PART 2

Naina was standing leaning on the wall and I was sitting on her study table in her room. We could hear our elders happily talking outside in the living room. Again that eyes of hers was literally piercing holes into my body. But I knew her mind was somewhere else. I couldn't figure out what was running thru her brain. I thought of breaking the silence

"Naina, mom said you agreed to marry me. I hope , its your decision and not forced upon you. The thing is I don't want another drama around my marriage. I am sure you have heard of what happened last time. A year back, I had gotten ready for my marriage but the lady decided that my brother was a better choice than me.

Rohan was furious and he said NO to her. I have gotten over Kamya..but It was a mess, a mess that still haunts me. Hence asking you again if you are ok with this marriage.

"No one forced me,Sameer "
To some extant it was true. Though my initial reaction was to say NO as I felt he was doing it for his mom or out of sympathy. His love was Kamya , which means its going to hurt me even more after marriage when he would ignore my presence at his house. But then I had to be practical and decided to say a yes. After all Preethi also needed to get married.

"OK. Anything that you want to ask ??
"No

"Mom was suggesting a traditional wedding though I prefer court marriage with family..and probably a lunch after that. But then you will have your dreams of a fairy tale wedding rt??
"I prefer a court marriage
"Really ?? have you not dreamt of a grand wedding
"No I lied. "Sameer , its ok. I understand, it would be difficult for you to tell the world that you are going to marry "The Behanji of our class.

Her response was a rude awakening for me. I couldn't believe she knew she was teased with that name. Most of this teasing happened behind her back. Never in front of her. It pained me to think that I was also a part of badmouthing sessions.

"This is no hide and seek wedding Naina. I intend to tell the whole world about our marriage. Behanji is my choice and I don't care what people think...does that make sense??

"Nope!!...and I wonder why you are doing this was the response I got from her.

"We will eventually find out..a puzzle that we will solve together

Her silence and emotionless face haunted me through out that night. Was it same during the school days ?? I wondered. I felt bad that I had never thought how this girl would have felt with all our behaviour. All of sudden , only her happiness mattered to me. I don't think , I ever had this feeling when I had decided to marry Kamya. This time its so different. Naina was occupying my mind. I was seeing her face everywhere.

Rohan was happy to hear the news. So was Dad but the one who was jumping around was Nanu. With in a week , the whole family was in Ahmedabad except for Deepika. Her new academic year had just started and being in 12th she was not given leave. So it was decided that after wedding , we would go and visit her at her hostel. This time , it was decided that news of the wedding will happen after it gets registered. We didn't want people to talk and create problems for Naina.

Wedding was fixed after a month . Mom agreed for court marriage but she wanted Naina to be in traditional Bridal wear. She also wanted Mehandi and Haldhi Ceremonies as she considered these were sacred and essential for a blissful start of marital life.

Naina and I hadn't met or spoken after that day. I wanted to but was not sure how to approach her. Besides , didn't know how our families would take it. I could have visited NGO on the pretext of meeting mom , but then they would have teased me. For once I was feeling shy and had started blushing. Rohan on the other hand never left a single opportunity to pull my legs. In fact , he was the one who frequently visited her house along with my parents. I feel he speaks more to his Naina Bhabhi more than I had done till date. I was jealous of him. I had no other way than to patiently wait till we got married. But at the same time I was getting restless. Something that I had never experienced. I wondered if she felt the same. Not even once did she try to call or talk to me. I silently prayed to god to show me a way of meeting her.

And guess what ?? I did get an opportunity and that made me thinking..God is always there with people who are in love.

"Lord !! did I say LOVE??!! Was I in love with Naina?? I couldn't believe my thoughts. I decided to not to venture into that ZONE but to go with my mom to purchase her Bridal wear .

She had said , that she did not have any particular choice and she would be happy with Mom's choice. But mom wanted her to be there, so she lied to her saying she wants her to come so that they could get the right Size attire. When , we reached her house , she was already waiting near the gate. This time she was wearing a blue stretch Jean and White short top, slightly transparent around her shoulder and sleeves. Her hair was held in a high pony tail and her ears adorned white and blue earning.

She was about to enter the back seat when my mom got out and made her sit in the front passenger seat.

