And then she said it!

PART 6

MATCH ME, IF YOU CAN!

"How is Riddhima mom?" I asked
sitting beside Rahul on the sofa
where he and mom had been
enjoying their morning coffee. Unlike
me, Rahul usually follows the
principle of 'Early to bed and early to
rise' when he is home. I bet he does
that inorder to please mom though. I
had never seen him wake up that
early when we were in Hyderabad,
except for the days when he had an
early morning shift.
"I am fine." Came the irritated reply.
I turned back and found Riddhima
coming to the living room with two
mugs of coffee. She handed me one
and sat beside mom, her face
adorned with a frown. Rahul and I
chuckled while mom laughed softly.
Now you must be wondering why
Riddhima was irritated, which is so
unlikely of her showing it. So let me
clear it.
The last two days passed by fast.
Mom lodged a complaint against
Shekar, with the management after
coming to know what had happened.
Riddhima, as usual was against that.
But I was adamant that we go ahead
with the case and Rahul sided with
me. Mom was a little apprehensive
whether Riddhima would open her
mouth infront of the Disciplinary
Committee but I had my own ways of
dealing with Riddhima.
On the day of committee hearing,
Riddhima looked at us for one last
time pleading for a no. So I used my
not so pleasant technique to get her
do it. I glared at her, frowning and
bingo, she did it. Well, if she is
scared of me, I might as well use it.
So as we had planned for, his
campus offers had been retracted
back and he was suspended for the
whole trimester. I was hell bent on
getting him rusticated though.
Witnessing the extent to which she
had cried in my arms, I was scared if
Riddhima would go back to her shell.
But I didn't know what mom had
talked to her for Rahul and I were
surprised at her normal behavior.
She was more or less the usual shy
and nervous Riddhima the next
morning. Nevertheless, we were
happy for her and mom was relieved.
Now coming to the reason for her
irritation, it was the strategy
formulated by Mrs. Ananya Aman Mallik,
simply my mom, to help Riddhima
deal with the incident. Mom took
leave for the next two days as well
and she along with Rahul and me
left no stones unturned in
pampering Riddhima, making sure
that she wipes the horrible incident
from her mind. We took her to
movies, shopping, parks and
restaurants. However she being
herself, protested on wasting so
much money on her but we, the
Malliks were adamant. Well, Rahul
might be termed as Mallik as well,
though he was not born in our
family; he holds the same position as
I do.
You might be wondering what was
the need to get irritated in this.
Well, my readers, you were right till
the point. But let me tell you what
happened after that.
Somehow Muski came to know of the
mishap. I bet Rahul had told her. I
am sure, my readers, that there was
something going on between Muski
and Rahul. For everything that
happens at home reaches Muski. Not
that I am complaining but was
irritated as to why Rahul keeps it a
secret. I am sure they talk in the
night when I was asleep. I tried
spying on Rahul a couple of times
when we were in Hyderabad. But
every time I ended up asleep. Well,
knowing Rahul, he sometimes suffers
with inferiority complex at having
termed as an orphan. Usually mom
takes utmost care of this when he
attends our family functions making
sure he wouldn't come across the
situation wherein he had to feel out
of the place. I wonder whether that's
holding him back. I am sure he
would never confess that in both the
family unless Muski herself blurts it
out. And knowing Muski, that would
be too soon for she couldn't handle
her vocal abilities well.
So now where was I? Yeah, when
Muski came to know about the
incident, she offered her generous
help. By then mom, Rahul and I were
aware of the gradually evaporating
patience of Riddhima. But knowing
her well, we kept quiet as we know
she would never take her frustration
out. We might as well use that. So
we asked Muski to go ahead with her
generous help. And to Riddhima's
horror, she told us she wanted to
take her to a spa clinic, where she
got the appointment for complete
grooming of Riddhima.
Riddhima pleaded us to no end to let
her not to go there but mom was
adamant and so were we. Then we
got to see a complete new side of
Riddhima. I guess mom was aware of
that, so she wasn't perturbed but
after what had happened Rahul and
I were staring at her with our
mouths literally wide open.
