Chapter 33: Khushi

"Khushi, Di said no such thing."

She huffed in frustration, blowing hair out of her eyes as she glared at the phone in her hand. Then it was back to her ear.

"Di told you that Aakash-ji was distracted. That he wasn't eating properly. That he accompanies her to the Laxmi Nagar temple every chance he gets!"

"Aannddd?" her fiancé drawled.

"And who else goes to the temple? My Jiji!"

Arnav-ji groaned. She imagined him running his hand through his hair and was suddenly struck by the desire to feel the strands against her own fingertips.

Concentrate, Khushi.

"When you came to me with this maddened scheme," Arnav-ji began, "I asked Aakash. Trust me, if he felt something, I would know."

"I know you. You probably asked Aakash-ji in a roundabout and secretive way. How was he to know what you were saying?"

"Uhh ... I ..."

"And anyway, what would a Laad Governor such as yourself know about this?"

"Laad - What the hell does that even mean!?"

"It means that you should listen to me," she replied reasonably, "I'm right about this."

"What crap!"

"Look, if you aren't going to help me then I'll just do it myself."

"Go ahead," Arnav-ji invited,"I give up."

Then his tone lowered intimately, "But don't forget that the conditions of our bet were that the loser would do anything the winner asked. Anything."

Khushi shivered as she issued her challenge, "I'll win. You'll see. They like each other."

"Such confidence. I'll see you soon, be ready for dinner."

"You promised ice cream this time."

"I haven't forgotten."

Khushi made to end the call, but then ...

"Arnav-ji!"

"... yeah?" he sounded distracted.

"I ... uh ..."

I love you.

"I ... you see ... I ..."

I love you. I love you. I love you.

"Yes?"

Oh Devi Maiyya, why is this so hard?

"... I ... B-Bua-ji needs to sp-speak to you."

"Ohk-kaay," confusion suffused his tone.

"Yes. Bye."

Disconnecting, Khushi closed her eyes and pressed a palm to her temple.

Three words Khushi. Why can't you say those three little words?

Her phone buzzed again.

"I thought Bua-ji needed to speak to me," Arnav-ji greeted when she answered it.

"N-no. Not now. Wh-when you come la-later."

"Ahh."

"Bye."

She buried the phone within her clothes in the almari, muttering to the statue of Devi Maiyya that sat on her small table, "This is all his fault! He should have said it a long time ago!"

Sighing, she reached for the envelope Di had sent over his morning. Then, pushing aside her inability to voice her feelings to her fiancé, she left her room. Jiji sat on a settee, a pale pink sari spread over her lap as she worked on its embroidered edge. Khushi settled on the dining table where her sister could see her.

"Di sent me this envelope," she began, her voice pitched to carry across the room, "I wonder what's inside."

Jiji didn't react.

"I'm opening the envelope," Khushi waved it around, "I think it's a gift!"

Opening the envelope was a more silent affair than she'd hoped, so she gave a running commentary as she worked, "There are papers ... no, not papers. Photos. But we've already received photos from our engagement."

The photos she'd requested from Di slid out of the envelope, a stack as thick as two of her fingers.

"That's odd," she continued, craning her neck to watch for Jiji's reaction, "These are photos of ladies ... Ohhhhh, I know."

She held three of them up, waving them energetically in her sister's direction, "These are the proposals for Aakash-ji! Di asked me to look over them."

Khushi counted it as a small victory when Jiji's hands froze.

"I suppose it's only fitting that I have a say in choosing my own Devrani," she pretended to flick through the photos, "I'll boss her around, force her to do menial chores and make her life miserable in all sorts of ways. Won't it be fun, Jiji?"

A sidelong glance at her sister revealed that she had her full attention. Pressing her lips together to contain a grin, Khushi continued the farce.

"Mami-ji wants a beautiful, no a beautiphool girl, someone who will take care of her, Mama-ji, and of course, Aakash-ji. Someone—"

She cut off as Jiji stood abruptly and strode to the open window. A gust of cool air toyed with her dupatta as she stared out into the busy street.

