The Malhotra Bride (7 page)

laadli
to be ready at 6.30 sharp. Let her not keep him waiting and tell her to be on her best behaviour.

I don’t want the ‘Boy’ to change his mind now.”

“Don’t you worry, I’ll talk to her,” Leela assured her husband.

Gokul Rishi disconnected the phone without even saying, ‘bye’.

Leela called out excitedly, “Sunita, Sunita
beti
.”

Sunita went into the hall, hearing her mother.

“
Hahn
Mamma.”

Leela hugged her daughter, a wide smile on her face. “Your Pappa called. The Malhotras have

agreed to the wedding, my dear. Akshay is coming to meet you in the evening. Pappa wants you to be

ready at 6.30,” she spoke in a hurry. “You’re happy
nah
?” she asked in the same breath, a small frown

between her brows.

Sunita shook her head in disbelief. How did Akshay manage that one?

“What? You aren’t happy.” Leela’s face fell in shocked disappointment.

“Oh, Mamma! I’m pleased about the wedding—only amazed that Pappa wants me to go out with

Akshay.”

Leela sighed in relief. “You had me worried for a minute there.” Smiling, she continued, “I’m

surprised too. But what does it matter? You just be ready on time. There will be so many things to do.

Let me call Sandhya. She can come to stay here till the marriage.” Her mother walked away, still

talking to herself.

Leela stopped suddenly and turned back to say, “Sunita, Pappa wants you to be careful what you say

to Akshay. What if he changes his mind?” She looked worried.

“Yeah, Mamma,” Sunita gave her a demure smile. They didn’t know Akshay. A shiver of

anticipation ran through her. She couldn’t wait for the evening.

Nine

Sunita was ready at six and went to meet Grandpa Ratan. “
Dadaji
, do I look okay?” She asked

nervously.

Grandpa looked at her with a twinkling smile. “For the benefit of your Hero, I presume?” He

teased.

“Please,
Dadaji
.”

“You look lovely, my dear.”

Sunita wore an off-white
churidhar kameez
of cotton. The close fitting
churidhar
hugged her slim

legs, gracefully ending in a number of folds at the ankle. The knee-length
kameez
with long sleeves

had
chikan
work on it. The intricate, hand-made, Lucknowi embroidery, also in off-white, made the

dress very rich. A long
dupatta
, the same shade of white, was draped on her left shoulder. She wore

large, oxidised silver earrings with a chunky neck-piece to match and bangles of the same metal

clinked on her slim arms. Off-white open-toed shoes with three-inch heels decorated her feet. She’d

left her hair loose and it fell in a shining brown curtain all the way to her waist. A white clutch

completed the ensemble. Foundation, a white
tikli
between her brows, eyes lined with kohl and

lipstick of a natural brown shade made her face glow. She pirouetted for Grandpa’s benefit.

“Perfect, my dear. I’m sure this will bring Akshay down to his knees,” Grandpa pulled her leg once

again.

Colour suffused Sunita’s face. She hadn’t known Grandpa was such a tease. She felt a fraud for

keeping a secret from him for the first time in her life. She was sure he wouldn’t approve the three-

year contract with Akshay.

She heard a car horn and went to the window. It was Akshay. She drew her head back and did her

best to calm herself. Her palms were damp with perspiration.

“Go Sunita, don’t keep Akshay waiting,” Grandpa encouraged.

She ran out into the corridor and down the staircase. She took a couple of steps into the hallway

when Akshay entered. He looked dashing in a pair of designer jeans and a white full-sleeved shirt

with a Chinese collar. His eyes twinkled their pleasure when they met Sunita’s.

Sunita noticed the huge basket full of roses that he was carrying. Had be bought out the whole shop?

There must be a hundred of them, all red in colour. A thrilled Sunita gave him a wide smile of

welcome.

“To the most beautiful woman that I know,” said Akshay as he handed the flowers to her.

“Are they all for me?” asked Sunita, awe in her voice.