She threatened mom that she
wouldn't talk to her first. When that
didn't work, she even warned us she
would vacate the house. I even
laughed at her threat. Really, she
thought we would believe her? She
was the one who cried coming to me
not to chuck her out. And then she
started satyagrah at home till Muski
turned up to drag her. She then
fought with Muski and mom while
Rahul and I enjoyed the scene. I
guess Muski and mom were used to
her tactics for they stood grounded.
Finally she gave up and went to the
clinic with Muski, only after stomping
her foot against the sofa in the living
room.
Later mom told us about all her
naughty tactics in the last one month
when she got comfortable with her. I
was surprised at knowing she had a
streak of naughtiness in her. But
then everyone has that. Well, I guess
Riddhima chose to keep it hidden.
'It's during some special situations
like these, we get to have a glance at
a real Riddhima.' Mom had told us.
That's when I understood Riddhima
a bit more. She is afterall a young
lady, barely a couple of years younger
to me. She might have had many
dreams and aspiration locked up in
her heart that she preferred not to
expose.
Well, I was happy that Riddhima was
getting comfortable in our presence.
Unlike the Riddhima I had met when
I came to Bangalore. She is a bit
relaxed when I was around. But to
my inconvenience she was more
relaxed with Rahul. Mom and Rahul
laughed at me when I whined about
that. 'She told me she was afraid of
your anger.' Mom told me. And I
couldn't do much about that. Among
Rahul and me, I was a bit short-
tempered, witty and humored while
Rahul was sensitive, calm and strong
willed.
Oh yeah, coming back to the real
Riddhima, she returned from the
clinic in the evening with an
absolutely irritated face. She
continued her satyagrah the whole
evening till dinner. When she tried
to skip dinner, I intimidated her into
eating and by the look on her face,
she wanted to eat me alive. But
hello remember, you are scared of
me! And since then I had been at
the receiving side of her irritation
with mom and Rahul chuckling.
As far as I am concerned I didn't
mind that as long as Riddhima was
comfortable. Well, I myself felt I am
going out of my way to keep her
comfortable. But I didn't find any
answer whenever I found myself
asking that. It might be due to the
fact that since my birth, I was
surrounded by strong headed women,
be it mom, Padma aunty or Muski. I
didn't get a chance to take care of them
emotionally. That might be one
reason as to why I find that need to
make sure she is fine. But is that
the sole reason?
"I am not going anywhere today."
Riddhima's declaration broke my
chain of thoughts. With the previous
thoughts still running at the
backdrop of my mind, I looked at her.
Like me and Rahul, she was still in
her night clothes with a sweater.
Due to the early morning chillness,
her skin was pale with her nose and
cheeks slightly pink. And well, she
looked cute with her hair tied in a
high ponytail on her head. She
crossed her legs on the sofa, Indian
style and buried her face in the news
paper while I found myself still
staring at her.
Mom's not so unintentional cough
caught my attention and I averted
my gaze to Rahul. To my utter
embarrassment, he gave me a I-
caught-you smirk which led me to
bury my head in the magazine that
lay on the table. The next moment, I
heard Rahul and mom laughing,
probably looking at each other, while
I closed my eyes sighing. What the
hell had I been thinking staring at
her and that with these devils beside
me?
"Why are you laughing aunty?"
Riddhima asked mom.
"Nothing." Mom said smiling.
"Armaan had to meet Sanjana today."
She added and my head shot up.
"What? Mom? Why?" I asked putting
the magazine and my cup of coffee
aside. Wasn't she the same girl
Padma aunty had told me?
"What why? Padma told me she had
talked to her parents and they
wanted her to meet you. I didn't
have any objection so I told okay."
Mom told as a matter of fact.
"Okay? You told them okay without
asking me?" I asked not so pleased
with that piece of information.
"You agreed for it yourself, praising
Padma's match making skills." Mom
shot back. Rahul chuckled at this
while Riddhima grinned.
