And then she said it!

PART 14

OH! NOT SO WARM WELCOME.
"But Ananya, she is an orphan. What's
the need for Armaan to marry such a
girl?"
Mom sighed in exasperation listening
to the same complain probably for
more than a dozen times. For the
last four days, since the invitations
were sent, someone or the other of
our relatives or family friends visited
our home. Few of them had enough
decency to let mom explain about
Riddhima before they jumped into
judgment. But few of them, like my
paternal aunt in the above case, just
complained that Riddhima wasn't the
one for their nephew. Mom,
expecting such commotions, made
sure that Riddhima spent her time
away from home during the day in
the last four days. Most of our
relatives living in Bangalore itself, we
only had daily visitors.
First two days we had been busy with
shopping for our wedding clothes
and jewellery. Next day, Muski took
Riddhima to a beauty clinic where
they spent an entire day
accentuating their beauty. The other
day Rahul took Riddhima to the
Sanjeevani auditorium to supervise
the preparations. Today, Muski was to
keep an eye on Riddhima not
allowing her from her room, while
Padma aunty, mom and I were
dealing with my loud mouthed aunt.
Mom made sure that Riddhima
wasn't home whenever anyone visited
us, shielding Riddhima from their
accusatory glances.
"It's not a need, bhabhi. We choose
Riddhima because we liked her. She
is a very good girl." Mom explained
to her patiently.
"And moreover Armaan likes her."
Padma aunty added, while I nodded.
But Sudha aunty wasn't satisfied.
"But that doesn't change the fact
that she is an orphan." Sudha aunty
started again.
"Leave it na Sudha. If Ananya is
confident about that girl, she might
be a nice one."
"You don't understand Raghu." She
snapped at her husband. "As if
Rahul is not enough in the family,
Raji is hell bent on adding one more
orphan to it."
My temper roared high. I knew my
aunty is not pleased with Rahul's
role in our family. She had made it
clear to all of us. But in dad's
presence she never spoke it loud as
dad was equally fond of Rahul as
mom. He never tolerated any taunts
against him. And now, I knew she is
taking advantage of dad's absence.
Moreover, we have decided not to tell
anyone that Riddhima was married
once as that would only lead to a
small scale commotion among our
families.
"Enough aunty!" I almost yelled,
standing up. I was fed up with mom
cajoling her for half an hour. Mom
and Padma aunty stared at me
mortified. "Rahul is a part of our
family, you accept it or not. And now
Riddhima is going to be my wife. It's
my decision. And when we don't
have any problem with Riddhima's
background, why do you have to
worry?" I asked her, my nostrils
flaring.
"Armaan!" Mom reprimanded me.
"Don't make it worse. Please be
quite." She pleaded, trying not to
make it nasty between the families.
Sudha aunty is dad's elder sister.
With my grandparents passed away,
she is the eldest person in our
family and mom wants her to accept
Riddhima for some reason.
"Okay, I am sorry." I forced the words
out of my mouth and sat down.
"Bhabhi, Riddhima might have been
an orphan but I knew her closely for
the past five months. She is staying
at our house as a paying guest. She
is very responsible." Mom tried to
pacify her. "You'll love her if you
knew her."
"Fine!" Aunty huffed and stood up.
"If you have already decided, do as
you want." She made her way
towards the door.
We took a deep breath. But as she
made her way towards the door, she
bumped into someone. When she
stepped back, we saw who she
bumped into and again held our
breaths. Rubbing her forehead, and
looking confused was Riddhima with
few sarees in her hand. What a
perfect timing!
Mom took the sarees from her hand
and pulled her in quickly. "Bhabhi,
this is Riddhima." She introduced
her to Sudha aunty. Riddhima looked
at us dazed, trying to understand the
proceedings. "Riddhima, this is
Sudha ji, Arvind's sister and this is
Raghu ji, her husband." She
informed Riddhima. It was the first
time, she was being officially
introduced to our family members.
Riddhima was snapped out of her
stupor and quickly touched aunty's
and uncle's feet, taking their
blessings. And I could see that they
were pleased. Riddhima wore a green
chudidar and her hair was tied in a
careless plait. I was glad she didn't
put on her usual T-shirt and Capri
pant. But she looked beautiful, as
ever. Uncle smiled at her but aunty
just stared at her with a straight
face, making her nervous.
"What are you doing now?" Aunty
asked her.
Riddhima almost jumped at her stern
voice. "I-I c-completed my MBA this
year." She stammered slightly.
