Feeling her head floating in the air after all the complements given by Prabir about her, she chose not to speak her mind and ask anything about Ziko's painting.

On the contrary, it was Prabir talking about the painting. "I know you might be wondering why I didn't show you Ziko's painting yet, umm... it's because it's not ready. There's something missing. I can't get his eyes right. The portrait looks lifeless, his eyes lost and he's kind of...daydreaming."

The portrait had an uncanny resemblance to Ziko and Bhargavi couldn't fathom, what Prabir was talking about. Maybe, it required great artistic skills to know about such minute details, she thought to herself.

"How did you know that I was exactly thinking about this?" She quizzed amazed.

Shaking his head and smiling at her, he said," Oh c'mon! Bhargu. I know you."

Squatting down he slowly held her hands before she touched his feet. "Don't! Bhargu." He whispered.

Startled she stared at him, wondering how he easily calculated her every move. Carrying her in his arms, he walked and gently dropped her on the bed. Opening the cupboard he started searching for something. When she looked the other way, he hid something behind him and strolled towards her.Asking her to close her eyes, he placed silver anklets in her palms. It was very light and studded with sounding ghungroos (tiny balls that jingled).

"Stop wriggling love!" Prabir sighed as he tried to fix an anklet on her left ankle.

"I'll do it myself Prabir. You never let me touch your feet," she said, sitting cross legged, hiding her feet.

"I am not an old man capable of blessing you Bhargu."

"Who asked for blessings? Let me touch your feet once and then I'll let you fix these anklets."

"Gosh! Where did you learn all this from? Fine! You fix them yourself." He turned around and started to walk away.

Pulling his arm, she kissed on his cheek. "Okay! Don't be mad at me. At least not today," she said softly, allowing him to fix the anklets. "This isn't fair Prabir. You always have your way of..." She murmured and paused when he squeezed her in his arms happily. Though, she never minded him having everything his way. To her nothing was more valuable than his happiness. His smile was her most priced possession.

"Yes! I know. I have my own ways to... love you. You'll have to endure these bear hugs throughout your life," he smirked, nudging his face in her neck.

"What are you doing Prabir? Let me go. What if Paru comes here, looking for you?" She asked him softly.

Letting out a soft moan, he moved aside, hearing Mr. Banerjee clear his voice, who was staring at him, standing right in front of the door.

"Bad timing Baba!" Prabir said laughing, looking up at Mr. Banerjee, who gave him a mischevious smile.

"You are holding up Bhargavi here for so long Prabir.The chef downstairs needs help. You should be thankful that instead of sending Paru or Bhawani to your room, it's just me...an old fellow...looking at the two love birds," Mr. Banerjee said cheerfully.

"Who says you're old Baba? I have plans of getting you remarried in a couple of months," Prabir grinned back.

"Bhargavi. You should teach him some manners. Look at this fool... shamelessly teasing his father," Mr. Banerjee said smiling.

"I'm not teasing!" Prabir protested.

"Marriage is an altogether different issue Prabir, your Maa doesn't even consider me as one of her friends. At this age, it really is the friendship that matters," Mr. Banerjee said sardonically.

Welcoming this new change would be difficult for Ms. Nalini, Bhargavi understood. She had spent her entire life as a widow, rather than as a divorcee. Getting used to colourful clothes,vermilion powder, bangles and jewellery was something, she could hardly imagine. A friendship with Mr. Banerjee could eventually take a turn into a new kind of a relationship, and Ms. Nalini was wary of such a situation.

Before Prabir could say something back in reply, Bhargavi cut in," Would you please go and brush your teeth Mr. Skunk."

Frowning Prabir slowly walked away, picking up his clothes from the cupboard. 

"Uncle! Maa considers you as her friend, but she won't admit it. She is adamant about maintaining a distance from you, especially, now when she understands that...you have some feelings growing for her," Bhargavi stated after Prabir had left.

"But why?"

"Maa is used to white or light coloured plain and dull, lifeless clothes as you have seen. She leads a life of a widow even though she's a divorcee. Considering herself to be the most unlucky person on this planet, an ill fated,unfortunate, accursed women; she thinks that this happiness won't last long. Her presence in your life will only add to your misfortunes. She doesn't want to accept the change and get used to it...dreadful that something wrong might happen again, some evil might snatch away all her happiness, like both you and Maa had been planning for our wedding, even the cards had been printed, but all your efforts went straight down the gutter. Unable to comprehend what the future holds, she's too scared to take the next step," Bhargavi explained.

Slowly, Mr. Banerjee's lips curled up to a smile. "Thank you Bhargavi. It was difficult for me to understand, why she would never call me by my name."

A fool and then a skunk, wow! Can things be any better? Prabir asked himself, brushing his teeth exerting immense force. Having taken a bath, before he slid into his usual, a casual t-shirt and jeans, he found a Mandarin collar emerald green shirt on the bed along with a white jeans. A note beside, stated that this was a gift from Parul. This wasn't Parul's choice, he was certain about that. She must have selected three or four colours and the confusion of course, was sorted out by Bhargavi.

