"It's a prank. He's not coming," said Rajesh, followed by a big, loud guffaw. Looking at him, everyone felt like kicking him in the ass so he'd fall straight at his dad's place. "So, sorry," he replied with a slow, sheepish yack.
"Okay, let's start with what we've planned for tonight. It's a big day for us to celebrate," responded Jai.
Having said that, everyone slipped into jolly mood of the night and settled into their comfortable spots in the hall, on the sofa big enough to hold all of them.
From the back, Shri called out, "Hold on for a few minutes. Let's first start with our drinks."
And they began with a loud cheers.
"Before we start tonight, let's all congratulate Rajesh on his new home. He has everything one needs in life. The next step is just get married and have a bunch of kids in his arms," said Shri, glancing at Rajesh with a playful look. Everyone repeated the same teasing line.'
In the middle of it all, Sanjay said, "we haven't even seen his bedroom yet! Let's go have a look."
"Hold on, let's have the chicken first," urged Rajesh.
A little later, Shri began explaining the reason why they had planned this evening. But before he could proceed, he asked Jai, "Do you want to continue, or should I ?"
Jai said, "Go ahead, Shri."
"Actually, we met a girl who's really special to Jai."
"Who is she?" Everyone raised their eyebrows in curiosity.