Dark Night Dawning Chapter 22

It was Friday night and Khushi sat in the living room checking her e-mails to see if there were any new orders. She needed to get a hang of the website, but in the mean time she realized her work was so much easier when she had started using e-mails from last week. She used Arnav’s laptop each night for half an hour while he was on the phone.

‘Arnavji, will you be able to manage breakfast on your own tomorrow?’ Khushi asked Arnav when he came up to her, ‘I have to go to mandir tomorrow and then I am supposed to meet Palak at Hazratganj for her bridal shopping. Her wedding is coming up in less than two weeks.’

‘Are you planning to take the scooter?’ he asked as he she handed the laptop back to him. 

‘No Arnavji, this is the ChandrikaDevi mandir on Sitapur road. It’s about 25 kms from here. I’ll take the bus. After the shopping, Surajji will be there to bring us back home.’

‘Suraj?’ asked Arnav irked, ‘Does he usually go shopping with women?’ That guy was beginning to get on his nerves with his saintly attitude. In his mind he had already named him Saint Suraj.

Khushi realized Arnav was being sarcastic. ‘Palak’s dad wanted Surajji to go along with her as she is not very good with money,’ she explained patiently,‘Surajji knows all the right shops to go to and is very good at bargaining.

‘I think I will get up early and make breakfast.’ Khushi added as an afterthought.

‘That won’t be necessary Khushi,’ he told her as he began typing on his lap top, ‘I’ll drive you to the temple and drop you off at the shopping place.’

He was planning to chauffeur her around? ‘Don’t you have a lot of work?’

‘I do, but I need a break. I think a long drive will be good.’

**

As Khushi sat with Arnav in the car, she wondered what had made him offer to drive her to the temple. This was so unlike him. When they reached the ancient temple, he refrained from entering inside, still continuing to wage his war with God. Khushi had hoped that he had changed his mind. Khushi stood in front of Devi Maiyya and thanked her for helping her come out of a major catastrophe. She prayed for strength for the uncertain future.After the aarti, Khushi came out with the prasad in her hand. She saw Arnav talking on the phone. She came up to him and stared at him. Just as Arnav opened his mouth to form the word ‘What’, Khushi stuffed the prasad in his mouth and ran down the stairs. Arnav swallowed his prasad, a small smile playing on his lips. His wife was back in the sankadevi mode.

After leaving the mandir, Arnav asked Khushi where she would like to go for breakfast. She gave him directions to a place called Royal Café which was located in Hazratganj close to where she was supposed to meet Palak.

‘They are very famous for their coffee and sandwiches,’ she told him. ‘I am sure you have been missing your coffee.’

‘That’s ok, I’ll live,’ said Arnav smiling inwardly. So his dear wife was concerned about him. When they reached Hazratganj, Arnav realized how much the place had changed since he had last come here. It was a so crowded that he began to have second thoughts about having breakfast here. But he decided to throw caution to the winds and go with the flow.

Royal café was an old and small place but Khushi had been right about the coffee. Its unique flavour and aroma soon had him ordering another cup. Khushi couldn’t believe Arnav was sitting with her in this old café sipping coffee and munching on toast. Her heart began to flutter to see Arnav was enjoying his coffee. Was this all for real?

After breakfast, she told Arnav that she would find her way from there and that he could leave. He surprized her for a second time when he said that he would like to join them for the shopping.

‘Are you sure?’ she asked him doubtfully.

‘Why?’ he countered, ‘Will that be a problem?’

‘Of course not…….I thought you might get bored.’ Khushi said as she picked up phone to check where Palak was.

Khushi led the way into a shop called the Saree Bhavan. The place was over crowded with people. He realized why Khushi had tried to discourage him from coming here. He had never seen so many people in such a small area before. The weather was pretty hot and this small room was making him even hotter. As he wiped the sweat off his forehead, he saw that Khushi had squeezed her way through the people and managed to get to a spot next to Palak and Suraj. As Khushi looked at the choices Palak was showing out to her, his phone rang and he stepped out to receive the call.

