Birds of a Feather

Chapter 57: Impasse

"Sorry," she mumbled, blinking. "I would love coffee."

Collecting their charts and bidding Sona goodbye, both of them set off towards the cafeteria.

"You know," Ved said slowly, his voice regretful. "I never congratulated you for winning at the awards."

Khushi waved him off. "It's no big deal, it's not like I won a Nobel prize–"

"Still. Congratulations... aside from being jealous that I didn't win, I don't think there is anyone else who deserves the award more than you. And that speech... damn. You truly are an inspiration Khushi, or should I start calling you Dr. Raizada like the rest of the hospital?"

Khushi groaned. "It's all your fault."

"My fault? How?"

"Well, ever since you told Sona that I was married to the trustee, all the nurses think I'm going to get them fired if they aren't extra nice to me."

Ved chuckled. "So what exactly is the complaint here?"

Khushi simply rolled her eyes.

They had reached the cafeteria at this point, so grabbing two coffees –black for him, lots of milk for her– they settled on their favorite table beside the wall-sized windows, overlooking the front side of the hospital.

"So, you were saying?" Ved asked, taking a sip of coffee.

"Don't call me Dr. Raizada."

"Oh, lighten up... people just like to gossip around here. In a few weeks, they will find some other new shiny toy to obsess over."

"I suppose."

Ved took a few deep breaths, as though steeling himself for what he was about to say. Khushi looked at him curiously, waiting.

"I've been thinking a lot about you," he began. "I left you in a very bad place that night you told me about you and Arnav."

Khushi looked at her hands, clasped neatly around her coffee cup. She wasn't expecting him to talk so openly about their argument, assuming that he would just brush everything under the carpet and just go back to his smiling, old self.

It was nice to be wrong. Avoiding conversations never ended up being good.

"I think I reacted more as someone who has feelings for you than someone who is your best friend," Ved continued seriously. "And for that I'm sorry. I had no right to scream at you... or judge you."

"No, you don't have to apologize–"

"But I do," he insisted. "A marriage is a big deal... it's not like dating where if things don't work out, you can just leave. So, I understand where your hesitation is coming from."

"What brought all this on?" Khushi asked, taken aback to hear the maturity in his voice.

Ved shrugged. "I was talking to my mom yesterday –she is staying over for a couple of days– and she was complaining about my dad and it just suddenly hit me.... they argue, they fight, but they will never leave each other."

Khushi couldn't help but recollect her own parents. Wasn't it the same with them? Her father, despite his obstinacy, loved her mother. And her mother too, was no less. Perhaps, all marriages were like that. There was a deep sense of belonging that wasn't always outwardly visible.

"You and Mr. Raizada are the same."

"We are?" she asked, blankly.

He nodded. "He's fiercely protective of you."