Part 17 (c)
Sangeet Continued
Bani kept searching for Shashank in vain, but in the crowd of nearly 800 guests, it was impossible to find him. She could see Pushkar in the distance, moving his body with a dance number that was playing for two of the girls from Purva's side of the family. She smiled and then again started looking for Shashank, but it looked like he had vanished.
She was about to go and find Pooja and ask her where was Shashank, when someone tapped on her shoulder. She turned and it was none other than Jai, making her jump out of her skin.
'You?' she exclaimed and the instantly lowered her voice and her eyes, trying not to blush, as she always did in his presence, especially since the last two days. Feeling terrified that he would do something, without paying heed to the people all around them, she whispered furtively, trying to appear as if she was having a rather professional conversation with him.
'Jai...please...there are so many people around...and everyone is looking at you...'
'Obviously. I know I am worth looking at! What's new about that?' he quipped back, savouring on a bowl of Kesar Kulfi, that Bani had particularly included in the menu, knowing Jai's fondness for it.
She simply sighed and said in a acquiescent voice, 'What is that you want, now?'
'No need to act like a martyr! I just came to you because I could spot you looking so worried...and I wanted to assure you that don't get bothered about the Skank thing!'
Seemingly taken aback, she asked him in a reassured voice, 'So, you are okay if I dance with him?'
'Obviously not!' he snapped back irritated and added, 'What I came to tell you is that you need not bother anymore...I took care of him!'
She stared back at him in bafflement and then asked in an inert voice, 'Take care of him? Why don't I like the sound of it? JAI! What have you done?'
Finishing off his Kulfi with relish, he smiled shortly and said, 'I just told Abdul to add a couple of my Donormyl 250 mg to his Champagne glass.'
'Dono...what?' she asked him anxiously.
'Donormyl 250 mg...that's the medicine I take for my Insomnia...works like a dream! He must be already slumbering off by now!'
Gasping in shock, Bani said in a clogged voice, 'You made Abdul give him Sleeping Pills? And that too in his drink? JAI! What if something happens to Shashank? Oh! God!'
Giving a cheery smile, Jai said, 'Oh! Don't worry! Even if something happens to him, Abdul will take care of that too. I have more than Two Hundred Acres of land spread all over India...his body can be buried anywhere in it...no one will even get a hint!'
Leaving Bani with an open-mouthed look, Jai strolled away, greeting someone who looked like his professional acquaintance and looked remarkably in high spirits, as he intermingled with the guests, charming all the ladies present with his trade-mark wit and funny comments.
Pooja caught hold of Bani and said, 'Here you are! Where on earth do you keep vanishing? Anyway, just wanted to tell you that you need not bother about dancing with Shashank...I don't know what happened to him all of a sudden...just fell asleep in the middle of the lawn, holding a glass of Champagne! God! Why do these boys drink if they can't handle even one glass of alcohol? What a pity? You had prepared so hard for the performance and now the dance can't happen!'
Poor Bani could only mumble something, half scared out of her wits, praying to God that nothing should happen to Shashank and absolutely furious with Jai for what he had done. He was simply crazy, there was no doubt about it now!
Livid with him on his audacity and complete lack of concern regarding how his actions affected others, she announced to a startled Pooja, 'The dance will happen, Pooja! THE DANCE WILL HAPPEN.'
A while later
Jigyasa was the MC for the night and she smiled as she read out the next programme for the Sangeet, she was in a fantastic mood...not only were all the guests gushing over the fabulous decor and the delicious food, but the song and dance routines were being highly enjoyed by everyone. She could not wait for the wedding to get over and go back to Bangalore...Bani was so deserving a promotion for the first-rate work she had done on this wedding.
'Okay...ladies and gentlemen and everyone else present...please give some space, for we have a smashing dance number coming up...sure to win your hearts away.'
Jai, who had been chatting up with one of Purva's Uncle, looked at Jigyasa's direction and smiled, wondering who was coming next. He had to admit, though he was no fan of such ostentatious wedding functions, he was thoroughly enjoying the evening and had even clapped for the cute number done by Karuna's three girls. Though in his mind, Jai knew that his good mood had little to do with the Sangeet Function of his brother, rather to do with the fact that the girl he loved was all his now, making him temporarily forget that he was actually fighting a serious illness.
A few minutes ago
Bani went to meet Nachiket and Purva, who were seated on the floor, in the canopy of marigold and red rose petals that Bani had prepared for the seating area and she greeted both of them!
'Hi Baneee....what a long life you have! One of my aunt's was just telling me that the decoration and arrangement is just out of the world...I couldn't help but gush, that it was friend who had done it!'
Bani blushed and hugged Purva, saying, 'Well thank you, my pleasure! And let me say, you look breath-taking, Purva...and you both make such a lovely pair. Touchwood!'
Nachiket grinned at Bani and remarked, 'By the way, I heard that Shanky and you were supposed to do a dance number...what happened?'
Bani flushed a bit but regaining her composure, replied back, 'I think he got a little drunk...Abdul Chacha has put him back in his room...I doubt he will wake up before tomorrow morning...I actually wanted to speak with both of you regarding that...'
Looking at her hesitation, Purva held her hand and said, 'Why are you hesitating? Tell us!'
'Erm...Actually...we had really put in a lot of hard-work for the dance number...and its such a pity that Shashank can't do it...so I was wondering, that is if you don't mind...can...can Nachiket do it instead of Shashank?'
Before Nachiket could even react, Purva literally jumped in joy and yelled, 'Of course! What is there to ask? Oooh...I am dying to see it! Come on Nachi....go...go!'
Bani looked beseechingly at Nachiket and he gave her a friendly grin, stating, 'Well...why not? I saw you and Shashank practicing for the dance...and though I am no twinkle toes like you, Bani...I guess, I can still manage.'
She beamed and added, 'I will ask Pushkar and Saurabh to join too...and maybe a couple of more boys from our Bangalore team!'
'Oh! Wow! Ek Anaar, Sau Bimaar?' teased Purva, as the three of them burst out giggling.
The Dance Number
Jai all but dropped his glass of Whisky, when he saw Bani making an appearance on the make-shift stage, dressed in that audacious lehenga choli and followed by not one, but several boys, including his own brother...as they began dancing on the number, 'Radha' from Student of the Year.
He did not know how to react...with outrage as she danced with all those boys, or with laughter as he conceded that she had pulled one over him.
Bani was a natural dancer and given that she was absolutely seething to take revenge from Jai on what he had done, she danced with even more passion and freedom...giving a stupendous performance and causing every single guest present to get up and give a standing ovation.
As soon as the dance got over, Bani was besieged by Purva, her friends and cousins and everyone from her Bangalore team and she had a hard time, trying to look at Jai and see what his reaction was. As always, the moment she had finished her performance, all her anger and annoyance melted like butter in the hot sun and she started feeling guilty for having gone against Jai's wishes.
Karuna waylaid Bani and gushed, 'Haeeeeeeee Baneeeeeeee...kya dance that! Kya dance tha! Maza aa gaya! Hai! If not for that murderer boy-friend of yours...By God ki Kasam, I would have got you married to one of my husband's nephews from Amritsar today itself! Haeeeeeeeee...'
Bani gurgled with laughter and hugging back Karuna, remarked, 'Thank you, Didi! And my boyfriend is NOT a murderer!' and then added impishly, 'Your Potlu is just giving a bad name to the love of my life.'
'Hai! Why is he doing that?' asked Karuna in all innocence.
'That I don't know...but trust me, my boyfriend is not a murderer....he is actually a very nice man.'
'Hmmm...is that why he gave you all those marks on your back? Nice men don't do that, Bani....only the Not-so-nice men do that!' quipped Karuna, winking at Bani and bursting into a hysterical giggle, moved off, calling for one of her daughters and leaving Bani red faced and blushing.
Bani could spot Jai in a distance, but there was no way that she could approach him right away. He was surrounded by a bevy of women, some of them, to Bani's chagrin, were all over him, as he basked in the attention they were showering on him and charmed the pants off them.
She fumed and took out her mobile phone, jabbing a message to him.
'Me - Nt allowed even a dance. You - Can flirt with so many women? Is this justice?'
Her mobile didn't buzz back for a long time and Bani could see that Jai was still laughing and talking to a couple of society ladies, even caressing one overtly-dressed woman's face and making her dissolve like a puddle.
She was about to turn back and go, feeling disappointed that he wasn't even replying back, when her mobile buzzed.
'U Forget. Me - Pot of Honey. Obviously Flies will be attracted.'
Taking a deep breath and tightening her lips in displeasure, she wrote back furiously,
'Me - Dnt care if you're Pot of Honey or Pot of Fevicol. If I'm nt allowed 2 speak with others, nor r u. Get that?'
Her mobile buzzed a little quicker this time.
'You - Where's d attitude cmng from? Let me set u right tonight...'
She blushed and wrote back,
'U r d 1 who needs 2 b set rite. Spoilt brat!'
'What did you just say?' his deep voice came booming into her ears.
Stunned by his sudden appearance out of nowhere, she jumped and looked back in astonishment.
He was standing, staring at her with a devilish look in his eyes, toying the crystal glass in his hands and then before she could say anything, took the glass and swept it slowly against her cheeks, making her go hot and cold with his bold and sumptuous moves, without paying any heed to what people might think.
'Jai! What are you doing? For god sake...Massi is standing just few feet from here...please!' she begged, looking here and there nervously, as everyone's attention seemed to be on the place where Jai went to.
'So? I don't care...' he muttered, coming closer to her.
'Jai! Get a grip! And I CARE! Please! We can't do these things in public...what will people think!'
He simply, winked at her and sang sweetly into her ears, 'Kuch toh log kahenge...logon ka kaam hai kehna...'
Bani's cheeks turned a shade of light pink, as she exclaimed in an awe-struck voice, 'You...You sing beautifully...'
He bowed slightly and replied back, 'Thank you Madmoiselle! You flatter me!'
'Madame...what?' she asked, never hesitating to display her lack of knowledge in front of Jai.
'Madmoiselle...that's French for Young Lady or Miss!' and then giving her a look, added, 'Vous êtes tres belle!'
'What?' she asked him in a puzzled voice.
'That's French for you are so lovely.'
She blushed with pleasure and lowering her eyes, mumbled, 'Thank you.'
'You mean, Merci beaucoup ! That's French for Thank you.' he quipped.
'Your French is very good!' she said, giving him a shy smile.
'Vous avez de beaux seins!' he remarked with an innocent look.
She mumbled back with equal innocence, of course, her innocence being sincere, 'Does that also mean thank you, for the compliment I gave?'
Finishing off his drink, he carelessly threw the glass on the lawns and replied in a laden voice, 'No. That't French for, Your Chumps are also very good!'
Giving her a wicked smirk and a wink, he whistled a tune and went on, turning Bani red with embarrassment, as she picked up the glass from the ground and shook her head, muttering incoherent stuff against Jai.
Bani was caught between feeling totally outraged by the way he kept passing near obscene remarks on her but also kept giggling as she realized that he was openly amusing and humorous, rendering it impossible for anyone to win with him in any argument.
She noticed that he was now seated alongside Purva's father and her brother and messaged to him,
'It is impossible 2 win with you in any argument, isn't it?'
Bani saw that he read her message and a smile came on his lips, as he excused himself and wrote her back;
'I charge 25 K per appearance, sweetheart...if u culd win an argument with me, who the fuck would hire me to fight their case?'
Shaking her head, she wrote back;
'U shuld nt use so many bad words...'
He replied back instantly;
'U r rite...I sud just concentrate on doing bad things...2 u...that's much more fun even.'
She burst out giggling and wrote back;
'U r simply hopeless, Jai.'
Saurabh had just called Bani for some work, when she saw his message beeping on her mobile;
'I know babes...and I will show u what else I'm tonite...can't wait enuf...hope u don't have to return that dress u r wearing...cause it won't be in a condition worth returning by 2morrow mrng.'
She simply shook her head, trying to suppress her laughter and blushing and kept her mobile back in her purse, praying to God that no one should ever get to read her Inbox. Ever.
The Sangeet went on magnificently and everyone was having the time of their life and Bani was enjoying too, except when she remembered two things.
One, Jai's impending surgery and his serious illness. She had been trying very, very hard to be positive and think only the best, praying to every God she knew that Jai should be alright. She had already decided on a series of fasts she was going to keep till his surgery was over, successfully, despite knowing how much he despised anything religious. Somehow, she had a feeling that everything would be fine...and that God would not take him away from her, once again.
Second, was the unintentional promise she had given to Jai. That she would stay behind in Delhi with him. What had she done in the flow of love and passion? What on earth was she going to tell everyone? And how would she face the world if she decided to stay with Jai without getting married to him?
Bani realized that he hadn’t even told her that he loved her, leave aside talking about marriage. She did not blame him...Jai was simply like that. His mind did not function in the way that other, normal people's mind functioned. He was only capable of thinking what affected him, without bothering about how his actions and decision affected others.
Bani did not see it as his selfishness...but rather as the way Jai was made. She had long accepted him the way he was and she could understand him, even if others were baffled by him all the time.
But that still did not help her in trying to solve her dilemma.
Of course, she wanted to be with Jai. He was at a critical juncture in his life...he had a major surgery scheduled in a couple of weeks...he would have to be hospitalized...he would have to undergo severe medication and treatments...obviously, she would be with him. Every single moment of their lives.
But how on earth, was she going to explain her relationship to the world, without Jai giving a name to it?
And despite, the fact that she had actually gone ahead and given herself to Jai, mind, body and soul, somehow she could not get herself to ask him if he would marry her.
Bani had long ago realized that the moment she had chosen to fall in love with a man like Jai, she had sacrificed everything she had, including her self-respect and pride...but to beg him to marry her? That was not possible. That was about the last shred of dignity she had and despite being madly in love with Jai, she refused to cross that line on her own.
At the same time, she could not go back on the promise she had given him. She could not go back to Bangalore...even if for a few days to settle everything and explain things to her foster family and at her workplace. Jai would simply not tolerate her going away. Whatever the situation was.
If she had to face the world's taunts and remonstrations, on living with a man without social santion, then that was simply her destiny.
Her love for Jai was above everything for her, now.
A While Later
It was close to eleven at night and a majority of the guests had left, with only the Raheja and Walia Family staying behind, chattering and laughing, excited about the wedding that was going to happen in the next two days.
Everyone was gathered around the lawns,
'Dada...it’s not fair! Everyone danced today, except you!' complained Nachiket.
Jai gave him a look and said, 'I don't dance, you know that!'
'But Jai...you do sing! Yaar, ek gaana hi ga de!' chided Ranveer, making everyone clap and cheer Jai for singing a song.
'No...No...' insisted Jai, but no one gave up.
He grunted and made faces and generally acted very pricey, till he saw Bani, who was standing at some distance, giving orders to the workers along with Saurabh to clear the place.
She was listening to the conversation that was being held and she simply looked at him and mouthed silently, 'Please sing.' He did not react, just kept staring at her, till she smiled shyly and made a sign, showing, 'For me.'
He cocked his head slightly to one side and announced, 'Okay...I will sing.'
There was a thunderous round of applause and hooting, especially from Nachiket, Purva, Karuna, Ranveer and Tarun. Pooja was hooting the loudest, much to both Jai and Bani's combined amusement.
Bani had turned her head towards the other side, mostly to hide her happiness at how he had agreed to sing just for her and spoke to Saurabh, 'Saurabh...you please handle this...I will go and speak to Mr. Khurana's assistant regarding the wedding arrangement. Okay?'
Bani was about to leave from the place, when she heard, Jai's sonorous, melodic voice, floating in the magical night,
'Abhi na jao chod kar...ke dil abhi bhara nahin...Abhi na jao chod kar...ke dil abhi bhara nahin....'
Turning a full 180 degrees and going warm and pink all over, Bani could only look back at him in astonishment, as Jai toyed with the crystal glass in his hand and sang with such emotion and meaning, that she simply could not uproot herself.
'Abhi Abhi toh aayi ho...Bahaar ban ke chaayi ho...Fiza zara mehek toh le...yeh dil zara behek to le...ye shaam dhal toh le zaraa...yeh shaam dhal toh leh zara, yeh dil machal toh le zara...mein thodi de jee toh loon...nashe ke ghoot pee toh loon...Abhi toh kuch kaha nahin...Abhi toh kuch suna nahin...Abhi na jao chod kar...ke dil abhi bharaa nahin...'
Bani could barely react to the song that he had dedicated to her, as she saw everyone clapping thunderously and cheering Jai for the wonderful way in which he had sung!
'Wow Jai! That was just amazing...absolutely outstanding! Tell me, were you singing for someone in particular?' asked Purva's father jokingly.
Jai gave a crooked smile in Bani's direction and said, 'Maybe...Maybe...' And burst out laughing as he saw colour rushing into Bani's face, while she turned around and literally ran away, unable to face him anymore.
Somehow, she could still manage to be on her own while he did unthinkable things to her in the bedroom...but that simple song dedication was so overwhelmingly romantic, that she was unable to stop both her tears and her smiles, making Mr. Khurana's assistant wonder what on earth had gone wrong with the young lady?
