3/8 - Epi 312 ... Kaya Palat?!!!

Friday 3rd August

What show am I watching?! Am I still watching the same show? :-o
Till yesterday, Arnav and Khushi were barely on talking terms, and tension was thick between them. Today Arnav is back to lover boy, and Khushi gives in faster than melting snow :)
Not that I minded ... Arshi scenes were truly Arshilicious :"> :"> :)

Till yesterday, Anjali was giving very snide remarks to Khushi about kwaality time with brother... today she thanks her for making Arnav wear the kurta. And wants a fresh start.

Till yesterday, Akash was glowering at Payal ... today he's back to all izz well in Payash paradise.

First scene played out in five minutes flat ... Khushi finds Anjali, and wonder of wonders tells her she was looking for her ... although she doesn't tell Nani that Anjali temporarily went missing ... almost did *head desk* at yet another of Khushi's fibs ...

And all the gifts were for Khushi ... including the golguppas ... I have been seeing so many golguppas on tv the last couple of days, now I'm having some serious cravings here!!!
Morning after Arshi ... what exactly happened the night before?! Why is Arnav gazing at her so lovingly ... and why is Khushi blushing redder than a tomato? And she's back in the white nightsuit ... oh well, so obviously nothing much happened ... even though she wound up on the wrong side of the bed, and her dupatta was on the other side ... *MIG alert* :">
SN - our 'niharofying' shiddat happened at long last!!! This was some serious niharofying! :)) 

And Nani is the KMH today ... tut tut, Naniji, aapse yeh ummeed nahin thi. But I forgive her ... because the Blast from the Past is finally happening ... not wicked Chachaji, but crazy Dadiji ... who makes an appearance in the precap ... just as the rest of the family has miraculously had a total kaya palat ... so are we ready for a new villain?

*edited ... finally!*

First scene ... Khushi looking for Anjali ... in the light of the recent understanding between Khushi and Arnav, more understandable now ... Anjali is Khushi's responsibility as much as she is Arnav's. And in her current fragile state of mind, she has to be looked after ... so Khushi does exactly that, like a mother hen shepherding her wayward chick ... come back home and don't loiter outside, the big bad wolf might get you :)) And Anjali knows Khushi is wondering whom she was talking to.

ArHi ... Adorable Arnav waiting most impatiently for his wife ... the man has got it bad!!! Blows up HP yet again for merely bringing Khushi's phone And is still insecure about Khushi ... if she's run away again, I swear  ...
SN - he will what? Drag her back? Carry her back? Gag her and tie her to him? All seem possible judging from his expression :))

Fortunately for Khushi, she's done with nanny duty for her toddler sister-in-law … and can concentrate on her Hotwa Hubby, who is annoyed as heck she went missing when he wanted her (since that happens about once every three minutes these days, it’s tough to keep up!). and why hasn’t he changed his clothes when he was grumbling about that ages ago … ok, she’ll  follow him  immediately as he’s getting so impatient …

But what is he so impatient about? And as he opens the door for her to enter, why is the light off?

Stumble … automatic ‘careful!’

“Even if the light is on, your dimaag ki batti never lights up.”

(SN – are the CV’s reading R&R??!! Really? The number of times we have discussed dimaag ki battis of the leads, this can’t be a coincidence! :)) )

And he goes on to the immediate goal at hand … ‘NK and his stupid idea … me wearing a kurta. Di was perfectly happy with my jewelry gift … there was no need for me to get so uncomfortable.’

Khushi is quick to correct him … but of course! “your batti is dimmer than mine. Di was happier that you wore the kurta she’d bought you, and that you stayed for the puja. Not for the jewelry set.’

Good going … she’s getting more and more annoyed … sooner or later she will spill it out.

‘Stupid idea … stupid surprise.’

‘Stupid for you … we all knew this was the best way to make Di happy.’

So NK had warned the entire family? That was why Mami announced grand multicolour surprise number three …?

‘Rubbish! Why would anyone be happy to see anyone in this? I can’t figure out what is the most stupid … the idea, this stupid kurta, or these stupid buttons which don’t close.’

And Khushi promptly closes his button for him, in the cutest, most spontaneous, most natural wifely act yet … ‘Stop grumbling for nothing … there is nothing wrong with these buttons, they close perfectly well.’

A very satisfied smirk from Arnav … that wifely gesture noted and filed away …

‘Here you go … you can never think of such a good idea …’

‘And you can?’

‘Of course I can … this was my idea …’

Oops, caught out … she didn’t mean to admit to that, will he get angry that she made him do something he doesn’t like doing? Even though it did make Di happy?

And Arnav has got what he wanted … he knew it was her idea, of course, but he wanted her to admit it … even if he hadn’t seen her quick response to Di’s question and NK’s puzzled look, he would have known … because it’s only Khushi who knows the pleasure and happiness these little gestures can bring …

And now his turn for a little gesture which will mean so much to her … ‘why do you think I’m wearing this kurta for so long? Because I knew it was your idea all along …’

Admitting that he knew it was her idea, admitting more importantly, he wore the kurta only because it was her idea in the first place … even though it’s so uncomfortable, even though he feels the damn pajama might fall off any minute … yet he’s wearing it just for her … 

When he lost his voice because of the mosquito coil, she was upset, guilty, she did all she could to help him recover … and he never gave her credit, never wanted to admit that she did succeed … 

Now, he wears the kurta for far longer than he needed to, and tells her so, just to see her smile … the smile she told him he couldn’t buy for her, the smile he asked her for, wondering  why nothing he did for her could make her give even the shadow of one … 