“You bet,” he whispered throatily, “I can see only one beautiful woman here.”

“Mm—” she buried her face in the fragrant blooms, a sudden shyness overtaking her. She felt

unable to meet his intense eyes. “They’re wonderful. Thank you so much.”

“Tell me something. How will I know where the roses end and your face begins,” Akshay sounded

genuinely confused.

“Akshay, please.”

“Please what?”

She raised eyelids that felt extremely heavy and gave him a look from under her lashes, quite

stunned at the strange feeling springing within her. She shook her head slightly before saying, “Give

me a minute. I’ll leave these in my bedroom.” She needed to get away, even if only for a couple of

minutes.

“You do that. I’ll just pop in and meet Grandpa,” he went up the staircase with her, his proximity

shaking her up all the more.

Sunita came down before him. Leela stepped out of the kitchen. “Sunita, where are your manners,

dear? You didn’t even ask Akshay to sit down,” she accused her daughter. “Do offer him some

refreshments.”

Between the excitement of meeting Akshay and receiving the bouquet of roses, Sunita hadn’t thought

of taking care of her guest. Her face shadowed with remorse.

The moment he came down, Akshay sensed that all was not well with Sunita. A frown gathered on

his forehead when he noticed Leela. He forced a smile on his face and went to greet her.

“Hello, Aunty, how’re you?”

“I’m fine, Akshay. Welcome to our home. I’m sorry Sunita forgot her manners. Please sit down and

let me get you some coffee and snacks,” she fussed.

“But Sunita did offer me, Aunty. I’m not hungry.” Sunita gave him a startled look. His right eyelid

dropped down in a wink.

“We’re getting late. Are you ready to leave Sunita?” He couldn’t wait to get her away. He held her

hand firmly as he drew her away to his car.

The evening had lost its charm. She’d been so looking forward to this outing with her new

boyfriend. It looked like she could never make her parents happy. Now she’d failed Akshay too. A

subdued Sunita took her seat in the car. He drove away without saying a word. His silence made her

all the more uneasy.

He cruised along for a few minutes before reaching a quiet by-lane. He stopped the car and

released the seat belts before turning to her.

He gently placed his knuckles under Sunita’s chin and raised her face up to his.

“What’s wrong, Sweetheart?”

A tear escaped from under her lashes and rolled away. Akshay’s heart bled for her.

“Please don’t cry Sunita.” He took a tissue from the box on the dashboard and wiped her eyes

carefully. This brought another onslaught of fresh tears. There was only so much a man could take. He

pulled her into his arms. He rubbed his cheek comfortingly on top of her head and waited for her sobs

to subside. Sunita calmed down after a few minutes and raised her head. Her tear-drenched eyes tore

at his heart. No woman had the right to be so lovely after a bout of stormy weeping.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered.

He placed a finger on her lips and shook his head.

“I suppose that was bound to happen after all the tension you’ve undergone. I’m glad you got it off

your chest.”

Sunita found it difficult to believe that a guy could be so understanding.

“I’m sorry Akshay, for not just the tears. I forgot my manners back home. I didn’t think of asking you

whether you were hungry after a long day at work.” She buried her face in her hands in shame.

Akshay pulled her hands off her face and held them in his large ones. “I’m not a baby that needs to

be fed. I’m capable of asking if I’m hungry. I don’t stand on formality. It’s you I came to see. Do you

get that?” His voice turned mischievous as he continued, “And when you saw my dashing personality

along with the roses, you just forgot yourself, right?”

Sunita didn’t know where to look. It was incredible—this feeling of being cherished. It was

completely new to her. She tried to bury her face in her hands only to find them lying in his. Not

having a choice, she hid her face on his broad chest. Akshay let go of her hands to put his arms around

her. His chest swelled as he drew in a deep breath, inhaling her perfume. It was heaven hugging her

close.

“Feel better?”

She nodded without lifting her head. Her hair tickled his chin.

“Did I tell you how lovely you look?”

