23. Tea with Khushi


Arnav stood at the top of the flight of stairs and watched his wife & Payal serving tea to four friends of his Mami. The next batch of b***** out to humiliate Khushi, Di, Payal, Mami, & his Nani, he fumed.

Payal sat beside Akash, while Di motioned Khushi to sit on a chair by her. Nani took a sip of her tea, waiting for the interrogation to start. Mami was slurping tea from the saucer, her feet up, curled in her chair like a kitten.

He watched the first guest lean forward to ask Khushi the details of her sudden marriage, & frowned. This was not acceptable.

He strode down the steps, his focus on the frail form of his wife, sitting like a pink rose amidst the pack of wolves. All eyes turned towards him as he walked into their midst and voiced a casual greeting. He moved towards his wife, and sat on the padded arm of her chair, curling his left arm around her shoulders. She started trembling, unsure which was the greater threat, the guests or him. Arnav looked at her cheeks turning pink, as pink as her beautiful sari.

Akash slowly caught hold of Payal's hand, enjoying the freedom to touch her in front of the world. His brother was the best in the world. Always right. Always brave. Always showing him the right path.

Nani choked on her tea, and Di patted her back, her eyes moving rapidly between a romantic Chotey and a would-be romantic Akash. Mami's hand holding the saucer trembled in shock, her many bangles jingling in sympathetic vibration.

The courage of the nosy women dimmed in the face of the presence of ASR, the lion, and their salvos became weak and dull. Mami fielded their questions expertly, and Nani & Di took over from her.

Arnav enjoyed himself, sipping tea from Khushi's cup once, taking hold of her right hand and placing it on his left thigh, running his fingers over hers and in the crevices between her fingers, caressing her beautiful fingers, till she tried to put an end to his game by catching hold of his fingers tightly.

Not to be outdone, he tightened his hold on her fingers and brought them up to his lips for a butterfly kiss.

The guests left in a hurry, motivated by the need to whisper the thrilling news of the shameless behaviour of the Raizada boys in willing ears.

Arnav said, "I enjoyed tea today. I should join you more often."