Around Mid-night
Everyone from the Raheja Family had left, after a huge and what seemed to Jai, never-ending round of greeting and hugging, praising the Sangeet Function and inviting everyone over for the Mehendi Function that was to be held in one of Purva's Uncle's Farmhouse.
Bani had gone back to her room along with Pooja and Jigyasa, as they quickly went over the list of things they were supposed to get done for the remaining two functions, before they left for Bangalore.
'Bani...today's Sangeet was just smashing! Pooja and you and Saurabh have done an amazing job...I have no words to describe it! And now I want you to head the Fernandez Wedding Party that is scheduled for next month on your own...completely...you can choose your own team!' smiled Jigyasa, as Pooja did a thumbs up in excitement.
Bani's face paled...what was she supposed to say to Jigyasa? That leave aside taking up another assignment, she wasn't even going back to Bangalore with them? She simply kept quiet, giving a faint smile and looking decidedly worried on what the future was going to bring.
She could not imagine how Jai's Massi was going to react when she would get to know that she and Jai were going to live together, without getting married. And Pia? How on earth would she face her own little sister? How many lectures and scolding’s had she given to Pia on morality? And now?
Looking at her face, Jigyasa assumed that Bani was just exhausted which was natural and announced, 'Okay...let us call it a day now! We have to leave for Purva's farmhouse first thing in the morning to look at the arrangements...you girls go to sleep now and be fresh and energetic when you wake up tomorrow!'
Bidding goodnight, Jigyasa left for her own room, while Pooja also yawned, stretching her arms and then noticing that Bani was still in her Lehenga and Choli dress, while the rest of them had already changed into much more comfortable clothes, commented, 'How come you haven’t' changed Bani? Considering how shy you were wearing it in the first place?'
Bani blushed and made some excuse about not having got the time and then looking at the wall clock, said to Pooja, 'Poojie...it’s really late. And didn't Jigyasa Mam say that we have to be up early? Go and sleep now!'
Pooja nodded her head and kissing Bani on her cheeks, left for her room. Bani kept checking her mobile phone; there was no message from Jai, not even a reply to the one she had sent about an hour ago, asking him where he was. She kept sitting on the bed, wondering whether she should go to his room or just forget about it and go to sleep. Restless and unable to decide, she got up and went out of her room, quietly making her way across to the other wing of the Farmhouse, towards Jais' room.
She had covered herself with a Poncho and was scared as hell that in a house full of people, someone might easily see her, even though it was so late at night. But thankfully, she was unnoticed and when she came near his room, she hesitated before knocking on the door. Bani felt torn between the values she had been brought up with and the way she was eroding every single of that value...though for the sake of her love.
It was one thing, when she and Jai acted in impulsiveness, but this was deliberate and she was initiating it...if she wanted, she could simply go back to her room and go to sleep. But she had had walked upto his room on her own...trapped and confused, Bani simply stood there, when she heard footsteps coming from below and was shocked out of her life, on seeing Karuna walking up, yawning and carrying a bottle of milk in her hands. She remembered that Karuna was occupying a room which was in the same wing as Jai's room and now Bani did not know what to do.
If she tried to go from there, Karuna would surely see her and being the shrewd lady she was, would quickly calculate two plus two and know that she and Jai were having an affair. Bani knew that the way Jai was working things, everyone would come to know about it as soon as Nachiket got married or maybe not...but she wanted to delay it as much as possible. Terrified, she pushed open the door of Jai's room and slipped in, standing near the door, till she heard Karuna's footsteps fading away in the distance.
Jai's Room
Taking a huge sigh of relief, she put her head on the door, when she realized with a start, that she was in Jai's room and there wasn't any reaction from him. Not even a sound. Taken aback and panicking, she turned to look for him and saw that she was lying on the bed, still in his evening clothes.
'Jai?' she called out, throwing the poncho aside and rushing across to the bed, sitting on the edge and looking at him. He looked pale and exhausted, rubbing his head and had his eyes closed.
Petrified that he was not feeling well, she held both her hands and rubbing them, asked him frantically, 'Jai? Are you alright? You don't look well at all...'
He opened his eyes slowly and replied back in a dawdling voice, 'I am okay...bloody headache...had too much to drink...didn't work well with my regular medicines...'
And then giving her a smile, added, 'I suppose, I got my punishment for mixing drugs in your beloved Shanky's drink!'
She had tears in her eyes, yet she giggled and put her head on his chest, as he held her lightly by his arms.
'I am okay, sweetie. Don't get so worked up about me...in fact, get used to it.'
'I won't get worked up...but please don't tell me to get used to it. I have no need to get used to it....you will be perfectly fine.' she sobbed back, still lying on his chest.
'Ever the optimist. My sweet, sweet girl-next-door.' he rhymed, making her cry some more.
She lifted her head slightly from his chest and looking at him, said, 'I was worried...you didn't reply to my Sms...so I came to see...'
'Will it kill you if you admit that you came here so that we could have S-E-X?' he asked her in a matter-of-fact way.
Instantly embarrassed and exasperated, she snapped back, 'Of course not! This is the only thing in your mind, all the time! I came to see how you were doing and...and to talk!'
He looked amused and still lying down on the bed, asked her, 'Really? Talk? Why the hell would I waste my time talking to a young, beautiful girl dressed like that at one in the morning?'
Blushing and looking really infuriated with the way, Jai kept pulling her leg, she replied back tersely, 'We used to talk all the time, back in Mukteshwar. And only Talk and do nothing else! You didn't have any problem back then?'
'Well, obviously, sweetheart!' he replied, getting up slowly, as not to strain his back and pulling her nearer to him, looked at her and said, 'Back then, you looked like a Sack of Potatoes! What could a man do except talk with you?'
Bani glared back at him upset and could barely utter anything, till he added, giving her a lascivious look, 'And now you look like a ripe, juicy mango, ready for plucking! Do I look like a fool, who would talk to the Mango than relish her up?'
Going red with embarrassment, she all but yelled back, 'Oh! God! You are the absolute limit! How cheap! How can you compare me to Potatoes and Mangoes?' she demanded.
Absolutely unperturbed by her display of indignation, he smiled and said smoothly, 'Very easy...you used to weight 82 Kilograms and had hips the size of rocks...then you were a Potato...and now you weigh 62 Kgs and have Chumps the size of...'
'JAI! Stop saying Chumps...Chumps...all the time!' she exclaimed, taking a cushion and banging it on his head, as if the downy cushion was going to cause him great injury.
'Alright...I will use the anatomically correct word...Mammary Glands...now you have Mammary Glands the size of...'
'That is enough now!' she howled, putting her hand over Jai's mouth and pulling his ears, as they both burst out laughing and he took her into his warm, cosy embrace.
They kept laughing, lying down on the bed, with their feet entwined and Jai resting his head on her upper body.
'If I had any idea, you would turn out like this...Jai Walia...I would have never made the mistake of sending that bowl of Kichdi over to you!' she remarked, albeit playfully.
'And if I had any idea, that you would end up becoming so hot, I would have never wasted time playing scrabble with you, when I could have played love games!'
'Jai!'
'Bani!'
They once again burst into laughter, lying in each other's arms, as Bani gently dishevelled his hair and kept kissing his head.
'Hey...I am sorry...we can't do it tonight...my back is not good...' he said.
'Do it tonight? Do you really think that is why I came here?' she questioned him.
'I don't know about you, sweetheart...but I sure wanted to do it with you. I don't believe in hypocrisy when it comes to such things.'
Ignoring his statement, she asked him gently, 'Is your back really painful?'
'Hmmm...not really...but it is strained...and that medicine I have taken is making me woozy.'
Bani lifted his head slightly and spoke sympathetically, 'Jai...then take rest...please. You are going to be very busy for the coming two days...don't over-work yourself...and go to sleep..I can see dark circles under your eye already.'
She was about to get up and say goodbye to him, before leaving for her room, but he did not let her budge.
'Hey...just because I can't do it tonight, you are leaving me?' he asked her, teasingly, knowing that it would provoke her.
And it did.
'Excuse me? I am not interested in DOING IT all the time, like you! I came here because I had promised you and also because I was worried about you.'
'If that is so, then stay back. Make me sleep...apparently the Donoryl was the last pill I had with me...that went to the bloody Shanky...now I can't sleep.'
She giggled despite being reminded of Jai's brutishness in making poor Shashank consume a sleeping draught and she said affectionately, 'Okay. Here let me get up and you can put your head on my lap.'
He smiled and did so, as she folded her feet and sat against the headrest of the huge bed, as Jai placed his head on her lap, comfortably ensconcing herself, while she gently ruffled his hair.
'Now sing me a song.' he demanded.
'A song?'
'Yes...A song...A S-O-N-G.' he repeated, catching hold of her slim waist with both his arms and forming a circle.
She was quiet for a couple of seconds and then in her soothing, sweet voice, though not as melodious and sensual as Jai's voice, yet so much comforting and filled with all her love and care for him, she sang;
'Chanda re Chanda re...dheere se muska...Haule se haule se...palko mein chup ja...'
She sang for a couple of minutes, stroking him adoringly like he was a small child and when she noticed that he was not making a lot of movement, she stopped singing and just kept humming, while bending forward and taking a look at his face to see whether he was asleep or not.
Just as she did it, he opened his eyes and announced, 'Bad Idea!'
'What? Why? I thought you were sleeping already!'
'You song instead of making me sleepy has made me horny.'
'Horny?' she asked, completely oblivious about the colloquial speech words that Jai kept using.
'Meaning, it makes me feel like DOING IT right away! And I can't...because of my back...Why Bani? Why?' he announced in mock-agony, making her dissolve into peals of laughter.
She pinched him on his cheeks and said, 'My God! You are just something else, Jai! Now just close your eyes and try to sleep.'
'I can't babes...' he muttered, turning on his back and looking up at her face, while lying on her lap.
Bani blushed and in an attempt to divert his attention, looked at the several paintings hung on the wall and asked him, 'What are those paintings? They look really nice.'
He turned his look at the stone-washed walls, where the paintings were hung and said causally, 'Oh! These! Well...the one on the far right corner is a Jamini Roy...the one next to it...the woman carrying a pot...is an Amrita Shergill...the one in the middle are Tyeb Mehta...S.H. Raza, Nandlal Bose...and that big one on that wall is MF Hussain!'
'Oh! I have heard about him!' Bani exclaimed, looking at the painting, which seemed more like a fabric than Canvas.
Looking at her expression, Jai smiled and said, 'Actually that has a very interesting story!'
'I love listening to your stories!' she grinned, looking enthusiastic and making him laugh.
Changing his position on her lap, he crossed both his hands and said, 'during one of my earliest cases...there was this guy...a small time railway contractor from Calcutta...he was accused of murdering one of his rivals...and someone recommended my name to him. I was not interested in taking up his case...but I still went to his house to meet his family and chanced upon this white cotton Saree that was kept in the living room...it had a beautiful painting done on it. I recognized MF Hussain's handiwork instantly. On asking, the wife of that man told me MF Hussain used to be their neighbour long back, before he gained fame as a painter and he used to come to their house and being the creative nut-case genius that he was...used to pick up her sarees and start painting. When I asked her if she had any more of them...she told me that they had simply thrown it away because they could not be worn anymore...uncivilized brutes...this was the only piece left!'
Bani listened with fascination to Jai's tale, he was a master at words and she was simply mesmerized by the way he told her things.
'What happened then?' she asked with eagerness.
He gave her a smile and said, 'What else? I took up the case on the condition that the Saree with MF Hussain's painting would be mine...those dolts were more than happy and I secured an invaluable art-piece!'
'But did you win the case?'
'Of course, Babes! I always win!' he announced, making her smile brightly.
'That was...that was fascinating, Jai!' she mumbled, looking at the abstract painting in black on the white cotton background.
'In my knowledge, Hussain never painted on fabric again, only on Canvas...so I am probably the only person with this unique piece of work. I havent' got it valued yet...but I should be guessing its range to be around 50.'
'Thousand?' she asked with wide eyes.
Jai gave her a stare and hitting her gently on the top of her head, said, 'Not thousand, lakhs! You silly goose!'
'50 Lakh for a painting on a piece of Saree?' asked Bani, looking shocked out of her life.
Jai had to laugh on the expression of shock on her face and added in a serious voice, 'The total value of all the paintings in this room itself is upwards of 5 Crores! The period furniture should be another 1 C...the carpets and durries...which have all been illegally imported from Iran should be another 50 lakhs...some first-edition books...which should be around 10 lakhs...my collection of watches...3 Crores...and some other stuff.'
Getting his head down from her lap, he put his head on the pillow and pulled her down to lie with him, taking her into his arms.
'I will put everything in your name...everything in this room is yours.' he announced in an unassuming manner.
She kept quiet for some time and then looked at him with tear-filled eyes and said brokenly, 'I need just one thing that is in this room, Jai. And that's you.'
He smiled slightly and said, 'Bani...if I didn't know you better, I would have thought that you are lying...any one would choose wealth over an insufferable, physically defective man like me...but knowing you, I can actually believe that you would rather have me than anything else.'
Bani broke down crying, burying her face in his chest and scolded him in a sobbing voice, 'Stop calling yourself, insufferable and physically defective...YOU ARE MINE NOW. You can't call any bad names to someone who belongs to me.'
Jai chortled and embraced her firmly, planting kisses all over her misty face and said, 'God...you are so cute, Bani! And okay...I am sorry...I won't call myself 'Bad Names'...since I now belong to you and only you get to decide what to call me. Happy?'
She wiped her tears and looked up at him and spoke in a bad-tempered voice, 'I love you.' Like she was telling him to get lost rather than announcing her love.
Jai stared at her and burst out laughing hysterically, mimicking the way she cried and spoke to him, making her annoyed and making her laugh at the same time, as he tickled her all over her body and they kept laughing and fighting and arguing with each other for a good part of the night.
Some time later
Jai had dozed off, spooning Bani in between his torso, placing his arm across her midriff and burying his face in the nape of her neck, covered by her silky hair. She was holding his hands in hers and was unable to sleep, despite the fatigue she felt.
Okay...so he hadn't even mentioned marriage...but why didn't he even tell her that he loved her too? He had laughed and brushed off what she had said. Why? Bani knew that he loved her...she had always known it...maybe she wasn't sure about it, but now there was no doubt.
Then?
Why was he holding himself back? She knew everything about him...he had disclosed everything about his illness...she had accepted it, without any reservations.
Bani felt desperately restless...why couldn't he simply say that he loved her too? Just to keep her heart, even if he didn't really mean it? How much it meant for her to get his formal approval on their relationship?
Taking a deep breath, she turned the other side to face Jai and felt tears springing into the corner of her eyes, when she looked at him, sleeping peacefully, looking so innocent and calm. She touched his cheeks affectionately, tender and indulgent, not wanting to disturb his sleep.
She loved him so much...if God came to her right away and asked her life in exchange for his...she would happily and readily sacrifice herself. She could do anything for Jai. Anything.
Bani kept caressing his cheeks, as he flickered his eyelids and opened his eyes blearily, looking back at her face and gave her a faded, leisurely smile.
All he said was, ‘I feel better now. Thank you.’
They made love...without the urgency and aggressiveness that had consumed them before...because their act of lovemaking was always dominated by Jai.
And this time it was Bani, who undressed him slowly, without haste. Holding him close to her, she kissed him softly on his lips, stroking his cheeks with her fingers, caressing his body gently.
It was gentle, understanding, patient, comforting and compassionate - just like Bani.
Jai had gone to sleep again, not exhausted by their physical act, rather soothed down by her contiguity and the warmth of her body, his head placed on her chest and his arm around her waist, both their legs over each other.
She kept rubbing his hair softly, knowing how much he loved it and how it always made him feel sleepy. Ensuring that he had gone to sleep properly, she pulled herself very slowly and gently away from him, wrapping the extra bed sheet around her and placing her feet quietly on the floor, pulling the duvet over him.
Bani smiled dotingly at the vision of Jai sleeping like a baby and was about to get up to go and change into her clothes, so that she could be back in her room, when he held her arm, taking her by surprise and making her turn to look at him.
'I thought you were asleep...' she mumbled.
He said simply, 'I love you Bani. And I will always love you until I die and if there is indeed a life after that, I will keep loving you then too.'
She looked back at him with tears in her eyes and a smile on her lips...the irony that had always defined their relationship.
Sangeet Continued
Bani kept searching for Shashank in vain, but in the crowd of nearly 800 guests, it was impossible to find him. She could see Pushkar in the distance, moving his body with a dance number that was playing for two of the girls from Purva's side of the family. She smiled and then again started looking for Shashank, but it looked like he had vanished.
She was about to go and find Pooja and ask her where was Shashank, when someone tapped on her shoulder. She turned and it was none other than Jai, making her jump out of her skin.
'You?' she exclaimed and the instantly lowered her voice and her eyes, trying not to blush, as she always did in his presence, especially since the last two days. Feeling terrified that he would do something, without paying heed to the people all around them, she whispered furtively, trying to appear as if she was having a rather professional conversation with him.
'Jai...please...there are so many people around...and everyone is looking at you...'
'Obviously. I know I am worth looking at! What's new about that?' he quipped back, savouring on a bowl of Kesar Kulfi, that Bani had particularly included in the menu, knowing Jai's fondness for it.
