Flaming Sun Collection 1: Happily Ever Afters from India Box Set (The Malhotra Bride; Meghna; The Runaway Bridegroom)

by Sundari Venkatraman

  Then there was the batch between 11.30 and 12.30, the age group being eleven to sixteen. Meghna loved teaching dance and had an excellent rapport with their students. She and Prashant had been running these classes since two years. Meghna believed that dancing was a wonderful way to keep one’s mind and body fit. Even Sunday found her swinging away to music with her nephew and niece.

  Prashant lusted after Meghna and hoped to take her out. But his attempts to date her had all been in vain. She simply refused to meet him socially.

  They waited for all the students to assemble before starting the class on time. Soft music played from the speakers, a mixture of both Hindi and English pop songs as Meghna started out with simple steps in front of the enthusiastic kids. Prashant walked among them correcting a child’s step here and another there.

  The hour passed by in a dream as Meghna danced along, only half her attention on them as her thoughts kept going back to Rahul, a small secret smile never far away from her lips.

  A bell pealed signalling the end of the hour and the kids packed up and left with great reluctance. Meghna walked over gracefully to the bathroom to wipe away the sweat with a wet wipe. She looked at herself in the mirror. A grin broke out on her face that appeared more alive than usual. Tendrils of hair escaped from her top knot and seemed to have a life of their own, dancing to some silent tune as if in celebration.

  ‘Rahul!’ Meghna mouthed the name without sound. Her body vibrated in delicious excitement. She would have to wait until she reached her office to share it with someone. Sarika was her best friend and the two of them worked for an internet website. They were of the same age and shared each other’s deepest secrets.

  She went back to the hall where Prashant waited with a cup of coffee. “Thanks, Prashant,” she said before lifting the cup to her lips. She was in no mood for a conversation. Prashant gave up after a couple of attempts.

  The next batch began to arrive and Meghna was thrilled to get back to her favourite profession. The older set was even more fun as they were much more graceful and appreciative.

  It was 12.45 when Meghna left the club. She went back home for a bite of lunch. She let herself into the flat, looking forward to sparring with Rahul once again.

  The place was quiet. Reema called out from the kitchen, “Is that you, Meghna?”

  “Yeah, Bhabhi. Where’s everyone?” Meghna walked into the kitchen as Reema was putting the finishing touches to the meal.

  “They’re down at the garden. Although I adore the brats, sometimes, you know, it’s a relief to be on my own.” Reema smiled.

  “I know, Bhabhi. You work too hard.” She hugged Reema. “You’ve been wonderful to Sanjay and me.”

  “Flattery will get you everywhere, my dear,” Reema teased.

  The two of them brought a number of hot cases containing many dishes to the dining table. “Bhabhi, you’ve gone to a lot of trouble.”

  “But of course. Rahul loves to eat, especially Indian food and you know I enjoy cooking,” replied Reema.

  Meghna went to her room to change out of her leotard into a pair of jeans and a semi-formal shirt. She then sat at the table to taste a little bit of everything. Reema sat with her, giving her company while sipping her mid-morning tea.

  “How do you feel now that your dream hero has turned up?” asked Reema.

  Meghna raised startled grey eyes to her sister-in-law. Reema was grinning at her, her eyebrows raised in query. She looked down, her face going red.

  “Bhabhi,” she was hesitant, “Is it so obvious?”

  “Only to me and Sanjay,” laughed Reema.

  “Thank God! For a minute there I thought the whole world must know.” Her worry was that maybe Rahul knew too.

  “And what do you plan to do now he’s here?”

  “Why, nothing Bhabhi. I’m not even sure I know this new Rahul.” Meghna’s lips drooped.

  The doorbell rang. Meghna’s heart went crazy. It was Rahul and the kids, dirty from their romp in the garden.

  “Hey,” he called out to Meghna, his eyes studying her keenly. “How was your morning?” He walked in with both the kids. Reema took them to their room for a bath.

  “Lovely, thanks.” Her answering smile was a bit nervous, not quite reaching her eyes. “You’ve obviously been enjoying yourself with Sasha and Rehaan in the garden.”

