Murthy House: Kitchen: 8:50 pm

Manik presses Nandini more to the wall as a light jingle sound is heard outside of the kitchen. Nandini wriggles in his hold. Manik puts a finger on his lips and rolls his eyes.

Manik: (Whispers) "Shhhhh...keep quiet. Nehi to tumhari Amms pura ghar sarpe utha legi. (Or else your Amms will make the biggest fuss over this.)"

In reply, she only makes her eyes wider. The person whose jingling footsteps were heard finally appears in the kitchen. Without looking back, Manik pushes Nandini more towards the crockery cupboard and hides behind it. A trailing sound of something metallic alerts their ears. Nandini tries to remove his palm from her mouth but Manik grips it more tightly. The sound that something metallic has been dragged over the floor stops near the cupboard. Manik's whole body stiffens in anticipation. All fault is Nandini's. Neither did she get late nor did he enter like a thief. Manik looks at Nandini who is standing like a mute doll under his captivity. She lifts her hands and places them behind her ears and then starts flapping them continuously. It seems like she is trying to make Manik understand something. However, Manik takes it as teasing. He rolls his eyes at her.

Manik: (In mind) "Mujhe chidana bandh karo. (Stop mocking me) Agar main pakda gaya to tumbhi pakdi jaogi. (If I get caught then you will get caught as well) Aur main bol dunga ki tumnehi mujhe bulaya hain. Pongal khaneke liye. (And I will tell them that you only called me to have Pongal.)"

On the other hand, when Nandini failed to make him understand what she is actually trying to indicate, she curls his fingers and starts scratching the air or an imaginary wall, gesturing like a puppy. Manik again widens his eyes at her.

Manik: (In mind) "Yeh ladki daarke mare pagal ho gai hain kya? Azeeb harkate kar rahi hain. (Has this girl gone mad due to fear? She is doing weird things.)"

Nandini becomes restless now. But before she can continue her dumb charades, something or it should be said someone tugs the hem of Manik's jeans. He gets startled and jumps in his place. His hold on her become loose and she immediately frees herself. Before Ador can make any noise, Nandini picks him up in her lap and covers his mouth with her hand. The jingling sound was coming from the chain attached to his dog collar.  

Nandini: (Whispers) "Shhhhh...Adduuu...it's Manik. See...Manik. You know him, right?"

Ador looks at Manik with his button eyes and stiffens his ears like two antennas. It seems his clever brain caught the signal. Manik sighs in relief. Ador can be managed easily. Their liking each other is mutual. His biggest fear is Amms. She doesn't understand any logic. Now, where is this written that before marriage girls and boys can't meet each other? And here they are legally wedded husband and wife. Deprived of the fearless romance. Damn!

Nandini: (Affectionately) "Adduuu...You know right Amms has forbidden Manik to come over here until we get married? But I called him. Now, save us from Amms. Do something."

She strokes his fur and he purrs in delight. God knows what he understood but his body language indicates that somebody challenged his chivalry.

Ador: "Grrrrr....bhook...bhook. (Ghabrao maat Nandu. Mere hote huye koi Manik jiju ka bal bhi baka nehi kar payega. Don't panic, Nandu. Nobody can harm Manik bro when I am here.)"

He jumps from Nandini's lap, licks Manik's feet quickly and runs towards the dining area. Manik turns to Nandini with pop-up eyes.

Manik: (Puzzled) "Now, what was that? Don't tell me he understood your words and my reputation and life are now dependent on his smartness."

Nandini: (Winks) "Just wait and watch. I am sure his smartness is far better than you."

Manik narrows his eyes and yanks her towards him. Nandini bangs on his chest. Their eyes smile in glee.

Manik: (Huskily) "Hone do use smarter. Main romantic bankehi khush hu. (Let him be smarter. I am happy to be romantic)"

She wraps his neck with an encouraging smile and he zeros the distance to fuse his lips with hers. The fun of secretly loving someone is something different.

..........................................

