Chronicles Of My Darling Husband

10. Nrup (Part 5)

"She was there, Kant! I freaking saw her!" Jagdish exclaimed, his voice echoing in the spacious hotel room. Each tap of his foot on the polished marble floor reverberated with urgency.

The client had graciously arranged for a lavish hotel room, a gesture appreciated by all. As usual, Jagdish and Chandrakant shared the space, while Prasanna and Unni opted to share their accommodation for obvious reasons.

"Who?" Chandrakant asked, bewildered by his friend's sudden outburst. He heard a loud thud from the next room and made a face of disgust. "It's fucking two in the noon!"

Jagdish too busy to care about their friends' activities in the next room, clenched his left hand into a tight fist and forcefully punched the mattress. "The woman... The girl I saw in that photo all those years ago," he said, pushing himself off the bed and pacing the room with restless energy. "Kant, I saw her, it was her!"

Staring at him in disbelief, Chandrakant asked, "In the crowd?"

"No... She was in the middle of a fight!" Jagdish shook his head, his right hand instinctively swiping across his face.

"The one I was interested in?" Chandrakant chuckled. "Jaggy, you seemed pretty nonchalant about her when I had brought her up."

Halting his pacing, Jagdish turned and glared at him. "Not her..."

Chandrakant's eyes widened in shock. "Wait, the other one?" he laughed. "The one who decked that guy and unleashed a stream of curses like a troublesome truck driver!"

"Yes," Jagdish seethed, his frustration increasing every second.

Chandrakant couldn't stop laughing, clutching his stomach he flopped onto the bed in a fit of giggles, sprawling like a child at play. Jagdish watched him, irritation evident on his face.

After a few minutes, Chandrakant regained his composure and turned to Jagdish with a smirk. "Well," he said, "I suppose our only option now is to meet your future wife and regale her with your'Mera pehla pyaar adhura reh gaya, Rifat Bi!'" He enacted in a false whimpering tone, quoting dialogue for unrequited love from Kuch Kuch Hota Hai.

Jagdish caught the nearest object-the AC remote-and hurled it at his stupid friend. "Sonofabitch!"

--

"Did you check the photo I sent you?" his mother inquired, her attention divided between her phone call and the road.

Chandrakant butted in, "Nope, Aunty!" prompting Jagdish to snap his head over his shoulder to glare at him, he chuckled, "Focus on the road, Jaggy."

"Hello, Indira Ji?" his mother spoke into the phone, "We'll be there in half an hour... Yes... Nishita isn't home yet?" She paused briefly, listening to the response. "Oh, no worries, we'll wait. She promised she'd meet my son."

Prasanna raised an eyebrow and muttered, so low that only her seat companions-Unni and Chandrakant-could hear her, "The girl's already bonding well with her future mother-in-law. Quite the talent, huh?"

His mother-completely unaware of the conversation in the backseat-chuckled softly before continuing to speak into the phone, "Arey, that's not required... It's just Jagdish and a few of his friends."

"Sana, for fuck's sake keep it low if you value your life," Unni murmured, his tone laced with caution. "Pushing Jaggy's buttons is like tempting fate to steer us straight into a brick wall."

"We are traveling with his dear Maa, our lives are insured," Chandrakant whispered, "Pray that at least we should get some good snacks to munch on."

"Okay... Yes, bye," his mother sighed as she hung up the call. "Looks like Nishita will be late, her class schedule got mixed up."

"She's still studying?" Prasanna asked in surprise.