Forget-Me-Not : Bound by Secrets

Chapter Twenty Seven

Chapter Twenty Seven

December 16th, 2000

"Let me get this straight," Dia said, sounding deadpan. "Abhay came to see you yesterday."

"Yes."

"You talked to him."

"Yes."

"He wished you happy birthday."

"Yes."

"He freaking gave you a gift."

"Yes."

"And you told him about your mother!"

"Yes, yes, and yes," Vidhi said, smiling. For a long, long moment, the room went silent. Geet stared back and forth between the two of them, eating chocolate chip cookies, and she felt sure she was watching a movie. It was that entertaining. Ananya, on the other hand, was smirking.

"What the hell!" Dia burst out. "We were never allowed to do any of that. None of us! How can Abhay get away?"

"First of all, I never allowed him to do any of it," Vidhi said, reclining on Ananya's bed. "He just came in and started acting all alpha male. I, like my usual, dramatic self, put up a dramatic resistance. Then he rattled off dialogues like some cheesy movie hero, and we finally had a happy ending."

"He gifted you the first edition of Pride and Prejudice," Dia said, sounding a little awed. "Something you'd always wanted. In your dreams, at least. It must have cost him a fortune."

"I don't even want to think about that," Vidhi whispered, remembering how he'd made her open the packet later and insisted that she keep the gift when she'd tried to return it. Yesterday had been, in one simple word, beautiful. She could never forget what happened yesterday. It had been a new beginning-it had been the beginning of their love. Something pure and happy. Something she wanted to cherish forever.

"And you talked to him about your mother," Geet sounded equally awed. "Talk about miracles."

"Oh, shut up," Vidhi blushed.

"Tell us more," Dia demanded. "What else did lover boy say?"

Dia had kept the nickname out of scorn when she first met him, but now she was beginning to like the sound of it more and more. Abhay was, finally, becoming her friend. She'd long since accepted him as one of them. Their best friend.

"Nothing much," Vidhi replied, but she looked dreamy. She looked happy. It had been a while since she'd looked this happy. The others watched her with growing surprise and wonder, and Dia couldn't bear the suspense any longer.

"Oh, for god's sake, Khurrana. Just spit it out!" she cried.

"He said he loved me," she whispered just as quickly.

It seemed as if she'd knocked someone dead. Her friends stared at her with open mouths, and Geet drew in a gasp that suspiciously sounded like a girly exclamation of surprise and happiness.

"You're shitting me," Dia whispered, sounding amazed. "Really?"

"Oh my god," Geet said at the same time. Vidhi couldn't help laughing-they both had starry eyes. Dia, a total hater of romance, was in fact rejoicing over this news. It was good having best friends... best friends who could share everything with each other.

"And I felt so happy," Vidhi concluded. Then she looked at each of her friends and saw their happiness. Geet looked glad, Dia looked unbelievably excited. Ananya was smiling, but the smile didn't reach her eyes. As Dia and Geet started pressing Vidhi to share more details, Vidhi relived the previous day that she'd spent with Abhay, and felt warmth and happiness rolling over her every time she recounted something. Like the fact that Abhay stayed back for dinner, and her father was clever enough to make out what was going on between the two of them. And Abhay didn't deny it. She told them how they'd spent hours sitting by her window, talking about each other's lives, and getting to know each other more closely.