She simply sighed and said in a acquiescent voice, 'What is that you want, now?'
'No need to act like a martyr! I just came to you because I could spot you looking so worried...and I wanted to assure you that don't get bothered about the Skank thing!'
Seemingly taken aback, she asked him in a reassured voice, 'So, you are okay if I dance with him?'
'Obviously not!' he snapped back irritated and added, 'What I came to tell you is that you need not bother anymore...I took care of him!'
She stared back at him in bafflement and then asked in an inert voice, 'Take care of him? Why don't I like the sound of it? JAI! What have you done?'
Finishing off his Kulfi with relish, he smiled shortly and said, 'I just told Abdul to add a couple of my Donormyl 250 mg to his Champagne glass.'
'Dono...what?' she asked him anxiously.
'Donormyl 250 mg...that's the medicine I take for my Insomnia...works like a dream! He must be already slumbering off by now!'
Gasping in shock, Bani said in a clogged voice, 'You made Abdul give him Sleeping Pills? And that too in his drink? JAI! What if something happens to Shashank? Oh! God!'
Giving a cheery smile, Jai said, 'Oh! Don't worry! Even if something happens to him, Abdul will take care of that too. I have more than Two Hundred Acres of land spread all over India...his body can be buried anywhere in it...no one will even get a hint!'
Leaving Bani with an open-mouthed look, Jai strolled away, greeting someone who looked like his professional acquaintance and looked remarkably in high spirits, as he intermingled with the guests, charming all the ladies present with his trade-mark wit and funny comments.
Pooja caught hold of Bani and said, 'Here you are! Where on earth do you keep vanishing? Anyway, just wanted to tell you that you need not bother about dancing with Shashank...I don't know what happened to him all of a sudden...just fell asleep in the middle of the lawn, holding a glass of Champagne! God! Why do these boys drink if they can't handle even one glass of alcohol? What a pity? You had prepared so hard for the performance and now the dance can't happen!'
Poor Bani could only mumble something, half scared out of her wits, praying to God that nothing should happen to Shashank and absolutely furious with Jai for what he had done. He was simply crazy, there was no doubt about it now!
Livid with him on his audacity and complete lack of concern regarding how his actions affected others, she announced to a startled Pooja, 'The dance will happen, Pooja! THE DANCE WILL HAPPEN.'
A while later
Jigyasa was the MC for the night and she smiled as she read out the next programme for the Sangeet, she was in a fantastic mood...not only were all the guests gushing over the fabulous decor and the delicious food, but the song and dance routines were being highly enjoyed by everyone. She could not wait for the wedding to get over and go back to Bangalore...Bani was so deserving a promotion for the first-rate work she had done on this wedding.
'Okay...ladies and gentlemen and everyone else present...please give some space, for we have a smashing dance number coming up...sure to win your hearts away.'
Jai, who had been chatting up with one of Purva's Uncle, looked at Jigyasa's direction and smiled, wondering who was coming next. He had to admit, though he was no fan of such ostentatious wedding functions, he was thoroughly enjoying the evening and had even clapped for the cute number done by Karuna's three girls. Though in his mind, Jai knew that his good mood had little to do with the Sangeet Function of his brother, rather to do with the fact that the girl he loved was all his now, making him temporarily forget that he was actually fighting a serious illness.
A few minutes ago
Bani went to meet Nachiket and Purva, who were seated on the floor, in the canopy of marigold and red rose petals that Bani had prepared for the seating area and she greeted both of them!
'Hi Baneee....what a long life you have! One of my aunt's was just telling me that the decoration and arrangement is just out of the world...I couldn't help but gush, that it was friend who had done it!'
Bani blushed and hugged Purva, saying, 'Well thank you, my pleasure! And let me say, you look breath-taking, Purva...and you both make such a lovely pair. Touchwood!'
Nachiket grinned at Bani and remarked, 'By the way, I heard that Shanky and you were supposed to do a dance number...what happened?'
Bani flushed a bit but regaining her composure, replied back, 'I think he got a little drunk...Abdul Chacha has put him back in his room...I doubt he will wake up before tomorrow morning...I actually wanted to speak with both of you regarding that...'
Looking at her hesitation, Purva held her hand and said, 'Why are you hesitating? Tell us!'
'Erm...Actually...we had really put in a lot of hard-work for the dance number...and its such a pity that Shashank can't do it...so I was wondering, that is if you don't mind...can...can Nachiket do it instead of Shashank?'
Before Nachiket could even react, Purva literally jumped in joy and yelled, 'Of course! What is there to ask? Oooh...I am dying to see it! Come on Nachi....go...go!'
Bani looked beseechingly at Nachiket and he gave her a friendly grin, stating, 'Well...why not? I saw you and Shashank practicing for the dance...and though I am no twinkle toes like you, Bani...I guess, I can still manage.'
She beamed and added, 'I will ask Pushkar and Saurabh to join too...and maybe a couple of more boys from our Bangalore team!'
'Oh! Wow! Ek Anaar, Sau Bimaar?' teased Purva, as the three of them burst out giggling.
The Dance Number
Jai all but dropped his glass of Whisky, when he saw Bani making an appearance on the make-shift stage, dressed in that audacious lehenga choli and followed by not one, but several boys, including his own brother...as they began dancing on the number, 'Radha' from Student of the Year.
He did not know how to react...with outrage as she danced with all those boys, or with laughter as he conceded that she had pulled one over him.
Bani was a natural dancer and given that she was absolutely seething to take revenge from Jai on what he had done, she danced with even more passion and freedom...giving a stupendous performance and causing every single guest present to get up and give a standing ovation.
As soon as the dance got over, Bani was besieged by Purva, her friends and cousins and everyone from her Bangalore team and she had a hard time, trying to look at Jai and see what his reaction was. As always, the moment she had finished her performance, all her anger and annoyance melted like butter in the hot sun and she started feeling guilty for having gone against Jai's wishes.
Karuna waylaid Bani and gushed, 'Haeeeeeeee Baneeeeeeee...kya dance that! Kya dance tha! Maza aa gaya! Hai! If not for that murderer boy-friend of yours...By God ki Kasam, I would have got you married to one of my husband's nephews from Amritsar today itself! Haeeeeeeeee...'
Bani gurgled with laughter and hugging back Karuna, remarked, 'Thank you, Didi! And my boyfriend is NOT a murderer!' and then added impishly, 'Your Potlu is just giving a bad name to the love of my life.'
'Hai! Why is he doing that?' asked Karuna in all innocence.
'That I don't know...but trust me, my boyfriend is not a murderer....he is actually a very nice man.'
'Hmmm...is that why he gave you all those marks on your back? Nice men don't do that, Bani....only the Not-so-nice men do that!' quipped Karuna, winking at Bani and bursting into a hysterical giggle, moved off, calling for one of her daughters and leaving Bani red faced and blushing.
Bani could spot Jai in a distance, but there was no way that she could approach him right away. He was surrounded by a bevy of women, some of them, to Bani's chagrin, were all over him, as he basked in the attention they were showering on him and charmed the pants off them.
She fumed and took out her mobile phone, jabbing a message to him.
'Me - Nt allowed even a dance. You - Can flirt with so many women? Is this justice?'
Her mobile didn't buzz back for a long time and Bani could see that Jai was still laughing and talking to a couple of society ladies, even caressing one overtly-dressed woman's face and making her dissolve like a puddle.
She was about to turn back and go, feeling disappointed that he wasn't even replying back, when her mobile buzzed.
'U Forget. Me - Pot of Honey. Obviously Flies will be attracted.'
Taking a deep breath and tightening her lips in displeasure, she wrote back furiously,
'Me - Dnt care if you're Pot of Honey or Pot of Fevicol. If I'm nt allowed 2 speak with others, nor r u. Get that?'
Her mobile buzzed a little quicker this time.
'You - Where's d attitude cmng from? Let me set u right tonight...'
She blushed and wrote back,
'U r d 1 who needs 2 b set rite. Spoilt brat!'
'What did you just say?' his deep voice came booming into her ears.
Stunned by his sudden appearance out of nowhere, she jumped and looked back in astonishment.
He was standing, staring at her with a devilish look in his eyes, toying the crystal glass in his hands and then before she could say anything, took the glass and swept it slowly against her cheeks, making her go hot and cold with his bold and sumptuous moves, without paying any heed to what people might think.
'Jai! What are you doing? For god sake...Massi is standing just few feet from here...please!' she begged, looking here and there nervously, as everyone's attention seemed to be on the place where Jai went to.
'So? I don't care...' he muttered, coming closer to her.
'Jai! Get a grip! And I CARE! Please! We can't do these things in public...what will people think!'
He simply, winked at her and sang sweetly into her ears, 'Kuch toh log kahenge...logon ka kaam hai kehna...'
Bani's cheeks turned a shade of light pink, as she exclaimed in an awe-struck voice, 'You...You sing beautifully...'
He bowed slightly and replied back, 'Thank you Madmoiselle! You flatter me!'
'Madame...what?' she asked, never hesitating to display her lack of knowledge in front of Jai.
'Madmoiselle...that's French for Young Lady or Miss!' and then giving her a look, added, 'Vous êtes tres belle!'
'What?' she asked him in a puzzled voice.
'That's French for you are so lovely.'
She blushed with pleasure and lowering her eyes, mumbled, 'Thank you.'
'You mean, Merci beaucoup ! That's French for Thank you.' he quipped.
'Your French is very good!' she said, giving him a shy smile.
'Vous avez de beaux seins!' he remarked with an innocent look.
She mumbled back with equal innocence, of course, her innocence being sincere, 'Does that also mean thank you, for the compliment I gave?'
Finishing off his drink, he carelessly threw the glass on the lawns and replied in a laden voice, 'No. That't French for, Your Chumps are also very good!'
Giving her a wicked smirk and a wink, he whistled a tune and went on, turning Bani red with embarrassment, as she picked up the glass from the ground and shook her head, muttering incoherent stuff against Jai.
Bani was caught between feeling totally outraged by the way he kept passing near obscene remarks on her but also kept giggling as she realized that he was openly amusing and humorous, rendering it impossible for anyone to win with him in any argument.
She noticed that he was now seated alongside Purva's father and her brother and messaged to him,
'It is impossible 2 win with you in any argument, isn't it?'
Bani saw that he read her message and a smile came on his lips, as he excused himself and wrote her back;
'I charge 25 K per appearance, sweetheart...if u culd win an argument with me, who the fuck would hire me to fight their case?'
Shaking her head, she wrote back;
'U shuld nt use so many bad words...'
He replied back instantly;
'U r rite...I sud just concentrate on doing bad things...2 u...that's much more fun even.'
She burst out giggling and wrote back;
'U r simply hopeless, Jai.'
Saurabh had just called Bani for some work, when she saw his message beeping on her mobile;
'I know babes...and I will show u what else I'm tonite...can't wait enuf...hope u don't have to return that dress u r wearing...cause it won't be in a condition worth returning by 2morrow mrng.'
She simply shook her head, trying to suppress her laughter and blushing and kept her mobile back in her purse, praying to God that no one should ever get to read her Inbox. Ever.
The Sangeet went on magnificently and everyone was having the time of their life and Bani was enjoying too, except when she remembered two things.
One, Jai's impending surgery and his serious illness. She had been trying very, very hard to be positive and think only the best, praying to every God she knew that Jai should be alright. She had already decided on a series of fasts she was going to keep till his surgery was over, successfully, despite knowing how much he despised anything religious. Somehow, she had a feeling that everything would be fine...and that God would not take him away from her, once again.
Second, was the unintentional promise she had given to Jai. That she would stay behind in Delhi with him. What had she done in the flow of love and passion? What on earth was she going to tell everyone? And how would she face the world if she decided to stay with Jai without getting married to him?
Bani realized that he hadn’t even told her that he loved her, leave aside talking about marriage. She did not blame him...Jai was simply like that. His mind did not function in the way that other, normal people's mind functioned. He was only capable of thinking what affected him, without bothering about how his actions and decision affected others.
Bani did not see it as his selfishness...but rather as the way Jai was made. She had long accepted him the way he was and she could understand him, even if others were baffled by him all the time.
But that still did not help her in trying to solve her dilemma.
Of course, she wanted to be with Jai. He was at a critical juncture in his life...he had a major surgery scheduled in a couple of weeks...he would have to be hospitalized...he would have to undergo severe medication and treatments...obviously, she would be with him. Every single moment of their lives.
But how on earth, was she going to explain her relationship to the world, without Jai giving a name to it?
And despite, the fact that she had actually gone ahead and given herself to Jai, mind, body and soul, somehow she could not get herself to ask him if he would marry her.
Bani had long ago realized that the moment she had chosen to fall in love with a man like Jai, she had sacrificed everything she had, including her self-respect and pride...but to beg him to marry her? That was not possible. That was about the last shred of dignity she had and despite being madly in love with Jai, she refused to cross that line on her own.
At the same time, she could not go back on the promise she had given him. She could not go back to Bangalore...even if for a few days to settle everything and explain things to her foster family and at her workplace. Jai would simply not tolerate her going away. Whatever the situation was.
If she had to face the world's taunts and remonstrations, on living with a man without social santion, then that was simply her destiny.
Her love for Jai was above everything for her, now.
A While Later
It was close to eleven at night and a majority of the guests had left, with only the Raheja and Walia Family staying behind, chattering and laughing, excited about the wedding that was going to happen in the next two days.
Everyone was gathered around the lawns,
'Dada...it’s not fair! Everyone danced today, except you!' complained Nachiket.
Jai gave him a look and said, 'I don't dance, you know that!'
'But Jai...you do sing! Yaar, ek gaana hi ga de!' chided Ranveer, making everyone clap and cheer Jai for singing a song.
'No...No...' insisted Jai, but no one gave up.
He grunted and made faces and generally acted very pricey, till he saw Bani, who was standing at some distance, giving orders to the workers along with Saurabh to clear the place.
She was listening to the conversation that was being held and she simply looked at him and mouthed silently, 'Please sing.' He did not react, just kept staring at her, till she smiled shyly and made a sign, showing, 'For me.'
He cocked his head slightly to one side and announced, 'Okay...I will sing.'
There was a thunderous round of applause and hooting, especially from Nachiket, Purva, Karuna, Ranveer and Tarun. Pooja was hooting the loudest, much to both Jai and Bani's combined amusement.
Bani had turned her head towards the other side, mostly to hide her happiness at how he had agreed to sing just for her and spoke to Saurabh, 'Saurabh...you please handle this...I will go and speak to Mr. Khurana's assistant regarding the wedding arrangement. Okay?'
Bani was about to leave from the place, when she heard, Jai's sonorous, melodic voice, floating in the magical night,
'Abhi na jao chod kar...ke dil abhi bhara nahin...Abhi na jao chod kar...ke dil abhi bhara nahin....'
Turning a full 180 degrees and going warm and pink all over, Bani could only look back at him in astonishment, as Jai toyed with the crystal glass in his hand and sang with such emotion and meaning, that she simply could not uproot herself.
'Abhi Abhi toh aayi ho...Bahaar ban ke chaayi ho...Fiza zara mehek toh le...yeh dil zara behek to le...ye shaam dhal toh le zaraa...yeh shaam dhal toh leh zara, yeh dil machal toh le zara...mein thodi de jee toh loon...nashe ke ghoot pee toh loon...Abhi toh kuch kaha nahin...Abhi toh kuch suna nahin...Abhi na jao chod kar...ke dil abhi bharaa nahin...'
Bani could barely react to the song that he had dedicated to her, as she saw everyone clapping thunderously and cheering Jai for the wonderful way in which he had sung!
'Wow Jai! That was just amazing...absolutely outstanding! Tell me, were you singing for someone in particular?' asked Purva's father jokingly.
Jai gave a crooked smile in Bani's direction and said, 'Maybe...Maybe...' And burst out laughing as he saw colour rushing into Bani's face, while she turned around and literally ran away, unable to face him anymore.
Somehow, she could still manage to be on her own while he did unthinkable things to her in the bedroom...but that simple song dedication was so overwhelmingly romantic, that she was unable to stop both her tears and her smiles, making Mr. Khurana's assistant wonder what on earth had gone wrong with the young lady?
Around Mid-night
Everyone from the Raheja Family had left, after a huge and what seemed to Jai, never-ending round of greeting and hugging, praising the Sangeet Function and inviting everyone over for the Mehendi Function that was to be held in one of Purva's Uncle's Farmhouse.
Bani had gone back to her room along with Pooja and Jigyasa, as they quickly went over the list of things they were supposed to get done for the remaining two functions, before they left for Bangalore.
'Bani...today's Sangeet was just smashing! Pooja and you and Saurabh have done an amazing job...I have no words to describe it! And now I want you to head the Fernandez Wedding Party that is scheduled for next month on your own...completely...you can choose your own team!' smiled Jigyasa, as Pooja did a thumbs up in excitement.
Bani's face paled...what was she supposed to say to Jigyasa? That leave aside taking up another assignment, she wasn't even going back to Bangalore with them? She simply kept quiet, giving a faint smile and looking decidedly worried on what the future was going to bring.
She could not imagine how Jai's Massi was going to react when she would get to know that she and Jai were going to live together, without getting married. And Pia? How on earth would she face her own little sister? How many lectures and scolding’s had she given to Pia on morality? And now?
