Bombay Romance ♡ COMPLETED

[ 17 ] He is Nice ■

'Mom!' Gauri twirls her mother around near the staircase to her apartment. 'I got it, I got it!'

Mrs. Kalpana laughs. 'What did you get, Baby?' 

'Recommendation letter!!! Vidhya ma'am's recommendation letter!' Gauri can barely contain her excitement. 'I finally got it! Yayy!!'

Mrs. Kalpana smiles. If this were any other day, she would have commented about not letting Gauri fly to the USA for higher studies. But today, she doesn't say anything of that sort. In fact, she is quite relieved that Gauri is in a good mood.

'Mom, I couldn't believe it at first! She actually gave me a recommendation letter!' Gauri cries. 'All I need to do now is courier the mark sheets photocopies and the recommendation letters to Harvard! And apply for a Visa. But that's for later. Oh my god, this is the best weekend ever!'

'Okay, now come quickly, your Ajji has come. She's brought someone along,' her mother says.

Gauri's smile vanishes instantly. 'She's brought whom?'

'Someone ... ' Mrs. Kalpana's voice wavers.

'Not someone,' Gauri says savagely. 'It is that idli-dosa wala, right? Why is he even here? This is heights, Mom!'

'Just come and talk to them now. Nobody is forcing you to marry him.'

'I'm not coming!' she flares up. 'I'd told Dad to tell her I'm not interested!'

'He had! He had clearly mentioned it in the letter last month. But still, she has brought him along. It seems he had taken her to Amarnath yatra.'

The yatra to the Amarnath cave temple in Jammu and Kashmir is considered to be one of the holiest pilgrimage centres in the country, and it can rid one of all their sins.

'She should go straight to Udupi is she was done with her yatra of hers. Why stop here?'

'To see you. Now come fast. Otherwise, she'll start nagging me again.'

'And you don't let Dad and me answer her back. Especially me!'

'You can't keep talking back' Mrs. Kalpana says sensibly. 'One of us has to stop talking.'

'Why does it always have to be me?' Gauri scowls.

'This isn't a court, Gauri. Now, come.'

Gauri curses and follows her mother into the house. In the large living room, there's an old lady seated on the sofa, looking tired from all the travelling. There's a young man beside her.

'Gauri!' the old woman grabs Gauri as she barely steps in, kisses her on the cheeks and strokes her hair. 'My dear! My darling baby! How are you? I miss you so much! You never write to me at all!'

'I'm fine, I'm fine, Ajji,' Gauri tries to peel herself away.

'What fine, huh? So thin you've become! You're not eating properly! Look at your hair! No oiling, nothing! Why have you cut it so short? What is this Kalpana?' she sets Gauri's hair and pats her shoulder. 'Anyway, Gauri dear, look who is here to meet you!'

Gauri ruffles her hair and looks at the young man. 'Who?'

'Harish!' Ajji pronounces in surprise. 'It is our Harish! You haven't seen his photo? I sent it with the letter. Kalpana, you didn't show it to her?'

'Yes, Mom showed it,' Gauri says shortly. And she had tossed it somewhere ages ago. Probably into the dustbin.

'Hello, Gauri,' Harish smiles.

'Hi,' her voice is discouraging. The old lady clucks her tongue at Gauri's tee and knee-length skirt.

'You have no sense at all, Kalpana! Go get her dressed in a nice silk sari. Fast!'