Murthy House: Dining area: 9:00 pm

As Ador approaches the dining area, Amms raises her brows at him.

Kishori: (Quizzically) "Where is Nandu? Ador I sent you to get her."

Ador passes her with an 'I have more important things to do' attitude and straight jumps up to sit on his allotted chair.

Kishori: (Annoyed) "This Nandu...I sent her to bring the Pongal and she...Let me see."

She was about to get up when Ador jumps on Dhruv's lap. The spoon falls from his hand on the floor with a loud clinking sound. He stiffens his body by pushing himself back.

Dhruv: (Suppressed yelp) "Eeeeeeee...."

This much sound he can produce from his mouth. Ador glares at him and opens his mouth a bit to flaunt his teeth.

Ador: "Grrrrrr....( Chup chap baitha rahe. Nehi to main tujhpe su su kar dunga. Sit quietly. Or else I will pee on you.)

Although Dhruv or nobody present in the room realised why Ador is behaving like this suddenly but being the writer and a third person, I clearly understood his game plan. He just wants to create a scene, so that, nobody concentrates on the couple secretly romancing in the kitchen. And as usual, we often target the obvious. It's not only human psychology but a dog's psychology too. As Ador secures his place on Dhruv's lap, he helplessly looks at everyone seated around the dining table.

Vimesh: (Calmly) "Don't panic, Dhruv. He hardly bites."

Dhruv: (Inwardly) "But this time it seems he will bite hard."

Nyonika: "Puttar, inne chote se prani se kya darna? Inna pyara si Ador! (What to fear from such a small creature? How cute Ador is!)

Saying this she ruffles his fur.

Dhruv: (In his paranoid mind) "Yeh prani mera jani dushman ban chuka hai. Hatao iseeee... (This creature has become the arch enemy of mine. Please get off him from me.)"

Unfortunately, most of the people around don't pay any heed to Dhruv's panic-stricken state. However, Rituja feels a bit of compassion towards this poor soul and gets up to take Ador from his lap. Meanwhile, Kishori again tries to get up from her seat and head to the kitchen. Having no other option, Ador uses his last weapon. He pees on Dhruv's lap and the repercussion is quite predictable. Dhruv immediately picks him up and lands him on the floor. And then starts jumping like a spring.

Dhruv: (Screams) "Maine kaha tha...maine kaha tha. (I told you...I told you) He is a nuisance...Peeeee.....Eeeeeeeeewwwww."

On the other part of the house, there some other drama was being performed. Nandini was feeding Pongal to Manik when Dhruv's scream for life invades their ears. Manik gets choked on the Pongal and starts coughing badly. Nandini starts rubbing his back and tapping his head.

Nandini: (Scared) "Manik....Manik...shhhh...all will hear you...maunavagiri...muka...muka (Keep quiet...silent...silent)"

To hell with your silence! Manik keeps on coughing until all the members who were having dinner and of course, the small four-legged creature appear in front of them.

Kauser: (Surprised) "Manik! To isliye Nandini bahar nehi arahi thi! (So, that's why Nandini was not coming outside.)"

Nyonika: "Yaha to kuch alaghi dinner ho raha hain. (Here some different type of dinner is going on)"

Kishori: (Vexed) "Nandu...Avanu illige hege bandanu? (Nandu...how did he come here?)"

Rituja: (Concernedly) "Nandu...Pongal is too salty. You again goofed up. No wonder he got choked."

Ador: "Bhau...bhook...bhook...(Maine kaushish ki thi. Iss idiot ne sab kuch biggar diya. I tried but this idiot spoiled everything.)"

He glares at Dhruv. All is not well when the end is so messed up. Let's see what happens in the coming days of their actual marriage. Let's hope for the best.

Author's note: OPPSSSS...It's an exhausting chapter.🤪🤪But I think I have succeeded in making you roll on the floor. If not then my bad.😐From the next chapter, we will see the marriage preparation with more fun. Until then, keep reading and keep laughing because laughter is the best medicine. 😄😄😄