"Help me bring the clothes inside," Jiji's voice was soft, "There's a storm coming."

Eyeing the low-hanging low clouds, Khushi nodded her agreement and followed her sister outside. They worked in silence for a few minutes before Jiji spoke.

"When did they start looking for a bride for Aakash-ji?"

"After our engagement. Nani-ji wants Arnav-ji to be married first but Mami-ji has already begun looking."

Jiji busied herself with a blouse, folding and refolding it a few times before draping it on the bannister with a sigh.

"Does ... Does Aakash-ji have someone in mind?"

"Maybe Di will know," Khushi shrugged as she led the way inside, "He hasn't told me anything."

She snuck glances at her sister as they sorted the clothes into piles, and when they were done, rewarded herself with a morsel of jalebi from the kitchen.

"You know ..." she bundled her pile of suits and dupattas in her arms, "Nani-ji said there are two other cousins. One in Sydney, Australia, and another at Deolali. Both are unmarried."

"Khushi!"

"I didn't ask," she giggled, "We were making a list of people to invite for the wedding."

Jiji followed her into their bedroom, "Still ... what if they ..."

Khushi set the clothes on their bed.

"What if they think I'm serious? Don't worry Jiji, Nani-ji has strict plans about when they will marry. First Arnav-ji," she counted on her fingers, "then Aakash-ji, then Dhruv-ji."

Catching sight of a smudge of chashni on her first finger, Khushi popped it into her mouth and licked it off, and then blushed, thinking of all the badmaash jokes Arnav-ji would have made if he'd seen her.

"So you have no reason to worry," she continued with a smile, "unless you like Aakash-ji."

Her smile slipped when Jiji turned away abruptly, but not fast enough to hide the sudden shine of emotion in her eyes. Suddenly, her antics seemed childish and wrong. Khushi opened her mouth to apologise but Jiji spoke first.

"It's nothing," her sister tried to smile, "All this talk of weddings just makes me ... Sometimes I think ... sometimes I think marriage just isn't in my fate."

"Jiji! But marriage is one of life's greatest joys. The celebrations, the rituals, the prayers, the bridal trousseau, and of course, a rajkumar who comes on a white horse and takes you away to a new home and a new life, and showers you with all his love."

Jiji pulled her into a hug with a genuine smile, "Does your Arnav-ji even know how to ride a horse?"

"My Arnav-ji can do anything if he puts his mind to it!" Khushi said decisively.

Except say that he loves me.

They broke apart, Jiji turning to their shared almari while Khushi slid her things into drawers.

"Amma and Bua-ji were talking this afternoon," Jiji broke their silence, "About Dhanteras next week. It's all my fault."

Her hands froze, her heart sinking as she realised what her sister was saying. The broken alliance had cost them a lot of money, chipping away at Babu-ji's savings. A deep breath, and then she turned with a smile stretched across her lips.

"There's nothing to worry about! I saw an ad in the paper this morning. There are silver coins hidden in packets of Miss Chamko detergent for Diwali! We can just buy twenty of them and get the silver that way!

"And if we don't find a coin?"

"Devi Maiyya will handle it," Khushi winked in the direction of the statue, "but we'll get twelve months' supply of Chamko detergent in any case. No harm done."

"Khushi—"

"—And don't worry about Diwali either. Like every year, I will make the diya and decorate the house. Happy-ji will help us with the lights."

"You have it all figured out, don't you?" Jiji smiled fondly.

"Yes," Khushi grinned, "I do."

"Here, I found your phone in the almari. You shouldn't be so careless."

Author's Note:

Thank you very much for reading :-) I really appreciate it! I read all the reviews and comments. I forgot to say this last week: thank you Batraz for your lovely comment and very gentle correction :-)

It seems that people need to be reminded every week: RISHTAA is not only the story of two people, it is the story of two families, and as such, there will be chapters that do not feature the romance between Khushi and her Arnav-ji, and scenes where they are not together.