“Didi…”

“Hmm…”

“Message aayi hain.”

(A message came.)

“Internship se?”

(From your internship?)

“Nahi…”

(No…)

“Phir kis se?”

(Then from who?)

“Unse.”

(From them.)

“Matlab?”

(Meaning?)

“Unhone message bheja…”

(They sent a message…)

Riddhi was fidgeting with her fingers, unable to look at her sister even though Avantika was reading a book and not looking at her anyways.

“Unhone?” Riddhi nodded.

(Them?)

“Modi-ji ne message kiya tumhe? Kyun?”

(Modi-ji (India’s Prime Minister) messaged you? Why?)

“Didi, Modi-ji kaha se aaye beech mein.”

(Didi, where did Modi-ji come from in all of this?)

“Phir saaf saaf bata kisne message kiya.”

(Then tell me clearly who sent the message.)

Riddhima pouted. She knew it was too much to hope that her sister wouldn’t tease her. She might look like she was absorbed in reading her book, but Riddhi would bet that there was a mischievous twinkle in her eyes.

“Adhvay-ji.”

“Sunai nahi diya,” Avantika whispered back.

(I couldn’t hear.)

Riddhi cleared her throat and said a little louder, “Adhvay-ji.”

“Acha…toh phir reply karna.”

(Oh…then reply to him.)

“Lekin unhone kaha ki who mujhse baat karna chahthe hain.”

(But he said he wants to call and talk to me.)

“Hai Bhagwan, baat karna chahthe hain? Kitne besharam hain tumhara hone wala pati!” Avantika replied dramatically.

(Oh God, he wants to talk to you! Your future husband is so shameless!)

“Didi!” Riddhi whined. “Agar aap madat nahi karenge toh main chali jaungi.”

(Didi! If you’re not going to help, then I’ll leave.)

“Acha baba, baith ja, madat karungi.” Riddhi scooted closer and looked at her expectantly.

(Alright fine, sit down, I’ll help.)

“Pehle jawaab do ki ab tum baat kar sakti ho.”

(First respond to him that you can talk now.)

Avantika had only read half a sentence of her book before the call came. She thought she’d have to force Riddhi to pick up the call, but surprisingly, she picked it up immediately. Kya baat hain, ladki kabhi kabhi bohot teez hain.

(Wow, this girl is pretty fast sometimes.)

“Riddhima.” Hearing Adhvay’s voice, Riddhi blushed and bit her nail. Rolling her eyes, Avantika signaled her to stop blushing and say something.

“Ji.”

“Ek bohot zaroori sawaal puchna tha.”

(I wanted to ask an important question.)

Riddhima looked at Avantika with a confused face, then replied, “Ji.”

“Dil se jawaab chahiye.” Riddhi nodded, then seeing Avantika face-palm herself, her eyes widened, and she responded. “Ji.”

(I want an honest answer.)

Seeing that this ishaara (charade/signal) system wasn’t working, Avantika sent her sister a message. ‘Ji ke agey bhi kuch bolo!’

(Say something other than ‘ji’!)

“Ji ke alawi bhi kuch bolti ho?”

(Do you say anything other than ‘ji’?)

Avantika smirked at that. “Ji.”

She shook her head and was about to send her hopeless sister another message when she heard Adhvay’s chuckle through the phone. Kaise banda hain, sirf ‘ji’ sunkar hi usko hasi aa raha hain.

(What kind of man is he? He’s laughing just after only hearing ‘ji’?)

“Tumhe manzoor hain yeh rishta?”

(Are you ok with this proposal?)

The message notification popped up on Riddhi’s phone. ‘Pure sentence mein jawaab do bechare ko.’

(Answer the poor guy in a full sentence.)

“Agar manzoor nahi hoti, toh uss din haan nahi kehti.” Avantika silently clapped, raising a brow at her sister’s improvement.

(If I wasn’t ok with it, I wouldn’t have said yes that day.)

“Aur pandra din mein mangni, phir do mahine mein shaadi?”

(And having the engagement in fifteen days, and the wedding in two months?)

“Hmm.”

Oh boy, back to base one. No, make that base zero. At least she was saying ‘ji’ before.

