And then she said it!

PART 12

GROOM-AL MISERIES!
It had been two days that I was back
to Hyderabad. It being already the
end of April, the new recruits were
expected to join us in a month or
two. So everyone in the HR
department had been busy for the
last two days and so was I. I had
talked to Riddhima properly only
once over the phone when I called
home to let them know I had reached
safe. The means by which I had to
talk to her turned out to be a
problem. I have to call on mom's
mobile or the home landline. Calling
on mom's mobile turned out to be
little embarrassing. And strangely
the landline was always answered by
Muski who seemed to have decided
to stay with Riddhima since they
were giving their finals. She, being
the devil she was, never allowed me
to talk to Riddhima properly in her
presence. Moreover since they had
their final papers this week, I
decided not to disturb her
frequently.
Back here at Hyderabad, Rahul
treated me with cold shoulders when
I told him that our roka was done.
He talked to mom asusual when she
called him to apologize as it was
done without his presence. But I had
been at the receiving end of his sort
of silent treatment. Come on, my
readers, what do I do if I was roka-ed
with Riddhima without my
knowledge. Not that I complained
but how do I inform him beforehand
if I, myself, wasn't aware of that? So I
was on my mission of being extra
sweet to him.
Amidst all this, one more thing I
realized was that I missed Riddhima
already. I didn't know that one day
with her would have such an effect
on me. Wasn't that strange? And
that little peck I had given her was
like permanently etched infront of
my eyes. Every time I thought about
it, I was left behind with a strange
tingling. I expected her skin to be
soft the way her body was, but her
cheek had been extra soft against my
lips. Couple of times, I found myself
dreaming about cuddling her, talking
to her about everything under the
sun. I knew I was going crazy, but I
couldn't help it, could I? May be
they were something like groomal
woes!
The buzz of the intercom caught my
attention. "Armaan Mallik" I replied,
scanning the documents infront of
me about the training schedule of
the new recruits.
"Come to the conference hall.
Archana is ready with the detailed
Schedule." It was Ankit. So I placed
the documents in proper order and
headed for the hall.
The presentation lasted for about 45
minutes with me drifting in and out
of my thoughts about Riddhima.
Towards the end of the session, I was
asked to give the feedback about the
schedule. Frankly speaking, I hadn't
paid complete attention to it. But by
the amount I had listened to it, it
was impressive.
"It was good. I guess two months
would be quite adequate." I nodded
at Ankit and Rahul. "Good job
Riddhima."
I got up from my seat and expected
others would make a move. But
everyone sat in their chairs staring at
me with a smirk on their faces. And
Rahul was ready to burst out.
Wondering what went wrong, I
recalled my words. And I cursed
myself under my breath when I
realized my blunder.
"I am sorry. Archana, good job." I
corrected myself. "Prepare the
database and mail the schedule to
the recruits." I added, smiling
embarrassed.
Everyone in the hall laughed out
softly at my attempt to cover up the
obvious and headed out leaving
Ankit, Rahul and me in the hall. I
waited for them till they were done
with guffawing.
"Okay now! Stop it guys." I scowled
at them, scratching my chin.
"My dear to-be-groom, this happens."
Ankit guided me out of the hall with
his arm around my shoulder with
Rahul following us chuckling. "Don't
worry, I'll grant you an extra leave
for your honeymoon." He added and I
turned red around my ears. He
patted my back and left to his cabin
while Rahul headed to his own only
after sparing me a wink.
I entered my cabin and sighed
sitting in the chair. Ever since I had
told everyone that I was engaged,
everyone had been trying to pull my
leg. And I, with my slips of tongue,
gave them ample number of chances
paving way for my own
embarrassment.
"Armaan Mallik." I answered my
mobile when it rang.
"Hello, Armaan. This is Riddhima."
The person on the other side spoke.
"Huh?" I stared at the mobile for a
couple of moments wondering if it
was another of my crazy illusions.
"Riddhima, from Bangalore." She
replied skeptically, again.
"Oh hi Riddhima." I composed
myself quickly. "How are you? How
are your exams going?" I asked
getting up from the chair and
moving towards the window, my
heart already bubbling in some weird
joy at her voice.
"I am fine. I am done with one
paper. Three more electives are left."
She replied nervously. "Actually, I
called you because-"
"Missing me?" I cut her midsentence,
smiling. I was sure she would have
had her mouth wide open at my
remark.
"No." Came the quick reply.
"No?" I questioned feigning
disappointment.
"No no. Yes, I mean no. I-" I
chuckled at her stutter. "Actually
aunty bought me a new mobile
yesterday. So this is my number."
She changed the topic immediately.
