Always and Forever
Part - 6 The Third Plan

The evening was beautiful with a gentle cool breeze rustling the leaves of the trees in Rajshri Park, the marigolds nodded as if in approval of the weather. She watched them enchanted by the striking contrast of yellow blooms against dark green leaves. The sound of mischievous laughter caught her attention and she turned her head to see children play tag. Sameer came up to her with ice-creams, offering her one. Naina excitedly removed the cardboard cover and dug the little wooden spoon in the tub of vanilla ice-cream, greedily licking of the first small scoop from the spoon. There was some strange pleasure in eating ice-creams in winter. Sameer laughed at her excitement, and when she lifted the next scoop he held her hands and licked it off himself. She frowned at him, he smiled holding one ear in apology, offering her a spoon from his own tub. She relented, smiling, as he fed her with his own hands. Sometime later, when the park was relatively empty, he slowly slid closer and wrapped one hand around her shoulders, and she leaned into him, resting her head on his shoulders, as they watched the sun dipping slowly in the western horizon. As the twilight deepened the sky, the chill in the air increased, she shivered, and he hugged her closer, lending her the warmth of his body.

The serene evening turned into raving chaos, when to her horror she heard Taiji’s voice calling her, and she struggled to get out of his hold, but he didn’t leave her. It was a bad idea to come here, she had known it, yet hadn’t been able to resist. Now everyone would scold her, and what will Sameer’s family think of her. Taiji’s voice was too close now and she tried to peel off his hands from her. “Sameer!”, she jerked free, finally escaping his hold and stood up.

“Sameer?”, Taiji questioned, “Oh bai! Yeh subah subah konse gul khila rahi hai?”

Naina rubbed her eyes and looked around to find herself sitting on the bed, with a disgruntled Preeti beside her. She was at home, on her bed. Sameer was not in sight. She frowned. It took her a few minutes to calm down and realize she had been dreaming, and the hands holding her were not Sameer’s but Preeti’s. She sighed in relief, recalling the pleasant dream, and to her surprise was slightly disappointed to find that it hadn’t happened in reality.

“Ab muskurati rahegi yun pagal ki tarah, ya batayegi kya hua?”, Taiji interrogated.

Preeti yawned, “Taiji aap subah subah yahan kya kar rahi hai? Naina sapna dekh rahi hogi, dekhne dijiye na.”

Naina glared at her sister, predicting the impending lecture, and she was right.

Taiji adjusted her pallu, a shocked expression on her face, “Oh bai! Sapna! Bela… aree o Bela.”

“Taiji woh…”, Preeti started again, only to be silenced by Taiji.

“Yeh dekh Bela”, she said as soon as Chachiji entered, “ek to dono maharaniya subah ke 7 baje tak so rahi hai. Upar se ab yeh Naina sapne bhi dekhne lagi hai. Yeh sab kuch teri wajah se hua hai.”

“Bhagwaan jhuth na bulaye bhabhiji, maine kya kiya?”, Bela questioned innocently.

“Neva Bela… Ab itni bhi bholi mat ban”, Taiji reprimanded, “yeh tu jo sab cinema dekhti hai na usika asar hai yeh.”

“Aur tu…”, Taiji reached for Naina’s ear, then stopped herself remembering she couldn’t hit her anymore, “bata konsi picture ke gaane baj rahe the sapne me?”

Preeti looked at her apologetically, while Naina tried to make her sluggish brain wake up and think of an escape route. She moulded her face in as innocent expression as she could, “picture ke gaane nai Taiji, maine to bura sapna dekha.”

“Achcha”, Taiji said disbelievingly, “bura sapna? Isiliye itna muskura rahi thi?”

Naina shook her head, “nai nai Taiji… maine to dekha ke Sameer ko office me chot lag gai, aur unke haath se khoon nikal raha tha, isiliye to main chikhi”, she tried to spin the tale, “aur fir jab pata chala ke sirf sapna tha to main khush ho gai.”

Bela jumped in to save Naina, “hey bhagwaan! Lekin shastro me to likha hai ke subah ka sapna sach hota hai”, she looked at Taiji, “Bhabhiji aap hi kuch kahiye na. Damadji ko sach me chot lag gai to.”

