Tanhaiyan | neirohi

39. best

He looked up from the batter, skeptically eyeing the tsunami which stormed in. Within a minute she was on top of the counter, legs crossed and fingers gripping the granite slab.

"Results would be out tomorrow."

He nodded, understanding enough. No wonder she looked like a nervous wreck. Well, she was a wreck all the time, wrecking everyone especially him, but a nervous wreck was a different issue. Again, he looked up from the mixing bowl on hearing her slam her phone.

"Akshu phone nahi utta rahi hain! Yaar, this girl just forgot me after her marriage. Uske pehle all the time Aaru, Aaru. And now? Who Aaru? She doesn't see anyone beyond Abhimanyu, I swear. The day I get my hands on that brother of yours, I'll make him disappear in a poosh!"

He continued with his work, detaching the blender-beater from the mixture and approving the silky ribbons like threads. The batter seemed to be perfect.

"Chamgadar, why are you not saying that I'll do well? Bhaiya always used to take care of me during such times!"

"Maybe cause I'm not Kairav? And I'm certainly not your bro, that's just... weird."

Head thrown back, she groaned, rolling her eyes. Watching him work, she analyzed carefully, squinting her eyes. Finger dipped into the bowl, she licked it clean before he could swat away her hand. "Macedonia?" she asked, confused. Trying to recall all possible occasions. Thirtieth of March, what could possibly be the answer?

Birthdays? They had skipped cause his was not here yet and she was on continuous shift during hers. Festivals? They did not celebrate excluding the ones they joined on video call with their families, occasionally. They skipped Valentines as well cause both were busy in their professional lives and it was difficult to accommodate a celebration. For a person who could remember all the details of her patients reports, she failed remembering dates for sure.

"Madam, aapko anniversary naam ki cheez yaad hoti hain?"

Her mouth pursed into an oh, as she shut her eyes at her forgetfulness. Bachelor life had been a bliss for sure. No anniversaries, no birthdays, no nothing. She had no excuses this time since life had been pretty chill for a while. The best part being she could openly admit it now, without the fear of losing it.

"We are celebrating?" she asked out loud, confused and muttered to herself, "Hum itne velle hain?"

He cast her a brief glance, getting her to bite her tongue so as to not slip out anything stupid. Bunching up her loose strands together, she pulled out the rubber band hanging from her mouth and tied it up.

"One year already? We do make a great team though. Nahi chamgadar?"

From the times of him saying that to now her, what could be a better proof? Nevertheless, he nodded, the shine in his eyes bright. While she kept stealing bits of the cake batter, prompting him to call her out, "You'll finish it up before it's ready."

"Time save kar rahee hoon. You won't have to bake it. Waise, where did you get the recipe from? Internet sein nahi, I hope."

"Of course not. Won't have half the materials they claim, for sure. Bhabhi has all tips and tricks though."

"Akshu picked up your call? Haw."

He rolled his eyes, "Learn to share chipkali." Biting the insides of her cheek, she resisted the temptation to put out her tongue, deciding that it would be childish. Leaning against the wall, she lightly tapped her foot against the shelves below, lost in thoughts. A year ago she might have been regretting it, agreeing to her Bade papa's demands that is. She might not be his favorite and he might not be hers, but the worry he held for her in his conversation with her sister got her touched. Had that man actually shown a bit of it upfront, she would've certainly softened her stance about him.

Five years ago she felt used and thrown at the mandap, her rage and fury limitless. She was stepped on like a tissue paper, worth not a cent. She had her share of faults but so did they. The way Abhimanyu Birla fell down in her sight at that time, her judgement of him turning out to be a mockery of herself, it was humiliating. Staying away from home was what got her realize. He was not the man she deemed to be. Years later when she first stepped into the Birla house as his brother's wife, the first day itself she saw the reality of the house. The way Harshvardhan Birla treated his wife showed her a mirror.

A sheer resemblance of how her life could've turned out to be, had it not been for that day when she was left at the altar.

Watching the two men, her father-in-law and brother-in-law lock horns like two bulls, the sight got her nauseous. She took in the ghost-like face of her sister, the sufferings quite evident. Neither could Akshara get herself involved cause of another web of promises, nor could she see the family being destroyed like that. Her eyes had drifted away guiltily back then, realizing that her sister too did not have a path of roses laid out before her. Those blacks had managed to get caught by the browns across the room even back then, the surfacing of her guilt giving him a shock.

At that instant, she had accepted. No matter what her life held forward, it certainly was better than what could've happened had she been Abhimanyu Birla's wife. An absolute certainty.

Today when she sneaked a glance at the man happily humming as he worked on destroying her aesthetic kitchen, she knew how mistaken she was. In search of gold, she got a diamond in return. Her phooti kismat and what a luck teamed up to give her the best, after all. His fingers snapped, breaking her out of her chain of thoughts.

"Best ko best hee milta hain, haina?"

"Kya matlab?" he asked, oiling the cake tin. Her silence got him looking up, and her eyes as always spoke everything she couldn't. The thank you which slipped out would've been inaudible had he not strained his ears or watched her blink rapidly, feeling too overwhelmed. Leaving the tin at once, he walked over, arms placed on either sides.

He watched her compose herself as he asked, "Better?"

"Best," she corrected him, as they laughed.

Bringing his hands to her cheeks, he hesitated before she leaned in, putting all his doubts to rest. Just as she was about to go for the kill, he ducked, pressing against her shoulder. Peppering short, sweet kisses all over, it wasn't long before she got his head tilted. Aarohi Goenka and Aarohi Goenka-Birla had one thing in common. Patience in both, were uncommon for sure. Especially when it came to him.

Fingers grazing his stubble, she dove in for the lips. Straightway, no round about this time. The phone rang, she pulled back, checking. Her sister had a great timing, as always. He gulped at that, resigning and asking her to attend it. A minute's decision, she switched it off, tossing it somewhere behind. Would search for it tomorrow morning. Wrapping herself tighter, he lifted her up. For a person who would stumble and fall in the very house during broad daylight, he surely knew his way around when required. The last she heard before they went back to undressing each other, was him snickering against her lips, "Macedonia's better this way."

And for once, she wholeheartedly agreed.

Of chipkalis and chamgadars, an everlasting classic. The very best in fact.

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