Valley of Flowers Chapter 13

She wore a bright red and gold lehenga choli, maangteeka, jhumka and a bright gold necklace. As they took their pheras around the tree, her groom pulled at her braids.

 ‘Stop it Laad Governor!’ She turned around in anger.

‘The seventh phera is done silly.’ Her groom smirked, standing in his grey hooded sweat shirt, black cargos and sneakers, his long hair fluttering above his mesmerizing brown eyes. ‘Have you forgotten to count? You are thirteen years old.’

‘Why are you wearing these clothes on our wedding day?’ she said her luminous eyes sweeping him from head to toe.

‘The same reason we are taking our pheras around the match making tree KhushiKumari Gupta.’ Khushi looked about her to see they were standing under the match making tree in the midst of the Valley of Flowers, as three little girls stood clapping their hands with joy.

Khushi woke up, her heart clamouring wildly in her breast. No! She had no right to be dreaming about him anymore. Not after today. She had never imagined it would be like this. The dreams that had begun ten years ago when she was girl of thirteen were going to be shattered today.

The last one month had been the most tumultuous rollercoaster of emotions for her. After returning from Agra,Arnav had thrown himself into work,staying up nights working with his US office,sleeping only for about five hours, and then working the rest of the day for AR. He had extended his stay till the end of the week, so he could prepare the presentation which Lavanya had botched up.He had maintained a polite distancewith her since the trip but it was she who had been having a tough time reigning in her feelings.

 Her thoughts kept going back to the Agra trip when he had come and watched her dance performance and complimented her……I find your dancing unbearably beautiful. The rapturous moments they had spent together at the TajMahal, the dinner at the grand hotel, Oberoi Amarvilaas  albeit in the company of Mr Sheik, and then finally the night they spent in each other’s arms at the Gulistan tourist complex. When he had wrapped her up in his arms in the darkness, she had felt safer than ever. The memories of that one day would have to be enough to last a lifetime she thought sadly.

 But just when she had thought he was being docile, he had slid that damn ring on her left finger,without a care,flummoxing her completely. She had been in the seventh heaven, that night at dinner, admiring how beautiful the ring looked on her finger when Mamiji had announced her engagement date. When Naniji had asked her the reason for such a short notice, she told everyone that since Arnav was leaving two days later, she had kept the engagement early to accommodate his departure.

Though she had been expecting this ever since Akash had begun to recover, the colour had drained out of her face. Though Arnav’s face remained impassive, she knew he was angry from the tight clenching of his jaw and the barely controlled temper simmering in his eyes. He had left his dinner half way through, telling everyone he had a headache.

On the day of the engagement, he had come into the kitchen while she was frying jalebis and asked her to make him a cup of coffee.She had stopped her frying and switched off the stove.Grinding the coffee beans in the coffee grinder,she had emptied the contents into the coffee maker and then after adding the required amount of water, she had switched it on to brew.

‘I never asked you before,’ he began, ‘how you trapped NK into proposing to you.’ He said cruelly.

Tears welling up in her eyes, she had wrapped her fingers around the steel handle of the pan in which she was making jalebis, uncaring of the searing heat.

‘Khushi!’ he had yelled as she dropped the pan on the counter spilling the hot oil. He had grabbed her hand and put it under running water. ‘‘What the f@#$ do you think you were doing?’

‘I was thinking of an answer to your question,’ she had whispered back her almond eyes reflecting the pain in her heart.

His eyes had moistened and his lips had quivered. ‘Khushi, I ---’

Anjali had come in with an ointment and he had looked at her, his brown eyes reflecting his remorse even as his lips, straightened into a thin line, remained sealed. He had placed her hand on Anjali’s and left the kitchen silently. She hadn’t seen him since.

She had moved back into her parent’s house after that continuing her work at the office, bringing Akash up to speed regarding the current projects. She was the point of contact for Mr Sheik as he had made it clear he did not want to work with anyone else. Lavanya had taken offence and told her she would come back only after Arnav returned to AR.But that wasn’t going to happen, was it? With Akash back in office there would be no need for Arnav to return. Had he just left her without so much as a goodbye? The pain in her heart kept increasing by the second.