"Is it? That's good." I replied. I
thought of giving her a mobile so as
to talk to her freely without any
disturbance, but mom was way ahead
of me. "So I can call you anytime.
Can I?"
"Yes." She replied. And I could bet
she was blushing. "I was thinking-"
"About me?" I teased her further.
This was so much fun.
"Stop dreaming." My eyes widened at
the voice. It wasn't Riddhima's.
"Muski!" I exclaimed horrified. "What
are you doing there?"
"Oye stop shouting." she retorted. "I
was the one who made Riddhima call
you." She replied giggling.
"Shit!" I muttered under my breath
and cut the call. I was sure Muski
had been laughing her heart out at
me. Missing me? I imitated my own
voice and for once cursed the person
who invented the mobile.
I turned around and gasped at the
sight infront of me. Can the day get
more embarrassing? Grinning at me
were two devils namely- Rahul and
Ankit, with their hands in their
pockets, leaning onto the glass door
of my cabin. And by the look on their
faces, I knew they had heard
everything. Nothing left in my hands
to do I smiled at them like a clown
and slipped out of my cabin before
they would torture me again.
"Armaan, aunty called on your mobile
this morning when you were asleep.
Call her back." Rahul told me the
moment I stepped out of my
bedroom.
"Oh okay." I nodded and made my
way to the living room to go through
the news paper. "Where are going,
this early?" I asked him as he got
ready to leave.
"I have an early shift today. See
you." He replied and left while I lay
across the sofa and switched on the
TV. I selected the music channel and
scanned the news paper. Suddenly
the song was changed to "maa da
ladla" from dostana and I found
myself laughing remembering my
encounter with Riddhima.
The more careful I was since that day
in office three days back, where I
made myself a fool, the more I found
embarrassing myself. I didn't
understand what was going wrong, or
may be right, but Riddhima's name
was etched at the tip of my tongue.
With everyone pulling my leg
incessantly, I was sometimes
frustrated but most of the times, I
strangely enjoyed it. I would never
admit it to Rahul or Ankit, but I felt
happy when they tagged me along
with Riddhima. Suddenly I felt I was
a teenager.
Smiling at my thoughts, I picked up
my mobile and dialed mom's
number. But before the line could
connect, I thought otherwise and cut
the call. I dialed Riddhima's
number. For the last three days I
barely talked to her. She was busy
with her papers and mom warned me
not to disturb her.
"Hi Riddhima" I greeted excitedly
when the call was taken.
"No, her mother-in-law" came the
reply. I stared at the mobile for a
couple of seconds before the words
made sense to me.
"Mom?" I asked skeptically. But why
didn't Riddhima pick up the call?
"Yes. Disappointed?"
"Mom!" I whined. Weren't three
villains enough in my life, for mom
joining the league? I heard her
laugh. "Rahul told that you called in
the morning?"
"Yes. There is something important I
wanted to talk to you." She sounded
serious.
"What happened? Is everything
Okay?" I asked sitting straight.
"Yes everything is fine Armaan. But
there is a small problem." She said
slowly, her voice calm.
"Problem? What problem?" I asked,
my voice urgent.
"Do you mind getting married to
Riddhima on May 6th?"
"What!?" I jumped from the sofa.
"Mom's it's not even one week." I
did a quick math looking at the
calendar on the wall.
"Eight days from today." She
corrected me.
"Only eight days mom, how is that
possible?" I started pacing to and fro
in the living room.
"You don't have any second thoughts
regarding Riddhima, do you?" Her
voice was wary.
"No mom, absolutely nothing." I said
immediately. "But mom, that's too
early. We barely know each other."
"I understand you Armaan, but there
is a small problem with Riddhima's
kundali." She said.
"Huh? What problem?" I questioned.
"I can't explain it over the phone,
but Pandit said its better you get
married to her that day and then
visit omkareshwar temple during
Rewa's pushkaras."
"Mom, I don't understand anything."
I admitted. Only the word pushkara
made sense to me. That's because I
have been to Ganga's pushkaras
during my high school.
"I'll explain you everything once you
come here. But for now, tell me what
you want to do?"
"uhhmm, when is the next date?" I
asked, deep in thought. I felt as if I
were put in a tape and was in the
mode of fast forward. One week? I
mean only one week for my
bachelorhood?
"After dussehra." She replied, her
voice soft. And I panicked.
"What? After dussehra, that's too
far." Almost 6 months from now.
"hmm. So what do you want to do?"
She asked again.
"What did Riddhima say?" I tossed
back.
"I didn't talk to her yet. I'll talk to
her once you take a decision." She
said. Like always, I thought.
But what do I do now? It's either too
early or too late. But eight days?