When the returned after half an hour, he realized Palak had managed to choose a couple of sarees for herself. Khushi had simply put the pallu of a saree on her shoulder and looking at herself in the mirror. It was a bright teal green saree with heavy silver work all over it. It was so not Khushi’s colour. When he turned to look at Suraj he caught an appreciative gleam in his eyes and realized that he had suggested this saree to Khushi. Just as he was hoping Khushi had not planned to buy that saree, a salesman came up to him and showed him a red saree.

The moment he saw the saree, Arnav knew that it would look incredibly beautiful on Khushi. It was a dark red georgette saree withpartial chikan embroidery in gold and bronze. But it was the blouse that was spectacular. It had rich chikan embroidery again in gold and bronze and all over it.He told the salesman to drape the saree on Khushi.

When the salesman brought the saree and told her that Arnav wanted the saree draped on her, Khushi turned back to look at him. Arnav looked at her from across the room, his eyes reflecting his desire to see her in the saree. She complied. She accompanied the sales girl to a corner of the room, as there was no trial room in the shop. Once the saree was draped on her she came back to where Arnav was and displayed the saree to him.

Though the saree was draped on her suit Khushi looked stunning. He knew red was her colour – as well as his. As Khushi stood looking at him, he realized she was remembering a previous time they stood looking at each other like this --- when he had forced her to dress up for the calendar shoot.That was the first time he had felt the stirrings of desire for this fiery beauty. As she had stood draped in the gorgeous georgette with sequined border, her eyes demurely downcast, huge silver studded earrings dangling from her ears, her hands delicately pushing her loose hair behind her ears – his heart had skipped a beat. The moment her eyes met his eyes, an emotion akin to fear had entered them. And she was right to feel that way. The way she had looked that day, had made dangerous feelings enter into his very being and his eyes had reflected that. In a room full of people they had been aware only of each other. That had marked the beginning of a journey they were destined to take together.

When the sales man asked Arnav if he could pack the saree, Khushi declined before Arnav could say anything. She continued to decline even as Palak insisted that she should buy it. ‘Come on Khushi, you looked absolutely gorgeous in that saree,’ Palak pleaded unable to believe that Khushi refused to buy that beautiful saree,‘why don’t you want it?’

‘Because I don’t like it!’Khushi said curtly as she handed the saree over to the salesman, ‘Moreover, we are here to shop for you and nor for me.’

As Khushi looked back at Arnav, he seemed very cool as spoke on the phone. But his eyes were icy cold as he stared at her. Khushi turned away as she joined Palak and Suraj at the cash counter.

When Arnav found out that Palak planned to continue shopping, he cited an important meeting and excused himself.

It was 3’o clock by the time Khushi got back home from shopping. She entered the house with Palak in tow. Since she was absolutely sure that Arnav would have skipped lunch, she made a quick snack along with tea. As they sat sipping their tea, Khushi sensed that Arnav was irked. As Palak was busy chattering, she got a call and it seemed that something had gone wrong. After she finished the call, she informed them that the venue where she was supposed to be getting married had a wall cave-in and would be closed for renovation. It was an old building which had a history behind it. Suraj and her dad had been making calls trying to get another place but it would be next to impossible to get a similar building at such a short notice. Her face fell as she realized that her dream of marrying in that beautiful building was not going to come true.

‘Uh….maybe I will be able to help,’ began Arnav, ‘Sheesh Mahal is a similar building. Would you consider getting married there?’ he enquired.

‘Sheesh Mahal?’ Palak asked emphatically, ‘That won’t be possible. We had enquired there and were told that it was not open for public functions. That was actually my first choice.’

‘Don’t worry about that Palak,’ he assured her, ‘I will put in a word to the manager. Your work will be done.’

Palak jumped up and clapped her hands in glee, ‘Thank you Arnavji!’ she exclaimed, and then hugging Khushi she said, ‘And thank you Khushi for marrying Arnavji! Now, I have to run. Mom told me I have to help her prepare dinner for the guests who are arriving today. Prateekji will be also be there. He came a little early as he also has business work,’ she said blushing.As she just reached the door, she turned around again, ‘Oh I almost forgot, both of you have been invited for tonight’s dinner.’

After Palak left, Khushi looked at Arnav and said, ‘Thank you Arnavji, you made Palak happy today.’

Arnav shut his laptop with a force and said, his tone laced with sarcasm, ‘I am glad I could at least make someone happy today!’ He got up from the sofa and strode toward his room.

