.
Mrs Shah went in her room and shut the door and Atharva knew that he had the house to himself for the time being at least. They were silently sitting on the swing, when he slowly caught hold of her hand and took her by surprise.
She spoke very softly, “What if someone comes?”
He shook his head, “They won’t come before sometime. And anyways, we are sitting right here. So if they come, we will know, right?” She hesitantly nodded.
Both were lost in each other for a while, savouring the company as they knew that now they will directly meet up for their engagement, which was going to be after a fortnight.
Shruti was facing Atharva and out of the blue, she saw Minish coming. The moment she saw him, she froze realising that they were holding hands. She tried to communicate about it to Atharva, whose back was facing Minish, but he was oblivious to everything else around him. Before she could speak up Minish noticed and grinned.
He teased, “Achha.. toh ye chal raha hai.” Atharva jolted out of his trance and acknowledged his presence. Shruti didn’t know how to react; she was feeling extremely shy and managed to free her hand from his grip, although he didn’t seem to mind that they had been caught red handed.
She shook her head and giggled, “What’s wrong with you Atharva?! I was trying to indicate that Minishbhai was here, but you simply refused to get the cue.”
Minish chuckled, “It’s okay bhabhi.. he seemed to be lost in you.. toh kuch samjha nahi hoga… aankhon hi aankhon me ishara ho gaya… baithe baithe jeene ka sahaara ho gaya…” And the trio had a hearty laugh. Atharva queried, “Where were you?” Minish replied, “Was in the mandir… ma asked me to see to the diyas.”
Atharva nodded, “Oh okay.”
Minish generally said, “You are free to spend time with bhabhi. The others might come home in sometime.”
Saying so, he went in his room and shut the door.
Shruti looked at Atharva sceptically and asked, “What was that?”
He held her hand, made her get up and took her to their room. She was bewildered that he was so open about it and said, “Atharva! What will he think?”
He smirked, “He is not a kid. He can understand… that is why he pointed out to utilise the time before the others come.”
He had gently shut the door and before she could argue further, took her in his arms and kissed her right on the lips. She was stunned by the wildness of the kiss. It was nothing compared to what she had experienced before. It mirrored his emotions, the restrain that he had kept on himself lead a dam to burst open.
She took a while to adjust to the intensity, although again baffled as to how to respond and could feel the effects deep in her core. He urged her to open her mouth and give him access for a deep passionate mating, that only evoked more desire. She was staggered by his unexpected vigour and held his hand, which had been cradling her head. He slowed down a little, waiting for her to respond. She could hear her heart throbbing loudly, and with an uncertainty kissed him back softly for a while.
He teased her with his tongue, when on an impulse, she took his lower lip and nibbled at it. His hands had been wandering and on a journey of their own. His hand squeezed her waist, and just like last time, she broke away. She gushed, “Atharva! Please don’t… I never knew I was so sensitive there… I simply can’t take it.”
At that very moment, they heard voices outside. It barely gave them a moment to compose themselves and Shruti quickly went in the kitchen under the pretext of having water.
To be continued….
COPYRIGHT DISCLAIMER: All content posted is original work of the author and no part of the content can be copied, reproduced or posted in parts or whole on any other social media platforms, websites, publications or published in form of a hard copy without the prior consent of the Author.
©2019. Sagas_by_Irvika. All rights reserved.