  “Yeah,” Rahul’s eyes twinkled. “They’re adorable. I’ve not had such fun in a long time.” He was also filthy with grass stains over his shorts and t-shirt. He intercepted Meghna’s look and grimaced, “Yeah, I need a bath.” He turned towards the guest bedroom.

  “Let me say ‘bye’ then. I’m leaving for work.”

  “Oh!” Was there a trace of disappointment in his voice as he uttered that single syllable? It was hard to say. “I thought you’d taken the afternoon off.”

  “I’ve to go. See you later.” Meghna left the flat without turning to look at him.

  Meghna met Sarika at the gate. The two of them rushed up to the second floor where their office was situated.

  The moment they sat down, Sarika spoke, “Come on, out with it. What’s up? Tell me now.”

  Meghna gave her a broad grin before saying, “You’d never guess what happened.”

  “NOW Meghna, before I die of curiosity,” the bubbly Sarika insisted.

  “Rahul’s come,” said Meghna in a stage whisper while turning around to switch on her PC.

  “What?” shrieked Sarika, dropping the papers she was feeding into the printer. “Your Rahul?” She asked as she bent down to pick the scattered papers.

  “The one and only,” Meghna answered with glee.

  “And? Tell me what happened, please,” Sarika insisted.

  “And nothing.” Meghna’s voice was anything but calm.

  “What do you mean nothing? Come on, Meghna, you can tell me,” Sarika pouted at her friend.

  Meghna smiled. “Really, Sarika. There’s nothing much to say. He seems all grown up and different. I don’t quite know myself what’s happening.”

  “You mean you don’t feel the spark and sizzle anymore?” Sarika was disappointed.

  “No, no,” Meghna eyes were dreamy. “Of course I felt the thrill and excitement, immediately. He looks gorgeous, you know. Better than before. He’s big and muscular and so handsome.” Her voice turned uncertain. “Do you think he’d be interested in simple ole me? He must’ve met such lovely girls in London.” She looked wistful.

  Sarika snapped her fingers in front of Meghna’s face. “Meghna, you’re a beauty yourself,” she said loyally. “And Rahul, I presume, is still single. Don’t expect trouble where there’s none,” she said.

  After that, silence reigned as the two of them concentrated on their work. The girls worked very hard and sincerely. Their boss, Akash Mehra, usually came in at about four in the evening.

  Meghna asked him for ten days’ leave. He agreed to it immediately as she had a couple of months’ leave accumulated.

  Seven

  It was late evening. Sanjay and Reema had taken their kids down to the club house in the building compound.

  Meghna sat in front of the television pressing the buttons on the remote disinterestedly. There was nothing to hold her attention. She was restless waiting for Rahul who was sleeping off his jet lag.

  She had changed into a short skirt and sleeveless top after returning from work. She had been so looking forward to sparring words with Rahul only to find that he was fast asleep. She was tempted to go into his room and wake him up rudely, the way he had woke her up that morning. The thought brought a smile to Meghna’s face. But she didn’t have the confidence to go into his bedroom.

  She kept looking at the wall clock every few seconds. The lazy hands appeared to be slower than ever. She let out an unconscious sigh.

  “What was that for?” asked Rahul from the doorway to the guest bedroom.

  Meghna jumped and the remote flew out of her hands to land with a light thud on the nearby sofa. She turned sta
rtled eyes to Rahul.

  He was standing there wearing only a pair of cotton corduroy pants. ‘Damn him’, thought Meghna. He stood there grinning cheekily at her. Meghna smiled vaguely in his direction, refusing to meet his eyes. She felt too shy in the face of his naked chest.

  “Hey!” called out Rahul.

  “Hi!” whispered Meghna in reply, staring blindly at the TV.

  “Where’s everyone?” the voice moved closer. Panic rose in Meghna’s throat, almost choking her.

  “They’ve gone swimming. Let me get you some coffee,” she moved fast, making her escape to the kitchen. Her hands shook as she assembled a tray with coffee mugs and sugar. She lit the gas stove to heat the milk. She had not heard Rahul following her, his bare feet making no noise.

  He reached out a long arm to switch off the stove. His other arm came from around her left side to encircle her in a loose embrace. Meghna stood stiffly in the circle of his arms, waiting, both petrified and excited, for his next move.

  Rahul was quiet. His heavy breath was the only indication of his reaction to her proximity. Meghna turned her head an inch and looked at him from under her eyelashes.