‘That saree was beautiful.’ She said softly.

That stopped Arnav in his tracks. ‘What the ____?’ he swore as he turned around, ‘Why did you say you didn’t like it then?’

‘Because the price of the saree was twice the price of both of Palak’ssarees put together. I didn’t want to steal the thunder from an excited bride to be by buying something more expensive than her.’

As Arnav watched Khushi walk back into her room and shut the door, he felt like he had been slapped.  Damn! She always put others’ happiness before hers. There were so many things he was yet to learn from his sweet and endearing wife.

Couple of hours later, Arnav was ready for dinner at the Mathur’s house. He didn’t really want to go but Palak had called him again and wouldn’t take no for an answer. He liked Palak and he didn’t want to hurt her feelings. He wore black chinos and a chocolate brown shirt, which he had folded casually till his elbows. Though he had tucked the shirt in, he knew they would be out in no time. He walked out to see Khushi in a blue, green and pink saree. This multi coloured saree looked familiar. It was the same one she wore during their water fight outside his office. Hell….That saree brought back some hot memories! He remembered how she had looked after he had splashed her with that bucket of water. She was soaked from head to toe, her saree had stuck to her like second skin. Her eyes had flashed with anger, her wet strands stuck to her face------and she had never looked hotter. Every cell in his body had been itching to grab her and kiss her senseless. Instead he had ended up challenging her that he would change his name if she didn’t go home. How melodramatic!But that was the thing about Khushi -----she made him do things that he normally wouldn’t.

When they reached Palak’s house, Arnav realized they had entered the house of a traditional family where most of the women wore ghoongat on their heads. The men were also in traditional attire making Arnav feel a little out of place. Soon, Palak and Suraj came up to them and ushered them inside. They were introduced to Prateek the bridegroom to be, and a bunch of Palak’s female cousins. Khushi saw the girls drooling over Arnav and realized he was looking really dapper in a black and brown combination, the brown shirt matching the chocolate brow of his eyes. Though she knew the girls meant no harm, it still irked her to see him surrounded by them.

‘Arnavji, I think the dinner is being served. Let’s go,’ said Khushi, dragging Arnav toward the dining table.’

Arnav was amused by the proprietary air with which she had held on to his arm. When he saw the older members staring at them, he realized that she had enveloped his arm with both hands, bringing his arm in contact with her body. But before he could say anything she pushed him into a chair at the dining table and sat next to him. Once again the members at the table began staring at them. Arnav realized that Khushi had just occupied the seat of a male family member who was standing just behind her! Again before anyone could say anything, she had started serving herself somepoori and aloo.

‘Ah, my favourite poori-aloo!’ she exclaimed gleefully, ‘Especially when I am so hungry…… ‘ she broke the first piece of poori and began to eat.

‘Er…. Khushiji….’ Suraj who was dutifully supervising the dinner tried to warn her gently, ‘I think _____’Suddenly her phone rang.

‘Hold on Surajji, it’s Varmaji ----- I am sure he has some problem or the other,’ she said picking up the phone with her left hand, ‘Hello? Varmaji? Can’t hear you ----hold on, let me take this call outside.’ She got up from her seat and walked out, with a room full of people staring after her open mouthed.

‘Don’t mind her,’ said Arnav, a barely controlled laughter playing on his lips, ‘she is always like that.’ He didn’t know if he would be able to control his laughter if these people didn’t stop staring.

‘What do you mean, she is always like that ----does she sit with the men folk even at your house?’asked one elderly man completely taken aback.

‘Of course uncle, in our house we all eat together,’ explained Arnav. He head murmurs going around the table as soon as he had said that.

Palak who had come to stand by the table, told her parents, ‘Not only do they eat together, Arnavji also allows her to work.’

‘You allow her to work?’ asked another female relative who was serving, ‘You are probably one of those city people where both the husband and wife have to earn to maintain a decent life style.’

‘Oh I think we would manage alright without her salary,’ said Arnav, trying to supress his laughter ‘but she insists on it. It was all her own idea. At least she doesn’t have to work for someone. She runs her own business.’

Before the group could come out of their shock, Suraj decided to enlighten everyone as he said grimly, ‘This is Arnav Singh Raizada, the head of AR group of industries.’