"You got a job?" Aunty questioned
further.
"Yes a-aunty, I mean ji, sorry." She
looked at mom and then me for help.
But I knew my aunty being an
educationalist was cooled a bit down
with Riddhima's qualification. So I
just stared at her in amusement
while mom nodded at her assuringly.
"I got an offer from Armaan's
company."
"Okay." Aunty nodded at her and left
the room.
"Don't worry Ananya. I can already see
that she is impressed with
Riddhima." Raghu Uncle whispered
to mom but I heard it. Riddhima was
way too nervous to hear it. She was
just staring in the direction of Sudha
aunty.
"Congrats beta!" He wished Riddhima
and left with mom and Padma aunty
following them downstairs.
I couldn't help but smile at a
slightly scared Riddhima staring at
their retreating figures. She
appeared something sort of cute with
that wary expression on her face. She
was startled when I cleared my
throat to catch her attention.
"I am sorry. I didn't mean to barge
in like that. I just came to give those
sarees." She said turning to me. "Was
she angry that you are marrying me?"
She asked, her voice shaking with
apprehension.
"Relax Riddhima. It's fine." I took
her small hand in mine and
squeezed it. "She is not angry. She
was upset but you did a great job
impressing her." I added, slightly
patting her back.
"um- Thanks." She smiled shyly,
while I guided her downstairs to
where mom and aunty were.
"Why are you pacing to and fro like a
caged tiger? Go and ask aunty."
Rahul stated exasperated.
"Rahul, I don't think mom would
agree." I replied frowning.
"Fine! Then don't go. Or else go
alone." He said, a scowl on his face,
and got up to leave the room.
"You know, I can't go alone." I
returned his scowl.
"Then who asked you to promise
them?" He didn't hide his irritation.
"Oh Rahul, understand yaar! They
didn't leave any choice for me." I
sulked.
"Who didn't leave any choice for
you?" Mom barged in with a few
shopping bags in her hands. "Check
the fitting of your suit." She told me
and turned to leave, her mind
preoccupied.
"Mom!!" I wanted to stop her from
leave but my voice came out as a
yell that it startled her.
"What's wrong with you Armaan? Why
did you shout?" Mom asked
bewildered, looking at me and then
at Rahul.
"Nothing. I want to talk to you." I
said meekly.
"Then talk. Who asked you not to?"
Perfect timing for mom's irritation.
Well, how could I talk to her if she's
in foul mood?
"What happened Armaan?" She asked
again, her voice soft and calm this
time.
"Nothing happened Aunty." Rahul
replied before I could. "Sandeep
called a couple of minutes before.
They wanted to meet Riddhima
today."
"What? Today?" Mom's reply came
quick and sharp that I winced.
Now, my readers, before you start
wondering what was happening, I'll
let you know. Before 20 minutes, my
life was smooth and calm. Just a
phone call turned it upside down. In
the afternoon I called my B-School
friends to invite them to the
wedding. They were surprised, happy
and pulled my leg. We chatted for a
long time. All was well then. But I
don't know what had conspired
behind my back but later in the
evening Sandeep, one of my friends,
called me giving me an ultimatum
that they wanted to meet Riddhima
before the wedding- today to be
precise else they wouldn't take the
effort to attend the wedding.
Well, now you might be wondering
what's the deal in that. The deal is
that it is three days away from the
wedding. I was almost positive that
mom wouldn't agree to me taking
Riddhima out for a dinner, would
she?
"Mom, please. Just a couple of hours.
For dinner." I pleaded.
"Dinner? No way?" Mom almost
screeched. "Ask them to come home.
They can meet Riddhima here. Sudha
bhabhi would eat me alive if she
comes to know that you both went
out for dinner together today."
Well, that was indeed true. "Mom,
aunty wouldn't come to know about
it. I'll take care." I tried one more
time.
"Acha! You think Ishitha wouldn't
come?" I winced at Rahul's words.
Ofcourse she would come. I had a
vague idea that it was her plan to
meet Riddhima before the wedding.
And she being aunty's neighbor, I
don't think it would be long before
aunty comes to know about it.
"Armaan, don't you think Ishitha
would be a bit rude towards
Riddhima if she meets her?" Mom
asked, her face covered with worry.
How could I forget the friction of few
years going on between me and her?
Ishitha would surely try to take an
advantage of Riddhima's background
to taunt her if she comes to know
about it.
"I'll take care of Riddhima mom.