Swiftly moving downstairs, he heard Parul's voice. "What's your reason for not going to school?"

"It's Prabir Bhaiya's birthday," a response came from Sarvesh who seemed to be high, thrilled with excitement. Bhawani had been staring at her elder sister hopefully, wishing her to intervene and stop this unnecessary squabble.

Wanting to intervene, Prabir was interrupted by Mayank, who had been waiting in his mother's room to wish him on his birthday and had called him up with signs and gestures.

The heated up debate continued between Sarvesh and Parul, till Sarvesh started screaming at her loud enough to distract and annoy Bhargavi. A death stare at Sarvesh for a minute, silenced the entire fuss and high voltage drama.

"What's the matter Paru? If he doesn't want to go to school, it's alright!" Prabir said walking in and noticing the pin drop silence in the kitchen, which had been a war zone a few minutes ago.

"Bhaiya! It's alright now, if he skips school? You have never let me skip school for a day even when I begged you," Parul asked agitated and hurt.

If I were you, I would never say that before Bhargu, Prabir thought silently, waiting for the sharp retort from his Queen.

"That's because Sarvesh wants to skip school for a single day, while you never wanted to go to school in the first place," Bhargavi snapped.

Observing Parul almost teary eyed, Prabir whispered," Paru. If you don't want to go to school today, you don't have to."

Instead of replying to Prabir, she went straight up to Bhargavi." Di. You're right! I never wanted to go to school, because I was teased and bullied every single day. When I would be sick, Bhaiya would never send me to school. Even on his birthday, I ended up...accusing him..." She sniffed and ran back into Prabir's arms, whimpering," I am sorry Bhaiya. I am so sorry!"

"It's okay! Paru. Please stop crying baby, look at me," he urged her. "Now tell me you want to go to school or not?"

"She's not going," Bhargavi declared. "Go and change your school uniform Paru," she further added with a smile.

"Bhawani. What about you? You want to join us... staying behind or would you like to go to school?" Bhargavi questioned.

"I'll help you," Bhawani said politely after a long while, after cudgeling her brains, if her ears had been functioning properly or was it just another delusion.

Bhargavi had never earlier considered the emotional aspects of a person or been this patient. As far as Bhawani could remember, a birthday or a celebration could never be a reason for not attending school. The more she saw Bhargavi, the more amazed, she felt at how much a person could change, all because of the person she loved.

 The breakfast was served by the chef himself, a cheesy bread pizza for all. Garlic, turmeric, ginger root and onion lend their flavors to delectable egg medley, a unique spiced omelet with chopped up fresh cilantro (coriander) and mint added as seasoning. A banana smoothie served with a mix of toasted white sesame seeds and flax seeds was also added to the breakfast.

All the work had been distributed by Bhargavi amongst the rest, except Prabir. So after having his breakfast, he decided to go to college instead, of sitting and doing nothing, which would help the others to discuss plans and work freely in his absence. But before leaving, he ensured that Bhargavi had her breakfast along with Mr. Kapur, the chef.

"This skunk is warning you, if you don't have your breakfast now...being sprayed by a skunk is no laughing matter," he had whispered slowly in Bhargavi's ears making her laugh.

In the evening, before it was already dark, Parul, Bhawani and Ananya came running downstairs chased by Bhargavi, and hid behind Prabir.

"Prabir Da! Do something, please save us before she smashes us like roasted potatoes," Ananya pleaded.

"What have you done?" Prabir asked confused. The answer was offered by Bhargavi. "Where are my clothes Paru? Bhawani?You think I'll be wearing a saree?

How about we have a fancy dress competition on Prabir's birthday tonight - Bhawani dresses up as a rocket, Parul dresses up like a pink octopus, Ananya dresses up as a giant cupcake and I dress up as a huge tear drop?" She said frustrated.

"Why am I an octopus?" Parul questioned innocencently.

"Why an octopus? A starfish, a praying mantis,a seahorse, a butterfly or Minny mouse,you can be anything you want but the point is I am not wearing a saree," Bhargavi said irritated.

"Why did you hide her clothes? This is wrong," Prabir said looking at his sisters'.

"But there's no harm in wearing a saree just for one day. We will all be wearing sarees tonight," Ananya said politely. "It's alright! We are sorry! We won't impel her to drape a saree and return her clothes immediately," she added and walked upstairs to Parul's room.

None of the girls had changed into an outfit, apt for a party. They hung around as usual in their t-shirts and trousers. When asked why they were still in this attire, "Prabir Da. We all have the freedom to choose, what to wear, don't we?" Ananya's reply was enough to confirm that she was really mad at Bhargavi.

"Bhaiya. It was all Ananya Di's plan. She's very upset. She has worked really hard on the outfits, matching jewelry and all,"Parul whispered to Prabir.