‘Raizada?’ askedanother man, ‘That means you are a Rajput ---- how is that you don’t follow customs and traditions beta?’

‘Uh… no idea uncle------ I guess I will have to check with my nani about this,’ he said cheekily. Khushi was missing all the fun he thought to himself.

Suddenly there was another question out of the blue. ‘Are you by any chance related to the Raizadas of Lucknow?’

‘Yes.’ Arnav replied grimly after a brief pause. He hadn’t realized that someone would make the connection. As everyone was looking at him expectantly, he was forced to say, ‘My grandfather was Thakur RudraPratap Singh Raizada.’ He was hoping they would let go at this juncture.

Unfortunately, it was not to be. As Arnav sat at the table his hands folded tightly in front of him, he heard the murmurs It was so sad what happened to them……. Wasn’t it their son-in-law ---? ----, their poor daughter ……..

‘What’s going on here? I am gone for 5 minutes and everyone decides to start a boring topic. Let me tell you all something very interesting.’ Khushi had come up to stand behind Arnav’s chair, a hand on his shoulder.

‘Arnavji once slapped a business associate for being insolent with him, and when the man told him that it would cost him 1 crore for doing that, do you know what he did?’ she asked the stunned guests who were eagerly waiting for her to complete, ‘he slapped him on the other cheek and told him to take another crore!’

Arnav tried to hide his face when he saw everyone looking at him with a new found respect. But she was not done. She sat down next to him and continued eating her poori as she told them how many industries he had, about the different businesses he owned, about the number of cars he had and even told them the number of rooms in the house including the description of the pool side. She was blissfully unaware of all the disapproving looks that were being shot toward her. However, by the time she ended no one dared to open their mouths. They quietly concentrated on their food.

As Arnav stood by the door waiting for Khushi to come, Palak came up to him and asked him if he would talk to Prateek about allowing her to work after marriage. Before he could protest, he found Prateek coming toward him. Dammit! What was he supposed to say to him?

‘Hello Arnavji, it’s a privilege to meet you. I run a textile store in Mumbai. I heard you talking there at the table. Do you think it is a good idea to give so much freedom to women?’

Arnav was so shocked at his direct question, he said the first thing that came to his mind, ‘Umm yeah why not? When women are free----- they …..’ Arnav realized that Prateek was waiting patiently, ‘they lose their inhibitions and it becomes very beneficial to you.’ He knew he was blabbering but hoped that he would buy it without further questions. He looked beyond him hoping to catch Khushi’s attention.

‘How do they become beneficial to us?’ he persisted with a big question mark on his face.

Damnwhat would this guy take to leave him alone!  ‘Because they become free in bed!’ he blurted out before he could stop himself. What the F!@#! He couldn’t believe he had just said that. But he realized it had the desired effect. That had shut him up for sure. Just then Khushi came up to him and before she could ask anything, he grabbed her hand and dragged her away from there.

After they reached home, Khushi was about to go to her room and Arnav stopped her, ‘Khushi, I want to thank you for coming to my rescue earlier.’

‘It’s ok Arnavji, people in these towns love to gossip. All you have to do is to give them something else to gossip about.’

Arnav smiled shaking his head slightly at her logic. The she asked him,‘Arnavji I had a strange feeling that everyone was staring at me today.’

‘It is not a strange feeling Khushi, everyone was absolutely staring at you.’ he confirmed.

When he explained what she had done, she stood there with her hands around her cheeks, her eyes round as saucers and mouth open in an O. She looked so funny he burst out laughing. Looking at him laughing, Khushi couldn’t control herself. She began to laugh along with him. As the peals of laughter echoed around the house, Arnav looked at Khushi and realized that this was the first time they had laughed together like this. When Khushi caught Arnav staring at her intently, the laughter died on her lips and she involuntarily took a step back. Suddenly her phone rang dissipating the moment and she began to talk. After a couple of minutes, she came up to him as he sat checking his e-mails.

‘Arnavji, Palak told to thank you for the advice you gave Prateekji. She says he has been behaving differently since you talked to him.’

‘Oh? Tell Palak she is most welcome,’ said Arnav looking sheepish, hoping she wouldn’t ask him anything else.

‘Arnavji -----‘ shebegansceptically, ‘whatdid you tell him?’