"I just agreed. Didn't praise aunty's
match making skills." I said imitating
mom. I got up from the sofa. "What
time I have to meet her?"
"10.30. At the Corner House,
Marathahalli." She told smiling. "Take
Riddhima and Rahul with you. Also
ask Muskaan if she wants to come
along."
Great! Why wouldn't Muskaan come if
that's at Corner House? That's her
favourite hangout place in Bangalore,
to enjoy mouth watering ice creams
and fast food. Whole gang for my
match making!
"But Riddhima doesn't want to come,
right?" I asked her hoping atleast
one member would reduce.
"No no. I will come." Riddhima said
immediately. I tried glaring at her,
yet again, but she turned her face
away.
"Fine." I muttered and went to my
room. To get ready ofcourse!
"Hi." I stood up from the chair as I
saw Sanjana coming towards me. She
was slightly different from the photo
aunty had shown me before leaving
home. But then girls don't look the
same in photographs they send for
marriage proposals, do they?
"Hi. I am Sanjana." She smiled
warmly at me. She looked decent and
smart in anarkali suit that hug her
body perfectly. She was average in
height. May be 5"5" or an inch more.
Her complexion was fair.
"Armaan Mallik." I said before sitting
back on the chair while she sat in
the chair opposite to me. The very
instant I heard Muskaan giggling
from Sanjana's back. The trio sat in
the table next to ours facing me. I
could see Rahul and Riddhima trying
hard to suppress their smiles as well
as control Muskaan.
"How are you?" I heard Sanjana's
voice and averted my gaze from the
trio.
"Fine. Perfect." I said smiling while
still glaring at Muskaan whom I could
see at the back of Sanjana. "And --
you?"
"Good." She said smiling shyly.
"What shall I get for you?" I asked
her.
"Ice-cream. Any flavor is fine with
me."
"Fine. I'll b back in a couple of
minutes." I told her and went to the
menu stand to get us something.
While moving there, I signaled Rahul
to come along, with my eyes. I am
sure Muski would do something if
she stays here. It's better to get her
out of the place.
"What happened?" Rahul asked
grinning at me.
"As if you don't know. I'll punch you
saale." I said scowling. I placed an
order for an ice cream and a milk
shake and waited. "Okay fine. Please
don't let Muski do anything stupid.
Take her away from here." I
whispered into his ear.
"Okay I'll take her. What shall I do
with Riddhima?" he asked back.
Is that a question? "Ofcourse, take
her along." I said looking back at
Sanjana to make sure she wasn't
noticing us. "What would Riddhima
do here alone?"
"Okay. We'll go the shopping mall
beside. Join us when your
introduction is done." He said
punching me playfully in my abs.
"Rahul, don't leave Riddhima alone."
I almost regretted saying the words
the moment they escaped my throat.
So I took our order and went back to
the table where Sanjana was sitting.
I didn't dare look back at Rahul. I
knew he would have a smirk etched
on his face. That was weird, the way I
was tempted to take care of her.
"Thanks." Sanjana's voice broke my
train of thoughts and I smiled at her
politely. From the corner of my eyes,
I watched Riddhima and Rahul
pulling a reluctant Muskaan away.
"So, what do you do?" I asked her,
trying to start a meaningful
conversation.
"I am working with Power Solutions
here in Bangalore after doing my
B.E." She said. She sounded
confident which, I had to admit,
impressed me.
"Do you want to go for Post
Graduation?" I asked her.
"Would you have a problem if I said
yes?" She asked back, while I smiled.
This girl has a brain, I thought,
unlike the previous one I had met.
This time I was also impressed with
Padma aunty, for her choice.
"No. That would never be a
problem." I said. Then there was a
silence for complete five minutes. I
sat sipping my milk shake looking
around while she did the same with
her ice-cream. And then we looked at
each other and smiled. Then we
burst into laughter.
"This is so weird." She remarked after
a moment. I nodded. "Have you met
girls like this earlier?" she enquired.
"Yeah, a couple of girls." I said.
