FF: OP and JP's Matchmaking Agency - Part 1

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OP and JP's Matchmaking Agency

Part 1
  
'Jai Prakash you write. Your writing is better than mine.'

'Are you sure about this Om? What if Chote Sahib fires us?

'He won't fire us. He'll thank us! In fact I'm sure we'll be getting a raise.'

***

I need to talk to you about your vase. Please meet me in the kitchen.

'Oh God, now I have to explain to her why I took the blame for the vase when I don't even know myself why I did it!'

***

I was the one who put the silver coins in your detergent packet. I want to talk. Please meet me in the kitchen.

'What? Arnavji put the coins in? But how? Why would he do that? And now what does he want to talk about? Devi Maiyya, raksha karna.'

***

'Om Prakashji, is your sir here?' Khushi looked around the kitchen nervously even though her steady heartbeat already told her he wasn't in the kitchen.

'No Khushiji, why would he be here? Can you just get me some onions from the storeroom Khushiji?'

Khushi nodded and walked towards the storeroom still looking around nervously in case he should suddenly walk into the kitchen. She was just reaching the end of the storeroom where the onions were kept when she heard a door slamming and suddenly the room went dark. She ran and immediately tried the door but it was locked. 'Om Prakashji, I'm still in here! Help! Help me!'

Arnav walked to the kitchen, glad to find it empty. He didn't want to embarrass himself further by having an audience when Khushi asked him about the vase. Arnav felt a sense of disappointment when Khushi still hadn't turned up for 5 minutes and was just about to leave when he heard a muffled cry coming from the storeroom.

The door was locked but Arnav was sure the voice was coming from inside. His mind automatically went back to the shouting he had heard from Khushi when she had been locked in his boot and he rushed to open it and saw Khushi sitting at the far end with her knees up to her face and shaking back and forth. He rushed over to her immediately and didn't even notice the door closing behind him. 'Khushi! Khushi, are you okay?'

He'd bent down to touch her shoulders but as soon as he spoke she'd begun to stand up and wrapped her hands around his neck causing him to lose balance and fall backwards with Khushi on top of him.

All of Khushi's fear was erased in that one moment and all she could hear was the loud thudding of her heart against her chest. Surely he'd be able to hear it too or even feel it against his own chest? She tried to scramble up without looking at his face because then she'd never be able to move but his firm hands at her waist stopped her attempts.

'Khushi, are you okay?' Arnav's voice was husky and low. He held onto Khushi fearing that she would suddenly move and be confronted with something Arnav really wished he had control over right now. Her wriggling against him with her chest pressed against his wasn't helping to redirect the flow of blood and he tried to think of other things.

Dust... Vases... Detergent. Yes that was working. Detergent... soap... Miss Chamko... Silver coins... coins for Khushi... Khushi on top of him... Khushi's hands on his neck... Khushi's breasts against his chest... He groaned as he slowly lifted Khushi by her waist and shifted her so she was on her side next to him on the floor but with her arms still around his neck.

'Khushi, are you okay?' He asked again as he ran a hand over her arms slowly checking for injuries although he couldn't see very well in the dark with only a small window letting in the moonlight.

'Y...yes I'm okay.' As Arnav's hands ran over her body Khushi suddenly realised where her own hands were and pulled them back from where they had been linked behind Arnav's neck. 'S...sorry, I was scared.'

Lying next to Khushi was doing nothing to calm Arnav down so he stood up quickly and went to examine the door. He slammed a fist against the door as he found it locked. 'Damn it! Om Prakash! Jai Prakash! Di? Somebody open the door!'

He turned back to Khushi who was still sitting on the floor, 'this is all your fault Khushi, what were you doing in here anyway?'

'I came to get some onions and then suddenly the door closed and I couldn't get out.'

'Why do these things always happen to you Khushi? Pass me your phone, let me ring the house.'

'Phone?'

'Yes phone, Khushi. I know you have one, I saw you earlier.' When Khushi didn't move he added guiltily 'I promise I won't break this one.'

Khushi found herself smiling without meaning to and she stood up as well, 'but my phone is in my bag and my bag is outside.'

