Bengal, Chatterjee House

"Oh," Anirban hummed in response, feeling tongue tied. His palms were literally covered in a thin coat of sweat, as if he was courting a woman for the first time in his life.

Seriously? This was not the Anirban anybody knew!

He desperately wanted to change the topic but the worst part was, he didn't knew what to talk about apart from it. His reputation won't go down the drain, it must be lurking beneath the ocean bed by now. 

"Hmm," Saudamini replied, looking down and slightly patting a sleeping Phalguni. 

She could literally sense the slight nervousness in Anirban's voice, but what to do when she was feeling nervous herself? The smug and once arrogant Saudamini had been sweating while talking with a guy whom she had made fun of and teased. What's wrong with her? 

She peered at her husband, who peered at her back, a bit blankly. 

This was the Anirban she had hardly came across. Nervous and him? Really? The way he had practically wooed her mother and family with his charms and witty talks, what happened to him? 

Both were tongue tied. 

She couldn't even come to terms for a moment that she had kissed the man beside her passionately, and had known nothing much about him. 

And Satyakaam? She knew every bit of him, except that one thing. From his favorite cuisine to his favorite color, she had memorized them all. For him.  

It was not the Saudamini anyone knew. 

What was it they were into? 

Things which she had never done nor had even thought of, she pursued them without any remorse now. 

For a moment, it seemed like they were both sides of the same coin. They themselves didn't know at times what they were. 

Different, yet so same. 

There was a bizarre feeling in her heart, Anirban seemed so—she couldn't put it in words just. She had always kept Satyakaam on a pedestal, and seen herself as something who should be subservient to him. The feeling of utter timidity. It was not that Satyakaam made her feel so; it was kind of, it had developed within her. 

But with Anirban—why was it so different? 

He felt so close at times—his brags ushered humor, he was proud of his looks but it never came out as vain—he was a flatterer, sweet talker—yet, yet he appeared someone—like a man next door. He teased her, irritated her, laughed at her—charmed her, beguiled her, still—there was that feline softness within him that made him so comely. 

The fact was, Anirban never kept Saudamini on a pedestal because of her beauty. When boys came to propose her, she could vividly remember them, either feeling submissive to her or they kept her on a pedestal. But Anirban could get his ways with her, or rather—both could. 

"Have you attended school?" Anirban switched the topic, finally relieved that atleast he could find something that would not drag her previous marriage. He almost had to hide that sigh of relief from being heard.

Saudamini glanced at him for a while, "Yeah, till fifth standard." Feeling relieved too, that atleast the latter had something else to ask. 

"After that?"

"Left..." Her lips kicked off in a half smile, "It happens like that only." 

"Oh.....did you like or—" Anirban shifted closer to Phalguni, patting her head for a while as she flinched in sleep.

"Yeah, it was good....I mean, I liked it," She shrugged, reminiscing her days. How her mother used to tie her hairs into two braids and help her quickly wrap a saree, and Pratima would drop her to the school.

"You like studying?" 

"Why, don't tell me you don't..." Saudamini gawked at him for a while. This man had spent five years in London to study—

"To be honest...." Anirban peered at her, biting his lips, "No." 

"Huh? WHAT?!" She almost squealed, but controlled herself because of Phalguni.

"Hatt, who wants to study those heavy books and numbers," He mumbled, sticking his tongue out, "I get bored with them." 

"Seriously?" She had never heard any man by now complain about studies. Most of the boys—even Satyakaam, were eager to study—in fact Satyakaam even dreamt to be a college professor. Studying was a privilege for those who could! 

"Yeah," He chuckled softly as if it was nothing, "I hated Mathematics." 

"Hey, it's something I loved the most," Saudamini blinked, "It's something atleast were you don't have to memorize! How can you hate it?"

"You won't, trust me; once you go in higher classes it's not fun anymore," He shook his head, widening his eyes, "And our mathematics professor was a hell lot of a nuisance! Uff!" 

Saudamini blinked more. Calling a professor a nuisance? Really? She in her wildest of imaginations would never have imagined that—she would never dared to!

"I—hold on," She closed her eyes, her lips curving on as she pushed a strand of her hair, "You—"

"Yeah, he had some personal enmity with me," He rolled his eyes dramatically, "Seriously, he had made my life hell in tenth standard!" And Saudamini couldn't help but let out an inadvertent chuckle, "I am not surprised, though. I can imagine what sort of a nuisance you had been in your childhood!"

