Loving You

Chapter 5

"Sweety!" I exclaimed as I hugged her tightly.

Sweety, or Sarika, was Sahil's younger sister. They may have had a bond of blood, but in all ways that matters, she was my sister as well.

"I am mad at you" I said pretending to be angry "Is this when you turn up for my wedding"

"What can I do, Di (elder sister)? I requested the uni to prepone the exams so that I could be here sooner. They turned me down" she said pretending to mope.

"Trying to be smart with me!" I said pulling her ear

"Ahhh! Di, it hurts" Sweety complained

"Where did you learn all this sarcasm?" I asked her in jest

"Someone had to take over from Bhai (brother) and you" she retorted

I stopped smiling. She noticed because she had this apologetic look on her face. Before I could comfort her, Sanju cut in

"Your description of her was so spot on" Sanju said, referring to what she had spoken about Kaira

Sweety walked to the table and filled her glass with orange juice, taking a sip as she smiled back at Sanju over her supposed achievement

"You shouldn't have, Sweety" I told her somberly after a while "What if she had heard it? It would have caused unnecessary fights at home. She is your Bhabhi afterall"

I had barely finished speaking when Sweety splurted her orange juice on Tarun, screaming "What!"

"What the hell" Tarun yelled in the surprise

"I am really sorry" Sweety apologized when she realized what had happened

"It's okay" Tarun said looking at himself "I guess everyone needs to experience orange juice shower once. Water is so common" he said with a funny expression that was somewhere between disgusted, feeling sorry and wondering if the unique experience was something to talk about.

"Sorry" I told him softly on Sweety's behalf

"You think I can have breakfast and then take a shower or will the ant bite me first?" he asked looking at the food on the table

"Get the shower, Tarun" I told him flatly

"You are a tyrant" Tarun complained as he went upstairs

"What was that about?" Sweety literally leapt at me, holding me hand "My Bhabhi!"

"Isn't she?" I asked trying not to talk more on the topic

"No! oh god no!" Sweety exclaimed wide-eyed "Bhai's luck isn't so bad as to end up with her"

"But the sindoor (vermillion) and...." I trailed off unable to make up my mind about how this made me feel.

"She is married to a NRI from South Africa. He is a rich guy. He will be here any day now. She has him wound around her little finger" Sanju explained. She had been quiet so far

"Ohh" was all I could say

"Besides Bhai's choice isn't so bad" Sweety added

I didn't correct her. Even though I knew differently.

It was hard after all to forget that last football match – the one that forced me to take the decision to go away. It was hard to forget that win, the happy crowd, me waiting outside the locker rooms to celebrate the success with Sahil only to see Kaira pull him away and take him behind the stands. He hadn't resisted her then. And I didn't need to see anything else.

I remember sitting on the bench alone, hurt and crushed when Pooja walked over and reminded me of our discussion. She was going for further studies to US and felt that I could use a similar career push. I had resisted with tooth and nail till then. We both knew the reason for it.