Please." I continued with my
pleading session. But mom wasn't
satisfied.
"Don't worry aunty. Riddhima's big
brother will make sure nothing of
that sort happens." Rahul grinned
like a monkey showing his teeth, with
his arm around mom's shoulder.
Mom chuckled and so did I.
"When will you leave?" Mom asked.
I looked at my watch which showed
its 6 pm now. "At 7 pm." I answered.
"Fine. Get back before 10." She
nodded.
"Oh! Thank you so much mom. I love
you." I almost jumped in glee. Apart
from this dinner plan, there was a
part of me dying to spend time with
Riddhima.
"Tell Riddhima to get ready." Rahul
told me after mom left the room. "I
told Sandeep to pick me up. So don't
bother with offering me a lift." He
winked at me and left.
Shaking my head at my crazy friends,
I dialed Riddhima's mobile number.
It rang for almost two minutes before
she took the call.
"H-hel-llo, wh-ho is it?" I heard her
voice and frowned. It was forced and
heavy. She was panting.
"Armaan. What happened? Why are
you panting?" I asked.
"Huh?" There was silence for a couple
of moments. I guess she was
surprised at my call. "Nothing. I and
Muski -uh- we were-um" She fumbled
with words. I heard Muski's voice at
the backdrop and she was yelling
and I made out that they had been
fighting.
"Okay listen Riddhima. We have to go
out for dinner at 7." I told her coolly.
"My friends want to meet you."
"What? Me? Why?" I chuckled at her
words. So typical of Riddhima!
"Just like that. Don't get scared." I
laughed imagining her face. "I'll
come down at 7. Be ready, ok?"
"Hmm." I heard her mumble.
"Bye." I cut the call and moved
towards the wash room when my
mobile rang.
It was from Riddhima. "Yes
Riddhima, any problem?"
"No nothing." She hesitated. "I was
wondering what I should wear. Is it
anything formal?"
I laughed at her words. "Oh
Riddhima, it is just a casual meeting.
Few of my friends wanted to meet
you before wedding. That's it."
"Oh okay." She mumbled and cut the
call.
I smiled staring at my mobile. But
then I remembered something again.
With Riddhima being comfortable
around me and Rahul, I almost forgot
the earlier nervous Riddhima who
would be uncomfortable at receiving
undue attention. I forgot about
Muski's words that she would not be
at ease with men around her. And
she was right. I remembered that
Riddhima who used to fumble with
me around. She hardly looked into
my eyes then.
So much has changed between us, I
sighed sitting on the bed. So much
has changed in Riddhima too, I
couldn't help but add. I am glad
that there might be a tiny possibility
that I was responsible for that
change. Well, that I could only know
when she speaks it out and it being
Riddhima that's quite a task.
And yes, so much has changed in me
too, I could feel it. I was in serious
relationships before. Hell, I have
been in physical relationship too.
But I never felt this thrill or this
excitement before. Be it just a mere
touch or a smile of hers, it
rejuvenates me. Its different, quite
different.
The shrill ring of my mobile snapped
me out of my thoughts. It was
Sandeep.
"Yes Sandy?" I spoke into the mobile.
"You are coming right?"
"Yes yaar! I am coming. I'll be there
by 7.30 with Riddhima."
"Fine! I'll get a table reserved for us.
Bye" I was about to cut the call
when he yelled. "Tell Rahul that I am
on the way to your home to pick him
up." I cut the call and ran into the
washroom after sparing a glance at
the time which was 6.30 now.
In exactly 25 minutes, I was waiting
in the living room of Padma aunty's
house waiting for Riddhima. She
smiled at me when I went down. And
by that smile I knew that mom had
passed the information downstairs.
She told me that Riddhima was
getting ready-or rather that Muski
was getting her ready. I just wished
that Riddhima didn't wear jeans with
a hugging T-shirt today. Is she does,
God help me, I would have a hard
time keeping my eyes focused on my
friends.
How wrong I was!
I almost gasped when Riddhima
emerged out of the room. Clad in a
long white skirt and a black halter
top, she appeared bold and sexy, yet
again. She also wrapped a stole
around her neck with her hair left
open. I had seen Muski in that dress
before but it had been different. I
was sure my eyes had been out of my
sockets as I gazed at Riddhima. Well,
it might be due to the fact that I had
never seen Riddhima in western
dresses as these before, the only
exception being her capris.
"You guys match with each other."
