Chapter 38 Frozen hearts...will they melt by Deepti

Chapter 38

As Shashi turned his head and followed her gaze, he found Arnav standing at the door.

“Arnav!!”, he said raising from the bed.

“Mr.Mitthal is on the line, babuji. He tried to  reach you on your number but since you didn’t answer his call, he contacted me”, said Arnav giving the reason for his presence there.

“Ah.. looks like I forgot to turn off the silent mode after the conference”, said Shashi checking his phone which he pulled out from his pocket. And as Arnav walked inside and handed his cell phone to him, Shashi conversed with Mr.Mittal.  After handling over the phone, when Arnav got ready to  leave from there, Shashi gestured him to stay since the call  was related to the deal which they closed in the morning. Lost in the conversation, Shashi walked into the balcony leaving the two not so good friends, all alone in the room.

While there was a big debate going on in Kushi’s mind, Arnav was preoccupied with something else.

“ He saved me from a very big trouble today. He deserves at least a small thank you from me. Should I say it right away? “, wondered Kushi.

“He transferred the amount without asking even a single question. Considering the equation which we share, no one else in his position would ever do that. They would have bombarded me with questions even before agreeing to help. But he didn’t. Not only now, even earlier he helped me in that  Abhay’s case and I never thanked him for that. What must he be thinking of me? Hey! That reminds me!! What happened to the deal? He never mentioned anything about it. Looks like he totally forgot about it.  Good for me! I don’t have to worry about what he would make me do”, thought Kushi.

“Where have I started and what am I thinking now? All I have to do is, say a simple ‘thank you’. And for that, I don’t even have to go to him. He is right here, standing right in my room. Will I ever get a better opportunity than this? No! So it’s better that I just say it”, muttered Kushi looking at the man who was busy in studying her room.

Though he entered her room earlier to get the internet password from her, he didn’t pay   any attention to the things around as his visit then had a different motive. But now as he had the leisure and  got an opportunity, he observed everything around him with great interest.

He looked around and the first thing that caught his attention was the life-size mirror which was attached to her dressing table. As he noticed her reflection in it, he couldn’t help but wonder, ” Now what is thinking about?”.As his gaze shifted to the flowers  in the vase, a faint smile appeared on his lips and he thought , “So her father is indeed right. She does love flowers”,  looking at the way they were neatly arranged in the vase.

His eyes then moved to the large portrait hung on the wall, right behind her bed. The picture was that of Kushi, who was surrounded by bubbles. There was a big smile on her face while her eyes were on the bubbles, sparkling with the joy, she was experiencing.  Looking at the expression on her face he could easily say that she was not posing to the camera. It was so natural and for some reason, that image made a place in his memory.

He then noticed the numerous dolls and teddies which were neatly arranged in a big shelf. He looked at the barbies and his eyes moved towards the teddies when something caught his attention and his gaze moved backed to the barbies. He spotted the barbie in a white wedding gown and the memory of him ruining a similar gown like that came back to him. “Looks like she recreated it. There is no way she could have got those ink stains off”, thought Arnav as he chuckled.

Moving on, he looked at the easel which was placed near the balcony. There was some sketch on it but he couldn’t see it properly as it was covered with a matte finish transparent sheet. Next to her bed was a book rack that was filled with numerous books on fashion designing and technology. But everything in that rack was neatly arranged. He was impressed with the way she organized everything but was surprised to see one half of the room in total contrast to the other one. Seeing one side of the room filled with dolls and teddies and the other side filled with the stuff related to her studies, Arnav couldn’t help but wonder, “Is she a women or is she a child? Or is she in the transition phase?”

After scanning her room completely, he finally paid attention to the child women who was sitting cross-legged on her bed. As his eyes rested on her, the question which had been bothering him since afternoon, came back to him.

“Should I ask her why she needed that much money??? Will she be truthful or will she prefer not to answer???, wondered Arnav as he stared at her.

“By the way, why am I so desperate to know whatever that reason is. It’s her problem. Shouldn’t I just keep my mouth shut and mind my business?“, he questioned himself.
But after debating for a while , he finally decided to ask her. And as he opened his mouth and said, “Actually!”, he heard her say the same, right at the same moment.

As they looked at each other, “Go ahead”, said Arnav ,encouraging her to continue.

“It’s okay. You can continue”, said Kushi who was eager to know what he had in mind.

“No, you go first”, said Arnav who was equally curious to know what she was planning to say.

“Why should I go first. You were about to say something. So you go first”, said Kushi whose curiosity grew on finding him reluctant to take the lead.

“Nope! First you”, said Arnav as he crossed his hands.

“No, you first”, replied Kushi copying his actions.

“You”, said Arnav

“You”, replied Kushi.

They soon forgot what they intended to talk and started arguing about who should go first. But fortunately or unfortunately, their argument came to an abrupt end when Shashi finally made an appearance asking, ” What’s going on here? What is this you you?”