That evening Khushi sat at the dressing table in all her bridal finery, looking at her refection in the mirror. Her dark circles were visible in spite of the makeup she had applied to conceal them. She had lost some weight making it easier for her to fit into her bridal lehenga which happened to be five years old --- the wine and red lehenga which Arnav had bought for her during Payal’s wedding. She hadn’t been able to wear it at the time as there was no way she could have explained such an expensive gift from Arnav. She had kept it hidden all these years, looking at it lovingly whenever she thought of him.

She hadn’t been able to resist wearing it for the first and last time. She knew it was wrong. But she couldn’t help the way she felt and it wasn’t like she hadn’t tried to correct it. Hey Devi Maiyya, why?she thought silently.

Manorama walked into the dressing room where the Guptas were busy preparing the thaali for the baraat.

‘Stop everything,’ she said ominously, her voice booming in the small room. The rest of the Raizada family came into the room followed by Anjali.They looked as surprised as the Guptas.

‘What happened, Manoramaji?’ Garima said, a worried look on her face. ‘Has the baraat arrived early?’

‘You may take your daughter and leave as there is not going to be a wedding.’

Khushi stood up from her stool resignedly, as Garima’s pooja plate crashed to the floor with a clang.

‘Please Manoramji,’ Garima pleaded with her, ‘tell us what happened.’

‘Ask you daughter.’ Manorama said tersely.

‘Ma!’ Akash exclaimed, ‘stop talking in riddles and tell us.’

‘I just got a call from your maasiji. They haven’t left Australia. They are not coming.’

‘What do you mean, they are not coming?’ Naniji said.

‘She doesn’t want to get her son married to a slut!’

‘Manorama!Manoramaji!’Nani and Garima exclaimed in unison. Khushi sat down on her stool feeling faint.

Anjali came up to Manorama angrily. ‘Mamiji, do you have any idea what you are saying?’

‘I know exactly what I am saying. Ask her what happened in Agra,’ she said, her face scornful. ‘She told Payal she got delayed because of the program, and had to stay back because of fog. We assumed she had stayed back with the rest of the participants at a hotel arranged by the organizer of her program.’

‘So?’ Akash said

‘She was lying!’ Manorama exclaimed. ‘She was at The Oberoi Amarvilas—a five star luxury hotel.’

‘Khusi?’Garima walked up to her daughter.‘What is all this? Is it true?’

When Khushi remained silent Buaji put her hand on her head. ‘Hai re Nandakisore!’ She lamented loudly. ‘Speak up girl!’

‘Why did she lie about it?’Mamiji asked, her voice rising an octave.

Even as everyone’s eyes focussed on her, Khushi’sdhak-dhak began and she raised her head and looked toward the door. What was he doing here?

‘Because it is nobody’s goddamn business!’Arnav’s voice boomed from the door.

‘Arnav!’ Both Nani and Anjali exclaimed in surprise.

‘Arnav!’ Manorama said derisively. ‘I didn’t think you would be able to make it to the wedding. Looks like you can’t stay away from your --- girlfriend ha? Now that you are here, why don’t you tell everyone about your “date” with Khushi?’

As an awkward silence filled that room for a few seconds and Arnav’s eyes took in Khushi’s tear streaked face and he fisted his hands, his knuckles showing white.

‘Manorama!’ Naniji said finally, ‘Enough of all your innuendos. Tell us clearly….now!’

‘My sister got a call from someone yesterday who told her that Khushi was seen having dinner with Arnav at The Oberoi,’ she said, ‘and that they spent the night there. She called them ----’

‘Then she probably also knows that we were there for a dinner meeting with a client -- Mr Sheik and that we left right after dinner,’ Arnav said, his anger rising with every word.

‘The hotel confirmed you were there but they said they cannot divulge details if you had a room booked in your name or not.’ Mamiji said without flinching. ‘But the fact remains that you both didn’t come back home that night.’