Looking at her face, Jigyasa assumed that Bani was just exhausted which was natural and announced, 'Okay...let us call it a day now! We have to leave for Purva's farmhouse first thing in the morning to look at the arrangements...you girls go to sleep now and be fresh and energetic when you wake up tomorrow!'
Bidding goodnight, Jigyasa left for her own room, while Pooja also yawned, stretching her arms and then noticing that Bani was still in her Lehenga and Choli dress, while the rest of them had already changed into much more comfortable clothes, commented, 'How come you haven’t' changed Bani? Considering how shy you were wearing it in the first place?'
Bani blushed and made some excuse about not having got the time and then looking at the wall clock, said to Pooja, 'Poojie...it’s really late. And didn't Jigyasa Mam say that we have to be up early? Go and sleep now!'
Pooja nodded her head and kissing Bani on her cheeks, left for her room. Bani kept checking her mobile phone; there was no message from Jai, not even a reply to the one she had sent about an hour ago, asking him where he was. She kept sitting on the bed, wondering whether she should go to his room or just forget about it and go to sleep. Restless and unable to decide, she got up and went out of her room, quietly making her way across to the other wing of the Farmhouse, towards Jais' room.
She had covered herself with a Poncho and was scared as hell that in a house full of people, someone might easily see her, even though it was so late at night. But thankfully, she was unnoticed and when she came near his room, she hesitated before knocking on the door. Bani felt torn between the values she had been brought up with and the way she was eroding every single of that value...though for the sake of her love.
It was one thing, when she and Jai acted in impulsiveness, but this was deliberate and she was initiating it...if she wanted, she could simply go back to her room and go to sleep. But she had had walked upto his room on her own...trapped and confused, Bani simply stood there, when she heard footsteps coming from below and was shocked out of her life, on seeing Karuna walking up, yawning and carrying a bottle of milk in her hands. She remembered that Karuna was occupying a room which was in the same wing as Jai's room and now Bani did not know what to do.
If she tried to go from there, Karuna would surely see her and being the shrewd lady she was, would quickly calculate two plus two and know that she and Jai were having an affair. Bani knew that the way Jai was working things, everyone would come to know about it as soon as Nachiket got married or maybe not...but she wanted to delay it as much as possible. Terrified, she pushed open the door of Jai's room and slipped in, standing near the door, till she heard Karuna's footsteps fading away in the distance.
Jai's Room
Taking a huge sigh of relief, she put her head on the door, when she realized with a start, that she was in Jai's room and there wasn't any reaction from him. Not even a sound. Taken aback and panicking, she turned to look for him and saw that she was lying on the bed, still in his evening clothes.
'Jai?' she called out, throwing the poncho aside and rushing across to the bed, sitting on the edge and looking at him. He looked pale and exhausted, rubbing his head and had his eyes closed.
Petrified that he was not feeling well, she held both her hands and rubbing them, asked him frantically, 'Jai? Are you alright? You don't look well at all...'
He opened his eyes slowly and replied back in a dawdling voice, 'I am okay...bloody headache...had too much to drink...didn't work well with my regular medicines...'
And then giving her a smile, added, 'I suppose, I got my punishment for mixing drugs in your beloved Shanky's drink!'
She had tears in her eyes, yet she giggled and put her head on his chest, as he held her lightly by his arms.
'I am okay, sweetie. Don't get so worked up about me...in fact, get used to it.'
'I won't get worked up...but please don't tell me to get used to it. I have no need to get used to it....you will be perfectly fine.' she sobbed back, still lying on his chest.
'Ever the optimist. My sweet, sweet girl-next-door.' he rhymed, making her cry some more.
She lifted her head slightly from his chest and looking at him, said, 'I was worried...you didn't reply to my Sms...so I came to see...'
'Will it kill you if you admit that you came here so that we could have S-E-X?' he asked her in a matter-of-fact way.
Instantly embarrassed and exasperated, she snapped back, 'Of course not! This is the only thing in your mind, all the time! I came to see how you were doing and...and to talk!'
He looked amused and still lying down on the bed, asked her, 'Really? Talk? Why the hell would I waste my time talking to a young, beautiful girl dressed like that at one in the morning?'
Blushing and looking really infuriated with the way, Jai kept pulling her leg, she replied back tersely, 'We used to talk all the time, back in Mukteshwar. And only Talk and do nothing else! You didn't have any problem back then?'
'Well, obviously, sweetheart!' he replied, getting up slowly, as not to strain his back and pulling her nearer to him, looked at her and said, 'Back then, you looked like a Sack of Potatoes! What could a man do except talk with you?'
Bani glared back at him upset and could barely utter anything, till he added, giving her a lascivious look, 'And now you look like a ripe, juicy mango, ready for plucking! Do I look like a fool, who would talk to the Mango than relish her up?'
Going red with embarrassment, she all but yelled back, 'Oh! God! You are the absolute limit! How cheap! How can you compare me to Potatoes and Mangoes?' she demanded.
Absolutely unperturbed by her display of indignation, he smiled and said smoothly, 'Very easy...you used to weight 82 Kilograms and had hips the size of rocks...then you were a Potato...and now you weigh 62 Kgs and have Chumps the size of...'
'JAI! Stop saying Chumps...Chumps...all the time!' she exclaimed, taking a cushion and banging it on his head, as if the downy cushion was going to cause him great injury.
'Alright...I will use the anatomically correct word...Mammary Glands...now you have Mammary Glands the size of...'
'That is enough now!' she howled, putting her hand over Jai's mouth and pulling his ears, as they both burst out laughing and he took her into his warm, cosy embrace.
They kept laughing, lying down on the bed, with their feet entwined and Jai resting his head on her upper body.
'If I had any idea, you would turn out like this...Jai Walia...I would have never made the mistake of sending that bowl of Kichdi over to you!' she remarked, albeit playfully.
'And if I had any idea, that you would end up becoming so hot, I would have never wasted time playing scrabble with you, when I could have played love games!'
'Jai!'
'Bani!'
They once again burst into laughter, lying in each other's arms, as Bani gently dishevelled his hair and kept kissing his head.
'Hey...I am sorry...we can't do it tonight...my back is not good...' he said.
'Do it tonight? Do you really think that is why I came here?' she questioned him.
'I don't know about you, sweetheart...but I sure wanted to do it with you. I don't believe in hypocrisy when it comes to such things.'
Ignoring his statement, she asked him gently, 'Is your back really painful?'
'Hmmm...not really...but it is strained...and that medicine I have taken is making me woozy.'
Bani lifted his head slightly and spoke sympathetically, 'Jai...then take rest...please. You are going to be very busy for the coming two days...don't over-work yourself...and go to sleep..I can see dark circles under your eye already.'
She was about to get up and say goodbye to him, before leaving for her room, but he did not let her budge.
'Hey...just because I can't do it tonight, you are leaving me?' he asked her, teasingly, knowing that it would provoke her.
And it did.
'Excuse me? I am not interested in DOING IT all the time, like you! I came here because I had promised you and also because I was worried about you.'
'If that is so, then stay back. Make me sleep...apparently the Donoryl was the last pill I had with me...that went to the bloody Shanky...now I can't sleep.'
She giggled despite being reminded of Jai's brutishness in making poor Shashank consume a sleeping draught and she said affectionately, 'Okay. Here let me get up and you can put your head on my lap.'
He smiled and did so, as she folded her feet and sat against the headrest of the huge bed, as Jai placed his head on her lap, comfortably ensconcing herself, while she gently ruffled his hair.
'Now sing me a song.' he demanded.
'A song?'
'Yes...A song...A S-O-N-G.' he repeated, catching hold of her slim waist with both his arms and forming a circle.
She was quiet for a couple of seconds and then in her soothing, sweet voice, though not as melodious and sensual as Jai's voice, yet so much comforting and filled with all her love and care for him, she sang;
'Chanda re Chanda re...dheere se muska...Haule se haule se...palko mein chup ja...'
She sang for a couple of minutes, stroking him adoringly like he was a small child and when she noticed that he was not making a lot of movement, she stopped singing and just kept humming, while bending forward and taking a look at his face to see whether he was asleep or not.
Just as she did it, he opened his eyes and announced, 'Bad Idea!'
'What? Why? I thought you were sleeping already!'
'You song instead of making me sleepy has made me horny.'
'Horny?' she asked, completely oblivious about the colloquial speech words that Jai kept using.
'Meaning, it makes me feel like DOING IT right away! And I can't...because of my back...Why Bani? Why?' he announced in mock-agony, making her dissolve into peals of laughter.
She pinched him on his cheeks and said, 'My God! You are just something else, Jai! Now just close your eyes and try to sleep.'
'I can't babes...' he muttered, turning on his back and looking up at her face, while lying on her lap.
Bani blushed and in an attempt to divert his attention, looked at the several paintings hung on the wall and asked him, 'What are those paintings? They look really nice.'
He turned his look at the stone-washed walls, where the paintings were hung and said causally, 'Oh! These! Well...the one on the far right corner is a Jamini Roy...the one next to it...the woman carrying a pot...is an Amrita Shergill...the one in the middle are Tyeb Mehta...S.H. Raza, Nandlal Bose...and that big one on that wall is MF Hussain!'
'Oh! I have heard about him!' Bani exclaimed, looking at the painting, which seemed more like a fabric than Canvas.
Looking at her expression, Jai smiled and said, 'Actually that has a very interesting story!'
'I love listening to your stories!' she grinned, looking enthusiastic and making him laugh.
Changing his position on her lap, he crossed both his hands and said, 'during one of my earliest cases...there was this guy...a small time railway contractor from Calcutta...he was accused of murdering one of his rivals...and someone recommended my name to him. I was not interested in taking up his case...but I still went to his house to meet his family and chanced upon this white cotton Saree that was kept in the living room...it had a beautiful painting done on it. I recognized MF Hussain's handiwork instantly. On asking, the wife of that man told me MF Hussain used to be their neighbour long back, before he gained fame as a painter and he used to come to their house and being the creative nut-case genius that he was...used to pick up her sarees and start painting. When I asked her if she had any more of them...she told me that they had simply thrown it away because they could not be worn anymore...uncivilized brutes...this was the only piece left!'
Bani listened with fascination to Jai's tale, he was a master at words and she was simply mesmerized by the way he told her things.
'What happened then?' she asked with eagerness.
He gave her a smile and said, 'What else? I took up the case on the condition that the Saree with MF Hussain's painting would be mine...those dolts were more than happy and I secured an invaluable art-piece!'
'But did you win the case?'
'Of course, Babes! I always win!' he announced, making her smile brightly.
'That was...that was fascinating, Jai!' she mumbled, looking at the abstract painting in black on the white cotton background.
'In my knowledge, Hussain never painted on fabric again, only on Canvas...so I am probably the only person with this unique piece of work. I havent' got it valued yet...but I should be guessing its range to be around 50.'
'Thousand?' she asked with wide eyes.
Jai gave her a stare and hitting her gently on the top of her head, said, 'Not thousand, lakhs! You silly goose!'
'50 Lakh for a painting on a piece of Saree?' asked Bani, looking shocked out of her life.
Jai had to laugh on the expression of shock on her face and added in a serious voice, 'The total value of all the paintings in this room itself is upwards of 5 Crores! The period furniture should be another 1 C...the carpets and durries...which have all been illegally imported from Iran should be another 50 lakhs...some first-edition books...which should be around 10 lakhs...my collection of watches...3 Crores...and some other stuff.'
Getting his head down from her lap, he put his head on the pillow and pulled her down to lie with him, taking her into his arms.
'I will put everything in your name...everything in this room is yours.' he announced in an unassuming manner.
She kept quiet for some time and then looked at him with tear-filled eyes and said brokenly, 'I need just one thing that is in this room, Jai. And that's you.'
He smiled slightly and said, 'Bani...if I didn't know you better, I would have thought that you are lying...any one would choose wealth over an insufferable, physically defective man like me...but knowing you, I can actually believe that you would rather have me than anything else.'
Bani broke down crying, burying her face in his chest and scolded him in a sobbing voice, 'Stop calling yourself, insufferable and physically defective...YOU ARE MINE NOW. You can't call any bad names to someone who belongs to me.'
Jai chortled and embraced her firmly, planting kisses all over her misty face and said, 'God...you are so cute, Bani! And okay...I am sorry...I won't call myself 'Bad Names'...since I now belong to you and only you get to decide what to call me. Happy?'
She wiped her tears and looked up at him and spoke in a bad-tempered voice, 'I love you.' Like she was telling him to get lost rather than announcing her love.
Jai stared at her and burst out laughing hysterically, mimicking the way she cried and spoke to him, making her annoyed and making her laugh at the same time, as he tickled her all over her body and they kept laughing and fighting and arguing with each other for a good part of the night.
Some time later
Jai had dozed off, spooning Bani in between his torso, placing his arm across her midriff and burying his face in the nape of her neck, covered by her silky hair. She was holding his hands in hers and was unable to sleep, despite the fatigue she felt.
Okay...so he hadn't even mentioned marriage...but why didn't he even tell her that he loved her too? He had laughed and brushed off what she had said. Why? Bani knew that he loved her...she had always known it...maybe she wasn't sure about it, but now there was no doubt.
Then?
Why was he holding himself back? She knew everything about him...he had disclosed everything about his illness...she had accepted it, without any reservations.
Bani felt desperately restless...why couldn't he simply say that he loved her too? Just to keep her heart, even if he didn't really mean it? How much it meant for her to get his formal approval on their relationship?
Taking a deep breath, she turned the other side to face Jai and felt tears springing into the corner of her eyes, when she looked at him, sleeping peacefully, looking so innocent and calm. She touched his cheeks affectionately, tender and indulgent, not wanting to disturb his sleep.
She loved him so much...if God came to her right away and asked her life in exchange for his...she would happily and readily sacrifice herself. She could do anything for Jai. Anything.
Bani kept caressing his cheeks, as he flickered his eyelids and opened his eyes blearily, looking back at her face and gave her a faded, leisurely smile.
All he said was, ‘I feel better now. Thank you.’
They made love...without the urgency and aggressiveness that had consumed them before...because their act of lovemaking was always dominated by Jai.
And this time it was Bani, who undressed him slowly, without haste. Holding him close to her, she kissed him softly on his lips, stroking his cheeks with her fingers, caressing his body gently.
It was gentle, understanding, patient, comforting and compassionate - just like Bani.
Jai had gone to sleep again, not exhausted by their physical act, rather soothed down by her contiguity and the warmth of her body, his head placed on her chest and his arm around her waist, both their legs over each other.
She kept rubbing his hair softly, knowing how much he loved it and how it always made him feel sleepy. Ensuring that he had gone to sleep properly, she pulled herself very slowly and gently away from him, wrapping the extra bed sheet around her and placing her feet quietly on the floor, pulling the duvet over him.
Bani smiled dotingly at the vision of Jai sleeping like a baby and was about to get up to go and change into her clothes, so that she could be back in her room, when he held her arm, taking her by surprise and making her turn to look at him.
'I thought you were asleep...' she mumbled.
He said simply, 'I love you Bani. And I will always love you until I die and if there is indeed a life after that, I will keep loving you then too.'
She looked back at him with tears in her eyes and a smile on her lips...the irony that had always defined their relationship.
"It was a
million tiny little things that, when you added them all up, they meant we were
supposed to be together… and I knew it." – Tom Hanks, Sleepless In Seattle
Part 18
Morning
Bani had gone back to her room and despite the accumulated fatigue of the last few days, compounded by wakeful nights; she could still not manage to look cantankerous or irritable. There was just too much love in her heart and too much happiness in her life for her to be anything but in high spirits.
She came hopping to the Breakfast Table, dressed in a mauve and pink salwar kameez in chiffon, with silver oxidized buttons dangling as buttons, her fragrant, wet hair left open and her appearance glowing like a thousand full moons put together. It was impossible for anyone not to notice her Joie De Vivre.
Jigyasa smiled at her much-loved underling and observed, 'Someone looks in a great mood! Good! Good! Bani, we have to leave for Purva's place in another hour's time! Hope everything is in place?'
Giving a lively beam at her boss, Bani answered back with self-assurance, 'everything is ready, Mam. Saurabh has even booked the Cabs that will take us there.'
'Brilliant! And what about tomorrow's wedding prep?'
'Everything streamlined...one of us will come back early from Purva's place and get a lowdown on things, in case there is any last minute emergency!'
Fabulous, Bani! You have made me really happy!' smiled Jigyasa, helping herself to some more black coffee.
Karuna, Tarun, Massi and Nachiket had also joined them in the breakfast table and Bani's eyes seemed to search for her man, though she knew that he did not like so many people in his house at any given time and must have been having his breakfast in his study.
Karuna who was sitting opposite to Bani had a peculiar smile on her face, as she helped herself to a double dose of butter on her parantha and asked her meaningfully, 'Bani, are you looking for someone?'
Taken aback, she replied in a disconcerted fashion, 'No...No...No one...I was just...er...um...'
'It’s okay...It’s okay...I understand!' teased Karuna, making Bani uneasy and nibble on her parantha.
