8:48 PM
March
Evening after Holi…
“Good luck with his new look” Bhayya laughed….
Her husband had a shadow of a goatee now…. “No” she shook
her head vehemently…
“He even had Rishi bring over beard softeners from Dubai..”
Akshay laughed uncontrollably….
“Shortest lived beard in history man!” Akshay mocked Shaan…
Shaan grinned smugly at Akshay’s implication (since its
impossible for Shaan to go without sex… the beard would have to go)
“Noooo” Khanak gesticulated looking at him…
He rubbed his palm… the rasp echoed….
“You have to be kidding, if you think I am letting you
anywhere near me” she flinched, as he approached…..
“Good luck” Akshay laughed again as he left them alone….
Shaan’s phone rang in the other room…. He ran to grab it…
Khanak shuddered at the thought of the beard burn…
Nivedita and her boyfriend ahd just left after an early
evening snack dinner event… Khanak winded up at the rec room, she wore pearl
drawstring capris, and a orange and gold chiffon blouse with a gold cami
underneath…. Her hair was tied in a loose ponytail with a ivory clip… (real
ivory ofcourse)….
A Gujju friend had suggested a show on Zee Gujarati… she
suddenly remembered it… turned the TV on, there were half a dozen remotes on
the glass coffee table… she powered the TV on…. It listed atleast two dozen
game updates, soccer and American football… and ice hockey……… she didn’t know
how to exit out of the menu…. She toggled and struggled…. And tried other
remotes….
Her parents were downstairs…. Since it rained a lot late in
the afternoon, Dadi brought them back from Bandra…. They were heading out
tomorrow… Sonali was gone………. For now….
“Tchh” Khanak expression frustration…
“Hey hold that….” He said as he entered the room…. “What was
the score?”
“Season’s over, Super Bowl ended in January” she responded
without turning to look at him…
He laughed….
“Shantanu, I need to get out of this thing” “Why do you have
to record SO MANY games?”
He didn’t respond… just leaned on a pillar and watched her
struggle
“How do you know its me?”
“I know of no one else that’s so obsessed…”
She continued “With work, and with sports”
Shantanu!” she complained…. “And you forget another thing….I
might be a tad bit obsessed about”
She knew it the moment the words popped out of his mouth,
but her leap was a second too late, he pinned her down on the couch, knocking
her breath out….
She laughed first… and then he did…. She forgot Bua’s phone
call to Aada and Aada finding out about Sonali…. His heart break… at his niece’s
behavior…. Bua’s taunts and challenges…. Bai’s worrying and fuming….
Bua bad mouthing “Punajbis” “how Khanak’s var had shamed the
entire family”
She forgot about it all…..
“”My team lost” he said peering at the screen…. Pinning her
down tight….
She felt his chin…. “CACTUS” she said aloud….”Eeekks” trying
to escape….
He bent down….hungry…
“Its only been a day and
a half she said”
“One day too many” he responded… scoring a path down her
cleft….
Her hands pinned up over the plush silk armrest…..
“Stop fighting Khanak”
“Not a chance” she said trembling….
She moaned as his raspy jaw was everywhere…. “I am keeping
it” he said…
“ Sure” “I am sleeping with Dadi”: she said…
It was green and bristly… .. it rasped over her chiffon….
“Shaan” called Dad knocking politely on the rec room door…
he knew they were alone in there… Akshay had told him… he knew what his son
would be upto after a long day at work… tired… and hungry…
Khank clung…. Moving under him slowly…. Smiling like a
goddess…
He swore, pushed her blouse and camisole up and kissed her….
Swore again… as she cringed under the force…
“A minute Dad” he responded…
Pulling his tee down… as she coiled into a shy knot….
He exited out of all the sporting updates and set the guide
to “Gujarati faves” and went to the balcony with his phone….”I think I will
keep it” he said again rubbing his jaw…… as she searched for her ivory clip….