Muski's voice compelled me tear my
eyes off Riddhima. I looked down at
myself and realized I put on a white
shirt with black jeans. "How
romantic!" she added again and
Riddhima's cheeks turned pink. But
she wasn't looking at me since she
came out of the room. "How does
Riddhima look, Armaan?" Muski asked
me.
At this, Riddhima raised her eyes to
mine. I smiled at her. "Beautiful." I
said. I couldn't say that she was
smoking sexy, could I? Atleast not
infront of Riddhima. I am sure she
wouldn't look into my eyes for
another two days if I said she was
sexy. I chuckled when I remembered
that she didn't even look at me for
the next two days after my little
wicked reply in that café after
shopping.
"Shall we leave, Riddhima?" I asked
her.
"Umm-yes." She replied shyly putting
her hair behind her ear. I let her
move ahead. When she moved, I
quickly kissed Muski's cheek
mouthing a 'thank you'. She winked
at me before I turned my gaze to
Riddhima who was walking before me
with her hair and hips swaying in a
rhythm, as she took small steps.
It's going to be a long evening! I
sighed to myself.
As we got into the elevator at the
restaurant, I noticed Riddhima's
conscious moves- sometimes
adjusting her skirt, sometimes
pulling on her stole and sometimes
playing with her. She was anxious
and uneasy, fidgeting with her
fingers. May be it was due to her
dress- I am sure this was one of the
first times she was wearing such an
outfit May be it was due to the fact
that she was going to meet few
strangers.
As the elevator was empty except for
us, I moved closer to her and
entwined her fingers with mine. She
looked up at me startled. I smiled at
her and put few strands of her hair
behind her ear.
"You look great Riddhima. Don't get
nervous. I am with you." I whispered
gently, squeezing her small hand.
She looked unsure for a moment but
smiled. Nodding slightly, she took a
deep breath as the elevator came to
a stop and the doors fluttered open.
I held her hand in mine and guided
her towards the open terrace dining
area where my friends had booked a
section for us.
"How many of your friends are going
to be there?" She asked while we
walked.
"I guess 5-6." I told her
nonchalantly, searching for some
known face.
"Oh okay." She said in a small voice.
I felt her grip on my hand turn
tighter and looked down at her. I
followed her gaze and found Sandeep
and Akash coming towards us with a
wide grin on their faces. I returned
them a grin and turned to Riddhima.
"Don't worry, they are going to serve
food in sometime." I told her smiling.
She looked at me confused. "They
won't eat you. Relax." I left her hand
and wrapped it around her waist as
we made our way towards them.
Sandeep pounced on me giving me a
tight hug, followed by Akash.
"This is Riddhima, I guess." Sandeep
said smiling at her. When Riddhima
smiled back at him, he added to me.
"Damn, you are lucky man. You make
a beautiful couple."
I grinned at him and turned to
Riddhima. "Riddhima, this is
Sandeep and Akash." I introduced
them to her. She smiled at them
with a small 'hi'.
"Let's go. Everyone is waiting for
you." Akash guided us to others who
were catching up with other.
Rahul beamed at us when he noticed
us. "Wow, Riddhima, you look
awesome. Come." He pulled her
gently with him, while she tucked me
along with her other hand in mine. I
wondered if she would let go of my
hand!
"Hey guys, this is Riddhima, my
fiancé." I announced, when we
reached the centre of the table.
That's when I noticed Ishitha,
standing opposite to me, smirking at
me. I stiffened for a moment, trying
to gauge the look on her face.
"Hi Riddhima, congrats." Simran
hugged Riddhima and I turned my
attention to her. "I am Simran,
Armaan's ex-colleague and his
classmate in MBA. Rahul was telling
that you are our junior at college."
Simran started with her usual
pleasantries, trying to make
Riddhima feel welcome amidst them.
"Riddhima, this is Siddharth." I
introduced her to the others.
"Hi Riddhima." Sidharth smiled at
her.
"And this is-"
"I am Ishitha" She cut me off.
"Armaan's ex-girlfriend." She added
with a smirk.
Everyone fell silent at her arrogant
remark. I dreaded this moment. I
looked at Riddhima, wary of her
reaction. But she seemed calm and
unperturbed.
"Oh, hi.Glad to meet you." I stared
at Riddhima, slightly surprised.
Ishitha made a face, clearly depicting
her reply- The feeling is not mutual.
"Sudha aunty was telling you were an
orphan." Ishitha was hell bent on
making it nasty, I could see it in her
face. The deadly silence followed.