Just then, everyone's attention went on Jai, who came marching by, literally sweeping everything aside on his way, shouting on his phone in his powerful baritone;
'I DON’T CARE! We are NOT going in for a plea bargain! Chaturvedi can go and take a hike! Listen Adi...my client is NOT pleading guilty to the charges! I don't care if he is guilty or not! The point is that he is NOT pleading guilty and no matter how much pressure that bloody, two-cent, public prosecutor puts on us, I am not giving in! Get that? TELL THAT SON OF A ....' Jai trailed off, when he saw his entire family, along with Jigyasa and her assemblage and of course, his lady love, seated around the dining table, gaping at him.
He calmed down a bit and spoke in a more civil tone, 'NO. I do not want a meeting set up with Mr. Chaturvedi. I don't have time for people like him. Please Adi...learn to tackle this on your own. Yes...I am coming to office today... I have a meeting with Adjani...and I have a couple of notes to dictate to Sheryl. On another note, your ex-wife is missing you like hell! Are you coming for the stag party tonight?'
Jigyasa almost choked on her coffee and glared back at Jai, as he winked at her and she laughed, showing him her hand.
'Okay then, Adi! See you in about an hour's time? Bye.'
Pooja who was munching on a sand-which gave a slushy eyed look at Jai, who was looking extremely dynamic in a button down formal shirt in stark white, a lawyer’s preferred colour, with Tiffany cufflinks, charcoal grey trousers, black and grey striped tie, holding it in place with a tiny tie-pin and he had his hair freshly showered and combed back. He was as always, well-groomed and self-assured and Bani had to use all her will-power to not lose her senses when his cologne assaulted her senses, as he took his seat at the head of the table.
It was so odd...she felt completely at ease and assured when they were together...but the moment, they were put in a public situation, she seemed to be unduly nervous and edgy. It was probably to do with the fact that they were having a torrid, secret affair and no one had a clue about it.
While Jai was always unflappable and kept his wits in any occasion, Bani could not do the same and the moment Jai came anywhere near her, colour filled her cheeks and she went warm behind her ears.
Giving a perfunctory nod to everyone and a slightly lingering one at Bani, who blushed when he smiled at her and dissolved herself into the plate in front of her, Jai started conversing with Massi, Tarun and Karuna, regarding the wedding that was to take place the next day.
'Jai! Why are you going to work today? Its Purva Bahu's mehendi function! We are all going there! And what is this stage party tonight?' asked Massi, making the youngsters from Jigyasa's team giggle.
'Massi! It’s not stage...its Stag...and it’s the party given to all bachelors a day before their wedding...something like a Farwell to freedom! And I have work today...lots of it! But I will be back early!'
Massi nodded her head, getting up, saying that she had some work to oversee, before the mehendi went from the Walia House for Purva.
'Jai, beta...did you get those jewels from the bank? The one we have to give to Purva?' asked Massi.
Jai closed his eyes and exclaimed, 'completely swept off my mind...good you reminded me. The bank is on my way...I will pick it up from the locker and get it with me on my way back.'
As soon as Massi left along with Nachiket, Tarun and Jigyasa's team, only Jai, Bani and Karuna were left in the table. Bani was still picking on her food and when she saw that there were only the three of them, she started gobbling down whatever was left in the plate and make a move as soon as possible.
'abhi abhi toh aayi ho...bahaar ban ke chaayi ho...fiza zara mehek toh le...yeh dil zaraa behek toh le...' Jai and Bani were taken aback, as Karuna suddenly started humming the song that Jai had sung the previous night, as she buttered a brown toast for him and put it on his plate.
'What on earth was that, Dimpy?' asked Jai, passing a look at Bani, who looked like a scuttled rabbit, scared out of her wits at being spotted by the hunter.
Karuna gave an eloquent smile at Jai and said, 'My dear Potlu...aisa hai, you might be a brilliant lawyer. What might be...you are! We all know that! But still...there are something’s that even the most intelligent and smart people on this planet cannot manage to hide.'
'I don't understand a thing that you are saying.' announced Jai, in an unemotional voice, though he knew where Karuna was going.
She smiled at him and then passed a look at Bani, who was blushing like there was no tomorrow and was making too much noise with her cutlery, gobbling up her porridge with alarming speed and said in a teasing voice, 'Ishq aur Mushq chupaye nahin chupte hain...'
Jai stared at his cousin for a couple of seconds and he could feel the colour rise up in his face, yet he maintained his calm and asked in a very indifferent voice, 'Did you drink my Port instead of our Ginger Tea in the morning, Dimpy?'
Karuna laughed and caught hold of Bani's hands, as she desperately finished her breakfast and hastily got up from the dining table to move out, and declared softly, 'Jai...even if you go out with the Sun as a Lamp, you won't get a girl like her! So stop fooling around with this poor thing and just get married in an honourable way.'
Bani felt her heart lurching outside of her rib-cage and instantly blurted out, 'No...Didi...nothing like that...'
'Oh, come on Bani! Don't, No didi me...I am much older than you and older than your murderer boyfriend too...so I know what is what!' said Karuna, breaking into peals of laughter, especially on seeing the look of pure astonishment on Jai's face and Bani's acute tension.
'Dimpy! Seriously!' snapped Jai, feeling highly self-conscious and also dismayed.
Karuna stopped chuckling and said to him, 'I am being serious, Jai! I know what is going on between the two of you! What I don't understand is that why are you wasting your time in all this? Just get married to her!'
Jai was incensed by now and Bani despairing, looking at the expression of cold rage on his face and pleaded Karuna to not rake up this topic, especially with the house teeming full of people.
Karuna simply shrugged her head and said, 'I don't understand! What on earth is stopping both of you? Jai! We are traditional people! Your brother also had an affair with Purva…If he can get married to her, why on earth....'
'That is enough, Karuna. ENOUGH.' announced, Jai in a voice that instantly silenced Karuna's chirping and made Bani go cold.
Pushing aside his breakfast plate, Jai got up and picked up his blazer, giving an expression of pure, cold rage at his cousin and then at his lover and said, 'I don't want to get married. Ever. End of topic. I have not given false promises to anyone. So whoever wants to be in a relationship with me, knows where I am coming from. And Karuna...don't mind, but this is none of your bloody business. Please stay out of it.'
Saying that he stormed off in fury, bellowing for Abdul to get his files and looking absolutely mad with rage.
Bani had started weeping silently by now, trembling with fear at the display of rage from Jai, yet she held onto Karuna's hands and said, 'Didi...I am so sorry for all that he said...please don't mind...'
Karuna got up and catching hold of both her shoulders, smiled and said, 'Silly girl! You think I would feel bad about what he said? Jai is like my own brother...whatever he might think of me. I don't feel bad about anything he said...he has always been like this! Anger sitting on the tip of his nose! That was not the point, Bani! The point is that he can't keep you hanging like this midway! I know he has always led a very freethinking and liberated lifestyle...he and his innumerous lists of girlfriends and affairs...but you are not like those women, Bani. And you have no need to be.'
Bani shook her head and spoke with desperation, 'Didi...it’s true...we have never discussed marriage...I...'
'Don't defend him unnecessarily. He has not discussed marriage. Don't tell me, you haven't thought about it? For goodness sake...it’s your right to ask him!'
Bani looked increasingly nervous and tried to explain things to Karuna, but she silenced her and said calmly, 'At least ask him, Bani! What does he mean by he won't get married? What is he going to do with you then? Go...Go and speak to him right now.'
Before Bani could say anything, Karuna pushed her towards the porch, where Jai was standing, waiting for Abdul to get his files and looking like thunder.
She approached him timorously and mumbled in a trembling voice, 'Jai...I...' she had no wish to talk about marriage...all she wanted to do was express regret to him on Karuna's behalf for pulling up this topic and displeasing him.
He did not even let her start her sentence and turning to face her, spoke in a cold voice, barely suppressing his fury, 'How dare you go and talk about our relationship with Karuna?'
Shocked at the baseless allegation, Bani could only stare back in befuddlement.
'You know very well that I cannot stand any kind of interference in my personal life and despite knowing that, you went and announced about us to my cousin, of all the people? I am so disappointed in you, Bani!'
She was weeping by now and spoke pleadingly, 'that's not true, Jai. I did not say anything to Karuna didi. I swear...not one word. And regarding our marriage...'
'Oh! God! Marriage! Marriage! Marriage! As if it’s the only thing left in the world! TO HELL WITH MARRIAGE!' he shouted on her, not even bothered that some of Bani's colleagues were staring at both of them from a distance, wondering what on earth was going on between the two of them.
Taking a deep breath, he soothed down a bit, but still held the resentment and reproach in his voice and said, 'Bani, please get this clear. Very clear. No one dictates terms and conditions with me, alright? Be it in my profession or in my personal life...NO ONE TELLS ME WHAT TO DO. I decide what to do. Always. So if you have any issue with my policy, then you still have time to move out. But if you are hoping that I am going to slip an engagement ring on your finger by end of day today, you are WRONG. I love you, but that is it. I don't want to give any name to our relationship. Either learn to live with that or learn to live without me. The choice is yours.'
Saying that he stormed off, leaving Bani in a pool of tears, as she ran back to her room and cried her heart out.
It took a lot of shouting on Jigyasa's part for Bani to finally calm down and come down to leave for Purva's house for the Mehendi Function. She was so rattled by all that had happened in the morning and even though Jai had hurt her immensely by his cold, cruel words, she was still concerned for him...worried that he would think that she was trying to put pressure on him to get married.
On their way to the farmhouse, Bani had excused herself and was sitting in the back of the 8-seater van and taking out her mobile, while constantly wiping her eyes, telling everyone that she was having an eye-infection, she messaged him;
'I'm very sorry 4 what happened in d morning...I swear upon God...I did nt tell anythng 2 didi...dnt know how she came 2 know...pls dnt b upset with me. Please.'
They reached Purva's Farmhouse and there was still no reply from Jai. Feeling very worried that he was still angry with her; she stayed behind for a couple of moments and wrote back to him again;
'Jai...I'm sorry. I really am. And I love you a lot...I dnt care about being married...I just want 2 b with u...I promise, this marriage topic will never cm up again. Please reply. Tl me dat u r nt upset wt me.'
Her mobile did tinkle this time and she looked at it with anxiety.
'I've work 2 do, Bani. Dnt hv time to send u back and forth messages all d time. Don't disturb me, please. And this topic is closed...dnt mention it again.'
Bani felt so heartbroken on reading his message, that she had to excuse herself and go to the washroom, to cry her heart out on what had happened and the fact that Jai was so upset with her.
She didn't care two hoots about getting married...she just wanted Jai and his happiness. Whatever be the personal cost to her. That was the choice she had made and that was the choice she wanted to live with.
The entire Mehendi ceremony went along very well for everyone, except Bani, who could simply not stop crying and had to keep hiding herself, so that no one got to know what was going on in her mind. She got scolded by Jigyasa a couple of times for her disappearing act and also for being so lacklustre and dull all of a sudden, when she had been a star performer a day before.
Karuna felt very apologetic for having created that scene in the morning and had a word with Bani, who, typical to her, assured Karuna that all was well and that Jai was not upset with her on anything.
Jai's Office
'Saale...you are such a....' remarked Ranveer, when Jai finished recounting the events of the morning and they both burst out laughing.
'Yes...Yes...I know what I am!' retorted Jai, smiling at the piece of jewellery that he was holding in between his fingers.
'You had to make that poor girl cry, isn't it?' probed Ranveer.
'Not my fault! That idiotic Dimpy...god knows how she guessed! Well actually...I am surprised how come no one else has guessed till now! I think it’s pretty apparent on our faces...especially on Bani's...she keeps blushing like a tomato every time I pass by!' laughed Jai indulgently.
'But why did you have to shout on her?' demanded Ranveer, as he took the 7 Carat Ruby and Diamond Cartier Engagement ring from Jai's hands and looked appreciatively at it.
'If I hadn't...then it would have been impossible to silence Dimpy...and then all my romantic plans would have gone down the drain!'
'God save women from your romantic plans, Jai!' laughed Ranveer.
'Not women...only WOMAN.' Answered Jai with a smile.
Ranveer grinned and said, 'I never thought I would hear this from you...Jai Walia...finally settling down! FINALLY!'
Jai smiled faintly and spoke in a forlorn voice, 'I just hope...I am putting an engagement ring on her finger and not a noose around her neck, yaar...somehow I can't help but feel guilty, that I am deliberately pushing her to widowhood...'
'Shut up Jai! Seriously! Didn't you promise me and also Bani that you would never speak like this?' Scolded Ranveer, feeling very upset about the way Jai kept making doomsday predictions about himself.
Sighing, Jai dishevelled his hair and said, 'One has to take everything into account, Ranveer. I am much more positive about the outcome of my treatment than I was before...but let’s face the fact...medically, I only have 50% chance of surviving...that means, Bani has a 50% chance of remaining married and 50% chance of becoming a widow. A young widow, at that.'
'Even if you both don't get married...she will still remain only yours! That girl is never going to be with anyone else. So at least give her the happiness of being a married woman...you know how much it means to her!' explained Ranveer.
Jai was quiet for some time and then spoke in a faraway voice, 'God...how I wish, I could live, Ranveer...If I had a choice today...I would give up everything I have...every single thing...in exchange of living my life with Bani...'
‘Think positive, Jai. Everything will be fine. You have taken the best decision of your life…now go and implement it. Leave the rest to God and to both your fates!’ Assured Ranveer.
Towards Evening
Purva's family had kept a ladies sangeet evening for all of Purva's cousins, friends and acquaintances and all the girls from Jigyasa's team were also asked to stay back, including Bani, who was also Purva's friend.
Bani could barely concentrate on anything and she wanted nothing but to go back to the Farmhouse and speak with Jai. She could not bear to lose him at any cost and as the day passed without getting any messages or phone calls from him, Bani kept fearing that he was really, really upset over what had happened in the morning and was probably assuming that it was Bani who filled Karuna's ears with everything.
Pooja came rushing to Bani, always in high-spirits and excited, 'Here you are! What on earth is wrong with you? Yesterday you were in such a brilliant mood...happy and full of life and today? You look like a fused bulb? PMS hai kya?'
Bani shook her head and said, 'Nothing...not feeling very well. Listen, Pooja...can I leave for the Farmhouse? I am not feeling very well...and tomorrow is the wedding also. I don't want to fall sick or anything before the wedding is over...there will be lots of work to do tomorrow.'
Pooja looked sympathetic and said, 'Oh! Don't worry yaar! Do one thing...Saurabh is about to leave for the Farmhouse...Mr. W is apparently throwing a big bash for Nachiket Sir...Stag Party...I heard rumours there are strippers and all!' she giggled.
'You leave with Saurabh and just go straight to your room and take some medicine and sleep. It seems like you havne't slept for the last few days...I will manage Jigyasa Mam here.'
Bani looked gratefully at Pooja and said, 'You are a friend in a million, Poojie. Thanks!'
'Come on now! Do I have to count how many times you have helped me out? And now before you go...at least put some mehendi on your palms!' said Pooja, dragging Bani towards the centre of the lawn, where the Mehndi Lady and her assistants were putting Mehendi on everyone's palms, having been done with the bride.
'No...No...Pooja...listen...' protested Bani, not at all in the mood to indulge in any such revelry, even though, she loved putting Mehendi on her palms, ever since she was a young girl.
'What no...no? It’s considered bad luck to go from a Mehendi Ceremony without putting it on your own palms...it decreases the life of your husband.'
Stunned at what she had heard, Bani exclaimed, 'What?'
'Yes...my grandmother used to say that if a young girl goes to a would be bride's mehendi ceremony and does not put some on her own hands, then it brings bad luck to the man she loves...now, I know that you are single...but you will find someone someday and get married to him, right? You don't want to bring any harm to him, do you? Even unintentional? So come!'
Bani did not have to be given any more arguments and she sat alongside one of Purva's cousins and let one of the assistant girl put mehendi on both her palms. She commented, 'What a beautiful hand you have, Madamji...you are very lucky. You will be loved to death by your man!'
Everyone laughed and teased Bani, even as she blushed pink and tried to fight back her tears, which overcame her.
'Will...Will he have a long life?' she asked quietly.
The assistant looked up and smiled, 'That I can't say...but I can say looking at your hand, that whatever life you both have together will be filled with a lot of love and happiness...'
Bani felt warm tears rolling down her cheeks and had to kept sniffing and give the excuse of a bad cold to explain her swollen eyes and cheeks.
Farmhouse
Saurabh, Pushkar and Nachiket who had also come to Purva's house for the Mehendi Ceremony drove back to the Farmhouse, in high spirits and chattering nineteen to the dozen, accompanied by Bani, who was sitting silently in the back of the Car.
Shashank was apparently still under the effect of the sleeping pill that Jai had fed him and was barely able to lift his head.
They reached the Farmhouse and the boys were all excited and eager about the Stag Party that Jai had organized, as Bani bid them goodnight and left for her room. She met Abdul on the way and asked him,
'Abdul Chacha...where is your Bade Sahabji?'
Abdul looked very busy and answered quickly, 'He is in the basement hall, Madamji...with Ranveer Sahib and some of his other friends...they are all having a party you know...for Chote Sahib...' and then added in a censorious voice, 'Some very dubious girls have also come...some dance shance...chi...chi...'
