Chapter 45 - Vennela's first love

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Rasgulla - A syrupy spherical sweet, very popular in India.

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"Vadina, there's a surprise for you. Get ready" said Anirudh.

"Are we going somewhere?" asked Vennela.

"No. Someone's coming to visit you" said Anirudh. 

"Who?"

"We won't tell you. Wait till they arrive. Get ready by 10 am." Amar didn't let the details out. She left hurriedly to get ready. It has been a week since the food stall incident. She has been practicing walking without crutches since then. There was a lot of improvement. Everything was back to normal again.

"It is very nice of them to come and visit her" said Amar. Vennela's grandparents told him that a few of her classmates are living in Vishakhapatnam. They gave their numbers to Amar. He invited them for lunch at his place.

Amar and Anirudh were supervising the cooking. "I'm ready." Vennela was wearing a green saree. 

"You look beautiful" said Amar. 

"Thank you. Now tell me who is coming?"

"Vennela! Is that you? My God! You look gorgeous" said someone.

Vennela turned around. "Lalitha?" She was surprised to see her childhood friend. "Is that you?" She hugged her.

"Your grandfather called me yesterday. He asked me not to tell you that I am coming. How are you? I heard you met with an accident." Lalitha talked excitedly.

"I'm better now. Meet my husband Amar. And this is my brother-in-law Anirudh." Vennela introduced.

"I know them. They are the ones who helped me and Usha with locating the house" said Lalitha.

"Usha is coming too?" asked Vennela, her eyes twinkling. Usha was her bench-mate till 7th standard. Lalitha was her classmate till 12th standard. She hasn't met them in years.

"Oops! I'm not supposed to reveal that" said Lalitha. Vennela waited for Usha near the entrance.

A few minutes later, Usha arrived. She hugged Vennela. "I don't believe this." She looked at Vennela as if scanning her. "Is this the same lazy girl who hated makeup? You look good."

"You look nice too. Come. Let's get inside." Vennela invited them.

"Wait. There's one more person arriving" said Amar.

"Who?" asked Vennela. At that instant, she saw a car stop a few feet away. The person opened the door and Vennela felt a cool breeze fan her face. She held her breath and waited. Her classmate got down, whom Vennela recognized instantly. She bent her head and smiled. The girls giggled while Amar looked at Anirudh confused. 

The man stood in front of Vennela. "Hello Rasgulla." He greeted her.

"Who is Rasgulla?" asked Amar. 

Vennela didn't seem to listen. "Hello Sameer." She replied.

"So many years have passed. You still look the same to me." Sameer smiled at her.

"I don't think so. I am sure she must have been shorter back then" said Amar. "Now tell me. Who is Rasgulla?" 

"Are you married?" Vennela asked Sameer.

"Rasgulla, we meet after so many years. And the first thing you ask me is whether I am married." Sameer smiled. "Planning on renewal of the proposal?"

"What proposal?" asked Amar. "By the way, her name is Vennela. Not Rasgulla."

Sameer seemed to notice Amar for the first time. "She will always be Rasgulla to me. Entire school knows that Rasgullas are her first love. And she liked my mother's Rasgulla dessert so much that she asked me to marry her." Amar's eyes widened with shock while the others laughed. "You are the one who told me the location yesterday. Aren't you? Let me introduce myself. I am Sameer." Sameer shook hands with Amar.

Amar crushed his palm. "Amar Pratap. Vennela's husband." He stood beside Vennela, wrapped his hand around her waist and pulled her closer.

Anirudh sensed his brother's jealousy-meter going up. "Let's get inside." He invited them. Amar didn't release Vennela till they reached the living room. The servants offered drinks to the guests.

"Anna, let them talk. They met after so many years. Come and help me in the kitchen." Anirudh took Amar away.

"What are you doing?" asked Anirudh once they were in the kitchen.

"What am I doing? I am just talking to my wife's classmates." 

"You were shooting daggers at Sameer." Anirudh whisper-yelled.

"Sameer? Who's Sameer? Oh! That guy. I just greeted him normally" said Amar as if it didn't affect him.

"Anna, remember. It's we who invited them. They are vadina's classmates. Don't embarrass her." 

"That guy is embarrassing himself. Rasgulla? How dumb!" Amar crushed the tomato he was supposed to cut.

"Now I get it. You are jealous of a proposal an eight-year-old girl made to her classmate just because she liked the sweets he offered. Grow up." Anirudh snatched the tomatoes and started cutting them.

"I am not jealous. Look at that guy. And look at me. Why would I be jealous? It's him who needs to be jealous." Amar started chopping potatoes ferociously. He kept glancing out of the kitchen door at Vennela. Sameer made a joke.

"Such a stupid joke" remarked Amar.

"Please keep your voice low." Anirudh hissed. "We are just thirty feet away from them."

"I can't." Amar avoided all the pretence and answered. "Look at him. How easily he called her Rasgulla. It took me a month to call her moonlight. Why can't he behave decently? Look at Lalitha and Usha. They met Vennela after years too. But they are not flirting with her like that guy."