‘As I said earlier, it is nobody’s business what we did or did not do. We are both adults perfectly capable of taking our own decisions. But for Khushi’s sake I will tell you what happened.

‘We did set out for Delhi but I lost my way in the fog and went toward Jaipur. When it became impossible to drive further we stayed back in a tourist complex in Fatehpur Sikhri. Next morning we drove back.Nothing of the sort you are accusing us of –happened.’

‘You can say anything you want now.’ Manorama said scathingly. ‘As there are no witnesses.’

‘This is unbelievable!’ Arnav was livid. ‘No witnesses? What does your sister have? A sex tape?’

Audible gasps went through the entire room. ‘There is no need for any tape to see what’s going on between the two of you. The way you carried her up the stairs at the temple, like you had some right over her and the way she falls all over herself to make sugarless sweets for you. The hours you spent together at the office working together. God knows what has been going on behind our backs. That is exactly why I advanced the wedding – before something untoward incident occurred.

Suddenly, Khushi felt a stinging pain as Buaji’s palm connected with her cheek. When Buaji raised her hand once again, Arnav reached Khushi in an instant and held the older woman’s hand in a firm gripinterposing himself between them.

‘THAT’S ENOUGH!’ Khushi had never heard such anger in Arnav’s voice. He had always used words to cut people to bits, rather than change the tenor. But today she heard pure menace. ‘Don’t you dare – not ever.’

‘How dare you?’ Buaji released her hand angrily. She walked up to her brother who sat in his wheel chair, his eyes sadly looking at the plight of his daughter. ‘I told you the day you brought this child into our house that you were making a mistake. Today she has really proved that she comes from bad blood.’

‘Buaji you can’t be serious!’ Arnav said trying to control his temper. ‘It doesn’t matter what blood a child has. It is the bring-up that matters.’

‘Don’t talk about things you know nothing of!’ Buaji spat, he eyes widening in anger. ‘There was nothing wrong in our bring up.’

She turned around and looked at Khushi, ‘You could have at least learnt from your sister Payal. She would never do anything like this.’

An awkward silence filled the room. Looked like Buaji had been kept out of the loop that Payal and Akash had been caught hugging in Akash’s room.

As Akash and Payal exchanged uncomfortable glances,Arnav thought back to the night of the Sangeet.

He sat on the hard cast iron chair on the front lawn at the farm house, a glass of vodka martini in his hand. He had no interest in the decadent spectacle that was going on inside. Akash’s friends had arranged for an exotic dancer as a part of the entertainment for his bachelor’s party. The skimpily clad girl,gyrating to the latest Bollywood number had absolutely no grace, making the entire dance look vulgar and cheap. He could imagine a certain doe eyed beauty doing the same raunchy number with grace and sensuality all rolled into one. Khushi could never look vulgar even if she tried her best, he thought remembering her grooves on New Year’s eve.

He hadn’t been able to get her out of his thoughts since he had seen her in the red saree this evening. Who was he kidding? He hadn’t been able to get her out of his thoughts since he had seen her on that Dandia night four months back. He had tried to keep away from her but he had failed. He had been constantly looking for ways to engage with her even if it meant yelling at her for her idiosyncrasies. But she had broken down all this defences with her sheer goodness. His feelings had just been building up until he had provoked into kissing her on Diwali. After that he had been lost. And then he hadn’t been able to resist kissing her again on New Year’s eve, driven by an insane jealousy. And the last one month, his feelings were getting stronger and stronger. She was sweet, innocent, sexy – a heady combination. But the reason why he had tried to keep away from her in the first place came back nagging.

Just after the Sangeet ceremony, his mom had come into his room and told him that by dancing with Khushi he had embarrassed her in front of her friend.Then she told him then she and her childhood friend Sumitra Kashyap were hoping that he and Lavanya would marry, shocking him beyond his wits. He had told his mother right away that he was not interested in the so called arranged marriage and walked away. But he knew he hadn’t seen the end of it.

