Serious in Love ✔

30- "You'll always be my stupid."

AHANA

The last time I met Tripti was at her marriage. I did hear that her husband's family was rich. I just didn't know by how much. Until today.

It was a multi- storey white bungalow situated amongst others in a posh society. The first thing that caught our attention was neither Tripti or her child. It was their German Shepherd dog that couldn't stop barking at us. I wanted to touch him but he looked too scary to come near, let alone touch him. Thank God he wasn't let run free right now. As we neared towards the patio, the image of a long haired woman in yellow salwar suit became bigger. Vansh and I passed by the front yard that smelled of  flowers and true to the word, there were potted plants fixed at its borders. I swear I could hear running water somewhere. The only reason we could view this much was because of the octagon LED bulbs that adorned the border walls of the house. I could already tell that the house was well maintained.

We hardly stepped onto the patio when Tripti engulfed us in a bone crushing hug saying how grateful she was to have us.

“We missed you too, Tripti,” Vansh replied.

“Oh, I'm shocked you remembered my name. I thought you forgot about me.”

Vansh took a lot of time remembering her  name and only did so when she started hanging out with us frequently in college. He would often call her as— “Of course I didn't forget about you, Invisible girl.”

The smile on Tripti's lips seemed more brighter than the lights in the garden. She looked between the two of us like she was our mother, “Pragya told me all about it. How you boarded on a train without a ticket and all...”

“I bet she didn't tell you how I pulled the chain and stopped the train near it's destination. Luckily we ran away in time.” I told her, raising my thumb up.

She chuckled, “You two still haven't changed, have you? Even when you are grown adults.” Her eyes softened as she looked at us. “I'm so glad you're still together. Your relationship is kind of an inspiration to me.”

Vansh was about to open his big mouth when I placed a hand on his back and squeezed his shirt a bit. He flinched, “Now, now, you're embarrassing me. We are not that great but thank you anyway.”

Vansh surprisingly didn't question me. I know I shouldn't have lied like that but she seemed so hopeful that I didn't feel like disappointing her with the truth. Soon after, we stepped inside to unite with our departed friends and meet with her family members. We played with Tripti's son for a while who was looking absolutely adorable with his puffed cheeks and bubbly eyes. Tripti as a young mother, certainly looked a bit different now. She had gained some weight and looked more feminine than before. Seeing her made me realize how old we had become as adults. It seemed just like yesterday when we fooled around the college campus and complained about semester exams. Those problems rather seemed minuscule now.

The house on the other hand, didn't look minuscule at all. From high ceilings hung by silver chandeliers; from dark multicolored curtains to carpets; from posh furniture to extravagant showpieces; rooms lit by accent lights— the house was catchy to our eyes. There was a wide staircase to the side that connected to the veranda in the first floor. Tripti had certainly found a gold digger. Inspite of this, I wondered if she was truly happy with her marriage. I recall how she cried, just two days before her wedding, saying how she didn't want to marry and take upon such a heavy responsibility so early. I didn't contact her much afterwards as life got busy but she did say she was getting used to it. I'll ask her later.

Tripti arranged our dinner at the dining table while we refreshed ourselves. The delicious aroma arising from various pots, almost watered my mouth. Thus, we took our seats.