I did not visit Sid and Kavya the following weekend. Reyansh was visiting his parents and the family was about to face a delicate yet cruicial time. Instead, I stayed at home and wished with all my heart that everything went allright.
It was not before Sunday morning, that I got any news.
I was in the chair in my balcony, sitting and sipping at a warm cup of coffee and flipping through the pages of the newspaper when my phone rang. It was on the bed so I got up to get it. As I picked it up my eyes read the caller's name. It was Sid. Pressing on the answer button I held the phone to my ear and said "Hello."
Expecting to hear Sid's voice, I was genuinely surprised to hear a feminine voice from the other end. It was Kavya. "Hello. Dhruv."
"Hello. Kavya."
I waited for a while, waiting for the inevitable, imagining the worst. "He talked to Reyansh. We told him everything," she finally said.
"And?" I asked, my anticipation rising with every passing second. "How did he take it? Are you guys - fine?"
She paused again before answering. Was it just my imagination or did her voice sound heavy? Had she been crying? Were my worst fears coming true? Did I let my friends down again?
"He was shocked," she began, "He was all silent throughout the time Siddhart talked to him. Too stunned to speak. I can't explain how it felt Dhruv, seeing him like that. I could see hope drain from his face. And then he cried. If I'm going to be honest, we all did."
I was silent even though there were a million questions on the edge of my lips.
"But in the end he understood, in his own way, he did."
"Is he fine?"
"Yes. We barely slept through the night and were huddled together in the living room. It was not until dawn that we had realised that the night was over. Then Siddhart had to go for his morning walk and asked Reyansh to accompany him. And now they are gone for a while and the place has been so quiet. I didn't know who else I could talk to, and I wanted to, so bad."
I relaxed a bit. Walking back to the chair outside on the balcony, I sat down with a sigh. "Alls well that ends well, I guess."
"I guess so too. But its all thanks to you Dhruv. I now realise how right it was that Reyansh got to know from his father. I couldn't have done it. I had no strength left in me. But I couldn't make Siddhart do it. Not without you. Thank you so much Dhruv."
"Don't thank me Kavya. Not for this."
"Having talked to Reyansh had effected Siddhart too. He felt strangely relaxed too. I know it. I could see it in his face. There was a calmness in his face as he went out, something I had not seen for ages."
I felt my throat tightening. And she went on. "You are the reason that all this could have happened. Thank you. You are the best of friends I have ever had, Dhruv. How could I ever thank you enough for what you've done for us?"
That was all I ever wanted to hear. Infact, that was all I heard. Then all of a sudden the flood of my suppressed feelings broke through. I lost all control, momentarily. "Kavya, I-"
She paused. "Yes Dhruv. You were saying something."
"I need to go Kavya. Could I talk to you later?" I managed.
"Oh. Yeah sure. Why not? But will you please come to lunch today? I insist."
"I'll see to it that I do. Bye," I said and hung up.
I laid back in the welcoming curve of the chair and closed my eyes, wondering what had just happened. I could not believe that I had experienced a crack in my resolve, after all these years. But the instance was over and it had spread a weird feeling through me. Strangely, I wanted to pry the crack open further. Not caring for the consequences, I had a sudden urge to accept my feelings and put them out in the open for her to see. I had a feeling, she needed to know it.