He put the glass down on the table. He didn’t want to think negative tonight. He only wanted to think about the beautiful vision in red. It had taken super human strength not to kiss her at the end of the dance as she looked up at him with luminous almond eyes, her red lips tremulous. Once the lights had been shut off on the stage, he had dragged to the side of the stage, but Payal had come and whisked her away. He wished he could hold her in his arms just once more.

Then, he saw that enchanting vision walking toward him and he thought he was hallucinating. He shook his head a couple of times to make sure what he was seeing was not a manifestation of his subconscious mind. Then he saw Payal walking a few steps behind her.Khushi was still wearing her red saree he noticed with satisfaction. F@#$! There weren’t supposed to be here.

‘What the f@#$ are you two doing here?’ Arnav stood up from his chair livid.

‘What do you think?’ Khushi asked equally angry. ‘Lavanyaji told me that there were going to be girls at the bachelor’s party. How can jeejaji do this?’

‘Wasn’t that the whole point?’ Arnav muttered under his breath exasperatedly.

‘Jeeji wants to meet jeejaji,’ Khushi said making a move toward the front door.

‘Khushi!’ Arnav held her arm and dragged her back, ‘there are a bunch of extremely drunk guys inside. Do you want to go there and get pawed?’

‘Oh my God!’ cried Payal, ‘is that what Akashji is doing right now?’

F@#$! There was no way he could handle a crying woman right now. ‘No Payal. I was talking about Akash’s friends. He is just watching the dance.’

‘What? There really is a girl inside then?’ Payal lamented as Khushi held her shoulder comfortingly.

He raked his fingers through his hair as he looked at his watch. It was time to put an end to the party. ‘You both sit here at this table and I will go in and talk to Akash, alright?’

In ten minutes he managed to break up the party and asked the really drunk Akash to wash his face before meeting his outraged fiancée. Akash then requested him to give him some time alone with Payal so he could placate her.

He decided to take Khushi out for a drive in his car. When they had driven for five minutes, Khushi asked him if he could take her to see a house she had seen a year ago in the same area. That house happened to be inside a gated community whose security guard refused to allow them in unless they were visitors to one of the residents.

‘One year ago, this was still under construction,’ Khushi explained to Arnav, ‘my friend and I were able to easily go in and see the house without a hassle.’

Just then, a resident drove by and Arnav spoke to him, requesting him that Khushi wanted to see the houses. The old gentleman immediately obliged winking at Arnav “Ah reminds me of the time I was young and in love …...’

He had walked next to Khushi, the old man’s words reverberating in his mind. ‘Khushi,’ he said pushing away his thoughts, ‘what’s course have you taken in college?’ He couldn’t believe he didn’t even know what course she studied.

‘Arts.’

‘Does that ….boy study in your college?’ He asked her hesitatingly. At her questioning look he added, ‘the one you were dancing with on New Year’s eve.’

‘Oh Rahul?’ she said chuckling, ‘how can he study in my college? Mine is a women’s college.’

‘Right.’ He didn’t know why that gave him a slight satisfaction. Damn! He felt like a chauvinist. He had dated girls who were in relationships before. What was wrong with him?

Then she went on to tell him her dreams and aspirations, about how she wanted to do further studies in dance. She was hoping to get a scholarship in one of the good institutions. She told him that it was her mother’s dream. Then she fell silent.

He looked at her woebegone face and pulled her under the branches of a tree and took her in his arms. ‘It’s okay to cry, you know.’ He knew that her foster family didn’t give her the love she deserved. He knew what it felt like to be lonely.

‘I was with them in that accident Arnavji,’ Khushi tears soaked through his shirt. ‘We were coming back on my dad’s scooter after watching a movie. It began to rain and my dad lost control and hit the median. I escaped without a scratch while they both died. I lay all night in the pitch darkness crying for my amma, until someone found me in the morning.

She must have been so scared. Damn! He stroked her hair gently as he listened. ‘I still get nightmares of that night and cannot sleep in the dark.’

‘You must miss them so much.’

‘I do. A lot. But I feel better whenever I talk to them.’

‘What?’