  He turned her around to pull her close to his bare chest and pressed his lips to her flaming cheek. She made a slight sound of protest before burying her hot face in his shoulder.

  Rahul pushed the hair away from her neck and explored her sensitive nape with his lips. Her arms slipped around his waist as a soft sigh escaped her.

  “Meghna.” He sounded serious for once. He pulled her face up to his, a large hand in her hair.

  Her lovely grey eyes would look anywhere but at him.

  “Meghna,” Rahul bent down to kiss her full on her mouth. Her startled lips and eyes opened wide. Her eyelids slowly came down as he gently moved his lips back and forth over hers.

  He raised his head to look at her face once again. “It’s been so long,” he whispered against her ear.

  “Hmm,” Meghna’s throat was dry. Her hands moved slowly on his chest, her palms tingling with the contact.

  Rahul stopped her foraging hands with his and drew a finger down her cheek. Her eyes opened.

  She suddenly realised what was happening and removed her hands from his chest in a hurry as if stung. She extricated herself from his arms and turned her back to him and muttered something about making coffee.

  He gave her an indulgent smile before saying, “You do that. I’ll get some clothes on,” and walked towards his room, whistling tunelessly.

  Meghna felt quite shaken by Rahul’s kiss. It was nothing like the innocent one he had bestowed on her six years ago. She glared at his back and muttered, “Idiot.”

  “I heard that,” called back his cheery voice. She made a face at him. “Cute,” he blew her a kiss before disappearing into his bedroom.

  Meghna laid out the coffee tray in the hall and waited for ‘His Highness’ to appear.

  Rahul was back in a few minutes and seated himself very close to her before picking up a coffee cup. She tried to inch away slowly. Rahul’s hand shot out to hold her close.

  “You’re not having coffee?” asked Rahul, his brown eyes studying her face intently.

  Meghna picked up her cup with shaking hands and lifted it to her lips. She couldn’t meet the molten honey of his gaze, not to save her life. At least he was keeping his hands to himself now.

  They finished their coffee in silence. Rahul got up, took the tray to the kitchen and rinsed the cups at the sink, leaving them on the draining board, gaining Meghna some precious moments to calm down.

  She refused to look at Rahul or utter a word as they left the flat. They were alone in the lift on their way down. Rahul stood a good two feet away from her. “You look gorgeous,” he said, his voice soft, eyeing her long, slender legs exposed by the short skirt.

  She looked up with a smile to see his eyes twinkling. He put an arm around her shoulder and pulled her close in a friendly hug.

  The children were having a gala time in the swimming pool. Even the quiet Rehaan’s face was animated. He was riding piggy back on his father as Sanjay swam from one end of the pool to the other. Sasha was showing off her diving prowess to anyone who was interested.

  “Unca Ra’ul, Aunty Me’na,” yelled Sasha, “watch me dive.” Rahul and Meghna moved to the end where the diving boards were.

  ‘One, two, thee,” lisped Sasha before making a clean dive. She was an excellent swimmer. Both her aunt and uncle clapped loudly in appreciation as her head bobbed out of the water. She waved to them in reply, rubbing the water from her eyes.

  Rehaan wanted to show off too. He swam well but was no good at diving. He jumped out of the pool and ran to the diving board in a flash. Reema’s warning voice came too late. He had already jumped into the deep end and Meghna’s breath caught in her chest as she waited for his tiny head to bob up. Her heart was in her throat in the half minute it took Sanjay to get his spluttering son out of the deep end. It became obvious that it was his self-esteem that was hurt more than his person as the little boy buried his face against his father’s shoulder and refused to look at anyone.

  “Rehaan,” called out Reema, holding her arms out to her son. She was visibly shaken. Rehaan jumped into her arms, almost knocking the two of them over, Sanjay just managing to hold his wife afloat. Rehaan looked at his mother’s face and his tiny, defiant face crumpled into tears. He tucked his thumb into his mouth and his face against his mother.

  “Come on folks, time to go,” called out Sanjay in a loud voice. His daughter’s face turned mutinous. “I want to s’im some more,” she declared loudly. Reema felt sorry for her daughter. Her moment of glory had been short lived. She nudged her husband gently and shook her head.

