The Great Indian Wedding Romance

12. Reunion

Sagar Bhaiya stared at Siddharth suspiciously as he walked into the lobby. 

Siddharth felt self-conscious under his scrutinizing stare and plastered on a comforting smile. 

"Sagar Bhaiya, hi. Chetna asked me to meet you here. She said you could drive me to the airport?"

"Yes, can you drive?" he asked curtly. 

"Uh, yes I can." 

"We can take two cars. Your friends must have luggage," he said.

"Sure, that is a great idea."

They both walked outside and Siddharth saw the two cars waiting for them. Sagar Bhaiya threw a set of car keys in his direction and Siddharth caught them mid-air. 

"Be careful," he said with a piercing stare. 

Siddharth was confused as to what he had done to gain his disapproval. He sure as hell hadn't snubbed him because they hadn't talked at all. Why had Sagar Bhaiya taken such a disliking to him? 

He shook his head and got in the car. He was really excited to meet his friends again and nothing would sour that for him. He pulled up his phone for the GPS even though he knew he could just follow Sagar Bhaiya. 

And then he saw a dark figure running from the lobby towards his car. He realized a second later that it was Chetna. She looked about the area and then cautiously made her way towards them. He stared, perplexed at her refusal to come earlier but here she was. 

He couldn't be mistaken even if she was dressed in dark clothes and her hair was concealed underneath a cap. She walked to the first car Sagar Bhaiya was driving and leaned in to talk to him. 

He got out of the car and called her name,

"Chetna?"

Chetna looked like a deer caught in headlights and froze. Then she held up her finger to her lips. Siddharth instantly quietened but approached her. 

"What is happening?" he whispered. 

Chetna gave him a sheepish smile and explained,

"So I couldn't really sleep and I had all this pent up energy. I thought I would come and pick your friends up from the airport with you." 

Siddharth was surprised at her admission but didn't know how to react to that. He did want Chetna, the one friend he had made here, to meet his group but he couldn't be sure of their reactions when he turned up with a strange, pretty girl in the middle of the night to pick them up. 

"Only if you'd want me to, that is, of course." she was quick to amend. 

"No, of course. Come along. But you said you couldn't?" he said. 

"Oh yeah, I still technically cannot but nobody is going to find out if Sagar Bhaiya would just cooperate," she said pointedly. 

That was directed at the man in question who looked very agitated at the thought of letting Chetna come along. 

"But Chetna beti, I can't--" he began but was cut off by an eager plea.

"Please Sagar Bhaiya, I swear I won't ask for anything for the rest of the month."

Siddharth realized, somewhat amused, that this seemed to be their usual dynamic. Chetna, begging him to let her do something that she shouldn't and him, desperately trying to prevent it. 

After some more cajoling, he had no choice but to let her in. 

"You know, you don't even need to come. I can drive ahead and show Siddharth the way to the airport," she said once she was buckled in the passenger seat.