"Excuse me?" Anirban curved his brows, "What do you mean?"

"You know what I mean," She raised her brows back smugly, "I won't be surprised if professor ran behind you with a stick—"

"Yeah, alright—let's not go there—"

"Why? Because I am saying the truth, right?" 

"It-it's nothing like that, okay? Hush!" He shook his head, raising a finger, while Saudamini giggled, "These...... these things are so obvious, Ani! It doesn't take a genius to guess it—"

"Yeah yeah fine fine, you done bragging?" 

And Saudamini snickered more. 

"Oh God...." Anirban sighed, cupping his forehead. Where did he land himself into?

"Then why did you go to London all the way?" Saudamini stopped snickering finally, her interest piquing all of a sudden. As far as she knew, mostly, men went to foreign countries to pursue higher studies; and many reformers from Bengal had done so. 

"Who said I went to study at London?" Anirban winked at her, causing her to look at him confusedly, "Hnnn?"

"I mean....yeah, I did study, but I went there—for the theatres." He smiled fondly at her. Saudamini blinked at him.

What?

WHAT?!

He did—theatres? Really?

"What?" Her jaw almost dropped, "You—did—what?"

"Theatres," He shrugged nonchalantly. 

"You—did theatres? THEATRES?" She bit her lips for a moment, closing her eyes. Well—well—well! It made all sense now. That's why, that's why he was such an eloquent speaker and expert with poetic lines! 

"Yeah, so what?" He chuckled, "You didn't expect it?" 

"N-no, I did not mean that, I-" Saudamini felt tongue tied all of a sudden. He did theatres, he was an actor—a part of her felt a bit stirred. She recalled how she had almost labelled him as a 'rich household's spoilt brat' . 

"Why? Because I seem like a rich household's spoilt brat, don't I?" He smirked, raising his head over his palm as he pinched her nose. Saudamini squint her eyes with a yelp, a blush crawling to her cheeks, feeling a bit embarrassed. He shouldn't have said that directly. 

For a moment, hearing him having an aversion towards studies, had made her think something else—

And he started chuckling, "I know what you think about me, Mini. No need to pretend"  

"I mean...." Saudamini fumbled, hueing her cheeks, "You seem like a roadside Romeo—and you are okay? It's not my fault," She tried to appear smug again. 

"But you like him a lot," He winked back, causing her to fluster immediately, and shake her head "You're so...."

"Brilliant, hence proved." 

This time, Saudamini didn't answer back. 

"W-what....type of theatres did you do?" She softly rolled Phalguni's hairs in her fingers, peering at him. She had seen theatres once or twice in her lifetime. Last time she remembered watching a group of dancers carrying out a scene from 'AbhigyaanaShakuntalam'. But mostly, it were the road-shows she had seen during festivals, "I mean what genres?"

"Look, you can't afford to do Natya-Nritya in London, they will chase you away," He shook his head a bit sarcastically.

"You—you do Natya-Nritya?"

Saudamini felt something flip in her stomach the next moment. 

"Of course!" He shrugged with a smile. 

She closed her eyes for a moment. It all seem to make sense now. The charm, the aura he carried, the felinity as well—it's only possible if someone practices Natya-Nritya with their heart and soul. And the way he was built—lean with light muscles, was enough to prove he was a dancer. 

Anirban dancing—for a moment she felt like imagining—him twirling around with every beat, with the mudras perfectly with expressions—God! She should stop! 

"You do it now as well?" She almost blurted out, but then bit her lips back realizing she had been way too excited. 

"Hnnn, that's something you can't leave Mini," He smiled again, lying straight on the bed, "I love dancing and dance arts, since childhood." And for a moment, Saudamini could sense that genuine passion within him, and that moment, she knew he wasn't pretending. 

"My life would've been colorless else...." His lips twitched for a brief moment as he mumbled, closing his eyes.

★★★★★★★★★

A/N

'Hum to isko bade ghar ka bigda aulaad samjhte the' 😌😌😌😌

I confess that Anirban Chatterjee has been my best creation ever 😌

Signing off for today!

Nushkie