That's more than I could bargain for.
"Mom, I'll call you later. Is that
okay?" I asked her hesitantly. I didn't
know what to do but I needed some
time to sort my head out. I have to
talk to Rahul about it.
"Fine Armaan, but make it quick."
She replied. And I cut the call after
a quick good bye.
I went to the office almost
mechanically, my mind wandering
around mom's words. Eight days?
Just eight days? I found myself
thinking over that one thing. My
heart didn't want to wait for 6
months and my mind didn't want it
so early in 8 days. Out of irritation
between the contradictory thoughts,
I found myself wondering why man
was blessed with a heart as well as a
mind. Couldn't one serve the
purpose of two; so as to avoid those
contradictory battles? Later I found
myself laughing at my own thoughts.
It being Friday, the end of the week
for work, we were busy whole day,
submitting the reports to our
respective heads. Till evening that
diverted my mind off my so called
inner battle between mind and heart
but after a short break in the
evening, as I made myself a little
free, everything returned back. Rahul
had been too busy that I barely got
to see him let alone talk to him.
"Hello young man, thinking about
someone?" It was Ankit grinning at
me standing at the door of my cabin.
There he goes again! I smiled at him
when he came and took the chair
infront of me. "Rahul told me that
your fiancé is placed in our company,
is it?"
Cursing Rahul under my breath, I
nodded at him. "Yes, she's done her
MBA from my college and was hired
in our recruitment." I stood up and
sat in the chair beside him.
"Wonderful! Then I'll have both the
Malliks to myself." He grinned again
and I couldn't help but smile at his
excitement. He is a sweet old man,
almost a fatherly figure to me. "So
can I have a look at that young lady
who stumped you?"
And suddenly, I realized I don't have
a picture of Riddhima with me. How
stupid does that sound? Not only did
I miss clicking a snap of hers on my
mobile but also forgot to ask for one
from her or from mom. After a
moment, bulb in my head lit
suddenly and I pulled my laptop to
me and opened the database of the
fresh recruits. I entered her name
and hit the search button.
I smiled sheepishly at Ankit when he
raised his brow at my actions. "I
don't have her photo." I replied. "It
must be available in our database for
the fresh recruits." I added while he
shook his head smiling.
My heart skipped a beat when the
search yielded zero results. I
rechecked her name and location and
wondered what went wrong. I almost
panicked when the second search
showed the same results.
"Armaan, my boy! I don't think she is
a Mallik yet." Ankit patted my back
chuckling while I looked at him
baffled for a moment.
I stared back at the results displayed
on the screen and slowly a grin
covered my face. Lying comfortably in
one rectangular box was her name-
Riddhima Mallik. And it was just
perfect, more than perfect! Shaking
my head at my own stupidity, I re-
entered her name and hit the search
button again.
After a couple of seconds, her profile
popped up. And it contained her
formal photograph, but she was
weird in that photo. She made a face
as if she was absolutely not
interested. Nevertheless, I pushed
the laptop towards Ankit and he
immersed his head in it, taking off
his glasses and tilting his head in
different angles examining her face.
"I could barely see her features." He
was not satisfied. "Don't you have
any other?"
I shook my head negatively. When he
got up sighing, something hit my
brain. "Ankit, wait a minute if you are
free." I said grabbing my phone and
dialing Muski's number. He raised
his brow at me and sat back in her
chair.
"Hey Muski!" I spoke into the phone
when the call was taken.
"Hello Armaanji!" She replied. After
that call fiasco a couple of days back,
I haven't talked to her. It was way
more embarrassing. "Riddhima is not
with me at present."
"No, no. I want to talk to you." I said
quickly.
"Oh! I should have known that taking
into account that you have called
me." She said. I could also hear to
her giggling.
"Muski please" I pleaded.
"Okay!" She sounded serious. "How
can I help you Mr. Mallik." There she
goes again!
"uh-mmm Muski, can you mail me
the pictures you have clicked that
day when I was in Bangalore?" I
asked her slowly, my voice sugar
coated.
"Huh? Which day?"
"Aree, that day of Riddhima and my
Roka." I said.. "Got it?"
"Yeah, so- What would I get?" She
questioned.
"Muski please, my head wants to
have a glance at Riddhima. Please
mail them." I might have sounded as
if I was begging. But more than
showing them to Ankit, I wanted to
see them badly. It was almost 5 days
that I have been back and obviously
hadn't seen Riddhima since then.
"So?" Why would she leave such a
golden chance?
"Fine. What do you want?" I
negotiated, passing a fake smile to
Ankit when he stared at me amused.
"N8 mobile." She demanded quickly.
