Becoming Sweethearts [✓]

Part Six

An hour later, Gauri and Omkara were playing a video game. Gauri was close to defeating Omkara’s character in combat when she saw her phone ringing. It was her Maa calling. Taking advantage of her distraction, Omkara killed her character off. “Hey! Asshole!” she yelled, and he shrugged saying, “All’s fair in love and war! And this is war, Sharma!” She glared at him while he gloated on his victory. “I’ll get you in the next game!” she said, not before answering her phone.

The moment Gauri answered the call, her mother said in an impatient tone, “Wherever you are, come home right now!” Gauri frowned at this new nuisance. “What? Why?” she asked and heard her mother click her tongue in annoyance. She also heard her Paddy Maasi’s voice in the background whispering something incoherent. “Why is Paddy Maasi home?” Gauri asked cautiously, making Omkara turn his head towards her. Shalini took a calm breath and said, “Paddy Maasi’s friend’s son is coming over with his family to meet you. The Agnihotri’s are looking for a bride for their only son, and Paddy Maasi showed them your picture. They liked your photograph and now they want to meet you. They’re coming over for lunch, so make sure you’re home by another one hour!” Saying this, she disconnected the call.

Gauri huffed. To feed her best friend some breakfast, her mother had made a mountain out of a molehill. Now she had absolutely no qualms about feeding lunch to an entire family. “Problem?” she heard Omkara asked her in a worried tone, and she sighed, throwing her face in her palms. “Another prospective groom coming to see me, and Mother India wants me home in an hour to doll up for him and his family!” she said. In two seconds, she heard him howl with laughter. “Fuck off, will you?” she said in a pissed tone, but he didn’t bother. he simply clutched his tummy and laughed, “Oh, poor thing!” Gauri frowned at him, saying, “Excuse me, Oberoi! I don’t need your sympathies!” He laughed louder, shaking his head, and between his laugh, he said, “My sympathies are for him, not for you!” Gauri picked up a cushion and beat him with it, as he continued to poke fun at her.

 “I’m leaving!” she said with a huff, getting up to pick her things. As his laughter subsided, he asked if he should drop her home. She smiled sarcastically, saying, “Of course. Maa will be waiting with an Aarthi ki thali to welcome you when you drop me” Omkara only grinned at her. Then, smiling a little, she said as she hugged him, “I’ll take a rickshaw. Don’t worry” He hugged her back, and wished her all the best. “May this prospective candidate be THE ONE for you!” he said, and she rolled her eyes, picking up her sling-bag. “Bye, Oberoi!” she said as she shut the door while walking out. Omkara picked up his remote control and resumed the video game, this time playing only a solo-character.

***

Gauri stood in front of the mirror, utterly disinterested, as Padmini arranged the pleats of her pink and gold saree. “Gauri, Ajinkya was born and brought up in Delhi,” she began, as she stood up to comb Gauri’s hair. Gauri curved her lips in distaste. Even the name, ‘Ajinkya’, made her cringe. Padmini, noticing her expressions, gave her a small pat on the back of her head, making her frown and sit up straight. Smiling brightly, she said, “You probably don’t remember him, but you had met him when we had all gone to Delhi in 1996. You were just four years old then. You and ‘Ajju’ had gelled so well the moment you met each other! Kitne cute dikhte the tum dono ‘ghar-ghar’ khelthe hue bachpan mein!” she said with a nostalgic and excited smile as she finished combing Gauri’s hair, while the latter only narrowed her eyes.

Shalini walked into the room, and smiled looking at her daughter almost dolled up. Padmini turned to her sister and said, “Agnihotri’s are a very nice family, Shalu. And the fact that they saw our Gauri’s photograph and themselves asked to meet her for Ajju is also there. Yeh Rishta pakka ho gaya na, toh samjho Gauri ki life settled. Ajju is presently working in Canada; so, after marriage, Gauri also will be settling in Canada!”