“Tumhare marzi ke bina kuch nahi hoga. Yeh wada hain mera. Kya tumhe yeh tareek pasand hain?”

(Nothing will happen against your wishes. That’s my promise. Do you still like these dates.)

 “Pasand hain.”

(I do.)

Okay, back two steps but now forward one step. Let’s see where she takes this conversation.

“Itni jaldi hain humari ghar aane ki?” Riddhima gasped and Avantika wagged her brows at her. Time to send a message- ‘Ghalat toh nahi hain woh.’

(You’re that excited to come to our house?)

(He’s not exactly wrong.)

Riddhi frowned at her then turned back to the phone. “Par mujhe toh hain, tumhe Mrs. Riddhima Adhvay Suryavanshi banakar apne ghar lane ki.”

(But I am, to make you Mrs. Riddhima Adhvay Suryavanshi and bring you home.)

The blush exploded on her face, making Avantika cackle in glee. Thankfully, Adhvay had cut the call. “Phone kaat gaya, ab toh lal tamatar banna band karo.”

(The call cut, at least stop being a red tomato now.)

“Didi!” Riddhi swatted her shoulder and pouted in anger, but Avantika simply pulled her nose, irritating her more. “Lekin banda sahi toh hain, tum ho bekaraar uske liye.”

(But the man is right, you are restless for him.)

Riddhima covered her face with her dupatta, then hugged her didi close, hiding her face in Avantika’s shoulder.

_______

Adhvay and Madhuri were on their way to pick up Riddhima and Namrata for shopping. “Maa, mujhe pata hain aap kuch nahi kahenge, lekin phir bhi. Please Riddhima ko apne pasand ki kapde aur gehne choose karne do.”

(Maa, I know you won’t say anything, but still. Please let Riddhima choose the things that she likes.)

“Arey baba, kitne baar kahoge? Tumne kaha ki sab kuch Riddhima ki marzi se hogi aur main khushi khushi maan bhi gayi.”

(Arey baba, how many times will you tell me? You said everything will happen according to Riddhima’s wishes, and I happily agreed.)

She smiled sweetly at him. “Hone wali biwi ki itna chinta hain, hmm?”

(You’re that worried about your wife-to-be?)

Adhvay smiled and nodded. “Riddhi zyaada khul ke batati nahi na apni pasand.”

(Because Riddhi doesn’t really open up and talk about her likes and dislikes.)

“Oho! Riddhima se Riddhi ban gayi!” Then she slapped her head lightly.

(Oho! From Riddhima to Riddhi!)

“Main bhi kya bol rahi hoon, tumhari angel hain who, toh pyaar se Riddhi hi bulaoge, na.” Madhuri leaned in and pulled his cheek.

(What am I even saying? She’s your angel, of course you’ll call her by a nickname.)

“Maa…Riddhi ke saamne yeh sab nahi,” he whined. Patting his cheek, she let him go.

(Maa…don’t do all of this in front of Riddhi.)

As they were stepping into the first boutique, Adhvay let Namrata and Madhuri walk a few steps ahead.

“Riddhima, idhar dekho.” Adhvay’s tone was gentle and cajoling.

(Riddhima, look here.)

She lifted her lashes for barely a second before looking back down again. Pausing, Adhvay gently lifted her chin with his finger. Taking her palm in his other hand, he placed a soft kiss on her knuckles. “Bohot khubsurat lag rahi ho aaj, meri angel.”

(You’re looking beautiful today, my angel.)

“Kya matlab tumhara? Ki meri bahu, sorry beti, har roz khubsurat nahi lagti?” Madhuri placed her elbow on Adhvay’s shoulder and raised her brows at him.

(What do you mean? That my daughter-in-law – sorry, daughter – doesn’t look beautiful everyday?)

Adhvay glared at his mother, while Riddhima attempted to hide her giggles behind her hand. “Agar romance karna hi hain, toh use koi acche jage par date pe le jao. Tumhe sirf dukaan ke beech romance karne ka hain kya?”

(If you wanted to romance her, why not take her somewhere nice on a date? You only want to romance her in the middle of a shop?)

