Chapter 72
"Whassup Uncle? Maya you look prettier everytime I see you... If I weren't gay I would be sooo into you. But who can fight nature and win."
"Adam... Shut up!!" Both Mr. Malik and Maya chorused together through bouts of laughter. "Okayyy... here's me quiet now." Adam blew a kiss at Maya and gave her a flirtatious wink. Maya just rolled her eyes at him and gave him a little whack on his back good naturedly as he bent forward for a hug. "Awww... you just missed the targeted area, my sweet sweet ass by a few inches. I am game for a second try if you are."
"Adam get out of the way. I think you have had enough time in the spot light." Abby yelled whacking him on the head to move aside.
"Oh don't be jealous because I am the Diva in the family... No one can make an entrance like I can." Adam said flipping his long imaginary Dolly Parton hair aside with attitude.
"The day I make an entrance by flirting with Uncle, you have permission to go ahead and kill me." Turning towards Mr. Malik, Abby flashed him an apologetic smile, "Not that your not hunky and all... but your just not my type."
Mr. Malik and Maya just looked at each other with amused expressions. Turning towards the sky he said, "Thank God for small mercies."
*******
For the past hour Rishab kept shooting at targets at the back of the house. He had built a shooting range which he used mostly when his thoughts were clouded and a plenty. When the mind actively focusses on something else other than the problem on hand, the subconscious mind tries to work out the kinks in the problem and present it to you suddenly.
Out of the blue Rishab screamed out - Bhatia... Yes... he is the root of it all. It all started out with him. And so far he is the only one who is gaining something from this whole fiasco. Things started to clear out now. First the clandestine meeting with Dad to get Deepali on my team, so she can work closely with me. Second invite us over for dinner and a surprise. Third spring Sikander's engagement with Madhu on me. Separately it could be a coincidence but put all of these together and it reeks of an evil plan in action. I can see reason behind it all but then that meant that he knew about Madhu and me. But how? Could it be Sikander or Deepali who could have told him? Sikander...no.. the shock on his face when the engagement was announced couldn't have been a show. He is not that good at anything let alone acting. But when it comes to Madhu everyone goes through the scanner. Deepali... could it have been her? Was this his and only his plan alone or was it a group activity? So many questions... so little time to find the answers.
He trained his rifle on the target ahead and pressed on the trigger. He smiled as the bullet hit the target. Bulls-eye!!! Now that his head was clear and he could see things as they actually were, hitting the target suddenly became easy. He lifted up his rifle again and pressed on the trigger again just to reassure himself that he wasn't losing touch. He smiled. Bhatia played his game and now it was time to show him his.
*******
"So where is Madhu?" Adam asked. "Yeah... where is that girl? We seem to have ceased to exist now that she met.." 'Rishab's' name almost slipped out of Abby's mouth as she spoke, but she was stopped in time with a sharp jab in the ribs by Adam. "met... new friends." Abby ended giving an apologetic smile and mouthing a small thanks to Adam.
Maya looked at Mr. Malik and back to the kids. Very softly she answered. "She retired for the night a little while ago. She was very tired, given that she was engaged today."
"Engaged!!!!" Abby and Adam yelled in unison. "See I told you we should have come back with Rishab and Madhu." Abby yelled at Adam. "Oh shut up!! You said no such thing." "Well I had meant to." She screwed up her nose at him. "Whatever!! Anyway that is not what is important... What is important is that Madhu is engaged. But how could she do that to us. Rishab, yes I can understand. He, with his highly spoken of manly prowess, huge biceps, chiselled abs..." Abby pinched him in the arm to bring him back from his dream world where Rishab probably wore a toga and roamed around like a Greek God or sun bathe in the nude on the beach to the topic on hand. "I know that was the longest you have stayed without some loving but Adam I need you to focus." Sheepishly Adam continued, "Ah yes, I was saying, he would not be able to wait another day to make her his in every sense of the word. But didn't expect Madhu not to wait till we got back to get engaged to Rishab."
Mr. Malik and Maya had initially found Adam and Abby very differently raised and were not too sure about their influence on Madhu. But over time they realised that they were exactly what she needed. The made her open up and experience life. Relatively they were good and kind kids with open minds, which is not a bad thing at all. Over time Mr. Malik and Maya got used to them and their random outbursts like the one ongoing before them. Most of the time, they would block them out so as to retain their sanity. But thankfully this time they heard each and every word.
"Wait a minute. Rishab?? Who is this Rishab and what is Madhu doing with this Rishab?" Mr. Malik enquired.
Adam and Abby looked at each other. Busted!! But then suddenly they realised that if Mr. Malik and Maya didn't know about Rishab... then who did Madhu get engaged to?
"Uncle we will tell you everything. But first please tell us who did Madhu get engaged to?" Adam attempted to understand the situation before him.
"Sikander Bhatia, the son of Mr. Bhatia, who is a business associate in Kundra Constructions. Now your turn... Who is Rishab?" Mr. Malik asked.
Ignoring Malik and Maya, Adam and Abby turned towards each other shocked. "Sikander!!!" They said in unison.
Maya got hold of Abby's hand. "Abby..." Looking into her eyes, she said sternly, "Tell me everything." Abby gulped. Oh-oh the look. That look can only be described as the mother look, the look every mother has that when used at the appropriate time can instill fear in the devil himself for crossing paths with a mother on a mission and her mission right now was to find out every last detail on her child, who might be in trouble.
"Long version or short?" Abby asked, stalling for a moment, so as to gather her thoughts.
"Well considering the seriousness and urgency of the matter, I think short version will suffice." Maya replied curtly. She was loosing patience and if she didn't find answers to her questions quickly, somebody's gonna get a hurt real bad. ('somebody's gonna get a hurt real bad' is a saying I took from the punchline of a joke from the stand-up comedian ' Russell Peters)
"They first met at the art gallery. Rishab bought all her paintings. I don't know if it was luck playing its cards or destiny weaving its path but they met again on the climb. They fell in love, made promises and dreamt of life together. They came back together earlier than expected as some work cropped up at work. They wanted to tell you guys and his folks as soon as possible."Abby rushed the whole explanation in one breath and then took in a deep breath.
Mr. Malik and Maya looked at each other as they found the reason behind Madhu's sorrow at her own engagement.
"Oh and by the way, Rishab is the Chairman of Kundra Constructions." Adam added that little tit-bit. He didn't want to feel left out at such a time. Well they were kinda creating history here. When Rishab and Madhu finally get married, he wanted to be mentioned in their thankyou speech too, as one of the people who were instrumental for bringing them together.
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