Taiji now swelled with pride, “Oh bai! Aise kaise chot lag jayegi”, she said, “Naina, tu jaldi se naha le aur mandir me puja karke aa. 101 rupaye ka prasad chadana. Dekhna Bholuram ko kuch nai hoga.”

“Ji Taiji”, Naina agreed. Just then Pralay yelled for his mother and Taiji hurried back. Bela sat on the bed in-front of Naina, “ab mereko bata, konsa gaana tha sapne me.”

Preeti giggled, while Naina tried to continue the sham, “kuch bhi to nai Chachiji. Sach me bura sapna tha.”

“Rehne de beta”, Bela patted her shoulder, “maine bhi aise bure sapne bahot dekhe the shaadi ke pehle.”

There was a moment of silence, and then all of them started laughing. Naina and Preeti hugged Bela and she folded her arms around her two precious girls.

The clock struck 10am, and Sameer was drinking his fifth cup of coffee since morning, as he sat on his desk checking the fabric samples that had been approved for display in the exhibition. Munna came in with a binder folder, took a seat, looking at the empty cups, “coffee me dubne ka irada hai kya?”

Sameer smiled, “shayad wahi karna padega. Sardard kam hi nai ho raha.”

“Do din se sar pakadke betha hai. Jaake bhabhi se milke aa, thik ho jayega”, he suggested.

“Hahaa”, Sameer laughed, “haan thik to ho jayega. Lekin yeh kaam kon karega fir”, he indicated the file in Munna’s hand, “yeh kya hai?”

Munna gave the file to him, “articles aur baaki saara jo print karvana hai. Tu bole to aaj deke aata hun printing me.”

Sameer sighed, “pehle yeh fabrics ka kaam karle, maine check kar liya sab thik hai”, he frowned at the file, “yeh articles to proof-read karne padenge.”

Munna scratched his head, “woh kya hota hai?”

“Check karne padenge”, Sameer explained, “spelling aur grammar bhi”, he rubbed his head thinking, “haan… vyaakran.”

“Oh achcha”, Munna smiled at his friend’s attempt at Hindi, “to ek kaam karna, yeh bhabhi se check karvale”, he suggested, “English me hai. Par bhabhi to padh legi na.”

“Of course, Naina padh legi”, he said thinking it was a good idea and that could give him a chance to meet her too. But then what about the other work?

Munna understood his dilemma, “dekh sample approval ho gaya hai, production ka bhi kaam thik chal raha hai, baki dusri files kal tak aayegi, tab tak jo chota-mota kaam hoga main kar lunga”, he offered, “aur teri bank me meeting bhi hai, to uske baad bhabhi se milne chala jaa.”

Sameer drained the last sip of his coffee, thinking about what his friend suggested. Yes, it was doable. And maybe he could also follow his plan. The day suddenly brightened up, and so did his face. Munna laughed at the happy grin on his friend’s face.

Naina was sitting on the swing reading the first typed out section of her story, when the phone rang. She checked the time as she picked it up, hoping it was Sameer, “Hello.” There was no sound on the other end. She sighed looking towards the kitchen to confirm that Chachiji was out of hearing range, then turned her attention back to the caller, “tumne track sahi pakda hai Rohan. Lekin Preeti shaam ko hi ghar pe hoti hai, iss waqt nai.” The blank calls were turning into a regular event, but the problem was Rohan always called when Preeti was at work. Naina pitied her poor devar and thought to enlighten him a bit. There was a slight fumbling sound from the other end, then she heard a faint whisper, “thanks bhabhi”, and the call was disconnected.

It was 2pm by the time Sameer finished his meeting and landed up at Naina’s home. He hadn’t told her that he was coming. He wanted to see her surprised expression and the pleasure that filled her eyes on seeing him. He rang the doorbell, expecting to see her, but it was Chachiji who opened the door.

“Aree… Damadji… mera matlab Sameer beta tum”, Bela was delighted to see him.