"Why didn't you like them?" She
probed further, while I raised my
brows.
"To meet you, I guess." I quipped
and she laughed. Harmless flirting is
always healthy. Moreover she
appeared sportive.
"That's cheeky." She added still
smiling. That kind of broke the ice
between us. And then we spoke
about our professions, about
Bangalore, about Hyderabad, about
our friends and much more.
She seemed like a good person.
Practical minded and ambitious. I
know it's early to arrive at a
conclusion but it's truly said 'The
first impression is the best one.' And
with this acquaintance with her, she
kind of charmed me, but still I felt
something missing.
It was around 12.30 when she left.
Then I called Rahul to find out where
they were and joined them. First we
went to a nearby restaurant to have
lunch and then went to watch a
movie. And Muskaan as expected
bombarded me with innumerable
question regarding our meeting,
while Rahul appeared curious to
know as well. I let them know bits
and pieces of our conversation. The
point that caught my attention was
Riddhima being unusually quiet,
unlike she was in the morning.
Late in the evening after watching a
movie, we went to a nearby club on
Muski's insistence. I was on wary
regarding Riddhima's reaction, but
she seemed okay with it. I called
mom and informed her we would be
late.
After reaching the club, Muski
straight away went to the dance
floor, while I sent Rahul with her to
keep an eye on her. And not so
surprisingly, Rahul ran after her.
"You want something?" I asked
Riddhima as we sat on the couch.
"Do we get any fruit juices here?"
she asked me moving closer a bit.
The loud sound wasn't helping us
taking.
"I'll check it out." I shouted into her
ear and moved towards the bar. She
looked around, as if studying the
surroundings before looking back at
me.
I took a mini tin of beer and a diet
coke for her as fruit juices weren't
available. "Is this okay with you?" I
asked her giving her the coke.
"Thanks." She smiled hesitatingly.
"You can join them. I am fine here."
She said after a moment, pointing
towards Muski and Rahul who were
enjoying each other's company.
"No. That's okay. Let them enjoy." I
replied sipping my drink. As the time
passed, the music grew louder and
the crowd increased. I spotted few of
my friends from college and joined
them once in a while. I tugged
Riddhima along with me where ever I
went for I was not sure of leaving her
alone. She stayed by me all the time;
but silent which kind of worried me.
After some time, she left my side and
went and sat on the couch in the
open lounge. She appeared deep in
thought. I joined her after a couple
of minutes after bidding bye to my
friends.
"Are you fine Riddhima? You appear
lost somewhere." I sat on the couch
opposite to her. "We will head back
if you want."
"That's fine." She replied smiling
slightly. "It's just that your world is
quite different from mine. I am
trying to absorb it all." She added
looking at the sky.
It's just a simple sentence but
somehow I could read the depth of
it. "What is the difference that you
found?" I asked her.
She looked at me straight into my
eyes before looking away. "Your world
is full of life, full of people, full of joy
and security." She answered.
"If that's the difference you noted,
then you deserve to be in our world."
I smiled warmly at her.
"Really?" She asked, surprised, her
eyes bigger than usual.
"Really!" I assured her. "Come with
me." I said offering her my hand.
"Where?" She asking standing up.
"To our world." I replied. "Let me
introduce that to you." And to my
surprise she didn't hesitate to come
along.
I guided her to the dance floor
where Muski had been dancing her
heart out. She came to her running
when she spotted us approaching
them. She pulled her to the center of
the dance floor, and Riddhima pulled
me along, not letting go of my hand.
Rahul followed me forming a perfect
chain.
Muskaan, high in her spirits at the
loud music, made Riddhima dance to
the tunes, while Riddhima obliged
reluctantly. Rahul and I stood
behind them, guarding them from
other guys, laughing as the girls
giggled and danced. And to my
absolute wonder, I found my eyes
darting every now and then towards
a dancing Riddhima. I felt good to
see her laugh and giggle and enjoy
herself. Mom would have been
absolutely happy, had she witnessed
this.
