See You Later

Chapter 2

The present

Maahi was staring at her cupboard. It was not something she did often. Especially for work. She had a standard, comfortable wardrobe that worked for her. She knew what she needed. Then why was she standing here, assessing her clothes? She saw a smile pop up in her head. Out of nowhere.

Surprise.

No. No. Just no. Out.

She shook her head and slowly and methodically, started pulling out a neatly ironed stack of clothes. She then laid the stack carefully into her bag.

Shoes. She walked over to the rack and picked up two pairs of shoes. One traditional and one set of sneakers. One comfortable and one dressy. While wrapping them in paper, she caught a glimpse of her earring hanger. One pair in particular stood out. She'd worn them several times since she'd got them as a gift from her grandmother many years ago. They were antique, chandbalis. Dadaji would always love it when she wore these. She smiled and picked them up and ran a finger over one of them. Again, out of nowhere, she remembered a memory that hadn't made an appearance in years. A head-tilt, a "You look nice today, Mehra."

She shook her head. They did suit her. She didn't need anyone to tell her that. She was just taking them out when Dadaji walked in her room.

"Betu, suno!"

"Haan."

He then spotted her holding the earrings. He instantly broke into a signature grin. It made him look younger somehow. One that gave her a tiny glimpse of how he may have looked as a young man. She felt oddly nostalgic for a time she hadn't even seen.

He took the earrings from her hand and looked at them lovingly.

He asked, "Tumhe pata hai...yeh chandbaliyan maine teri dadi ko diya tha."

She went back to her packing as she said, "Haan obviously."

He then looked up and said, "Haan but tujhe uski behind the scenes khabar toh pata hi nahi!"

She laughed at that. An important thing to know about the Mehra household is that the most social media-friendly person in the family was the one over eighty. While he initially took Abhi's help, Dadaji now knew more about the latest happenings than either of the two grandkids. In fact, on the family WhatsApp group with their parents, it was Dadaji who shared the latest memes that were trending before anyone else.

She teased, "Earrings de di par khabar nahi. Galat baat!"

Dadaji gleefully ambled over to the desk and sat down with a grunt. He made a big production of collecting his thoughts that made Maahi roll her eyes but then break into a smile. Dadaji peered at her and grinned as well, knowing his skit had been well-received. Making his granddaughter smile always made his day. He wished he got to see her around more often though than he did. But she and Abhi were here with him. That always made him feel good about life.

Maahi interrupted his train of thought and went, "Bataoge?"

He nodded and started.

"Haan! Toh baat kaafi purani hai. Main baitha tha...Dilli ke Sundar Chai dukaan mein. Mahaul par dhyaan dena, Betu. Main bas apni chai enjoy kar raha tha teri badi chachi ke saath. Woh aayi thi apne sasuraal se kuch dino ke liye. Achanak door se kahi meri aankhon mein kuch chamka."

Maahi asked, "Chamak?"

"Haan! Maine apni aankhein dhak li. Phir nazrein uthaayi. Haath neeche karne par mujhe duniya ki sabse sundar aankhein dikhi. Kajal lagaya tha usne. Woh kahi aur dekh rahi thi par, meri taraf nahi. Aur phir achanak...usne meri taraf dekha. Aur bataye bagair...usne muskura diya. Aaj bhi yeh baaliyan dekhta hoon toh mujhe uss muskaan ki yaad aa jaati hai."

Maahi had long since stopped packing and had sunk onto the edge of her bed, listening to the story. She could picture the whole thing unfold in front of her eyes. She then blinked and asked, "Par...aapne chandbaliyan kaha dekhi?"

Dadaji looked at her and smiled.

"Arre theek se dekh inhe. Aaine lage hai innpar choti choti. Dhoop chamak rahi the innpar. Isi liye toh meri nazar teri dadi par padi. Nahi toh kahani hi change ho jaati na!"

She smiled as he handed her the earrings.

"Le. Ab tu apni kahani aage badha."

She laughed as she put them in a box and tucked the box in the suitcase.

He then lightly whacked her on the head. She went, "Aaaah! Kya hua??"

He grumbled, "Jiske liye aaya tha wohi bhool gaya! Tune invitation nahi diya mujhe! How will I keep track tu kaha gayi hai and sab theek hai ki nahi?"

This was an old habit of his. Every wedding she shot, whether it was in the city or outside, she had to give him the wedding invitation and a sheet with her hotel details. She nodded and reached into her backpack to pull out the one invitation she had asked from the girl.

"Yeh lo."

He smiled and took it. Slipping on his glasses, he said, "Waise toh I know kiski shaadi hai. Tune sab bataya hai. But mann ki shaanti ke liye padh leta hoon."

"Dear family and friends,

Stories.

We never really thought about the importance of stories and what they can mean until one finally led us to one other.

The time has come to start the next chapter in this one. One filled with laughter, love and many more sticky notes.

We hope you can join us as we make this story a forever after.

Love always,

Kajal and Vikramaditya

Author's Note: Since I started writing this story in 2021, I knew I needed a couple to get married as the story focuses on a wedding photographer. And as fate would have it, these two walked in hand in hand. It was meant to be, I guess.

You are all invited to the wedding, of course. Just read along. :)

Love,

S