Shaadi Mubarak!

Chapter 7

“Shaurya! Good to see you man.” 

They were going on lunch date. Shaurya had planned it all. A cute café, with cute interior and an even cuter menu, they had it shaped as a dolphin. Rati would have loved it. 

But no. Their only date had to be interrupted by the friends he had met recently. 

Ok, maybe not recently but two years aren’t that big of a deal, right? Not when there wasn’t any close-knit friendship between the lot, and he had his beautiful date waiting beside him. But of course, that beautiful girl with a more beautiful heart had insisted that he stays. She’ll go and they could do this another day. 

Shaurya hadn’t left her hand since then, afraid that she’ll really go. Friends or not, he needed her beside him. 

“Hey, great to see you too.” Shaurya smiles giving his friend a side hug. 

It’s Jatin, his college friend and roommate.

“Hey, man, nice to meet you again after so long.” It’s Navneet, his classmate from college. 

“Same here, bro.” Shaurya smiles shaking his hand.

“Hi,” then says the sole girl in the trio. Shaurya doesn’t quite know her. He guesses her to be their friend or one of the two’s girlfriend. 

Shaurya gives her a small smile and a nod. 

The next thing the three do is to look at Rati. They are waiting for him to introduce her. 

“This is Rati.” He says, hand still intertwined with hers. 

It should be obvious. 

But his dumb friends wait for some more explanation, one that Shaurya doesn’t know what to give. 

“My fiancé.” He wants to say. But can he?

Rati is not his girlfriend. Even though he can die to introduce her as that. 

Rati is not his fiancé. He’s sure to die of happiness if one day he gets to introduce her as that.

And she’s certainly not his wife. Yes, a man can only dream.

And yet ‘friend’ is the word he would hate to use on them. He’ll die crying if Rati ever friend zones him. 

Shaurya knows what they have with each other, respects it and cherishes it, but in the worldly sense there’s not quite a label for it. 

And hence he doesn’t know what to say. He doesn’t want to make assumptions and say one of the above without a prior discussion with a girl, but neither can he stay silent. 

“She’s… with me.” He says then, dumbly, hesitantly moving his gaze towards the girl to see if she’s satisfied with the response, though it is only to find the smile fading from her lips and her hand losing its grip between his. 

“Hello.” She forces back a smile. 

Shit, did he do it wrong? He shouldn’t have said that. They are not anything yet. How can he just assume … 

It’s in between him mentally cursing himself that his friends suggests going inside a café, a café that is not cute and doesn’t have a dolphin shaped menu!

The group walks inside the door, a dim lighting greets them. It’s a good change from the sunlight outside. 

He quickly walks ahead and pulls out a chair for Rati, only it is not Rati who takes the seat but the girl he just met… the one he doesn’t even know the name of. 

“This is not – it was not for –” Shaurya isn’t even given a chance to fumble out the fact without seeming rude when Rati goes and sits on the opposite side of the table. Shaurya quickly follows suit. 

“Rati, love, I am so –”

“So, Shaurya, tell us about yourself. We’ve been meeting each other after so long –” And just like that Shaurya yet again is denied the chance of completing his words. 

It’s with equal amounts of worry and quickness that he gives the answer, thinking an excuse to get out of the place all the while, his eyes averting to Rati every five seconds.

“By the way, you didn’t properly introduce yourself to Muskaan, have you? I was telling her about you a few days ago.” Jatin says with intent while the girl in question looks at him with a smile that he can’t quite categorise as innocent. 

Shaurya is quick to cook up an excuse and unlocks his phone, keeping it not so discreetly on the table for everyone to see. 

Yes, it’s the same wallpaper. 

The sight is worth seeing.

Both Jatin and Navneet have their jaw subtly dropped seeing the photo while the girl is just staring at it with an emotionless face. Shaurya smirks seeing the latter’s reaction, glad to have her back off, though when he turns towards Rati to share his achievement, it is only to see her staring at a spot on the table. 

He can see her swallowing lump in her throat. 

That’s enough. He needs to get out of here. He needs his Rati to get out of here. God if she tears up because of him… 

“I’m sorry but I need to rush now. We were actually going on a date prior to this. Though it was nice catching up.” He says formally, and stands up from his seat. 

“Rati?” he calls, gently. The girl avoids eye contact.  “Let’s go, love…” he says and tries to give her a smile. She doesn’t smile back. 

“Hey, Shaurya… can I talk to you for a second?” Jatin asks suddenly while Shaurya shakes his head immediately. 

“No, man, not now. I’m really busy today, we’ll catch up some other time.” He says getting out of the booth, while Rati follows him, quiet. 

“It will only take a second. Wait, just give me your number. You must have changed it, the old doesn’t work.” 

Shaurya takes in a deep breath not quite knowing what to do. He doesn’t want to be rude but he also wants to get out of here as soon as possible otherwise he is sure he is going to regret this moment for the rest of his life. “It’s alright.” Rati says then in a low voice, giving him a small smile. Shaurya doesn’t believe that it’s genuine. 

Though somehow the response seems have hit Jatin on the wrong spot. “What the hell, man, why are you taking permission from her? You are going on a date, very well, but you don’t want to be her slave, do you? Girls come and go –”

“Shut up, Jatin.” Shaurya grits out through his teeth, suddenly too angry to care about what the people around him will think. “Don’t poke your nose in things that don’t concern you.”

The guy has the audacity to scoff. “Look who’s talking. You don’t realise, do you? You’re like her dog with a leash. She’s using yo –”

Shaurya loses it.

He grabs his former friend from his collar, hand threatening to go up higher. 

“Shaurya!” 

“I dare you to say that again.” He yells at the man’s face, tightening his grip on the collar while the man struggles. 

“Shaurya! Leave him.” It’s Rati’s voice in his ears and her hand on his arm that makes him leave the man, giving him one last glare and walking out of the damned place with Rati’s hand in his. 

He turns around to curse at the café letting out a tired sigh and then turns around to say an overdue sorry to the girl beside him. 

He doesn’t get the chance. 

He doesn’t even get to see her face, but estimates its picture by the drop that has fallen down her face and splashed on the ground. 

“I’ll g-go home by myself. See you later.” Rati says and walks away. 

For a minute he stands there with an aching chest, positive that his heart is been broken in all senses if the word and when he gets the idea to follow the girl down the street, it’s too late. 

She’s already on the bus. Away from him. 

He is unable to look away from the tear drop splashed on the ground.