11: Bus-guy lore
Vani gets an unwelcome reminder of a painful past. Dhriti tries to figure out everything happening in her life, while Ahana continues to wrestle her in-laws.

"It's nice to meet you," Vani smiled at him, her heart racing.

I don't think she remembers me. Why would she? We hadn't even talked that day. Had she even seen my face? Whatever. Just play it cool.

"Same, it's so cool meeting all of you, as in all Karan's childhood friends. Mad respect!" Vani laughed, but not like how she always laughed- loudly, which Karan thought was weird. She also kept her palm in front of her face as she laughed, which was 'weirder' for Karan.

Why is she acting like this? Are these people going to do something crazy?

Karan noticed Dhriti and Ritwik giving each other a high five and his worries increased.

"Uh...you guys continue, I'll be back" he murmured hastily and left, increasing Vani and Manav's nervousness but they maintained their composure, not wanting to mess up the conversation.

"So what do you do? I mean, what work do you do?" Manav asked.

"Oh. I am a lawyer," she said.

"Oh, a black coat. Remind me to never ever argue with you," he said, and she smiled.

"You won't even get a chance to start an argument with me" she said, and he nodded.

"Noted,"

There was a short awkward silence between the two, but Vani quickly put an end to it.

"Soo, what college did you study in? COEP?" She asked and he shook his head negatively.

"Oh no, I went to college of engineering, Badnera. I am actually not from Pune, I moved here recently. I'm from Nagpur," he said, and she nodded.

"Oh, I see. Where do you live?"

"I live on Law College Road, I got an apartment on rent from some acquaintance of my parents," he said.

"Oh wait, Law college road? If you don't mind me asking, do you cook?" She asked and he raised his eyebrow.

"Wow, I can almost understand how you have been friends with Karan for so long," he joked and she laughed.

Thank God she laughed.

"My kaku has started a tiffin service in that area, it's new and she doesn't really have customers, so..."

"Oh well, I do cook but thanks for letting me know. I would love some homemade food when I'm lazy or sick," he said and she nodded.

"Give me your number, I'll send you my Kaku's number so you could order from her" she said and he nodded, as the duo exchanged numbers.

-

Vani wasn't an introvert, but she also wasn't a social animal. She stood in the corner of the living room, close to the kitchen as she sipped on a guava mojito. Tara spotted her and went to her.

"Vani, I have a question,"

"Bol na," (Yeah, say)

"You told me that you had not seen bus guy's face, so how did you know Manav was the bus guy?"

"I was wrong, I had seen bus guy's face!"

"Wait- what?"

"When I was on the bus, I had seen Manav, he was sitting in the same row as me. When I got down and he helped me, I didn't see his face, but I heard his voice, right?" Tara nodded, indicating Vani to go on.

"When I heard his voice on the call this morning, I was ninety percent sure that this voice is the same as bus guy's voice! And when I saw him tonight, chatting with you and Karan, it was as if I went back in my memory for some moments and that's when I realised that even if I did not see the person who helped me's face, I did see his shirt and it was the same shirt Manav was wearing that day, I just didn't realise it then," Vani ended her explanation and Tara nodded.

"Oh I see, if you would have put in that amount of time to think about the incident that day- you would have figured it out sooner,"

"Yes, exactly. But I didn't"

"Good for you, you can now thank him,"

"Yes, I can" Vani said, softly smiling as her eyes searched for Manav. There he was, conversing with some people she didn't know, laughing and looking like he was having the time of his life.

-

The party was over and the only ones remaining at Karan's place were Tara, Dhriti, Raghav, Vani and Manav. Everyone was sitting comfortably on the sofa, sitting in silence while they indulged in conversation every now and then.

"I should leave," Manav declared but did not get up.

"You should stay, you're the only guy here besides me," Raghav said.

"Excuse me?" Karan said and Manav nodded.

"Okay, give me a lift when you leave" Raghav showed a 'thumbs up' to Manav.

Vani was astounded at the level of comfort between the two people who had just met. Perhaps it was Manav's personality, or it was just how guys worked. Just for the sake of her little crush, she wanted the truth to be the first alternative.

Karan was brutally ignored by his childhood friend and coworker as the two discussed tennis. Karan was not really a huge fan of the game. His knowledge was limited to all the celebrities who'd attend games, dressed up in sophisticated clothes, which Karan found boring and pretentious.