  Meghna brought a dry towel and called out, “Rehaan, sweetheart, come to Aunty Meghna. I’ll cuddle you and squash you and—”

  He giggled and put his arms out to her. She lifted him and wrapped him in the towel before taking him away. She made a ‘thumbs up’ sign to the rest of the family to go ahead with the diving session. Meghna and Rehaan chattered their way to the changing room.

  Rahul felt torn as he watched Meghna’s swinging hips moving away from him. He was keen to follow the duo but it was obvious that little Sasha wanted him to admire her diving skills. He smiled at the child encouragingly, “Come on Sasha; let me see that fabulous dive again.”

  Sasha was thrilled to be the centre of attention once again and rushed to the diving board. Sanjay let her have her own way a few more times before calling a halt. “Come baby, it’s time for dinner.”

  A protesting Sasha came out of the pool with great reluctance. Rahul wrapped a towel around her shivering body and pulled her close. “That was fantastic, Sasha. You’re just awesome.” Sasha lapped up the compliment and gave Rahul a loud kiss.

  “You should also come tomorrow, Unca Ra’ul.”

  “Sure, sweetheart.”

  “Not tomorrow, Sweetie,” said Sanjay. He was very careful with the promises he made to his kids.

  Sasha screwed up her little face to glare at her father, “Why Daddy?” she asked.

  “Because we’re going to the Dandiya Raas. It’s Navratri from tomorrow,” answered Sanjay, ruffling his daughter’s hair after pulling off the bright red swimming cap that matched her one-piece swimming suit.

  Rahul liked the way Sanjay treated his daughter like an adult. The young lady laughed at her father and clapped her hands before wrapping her arms tightly around his dripping legs.

  “Don’t, sweetie, you’ll get wet again,” Sanjay lifted Sasha off the ground to plant a kiss on her nose. She giggled at him.

  Reema separated her protesting daughter from her father and took off towards the changing room.

  “So Rahul, did you sleep off your jet lag?” Sanjay asked his closest friend.

  Rahul sighed before nodding his head. “Arre yaar, Sanjay, I envy you. You’ve a wonderful family,” he clapped Sanjay on his shoulder.

  Sanjay smiled at Rahul
. “And what’s stopping you from having one of your own?”

  Rahul shrugged his shoulders. “It’s a big commitment, yaar. It scares me to think of being tied to someone for life.”

  “The sacrifice, if you want to call it one, is definitely worth it.” It was Sanjay’s voice of experience.

  “You’ve been lucky in getting Reema Bhabhi. She’s great,” Rahul was envious.

  Sanjay’s teeth flashed white on his golden face. “Oh, I very much appreciate her. Especially,” his eyes turned sad, “since Mamma passed away. She’s been a tower of strength. I couldn’t have managed Meghna on my own. She was inconsolable for months together.”

  Rahul’s face darkened on hearing this. He realised guiltily that he had partly been responsible for Meghna’s sorrow.

  The woman lingering in his thoughts walked back with Rehaan in tow. “Why don’t you guys wait in the lounge? I’ll be back in ten.” Sanjay moved towards the changing rooms, ruffling his son’s dark head on his way. Child-like, Rehaan had forgotten his embarrassment and gave Rahul a dazzling smile.

  Rahul lifted Rehaan in his arms and threw him up in the air before catching him. Rehaan gurgled with laughter as they made their way slowly to the lounge.

  Rahul turned to Meghna, “What would you like to drink?”

  “’Epsi,” piped Rehaan as Meghna shook her head.

  “Nothing for me, thank you,” she replied formally.

  Rahul looked at her while she refused to meet his gaze. He shrugged his broad shoulders and turned to his best friend’s son. “One Pepsi coming up for Rehaan,” he said, tickling the child who giggled helplessly.

  He placed him on a chair beside Meghna before walking to the bar to get their drinks.

  Meghna’s eyes followed his progress. It was easier without his knowing eyes watching her every move. Rahul suddenly turned to catch her gaze on him and dropped one eyelid in a wink, bringing hot colour to her face.

  Reema and Sanjay walked in at that moment with Sasha skipping along between them. She looked adorable in a pair of hot pink shorts and a matching t-shirt. She ran up to Rahul and caught hold of his trouser leg.