Sameer took her blessings, “Namaste Chachiji. Woh darasal mujhe Naina se zara kaam tha.”

“Haan haan… andar aao”, she welcomed him, then rushed into the kitchen calling for Naina.

Naina strolled out of the room dressed in a peach salwar-kameez, “kya hua Chachiji?” Her eyes widened on seeing Sameer, and he stood transfixed to the spot at the sight of her. Naina hadn’t taken her dupatta, and the dress had a low-cut neckline, his eyes dropped from her face, wandering to the yet forbidden zone, and a long shudder ran down his spine. She whirled, rushing back into the room, while Sameer tried to calm his breathing, taking the water Chachiji offered.

Naina returned in two minutes, dupatta in place. Sameer smiled holding out a bunch of blush pink snapdragons for her, he just couldn’t take his eyes off her, his hands itched to open the pin securing her hair. She stood looking at him, drinking in his sight, he was dressed in a charcoal grey suit and pale-yellow shirt, a light grey tie sat at the base of his throat. She knew he wore a tie only when he had meetings, “meeting se aa rahe ho?”, she asked indicating him to sit.

He loosened his tie, “haan, bank me meeting thi”, he informed, taking a seat on the sofa.

“Khana kha liya beta?”, Chachiji asked returning from the kitchen.

Sameer placed the file next to him, “ji Chachiji”, he lied smoothly.

Well, not smoothly enough. Naina propped her hands on her hips, glaring at him. Sameer looked up at her amused, waiting for her to say something. She didn’t. Finally, he faltered under her glare, he should have known how difficult it is to hide something from her, “okay, nai kiya lunch ab tak.” He then added, “lekin mujhe bhuk nai hai. Coffee ya chai chalegi, sardard hai subah se.”

She frowned, “iska matlab breakfast bhi nai kiya, haina?”

He gulped, looking at her, “umm… tumhe kaise pata?” He tugged at the collar of his shirt, suddenly it felt too tight. How did she know he hadn’t eaten breakfast?

Naina shrugged not divulging details while Bela tried to hide her smile. She knew the ways of wife quite well, and Naina was proving to be rather effective already.

“Tum dono betho, main kuch bana deti hun”, Bela said and went back to the kitchen.

Sameer indicated the file, “mujhe kuch articles proof-read karne me help chahiye thi tumhari.”

“Haan kar dungi”, she said, “lekin pehle khana banane me help kar deti hun Chachiji ki.” She arranged the flowers in a vase, “tum aaram se betho, thoda relax karo”, she frowned at his exhausted face, “aur tie utaar sakte ho ab, meeting nai hai yahan pe.”

He grinned, wishing he could hold her, that would cure all his exhaustion. “Yeh kya hai?”, he asked spying a bunch of papers on the table.

“Meri story”, she informed.

He lifted it up, “main padhu?”

She nodded and left to prepare some food. They already had their lunch, and still had rice & dal leftover from the meal, so she and Chachiji quickly prepared roti and cauliflower sabji. Thirty minutes later she came out to tell him that food was ready and saw that he had curled up on the sofa and fallen asleep, he was still holding her story, hugging it to his chest. Her eyes softened on seeing him, she understood how exhausted he must be, he had shadows under his eyes, there were lines on his forehead as if he was worrying over something even in sleep, and the glow was missing from his face. She had seen this look quite often during the first year of college when he had a tough time juggling business and studies.

“Aree, yeh to so gaye”, Bela said in surprise, wiping her hands on her pallu.

Naina smiled, “sone dijiye Chachiji, thak gaye hai bahot”, she said, “aap bhi so jaiye jaake. Sameer uthega tab main khana paros dungi.”

As soon as Chachiji left, she went up to him, she didn’t try to pull the story from him, she knew he would wake up. Instead she picked up the jacket and tie he had removed, placing them on the chair properly. She got a blanket from her room, covered him, and then sat down on the floor in-front of him, looking at his face. She touched his forehead, then combed her fingers through his hair, he relaxed immediately, some of the lines eased from his forehead and he shifted closer to her touch.

