Yours, With Love

All that is peaceful

"Neeti, Kartik, be comfortable guys. And you two have to be the judges of who amongst us has cooked better."

Meeta, Gaurav, Radhika and Rajeev brought in the dishes which the four of them had cooked for their brunch together. It was meant to be a warm family meal and Radhika's parents too were invited, but as expected, they had declined. Just the difference was that this time, the rejection wasn't harsh, it was polite, almost hesitant.

Radhika could still see that familiar reluctance on her parents' face when it came to visiting Rajeev's home, and she was very well aware that this reluctance could not be gotten rid off in just a few days. However, Kartik's argument with her papa and Rajeev's conversation later - as he had spoken with her about over the phone, had made their difference.

"Aunty, I am already comfortable. You guys are literally family goals. We too could have a cookoff in our home, but I can't cook. Mom and Reet - they are an entirely different story. Fabulous cooks, I tell you.", Neeti spoke excitedly.

And as expected, Kartik just shared a polite acknowledgement and thanked them once they had put those dishes in front of him.

"Thank you beta.", Meeta thanked her profusely as she heard her speaking so highly of her family.

Kartik and Neeti were not aware of which person had cooked which dish. One could say they might recognize the food made by Radhika, but she had cooked a non vegetarian dish for the first time, and that taste would be completely foreign for them.

"Chalo, eat up and tell us.", Gaurav urged the two of them to try out the four dishes kept in front of them.

(Chalo - alright)

And while the result was as expected, Gaurav being the chosen favourite cook of both Neeti and Kartik, the other three were equally excited for their ranking.

Long story short - Radhika lost.

However, having cooked a non veg dish for the first time, all of her efforts were appreciated.

"Neeti, how did you two become friends?"

They had been done with the heavy brunch and were sat in the living space, chatting. Well to put it correctly, all except Kartik were chatting while he observed them, and Neeti alone was a part of more than fifty percent of the conversation. No one really minded - it was refreshing to hear her talk.

"Aunty, its the classic case of an extrovert, that is me", she made a dramatic gesture to point towards herself, "adopting an introvert, that is jiju's Radha.", she sent a sly and subtle wink in Radhika's direction.

Radhika simply shook her head. There was practically no use telling this idiot to behave.

"You know aunty, she was grumpy. Khadoos like her bhai.", she tried to whisper the latter part, but everyone heard it. Especially the person for whom it was intended.

(Khadoos - grumpy)

And all except him burst out into laughter.

While she chortled at his expense, he turned to glare at her. His piercing gaze was now set onto her face, and she was quick to sober up.

All of this was observed by Rajeev who was thoroughly amazed to see the ever impassive Kartik being affected by Neeti. Well, that seemed like fun. At least someone was able to draw out a visible reaction from this man, he thought.

"Hey, don't trouble my bhai.", Radhika pretended to scold her friend.

"Radhika beta, come with me. I have taken out some records which you will like. They are a few old Russian waltzes, my dad had collected them, and though I am not personally a fan of waltzes as you know, I had kept them safe with me. Its really wonderful that you like such music. Now you take care of them, hmm?", Gaurav spoke excitedly.