Bani looked embarrassed and bid him goodnight, leaving for her room and dissolving in a puddle of tears, the moment she closed the door and flung herself on the bed.
She could barely stop thinking about Jai the entire day, crying her heart out and he hadn't even bothered to ask her how she was doing? Instead, she was now hearing that they were all having a party with some strippers thrown in to boot.
Bani kept lying for some time, almost dozing off because of exhaustion, when she heard her mobile beep. She rubbed her bleary eyes and looked at her wrist watch; it was showing ten at night. She could hear sounds coming from below...apparently the party had begun.
She pressed the buttons on her mobile, assuming that it was Pia who was sending her a message regarding the wedding tomorrow, for which she had been invited.
'R u okay? Pushkar told me u cm bk with them cause u were nt feeling well. Kya hua?'
An instant smile came on her lips, when she saw it was Jai's message. She quickly replied;
'I'm fine...slight cold. Took medicine, taking rest. R u okay?'
He replied back in about thirty seconds;
'Hmm...okay....'
She could not understand the meaning of his message and wrote back,
'Still upset? I'm very, very sorry. This will never happen again. I promise.'
He wrote back;
'If u r so sorry...then apologize in person. Go 2 my room & wait 4 me.'
She seemed confused, but still wrote back;
'Now? But u r in a party...'
He instantly messaged back;
'I feel like 'Doing It' now...& since we ARE in a so-called relationship...I want u 2 b available 4 me always. So cm 2 my room in 5 mins.'
Shocked at his insensitive choice of words and the callous way in which he behaved with her, Bani instantly burst into tears. She wanted to tell him to go to hell, instead, wrote back;
'Okay.'
Jai's Bedroom
The Farmhouse was decidedly empty today, with all the women in Purva's house and all the men, downstairs in the basement, enjoying the Stag Party. And here she was, standing outside Jai's room, to fulfil his untimely carnal desires. Feeling about a hundred times cheaper than those strippers whom Jai had called.
She switched on the lights of the room and waited self-consciously in the empty, expansive room, for Jai to come. Her mobile droned;
'R u in my room?'
She closed her eyes and taking a deep breath, wrote back;
'Yes.'
He messaged back;
'I'll give u a set of instructions...follow them...till I cm. Okay?'
Bani did not even want to guess what sort of instructions he wanted her to follow now. She was simply distraught and inconsolable over all that had happened in the morning and the way Jai was acting now.
As if she was only worth sleeping with, whenever he wished to. Jai was simply beyond explanation at times.
Her mobile buzzed again and she read the message reluctantly;
‘Go 2 my study table...open my scrabble board, lay it on the table & take out the letter tiles.'
Surprised and taken aback by the strange commands, she nevertheless followed it and wrote to him;
'Done. What r u up to?'
Ignoring her question, he wrote again;
'Take out these tiles...1 W....2 M...1 E...2 R...1 A...1 U...1 O…1Y…2 L...and 1 I.'
Completely taken aback by his order and wondering what on earth he was up to, she did what she was asked to and wrote back to him;
'Done. But what is all this? Jai...I need 2 spk with u...pls...stop playing games...'
Her mobile whirred in a minute;
'Shut-up & do what u r asked 2. Now arrng those letters...W in d 7th square from left, M in square 4, 2 places down from W...both d R's in square 7, corresponding with the other M in triple-word square...'
Bani was completely baffled but so used to following his directives, especially when it came to Scrabble, that she kept doing what he told her to, without applying her brains.
'Done.' she wrote back.
He messaged her in an instant;
'Good girl. Now...arrange...A in square 8...U in square 9...E in square 10, Y and O corresponding in the dark blue triple letter square alongside U.’
'Done.' she wrote back, after having arranged the words as per his instructions.
She did not even look at the Scrabble Board to see what words she was making, so confused and dazed over his strange and eccentric messages.
She waited for her mobile to beep again, but it did not. And all of a sudden, his voice came booming from behind;
'Now read what you have made on the Scrabble Board, you adorable twit!'
She twirled in the direction of the voice and it was none other than Jai, who was beaming at her and when she looked back at him in complete astonishment, he winked at her and urged her with his eyes to look at the Scrabble Board.
When she saw the Scrabble Board, the words she had arranged came to read, 'WILL YOU MARRY ME?'
'Will you marry me?' repeated Bani, as if she had still not got it and looked back at Jai, with an innocent, confounded look.
'Arre meri maa...at least leave something for me to do! You confessed your love first, you were the one to make a move on me first, at least let me propose marriage to you!' he announced, throwing his head back and laughing heartily at her innocence.
Before she could react to what he had done, he was on one of his knees, kneeling in front of her and looking up at her, spoke with feeling, 'I am on my knees...and begging to you...just like you had wished for.'
And as it finally dawned on Bani, he said to her in a grave, heartfelt and sincere voice, 'Marry me, Bani. Make me a lucky man.'
She just kept gaping at him speechlessly and then broke down crying, falling on the floor and into his arms, as he took her into his embrace and tried valiantly to fight back his own tears.
'Hey...was it so bad?' he teased her, as she bawled like a baby, hitting him on his chest and then falling on it, crying and sobbing heartily.
'You did all that only so that you could surprise me? You made me cry so much since morning...Oh! Jai...' she wailed, fighting with him and yet overwhelmed with joy and emotion at what he had done.
He kept cuddling her and playfully said, 'Yes...Karuna helped me accidentally of course...I wanted to see that cute face of yours when you got this surprise...so, are you surprised?'
She wiped her tears and grinned back, as fresh bout of tears threatened her again and muttered, 'Of course...I...Jai...' and once again, fell on his chest, weeping.
'Oh! Lord! Now stop being hysterical and please answer me! You have already ruined my beautiful, romantic and unique proposal by weeping and wailing like a banshee instead of accepting it gracefully, like a lady. So tell me, are you going to marry me or not?'
She looked up at him...hair dishevelled, eyes swollen, face scruffy and sniffing her nose...yet seeming to Jai, the most beautiful girl in the entire cosmos.
'Bani! Will you marry me...by your own free will or will I have to forcibly do this too?' he threatened, his eyes twinkling with mischief.
She blushed and lowered her head and nodded it unceremoniously.
'Is that a yes?' he asked her patiently, taking her face into his palms.
'Yes...'she mumbled, feeling acutely shy and still not recovering from the shock of the unexpected proposal. And then added, looking into his eyes, ‘A thousand times YES!’
Jai smiled and planted a kiss on her lips and said, 'Okay then...please give me your left hand...'
'Left hand?' she asked, still in the jolt of Jai’s unsuspected proposal, especially coming after how he had reacted against even the thought of marriage just this morning.
'Are we a little dim today or what? Yes...left hand...the hand which has the engagement finger, you silly goose!'
Blushing, she gave her left hand forward and he put his own hand in the pocket of his jeans and took out the heirloom ring, holding her long, delicate fingers in his own and giving her that smile of his which made her heart do somersault, slipped the ring on her second-last finger.
‘And now, Miss. Dixit…you are officially mine…Mind, Body, Soul and Chumps…’ he announced dramatically.
‘JAI!’ she exclaimed, in between her tears of joy and he raised his hands in mock-apology and said, ‘Oh…I forgot…you prefer the Latin name for it…Mammary…’
‘Don’t!’ she yelled, crying and laughing at the same time, embracing him back and smothering him with kisses.
Looking at Bani wearing his mother’s ring, he commented cheekily, 'It’s a bit loose...but I suppose it matches your brain screws...which in my opinion are wobbly too...I mean, why else would you choose to fall in love with me?' he quizzed her.
‘Because you are adorable, Jai! Because you are the most amazing person I have ever known. And because I love you like crazy!’ she answered, putting her head on his chest, as he cradled her lovingly in his arms.
The happiness and unconcealed joy in her eyes was so evident, that Jai simply could not help himself but comment saucily, 'there is no need to be so thrilled, sweetheart! I am no prize catch that you are looking so blissful with the prospect of marrying me!'
She looked back at him and spoke earnestly, 'I have wanted nothing more than to be with you for my entire life, Jai, since the day I first saw you in Mukteshwar…and you have fulfilled that dream…why wouldn’t be I happy?’
Jai could not readily answer her and cocking his head to one side said, ‘Okay…we will see whether you are still this happy when we celebrate our 10th wedding anniversary or not!’ And saying that he started laughing, pulling her cheeks.
She stared back at him silently and when he stopped laughing, looking at her expression, she said in a soft voice, ‘You said…10th wedding anniversary, Jai…’
He coloured a bit and retorted, ‘I am hoping there will be a 10th wedding anniversary, sweetheart…and a 25th one too…’
‘There will be, Jai. We will celebrate our 50th wedding anniversary even!’ she announced emotionally, now making him laugh.
‘50th? I will be 85 then! And probably in search of fresh meat! Who would want to be living with a 75 year old hag then?’ he teased, making Bani giggled and pinch him on his cheeks.
A While Later
They were both sitting in Jai’s bed, he with his head on her lap and she could not stop looking at her ring and at her fiancée…in between sobbing and smiling constantly, amusing Jai to no extent.
‘Okay…calm down now! It’s only a proposal of marriage not a proposed trip to Mars! And if you don’t cool down…I will have to give you a dose of Donormyl 250 mg also…Poor Shanky is still drowsy!’ And saying that Jai burst out laughing wickedly, even as Bani chided him while trying not to laugh at what he had done to Shashank.
‘I am SOOOOOOOOOOOO happy Jai…I wish I could do something to express to you how happy I am!’ she exclaimed in joy.
‘We can DO-it, you know!’ he said, very matter-of-fact and started undoing her kurta buttons!
‘JAI! No! And don’t fiddle with my kurta! Leave me!’ she reprimanded him mildly!
‘I have not even married you and you want me to leave you?’ he provoked her.
‘You very well know what I mean…’ she laughed, bending down and planting a kiss on his forehead.
‘We are going to DO IT tonight, right?’ he asked her, sounding both hopeful and desperate, making her blush furiously.
‘Jai! This is all you have in mind, 24 by 7! No, nothing doing! Besides, your back…’ she went on in a sermon mode.
‘To hell with my back! It’s my front which I have to use anyway!’ he growled back.
It took a couple of seconds for Bani to get the comment, and she went purple with mortification.
‘Jai…really…how can you say such things…look this…Jai…Jai…this is not correct…see if we are going to get married…I think…we should….wait…Jai…don’t…my kurta…its Rano’s…don’t…listen…JAI’
He moved closer to press her down against the mattress, her chiffon and sequins kurta rustled with the coarse jeans he was wearing, his right hand ripping apart her duppata and throwing it haphazardly on the ground.
Holding her captive to his scorching gaze, Jai slipped his left hand inside her kurta and before she could yell in protest covered her lips with his, drinking in her whines, crushing her mouth, unfurling his tongue inside, gently rocking his body sideways, to give her a preview of things to come.
Heat exploded in her entire body and the hands clutching his t-shirt crawled around his neck. He laughed into her mouth at her unintentionally brazen response and brought her left hand down with his right and placed it on his belt buckle. Nothing in her limited s**ual experience of the past two days prepared Bani for this ferocious seduction of senses.
She couldn’t follow his orders, he let go of her mouth to trail kisses all over her face and neck and continued to urge her, caressing that hand over his buckle. She hid in his chest and whimpered, he bent down and nippeds her lobe as punishment, sending thrills throughout her body. As a compromise Bani slithered her hands under his t-shirt and caressed his back causing him to groan violently.
He gently peeled her off his body and turned her around, pushing her open hair back with his left hand and placed a zillion kisses and when she is least expecting he tugs off the kurta, forcing her to get out of it.
‘NOooooooo’ she protested in vain.
‘Sshhhhhhhhhhhhhh’ he replied with a wink.
He coaxed her, into turning towards him, with her eyes closed she did, he looks at her all aroused and flushed instead of bending down to taste them.......... he guides her hands to his shirt, closes her hands over them, wraps his around hers and urges her with his eyes to strip him. She is completely lost and trembling all over.
Pulling the shirt over the head, ruffling his hair and throws it carelessly and crushes her back to the mattress, with a grunt of savage satisfaction plunges his tongue deep into her mouth, mirroring the intimacy he has in mind.
An hour later
Bani lay exhausted and ravished in Jai’s arms, as he took out his IPhone and began checking his messages.
‘You are a brute.’ She announced in a moping voice, though her eyes were tickled, unseeing from him.
‘I will take that as a compliment, sweetheart. Men are supposed to be brutes in bed. And considering how much time you take to give in, I have no option but to take charge.’
‘We should not have done it…’she mumbled, looking at her engagement ring and lifting her head off his chest, looking at him, all flushed and glowing from the torrid love-making session that Jai had subjected her to.
‘What else did you want to do? Sing a Bhajan with me?’ he came back, mocking and then laughing at her expression.
‘Besides’ he added impishly, ‘I thought it’s better to keep you in practice for our wedding night.’
She rolled her eyes and replied back pithily, ‘Wedding night? What are you going to do then? Is there anything else left?’
‘Oh Babes…you have no idea about how many weapons I have in my arsenal!’ he echoed with a deep sigh.
Bani blushed beetroot and giggling, buried her head in his chest again.
He hugged her and said, ‘Listen sweetie…I have to go…Chote and Ranveer have sent me like a hundred messages…the party is in full swing and the host is missing!’
She got up, wrapping the bed sheet around her and asked in a typical suspicious wife type of manner, ‘what sort of a party is this exactly?’
Jai too had gotten up and was looking for his clothes, which were strewn all across the bed and the floor and said nonchalantly, ‘Oh…Stag party…boys having fun…booze…dance…lewd jokes…gorgeous women with little or no clothes…and all…harmless fun.’
She stared hard at him and said, ‘we got engaged an hour back and we just did…you know what! And now you are going to a party which has women wearing less or no clothes?’
‘Ya, so?’ he asked her, scratching his head, looking for his belt and instead finding Bani’s lacy bra and handing it to her, much to her acute embarrassment.
‘JAI! No…you are not going to any such party!’ she announced, appearing livid.
‘What do you mean? So just because we have a romp in the bed, means I can’t go anywhere?’ he said, teasing her and infuriating her as always.
‘You…’ she took a cushion and hit him on his head.
‘Arre yarr…we are not even married and you are already being a perfect nag…typical wifey!’ he teased her.
‘Oh! So we can do all those things which ideally come after marriage, but if I behave like a wife, you have problems?’ she demanded.
Jai finally found his missing belt and slipping on his jeans, looked at her and gave a smile, saying, ‘you were probably born to be a wife, Bani. So caring…so sweet…so giving and so loving. Me? I am not a husband material from any angle…I hope you gave it enough thought before agreeing to marry me?’
Her anger abated at what he said and she smiled shyly and replied back, ‘whatever you are…I love you. And there was nothing to think about it...I always wanted to marry you…’
Jai got up and going near her, pulled her flushed cheeks and said affectionately, ‘I should have guessed the moment you sent that bowl of kichdi…that this girl next door is planning to feed me kichdi for the rest of my life! Lucky bastard that I am!’
And saying that, he bent forward, planting a wet, slobbery kiss on her lips and said in a sincere voice, ‘you need not have any worries regarding me and other women. Those times have long gone by…the only woman I need is right here with me…in my heart…and wherever I go…she will always accompany me…no question of anyone else even coming near her, leave aside taking her spot.’
Bani kissed his palms and replied back tenderly, ‘I will always take care of you Jai…and I will give you every happiness in the world…I promise to be the best wife to you…I will cook anything you ask me to make…I will wash and iron your clothes and keep them in their place…I will clean and dust and mop your study regularly…I will make sure you take your medicines on time…I promise, you will never have any reason to complain and I will…’
Cutting her short, Jai remarked sardonically, ‘Yes…this is exactly what I fear. Instead of a seductress in bed, I will be getting a mother-hen…’
She giggled and punched him lovingly on his chin and added mischievously, ‘I will be both…a seductress and a mother-hen…’ adding with a whisper, ‘depending on the time of the day!’
‘Oh…My…looks like the Stag party has to wait for some time more…’
‘No Jai…Jai…listen…Jai, please! Your back…Jai…that is enough…I am worn-out…PLEASE! How many times do you want to do it? Listen, if you keep doing this…I will…Ouch…Okay…not there…Jai…and don’t keep calling it Chumps…JAI…you BRAT….
Part 18
Morning
Bani had gone back to her room and despite the accumulated fatigue of the last few days, compounded by wakeful nights; she could still not manage to look cantankerous or irritable. There was just too much love in her heart and too much happiness in her life for her to be anything but in high spirits.
She came hopping to the Breakfast Table, dressed in a mauve and pink salwar kameez in chiffon, with silver oxidized buttons dangling as buttons, her fragrant, wet hair left open and her appearance glowing like a thousand full moons put together. It was impossible for anyone not to notice her Joie De Vivre.
Jigyasa smiled at her much-loved underling and observed, 'Someone looks in a great mood! Good! Good! Bani, we have to leave for Purva's place in another hour's time! Hope everything is in place?'
Giving a lively beam at her boss, Bani answered back with self-assurance, 'everything is ready, Mam. Saurabh has even booked the Cabs that will take us there.'
'Brilliant! And what about tomorrow's wedding prep?'
