A B-town Soap Opera

Episode 9

It was the day before Simmy's wedding and she was so excited. Mehndi music filled the air. She was surrounded by her loved ones for her combined Mehndi and bridal shower.

She was adorned in a pastel yellow Indian suit that reflected her bright mood and thoughts of the future. Everyone had turned up- Nimmy, Fazia, Rupa, Parveen- and the list continued. The only person unable to come was Shallu. Simmy had been on the verge of tears to learn that Shallu couldn't attend due to an overseas trip to Switzerland. She could tell
Shallu was equally disappointed- and pissed off.
Nonetheless Simmy decided that nothing else could spoil her mood. Everything for her wedding tomorrow was set thanks to the help of her friends and family. All the preparations were complete which meant no backing out- not that she was planning to.

She couldn't wait for Mohit to see her non-traditional wedding dress. It was a deep navy blue encrusted with silver and gold embroidery and beading. It was breathtaking and custom made from India. She had seen it and immediately fell in love with it much to the chagrin of her mother who wanted her to wear something in red and gold.

Mohit was also excited for his wedding day. He was sipping beer with his close friends having a low key hang out next door to the venue hall. He was looking forward to see Simmy in her bridal wear. Since his Kurta was blue he assumed she would be in blue as well. He was thrilled that blue was their couple colour. He would never admit why it but it was the colour he always associated with her. His thoughts drifted along with the music to past memories....

He remembered that when he was in grade 8 he went to see Simmy for a tutor session at the high school. He had seen her talking to Shallu in the library. He felt it was love at first sight. She intrigued him. He could've spent all their tutor sessions learning more about her and hearing her voice. He and his friends had called her 'blue eyes' secretly as she had always worn blue contacts. He must've looked like such a nerd to her back then he thought. He remembered his spiky jet black hair and turtleneck shirts his mom always forced him to wear even sometimes in the summer.
——-
Shallu glanced at her watch. 11:30pm. Her flight had been delayed for over 4 hours.

The day had been extremely tiresome and stressful. In the morning Felix had told her to be at the office by 5 am even though she had requested the morning off. She spent all the time before their flight helping him gather materials and prepare for the meetings ahead. She wasn't supposed to even be on this trip. Rita had been all set to go. Packed and everything. It was only when she was leaving the office around
1 pm that he had announced that Shallu was still going with him and that she was going to be the lead on this case- her first one overseas. She would have been thrilled in any other circumstance but she had been dumbfounded and hurt. How could he do this? She had made it clear how much her friend's wedding meant to her.

Instead of expressing her opinion and destroying the office in rage as she was imagining in her mind, she politely smiled at her coworkers and graciously thanked them for their well wishes and support. She noticed that Felix had stood there with his perfect brown hair and depthful eyes watching her with amusement. He didn't even have the audacity to look neutral.

Shallu had left the office looking as calm and happy as she could on the outside. Inside she was furious and upset. She went home and packed her essentials as she was told to keep her luggage down to a minimum. When she arrived at Pearson Airport Felix had already been waiting, tapping on his vintage Gucci watch much to Shallu's annoyance. She resisted the urge to wack him with her carry-on.

This was the first time since starting at the firm that she had seen him dressed down. He was wearing light blue faded jeans and a black sweater. She, on the other hand , was dressed purely for comfort. She was wearing black leggings and an oversized furry pink sweater which to her secret amusement Felix appeared to be repulsed by. She also had a black satin sleep mask with pink eyelids printed on top in her hair and her large blue Beats by Dre headphones around her neck.

In her defence, it was a seven and a half hour flight. She needed to be prepared-plus she hated flying. She got plane sick in the past and was worried about it happening in front of her boss. Before getting to the airport she had taken a few doses of Gravol to get her nice and sleepy and settle her stomach.

The airport was a nightmare. Checking in had taken forever. Someone had accidentally spilled coffee on her sweater so now it was brown tinged. In addition her left foot was throbbing as some woman strapped with a baby rolled over her foot not once but twice with her giant luggage cart transporting three giant suitcases. Shallu had remained calm throughout all this. She had no idea what Felix must think of her at this point and she didn't really care. She was too busy being miserable and he was too busy pretending she didn't exist. Glancing over at him, she could see he was still talking on his phone, his back to her.

——-
The Wedding!

Everything had gone as planned so far. The guests were all seated, the decorations were all up, the food was ready and the wedding ceremony was about to officially begin. Simmy began to walk down the aisle as carefully as she could and in rhythm to the music.

Her heart was fluttering against her chest, faster and faster until she reached where Mohit and the Imam stood. When she turned to shyly face Mohit her eyes filled with tears of joy. She could not have managed a more perfect wedding to the man who meant more to her than anything in the world.
———
Rupa and Nimmy watched the ceremony from the sidelines, crying with joy for their friend and taking pictures and videos of everything as directed by Shallu who didn't want to miss a thing. Although it was such a happy moment both girls couldn't help but feel grief. Both their loved ones were not present. Comet was still missing and even though the revelations about him had been devastating for Rupa she still cared and loved him. She longed to see him again. Even if she doubted his love for her. In her heart was hope- hope that he loved her and that somehow this was all due to misunderstandings. This is what she clung to- to keep her from falling apart.

Nimmy on the other hand was in anguish. Abhishek was in hospital in critical conditions. The gunshot wound had caused him to lose a great amount of blood and there were numerous cuts and bruises on his body. The police suspected that he was beaten and tortured. She was not sure why but along with Comet's involvement the police seemed convinced that she had been involved. She was worried about what would happen to her especially as Shallu was out of the country as well. She hadn't mentioned it to her yet given how stressed she was about her current trip. Nimmy hoped that Abhishek would regain consciousness soon. She missed him and also wanted to get to the truth of what really happened.