Chapter 18: chapter 18

Arnab,got out of the car and groaned."What?" Jay asked."I told them to not hold such a big ceremony" Arnab,said, "look at the amount of cars here," hesaid. "Well don't worry about these" Jay said lightly, "you won't be able to count the number of cars tomorrow at the reception. Besides you had onlysaid you wanted a quiet small ceremony for the marriage not the other functions," he said andlaughed at the look that came over his brother's face."Very funny" Arnab,said."You look great bhai but I bet bhabhi looks better," Jay said.Arnab,was wearing a black embroidered sherwani and churidaar suit. For his height andbuild he looked absolutely gorgeous. While Jaywore a cream colored sherwani and churidaarwhich suited his good looks."Ready?" Sarla asked as she came up behindthem with a smile."Ma, why so many people?" Arnab,complained."Now Abhay, you never said you wanted a smallengagement too besides we have to satisfyfriends and family:" she said as she straightenedher husband's tie. Despite all their efforts Rajesh had refused to wear traditional clothes for the ceremony resorting to his three piece suit."Relax son," Rajesh said, "don't worry about people think about Amrit. I can't wait to see my future daughter in law in what she and your mother chose the other day. I bet you wouldn't be able to take your eyes off her and there is no one here who would hold a candle to her tonight"' he said and smiled winking at Abhay.Arnab,was amused and iritated with the way his family was reacting to Amrit. Apparently the girlhad charmed the Malhotras off their socks. Jay couldn't stop talking about how knowledgeableshe was and how her dry humor kept him laughing through the dinner he had taken her onand she had paid her share as usual. His mothercouldn't stop talking about how simple and yetwonderful she was and his father who usuallytook his time warming up to people had taken aninstant liking to her. He had no idea what she haddone or said not that they had told him anything.He sighed. If they were happy he was happy.Just then some of his friends and relativesarrived and as they all gathered together to go inside with all the boxes of sweets, fruits and whatever else was required for the ceremony they were greeted by Amrit's family. There wereso many people he lost track of who was who. He was made to sit on a small erected stage in the middle of their courtyard. Thankfuly there was a small setee placed there and not the huge chairs one often got to see at such functions. Hewould have died if he had to sit on one of them."We would have done more,"' he heard Nihal, Amrit's uncle say to his mother, "but Mowri,wanted to keep it simple but you wait and see what we will do for Kulraj's engagement," he saidand laughed."Of course," his mother said lightly, "I knew after looking at the decorations it is Amrit's choice,"she said proudly. Arnab,hoped with all his being that the faith his mother had in Mowri,was proven right for her sake. Another blow in the form of misplacedtrust would surely kill her."Abhay' he hearda voice near him say and he turned to see biji come towards him and he rose out of respect for the older lady."Beeji" he said respectfully and bent to touch herfeet."God bless you son' she said and looked up athim, "well I wanted to introduce you to your sister in laws,' she said and he saw a young girl about twenty four step from behind biji, "this is Preeti,Amrit's youngest sister," she said."Hello," Preeti said politely and smiled."Hello Preeti' he said and smiled.She was a pretty girl. And she wore a beautiful salwar kameez which was simple and elegant at the same time."And this is Simrit," Beeji said in a strange voice which sounded to him like derision, "the middle sister" she said.Arnab,saw a delicately built girl and she waspretty too with lighter eyes and fairer skin. Hehadn't met either sister before. But he knewMowri,had a married sister and it seemed Simrit was the one if all the jewelry and glittering suit was an indication. He was surprised to see both of them. Of course his parents had spoken of them and Mowri,had mentioned them as well but seeing them here. There was such a stark contrast. Both Preeti and Simrit were of similar build and height. Petite and short unlike Mowri,who was tall and broad. And while Preeti looked sweet and innocent there was something about Simrit that didn't gel well with her looks. She seemed more proud and haughty for some reason."Hello," she said.Her voice was sweet overly sweet. And she had a strange way of talking and from the corner of his eye he thought he saw biji frown."Hi," he said, "hoW come | didn't meet either of you before" he asked politely."Simrit stays in Solan" biji said, "since her marriage and arrived today for the function," she explained."As for me" Preeti said, "I was here the last time you visited but I was in charge of all the preparations that day so was busy in the kitchen and couldn't meet you but I did meet your family and Jay" she said with a broad smile and Arnab,immediately took a liking to her.Her voice was so full of mirth and from what he could see she was a chirpy girl. He smiled at her."So you were responsible for all the snacks and Sweets we ate that day" he said pleasantly."You are forgetting the tea," Preeti saidmischiveously."Really" he said, "I thought Mowri,and Kulraj had made that tea," he said lightly."Yes, well here is the secret" Preeti said and then looking at biji who was shaking her head and smiling she took a step nearer and whispered, "you might survive the tea Mowri,di makes because I think she knows how to make it at least, you would never survive Kulraj's tea," she said and then added, "she doesn't even know how to operate a gas stove," she said andgiggled.Arnab,laughed. A ful throated laugh that drew attention from some of the people around anda frown or two from some others. Simrit was one of them. She hadn't expected the news of Amrit'sengagement let alone her marriage consideringhow she had been for the past so many years.That had been a surprise to her that she had said yes to a match and then the wedding was happening so quickly. Had her son not been ill she would have been here a bit earlier. Then to add to her surprise she had not been expecting a tall, such a good looking man, well spoken with excellent family background to have said yes to her sister. And now when he had laughed she had seen green. Damn, Mowri,did not deserve this. But she kept her emotions in control she will have to talk to her mother about this later she decided. Why had all this been kept such a big secret? The things she had had to hear from her in laws...but she knew this was neither the time nor the place."Shhh," Preeti said between smiles, "that is a secret," she said."Sorry" Arnab,said good humoredly, "by the way does the hunorous nature run amongst  all.you sisters" he asked and looked at Simrit who smiled in a strange way because it never reached her eyes."Not all the sisters," Simrit said, "just me and Preeti, she said, "you do know how Mowri,is, right" she said suggestively.Arnab,raised an eyebrow. There was a lot of love lost between Simrit and Mowri,it seemed. At least on Simrit's side. But Preeti intervened before he could say anything."Yes, well," Preeti said, "that is what Simrit likes to think" she said with a smile, "it is only me and Mowri,di. Her sense of humor is slightly different than mine but we both can be pretty funny as for Simrit" she said literally glaring at her, "her sense of humor is so off sometimes only she can laugh on her jokes' she said.Arnab,did not miss the warning Preeti had given Simrit nor the sudden tense atmosphere around them. But he did not want to read too much intothe situation without knowing the details. Beeji shooed off both the girls soon after. After that some of his friends came up to congratulatehim. Some relatives too. And his brain got sidetracked. One thing he was sure, Mowri,had one sister who loved her and one who didn't likeher so much.But in everything what he hadn't been ready was to see his soon to be bride and when he did hethought he could never look away.****************