Javed naam hai mera phir se

Chapter 19

Anjali finished serving a tea trey and looked around to get some more napkins. Javed entered a kitchen almost soundless – and yet she noticed him instantly. Without a word he passed Anjali his tablet – 7-inch screen with an email opened for display. An email said:

"Mom, dad, hi!

I'm fine. Better than fine, actually! I need you to go back to Delhi to ask for Mrs. Anjali Singh Raizada's hand in marriage. For me.

This is urgent.

Call me once you get this email.

Love you,

Javed"

Seeing how she finished reading an email Javed added some information:

- They called. They will be here in two days.

But that was not the question that was running like big neon sing in Anjali's head. She looked astonished and her voice sounded so little when she said:

- Marriage? Um… don't you think you should have asked me FIRST?!

Short-lived shadow of pain ran through Javed's mind when he saw how abashed Anjali were with a prospect of being married to him. He tried regaining self-control and thinking straight… sure, they've only kissed yesterday and now he was proposing to her… she must've felt it was premature. But what could he do – Javed himself thought that this proposal was eight years too late for his liking!

And then… it was not about marriage per se…

Javed took Anjali's hand and rubbed her palm in soothing motion. When nail marks faded he kissed an inside of her wrist earning her pleased sigh. Javed looked her in the eyes to make sure Anjali would understand every word he was about to say:

- Anjali… I didn't ask your hand in marriage to be married to you right away. For that I would come to you first, definitely! But… I want to court you. I want to have a right to take your hand in mine and go for a walk. I want to be able to take you to the restaurant or a movie or a fashion show… and that with an approval from your family. Your family… - he corrected himself immediately, - our family… had too many personal yet very public dramas these past few years and I don't want you to be caught in one again. I respect you too much…

Javed took a deep breath and added with a smile on a less dramatic tone:

- Simply put, in order to date you I'm going to ask to marry you!

Anjali giggled on this ridiculous notion and suggested what should have been a giant loophole in this plan:

- And what if I say "yes"? How will your proposed "dating" work then?

Javed looked abashed for a second – Anjali went from being horrified with a prospect of his proposal to joking about it in a matter of few minutes! This woman was indeed the most unusual on them all!

But his astonishment only lasted for so long as he caught Anjali in his arms and embraced her with way more strength than her body could handle. Anjali whimpered and leaned away trying to free herself from this bear hug – only to be caught in his shining gaze. Javed voice was filled with adoration and tenderness as he answered:

- The day you'll say "yes" I will leave this house because it's not proper for fiancée to live in the same place as a bride. I will come back with my parents with shogun, and then for Roka ceremony and all the rest of it… In a meantime I will find us a house as I want you to be a lady of your own home… it will be something with big French windows so you'd have enough light for painting… and not far from here so you can spend as much time in Shantivan as you want. I'd probably have to do a lot of rearrangements for my business so I could run it from Delhi but these boring details should not bother you at all… And then… we will be married to each other.

These last words brought Javed back from the land of daydreaming and smacked him hard – he totally forgot to check for Anjali's expression while he was talking! What if she was horrified with his ideas? What if he overstepped the borders of their newly founded courtship when he went ahead to planning their future for both of them?

Javed focused on Anjali's face as she blinked and looked away. He was devastated – Anjali didn't even want to look at him anymore! He went too far this time!

And then Javed has heard her whispering… shyly:

- Let's start simple… if you don't mind… ask me out to dinner.

Mind? MIND?! He didn't mind from the bottom of his heart! Javed almost cried with happiness that his previous outburst hasn't caused Anjali to step back!

He'd let go of her and bowed a little like a real gentlemen:

- A friend of mine opens a restaurant and he'd invited me… May I request a privilege of your company for this occasion?

Anjali answered with short girly giggle and said:

- You most certainly may… But I have few conditions…