Rikara Scribblings by Savina

Phir Milenge : Part 5

Part Five

Miss Gauri Sharma... no, scratch that... To-be Mrs. Gauri Omkara Singh Oberoi! She loved the feel which her new name had to it. As she sat in front of the mirror, brushing out the tangles in her waist-long hair, Gauri looked at the beautiful engagement ring that adorned her ring finger and smiled brightly; a ring that her Om had put on her just a few hours back; it was a simple gold band, with the initials OG' inscribed inside a heart. She picked up the framed photograph that now sat on the dresser table of Oberoi Mansion's guest room she had occupied till the wedding; a picture of the beach in the background with Omkara and her, with her arms around his waist, and a giggly Karu sitting on his shoulders, holding a helium balloon. It had been one of the best moments of their very first outing as a family, after they had announced their engagement publicly. Of course, it had taken Tej some time to digest the fact that Omkara wanted to marry a divorcee who had a child, but eventually, for the sake of his only son and after Daadi intervened about how her Omkara's happiness was more important than anything else, he was alright with accepting it; not that the acceptance really mattered to Omkara, who was ready to marry Gauri in the temple, and then register their marriage with a simple ceremony; something that Tej Singh Oberoi wasn't much in favour of, when a more-than-lavish wedding could very well be afforded.

Meanwhile, Ishana Gupta had tried her level best to belittle Gauri, especially with taunts about her previous marriage and about how Omkara was probably marrying a charity case, and Omkara had simply silenced Miss Gupta by asking her to behave like a mere guest at the wedding, and to remember she is talking about the future Mrs. Omkara Singh Oberoi. Snooty Ishana had finally backed off when she met a certain industrialist named Abhay Sikand, with whom she could finally strike a better and more profitable deal than with the Oberois, and so that chapter was closed, with Ishana still being unaware that Omkara never really gave up the shares in the Oberoi Industries. Gauri laughed and shook her head at the thoughts, and then looked at the picture again; caressing it with her fingers, she placed it back on the table. Gauri looked at her ring again, with a broad smile, and caressed it; she kissed the ring on her finger and held it close to her heart with a contended sigh.

A quick double-knock on the door told her who it was, and she hurried to open the door. "Hello, fiance!" Omkara said with a silly grin, leaning against the frame of the door. She shook her head with a smile at the greeting and asked him to come inside, before anyone else could see him, especially his Daadi who was very particular about the to-be bride and groom keeping a distance before getting married. "Where's Karu?" he asked with a small frown at not seeing her fluttering around like always, and she pointed towards the pile of soft toys on the bed, amidst which she had dosed off while hugging her king-size teddy bear; a soft toy which Omkara had specially picked for the little one, much to Gauri's annoyance about Karu getting pampered and spoilt by him. Knowing Karu was fast asleep and would not wake up soon owning to being a heavy sleeper, he entered the room, bolted the door behind him and pulled Gauri into his arms, as he rested his palms against her waist while she locked her fingers behind his neck. "What was my gorgeous fiance up to?" he whispered, nuzzling against her hair and her temple. She closed her eyes and smiled, "She was being grateful to God for bringing you into Karu's and my life..." He smiled at her words and leaned against her. Moments later, he sighed against her neck, "This feels nice; feels like coming home after a long day..." She ran her fingers through his hair when he said that, and in reply she whispered, "I love you, Om", while placing a kiss on the pulsing vein of his neck, leaving a mark of her lip-stain there. He tilted his head towards her, and delicately brushed his lips against her cheek, "I love you too, Gauri..." he whispered in reply.

Just when he pulled her towards him to close that distance between their lips, they heard some shuffling followed by squeaky footsteps, and quickly pulled away when Karu came running. "Papaa..." she said and hugged Omkara's leg, and Gauri had to shake her head at how her daughter had become more attached to Omkara, than to her. "Arey meri Karu kya kar rahi hai?" he bent down to pick her up, talking to her in a babyish tone, and continued, "Khel rahi thi meri gudiya? Abhi Papaa bhi Karu ke saath khelenge, hain na?" he playfully brushed his beard against her cheek, and she giggled getting tickled. "Papaa, aaishh keeemm..." she said aloud, pointing outside the door, trying to show him the way towards the kitchen. "Bilkul nahi!" Gauri said in a stern tone, glaring at both the Karu's, "Raat ko ice cream khayegi, iska gala kharab ho jayega, kal bhukaar ho jaayega aur phir doctor se injection lagana padega..." Omkara rolled his eyes, "Gauri, thode ice cream se kuch nahi hoga. Bass ek spoon, zyada nahi. Meri Karu bahut strong hai na? Koi bhukaar-vukaar nahi hoga..." Gauri refused, "Nahi, Omkara... suno toh..." and before she could say a word, both of them had left the room and gone towards the kitchen to loot the fridge.