Chapter Twenty Three
Second week of September, 2000
It was an official girls' night out, and Dia was determined to make it go as she planned. She was sitting on the couch in Geet's living room, with Vidhi leaning against her legs on the floor. Geet had gone into the kitchen to bring food, and somehow, instead of squeals of laughter and funny games and gossip filling the entire hall, there was only silence. Ananya hadn't come yet, and surprisingly, she was running late. Dia frowned to herself. Ananya was never late for one of their evenings. What was wrong with her friend?
She leaned back and sighed, then nudged Vidhi with her legs. "Why are you so quiet today, nerdy?"
Vidhi jumped as if someone had just woken her up from a deep sleep. "Me? Quiet?"
She snorted. "This evening sucks," she said bitterly, and Vidhi turned to look at her. She wasn't smiling, neither was she happy. Something was up. "It really does," Vidhi said miserably, and then Geet came out, humming that god-awful cheerful tune. She set down a plate of snacks and smiled widely at her friends. Suddenly, Dia's temper went.
"Stop humming that goddamned song, Geet," she snapped. "It's getting on my nerves."
Geet stared at her in surprise, so did Vidhi. They fell silent.
"Someone's grumpy this evening," Geet finally said.
Dia gave her such a cold look that she physically recoiled. Ever since that day in the hospital, when she'd told Dia about her mother, they hadn't had one proper conversation. Dia had wanted to tell everyone, wanted her to share with her best friends, but she'd refused. Now they were standing on opposite ends of the world, and Dia refused to budge or see her point. Geet couldn't possibly tell the others about her mother! There was no point... she was gone, gone for good. A few days earlier, all contact between them had vanished. It was as if her mother had dropped off the face of the earth. She had nothing and no one to say this to, and she didn't even want to. She wasn't used to letting others shoulder her burdens. It was how she was made, how she'd been ever since she was a kid. She couldn't help it.
It was easy for Dia, who had both her parents at least staying with her. And even then, they refused to accept their elder daughter. How could Geet ask for any help, when she knew all her friends had their own respective troubles to face?
"Oh yes, grumpy," Dia said in irritation. "But you are acting all happy and cheerful and merry when this is the worst evening of our life! Own it, Geet, tonight sucks. You know it too."
Geet froze. She'd trusted Dia not to spill her secret to the others, but right now, she wasn't very sure. Dia looked decidedly pissed off by her insistence on secrecy. She hadn't said anything until now, but she knew Dia. If given a chance, she'd share everything with her best friends.
Luckily, the doorbell rang, diverting their attention from her, and she rose hurriedly. "I'll see who it is."
"If it's Ananya, you'd better grill her ass for being late," Dia called after her.
Vidhi stiffened against her legs, feeling suddenly uncomfortable, and Dia bent down to dangle her hands around her friend's shoulder. "What's gotten into you tonight?"
"Nothing," Vidhi brushed her off, "Really. Why do you think so?"
"Come on, Vidhi, I haven't grown up with you to not know when you're tense. What's the deal?"
"It's... well, actually, it's nothing, but..."
Ananya's voice interrupted their talk, and they both looked up to see her entering the house with her trademark, mischievous grin, one arm around Geet's shoulders, and another person at her side.
Dia and Vidhi both felt as if the ground had disappeared.
The other person was Abhay.
"Sorry I'm late, guys, but I wanted to introduce you to someone," Ananya said.
For an awkward moment, silence followed her statement. Then Dia shot to her feet in disbelief, her temper already flying high. "Sorry, but this is a girls' night. No escorts allowed." She looked pointedly at Abhay, who seemed totally unfazed by her comment, but Ananya gasped.
Her smile vanished, and she looked stunned. Then anger filled her dark brown eyes, and she said, "I invited him, Dia, and he's my guest. I'd like you to be at least civil." She looked like she was going to say more, but Abhay caught her arm and stopped her, shaking his head. She pursed her lips, still looking stunned and angry, but didn't say anything. Dia's eyes narrowed at the unspoken understanding between the two.
Abhay turned to the others and said, "I'm sorry if I intruded on your night, but we already called Geet, and she said it was okay if I came. However, I think I've just made it all very awkward, and made myself some pretty dangerous enemies," his eyes twinkled at that. "So... I'll just leave. I hope I didn't spoil anything."
"Wishful thinking," Dia retorted, and his lips twisted into an amused smile.
He didn't answer, but glanced at Ananya and saw her murderous expression. He couldn't help but feel like chuckling. She'd really wanted him to get on with her friends tonight, hadn't she? The idea of calling him over was hers. He hadn't been very keen, but she'd coaxed and forced him to come. She'd said it was in return for his warm, friendly hospitality in Pune, and that since she'd met his mother, it was only fair that he meet her family too. Only, her family was not her parents, but her best friends. Considering how all of them had gotten off on the wrong foot at the party, it was time to mend matters. That was how he'd ended up at Geet's place tonight. Seemed like her plan had backfired.
"Hey," he said to her, so that only she could hear, making her look at him. "Relax. I'll survive. See you in college, wildcat." He winked at her, and for a moment, a dejected look came into her eyes. Then she nodded.
Just as he was about to leave, someone said, "Abhay, wait."
It was Vidhi. Surprised, he turned around. She looked unwilling, skeptical even, but she soon corrected her expression. "None of us mean to be rude or unfriendly. You just took us by surprise, that's it. We'd like very much if you stayed."
"Yeah, and we wouldn't mind if you tried to flirt with any of us again, seriously. We all love you," Dia said in a sarcastic voice. She really hated him, he realized. For some particular reason, she really hated him. He grinned.
"Yeah? Since you're begging so much, I'll stay."