He leaned back, relaxing. His eyes landed on Vani, who was sitting beside him. He could clearly understand that she was continuously glancing at Manav from the corner of her eye. What the fuck?

"Vani, I'm bored. Talk to me,"

"Why are you so childish?" She made a weird face, turning to look at him. Karan could clearly notice her flushed facial expressions.

"Oh come on, everyone has something going on, except me- the host of this party,"

"What, you have FOMO?"

"What disorder is that?" He asked, making a goofy face.

"It's not a disorder, dumbass. It's a feeling. Fear of missing out,"

"Shut up, this is not a fear of missing out- it is rather an effort to reduce this awkwardness of not talking to anyone at my own party," he said.

"I think it is included in FOMO" Vani insisted, looking thoughtful.

"Goodness, can you just talk to me?"

"I am talking to you, Karan!"

"No, I mean I don't want to talk about FOMO or whatever,"

"Then what do you want to talk about? Ta, nevermind, tell me" Vani tried to cover up her slip of tongue as she was about to take Tara's name. Karan raised eyebrow, getting suspicious.

"What did you say?"

"I just asked you what you wanted to talk about," she said and Karan nodded, unconvinced but as he had a slight understanding of the subject, he chose to not indulge or elaborate ahead on the topic.

"I don't know," he said, and she rolled her eyes.

"How are you so stupid?"

-

Dhriti sat in her car. Her house was a fifteen-minute drive from Karan's house. The party was nice, and she enjoyed it but something had happened, which had completely confused her.

A job offer. But why would a job offer confuse Dhriti? As she navigated her way on the streets of Pune, her bewilderment grew.

I quit my job, and now I have a GREAT job offer then why am I hesitant? It's not like me to want to sit back and relax WITHOUT future plans. What is wrong with me?

Dhriti mindlessly reached back home. She did not even realise when she unlocked the doors, went in, changed her clothes and freshened up. She threw herself in bed, wanting to sleep soundly after the insomniac nights she had in the past few days.

-

(next morning)

Ahana got up unwillingly, not ready to face a MONDAY after having a blast the previous night. Yash, who had just entered the room to wake her up, smiled at her lovingly. Sleepy Ahana saw his smile, and instantly smiled back at him.

"Rise and shine, sunshine," he said, pressing a kiss on her forehead, wrapping his arms around her. She instantly melted in his arms, snuggling to him.

"So, how was last night?" Yash asked.

"Oh, we had fun, you missed it" she mumbled.

"I did, I really did,"

"Where are you two going?"

"Uh...our friend's house. He recently bought a house so he's keeping a party,"

"Tum log ghar mein khaana nahi khaate kya? Kal bhi iske dost ke waha match dekhne gaye, aaj bhi kahi aur jaa rahe ho, iss rasoi mein kuch banta hai?" (Do you even have food at your house? Yesterday you went to her friend's house to watch the match, and you are going today also. Do you ever cook anything in this house's kitchen?)

"Maa, abb kya karein...Karan ne ghar liya hai toh jaana padega na, acha nahi lagta!" (Mom, what can we do? Karan has bought a house then we'll have to go, it does not feel right otherwise) Yash reasoned.

"Mummy ji, we'll be back soon, it is a ten minute drive from here. It is the same apartment where we went yesterday." Ahana said hurriedly, but regretted instantly.

"You are going back to her friend's house?" she asked.

"Two of her friends have their houses in the same apartment, Maa. So, yeah...we are going to the other one's house,"

"Abhi abhi shaadi hui hai and you are already favouring her people over us? We have just arrived and yet you go to her, her friends for two days?" his mom asked and Yash sighed, he new he was not winning the argument.

"Uh...Ahana you should go, I'll stay back" he offered, disappointing Ahana who just nodded and left without even saying a 'bye.'

"You know Yash, the party did not have even one minute hiccup yesterday, so well organised!" she said.

"Really? Did you go to Karan's party or some other party?" he asked and she giggled.

"Tara had taken the reigns with Karan and Vani as her helpers"

"Poor them,"

The two laughed heartily. It was a good start to the day.

"Karan was pissed at you, though" she said and Yash sighed loudly.

"I'll just make it up to him on our monthly game nights." he said.