Not a peep from the woman in his arms. Sunita felt too secure to move away. As minutes ticked by,

Akshay placed a hand under her chin to lift her red face up. She still wouldn’t look at him.

“However did you manage to convince Pappa?” she asked, her voice low. She looked up at him as

he keenly watched her. “He called in the morning to tell Mamma to expect you. Poor Mamma, she

prepared some special snacks. I forgot everything in my excitement. Tch!”

“Hmm. You were excited seeing me.” It was a statement.

“Akshay,” Sunita clenched her hands into fists as they lay on his chest. “Don’t tease me. I saw all

those roses—”

“Okay, it was the roses you were thrilled with—”

She hit his chest with both fists, her cheeks aflame with colour. She wasn’t going to tell him that she

was delighted to have him for a boyfriend. He definitely did not need the ego boost.

“Ouch! You’re hurting me.” But his voice was shaking with laughter. All traces of tears had

disappeared and her blushing face made him desperately want to kiss her. Akshay moved back and

fastened his seat belt. He asked her, “Anywhere special you want to go?”

Sunita had been hoping that they could visit the
Hare Rama Hare Krishna
Temple at Juhu. She so

wanted to introduce Akshay to her other friend—Lord Krishna. Her cousins probably would laugh at

her. But she needed to ask. Will Akshay agree? Visiting a place of worship was not so cool.

“Will it be okay if we visit
Hare Rama Hare Krishna
Temple? It’s nearby and I won’t take too

long.” Her voice was hesitant as she made the request.

Akshay shrugged. “Of course we’ll go if that’s what you want.” He wasn’t religious by nature but

believed in God. Though not a regular visitor at temples, he wasn’t averse to the idea. “You’ll need to

thank your favourite deity that you met me, right?” he asked, tongue-in-cheek.

She wasn’t going to tell him that was exactly what she planned to do.

Akshay drove the car away from the kerb, his large hands competent at the wheel. They reached the

temple soon and went in. The place wasn’t very crowded as it was a week day. They entered the hall

and turned right towards the sanctorum that was divided in three parts. There was Lord Rama,

Goddess Sita & Lakshmana with Hanuman kneeling at their feet. Then there was Lord Krishna playing

the flute along with Goddess Radha in the middle. The third section was taken over by Lords Nitai &

Gauranga, staunch devotees of Lord Krishna.

They knelt in the centre of the hall for a few minutes, with folded hands and bowed heads, offering

their prayers.

Sunita was glad to show off her boyfriend to Lord Krishna and walked out hand-in-hand with

Akshay, a peaceful smile on her face.

They left to go to Tangerine Café at Ramada Plaza Palm Grove. They found a corner table for two

and sat down opposite each other.

Akshay ordered a fruit mocktail for Sunita and a Martini for himself. The waiter left them alone

after serving the drinks. “So, why Interior Design?” asked Akshay, genuinely interested.

A dam burst forth as Sunita regaled him with her ideas. She was also keen to know about his stint

abroad. He had visited the whole of Europe. He was a fascinating story teller and the two chatted

comfortably as they ate their way through a plate of kebabs. Time flew on wings and she recalled that

she had parents to answer to.

“What’s the time?”

Akshay looked at his sleek silver watch and said, “9.20.”

He caught the shocked look on Sunita’s face as she paled. “Hey! Calm down. What happened?” He

knew the answer even as he asked the question.

Sunita raised her panic stricken eyes to Akshay. “It’s late. Pappa will be angry. Shall we leave

please?” She was already on her feet.

Akshay called for the bill and left immediately on paying. Sunita frantically checked her cell phone.

She had kept it on silent when they entered the temple and forgotten all about it. There were seven

missed calls from home and her father’s cell.

Akshay could feel the tension bouncing off her as he drove to her home. He didn’t want to open his

mouth as he was too angry with her parents.

They reached the Rishi residence. The bungalow was blazing with lights while Gokul Rishi was

pacing outside briskly.

Sunita looked at Akshay, nervous. He put a finger to his lips and shook his head making it clear that