Another Thirty minutes later, he woke up, blinking his eyes, and saw Naina sitting on the floor, the file of articles and a pencil in her hands. He didn’t move, just watched her, he saw she had opened her hair, and felt a surge of pleasure at the sight. Even as he watched, her brows furrowed as she found some mistake. He heard scratching sounds, as she quickly made some note on the paper, satisfied, she turned over to next page. Would she ever believe him if he told her that he was turned on just watching her work like this? But it was true, watching her work did turn him on – the way she nibbled lightly on her lower lip, the way she tilted her head slightly to the side, exposing her throat, the way she absentmindedly tucked her hair behind her ear, only to have it slide free again and brush against her cheek. The piggy-tailed, plain but beautiful teenager, had turned into an even more beautiful woman who was striking in her own way. Her long high-bridged nose looked aristocratic. Her slightly pouty mouth could only be described as lush. Complete maturity had refined her face so that high, chiseled cheekbones had been revealed, and her almond-shaped, whiskey-coloured eyes were exotic. Her body was soft, all feminine curves and she still had lovely flawless skin.

Memories of the girl she had been filled his heart with warmth. The reality of the woman still warmed his heart, but it also stirred everything in his body and set his blood to boil.

Probably she could feel the heat of his gaze because she turned her head to look at him. She smiled on seeing him awake, and then surprised him by touching his forehead, “sardard kam hua?”

He frowned slightly, feeling as if she had touched him like this when he was sleeping, “hmm… kitni der soya main?”

She checked the clock, “zyada time nai hua. Khana khaoge abhi?”

“Kha lunga”, he said, “par pehle yeh batao ke tumhe kaise pata chala ke maine breakfast nai kiya tha?”

She laughed, “tum bhul rahe ho Sameer ke hum kitne saalo se saath hai. Mujhe pata hai tumhe kaam ka tension hota hai tab tum khane pe dhyan hi nahi dete”, she pulled his hair lightly, “lekin baki saara time perfect bhukkad ban jaate ho.”

There was something different in her behaviour today. He couldn’t place a finger on it. But she was more comfortable with him. She was touching his hair, it was a bliss, but he noticed that she wasn’t blushing at all. He was intrigued.

“Tum hamari kahani likh rahi ho”, he stated holding up the papers he was reading.

She nodded taking the bunch from his hands and placing it on the floor along with the file, “usse achchi koi shuruat ho hi nai sakti mere liye.”

He lifted a stand of hair, rubbing the silk between his fingers, “professional life me shuruat aisi cheez se karni chahiye jisme emotional investment na ho”, he explained, “fail honepe dukh kam hota hai.”

She had a quizzical expression on her face, “achcha, to isiliye tumne business sambhalte hi sabse pehla contract uss company ki paane ki koshish ki thi jo Nanu hamesha chahte the”, she smiled, “usme emotional investment nai tha tumhara, haina?”

He chuckled, “tumse behes karke kabhi jeet nai paunga main.”

She tilted her head, “waise bhi biwi ke saath behes nai karni chahiye.”

He got up, slid to the floor and came face-to-face with her in one smooth motion, “to fir kya karte hai biwi ke saath?”

Pulse racing, she found herself staring into his eyes. The glitter was back, and the chocolate-brown colour darkened. He was too close, his body seeming to radiate heat. He hadn’t touched her, but she was already at melting point. He reached up, brushed a strand of hair from her cheek, the split second of contact like a static burst against her skin. He wanted to kiss her, taste her lips. But he controlled himself, he didn’t want their first kiss to happen here. And maybe it was still too soon for her, after all it wasn’t in his third plan. He wanted something much more desperately than kissing her, it was to hold her in his arms, she had hugged him twice now, but both the times it was because he had been in tears. He didn’t want a consoling embrace, he wanted her to hold him because she wanted to. But his plan had a flaw, it wouldn’t be accomplished without her permission, because he would never force her to do something she didn’t want. He could only hope that she wanted it as much as he did.