"Wonderful," she said with a fake smile, and he guessed he was supposed to know how she felt about him. But it didn't bother him... he didn't mind the fact that she didn't like him. In fact, it was refreshing to see that not all women wanted to throw themselves at him, and that some like Dia even had the spunk to talk to him rudely to his face, to punch him. He still hadn't forgotten how surprised he'd been that night when Dia had hit him. Secretly, he'd admired her for her strength, along with the fact that she refused to back down in front of anyone.
"No, really," Geet said, interrupting his thoughts, "I never said you shouldn't come, and I don't think Dia's vote counts. She's the least friendly of the lot. Just ignore her, and make yourself comfortable."
Dia scowled at that, and he chuckled.
"Thanks, Geet, but honestly, I really hate pissing Dia off."
"Such a gentleman," Dia said under her breath. They stared at each for a while, neither of them backing down, and then he grinned. Oh, well... he might as well take up the challenge. But before he did so, he had to get away for a while so that the fierce tension enveloping the friends could be reduced.
"I think I forgot dessert in my car. I'll go get it," he said, and escaped out the door before he could be assaulted by arguing voices, as he no doubt knew would erupt as soon as he left. He smiled to himself. Tonight was definitely going to be a different one.
***
As soon as Abhay left, Dia rounded on Ananya with a scowl. "What the hell do you think you're doing, inviting him over to our private nights?" she demanded.
"Geet said it was okay if he came, and I didn't think it would be a problem," Ananya answered coolly.
Dia glowered at Geet for a second before turning back to her. "We don't know him."
"I know that. I just wanted you all to drop your doubtful attitudes regarding him, and see that he isn't a stuck up, good for nothing, rich brat. We've become good friends, and I just wanted him to get acquainted with you all."
"And why exactly does it matter? None of us want to get to know him better. It's not as if he's your boyfriend. Even if he were, I'd rather you kept him to yourself."
Ananya looked angry. "You didn't need to be so rude to him."
"Oh, right. And he didn't need to butt into our lives and kiss Vidhi. Do you even know how awkward it would be to let them both be in the same room after what he did at the party that night?" Dia returned.
"Look, he wanted to apologize. He's not here to make enemies. I thought it would give him a chance to get to know you all better."
Dia looked exasperated. "Why would he want that? And since when did you two become best buddies?"
Ananya released an impatient sigh, and said, "Since I went with him to Pune."
For a long, ominous moment, dead silence fell between them. Dia stared at her friend, disbelief lacing her voice. "You went to Pune with him?"
"Yes. Last weekend," she replied.
"You went to Pune with Abhay Bakshi last weekend, and you didn't even tell us?" Dia said in a skeptical voice. "You could have thought about dropping us a hint, or letting us know. Some best friend you are, Ananya."
Ananya shrugged, still looking annoyed. "If I'd told you, you would all have advised me not to go. And I wanted to go, so I did."
"Then why tell us now? Do just as you please, you don't need our approval anyway. Why even bother making an effort? You could have saved him all this awkwardness." Her voice was bitter, and she couldn't believe that Ananya had gone to Pune with Abhay, and never even said a word about it. One whole week had gone by, but she hadn't even so much as mentioned it. She was suddenly pissed off and irked by the fact that her friends were forgetting how to share things with each other. First Geet, now Ananya. What was wrong with them?!
"Don't you dare make me feel guilty, Dia," Ananya said, "Because at the time, I really did want to keep it a secret. But now I'm here, and I'm telling you that I went with him, and I'm telling you that I want you to be his friend, and get to know him. He isn't all that bad."
"I can't believe you didn't tell us," she said accusingly.
Ananya shrugged. "I'm sorry. Vidhi knew."
Now Dia turned to Vidhi, raising her eyebrows at her, getting more and more annoyed by this hiding of information. "You knew?"
Vidhi partially recoiled at her friend's glower, but shrugged. "Only because I happened to call her last Saturday night, and Abhay answered her phone." She didn't appear angry, or irritated, or even happy. Something was still wrong, Dia thought. There was something that they were missing.
"Well, you could have warned us."
"I didn't think it was my call to share," she said, and looked pointedly at her friend. For a brief moment, a silent, meaningful look lasted between Vidhi and Ananya, and Dia got the impression that something had happened between the two. She frowned.
"What is going on here? What is it with all the secrets? Because I have a horrible feeling right now that each one of you is hiding something from me, from each other. Since when did we keep secrets among ourselves? We shared everything with each other, and now, somehow, none of you want to say what's going on."
Geet stepped forward, surprising everyone with her calm voice. "I think it's just a choice, Dia. Not everything can be shared."
"That wasn't the promise we made to ourselves years ago, Geet," Dia said, going serious and intense. "That wasn't what we thought when we became each other's only pillar of strength."
She didn't answer, and looked away. Just then, the doorbell rang, and Ananya shot a warning look at Dia. "Not one word to him. Don't be rude, Dia, that's all I ask. Just give him a chance to apologize to Vidhi, and think of him as a friend rather than a foe. He honestly means well."
Dia didn't answer, and her friend went to open the door. Then she turned to Vidhi, saw the thoughtful look on her face, and said, "Do you think there's something going on between those two? Ananya sure sounds possessive."
Vidhi sighed. "I don't know, Dia. I don't care anymore. She doesn't like us interfering, and I'd hate to upset whatever plans she has. I just want to live in peace." Saying that, Vidhi moved away. "I'm going into the kitchen to get cold drinks."
As Vidhi disappeared inside, Dia looked after her and frowned once again. What had happened between Vidhi and Ananya? Had they fought? Argued? Whatever it was, it seemed serious. Vidhi had never sounded so resigned before. But tonight, she wasn't herself. Something had happened, but she had no idea what. And it pissed her off. Hell, she thought to herself; this secret keeping was really, really getting on her nerves.