He self consciously switched off the car lights and gave her the sweetest kiss ever possible. It was a delightful treat, brimming more with love than passion. Although they were sitting in the car in the parking lot, he couldn’t help himself give in to the desires that both had been aching for long. It was his way of thanking her and she couldn’t have been more pleased about it.

To be continued…..

The following months were filled with loads of shopping and planning, long conversations at night with Atharva, and quite a few stay-overs by Shruti. The Shah family insisted her to be present for all the festivities …. And as luck would have it, right from August to December, we Indians enjoy loads of them.

Shruti along with her mom and sis had meticulously planned out the number of outfits required for each category… and the list was intriguing enough. The shopaholic in her was having a gala time. She had done Fashion Designing and had been quite keen on working, but never got the opportunity to prove her potential. So, was super excited to give it a try making her own trousseau. Initially when sceptical about it, she confided into Atharva and sought her mom’s and Nainaa’s opinions, whenever unable to decide. She was over the moon to be able to see her fantasy come true.

Atharva had been extremely tied up with the new project over the next two months and kept long working hours, staying at the factory most of the time. After one such gruelling stay, he had come back home late and felt completely drained. While still having dinner, he got a message from Shruti. ‘At what time will you be free?’ He was so exhausted that he wanted to straightaway crash on the bed, but didn’t voice it as he was feeling guilty for not giving much time to her of late. He replied, ‘Will call you in 10 mins… having dinner.’ She texted, ‘Okay… waiting.’

Shruti was too worked up as of late they hadn’t talked properly; he always used to be tied up and she would relent considering his situation. But today, a lot of plans were going in her head and she needed to confide in him, even though he wouldn’t be able to help. She simply wanted him to hear her out. She had started missing him really bad now. It had been a long time since they met on their engagement day. Something or the other always came up and he couldn’t manage to come even for a day to meet her.

Atharva called up once done with dinner and said in a tired tone, “Hello…” Shruti couldn’t hold back and snapped, “Ye Hello itna thanda kyu hai?” He responded, “Just came back from factory na… it’s a pain to get the people understand the requirement and get the job done.” She was on a different track today, and asked, “Accha listen… where did you keep the card?” He was still in his pensive mood and didn’t bother to think before replying, “Which card?” She blurted in an accusing tone, “How many cards do you get Mr Atharva Shah? How can you forget something so important?” Atharva quipped, “Oh Hitler.. shaanti rakh.. I was pre occupied and didn’t get what you were trying to say. It’s in my cupboard… why?” She answered, “Aise hi… was remembering our engagement day as finally saw our album. Somebody is looking very handsome in the pics.” He sighed, “Oh God! Feels like ages since our engagement.” She replied softly, “ya.. you are not free.. please meet up soon.” He yawned and replied, “yup… will work out something.” He tried to get comfortable while talking to her. He usually preferred talking to her in their room for privacy. He switched on the AC and lay down on the bed.

All this while, Shruti was blabbering enthusiastically, “You know Atharva? I chanced upon a fantastic person today… he is too good with his embroidery… saw his work today and am floored… all sorts of ideas coming in my head … how about if I get mumma’s sari done for the functions? Can make it grand… I’ll make quite a bit for myself as well of course, but making it for mumma would be like a completely different thing. Will get so much more to do since it would be her main saris. I have been thinking about it all day long, though was apprehensive whether I will be able to pull it off or not… I have a beautiful design in my head.. have been browsing over the books for motifs.. and one of them.. in fact two of them really caught my eye for mummas saris… do you think I will be able to do it?”

Little did she realise that Atharva had barely responded in monosyllables, if at all, and kept on speaking her mind. When he finally didn’t respond, she stopped and asked, “Atharva… how come you are not responding?” At that very time, Minish had been passing by the room. He entered the room to see his brother asleep, holding the mobile in one hand. He took the mobile to keep it aside when he realised the call was going on. He looked at the screen to confirm the caller and spoke, “Bhabhi… Atharva has already slept.” She couldn’t believe this! She said incredulously, “Are you serious?! I mean… I was talking since long… and when he didn’t respond, I wondered what happened.” She was in an awkward position and didn’t know what to say. She spoke sheepishly, “It’s Okay Minishbhai… will talk to him tomorrow. Good night,” and disconnected abruptly. Minish could barely control himself and bursted out laughing so loudly that Atharva woke up from his sleep with a jolt. He asked sleepily, “Kya hua?” Minish bent over laughing hard and said, “Atharva tu toh gaya… you went off to sleep while bhabhi’s call was still going on! I came over here to check on you to realise that she was on the call.” Atharva said groggily, “Arey yaar… kitna bolti hai woh… didn’t realise when did I nod off.” And before he knew, he went back to sleep.

Minish tried to persuade him to come and change and go to sleep in their room, but Atharva refused to listen. Minish couldn’t control himself and called up Rhea to share about it. Both went berserk laughing when Rhea said, “Poor bhabhi.. she must have felt so embarrassed.” Minish, on the other hand said, “I pity Atharva… kal uski band bajne wali hai…”

Shruti didn’t know how to react. She was going through mixed emotions.... feeling embarrassed, laughing at one moment and though trying to be angry with Atharva, couldn’t do so and grinned.

Atharva woke up in the morning to realise his folly, though not able to recollect completely. He came out to see Minish sitting on the sofa and approached him. As soon as he did, Minish gave him a mischievous smile and said, “Atharva… did you talk to bhabhi?” He shook his head, “No ya… just woke up.” Minish couldn’t help himself and said, “All the best… get ready for your first argument as far as I know.” He then jogged his brother’s memory of what exactly happened last night, and again chuckled. Atharva also smirked, and said, “Chalo.. let me tackle this.”

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.