He took a deep breath and without breaking eye-contact he slid one arm around her waist, he felt her tremble, but she didn’t object. “Tumhe yaad hai tumne do baar mujhe gale lagaya?”, he whispered. She gave a slight nod. He pulled her a little closer, “par abhi main ro nai raha”, he said hoping she would understand. She looked at his face, her heart thundering, and she understood what he wanted. She felt warmth surge in her heart at his demand. She had been waiting, barely controlling the urge to pull back and flee, she had thought he would kiss her. She had decided to explore whatever he was teaching her, but she didn’t know if she wanted to do something like that when Chachiji could come out any moment and also, she was still scared, a little too much. But he wasn’t trying to kiss her, instead he was waiting patiently, even seeking permission for a hug.

Love for him overwhelmed her, filled her with a yearning so deep that she felt achy and restless. She didn’t quite understand the sensation inside her, she didn’t know how to permit in words, so instead she inched closer to him, still looking into his eyes. He exhaled in relief, a long shuddering breath, and pulled her to him completely, wrapping his arms around her. He felt her shiver, her head resting right under his chin, her slender arms went around his waist, as she held on to him. He had never thought it would be like this, this was monumental, he felt a sense of peace, finally he was holding her in his arms, and she wanted to be here with him. He tightened his embrace, tilting his head to lay one cheek on her head, feeling the silk of her hair, she wasn’t trembling anymore, she was soft and relaxed, holding him just as tight.

Neither of them knew how long they sat like that, but none of them wanted to move. And they wouldn’t have if the phone hadn’t rung, they jerked as if they had forgotten where they were. Naina smiled getting up to pick up the phone, it was for Sameer, she handed it to him and went to the kitchen. He stood talking to Munna, watching her heat up something on gas in kitchen, wondering about the absence of blush from Naina’s face. They had hugged, and he was expecting her to blush furiously, but she wasn’t, not even one bit. She came back with a plate of food and waited for him to come over to the dining table. He went and sat next to her, it felt perfectly homely, he wished they were at their home right now.

He looked at the dish, “tumne banaya?”, he asked.

“Haan, aaj saara khana maine banaya”, she added pickle to the dish, “Chachiji ne roti banane me help ki.”

He smiled, reached for the food, then stopped looking at her, “to khila bhi tum hi do”, he suggested.

She looked up at him, immediately remembering her dream this morning, and blushed. He stared at the red tinge, finally feeling that nothing was out of place, she was still the same. She held up a morsel for him, and he ate it, the first bite of food since morning. It was delicious. One thing was sure he didn’t need to worry about food after marriage. With his energy being replenished bite after bite, he stared wickedly at her, and when she held up the next morsel, he closed his lips over her fingers, licking them lavishly. She jerked, eyes wide, lips parted in surprise, blushing scarlet. She feigned anger, pushing the dish towards him, “aisa karoge to main nai khilane wali.”

“Aree gussa kyun hoti ho”, he winked at her, “yeh lo, tum bhi kar sakti ho”, he lifted his hands, offering all of his fingers to her.

She sputtered in surprise, batting at his hands and he laughed. “Achcha ab nai karunga, please khilado”, he pleaded pushing the dish back to her, “mujhe ab tak bhuk lagi hai.”

She looked at his pleading eyes, and relented, feeding him again. He didn’t resort to any more mischief but revelled in the moment. Just as they finished, there was a sound of door, and Chachiji came out of her room. She saw Naina go towards the kitchen, and looked at Sameer curiously, “tumhe haath nai dhona beta?” He blushed, and quickly got up to wash his hands.

Ten minutes later, he picked up the file ready to leave and the phone rang. As Chachiji went to receive the call, Sameer took the opportunity and quickly hugged Naina, “bye sweetheart”, he whispered. He put on his shoes, and started towards the door continuously looking at her, confused at the impish smile on her lips. She checked to be sure that Chachiji wasn’t looking, then lifted her hand to her lips, kissed her own palm, and blew it towards him. His heart skipped several beats, his eyes widened, he stumbled colliding with someone who was coming in and there was a loud crash. Naina and Chachiji looked on as Taiji wailed in dismay over the broken ceramic vase, and Sameer still stood stumped at the first flying kiss he had received from Naina.