"I thought maybe Di has changed a bit... that she has started to care about... what others feel but no...I was proved wrong again. We had requested her a couple of times, then we asked Maa to help us out, but... Bhargavi Chatterjee doesn't give a damn about anyone of us," Bhawani said with tears rolling down her face.

"Hey! Don't cry Princess," Prabir said wiping her tears, brushing his thumb delicately. "Ani don't be upset. I'll talk to her."

Grabbing Bhargavi's arm, who was still busy with the decorations,Prabir jerked his way towards the back door.

"Bhargu. Can't you grant me a wish even on my birthday?" He asked softly.

"You want me to wear that saree? yeah! I can see the girls pull up long faces.Alright! If that's what you want," Bhargavi let out a resigned sigh.

"Are you so upset about fulfilling just one little wish of those little girls? Can't they ask their Di to wear a saree for them...just for one day? Is it too much to ask for? Don't be this unreasonable Bhargu, please," Prabir said and walked away.

Realizing her folly, Bhargavi slowly walked up to the girls and apologized. Managing to cheer them up, she led them upstairs to get dressed.

********************************

The house was very packed and hot, with the arrival of the guests, once the party started. Prabir had melt into the beat and sweat, having energy levels to party all night long. A stack of unopened presents stood in a corner of the room wrapped in smooth shiny wrapping paper. Balloons drifted around aimlessly on the floor. Streamers were already up on the walls. A super long playlist of songs had been carefully selected by Sarvesh and Parul, which made almost everyone groove on the dance floor.

Though Prabir wanted to have fun and not wear a suit, he reluctantly had to give in to the wishes of his father. Upon Mr. Banerjee's insistence, he had worn a Regal blue notch lapel suit, instead of a casual blazer.

At Ananya's request, he had used the antique handcrafted star and shield brass cufflinks along with an antique gold and metallic grey brooch to complete his look, which were presented by her.

Prabir had bounced with joy, on receiving Bhawani's gift, a gourmet - kaju katli, kesar kaju barfi, asserted dry fruit sweets, and oats and honey cookies. Not knowing, what he might need or what would make him happy, Bhawani had asked for her elder sister's help.

"There are only two things that makes him feel extremely happy and he craves for - bear hugs and sweets," Bhargavi had said delighted. 

When almost two hours later, after Ananya had struggled a lot with eyeshadows, mascaras and eyeliners trying to create smokey eyes, fix everyone's hair, and neatly drape the sarees, Bhargavi, Bhawani, Parul and Ananya came downstairs.

Bhargavi's eyes scanned all the faces in the crowd to catch a glimpse of Prabir. Before she could find him, the music stopped playing and Mr. Banerjee took centre stage. After clearing his voice, he made the announcement of Prabir and Bhargavi's engagement, in a loud booming voice. Amidst cheers and claps, Prabir was pushed by his friends to the centre stage, after they had congratulated him happily.

Astounded with the beautiful look Bhargavi held, in the magenta heavily embroidered silk saree, Prabir stared at her for a couple of minutes. He was shaken out of the reverie by Mr. Banerjee, who handed him the gold ring taking it out of a small box. Both Prabir and Bhargavi's eyes met, and they slid rings into each other's fingers without a word, smiling at each other. 

This entire ring ceremony had been filmed by Sarvesh, for Ms. Nalini to see later on.

In a corner, Bhargavi stood alone away from all crowd. Let alone taking long strides, it was difficult for her to walk normally. The apprehensions of falling right on her face, made her cringe.

She wanted to smack Prabir on his head, who was laughing, giggling, shouting at the top of his voice to be heard over the loud music in the background. It seemed as if he had completely forgotten her existence.

She had endured this bulky makeup and was draped in this heavy saree, that was difficult to carry off ...all because of him and he couldn't even bother to spare a single glance at her. On top of that, he was surrounded by a group of girls. Had she known, Prabir had so many friends...girls, she would have never let Vishwesh decide the guest list for invitation.

Finally, when the king of charms had time to find her stand lonely in a corner, all he did was make tiny little hearts crossing his fingers for her smiling, then he made a small heart using both his hands and then a huge one above his head, with child like innocence,before dragging her to the dance floor.

"This is scary Prabir, this is a six yard drape that rains in pins to just hold it together and I am still worried, what if it comes off and falls at my feet?" She whispered in his ears and tried to pull away from the dance floor.

"You're so horrified only because of this? Don't worry! Nothing will go wrong Bhargu," he whispered back holding her firmly in his arms. The lights were dimmed, after Mayank had led all the elderly people upstairs to Prabir and Mr. Banerjee's rooms to sit and relax, tired of watching the youngsters dance and rejoice. 

Without anyone noticing, Prabir slowly pressed his lips on her forehead to calm her down. "It was a surprise for both of us Bhargu," Prabir said indicating the ring on his finger. "They knew we will cherish these moments and this day throughout our lives. That's the only reason the girls were so heartbroken when you refused to wear a saree."

Author's note:

Ah! Finally! Finally! Prabir and Bhargavi are engaged.

Hope you enjoy reading this update!

Have a nice day!