Rahul turned pale and I was sure so
was I. I regretted coming here. Mom
should have refused it.
"Yes, I was." Riddhima met her gaze,
head on. "But not anymore." She
added wiping that smirk off Ishitha's
face. I might have gaped at
Riddhima, had I not been conscious.
I know it was difficult living with a
troubled past. The way she held up
made my heart swell. I had never
been proud of her before. But now I
was proud of my sweet, little, not so
vulnerable fiancé.
"Let's order something." Sandeep
broke the tension, glaring at Ishitha.
"I am starving."
The rest of the dinner was smooth
and relaxing except for few witty
remarks from Ishitha, but the others
made up for it. They made sure
Riddhima felt comfortable, joking
around, pulling our legs, revealing
few secrets of mine. It was fun.
By the end of dinner, Riddhima was
completely relaxed, chatting with
them as a long lost friend. Rahul
appeared furious at Ishitha as if he
would attack her if given a chance.
Simran feeling his rage, kept him
pre-occupied all the time. It was
eventful evening. When we were
about to leave, Sandeep stopped us.
"We have a surprise for you
Riddhima." He smiled at her and
called the waiter, who came running
to us with a huge box in his hand.
Simran unwrapped it and put it on
the table infront of us. "Please cut
the cake."
Riddhima looked at me, smiling
slightly, her face already flushed up
with all the attention she was
receiving. I joined her at the table
where a large cake was placed.
Rahul, passed her the knife. I held
her hand while she held the knife
and we cut the cake with everyone
clapping for us.
Riddhima had that sparkle in her
eyes as she fed me the cake. I was
glad, the evening went well. Well, I
didn't know it would turn out to be a
small celebration. I glanced at Rahul.
He smiled at me. Somewhere I had
this doubt that the cake was Rahul's
idea. Generally, in our family, the
couple cut the cake in engagement
welcoming the partner into their
lives. But well in the ruckus at home,
I almost forgot about it.
I fed Riddhima with a huge piece of
cake. She was beaming at me, her
earlier nervousness all forgotten. I
hugged her tight and whispered into
her ear. "Welcome into my life."
It was almost 11 when we reached
home. After parking the car in our
lot, I turned to Riddhima. She was
tired and her eyes we dropping. But
she had that glow on her face. I
realized one more thing about her.
Just small things make her
immensely happy. She would be a
very cheap date, I mused. The
parking area was almost dark, except
for the faint light coming from the
tube-light at the other end.
The ambiance seemed so serene and
sort of romantic, that I couldn't help
my eyes that darted across
Riddhima's lips. The air started
heating up in the car. Well atleast I
thought so as I felt suddenly sweaty.
Riddhima was waiting for me to speak
something, but I felt tongue-tied
somehow. The evening went great. A
gentle kiss would be a perfect end to
a perfect day. My heart raced at the
thought.
Risking a chance, I bent towards her,
while she bent back slightly. She
shut her eyes tightly, her breathing
coming short and shallow. I smiled
at her. She appeared something like
scared ' or maybe it was her
apprehension. She then held her
breath. Taking a deep breath, I
placed a gentle lingering kiss on her
cheek, just at the corner of her lips
and whispered. "Thanks for coming.
Good night."
She opened her eyes and stared at
me for a moment- I guess- dazed.
She opened the door of the car and
clumsily ran out. Smiling, I got out of
the car and followed her after locking
it. As it was late, the lift was
switched off, so we took the steps.
We stopped at floor of Padma aunty's
house. I waited for her to get inside.
She took a couple of steps ahead and
then stopped. She turned around
and looked at me. She appeared to
be in deep thought.
She took two quick steps back and
reached me. While I frowned at her,
she raised herself to her toes.
Holding one of my cheeks in her
palm, she placed a soft kiss on the
other. "A warm welcome to you too."
She mumbled and ran away
disappearing into the house.
I blinked and wondered if what I felt
happened had happened in real. I
touched my cheek in daze. It was
slightly moist. Maybe it did happen,
I smiled to myself. Soon the smile
gave away to a grin. Wow! It did
happen, I thought dreamily as I
recalled the last minute again and
again. My heart somersaulted in joy.
I never realized a small kiss would
result in such joy. But I was wrong!
That moment would be a perfect
romantic moment of my life.
And what did she say- a warm
welcome? The welcome wasn't warm.
It was hot and sizzling, leaving me
pining for more!
So that's it! I hope it was a good part!
Bye. Good Night. -Isha