X-Men

When Pihu had called Chanderi in a panic, she had cancelled two appointments and suggested they watch their favourite cartoon and eat icecreams, like they used to do when they were younger.

They were sitting on Pihu’s bed, icecreams in hand as they watched X-Men that had been illegally downloaded by Prachal as a gift for his soon to be wife. It was a show the two had bonded over while still in school.

It had been three hours since that phone call. It was 4 PM and Pihu had still not told Chanderi why she had called her in the first place.

Chanderi had tried to be supportive but when Pihu dodged her question for the fifth time, she realised she would need to bring in the big guns.

She said casually, scraping the bottom of her icecream cup, “Aunty seems a bit frazzled.”

Pihu jerked where she was sitting. The way she was staring at the screen, it was like she was trying to memorise it for an important test. She said, “She’s okay. Just lots to do and only two months left until D-Day.”

Chanderi nodded despite knowing it was a lie. They had hired a wedding planner who had been doing most of the running around. “Pihu, why did you call me here?”

Pihu looked at her and then looked away. She said, “We have barely spoken since Prachal and I got engaged. I don’t like it. I know you’re busy with your clients and I…I’m not working so I’m free most of the time. But…”

Chanderi moved next to Pihu and held her arm, silently asking her to keep going.

“What if we drift apart. Things change after marriage. What if we don’t have time for each other. What if…I don’t even know how things are progressing with you and Chiranjeev. Or even if they are progressing. There was a time I would have known everything but today, mummy asked me how you were and I…I didn’t have an answer. I hate it, I hate myself for…”

“Forgetting about me,” she said quietly.

“Yes,” she whispered, just as quietly.

There were many things she could have said to that but Chanderi chose to tell the truth. “You can’t take all the blame here Pihu. Some of it lies with me too. I didn’t reach out either. Friendships go both ways. I’m not mad, by the way. Important things are happening in your life. You’re bound to be busy.”

Pihu took hold of Chanderi’s hand. “Promise me we’ll do better? We have been friends since we were 5 Chand, 5! Just because there are boys now, are we really going to forget about each other?”

She smiled and plunged in without preamble. “We’re dating. Chiranjeev and I. It’s been…everything you told me about how you felt with Prachal? It makes sense now. I am happy. And I’m finally getting what I had been missing…I’m being serenaded. I love it, Pihu.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

There was a long pause. It wasn’t that Chanderi didn’t want to answer. It was like she didn’t know how or where to begin. “I think…I think I wanted to protect it. It’s still so new. We only just told each other we’re dating. We haven’t even said anything else, what our plan is or where we’re going with this dating business.”

Pihu nodded her head several times. She said, “You know what we need? We need a slumber party, some wine and cheese and of course pizza. You’re going to tell me everything and we’re going to catch up like the good students we are.”

*

Chiranjeev didn’t know how to distract himself from the message he had received that morning from Chanderi, cancelling their second date so she could spend time with Pihu. He knew they were friends but this was his time and they were watching X-Men.

He had never even heard of it, which was just plain wrong. He sighed, opening Google to figure out what or who was X-Men. It sounded like a disease? Though he didn’t think Chanderi would be excited about a disease.

When he realised they were comic book characters, he got intrigued and went down a Wikipedia hole, emerging only when Seema didi nudged his shoulder, then pinched his cheek.

He yelped, rubbing his cheek. “What?”

“What, what? You look like a lost puppy. Is Chanderi not responding to you?”

His cheeks turned warm but he hated how shrewdly Seema didi was watching him. She chuckled.

“I take it things are going well with you?”

At the besotted look on his face, she groaned. “Oh no, you look even more of an idiot than you looked on your wedding day. What has that woman done to you now?”

He giggled. “I think I’m in love, Seema didi.”

He got up and pulled her from her chair. He twirled her around, laughing even more at her eye roll.

“Good god please someone sedate him! He has gone mad.”

“Hush now and dance with me otherwise I won’t answer any of your questions.”

Seema didi’s nostrils flared in annoyance but she kept quiet, letting him twirl her around. After all, she had not expected him to declare he was in love. Now, she needed to know everything. And if that meant tolerating his over enthusiasm, so be it.

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Chapter 24 of 26 of the ongoing series Chanderi. You can read all posts here. Written as part of #BlogchatterA2Z.