"Monthly game nights? What, you guys started last month or something?" Ahana asked, looking up at him. An awkward expression flashed on his face for a second which she did not notice.

"Yeah, sort of" he laughed weirdly.

"I see"

-

Dhriti had started an online Yoga class, so her day started with Yoga now. She found the instructor good as she gave accurate instructions which left no room for confusion. The session was to be concluded by a meditation session.

As she sat on her yoga mat, legs crossed, hands in a mudra (joining the thumbs and the pointer fingers while leaving the other three fingers open), she went down the memory lane, relieving the past few weeks.

Her rash decision of resigning, her going on a spontaneous trip to Mahabaleshwar without telling anyone, completely forgetting about her career, her future plans and going on dates with Aditya...everything was so out of character of her.

The change was so sudden, and yet it felt like her truest self.

Her trance was broken by the harsh sound of her mobile ringing.

"Rise and shine, idiot" she heard her friend's voice.

"Good morning to you too, Raghav. Did you reach at the airport?"

"Yes, I just wanted to tell you that consider the offer like you would consider any other job offer, I will not bother you at all- you could put me in the pros list because I can be easy to negotiate with. But yeah, just think about it in a professional manner. I hope you'll give me an answer by the time I reach San Jose" he said in one go and Dhriti listened to him, calmly.

"Don't worry, you'll have an answer by then. Bon Voyage, Raghav"

Dhriti was listening to Ahana talk about her favourite luxury brands, and the discussion had gotten pretty monotonous and boring as she did not get a chance to talk at all. Ahana went on and on about the latest happenings of the fashion industry and how deeply she was affected by it. She was in a classic Ahana situation.

And then, like her knight in a shining armour, Raghav- dressed in a plain blue t-shirt and black track pants rescued Dhriti.

"Dhriti, I gotta talk to you. Alone" he said and Ahana nodded, going to Vani and Tara.

"I know you guys hate whenever I talk business in our get-togethers, but I have to say this today because I wanted to talk face to face aand I am leaving for the States tomorrow" he started.

"Tomorrow? You just came back from Dubai! Your schedule is so fucked up at this point, what are you even thinking?" She asked.

"Oh my God, calm down. Just listen" he said, holding her by the shoulders.

"Okay fine"

"I bought a construction firm last year and I have started the planning for the first project and everything, I would love it if you take the job" he explained and Dhriti looked at him, surprised.

"Look, as a friend I have always known that you're smart, hardworking and determined, but I went through your Linkedin and your work is good, Dhriti."

"Wow, thanks Raghav, but..."

"No wait, before you answer, I want to tell you that if you come to interview, the job is ninety nine percent yours, unless I find someone way better than you"

"No, I don't want you to play favourites"

"I won't be, I am going to interview like five people. Are you telling me that you can't be the best in like five people?"

"Oh, alright,"

"So?" Raghav asked hopefully and Dhriti looked at him. Somehow, she could not open her mouth and just say 'yes'.

'Go for it, Dhriti. Say yes'

"I-I'll let you know, Raghav"

"That's cool"

-

Tara, Karan and Vani were tired due to the party and the hectic pre-party preparations. They had decided to order in breakfast before they left for work. Karan was done serving the thaalipeeth(s) they had ordered. While Karan and Tara indulged in a conversation about various things, Vani was scrolling Instagram.

"Vani, can you keep your phone aside and talk to us?" Tara asked, annoyed.

"Hm, what do you want to talk?" she said, without looking away from the phone.

"Aren't you going to say something?" Tara asked, glaring at Karan.

"What can I say? She does not listen to me anymore!" he grumbled.

Vani got up, completely ignoring her whiny friends. Just as she reached out to the doorknob of the washroom, her phone rung. She picked it at the first ring, completely forgetting about the past three months of her life. It was Sahil- her former boyfriend.

"Vani...um hey, you you received the call" he said, awkwardly and Vani shut her eyes in embarrasment.

"Uh...I thought you might have some work,"

"Oh...uh I'm sorry, I called you by mistake, sorry for troubling you,"

Vani felt her heart shatter all over again.

"Oh...kay" Vani's voice cracked, and unfortunately she could not hide it.

"Yeah, goodbye Sahil" she said hastily, not wanting to listen to his voice. Tara and Karan heard the door slam shut loudly as Vani went in, bursting into tears.