Anirudh rolled his eyes. Amar wasn't working. But Anirudh didn't let him go out of the kitchen. A few minutes later, Amar saw Sameer sit beside Vennela on the couch.

"That's it!" He rolled his sleeves and went outside. Sameer was talking to Usha who was sitting on the other side. Amar sat between him and Vennela. Sameer turned around after a while. "What do you say Venn-- Oh! You're here?"

"I live here." Amar answered.

"Is it okay if we play hide and seek?" Lalitha asked Amar. "That was our favourite game during childhood."

"Sure." Amar smiled. He wanted to be nice to her friends.

"Okay. We all hide and let Amar seek." Sameer announced.

Amar closed his eyes and counted till 50. He started searching for them. He found Usha. After a minute he found Lalitha hiding behind a closet.

He searched for the other two. "Vennela is in the dining hall" Usha giggled. "Don't tell her I told you."

"Vennela? No. It's Sameer who is hiding there" said Lalitha.

"I think both are hiding in the dining hall" said Usha. Amar rushed to the dining hall. He tried to open the door. But it didn't open. 

"Vennela! I know you are in there. Open the door."

"Amar, the door got jammed. We can't open it. Sameer is trying" said Vennela. "Sameer! What are you doing? No. Please. Stop it! I'm warning you--"

Amar panicked. He kicked the door with all his might. It opened. He saw Sameer holding Vennela's hand. Without a second thought, he punched Sameer. "Hey! Are you mad?" Sameer yelled.

"You think you can misbehave with my wife and I will let you go just like that?" Amar fumed at him. Sameer trembled with fear.

"Amar! Calm down." Vennela tried to stop him. 

But he wasn't in the mood to listen. "I should have thrown you out the moment you flirted with her in my presence."

"Amar, Stop it. He didn't misbehave with me."

"What! Then why did you scream?"

"He was about to hit the door with a hammer to open it. That is why stopped him and pulled him away from the door. He was just trying to get out of here." Vennela explained.

Amar stood still for a while. He sighed. He helped Sameer get up. "No hard feelings brother. I was just worried for my wife's safety."

"I am not here to steal your wife away, man" said Sameer.

"Let's have lunch in the garden." Vennela took them outside. Lunch was an awkward affair that afternoon. Usha and Lalitha felt relieved to see Sameer silent. They were annoyed by his constant flirting. 

Soon after the lunch Sameer made an excuse and left. He vowed not to call her Rasgulla again.

---***---

"I'm scared" said Amar.

"You can't hide anymore. Just go and apologize." Anirudh told him.

"She will be angry."

"Of course, she will be. You punched her classmate. Tell her you are sorry." 

He took a deep breath and entered their bedroom. Vennela looked up. "Nice room. Isn't it? Remember the first time you were here? You were so scared" said Amar.

"Yes. Now it seems there has been a role reversal." Vennela remarked.

"Vennu, I'm sorry." He lowered his eyes. "I shouldn't have punched him."

"No. He deserved it." Vennela made him look into her eyes.

"What? Aren't you angry?"

"I am angry because you invited him home and punched him. We shouldn't have hit a guest. But he should have understood that we are not teenagers. He was flirting with me and the other girls too. We felt uncomfortable. Sure, I liked his mother's desserts. But that doesn't mean that he can behave as if he is my best buddy. I was so happy when I saw him this morning. But I was happier when I saw him leave. Never knew such a sweet boy will grow into such an indecent man." Vennela held Amar's hands.

"And there's one more thing. I observed you felt uncomfortable when he called me by that stupid nickname. Let me tell you, there is only one pet name that fills my heart with bliss and only one voice in the world has a right to call me that."

"Moonlight" said Amar.

"Exactly" said Vennela. 

He cupped her face. She closed her eyes. He bent down. He was only a few inches away from her. His breath fanned her face. Her lips parted in smile. 

His lips found their way towards her lips and closed the distance between them.

Vennela, who has never experienced something like this, was frightened as well as elated. Her body shook slightly. She clutched his shirt with her hands. They didn't know how long they stood like that before parting.

Vennela still shut her eyes tightly. Amar smiled at her innocence. She looked at him after a while. She had tears of happiness in her eyes.

'Why is she crying? She didn't like it? Did I go too fast?!' Amar was horrified to see her eyes moist.

Vennela lowered her eyes to hide the blush on her cheeks.

'Is she hurt? What should I do?' Amar has never been so confused.

She raised her head and closed her eyes again expecting him to repeat.

'She closed her eyes. She doesn't want to see my face. It must be embarrassing for her.' Amar decided not to embarrass her any further. 

Vennela opened her eyes to see Amar making a line of control with pillows on the bed. She walked towards him. "Amar?"

"Forget what happened here. Sleep. You will feel better. Good night Vennela." He switched off the light and slept leaving Vennela utterly shocked. 

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