And smile she does … tentatively, tremulously … no expensive gifts needed … just an affirmation that she did something right, something which made him happy, something which brought happiness to Di, made her smile, made the rest of the family smile … after all the doom and gloom and accusations of the last few days … and he acknowledged it, he did it for her …  

Time for the lights, and the next part of the plan to make her realise just how special she is for him, how important her happiness, her smile is for him … not only Di’s …

He holds her and turns her to see … a pile of gifts on the bed … Khushi first shocked, did she leave something out again? A resigned look from Arnav at his jhalli but innocent biwi … she doesn’t even realise these are for her … probably she’s never seen a pile like that intended only for her ever before … yep, she has to open them and check them all …

So she starts … while he stands back and watches with a smile … smiling as her smile gets bigger and bigger at the inexpensive, ordinary yet meaningful things … all her favorites … channas, SK poster – a delighted grin for that … jalebis from her favourite shop, and gol guppas … everything she loves … and as her smile grows bigger with every gift, so does his own … as he realises the truth of Khushi’s principle in life … seeing her happy makes him happy … so very happy … 

And then she reaches the only expensive looking box … a jewelry box … her smile fades slightly as she looks at him … and so does his, as he waits a little apprehensively … the simple, inexpensive things he knew she would love, but this one …? 

But it’s not the price of the gift that gives it the value … it’s the connection … a loop closed, a full circle completed… 

the first time they met and he broke a string of pearls, and robbed her honor and dignity … 

her dream when he restored that string, and with it her honor … 

and now, her dream come true, a reality now … he had stripped her of her pride and dignity, now he restores it himself …

And she gets to her feet, her eyes spilling over … does he even know what this means to her? How much it means …?

Yes, he does … he knows it all … silent apology in his eyes as he waits for her to take the first step towards him … does she forgive him for that first meeting? Does she accept his apology?

Generous hearted, forgiving as always … of course she does … she takes that first step, and that’s all he needs, as he covers the rest … wipes her tears, a silent promise that he will wipe them ever after … and for the first time ever, takes her into his arms, holds her close … close to his heart … and she goes into his arms as though coming home … finally … daring to hope, daring dream, daring to love again … home at last … :">

Waking up in the morning … another loop closed … when he was kidnapped, she woke up dreaming of his return, his presence on the recliner, watching her with love … today yet another dream come true … as she wakes up on the wrong side of the bed, looks around with puzzled sleepy eyes … and sees him watching her. Love, longing, passion … everything she ever dreamed of seeing, it’s all there ...

A shy soft smile … very conscious look, fiddling with her hair, her neck, the absent dupatta … what exactly happened at night after that hug? Whatever it was, enough to make them both lost in each other … he all possessive confident man, she all shy smiling, self-conscious woman …:"> :"> :">

The heat of that gaze makes her shyer, she goes to pick up her missing dupatta … he gets to his feet and comes closer… and she abandons the attempt … does he want to take up where they left off? And she’s not averse, not at all … shy but not averse … just his coming closer is enough to set her heartbeats racing again ..

Till the knock on the door … which startles them both and brings them back with a jerk to the real world … unwelcome though it is … that ‘kaun hai?’ from Arnav had more than a hint of irritation.

SN – when did they change their clothes? When did they regain enough sense to lock the door last night? How did Khushi land up on the one side and her dupatta on the other side … of the bed? ;)

And WHAT freaking happened last night????!!!

Answer to the last ... nothing happened ;)

Nani the KMH this time … Arnav opens the door as Khushi quickly picks up her dupatta … and as Arnav makes to follow Nani, he reminds Khushi … 'we’re not done talking yet …’

And she wonders … ‘I felt as though I was going to stop breathing …’

Khushi’s ‘saansein ruk gayi’moment … 

SN – when did they talk? Or was it the Nainon ki bhasha they were speaking? :))

Or … more prosaic … was it the leftover talk from the GH? Come home with me … and now that she has, they need to discuss the real problem. 

But since when has there been only one problem in ArHi land … the moment one gets sorted, the next one starts … this time, a runaway Dadi …

SN … pause please … Yippee … Blast from the Past is here!!! :))

Nani-Arnav … Subhadra Devi has disappeared from the Ashram … where she was living for the last 14 years, after ‘that woman’ caused the ‘haadsa’ … and Arnav tried to get her back from there, but she refused … 

Mami-Akash fill in some more details … lady in question is Arnav’s Dadi … and Mami is scared of her … the lady is ‘Danger’ … hopefully Danger has lessened … Akash doesn’t know much, but he decides not to tell Payal what little he does know … umm, double standards, or will he finally understand why some things are better kept quiet?

Anjali-Khushi … Khushi approaches Anjali again … yes, if her place in the house and family is permanent now, then it is up to her to try and bridge distances, not run away … Anjali did so when she asked Khushi about Bauji, now Khushi’s turn … she tries to explain about the events that happened …

But Anjali is willing to accept an olive branch, but not talk about those events yet … somewhat like Khushi, she prefers to sweep them under the carpet … leave the past in the past, otherwise it affects the present … it affected Arnav a lot, and she doesn’t want that again … she’d rather start afresh.

So a tentative hand out … ‘Thank you … I know you’re the one who was behind Arnav wearing the kurta … thank you for that …’

Is Anjali genuinely trying to reach out? She now realises that Khushi has a lot of influence on Arnav … something Arnav hasn’t done for the last 14 years, despite Anjali trying, he did today because of Khushi … And she appreciates that Khushi has been able to pull Arnav out of the shadows of his past.

Or is Anjali being just Anjali … refusing to face the past and come to terms with it … the good and the bad … preferring instead to close the door on it, and hope it will stay locked in the cupboard.

Or is Anjali already under the influence of KP, and is just trying to keep Khushi off her trail?