"Its better you sit there Naina. If not he wouldn't concentrate on the road , he would be looking at you thru those rear view mirror.
"Mom!!

She was not going to let it go. She went on to say "Naina , this is very rare moment , wish I had a camera to capture the business man Sameer Jayaprakask Maheshwari blushing. Look at him , have you seen his cheeks this red??

I saw her looking at me and then realized , I was not only turning red..even she was at moms comment. Finally , we reached the shop. Mom spend nearly 2 hours to shortlist three of them. The poor girl she just stood next by her with out even commenting once. I wondered , if she was used to voicing her opinion. I wanted to know what she wanted , what her favorite colours were , what type of dress she likes to wear, her favorite perfume etc. All through out the journey , she was quiet . At least at school , she would talk about topics in the text or about her family. But now it was her silence that was speaking ...rather threatening me. My mom understood my need to be with her , the need to talk to her.

"Now , that we have shortlisted three of them , you decide which one you should wear. In the mean time I have some work to complete .

"Aunty , it doesn't matter which ever you like its fine for me.

Naina , I liked all three of them . If you are not able to decide then you wear and show it to him ...and take his opinion..also see if it needs alteration etc. Sameer pls help her. After all you both have to decide things in future. So why not start from this

She controlled her laughter as she was walking outside the changing room. She had never thought that she would have to play cupid for her elder son. Sameer looked at Naina who was contemplating which one to try out first.

"Naina is there a particular colour you like?? Out of these three which one do you like the most

"I have no particular choice Sameer , all of them look nice

"Then can I choose for you ?

"Yeah sure

"I think red will do fine. I always believed that Brides look good in red than in any other colour

She went inside the change room and came out wearing it. I was absolutely mesmerized seeing her in bridal wear. My eyes were wandering everywhere except for her face and I couldn't believe that the man in me was shaken to the core. I wanted to run away from there as I feared I would pounce on her. Lehanga and the blouse accentuated her figure. Lehanga stayed just right on her tiny hip. My eyes landed on area between the hem of her Blouse and Lehanga . It was slightly visible thru the dupatta.

"You didn't like it

"I liked it a lil too much but don't you think this Dupatta is transparent ?? The next moment , I knew that was a wrong question. She became very conscious . She had her hands pulling her Dupatta and trying her best to cover herself with her hands. Her eyes were now on the floor. I could have hit myself for this situation.

She slowly raised her eyes from the floor to meet mine and said "I guess this is how most Dupatta's are . It wouldn't be this transparent , when we pin it up in pleats .

"If that's the case then fine. Else we will ask him to give us a matching Dupatta for this one.

"Is it that bad ??

"Nope. It isn't..but I don't want the world to see what is meant ONLY for me. Now that we are engaged , you are mine Naina and I am possessive about people close to me. Isnt that how it should be ?? Dont you feel the same about me ??

I knew I had asked that question a lil too early about her feelings for me as she had a lost look. But I wanted to know. By then we heard someone walking towards the changing area. She quickly went into the cubical .

"Sir , have you decided ?? Madam asked me to check with you

"Give us few mins , will let you know

She came out holding the Lehanga.

" we decide with the one you are holding ...rt??

Yes !!! There was a smile on her face.

Mom informed us that she will not be able to join us . She asked me to drop Naina at her place. Our drive was very quiet . Both of us were in our own world.

As she was about to get out of the car , I said "Naina, you have a lovely smile . Keep Smiling    

Thank you Sameer and lil colour on her cheeks , was all I got in response .

I saw her walking away to her house. I couldn't believe , that I could make my Behan ji blush. I wondered why I hadn't notice her during my school days . How could I have missed this innocence, this simple beauty. Back then , her hair was short . She came to school in two pigtails. The thing is I never saw her or met her outside school. She never came for our Mt. Abu trip. That's when most of us saw our classmates in something other than school uniform. I felt two weeks is far away . I wanted to marry her now and take her home. I don't know why but my thoughts were drifting towards the basic male instinct. I was blushing ...I shook my head and started my car with the intention of concentrating on work...which at the moment looked like a distant dream.

To be Continued...

PS : Please do let me know your thoughts on this story. Your comments encourage me to write.
WeRockTheWorld2018-04-29 08:29:42