‘Yes, whenever I feel like talking to them I go up to the terrace, and look for them among the stars. Then I talk to them.’

Damn! He wasn’t talking to parents who were alive and well. Even with his mother it was she who did the talking most of the time. And Khushi was talking to dead parents. She was unbelievable!

She moved away from him making him feel bereft. ‘Thanks Arnavji, I am okay now.’

As they continued to walk in silence, his thoughtseven more disturbed than before, Khushi clutched at his hand in excitement.

‘Arnavji! This is the house I was talking about.’

The two storied white house had white Georgian windows, white pillars and a white picket fence around it. The house had a lovely sloping roof and a beautiful garden. He didn’t see anything extra ordinary in the house as most of the houses in the US were built that way. But seeing Khushi’s exuberance, he realized that Khushi, like most girls dreamed of the perfect life with the perfect mate.

They drove back to the farm house to find the living room empty. Khushi went upstairs while he tried Akash’s phone. He realized a few seconds too late and rushed up the stairs to see Khushi standing shell shocked at the door of the bedroom. She had just seen Akash and Payal in bed with each other, oblivious of their spectators. Before Khushi could let out a squeak Arnav covered her mouth with his hand, closing the door with his free hand.

Just then Hariprakash came in and informed them that the panditji were calling the bride and bridegroom for the Jaymala and that many guests had already arrived.

‘Oh God!’ Garima lamented looking at Khushi. ‘What are we going to do? What are we going to tell everyone?’

‘You don’t have to tell anyone anything.’ Arnav’s voice rang out loud and clear. ‘A marriage will take place tonight.’

As Khushi looked at him in surprise he looked back at her, his brown eyes clear as he said, ‘Khushi and I will marry.’

Naniji and Anjali exchanged joyful glances.

‘This is preposterous!’ Manorama exclaimed. ‘You think you both can just behave without respect and we will stand by and watch?’

‘No mami, you don’t have to.’ Arnav was curt.

‘What do you have to say to this insolence saasuma?’ Manorama said looking her mother-in-law.

Naniji walked up to Khushi followed by Anjali. She touched Khushi’s cheek gently. ‘I would love it if Khushi bitiya becomes my bahu.’ She took Khushi in her arms.

Next, Anjali embraced Khushi and said, ‘I agree with Nani.’ She smiled at her happily.

‘I am not going to stand here and watch this farce,’ Manorama said walking up to the door followed bv her husband. ‘Come on Akash.’

‘I will stay Ma.’ Akash said defiantly.

‘Akash! NK is your brother!’

‘Then he should least have had the courtesy to call me or Khushi and clarify the matter. Not turning up at the wedding was just cowardly.’

Just as Manorama made a move to argue, her husband stopped her. ‘Come Manorama, let’s go. We will talk about this later.’ He led his wife away from the room.

Out of the blue, Shyam spoke up. ‘But Anjali, you can’t just replace one groom with another just like that.’

‘Shyam!’ Anjali couldn’t believe her husband was being a spoke in the wheel.

‘All I am saying is that we should ask Khushiji what she wants.’

‘There is nothing to ask. She has to marry.’ Buaji said imperiously.

‘NO.’ Khushi said loudly and clearly.

‘What do you mean no?’ Buaji thundered.

‘Khushi ---’ Arnav tried to talk to her when Garima stopped him raising her hand.

Whatever happened was for the best, thought Shyam. NK didn’t deserve her. But Arnav had landed up to spoil everything. Anjali had always told him that Arnav was not interested in marriage. Then why the hell was he saying he wanted to marry her? Luckily, Khushiji had said no to this farce. She knew what was best for her. Shyam tried to control his smirk as he looked at Arnav’s shocked face.

Garima continued. ‘I request everyone to leave us for a few minutes,’ she said looking everyone. ‘Khushi’s dad and I would like to talk to her for a few minutes. Jiji … you too.’ She added firmly.

Finally, Arnav, the last to leave the room,looked at Khushi, his caramel brown eyes imploringto her own tear filled ones, before Garima shut the door on him.