“It’s nothing, Babuji. So how did it go on? Is Mr. Mittal okay with everything we mentioned in the docs?”, asked Arnav diverting Shashi’s attention from them.

“Ya! He is. He will be sending the fax tomorrow.We have to sign few documents and we are good to go”, replied Shahsi handling over the phone back to Arnav.

“Cool”, said Arnav as he stepped backwards, tapping his phone on his left palm. And as he exited the room he glared at her thinking, “ DAMN!!! She didn’t even give me a chance to ask”.

“Grumpy fellow!Didn’t even let me thank him. Huh!!”, thought Kushi looking at his disappearing figure.

“Now tell me! So why did you need 25000 rupees?”, her father’s question brought her back out of her thoughts.

“Actually..”, she started, to give him the details but on second thoughts, she paused.

“Babuji, is it okay if I give you the details little later?”, asked Kushi earnestly.

“If that is what you want to do, I have no problem with it”, replied Shashi with a shrug.

“Trust me, Babuji. I used it very wisely and you are going to be very proud of me”, said Kushi trying to give an assurance to her father.

“That I’m already!!”, said Shashi as he placed his hand on her head and pressed it gently.

Kushi raised from her position and hugged her father saying, ” Love you, Babuji. Just few days and you will be the first one to know what I’m up to. Promise! Will not disappoint you”, said Kushi.

“I know”, replied Shashi as he pulled her apart and looked at her fondly.

“Aren’t you hungry?”, he asked and on getting a nod in response, ” then let’s go and have dinner before you turn all cranky”, said Shashi.

She made a face and as her father smiled, she  said, ” Just a minute”, and  picked the teddy bear and barbie which were lying on her bed. She then added them to her collection and stepped back to have a look at it.

“Just few minutes ago…someone was asking me if she was still a kid, to play with dolls??”, said Shashi teasing her.

“Who???? I never heard anyone say that”, replied Kushi wearing an innocent expression on her face.And as Shahsi burst out laughing, looking at her expression, she too joined him. Hand in hand they went to the dining hall where  the others were waiting for them.

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The next few days it became really tough for the others to spot Kushi at home. Since her final semester culminates in a design collection where the students have to present their collections in a show, Kushi became extremely busy. While she was absorbed in working very hard to give her best, the preparations for Anjali’s wedding kicked off in Shantiwan.

One fine day, everyone was in the living room, finalizing the guest list when they saw Kushi coming down the stairs. While her hands were filled with rolls of charts and papers, she was in a rush to exit the house.

“Kushi, why are you in such a rush? Have some breakfast and go”, ordered her mother, looking at the lean figure who was slipping her legs into her cream color sandals.

“Not now Maa….got to go…will have something in the canteen.I’m already late. Bye!”, said Kushi  as she walked out of the house.

She crossed the porch and was on the porch stairs when a chart roll slipped from her hands and rolled on the stairs.

“God!!” mumbled Kushi as she followed the roll. She almost reached it but as the  gentle breeze pushed it further, the roll reached the end of the stairs and stopped as a pair of black shoes came in its way. Kushi’s eyes got glued to the black shoes for few seconds and as she raised her gaze, ” Hi!”,  she said, recognizing the owner of those shoes.

“Hi”, said Abhay as he picked up her chart roll. He climbed the steps and kept the chart roll carefully on the pile she was carrying giving her a smile.

“Thank you”, said Kushi, reciprocating the smile.

And as those two words escaped her mouth, a pair of  chocolate brown eyes glared at her from behind.

“Going to college?”, asked Abhay.

“Ya…getting late…talk to you some other time….got to go”, said Kushi as she checked her wrist watch.

“No problem. See you soon”, said Abhay, moving out of her way.

She took a step ahead when Abhay said, “Hey! forgot to mention. I’m throwing a party for Anjali and Karan, tomorrow. No moms and dads. It’s just the younger  generation. Wanted to invite you and Arnav for it.”

“Oh nice…at what time?”,  inquired, Kushi.

“At 7.00 pm”,  replied Abhay.

“Oh! I’m not sure if I can make it to the party, but  I will definitely try”, she said, remembering that she might get late at college on the very next day as it was the final day for the submission of her designs

“You should definitely try…I’ll speak to Ar..”, he paused and said ” Hey Arnav! I was just talking about you, man “, looking at Arnav who was standing at the entrance of their home.

As Kushi turned her head around, she found him glaring at her.

“Ya.. I heard”, replied Arnav without taking his eyes off her.

“You carry on, Kushi. But you should definitely make it to the party”, said Abhay and without waiting for her response he moved towards Arnav.

His words didn’t reach her ears as she was trying to read those eyes which were blazing with fire. After the guys shook their hands they went inside the house but before going in, Arnav didn’t forget to shoot a glare at her.

