Manjha A String of Complicated Relations

The Family Dinner

The whole day went by in the blink of an eye and after the games period, the girls decided to get ready. It was a task in itself. After all, they were going to Major General's house. They could not just show up like they usually would.

Shambhavi selected a floor-length Anarkali in a sea-green color while Anisha wore a peach-colored Patiala suit.  Both the girls looked extremely pretty with almost no makeup except for kohl in their eyes.

At 7 O'clock sharp they were informed that Cadet Anant was waiting for them. This was a surprise to the girls, as they had not discussed that Anant would be picking them up. They both went outside to see him. He was looking rather handsome in a beige kurta and jeans and he was blown away by the girls.

"My, my, ladies! Did you two decide that you were going to make the captains look ugly in front of you?" Anant Compliment the girls in his own way. The girls just shook their heads at his antics.

He held both his arms out for each of the girls to hold and asked, "Shall we, ladies?"

They held onto his hands and replied together, "We shall Cadet Rathore."

Soon, they were standing outside the academy building and went to a car that took them to the Dehradun Cantt. This was the first outing that the girls had had since coming to the city. They had been granted special 'liberty' just for that night. Otherwise, they would have to follow the civilian dress code along with the rules of behaving properly and also clear a physical test before receiving the permission to go out.

Shambhavi was excited to see Dehradun. Both her sisters had been to the capital city as a part of excursion trips from their school, and even though her class had been taken to the trip as well, she could not go, for if she had gone then her sister would not have been able to.

She was so fascinated by the lifestyle of Dehradun that she did not even notice when the car stopped. The same was the case with Anisha, "Do you both plan to spend the night in the car?" asked Anant. They got out and went inside the house. The entrance of the house opened to a corridor area leading to another room on the left.

Anant shouted as soon as he entered the house, "Maa, we're back!" and kept the keys in a bowl placed on a small cabinet in the corridor.

A very beautiful woman came out of the house. Shambhavi assumed that she was Anant's mother, though one would never dare to think that she was a mother of two fully grown men. She walked with such effortless grace that it looked like she was gliding across the floor.

"If you are home then why did you not come in, Anu?" she said and Anant cringed at his mother using that nickname. The girls looked at him and mouthed 'Anu' and sniggered.

"Where are your manners Anant? You have kept two ladies waiting on the door," she chided, "And you two ladies must be my guests tonight," she said with a bright smile.  "I must say, whatever I have heard about you two, does not do you any justice. You two are gorgeous," she continued and turned to see Anant who was leaning on his mother's back, "You didn't tell me. They are so gorgeous," Mrs.Rathore said.

The girls blushed furiously at her as she oh so casually gave them the compliment.

"I agree they are gorgeous. Are you going to keep them at the door, Sanyukta?" came Major General's voice from somewhere inside the house. By now the girls had a deep shade of pink adorning their cheeks.

"I was just having a good look at the girls I have been hearing so much about," said Mrs. Rathore, deepening the girls' embarrassment. They were talked about in the Rathore household.

"All good things we hope, Ma'am," Anisha said bravely.

"Yes, wonderful things," said Mrs.Rathore, and asked Anant. "Introduce them Anant. Is he so mannerless at the academy as well?" the latter half of the question was directed towards the girls who just nodded in affirmation.

"This is Anisha Singh Saxena," Anant said pointing to Anisha and, "This is Shambhavi," he pointed to her.

"Such pretty names. Come on in, ladies. We'll have more time to get acquainted properly later on," Mrs. Rathore again complimented them beckoning them inside.

Inside the house, the first room they saw was the main hall or the drawing-room which had an open structure connecting it to the dining area that was equipped with a barbeque set inside. Major General Rathore was on the barbeque, roasting entrees.

"Good evening, Sir," both the girls greeted him after they got over the shock of seeing him grill vegetables and chicken.

"Welcome, ladies. Get seated. Our Captains seem to be running a bit late," he continued as if this was a normal occurrence.