It was something around 9, when we
reached home. Muski, dead tired
after her dancing marathon, headed
straight to her room to sleep. When
we entered our home, I found Padma
aunty talking with mom, I am sure
about Sanjana and me.
"Hi mom, hi aunty." I greeted
them and so did Rahul and
Riddhima.
"Where is Muskaan?" Aunty asked us
while Rahul and I settled on the
bean bags with Riddhima beside
mom.
"In her room. She was tired."
Riddhima answered that.
"Go and have shower. You all smell
awful." Mom remarked twisting her
nose. As if everyone else would smell
pleasantly after dancing for almost
two hours! Anyhow, we headed
towards our respective rooms.
"Armaan, come down quickly. I want
to talk to you." I heard aunty's voice
and I knew it had to be about
Sanjana. I myself haven't come to a
conclusion about it.
Rahul slumped himself on the bed
the moment we entered our room.
"It was an eventful day." He sighed.
It indeed was, for quite a many
reasons. I took a towel and my night
clothes and went to the washroom.
"How was she?" Rahul asked me
when I stepped out of the washroom
ruffling my wet hair. He was already
dressed in kurta and pyjama. He
must have used another washroom, I
thought.
"She was fine." I answered.
"Only fine?" He probed further, lying
on the bed with his hands folded
beneath his head.
"Okay, she was good." I replied back
and threw the towel on his face
when I noticed him grinning.
I sighed and closed my eyes, taking a
deep breath before moving
downstairs with Rahul following me.
Riddhima was already down, in her
night clothes and a sweater, sitting
beside mom. We went and took our
seats. With aunty and mom looking
at me curiously, I somehow felt as if
I was sitting for a viva session.
"So?" Aunty started raising her brow.
"So what?" I asked, faking
innocence.
"You know what it is." Aunty said
narrowing her eyes.
Then aunty, mom, Rahul and even
Riddhima looked at me anxiously
awaiting my reply. With four pair of
eyes staring at me expectantly, I
adjusted my posture on the bean
bag.
"No." I said after a moment and I
felt every one sigh. I guess they had
been holding their breath. "She was
good, as a person. But I didn't feel
anything else. So no." I elaborated it
for them.
Padma aunty gave me a disapproving
look and then turned to mom. "I'll
talk to you later Ananya." She told and
headed out, but only after smacking
the back of my head gently.
"Padma had so many hopes on this
girl." Mom said when we stood to
move to the dining table.
"Mom, we'll do one thing. We'll get
Rahul married to her." I quipped and
Rahul choked on the water he had
been drinking. He kicked my foot
from under the table.
"Yeah. I'll talk about it to Padma."
Mom sided with me while Riddhima
giggled silently looking at Rahul.
"Aunty" Rahul drawled, embarrassed.
And then mom and I pulled Rahul's
leg about few other female
colleagues in our company back at
Hyderabad. I told mom how they
found Rahul cute. Then came
Riddhima's turn. Rahul and I
narrated the tale of her dancing to
mom, while mom stared at us
baffled. I then went a step ahead
and teased her about her moves on
the floor to which she gladly
blushed, much to mom's
astonishment.
After dinner, Riddhima went upstairs
at something around 10.30 pm. The
remaining three of us sat infront of
the TV. I sat on the floor resting my
back against the sofa while Rahul
settled beside mom on the sofa with
his head in her lap.
"So Armaan, tell me about Sanjana."
Mom asked after sometime.
"Nothing to tell mom. She is a
confident girl, smart headed and
practical." I told as a matter of fact.
"Then what happened?" Rahul asked.
"I didn't feel like she's the one. You
know like something special." I
replied turning back to face mom.
"You will find that someone special,
only if you convince yourself of that
fact that she is special." Mom said
caressing my hair.
"Yes aunty, you are absolutely right."
Rahul added grinning at me.
"Is it Rahul? Is it the same with
Muski?" I shot back and his eyes
popped out.
"Don't act surprised. I knew about
you both." That was mom and we
both stared at her aghast. "I am sure
Padma also is aware of that."
