Chapter 2
Aarush and Radhika went to sleep in their bedroom after a brawl with his parents. Aarush knew that in the evening they will ask them to pack their stuff and leave for a vacation he was least interested in going to, so he called Love instead.
‘Hey Love, what’s going on?’
‘Hey! Sucker, how was your wedding night?’
‘Really? You don’t want to know about it.’
‘Why? What happened?’
‘Radhika is dead tired, some stupid rules were being followed at my home, we didn’t even see each other’s face last night, and she’s sleeping now.’
‘What? You didn’t sleep with her last night?’
‘You want me to kill you now?’
‘No, sorry, say what’s going on? Why did you call me then?’
‘Listen, I need you to book a room under my name right now.’
‘Room? Where? Why?’
‘JW Marriott, Taj, Oberoi fucking any five star hotel in the city, I just want to run from here!’
‘Okay okay! Honeymoon suite will be it?’
‘Perfect. I just want to make the wife happy somehow. My relatives have literally pissed her off man.’
‘Happens! So you want tonight’s booking?’
‘Tonight? Right now man! Everyone has gone to Mahalakshmi and Siddhivinayak right now, I am leaving home with some luggage and Radhika, and I really need to get some peace!’
‘Okay brother. Consider it done.’
‘Thanks!’ Aarush hung up and started packing one small bag with his and Radhika’s clothes in it. He tried to wake up Radhika. She was deep asleep.
‘Come-on wife, just a little more effort.’ Aarush hung the bag on his back, and picked up Radhika on his shoulder like he was kidnapping a girl. He locked the house, kept the key beneath the mat and went into the lift.
‘What are you doing Aarush?’ Radhika was still half asleep.
‘We are leaving home, and going to someplace where we can at least say ‘Hi’ to each other peacefully!’
‘Leave me…’ Radhika jumped down. She was in her pyjamas and her hair were a mess.
‘You think I will go like this?’
‘What now?’
‘I am not coming with you anywhere.’ the lift reached ground floor and the doors split open. People in the lobby were staring at Radhika who was wearing bright red bangles from her marriage last night, but herself looked like crap.
‘This is not how a newly married woman should look like!’ Radhika was fuming, ‘I am going back upstairs. I will dress up and go wherever you want to take me.’
‘See, we don’t have time. If my parents or relatives come back and see us leaving this place, we will be doomed for a week. You want that to happen? Do you? You want to spend time with me or not?’ Aarush was very serious.
‘Okay…’ Radhika somehow agreed to look like shit for the rest of the journey.
They reached Taj at 5 pm. Love had booked a honeymoon suite for them with a sea-view. The room had bottles of champagne, tall glasses, with some strawberries and chocolate in a tray. The bed had rose petals spread all over and the curtains were also bright red.
‘They know my intentions better than you do…’ Aarush pulled Radhika near him, and kissed her lips.
‘Mr Aarush, we have entire night to fulfil your wishes, can you please let me take some rest, I am really tired!’
‘Yes, you go and sleep please, I will be back in a few hours.’
‘What? Where are you going?’
‘I have some work in the office.’
‘Office? We took a collective leave for one month. We are not joining back so soon.’
‘Darling, being my wife, you can take a leave, but I can’t. I need to get my office laptop so I can at least work from home. A complete absence will put us in a lot of trouble. Employees start being careless if the boss is absent!’
‘Fine. But call me before you come, I might not hear the bell or the knocks and please ask the bell-boys not to disturb me.’
‘Don’t worry about that, I will hang a ‘Do Not Disturb’ sign outside. You sleep well, bye…’ saying this, Aarush walked outside by hanging a DND sign on the door. Once in his car, he called Love again.
‘Asshole, what did I ask you to do?’ Aarush blasted at him.
‘I know man, but they say it isn’t possible at such short notice.’
‘WHY?’ Aarush didn’t want to listen to a ‘no.’
‘How would I know why? They say all the flights for tonight are full, there is just one available, and believe me, Radhika will throw you out of the window from the highest altitude if you ask her to board that flight!’
‘Why?’
‘It’s fucking forty hours long with three or four stops. Do you want me to book that for you? Seriously?’
‘Fuck man! My entire wedding surprise is fucked. Do you have any idea how can I fix this now?’
‘Radhika has any idea about it or not?’
‘No! I just told her that I am going to office to get the laptop, actually I was going to the travel-agent’s office, but thought to call you first if you have done the bookings.’
‘No man, I am telling you the scene is totally destroyed tonight.’
‘I understand…’
‘Don’t worry Aarush, Radhika has no idea, so just spend the night with her tonight, have sex…’
‘Hey!’
‘I mean, make love, or sleep together, hug each other, fine now? And by tomorrow, I will fix this up and send you the thing directly at your hotel room. Anyways you are saying that Radhika is tired, so she won’t be able to travel tonight, so chuck the plan tonight, and have some rest.’
‘Fine. I will just waste some more time, so that Radhika thinks I was in the office only, and then go to her in the room.’
‘What about the laptop?’
‘What laptop?’
‘You told me that you told Radhika you are going to get the office laptop, right?’
‘Oh, that. I have it in my car already. I will take that once I leave.’
‘Cool. Okay, take care!’
‘You too…’
‘Have a lot of sex tonight.’
‘Fucker, you piece of…’ Aarush stopped himself as Love already disconnected the call. Aarush let out a cold sigh, and called his mother.
‘Mother, I have brought Radhika to a hotel.’
‘What? Why? So you have finally decided to stand against us!’
‘Mom, this is not a war going on. She’s really tired, and believe me, anymore exertion and she will fall sick, and if that happens, I am going to cancel all the plans and tear all the tickets myself!’ Aarush was not in a mood to listen to anything right now.
‘Now that you have decided, why are you even bothering to tell us?’
‘Can I talk to dad? Please give him the phone!’ Aarush didn’t want to argue.
‘Hey son, what happened?’
‘Dad, Radhika is not feeling well, and so many relatives at home are enough to make anyone die. So I have brought her to a hotel and we will spend a few days here in peace, before we come with you to that vacation of yours. Please give us sometime at least. I haven’t talked to my wife in forty eight hours!’
‘I understand son, don’t worry about your mother. You take rest and let Radhika also have some peace of mind. I will take care of things here, and I have cancelled all the tickets already. We will go when you will be ready to go. Everyone is staying here till then. You know your relatives, they are so free they don’t have a problem if they are asked to stay here even for a month!’
‘Bloody freeloaders!’ Aarush hated half of his family.
‘Exactly.’ His father said and both of them shared a laugh.
‘Okay dad, please take care of mother. I really don’t want things to turn ugly.’
‘Don’t worry son, your mother has gone insane, I will talk to her. You take care and be safe, you know, have fun, but be responsible for it, I think you know that. Okay…’ his father probably gave his first adult advice to his grown up son!
‘Well, bye dad. I don’t wish to discuss it any further…’ Aarush disconnected.
After wandering on the roads for an hour more, and calming down his mind, Aarush finally reached the hotel at 8 in the evening.