Arnav sighed 'The whole point of a phone is to keep it with you Khushi!'

'Where's your phone then? I don't have pockets that I can carry it around in like you!'

Arnav gave Khushi a resentful look before sliding down the wall to sit on the floor, 'my phone is on my bed. We're just going to have to wait until someone comes.'

Khushi took a step forward hesitantly, 'can I...Can I sit next to you? I'm scared of the...'

'Of the dark. I know. Come on.' Arnav cut her off before she could continue and indicated the space next to him.

Khushi sat down slowly as once again the thudding in her chest increased. She needed a distraction and she remembered why she was even here in the first place. 'Did you put the coins in my detergent packet?'

'What? How do you know about that?' Arnav turned to look at her in shock. How had she found that out? The only person that knew was Om Prakash and he would never have told Khushi would he?

'So you did? But why?'

'Erm... I... I just...First tell me how you know about it.'

'You told me!'

'I told you? When?'

'In your letter.'

'What letter? You're the one that sent me a letter, look.' He took the letter out of his pocket and held it out to her.

Khushi took the letter and examined it. Even in the darkness of the room she could tell it wasn't a letter written by her.

'But I didn't write this. You should know that, you've seen my writ...' Khushi trailed off as she realised what she had been about to admit.

'When have you ever written me another letter Khushi? As far as I know this is the first you've ever written to me.' He spoke sarcastically suddenly annoyed when he remembered how hard Khushi had tried to get him and Lavanya back together. 'And what is this about me writing a letter? What letter?'

Khushi felt embarrassed at his mention of the letter she'd written on Lavanya's behalf and wanted the conversation to just finish. 'It doesn't matter. I just wanted to thank you for the coins.'

Suddenly Khushi heard a scuffling nearby and she jumped closer to Arnav and held onto his arm. 'What was that noise?'

'It was probably a mouse,' Arnav looked down at his arm where Khushi was holding on as he spoke and then felt his head come into contact with hers as she buried her head in his shoulder.

'Ugh! I hate mice!'

He could smell the flowery scent of her hair but he couldn't identify it. He wanted her to move, he wanted her to stop touching him, he wanted to reach up and stroke her hair, and he wanted to put his arm around her and pull her closer to him. But he didn't do any of those things, he simply closed his eyes and leaned back against the wall savouring the feel of her hands on his arm and the weight of her head on his shoulder.

He didn't mean to speak but the words seemed to leave his mouth of their own accord. 'I wanted to give you a gold coin but I knew the advert was for a silver coin...so that's why there were two...not one. I figured two silver coins equal one gold one... I just wanted you to be happy.'

Khushi raised her head incredulously. He put the coins in the packet because he wanted to make her happy? She lifted a hand slowly still clutching his arm with the other and put it over his chest, 'thank you.'

Arnav had been looking at the floor trying to understand what had made him say those things when he felt her hand on his chest. He looked up to meet Khushi's eyes, brown and sparkling in the moonlight. He remembered telling Di that the moon was worthless because it didn't even have it's own light, all it did was reflect the sun but here were Khushi's eyes reflecting the moon. Third hand light and yet still they were so beautiful. Maybe Di was right, maybe the moon was beautiful after all.

There was something in Khushi's eyes that seemed so familiar to him and yet so foreign. He had to know what it was, had to know if she saw the same thing in his eyes. He lifted his own hand to hold Khushi's over his chest. 'Do you feel that Khushi? Can you feel my heartbeat? Is it the same for you Khushi? Does this happen to you Khushi?'

Every time he said her name he said it so softly as if it was some fragile object that he was afraid to break by being too rough with it.

Khushi swallowed the lump in her throat which was making her unable to speak and instead pulled Arnav's hand towards her chest and nodded slowly.

***

'See, if he didn't want to be in there he would still be shouting!' Om Prakash spoke in hushed tones as he moved away from the locked door.

'But how long should we leave them in there Om? Somebody will come looking for them soon.'

'Oh no they won't, I told everyone Khushiji's gone home and that Chote Sahib has gone out for some work.'

Jai Prakash and Om Prakash smiled to themselves as they worked fixing the dinner in the kitchen making sure to be extra quiet.