A Happy Family: An Earlier Heaven

Avyan was filled with jealousy and anger as he sat stiff in his seat in the living room of Nitya's house. He had come to know of her date in the afternoon when he had stumbled across Nikith in the college who had 'casually' mentioned it to him then. The possessive and jealous streak had flared across his system then which had then led to his impulsive decision of visiting her house with ice cream at nine in the night.

The Sanghvi family had been in the middle of dinner when he had arrived. He had noticed the absence of Nitya and the presence of Nikith right away. Nitya was out with Tarun, he was informed but it was the presence of Nikith in her house that late at night that boggled him. Chachi's reply had been a quick 'He lives here!' which was enough to turn him into a green-eyed monster.

'Two suitors, one is her boyfriend and the other lives in her house! Just great!' He thought in his mind.

He had joined the family for dinner; thankfully Chachi had stuck to 'tried and tested recipes' of hers and had not tried to do something creative just out of boredom. With simple Dal Makhni and Naan, he was tempted to lick his fingers but controlled himself.

Although a Punjabi by nature, he was groomed to be sophisticated and he was not that comfortable with Nitya's family yet to let his inner child out. Dinner was a boisterous affair for him tonight with bickering and laughter going around the table.

No, the fun didn't end there. The dinner table conversation had shifted towards the living room without any pause where Chachi served them all with ice cream that he had come bearing to her house. It was then during one of Chaachi's stories when he had come to know that Nikith was Nitya's cousin. That had relieved him of some agony and he couldn't help but be open-minded towards this guy who seemed to be too cheerful yet mature, a bit like Vivaan.

Trading childhood stories, teasing, and laughing along with family, was one of Avyan's childhood dreams. He longed for nights like these, even fantasizing about a loving household. Alas! All his fantasies remained as it is, just fantasies. He believed, for a long time, that all those Bollywood movies and sitcoms about families were nothing but all lies. They were just someone's imagination, maybe someone's dream too.

But now, with this family, he thought that there might be some truth to them. That maybe there exists a loving family.

He had actually forgotten about Nitya not being there tonight with all the love he had received from her family. Chachi doted on him like he was her own son and he would lie if he said he didn't like it. Kanav treated him like an elder brother, someone he could depend upon after his sister. That feeling was not new to Avyan. He had been acting as the guardian to his friends for a long time now but coming from Kanav, it was a little different; something he couldn't explain yet.

The Sanghvis were not rich. They were a bunch of people who had just enough to get by and be content with what they had. That was the kind of contentedness and satisfaction that none of the Oberois, with all their money in the world, could ever buy. They could just dream of it!

He had known the second Nitya had entered the house; heard the car outside, heard the doorknob turning, and most importantly, felt the shift in the air. Or maybe he was just going crazy. He didn't lift his eyes toward her until Nikith had called out to her. For one, he had no idea how to explain his presence in her house. He knew she would see through all of his excuses. And secondly, he was still guilty over what he had yelled at her in the afternoon.

The discussion of her date had brought out all his feelings of jealousy, envy, and possessiveness hitting him from inside with a force. Anger rolled off him in waves, although he knew he had no right to be angry at her. Wasn't this exactly what he wanted? Why couldn't he be happy for his Buddy now? Why did he want to be selfish for the first time in his life?

//

//

//

Watching Nitya retiring to her room early made him a little sad. He wanted to spend a little more time with her. He wanted to talk to her. About nothing and everything. Maybe even apologize.

"Chachi, I'll just come back from the washroom." He politely excused himself and walked out of the living room. He reached near the staircase and checked back if anyone was coming before hurriedly climbing the stairs. He reached outside Nitya room and found the door ajar. He knocked at her door before pushing it slightly to poke his head in.

"Avyan? What are you doing here?" Nitya was a bit confused but not surprised. When she heard the knock, she had thought it to be Chachi or Nikith checking up on her. What was impossible according to her was she not expecting Avyan to sneak into her room but then, he has always been one step ahead of her imagination.

Avyan didn't say anything but walked toward her. She had yet not changed the outfit that she had worn for her date. Nitya stood up nervously from her sitting position.

This version of Avyan made her anxious.

Anxious, yet excited. As shameless as that sounded, she was excited.

Angry Avyan? Cool.

Playful Avyan? Fun.

Sad Avyan? Aww.

But Silent Avyan? Never a good idea.

She didn't know what mood he was in. His eyes were blank as he stalked toward her. However, she did know that today has been a pretty rough day for him. First the Rushabh fiasco, then their argument, and now her date.

The only thing she knew and was sure of was that she was not even a cent percent afraid of whatever was about to come.

The night had just begun!