'Everything streamlined...one of us will come back early from Purva's place and get a lowdown on things, in case there is any last minute emergency!'
Fabulous, Bani! You have made me really happy!' smiled Jigyasa, helping herself to some more black coffee.
Karuna, Tarun, Massi and Nachiket had also joined them in the breakfast table and Bani's eyes seemed to search for her man, though she knew that he did not like so many people in his house at any given time and must have been having his breakfast in his study.
Karuna who was sitting opposite to Bani had a peculiar smile on her face, as she helped herself to a double dose of butter on her parantha and asked her meaningfully, 'Bani, are you looking for someone?'
Taken aback, she replied in a disconcerted fashion, 'No...No...No one...I was just...er...um...'
'It’s okay...It’s okay...I understand!' teased Karuna, making Bani uneasy and nibble on her parantha.
Just then, everyone's attention went on Jai, who came marching by, literally sweeping everything aside on his way, shouting on his phone in his powerful baritone;
'I DON’T CARE! We are NOT going in for a plea bargain! Chaturvedi can go and take a hike! Listen Adi...my client is NOT pleading guilty to the charges! I don't care if he is guilty or not! The point is that he is NOT pleading guilty and no matter how much pressure that bloody, two-cent, public prosecutor puts on us, I am not giving in! Get that? TELL THAT SON OF A ....' Jai trailed off, when he saw his entire family, along with Jigyasa and her assemblage and of course, his lady love, seated around the dining table, gaping at him.
He calmed down a bit and spoke in a more civil tone, 'NO. I do not want a meeting set up with Mr. Chaturvedi. I don't have time for people like him. Please Adi...learn to tackle this on your own. Yes...I am coming to office today... I have a meeting with Adjani...and I have a couple of notes to dictate to Sheryl. On another note, your ex-wife is missing you like hell! Are you coming for the stag party tonight?'
Jigyasa almost choked on her coffee and glared back at Jai, as he winked at her and she laughed, showing him her hand.
'Okay then, Adi! See you in about an hour's time? Bye.'
Pooja who was munching on a sand-which gave a slushy eyed look at Jai, who was looking extremely dynamic in a button down formal shirt in stark white, a lawyer’s preferred colour, with Tiffany cufflinks, charcoal grey trousers, black and grey striped tie, holding it in place with a tiny tie-pin and he had his hair freshly showered and combed back. He was as always, well-groomed and self-assured and Bani had to use all her will-power to not lose her senses when his cologne assaulted her senses, as he took his seat at the head of the table.
It was so odd...she felt completely at ease and assured when they were together...but the moment, they were put in a public situation, she seemed to be unduly nervous and edgy. It was probably to do with the fact that they were having a torrid, secret affair and no one had a clue about it.
While Jai was always unflappable and kept his wits in any occasion, Bani could not do the same and the moment Jai came anywhere near her, colour filled her cheeks and she went warm behind her ears.
Giving a perfunctory nod to everyone and a slightly lingering one at Bani, who blushed when he smiled at her and dissolved herself into the plate in front of her, Jai started conversing with Massi, Tarun and Karuna, regarding the wedding that was to take place the next day.
'Jai! Why are you going to work today? Its Purva Bahu's mehendi function! We are all going there! And what is this stage party tonight?' asked Massi, making the youngsters from Jigyasa's team giggle.
'Massi! It’s not stage...its Stag...and it’s the party given to all bachelors a day before their wedding...something like a Farwell to freedom! And I have work today...lots of it! But I will be back early!'
Massi nodded her head, getting up, saying that she had some work to oversee, before the mehendi went from the Walia House for Purva.
'Jai, beta...did you get those jewels from the bank? The one we have to give to Purva?' asked Massi.
Jai closed his eyes and exclaimed, 'completely swept off my mind...good you reminded me. The bank is on my way...I will pick it up from the locker and get it with me on my way back.'
As soon as Massi left along with Nachiket, Tarun and Jigyasa's team, only Jai, Bani and Karuna were left in the table. Bani was still picking on her food and when she saw that there were only the three of them, she started gobbling down whatever was left in the plate and make a move as soon as possible.
'abhi abhi toh aayi ho...bahaar ban ke chaayi ho...fiza zara mehek toh le...yeh dil zaraa behek toh le...' Jai and Bani were taken aback, as Karuna suddenly started humming the song that Jai had sung the previous night, as she buttered a brown toast for him and put it on his plate.
'What on earth was that, Dimpy?' asked Jai, passing a look at Bani, who looked like a scuttled rabbit, scared out of her wits at being spotted by the hunter.
Karuna gave an eloquent smile at Jai and said, 'My dear Potlu...aisa hai, you might be a brilliant lawyer. What might be...you are! We all know that! But still...there are something’s that even the most intelligent and smart people on this planet cannot manage to hide.'
'I don't understand a thing that you are saying.' announced Jai, in an unemotional voice, though he knew where Karuna was going.
She smiled at him and then passed a look at Bani, who was blushing like there was no tomorrow and was making too much noise with her cutlery, gobbling up her porridge with alarming speed and said in a teasing voice, 'Ishq aur Mushq chupaye nahin chupte hain...'
Jai stared at his cousin for a couple of seconds and he could feel the colour rise up in his face, yet he maintained his calm and asked in a very indifferent voice, 'Did you drink my Port instead of our Ginger Tea in the morning, Dimpy?'
Karuna laughed and caught hold of Bani's hands, as she desperately finished her breakfast and hastily got up from the dining table to move out, and declared softly, 'Jai...even if you go out with the Sun as a Lamp, you won't get a girl like her! So stop fooling around with this poor thing and just get married in an honourable way.'
Bani felt her heart lurching outside of her rib-cage and instantly blurted out, 'No...Didi...nothing like that...'
'Oh, come on Bani! Don't, No didi me...I am much older than you and older than your murderer boyfriend too...so I know what is what!' said Karuna, breaking into peals of laughter, especially on seeing the look of pure astonishment on Jai's face and Bani's acute tension.
'Dimpy! Seriously!' snapped Jai, feeling highly self-conscious and also dismayed.
Karuna stopped chuckling and said to him, 'I am being serious, Jai! I know what is going on between the two of you! What I don't understand is that why are you wasting your time in all this? Just get married to her!'
Jai was incensed by now and Bani despairing, looking at the expression of cold rage on his face and pleaded Karuna to not rake up this topic, especially with the house teeming full of people.
Karuna simply shrugged her head and said, 'I don't understand! What on earth is stopping both of you? Jai! We are traditional people! Your brother also had an affair with Purva…If he can get married to her, why on earth....'
'That is enough, Karuna. ENOUGH.' announced, Jai in a voice that instantly silenced Karuna's chirping and made Bani go cold.
Pushing aside his breakfast plate, Jai got up and picked up his blazer, giving an expression of pure, cold rage at his cousin and then at his lover and said, 'I don't want to get married. Ever. End of topic. I have not given false promises to anyone. So whoever wants to be in a relationship with me, knows where I am coming from. And Karuna...don't mind, but this is none of your bloody business. Please stay out of it.'
Saying that he stormed off in fury, bellowing for Abdul to get his files and looking absolutely mad with rage.
Bani had started weeping silently by now, trembling with fear at the display of rage from Jai, yet she held onto Karuna's hands and said, 'Didi...I am so sorry for all that he said...please don't mind...'
Karuna got up and catching hold of both her shoulders, smiled and said, 'Silly girl! You think I would feel bad about what he said? Jai is like my own brother...whatever he might think of me. I don't feel bad about anything he said...he has always been like this! Anger sitting on the tip of his nose! That was not the point, Bani! The point is that he can't keep you hanging like this midway! I know he has always led a very freethinking and liberated lifestyle...he and his innumerous lists of girlfriends and affairs...but you are not like those women, Bani. And you have no need to be.'
Bani shook her head and spoke with desperation, 'Didi...it’s true...we have never discussed marriage...I...'
'Don't defend him unnecessarily. He has not discussed marriage. Don't tell me, you haven't thought about it? For goodness sake...it’s your right to ask him!'
Bani looked increasingly nervous and tried to explain things to Karuna, but she silenced her and said calmly, 'At least ask him, Bani! What does he mean by he won't get married? What is he going to do with you then? Go...Go and speak to him right now.'
Before Bani could say anything, Karuna pushed her towards the porch, where Jai was standing, waiting for Abdul to get his files and looking like thunder.
She approached him timorously and mumbled in a trembling voice, 'Jai...I...' she had no wish to talk about marriage...all she wanted to do was express regret to him on Karuna's behalf for pulling up this topic and displeasing him.
He did not even let her start her sentence and turning to face her, spoke in a cold voice, barely suppressing his fury, 'How dare you go and talk about our relationship with Karuna?'
Shocked at the baseless allegation, Bani could only stare back in befuddlement.
'You know very well that I cannot stand any kind of interference in my personal life and despite knowing that, you went and announced about us to my cousin, of all the people? I am so disappointed in you, Bani!'
She was weeping by now and spoke pleadingly, 'that's not true, Jai. I did not say anything to Karuna didi. I swear...not one word. And regarding our marriage...'
'Oh! God! Marriage! Marriage! Marriage! As if it’s the only thing left in the world! TO HELL WITH MARRIAGE!' he shouted on her, not even bothered that some of Bani's colleagues were staring at both of them from a distance, wondering what on earth was going on between the two of them.
Taking a deep breath, he soothed down a bit, but still held the resentment and reproach in his voice and said, 'Bani, please get this clear. Very clear. No one dictates terms and conditions with me, alright? Be it in my profession or in my personal life...NO ONE TELLS ME WHAT TO DO. I decide what to do. Always. So if you have any issue with my policy, then you still have time to move out. But if you are hoping that I am going to slip an engagement ring on your finger by end of day today, you are WRONG. I love you, but that is it. I don't want to give any name to our relationship. Either learn to live with that or learn to live without me. The choice is yours.'
Saying that he stormed off, leaving Bani in a pool of tears, as she ran back to her room and cried her heart out.
It took a lot of shouting on Jigyasa's part for Bani to finally calm down and come down to leave for Purva's house for the Mehendi Function. She was so rattled by all that had happened in the morning and even though Jai had hurt her immensely by his cold, cruel words, she was still concerned for him...worried that he would think that she was trying to put pressure on him to get married.
On their way to the farmhouse, Bani had excused herself and was sitting in the back of the 8-seater van and taking out her mobile, while constantly wiping her eyes, telling everyone that she was having an eye-infection, she messaged him;
'I'm very sorry 4 what happened in d morning...I swear upon God...I did nt tell anythng 2 didi...dnt know how she came 2 know...pls dnt b upset with me. Please.'
They reached Purva's Farmhouse and there was still no reply from Jai. Feeling very worried that he was still angry with her; she stayed behind for a couple of moments and wrote back to him again;
'Jai...I'm sorry. I really am. And I love you a lot...I dnt care about being married...I just want 2 b with u...I promise, this marriage topic will never cm up again. Please reply. Tl me dat u r nt upset wt me.'
Her mobile did tinkle this time and she looked at it with anxiety.
'I've work 2 do, Bani. Dnt hv time to send u back and forth messages all d time. Don't disturb me, please. And this topic is closed...dnt mention it again.'
Bani felt so heartbroken on reading his message, that she had to excuse herself and go to the washroom, to cry her heart out on what had happened and the fact that Jai was so upset with her.
She didn't care two hoots about getting married...she just wanted Jai and his happiness. Whatever be the personal cost to her. That was the choice she had made and that was the choice she wanted to live with.
The entire Mehendi ceremony went along very well for everyone, except Bani, who could simply not stop crying and had to keep hiding herself, so that no one got to know what was going on in her mind. She got scolded by Jigyasa a couple of times for her disappearing act and also for being so lacklustre and dull all of a sudden, when she had been a star performer a day before.
Karuna felt very apologetic for having created that scene in the morning and had a word with Bani, who, typical to her, assured Karuna that all was well and that Jai was not upset with her on anything.
Jai's Office
'Saale...you are such a....' remarked Ranveer, when Jai finished recounting the events of the morning and they both burst out laughing.
'Yes...Yes...I know what I am!' retorted Jai, smiling at the piece of jewellery that he was holding in between his fingers.
'You had to make that poor girl cry, isn't it?' probed Ranveer.
'Not my fault! That idiotic Dimpy...god knows how she guessed! Well actually...I am surprised how come no one else has guessed till now! I think it’s pretty apparent on our faces...especially on Bani's...she keeps blushing like a tomato every time I pass by!' laughed Jai indulgently.
'But why did you have to shout on her?' demanded Ranveer, as he took the 7 Carat Ruby and Diamond Cartier Engagement ring from Jai's hands and looked appreciatively at it.
'If I hadn't...then it would have been impossible to silence Dimpy...and then all my romantic plans would have gone down the drain!'
'God save women from your romantic plans, Jai!' laughed Ranveer.
'Not women...only WOMAN.' Answered Jai with a smile.
Ranveer grinned and said, 'I never thought I would hear this from you...Jai Walia...finally settling down! FINALLY!'
Jai smiled faintly and spoke in a forlorn voice, 'I just hope...I am putting an engagement ring on her finger and not a noose around her neck, yaar...somehow I can't help but feel guilty, that I am deliberately pushing her to widowhood...'
'Shut up Jai! Seriously! Didn't you promise me and also Bani that you would never speak like this?' Scolded Ranveer, feeling very upset about the way Jai kept making doomsday predictions about himself.
Sighing, Jai dishevelled his hair and said, 'One has to take everything into account, Ranveer. I am much more positive about the outcome of my treatment than I was before...but let’s face the fact...medically, I only have 50% chance of surviving...that means, Bani has a 50% chance of remaining married and 50% chance of becoming a widow. A young widow, at that.'
'Even if you both don't get married...she will still remain only yours! That girl is never going to be with anyone else. So at least give her the happiness of being a married woman...you know how much it means to her!' explained Ranveer.
Jai was quiet for some time and then spoke in a faraway voice, 'God...how I wish, I could live, Ranveer...If I had a choice today...I would give up everything I have...every single thing...in exchange of living my life with Bani...'
‘Think positive, Jai. Everything will be fine. You have taken the best decision of your life…now go and implement it. Leave the rest to God and to both your fates!’ Assured Ranveer.
Towards Evening
Purva's family had kept a ladies sangeet evening for all of Purva's cousins, friends and acquaintances and all the girls from Jigyasa's team were also asked to stay back, including Bani, who was also Purva's friend.
Bani could barely concentrate on anything and she wanted nothing but to go back to the Farmhouse and speak with Jai. She could not bear to lose him at any cost and as the day passed without getting any messages or phone calls from him, Bani kept fearing that he was really, really upset over what had happened in the morning and was probably assuming that it was Bani who filled Karuna's ears with everything.
Pooja came rushing to Bani, always in high-spirits and excited, 'Here you are! What on earth is wrong with you? Yesterday you were in such a brilliant mood...happy and full of life and today? You look like a fused bulb? PMS hai kya?'
Bani shook her head and said, 'Nothing...not feeling very well. Listen, Pooja...can I leave for the Farmhouse? I am not feeling very well...and tomorrow is the wedding also. I don't want to fall sick or anything before the wedding is over...there will be lots of work to do tomorrow.'
Pooja looked sympathetic and said, 'Oh! Don't worry yaar! Do one thing...Saurabh is about to leave for the Farmhouse...Mr. W is apparently throwing a big bash for Nachiket Sir...Stag Party...I heard rumours there are strippers and all!' she giggled.
'You leave with Saurabh and just go straight to your room and take some medicine and sleep. It seems like you havne't slept for the last few days...I will manage Jigyasa Mam here.'
Bani looked gratefully at Pooja and said, 'You are a friend in a million, Poojie. Thanks!'
'Come on now! Do I have to count how many times you have helped me out? And now before you go...at least put some mehendi on your palms!' said Pooja, dragging Bani towards the centre of the lawn, where the Mehndi Lady and her assistants were putting Mehendi on everyone's palms, having been done with the bride.
'No...No...Pooja...listen...' protested Bani, not at all in the mood to indulge in any such revelry, even though, she loved putting Mehendi on her palms, ever since she was a young girl.
'What no...no? It’s considered bad luck to go from a Mehendi Ceremony without putting it on your own palms...it decreases the life of your husband.'
Stunned at what she had heard, Bani exclaimed, 'What?'
'Yes...my grandmother used to say that if a young girl goes to a would be bride's mehendi ceremony and does not put some on her own hands, then it brings bad luck to the man she loves...now, I know that you are single...but you will find someone someday and get married to him, right? You don't want to bring any harm to him, do you? Even unintentional? So come!'
Bani did not have to be given any more arguments and she sat alongside one of Purva's cousins and let one of the assistant girl put mehendi on both her palms. She commented, 'What a beautiful hand you have, Madamji...you are very lucky. You will be loved to death by your man!'
Everyone laughed and teased Bani, even as she blushed pink and tried to fight back her tears, which overcame her.
'Will...Will he have a long life?' she asked quietly.
The assistant looked up and smiled, 'That I can't say...but I can say looking at your hand, that whatever life you both have together will be filled with a lot of love and happiness...'
Bani felt warm tears rolling down her cheeks and had to kept sniffing and give the excuse of a bad cold to explain her swollen eyes and cheeks.