I jumped out of my seat. 'What!!
That's freaking 20 K" I exclaimed and
Ankit looked at me perplexed.
"Muski, that's too much. How about
E5?" I tried once again.
"Okay then." I sighed happy. "I have
a passport size photograph of hers.
I'll mail that." She added. "You'll get
only that for E5."
"Okay fine. I'll buy you what you
want. Mail me the pics." I knew
there's no use bargaining. So much
for being an elder cousin!
"N8?" She asked again.
"Sure."
"Pakka?"
"Yeah!"
"Done."
"What?"
"I have mailed them a minute back.
Check your inbox." She said and
laughed sardonically. "Bye."
"Bye." I whispered after the call was
cut. "My cousin, blackmailing me for
pics." I shared my sorrow with Ankit
who seemed to have lending me his
ear.
"I know. I have been through all
that." He smiled understanding,
patting my back.
I sighed and opened my inbox. Muski
uploaded the pictures in Picasa and
sent me an invitation to view them. I
clicked on the link and the first
picture left me baffled. It was a
close up snap of Riddhima and me
with me looking at her intently and
Riddhima smiling brightly at the
camera.
"She is elegant, my boy. You are
lucky." Ankit remarked after a
moment and I looked at him. He
smiled at me and nodded his head
and I knew he meant it from his
heart.
One by one, we saw all the pictures
but my mind was stuck on that first
picture. In few pictures, I held her
hand in mine, our fingers
interlocked. I didn't remember that
either but that made my heart swell
in some unfathomable happiness. I
don't know; everything seemed as if
it were meant to be.
"Hey guys, what are you doing?"
Rahul barged in and my trance
broke. "Everyone's searching for you
Ankit." He told Ankit and Ankit,
having remembered something,
walked away after a quick bye.
Rahul sat in the chair beside me and
watched the photos as I saw all of
them once again and stopped,
staring at the first picture.
"So?" Rahul cleared his throat and I
looked at him. "What did you
decide?" He asked.
I knew what he was referring to. "I
don't know Rahul. Isn't that too
early?" I asked him back.
"You should know that." He said and
stood to leave. "These pictures might
help you decide." He added before
leaving.
And my gaze returned to the picture
being displayed. I don't know when
it was clicked but it seemed like a
picture perfect. That bright smile on
Riddhima's face was priceless. Even
though it was a photo, one could
clearly understand how happy she
was. And so was I, with that smile on
my lips. Her smile was infectious and
innocent. And mine wide showing my
dimples which were very deep.
I was positive about one thing. No
matter what, we would stay happy as
long as we were together. And I knew
what decision I had to make.
"Ankit?" I knocked at his cabin door,
peeping in.
"Yes, Mr Groom-to-be, come in." I
heard his words and groaned.
When will this stop! It might be due
to the reason that Rahul and I are
the unmarried guys in the senior
gang at the company. I then
chuckled imagining Rahul's face,
when it would be his turn. That poor
fellow will be embarrassed easily. But
for now, I have to take of myself.
With a straight face, I entered his
cabin after taking a long breath. I
can do it!
"Are you free now Ankit?" I asked
him, as I took the seat infront of him.
"Yeah, just signing the mails that are
to be dispatched this week." He said,
his head still down. "Tell me, though
my eyes and hands are occupied, my
ears are free for now." He added
after a moment.
I didn't speak anything. I just put
forward two sheets of paper.
"What are these for?" He asked,
looking at me for a second before
going back to his work.
"I need your sign in them." I said.
"What are they?" He questioned,
putting the documents he had
signed in a folder and pushing them
aside. He leaned over the desk
slightly and took the papers from my
hand.
"Leave applications. I need leave for
15 days." I said quickly.
"15 days? Why now? You can use
your leaves during your wedding,
nahi?" He said casually reading the
application in his hands. I waited for
his reaction, counting numbers in my
head, biting my nails lightly.
"What!! You are getting married next
week?" He sprung up from his seat,
just like had expected.
"uh-umm yeah." I nodded, smiling
slightly, scratching the back of my
neck.
"And you are informing me NOW?" He
asked with a big 'O' plastered on his
face.
"Well yeah, the date was fixed
abruptly. Mom just called me." I told
him casually. Well precisely, I didn't
understand how I should be
behaving while revealing this info to
others.
"Wow then, That's awesome!" He
exclaimed and pulled me up into a
hug. "That's great! One more wicket
down." He added.
"Thanks." I said smiling. "You will be
there, won't you?"
"Ofcourse my brat! How will you get
married without me? And I have to
meet your fiancé too." His voice was
full of excitement. That's what I love
him for.
"When are you leaving then?" He
asked, sitting back in his seat.
