Rab Rakha

Chapter 5

"Mere bacchon!" Anju was the first one to hug the guests. She had seen them since they were in their preschool, she saw them grow up and become beautiful people. She was so happy to see them after so long.

"Aunty, we've missed you so much!" Mannat hugged her tight and expressed her joy.

All of them used to live in the same building, around the similar floors and bonded really well. The last time they met was when Neetu was getting married a few years ago, soon around the same time a lot of their fathers had retired and settled in their home towns.

"Tumhare uncle ne kal bataya ke sare bacche aaye huye hai, mai toh badi khush hui. Aao baitho." Anju said, gesturing them to settle down in the living room.

"Isse milo, Gurjot." She introduced them to a tall and fair guy they almost didn't notice yet.

"Hello." Gurjot timidly greeted them, he didn't know why he was nervous as he walked ahead to shake hands with them.

"Pao chhu, ladki wale dekhne aaye hai tujhe!" His fiance, Sheena, appeared and teased him. All of them laughed at her words.

"He knows all of you. Batao Guru, yeh kon hai?" She continued to do so.

"Aap Montu bhaiya ho." Gurjot smiled, mentioning.

"It's Sidharth for you." Sidharth replied quite shortly with a straight face and Gurjot was intimidated by him.

"I'm sorry man. Just kidding." He laughed, watching Gurjot so nervous and hugged him out.

"Dara diya aapne bhai." Gurjot chuckled and they made themselves comfortable.

"This is Honey bhaiya, aka Harshwardhan and that's Golu, aka Gaurav." Sheena introduced them further, watching the guys shaking hands with her fiance.

"Sana, aaja beta. Sab aa gaye." Anju called out, noticing someone missing.

"Aai aunty." Shehnaaz walked out of the kitchen while wiping her hands with a napkin and greeted them with her smile. Although she couldn't bring herself to look at Sidharth.

"Shehnaaz yaha?" Mannat asked.

"Bas, jaha Mickey waha mai." Shehnaaz replied, sitting on the arm rest of the furniture Anju had occupied.

"Humare sath hi rehti hai, yahi ek badi si software company me graphic designer hai." Anju told them.

"That's nice." Honey complimented.

Sidharth was facing her but she wasn't, it was like she didn't want to look at him. Was she worried about what she said last night? He wondered. She was wearing a plain sleeveless top with denims, looking simple as her hair were nearly clutched back. Unlike the dress she wore last night, a shimmering black sequin short dress that made her look quite bold and loud. On the contrary, she look prettier today.

"So Gurjot, what do you do?" Honey asked for a change.

"I've a startup of my own. Athlead, sports marketing company hai." Gurjot answered.

"That's good. Even my brother in law's into marketing." Sidharth said, initiating a conversation about their jobs with the guys.

"It's already 1. Khana lagau baccho?" Anju suggested.

"Ha aunty, aapke hath ka khana khane ke liye humne apni subha ki flight chhod di." Sidharth joked and the rest of the gang agreed.

"Aunty, please boliye aapne aaj biryani banayi hai!" Mannat excitedly asked.

"Ha baba! Tumlogo ke liye biryani banayi maine! Hath-muh dholo." Anju chuckled, gesturing them to freshen up and take a seat at the dining table.

"Washroom kaha hai?" Mannat asked.