"So, Anisha and Shambhavi, have my sons been troubling you a lot?" Mrs.Rathore asked them, and both the girls turned to Anant. "Not this one, the other two who are running late, because they seem to love troubling me. It's their favorite hobby, you see," said Mrs. Rathore in a melodramatically sad tone.

"Uff, Mother India! At least spare us in front of our students," Aniket's voice came from behind and Mrs.Rathore turned to see him blocking the view of the girls, "And we are only five minu..., " Aniket was going to say that they were only five minutes late when he moved towards the group and he saw Shambhavi.

Whatever he was going to say was lost as he was rendered speechless.  There she was sitting in a lighter shade of green, wearing an Anarkali suit looking so beautiful that the sentence died on his lips and all thoughts ceased to exist in his mind.

Aniket wanted to say something but his brain could not comprehend words. He wanted to go towards them, but his feet would not move. He wanted to breathe but his lungs refused to intake air. If Aniket did not know better, he would have said that he was bewitched by Shambhavi Vyas.

Advith was also walking with him when Aniket had stopped and bumped into him as he was looking at his phone. When he bumped into Aniket he looked up to scold him, but that thought vanished as soon as he saw Anisha. His phone was long forgotten.

Anant looked at his mother and said in a hushed whisper, "See what I mean," and Mrs. Rathore also nodded gleefully, astounded at Aniket and Advith's behavior.

Advith snapped out his daze and went to his mother, to touch her feet as a sign of respect and then hug her.

Aniket, on the other hand, was still a statue. Shambhavi peeked from behind Mrs.Rathore and their eyes locked. The time stood still for a moment, and then Advith cleared his throat breaking the trance they both were in.

Aniket cleared his throat and Shambhavi looked away from him. "I was saying we are only five minutes late, Mother India," Aniket said trying to sound normal as he went to Mrs. Rathore to touch her feet

"It's 7:30, young man. I said 7, so you are half an hour late," Mrs.Rathore said, pulling his ear. Advith standing behind Mrs.Rathore rolled his eyes. "Do not you roll your eyes at me, Advith Rathore," she said without looking at him. The girls wanted to laugh but could not.

"Acha, we are sorry, Maate," said Aniket with a sweet smile on his face and an innocent look in his eyes.

"Can we eat now? I am hungry yaar," whined Anant.

"Bhookad, Dad is still making the entrées," said Advith, going to his father along with Aniket to help him.

The girls were more surprised to see the captains helping with the cooking. Anant reluctantly joined the other men.

"It's their thing, cooking together," Mrs.Rathore informed the girls. "Every weekend the gentlemen get together and cook a lavish meal, though Major Sahab has not cooked in a long time, he is cooking today for you ladies," she continued, smiling and looking lovingly at the gentleman.

"Shouldn't we be helping them, ma'am?" asked Shambhavi.

"Oh, absolutely not, it's 'men-bonding time', whatever that means. We just enjoy and relax and talk and let the men cook," Mrs.Rathore assured the girls.

They started talking on an array of topics. Mrs.Rathore was a delightful woman. She was caring and loving but was also quite extroverted. She made the girls feel as if they were at their own homes and not at someone else's.

Soon, it was time to eat and they all proceeded to the dining table. MG Rathore, Aniket and Advith pulled out chairs for Mrs.Rathore, Shambhavi, and Anisha respectively, and Anant said with a pout, "I don't have anyone to pull out a chair for," everybody laughed while sitting down.

"Next time we will bring Shreya along," teased Anisha.

"Are, don't say that. She would never sit down if he pulls out a chair for her," Shambhavi also teased him.

"Oh, hello. I would never pull a chair for her. She isn't that important to me," said Anant with a scowl.

"Haan, that is why every morning before the roll calls, you inquire about her," Aniket said in a serious tone.

"And pester the girls continuously to bring her along with them at lunch and dinner," added Advith.

"Really, why have I not been informed of this? Shreya as in Major Rajput's daughter? "Mrs.Rathore asked in an excited voice.

The girls nodded their heads and the rest of the dinner was spent in teasing Anant.

If an outsider were to see them, they would have guessed that a family was having dinner together. A happy family, full of laughter and joy, and it was true to some extent. A family was formed that day. A strong family.