Unfazed

11. We Are Not One Big, Happy Family... Are We? (Deven)

It was only when Vishwas stepped up and said, "Dad.. Dev, I want you to meet Sneha and yes, we're together", that I found my tongue. "Oh.. Um.. Hi.. Welcome, I guess. I mean, you are welcome." I stuttered. This got everyone laughing and at ease and Sneha good naturedly said, "If I were you and my sister sprung something like this on me, I would have taken her aside and killed her. But thank you, Dev. It's nice to finally meet you."

After that, the rest of the evening went by smoothly and all of us found out more about Sneha. She was a doctor – a dermatologist and despite having just started out, she had quite a few celebrity clients. Her father was a restauranteur in the UAE and her step mother, a lawyer. When Rupali Aunty (Tanay's mother) asked, "So how did you guys meet?", she gave Vish a knowing look and said, "You want me to tell them the boring version or do you want to tell them a more Bollywood like one?' Vish laughed and told all of us how over a series of accidents in the UAE and then in India, the two had met and eventually gotten together. The entire time, Vishwas kept smiling at her and that was what I paid attention to, more than the story. Wow. My brother. Mr Robot. Smiled at a woman. With... love?

Returning his smile, without missing a beat once he finished, Sneha said, "The rest... as they say, is history." On hearing this, my father and Mehra Uncle said, "Arrey Wah! Not bad, Beta!!" and Rupali Aunty went "Awwww". My brother smiled and I almost saw him blush. Almost. Sneha seemed nice – open. Didn't seem to have anything to hide. Extroverted. Very different from Vish – but I suppose they balanced each other out. I was still looking at them smiling when I felt a pat on my shoulder and whisper in my ear, "We Still, Have to Talk". Tanay and his theatrics. I shuddered.

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At a little past eleven, Sneha had to leave and Vish decided to drop her home. Not too long after, so did the parents. Of course, Dad simply had to cross the lane – our family home was across the street from the apartment building (built by Sanghvi Builders, of course) in which Vish and I owned flats. We were all in each other's vicinity and yet, had our own spaces.

The minute they did, though, Tanay lost his cool. He stopped me in my tracks and said, "Dev – from this afternoon I've been noticing that you've been CONSTANTLY distracted. Can you please, for God's sake, tell me what is going on?"

"Jeez man – calm down. Let us put all this away, then we'll talk. It's not that serious." I told him.

"Okay – two things. One – NO ONE in the history of human anger, has EVER calmed down by being told to calm down. Two – You NEVER zone out in a meeting – and you were Barely there the entire time today. So don't tell me to calm down, mister!" He borderline screamed.

"A) You're not my girlfriend. B) Why are you PMSing?" I asked and I received a well-deserved whack on the head with a hand towel. Usually I'm not disrespectful to people, but Tanay is not people. "Okay.. Okay. I'm sorry. Bro-ing before Hoe-ing. Got it. But did you notice how happy Vish seemed today?" I asked.

"Yeah man – If I didn't know any better, I'd say he's whipped!!" said Tanay. Pausing for a moment, he added as an after-thought, "Listen.. I know I've been a player and had a fair number of temporary women, but if there's anything that has taught me, it is that I know something non-temporary when I see it."

"I met someone today – someone who knew me before I became who I am today. And that threw me off a little", I confessed to Tanay as we cleared the table. "I see.... No wonder", he said, in understanding. "Look it is not something you need to be worried about – but thanks for noticing", I said and all I got in response was "You want me to grab some tissues to wipe those manly tears, Sanghvi?"

Tanay, would never change.

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Besties though :') 

I love how Tanay just KNEW something was wrong with Dev. Reminds me of my best friends <3

Do y'all want to see more of Sneha and Vishwas? The guy in the pic is Vishwas, by the way.

By the way, for non-Indian readers: Beta (rhymes with... Greta; similar to gate-ah in pronunciation) is the Hindi word used for child. Again, though etymologically it is used for male children (No - I couldn't just say boys!!), over time, it is a gender-neutral endearment.

You'll have Deeksha POV soon - a lot of people have been asking. Let's see if it is what you expect  it to be. :D

Ciao!