160. OS: 7: The Other Woman (Part 25)

Part 25

Arnav’s mouth fell open. His eyes widened.

“You are shocked, babua?” Buaji asked sympathetically. She patted his knee fondly. “We were so scared when Titliyya told us, Nandkisore.”

“Who?” Arnav asked, even though he knew that Khushi hadn’t told Buaji that the goonda was one Arnav Singh Raizada.

“Pata nahi, Nandkisore,” Buaji said with a sigh. “Khussi did not tell us his name.” She leaned closer to whisper in his ear for fear that the ladies thronging around would hear her. “Arnav babua, he proposed to Titaliyya and she refused. Do you what he did after being rejected?”

Arnav waited with baited breath for the information, his eyes intent on hers. Who knew what Khushi had told Buaji?

“He sent her a red sari,” Buaji whispered.

Arnav swallowed.

Buaji nodded. “Yes, he is ajeeb.” Buaji frowned. “As ajeeb as Sanka Devi. If only he weren’t a goonda...if he had approached us through his family...if Khushi liked him...then we would have been happy. Lekin now we are scared, Nandkisore. What if he harms her? Khussi was telling us that he kidnaps girls!” Buaji’s eyes were round. “I told her to resign, to sit at home, Nandkisore. But she said that he is  a lion only to others. That he is a pussycat to her.”

Arnav lowered his face to hide his amusement. So Khushi Kumari Gupta-soon-to-be-Raizada thought him a pussycat?

“Buaji, aap chinta na kare. I will look in to the matter,” Arnav reassured the poor middle-aged lady.

Relief spread its tentacles on Buaji’s face. 

“Hai re Nandkisore! You have no idea, Bitwaa, how worried I was. There are just the three of us and all are women. How can we go to a police station and complain that a goonda is chasing Khussi? Her reputation...” Buaji sighed.

Arnav took her hand in his. “Buaji, do you trust me?” he asked.

“Haan, bitwaa,” Buaji said immediately.

“Then believe me that no one will ever hurt Khushi...or Payal. I...err...I know the boy who is following Khushi. He will never harm a hair on her head,” Arnav insisted.

Buaji looked at him with hope in her eyes. “You know him? Kaise? Is he from the same locality where Shyamji has his office?”

Arnav nodded. “Trust me, Buaji. The..err..boy will never hurt Khushi.”

“If you say so, then it must be true, Nandkisore,” she said. Then she murmured pensively, “But if he is not a bad boy, then why does he kidnap girls?”

“Circumstances, Buaji,” Arnav drew in a deep breath. How could he explain the mess of his Di and Jiju’s marriage and misunderstandings?

Buaji misunderstood him royally.

“Hai Re Nandkisore! Bechara. He must have been born an orphan on the streets, must have started on a life of crime to fill his stomach...as you see in phillums,” Buaji sighed. “Does he have a twin who is a police officer, Nandkisore?”

Arnav coughed to hide his laughter.

“No, Buaji,” he croaked.

“Is he alone, babua?” Bujai’s kind heart melted.

“No, Buaji. One day I will bring him to your house and introduce him to you,” he promised, his eyes dancing merrily.

Buaji beamed.

His phone rang.

“Chotey, we have reached the temple,” said Anjali. “Where are you?”

Arnav gave her instructions and cut the call.

“My family will join us now, Buaji,” Arnav said.

“Acha? You have a sister married to Shyamji, I know. Aur kaun kaun he, bitwaa, tumhre ghar ma?”

“Nani, Mama, Mami, Akash, my cousin,” he explained. “They will be here soon. I would like them to meet you, Buaji.”

Buaji nodded happily.

Khushi leaned against the pillar and looked at the bright clothes of the female devotees with little interest. She was hungry... seriously hungry. In fact she was so hungry that if her potential husband for whom she was fasting came to her, he would be in danger of being gobbled up by her.

“Jiji, how many minutes more to the pooja?” Khushi asked.

“Ten minutes, Khushi,” Payal smiled.

Khushi shut her eyes. ‘Devi Maiyya, you know how much I love you. Lekin yeh vrat rakhna....kuch zyada nahi ho gaya? And that too for a husband who may or may not come in to my life,’ she thought. The image of Irritating Singh Raizada flashed through her mind. ‘If I marry him, I will never have to keep vrath for him. Because I will have strangled him to death a few moments after marriage.’ The pleasing picture of her with her hands around his strong neck and squeezing the life out of him made her smile.

“Khushi,” he called.

She turned to look at him, her mind still lost in her dreams.

He looked at her smiling face and felt his breath stop.

The smile slowly vanished and a look of horror took its place.

“You?” she hissed. “What are you doing here?”

Payal looked at Khushi in astonishment. “Khushi, tameez se baat karo. Is this the way you speak to Shyamji’s saalesaheb?”

Khushi looked at Payal’s stern face and his twinkling eyes. As she watched, a smirk appeared on his lips. Her hands itched to wipe that smile off his face.

“Say sorry, Khushi,” Payal chided.

“Sorry,” Khushi mumbled, her eyes promising him swift and sure retribution as soon as she could get him alone.

Arnav choked back a laugh. “Buaji is calling both of you,” he informed them evenly.

Payal moved towards Buaji.

Khushi followed with little grace.

Arnav followed her, his molten eyes lingering on her form.

“You are very beautiful, Khushi,” he whispered in her ear.

She jumped. “To? Aap se matlab?”

Arnav smiled. “The green sari adds to your charms,” he whispered.

Khushi retorted, “My charms are for my husband, not you.”

Arnav smiled. “Oh really? Buaji was saying that she wanted to meet him,” he drawled.

“Meet whom? And when did Buaji say anything to you?” Khushi asked, shooting daggers at his pleased face.

“The lion who is a pussycat to you,” he looked at her with all the contentment of a pussycat that had slurped an entire bowl of cream. “We met a few minutes back,” he informed her.

Khushi jerked to a halt, her eyes wide with astonishment.

Arnav placed his hand at the small of her back and gently pushed her forward.

Khushi jumped to land right before the Raizadas and Buaji.