Farmhouse
Saurabh, Pushkar and Nachiket who had also come to Purva's house for the Mehendi Ceremony drove back to the Farmhouse, in high spirits and chattering nineteen to the dozen, accompanied by Bani, who was sitting silently in the back of the Car.
Shashank was apparently still under the effect of the sleeping pill that Jai had fed him and was barely able to lift his head.
They reached the Farmhouse and the boys were all excited and eager about the Stag Party that Jai had organized, as Bani bid them goodnight and left for her room. She met Abdul on the way and asked him,
'Abdul Chacha...where is your Bade Sahabji?'
Abdul looked very busy and answered quickly, 'He is in the basement hall, Madamji...with Ranveer Sahib and some of his other friends...they are all having a party you know...for Chote Sahib...' and then added in a censorious voice, 'Some very dubious girls have also come...some dance shance...chi...chi...'
Bani looked embarrassed and bid him goodnight, leaving for her room and dissolving in a puddle of tears, the moment she closed the door and flung herself on the bed.
She could barely stop thinking about Jai the entire day, crying her heart out and he hadn't even bothered to ask her how she was doing? Instead, she was now hearing that they were all having a party with some strippers thrown in to boot.
Bani kept lying for some time, almost dozing off because of exhaustion, when she heard her mobile beep. She rubbed her bleary eyes and looked at her wrist watch; it was showing ten at night. She could hear sounds coming from below...apparently the party had begun.
She pressed the buttons on her mobile, assuming that it was Pia who was sending her a message regarding the wedding tomorrow, for which she had been invited.
'R u okay? Pushkar told me u cm bk with them cause u were nt feeling well. Kya hua?'
An instant smile came on her lips, when she saw it was Jai's message. She quickly replied;
'I'm fine...slight cold. Took medicine, taking rest. R u okay?'
He replied back in about thirty seconds;
'Hmm...okay....'
She could not understand the meaning of his message and wrote back,
'Still upset? I'm very, very sorry. This will never happen again. I promise.'
He wrote back;
'If u r so sorry...then apologize in person. Go 2 my room & wait 4 me.'
She seemed confused, but still wrote back;
'Now? But u r in a party...'
He instantly messaged back;
'I feel like 'Doing It' now...& since we ARE in a so-called relationship...I want u 2 b available 4 me always. So cm 2 my room in 5 mins.'
Shocked at his insensitive choice of words and the callous way in which he behaved with her, Bani instantly burst into tears. She wanted to tell him to go to hell, instead, wrote back;
'Okay.'
Jai's Bedroom
The Farmhouse was decidedly empty today, with all the women in Purva's house and all the men, downstairs in the basement, enjoying the Stag Party. And here she was, standing outside Jai's room, to fulfil his untimely carnal desires. Feeling about a hundred times cheaper than those strippers whom Jai had called.
She switched on the lights of the room and waited self-consciously in the empty, expansive room, for Jai to come. Her mobile droned;
'R u in my room?'
She closed her eyes and taking a deep breath, wrote back;
'Yes.'
He messaged back;
'I'll give u a set of instructions...follow them...till I cm. Okay?'
Bani did not even want to guess what sort of instructions he wanted her to follow now. She was simply distraught and inconsolable over all that had happened in the morning and the way Jai was acting now.
As if she was only worth sleeping with, whenever he wished to. Jai was simply beyond explanation at times.
Her mobile buzzed again and she read the message reluctantly;
‘Go 2 my study table...open my scrabble board, lay it on the table & take out the letter tiles.'
Surprised and taken aback by the strange commands, she nevertheless followed it and wrote to him;
'Done. What r u up to?'
Ignoring her question, he wrote again;
'Take out these tiles...1 W....2 M...1 E...2 R...1 A...1 U...1 O…1Y…2 L...and 1 I.'
Completely taken aback by his order and wondering what on earth he was up to, she did what she was asked to and wrote back to him;
'Done. But what is all this? Jai...I need 2 spk with u...pls...stop playing games...'
Her mobile whirred in a minute;
'Shut-up & do what u r asked 2. Now arrng those letters...W in d 7th square from left, M in square 4, 2 places down from W...both d R's in square 7, corresponding with the other M in triple-word square...'
Bani was completely baffled but so used to following his directives, especially when it came to Scrabble, that she kept doing what he told her to, without applying her brains.
'Done.' she wrote back.
He messaged her in an instant;
'Good girl. Now...arrange...A in square 8...U in square 9...E in square 10, Y and O corresponding in the dark blue triple letter square alongside U.’
'Done.' she wrote back, after having arranged the words as per his instructions.
She did not even look at the Scrabble Board to see what words she was making, so confused and dazed over his strange and eccentric messages.
She waited for her mobile to beep again, but it did not. And all of a sudden, his voice came booming from behind;
'Now read what you have made on the Scrabble Board, you adorable twit!'
She twirled in the direction of the voice and it was none other than Jai, who was beaming at her and when she looked back at him in complete astonishment, he winked at her and urged her with his eyes to look at the Scrabble Board.
When she saw the Scrabble Board, the words she had arranged came to read, 'WILL YOU MARRY ME?'
'Will you marry me?' repeated Bani, as if she had still not got it and looked back at Jai, with an innocent, confounded look.
'Arre meri maa...at least leave something for me to do! You confessed your love first, you were the one to make a move on me first, at least let me propose marriage to you!' he announced, throwing his head back and laughing heartily at her innocence.
Before she could react to what he had done, he was on one of his knees, kneeling in front of her and looking up at her, spoke with feeling, 'I am on my knees...and begging to you...just like you had wished for.'
And as it finally dawned on Bani, he said to her in a grave, heartfelt and sincere voice, 'Marry me, Bani. Make me a lucky man.'
She just kept gaping at him speechlessly and then broke down crying, falling on the floor and into his arms, as he took her into his embrace and tried valiantly to fight back his own tears.
'Hey...was it so bad?' he teased her, as she bawled like a baby, hitting him on his chest and then falling on it, crying and sobbing heartily.
'You did all that only so that you could surprise me? You made me cry so much since morning...Oh! Jai...' she wailed, fighting with him and yet overwhelmed with joy and emotion at what he had done.
He kept cuddling her and playfully said, 'Yes...Karuna helped me accidentally of course...I wanted to see that cute face of yours when you got this surprise...so, are you surprised?'
She wiped her tears and grinned back, as fresh bout of tears threatened her again and muttered, 'Of course...I...Jai...' and once again, fell on his chest, weeping.
'Oh! Lord! Now stop being hysterical and please answer me! You have already ruined my beautiful, romantic and unique proposal by weeping and wailing like a banshee instead of accepting it gracefully, like a lady. So tell me, are you going to marry me or not?'
She looked up at him...hair dishevelled, eyes swollen, face scruffy and sniffing her nose...yet seeming to Jai, the most beautiful girl in the entire cosmos.
'Bani! Will you marry me...by your own free will or will I have to forcibly do this too?' he threatened, his eyes twinkling with mischief.
She blushed and lowered her head and nodded it unceremoniously.
'Is that a yes?' he asked her patiently, taking her face into his palms.
'Yes...'she mumbled, feeling acutely shy and still not recovering from the shock of the unexpected proposal. And then added, looking into his eyes, ‘A thousand times YES!’
Jai smiled and planted a kiss on her lips and said, 'Okay then...please give me your left hand...'
'Left hand?' she asked, still in the jolt of Jai’s unsuspected proposal, especially coming after how he had reacted against even the thought of marriage just this morning.
'Are we a little dim today or what? Yes...left hand...the hand which has the engagement finger, you silly goose!'
Blushing, she gave her left hand forward and he put his own hand in the pocket of his jeans and took out the heirloom ring, holding her long, delicate fingers in his own and giving her that smile of his which made her heart do somersault, slipped the ring on her second-last finger.
‘And now, Miss. Dixit…you are officially mine…Mind, Body, Soul and Chumps…’ he announced dramatically.
‘JAI!’ she exclaimed, in between her tears of joy and he raised his hands in mock-apology and said, ‘Oh…I forgot…you prefer the Latin name for it…Mammary…’
‘Don’t!’ she yelled, crying and laughing at the same time, embracing him back and smothering him with kisses.
Looking at Bani wearing his mother’s ring, he commented cheekily, 'It’s a bit loose...but I suppose it matches your brain screws...which in my opinion are wobbly too...I mean, why else would you choose to fall in love with me?' he quizzed her.
‘Because you are adorable, Jai! Because you are the most amazing person I have ever known. And because I love you like crazy!’ she answered, putting her head on his chest, as he cradled her lovingly in his arms.
The happiness and unconcealed joy in her eyes was so evident, that Jai simply could not help himself but comment saucily, 'there is no need to be so thrilled, sweetheart! I am no prize catch that you are looking so blissful with the prospect of marrying me!'
She looked back at him and spoke earnestly, 'I have wanted nothing more than to be with you for my entire life, Jai, since the day I first saw you in Mukteshwar…and you have fulfilled that dream…why wouldn’t be I happy?’
Jai could not readily answer her and cocking his head to one side said, ‘Okay…we will see whether you are still this happy when we celebrate our 10th wedding anniversary or not!’ And saying that he started laughing, pulling her cheeks.
She stared back at him silently and when he stopped laughing, looking at her expression, she said in a soft voice, ‘You said…10th wedding anniversary, Jai…’
He coloured a bit and retorted, ‘I am hoping there will be a 10th wedding anniversary, sweetheart…and a 25th one too…’
‘There will be, Jai. We will celebrate our 50th wedding anniversary even!’ she announced emotionally, now making him laugh.
‘50th? I will be 85 then! And probably in search of fresh meat! Who would want to be living with a 75 year old hag then?’ he teased, making Bani giggled and pinch him on his cheeks.
A While Later
They were both sitting in Jai’s bed, he with his head on her lap and she could not stop looking at her ring and at her fiancée…in between sobbing and smiling constantly, amusing Jai to no extent.
‘Okay…calm down now! It’s only a proposal of marriage not a proposed trip to Mars! And if you don’t cool down…I will have to give you a dose of Donormyl 250 mg also…Poor Shanky is still drowsy!’ And saying that Jai burst out laughing wickedly, even as Bani chided him while trying not to laugh at what he had done to Shashank.
‘I am SOOOOOOOOOOOO happy Jai…I wish I could do something to express to you how happy I am!’ she exclaimed in joy.
‘We can DO-it, you know!’ he said, very matter-of-fact and started undoing her kurta buttons!
‘JAI! No! And don’t fiddle with my kurta! Leave me!’ she reprimanded him mildly!
‘I have not even married you and you want me to leave you?’ he provoked her.
‘You very well know what I mean…’ she laughed, bending down and planting a kiss on his forehead.
‘We are going to DO IT tonight, right?’ he asked her, sounding both hopeful and desperate, making her blush furiously.
‘Jai! This is all you have in mind, 24 by 7! No, nothing doing! Besides, your back…’ she went on in a sermon mode.
‘To hell with my back! It’s my front which I have to use anyway!’ he growled back.
It took a couple of seconds for Bani to get the comment, and she went purple with mortification.
‘Jai…really…how can you say such things…look this…Jai…Jai…this is not correct…see if we are going to get married…I think…we should….wait…Jai…don’t…my kurta…its Rano’s…don’t…listen…JAI’
He moved closer to press her down against the mattress, her chiffon and sequins kurta rustled with the coarse jeans he was wearing, his right hand ripping apart her duppata and throwing it haphazardly on the ground.
Holding her captive to his scorching gaze, Jai slipped his left hand inside her kurta and before she could yell in protest covered her lips with his, drinking in her whines, crushing her mouth, unfurling his tongue inside, gently rocking his body sideways, to give her a preview of things to come.
Heat exploded in her entire body and the hands clutching his t-shirt crawled around his neck. He laughed into her mouth at her unintentionally brazen response and brought her left hand down with his right and placed it on his belt buckle. Nothing in her limited s**ual experience of the past two days prepared Bani for this ferocious seduction of senses.
She couldn’t follow his orders, he let go of her mouth to trail kisses all over her face and neck and continued to urge her, caressing that hand over his buckle. She hid in his chest and whimpered, he bent down and nippeds her lobe as punishment, sending thrills throughout her body. As a compromise Bani slithered her hands under his t-shirt and caressed his back causing him to groan violently.
He gently peeled her off his body and turned her around, pushing her open hair back with his left hand and placed a zillion kisses and when she is least expecting he tugs off the kurta, forcing her to get out of it.
‘NOooooooo’ she protested in vain.
‘Sshhhhhhhhhhhhhh’ he replied with a wink.
He coaxed her, into turning towards him, with her eyes closed she did, he looks at her all aroused and flushed instead of bending down to taste them.......... he guides her hands to his shirt, closes her hands over them, wraps his around hers and urges her with his eyes to strip him. She is completely lost and trembling all over.
Pulling the shirt over the head, ruffling his hair and throws it carelessly and crushes her back to the mattress, with a grunt of savage satisfaction plunges his tongue deep into her mouth, mirroring the intimacy he has in mind.
An hour later
Bani lay exhausted and ravished in Jai’s arms, as he took out his IPhone and began checking his messages.
‘You are a brute.’ She announced in a moping voice, though her eyes were tickled, unseeing from him.
‘I will take that as a compliment, sweetheart. Men are supposed to be brutes in bed. And considering how much time you take to give in, I have no option but to take charge.’
‘We should not have done it…’she mumbled, looking at her engagement ring and lifting her head off his chest, looking at him, all flushed and glowing from the torrid love-making session that Jai had subjected her to.
‘What else did you want to do? Sing a Bhajan with me?’ he came back, mocking and then laughing at her expression.
‘Besides’ he added impishly, ‘I thought it’s better to keep you in practice for our wedding night.’
She rolled her eyes and replied back pithily, ‘Wedding night? What are you going to do then? Is there anything else left?’
‘Oh Babes…you have no idea about how many weapons I have in my arsenal!’ he echoed with a deep sigh.
Bani blushed beetroot and giggling, buried her head in his chest again.
He hugged her and said, ‘Listen sweetie…I have to go…Chote and Ranveer have sent me like a hundred messages…the party is in full swing and the host is missing!’
She got up, wrapping the bed sheet around her and asked in a typical suspicious wife type of manner, ‘what sort of a party is this exactly?’
Jai too had gotten up and was looking for his clothes, which were strewn all across the bed and the floor and said nonchalantly, ‘Oh…Stag party…boys having fun…booze…dance…lewd jokes…gorgeous women with little or no clothes…and all…harmless fun.’
She stared hard at him and said, ‘we got engaged an hour back and we just did…you know what! And now you are going to a party which has women wearing less or no clothes?’
‘Ya, so?’ he asked her, scratching his head, looking for his belt and instead finding Bani’s lacy bra and handing it to her, much to her acute embarrassment.
‘JAI! No…you are not going to any such party!’ she announced, appearing livid.
‘What do you mean? So just because we have a romp in the bed, means I can’t go anywhere?’ he said, teasing her and infuriating her as always.
‘You…’ she took a cushion and hit him on his head.
‘Arre yarr…we are not even married and you are already being a perfect nag…typical wifey!’ he teased her.
‘Oh! So we can do all those things which ideally come after marriage, but if I behave like a wife, you have problems?’ she demanded.
Jai finally found his missing belt and slipping on his jeans, looked at her and gave a smile, saying, ‘you were probably born to be a wife, Bani. So caring…so sweet…so giving and so loving. Me? I am not a husband material from any angle…I hope you gave it enough thought before agreeing to marry me?’
Her anger abated at what he said and she smiled shyly and replied back, ‘whatever you are…I love you. And there was nothing to think about it...I always wanted to marry you…’
Jai got up and going near her, pulled her flushed cheeks and said affectionately, ‘I should have guessed the moment you sent that bowl of kichdi…that this girl next door is planning to feed me kichdi for the rest of my life! Lucky bastard that I am!’
And saying that, he bent forward, planting a wet, slobbery kiss on her lips and said in a sincere voice, ‘you need not have any worries regarding me and other women. Those times have long gone by…the only woman I need is right here with me…in my heart…and wherever I go…she will always accompany me…no question of anyone else even coming near her, leave aside taking her spot.’
Bani kissed his palms and replied back tenderly, ‘I will always take care of you Jai…and I will give you every happiness in the world…I promise to be the best wife to you…I will cook anything you ask me to make…I will wash and iron your clothes and keep them in their place…I will clean and dust and mop your study regularly…I will make sure you take your medicines on time…I promise, you will never have any reason to complain and I will…’
Cutting her short, Jai remarked sardonically, ‘Yes…this is exactly what I fear. Instead of a seductress in bed, I will be getting a mother-hen…’
She giggled and punched him lovingly on his chin and added mischievously, ‘I will be both…a seductress and a mother-hen…’ adding with a whisper, ‘depending on the time of the day!’
‘Oh…My…looks like the Stag party has to wait for some time more…’
‘No Jai…Jai…listen…Jai, please! Your back…Jai…that is enough…I am worn-out…PLEASE! How many times do you want to do it? Listen, if you keep doing this…I will…Ouch…Okay…not there…Jai…and don’t keep calling it Chumps…JAI…you BRAT….
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