And Kushi stood perplexed, not understanding what was wrong with him.

“What did I do NOW??? What was that look for?”, wondered Kushi looking at the place which he just vacated.

As she couldn’t nail down the answer, pushing her thoughts aside she moved towards her car, thinking about the balance work she needs to complete before the show.

Once he met the others, Abhay informed them the reason for his visit, showing the sample invitations which he brought along with him.

“Actually, Karan was supposed to come with these.But since an important meeting showed up, Uncle assigned this job to me”, said Abhay as he passed the cards to Aakash.

“That’s okay”, replied Aakash ,who came back from abroad, early that morning. Though everyone was engrossed in checking the designs, Arnav’s mind was elsewhere.

“What does she think of herself. He just picked up her chart and she thanked him instantly. Here, I pulled her twice out of her mess, and she doesn’t even care about it! What the!!”, thought Arnav.

” She expresses her gratitude or not, does that make a difference?”, his mind questioned.

“It’s not that I’m expecting any gratitude from her. I didn’t help her expecting something in return. But if she could thank someone for something as trivial as picking up a chart, then why can’t she thank me?”, he  questioned himself as he felt the dent in his ego.

“As if I care!! Why am I even thinking about her. Let her do whatever she wants to do. If she doesn’t care, neither do I”, he concluded and tried to brush her thoughts aside.

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After a busy and tiresome day, Kushi finally reached home late that evening when the entire family was having their dinner.

“There you are! I sent the driver to Preeti’s home  at 7 and now it’s 8.30. What took you so long?”, complained Sakshi as soon as she spotted her daughter.

“I’m sorry, Maa. We were working on the final record and lost track of time. I’ll freshen up and be right back. I’m starving. What’s for dinner ?”, inquired Kushi as she started climbing the stairs.

“Aloo paratha”, answered Sakshi, looking at her daughter’s tired face.

“Yummy!! Will be back in two minutes”, said Kushi as she increased her pace. She threw a glance at Arnav before disappearing from there and found him not at all bothered with her entry.

It took her 10 minutes to freshen up and by the time she came back, it was only Anjali, Arnav and Rishi at the table. She took the chair right opposite to him to draw his attention but failed miserably in achieving it.

As her mother served the paranthas and went inside the kitchen, “You are coming for tomorrow’s party right”, asked Anjali opening the conversation.

“Which party?”, asked Kushi as she continued chewing her food.

“The one which Abhay is throwing. Which one else? He told me that he spoke to you in the morning”, said Anjali.

“Oh! That one! Sorry Di. I totally forgot about it. I don’t think I can make it to it, Di. I need to submit my final project tomorrow. Each and everyone’s designs will be reviewed one after the other. It’s a pretty time-consuming process. Don’t know how long it’s going to take”, replied Kushi.

“No way! Don’t give me any excuse. You have to come. Do something and see to that you are the first one to submit your work. That way, your review will be done by evening and you can make it to the party”, advised Anjali.

“I’ll try to do that Di. But can’t promise. I still have some work to complete before I can go for the final submission”, replied Kushi.

“I don’t know what you are going to do. But you have to come, Kushi. You know how out-of-place I feel at these parties. With you next to me, I will feel much better”, said Anjali trying to convince Kushi.

“I know Di…but”, she was interrupted by Arnav who opened his mouth for the first time saying, “Why are you requesting her Di???If she doesn’t want to come, let her be. You don’t have to plead her”.

“You don’t know Arnav. These parties drive me crazy”, said Anjali, thinking about the party.

“Don’t worry Di. We will be with you”, said Arnav, trying to boost Anjali spirits.

“WE???”, asked Kushi inquisitively,  not understanding who he is referring to.

He looked directly at her for the first time and said, “It’s definitely not YOU”.

“He meant WE…. ARNAV and  ME”, said Rishi pointing his hand to Arnav and himself.

Kushi glared at her brother and looked back at her plate muttering, ” Grumpy fellow and his disciple. Perfect soul mates. Huh!”

As Anjali and Rishi left the table to wash their hands, ” I’m glad that you are not coming to the party tomorrow. Saved me from ruining my mood with  your presence there. Now I  can have a pleasant evening without any nuisance and nonsense around”, said Arnav as he raised from his chair.

Kushi just gaped at him hearing those words and as he left from there, she came out of the shock and said, “Did he just call me  a nuisance and nonsense???”

She stuffed the paranta into her mouth and showed her grudge on it. As she kept chewing the food in her mouth, an idea occurred in her mind and an instant smile lit up her face. “So my presence ruins your mood. Good that you shared this fact with me. Now I will see to that you always have a rotten mood, YOU GRUMPY FELLOW!! If not for Di’s sake, at least to ruin your day, I will make it to the party. Let me see, how you are going to have a PLEASANT  evening”, said Kushi smiling wickedly.

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