After Bela left the room, Preeti nudged her sister, "Aur jo doosri baat hai... uske liye jijaji ne achhi khaasi planning pakka kar rakhi hogi... bata dun mummy ko ki tere unko Golu kitna pasand hai?"
Naina surprisingly didn't get annoyed, rather bit her lip.
"Preeti, Sameer ko sachmuch Golu bohot pasand hai... kyonki woh ek wajah hai hamari kahani shuru hone ki." She recalled the rainy day of three years back.
Preeti looked at her with wide eyes, "Golu? kaise?"
Naina told her how her kurta had got torn playing with him... how she was left with no option but to wear Pooja didi's green saree... how she was caught in rain when Sameer came to help her... and she had seen something in his eyes that gave her first ray of hope... that one day changed everything for both of them.
Preeti listened with rapt attention, her mouth open as she remembered how Sameer's face always brightened whenever Naina wore anything in green... but then, it was same when she wore pink... or yellow...
"Sunn, Naina, jijaji ka favourite rang akhir hai kaunsa? Matlab hara rang toh tune bata diya lekin unke chehre ka bulb toh tujhe pink mein dekhke bhi jalta hai... uss din pila suit pehna tha tab bhi unke hosh udde hue sey lag rahe the." Preeti wrinkled her nose, tapping a finger on her temple.
Naina chuckled, "Sameer ki aadat ho gayi hai, har rang se kuch na kuch jod dene ki... bas aise hi kho jaata hai kuch bhi yaad karke."
"Oho, toh itni yaadein bana li hain tum dono ne... kya baat hai behen... yahan se Mumbai gayi thi toh badi seedhi shareef thi... wahan jaake ekdum Rangeela ki Urmila ban gayi kya?" Preeti tilted her head, raising her brows mischievously.
"Rangeela? Yeh kaunsi picture hai?" Naina could not recall any movie by this name.
"Abhi abhi aayi hai... uske posters lage hain sab jagah... ab main toh jaa nahi sakti dekhne... lekin tu jijaji ke saath dekh ke aana... hamare rangon mein doobe hue jijaji ko isse bhi koi naye rang ki yaad mil jayegi." Preeti winked, making Naina go red.
Sameer reached home after meeting Naina to see the packet that had come from her house... with his outfit for the evening. He excitedly opened it to find not only the sherwani but a box with gold chain. He frowned, but the next moment, his eyes fell on the note along with it.
Chachaji had conveyed that the chain was a part of his wedding attire and he should not say no to it. Just as they had accepted jewellery for Naina along with her lehenga, he should keep it as a blessing of all elders.
With a teary smile, Sameer touched it to his heart... he had very few things that he could call blessings from his elders... this chain would forever remain precious to him.
"Sameer, main phool le aaya hun sajane ke liye." Pandit said in a loud voice as he entered the house.
"Itna zor se kyon chilla raha hai... sabko sunana zaroori hai kya?" Sameer immediately stood up,waving at him to lower his voice.
"Sabko sunane mein kya hai? Sajne ke baad sabne dekhna hi hai... yahan bhi aur bhabhi ke ghar wale bhi toh dekhenge." Pandit was confused.
"Sabko kyon dikhana hai? Ticket bechega kya mera kamra dikhane ki?" Sameer was infuriated.
"Kamra? Main toh car sajane ke phool laya tha... ismein kamra kahan se aa gaya?" Pandit scratched his head, completely flummoxed.
"Car?" It was Sameer's turn to be stumped.
"Haan bhai, car... jismein bhabhi ko leke aayega." Munna came in with another basket of flower strings.
Sameer looked at both his friends, then pursed his lips, leaving the room with his clothes. The peals of laughter that erupted from the living room made him blush and he squeezed his eyes shut, rubbing his forehead.
