Fernweh

Chapter 2

It was two weeks before their trip. A new text from Parker.

Have you all shopped for our trip? Where are you guys?

Nikki and Riana were together at a cafe in Kodaikanal ( a hill station in South India). They were discussing the itinerary when they got the message. Riana asked, " Shopping, for what?".

Nikki texted,

@Parker Is it necessary? Riana and I are at home.

Parker texted back,

What are you planning to wear during our trip? Hoodies and pants? No way. Start packing we're going shopping in Bangalore in two days.

"What's wrong with pants and hoodies?", Riana nearly shouted even though they were only texting. Realizing that they needed to get together to discuss the itinerary, she decided to go. Nikki was just staring into the background looking lost in thought. Sensing Riana watching her, she said, "Let's pack."

Two days flew by.

They were on their way to Bangalore ( a city in South India). Nikki was driving her new blue Infiniti singing to 'Forgiveness' by Enrique Igleasis while Riana was dozing in the passenger side. They reached Parker's guest house. It was an elegant house with trees lining the entrance and a beautiful fountain facing the porch. Riana woke up as Nikki parked the car and was met by a brown terrier licking her legs. "Max", she exclaimed picking up the dog and asked it," Where is Cruella?", when Parker walked into the garage in her shorts and t-shirt looking like a model. "Max, get away from that nasty mouth.", she said smiling and hugged Niki before she hugged Riana.

They were all sprawled across the couches when Melanie strutted inside, her hair in a high pony, wearing a floral dress. "What's up lazies?", she announced herself. "About time", Riana commented. "Have you put your phone in the basket?", Parker asked getting up. "How could I forget?", she said in a sad voice. Though Parker was constantly on social media and surrounded by the press, she stuck by the rules she made. One such rule was that no phones were allowed in her house beyond the foyer, and the only communication was an old-fashioned telephone.

They all moved to the back lawn and talked about anything and everything. The caretakers had done a wonderful job with the lawn, with the bushes cut to precision. "So, what's the plan for tomorrow?", Melanie asked sipping her juice. "Let's go to the mall as it would contain all kinds of clothing so that we can get an idea, and then later decide", Parker replied with the coffee mug in her hand. Riana looked at Nikki with a bewildered expression. Nikki was certain it was because of Parker's reply. It was Parker's nature. She was incredibly picky when it came to her wardrobe.

They had an early dinner and retired to their rooms. Dinner was light but they ate heartily, chatting away. Nikki realized that even though they had talked the whole evening they never ran out of things to talk about. Nikki went straight to bed followed her nightly routine and fell asleep as soon as her head hit the bed.

The next morning, Melanie woke up to a large clattering sound. She got up, a bit panicked and walked towards the door when she realized the sound came from the bathroom attached to her room. She opened the door cautiously only to find Parker in a bun, trying out different alarm sounds with the alarm clock. The bathroom was common to both rooms. Parker had liked the idea of combined bathrooms, claiming that it would be fun. "Why?", Melanie drawled, and as she turned, she heard a wailing sound, which made her furious. She turned around in an instant, to see Parker smiling cheekily at her. " You will pay for this", Melanie muttered under her breath as she walked back to her room.

Nikki was at the table writing something in her notebook when Riana came downstairs. She had her hair half down and the other up in a loose pony. The hair kept nagging at her face, she kept flicking it away. "It wouldn't hurt to clip your hair", Melanie said in a crisp voice as she descended the stairs. "Someone's in a bad mood today", Nikki replied looking up from the notebook.