Riddhi’s eyes widened comically at that, while Adhvay smirked. Linking her hand with her mother’s Riddhima hurried ahead.

______

“Lekin Maa, aap log toh subhe se shopping kar rahe hain. Abhi tak khatam nahi hua?”

(But Maa, you’ve been shopping since this morning. You’re not done yet?)

“Subhe se nahi, dopahar se shopping kar rahe hain. Agar khatam hota toh main tumhi bulati?”

(Not from the morning, we’ve been shopping since this afternoon. If we were done, why would I call you?)

“Maa,” she gasped, “tum ek pair se bhi shopping kar sakti ho? Mujhe toh dekhna hain!”

(Maa, you can shop on one foot, too? I want to see!)

**In Hindi, the word for afternoon, ‘dopahar’, sounds similar to the phrase for ‘two feet’, or ‘do pair.’ So, it’s a play on words that they went shopping on two feet/one foot.

She could hear the slap of her mother’s hand on her forehead. “Main kya bol rahi hoon aur tum kya bakwas kari jaa rahi ho?”

(What am I saying and what nonsense are you blabbering?)

“Acha theek hain lekin phir bhi, do pair se thake hue honge aap sab, aaj ke liye khatam kar do na. Kal phir jaana.”

(Alright fine, but still, you must be tired from two feet, just finish for today. Go again tomorrow.)

“Avi, kitni baar samjhaoon main, tailor…”

(Avi, how many times do I need to make you understand, tailors…)

“Haan haan, samajh gayi main, mat sunao phir se tailoron ki kaahaniyaan. Address bhejo, main aa rahi hoon.”

(Yeah yeah, I understood, don’t tell me stories about tailors again. Send me the address, I’ll be there soon.)

“Ek minute beta…” Madhuri’s voice came from the other end of the line. “Tum wahi rukho beta, maine Vedansh ko bhej diya hain tumhe pick karne.”

(One minute dear…just stay there, dear, I sent Vedansh to pick you up.)

“Arey aunty, itna takleef kyun? Main aajaungi cab se.” Avantika usually biked or took public transport to her office. She was a skilled driver, but she preferred to avoid driving whenever possible, to do her part in reducing pollution.

(Arey aunty, why did you go to the trouble? I would have just come by cab.)

“Bilkul takleef nahi beta, it’s on the way for him. Already tumhara office ka address share kar diya, woh start ho gaya hain uska office se. Waise tum environmentalist ho na, aise toh petrol bhi kam hoga. Main Vedansh ka number bhej rahi hoon tumhe, jaldi milte hain, theek hain? Bye, beta.”

(It’s no trouble, dear, it’s on the way for him. I already shared your address, and he’s started from his office. Anyways, you’re an environmentalist, right? This way, you’ll be saving gas. I’m sending Vedansh’s number to you, we’ll meet soon, okay? Bye, dear.)

Avantika’s mind took a minute to process the masterful manipulation, but shrugged and sat back down at her desk. Well, not so much a desk but a rocking chair with a built-in desk attachment. She had gotten it custom made by a local carpenter, with all the filigree work that she loved.

It was both comfortable and suited the vibe of her office. The building itself was a sustainable construction, made of recycled wood and clay. The owner, also the head of a sustainable construction company, had built it as a summer house for his family but ended up relocating.

Avantika initially leased the building but soon saved enough to buy it from the owner, who was also willing to give her a deal given that they were both in the sustainability field.

Message karoon ya na karoon Mr. Suryavanshi ko? Shayad call hi behtar hoga. Nahi nahi, waise bhi aunty ne keh diya ki on the way hain. Voice message kar deti hoon.

(Should I message him or not?  Maybe a call would be better. No no, anyways aunty said that he’s on the way. I’ll leave him a voice message.)

‘Hi, this is Avantika Verma, Riddhi’s sister. Here’s my office address, just to confirm. And if you can let me know what your ETA is, I’ll lock up and come outside so you won’t have to wait for me.’

She sent the message, but forgot about it as she got absorbed in her work. In this case, her work was planning her sister’s engagement and wedding, which obviously her company was going to do.