"Tomorrow morning, I guess. I have
to talk to Rahul about it." I said.
"And yeah Ankit, the second leave
application is for Rahul. Same 15
days."
"I already granted him leave for 20
days, this morning." He said deep in
thought. "Oh now I understood why
he claimed his leave too." He talked
more to himself.
And I was shocked. "What!!! 20
days?" I jumped from my seat. "Rahul
was granted 20 days?" This is
freaking unfair. I am getting married
and he was granted a leave for 20
days?
"Yes, but he didn't tell me anything
about your wedding. Smart boy, I
must say." He said while signing in
my application. Smart, my foot! He is
dead today. "But Armaan, since both
of you are the ones who are handling
the recruiting process this year, I am
afraid I can't grant leave for both of
you simultaneously for so long." He
said seriously. "I can make it 10 days
for both of you. After the training
and everything is settled here, I will
give you another week leave. Well
may be you can use it for your
honeymoon." He added and
chuckled.
"Huh?" I looked at him and did a
quick math. "Then make it 5 days for
Rahul and 15 for me. It's my
marriage!" I added, my mind already
aiming curses at Rahul. Ankit
laughed out loud
"Talking about me, aren't you?" Rahul
asked knocking at the door, peeping
into the cabin. Talk about the devil
and the devil appears!
"We were discussing the number of
days you should be granted leave."
Ankit said while Rahul sat in the
chair beside me. I glared at him
when he looked at me and he
grinned. "I am granting 10 days
leave for both of you." He added.
"What? That's not fair. You promised
me 20 days." Rahul whined. I so
wanted to punch in his face. Ankit
just shrugged his shoulders.
"Saale, it is my marriage and why do
you need 20 days?" I asked,
breathing heavily, punching Rahul in
his abs. Ever since that little
meeting in Ankit's cabin, I was
waiting to lay my hands on him. "I,
very lovingly, even typed your leave
application along with mine and
went to Ankit, and then I get to know
that you asked for a leave of 20 days,
even before me." I added, tightening
my hold round his neck.
"So what, I want to stay till the end
of your marriage right from the
start." He said panting for breath.
After returning home, we had a mini
boxing fight in our living room.
"Why? It is my marriage." I said
adamantly loosening my grip around
him, both of us falling back on the
sofa. I slowly resealed him from my
hold, exhausted. I went to the
refrigerator and brought a bottle of
water. I gave it to him after gulping
down half the bottle.
"Because, I have never been to a
complete wedding before." He said
slowly, putting the bottle away. It
might be a casual statement for
others but knowing him, I knew the
depth of his words.
"You knew I would agree to mom,
didn't you?" I asked smiling.
"Apparently, yes." He said grinning.
"I have already booked our flight
tickets for tomorrow morning flight at
8."
"I love you Raoool" I drawled,
grinning shamelessly.
He scowled and yanked my hands
away when I hugged him. Well, he
always hates it when I call him
Raoool and use that cheeky line at
him, which I happen to use all the
time. It was so easy irritating him. "I
take it as a compliment." He
quipped, switching on the TV, while I
searched for my mobile to call mom.
"Mom?" I spoke excitedly, when the
call was taken. But I frowned
listening to some fuss around her.
"Where are you?"
"Armaan, I am at Sanjeevani." She
replied.
"Why? Are you fine?" My voice was
urgent. Rahul's head shot up at my
words.
"offoo, I am fine. I just came to have
a look at the auditorium here." She
said impatient. "Why did you call?"
She was busy, I could hear to the
urgency in her voice.
"Rahul and I are coming to Bangalore
tomorrow." I said quickly. "We took
leave for 10 days. Is that enough?"
"Yeah, that's enough. You can head
back two days after the wedding."
She said casually. And I wondered if
she heard my words carefully. No
reaction from her side?
"Mom, what are you doing at the
auditorium?" I asked frowning.
"Areee, I asked Shashank to keep it
available for your wedding. We don't
get other functions at such a short
span." She said. "I came to talk
about the arrangements to be made."
And I was stumped. Everyone knows
what my decision would be. May be
my behavior was too predictable. Or
was it only confined to my behavior
towards Riddhima?
"Okay then. Bye mom. Love you." I
said, deep in thought.
"Bye Armaan. I'll talk to you later. I
am busy now." She added before call
was cut.
"Mom went to arrange Sanjeevani's
auditorium for the wedding." I told
Rahul when he looked at me
expecting me to say something.
"Oh yeah, aunty told me about that
in the morning." He added with a
wink.
And I guess, this is just the start of
everything.
That's it for today! Please vote! Bye.
Good Night. -Isha