"No aunty, there is nothing like
that." Rahul spoke immediately.
"If you say so." Mom added and
winked at me breaking my trance.
God, mom is way ahead of me.
"Mom, you should have born after
some twenty five years later than you
did. I would have married you for
sure." I remarked while she smacked
my arm.
"I don't think uncle would have
allowed that however." Rahul added
while mom nodded at his words.
"Mom, why is that always Padma
aunty had been choosing girls for
me? Why don't you pick one? I am
sure you would know what I wanted."
I said. That was true. It was always
aunty who had been bringing
matches for me. This particular
thought always wondered me. Mom
never spoke anything. She always left
it to me.
"Do you believe in my choice for
you?" Mom asked, her voice serious
this time. Rahul sat straight on the
sofa.
"Ofcourse mom, more than I believe
in myself." I replied squeezing her
hand.
"What about Riddhima?" She asked
out of blue.
"Mom?" I stared at her perplexed. I
wasn't sure even if I had heard it
right. Riddhima? For me?
"What if I say my choice is
Riddhima?" She said calmly. I looked
at Rahul. He had no idea of what
mom was speaking, for he stared at
me confused for a moment.
"You are not serious mom, are you?"
I asked again to make sure. Where
did mom get this idea from? About
me and Riddhima?
"I am pretty serious Armaan." She
replied. And by the look on her face
I knew she was damn serious.
"But mom, Riddhima is an-"
"Leave her background aside
Armaan." Mom interrupted me.
"What do you think about
Riddhima?" She asked, again.
I looked at her confused. Where did
the conversation lead to? I didn't
understand what to say. I looked at
Rahul for some help, but he seemed
unusually calm, almost like he
agreed with mom. Did he?
"Mom, why do you think so?" I asked
back. This conversation about me
and Riddhima made me
uncomfortable. I don't know, I could
have normally put an end to the
discussion with a no, like I did with
Sanjana. But somehow my heart
couldn't formulate a no straightaway.
"Armaan, did you realize, you behave
as if you are possessive of Riddhima,
making sure that she is fine. You
lose your temper so easily with her,
which you do only with me or Rahul."
Mom said. I found myself examining
the same with myself.
"And yes Armaan, you are always
anxious of her comfort. Much more
than you do for Muski or aunty."
Rahul added.
"No Rahul, you got it wrong. Mom,
it's just that with Riddhima being so
navie and delicate, I feel this need to
protect her, to take care of her.
That's it." I tried defending myself.
But I knew those words didn't even
convince me, let alone thinking about
mom.
"Then why not take care of her, all
your life?" I heard mom and looked
at her.
"I--I don't know what to say. I'll talk
to you later." I said and got up to my
feet.
"Armaan, one second." Mom stopped
me. "If Riddhima isn't worth of being
in your life, I wouldn't have brought
this up." She said kissing my temple
when I bent down. "And mind you,
the vice versa holds strong too. I am
not forcing you, but just give it a
thought. Riddhima, just as a girl.
Don't tag her with being an orphan."
She added and I nodded.
I went to my room in daze, my head
already sunk in thoughts about what
mom and Rahul had said. I lay
straight on the bed staring at the
ceiling.
"Did you realize Armaan, this is the
first time you agreed to think of a
girl rather than refusing it
instantly?" He asked smiling at me. I
had obviously noticed that, the
answer of which is unknown to me.
"Is my behavior towards her, that
obvious?" I asked back ignoring his
question. He nodded at me seriously.
I drifted back into my thoughts. This
time not about what Rahul and mom
had told but about Riddhima, just as
a girl to be in my life. Recollecting
all our previous encounters, I
realized that perhaps Rahul and
mom were true. It's true that I feel a
strong concern towards her, to guard
her, and shield her. Mom's words
rang in my ears as I closed my eyes
reluctantly. Why not take care of her,
all your life?

So that's it for today! Does Armaan have feelings for Riddhima? What do you'll think? Bye. -Isha