It’s Not Right…but It’s Okay

by Anuj Tiwari

  ‘Thank you. Thank you,’ Charu says, joyous and lively.

  The last time they all went to Hard Rock Cafe was when one of their faculties got nominated for an international fashion show being held in London. It was just a nomination, but it was reason enough for the girls to demand a treat from the nominee.

  ‘But you won’t drink today because I can’t take care of you,’ Neha teases Rashi.

  ‘Guys, I need your attention,’ Neha claps in the air.

  ‘Yes, yes, we are listening,’ Charu and Rashi reply. Angira looks attentive.

  Neha takes a cake out of a box, saying, ‘I got this specially made for our birthday girl.’

  Everyone’s eyes are on the cake. It’s a cake shaped like a penis.

  ‘Oh my god,’ Angira starts laughing uproariously.

  Charu cannot contain herself.

  ‘You made it?’ Angira questions.

  She takes the berry fallen from the cake and eats it.

  ‘Yes, don’t ask about what I went through while baking it. Mom kept on coming into the kitchen. Finally I had to explain what I was doing without showing it to her,’ Neha says while taking out candles from her bag.

  Neha has turned this birthday party into an adult party with a bachelorette cake.

  ‘There’s something more as well,’ Neha warns them.

  Charu says, ‘Show, show, what’s that?’

  ‘Wait…’

  ‘It’s an adult candle that goes with the cake,’ Neha takes a long and thick penis-shaped candle and pushes it gently on top of the cake.

  Everyone is amused.

  ‘Wait, wait, we have one for you as well,’ Rashi takes another one out from Neha’s bag.

  Charu takes the candle and stares at it before waving it at Angira and asking, ‘Do you like this?’

  ‘As I can see you are enjoying it more than I ever will,’ Angira says, throwing a piece of lemon at her.

  ‘Oh yeah, I am,’ Charu is about to take the candle in her mouth.

  Neha stops her. ‘Calm down, calm down. If you want a realistic dong, go get a real dong,’ Neha takes the candle back from her hand.

  ‘Can we all take a selfie with the cake and these candles?’ Charu asks the girls.

  ‘Yeah!’

  ‘Aha!’

  Once the picture is clicked, Charu gets up. ‘Let me get some matchsticks to light these candles.’

  ‘Sit, sit. I have a lighter,’ Neha takes out a lighter from her handbag.

  ‘You have everything in your bag,’ Angira says with a smile.

  They are celebrating the moment by cutting the cake in the hall. Though the amusing cake and candles have taken most of her attention, Angira keeps looking at the card she left on the table. She wants to hide it somewhere. She is pretty sure that Charu must know about the envelope.

  Everyone claps and now the party has officially begun.

  ‘One.’

  ‘Two.’

  ‘Three!’

  Angira cuts the cake and everyone wishes her once again.

  ‘This is for you, Charu,’ Angira takes the head of the penis and puts it into her mouth. Charu eats half of it and smears the rest on Angira’s face.

  Neha and Rashi follow suit, ‘Wish you a very, very happy birthday. Keep smiling. We are blessed to have a friend like you. Love you, babe.’

  Angira’s neck and shoulders are smeared with cake. These childish moments are cherished by them all considering how hectic adult life can get in Mumbai. Once the initial birthday rituals are completed, Angira asks Charu to accompany her to the kitchen.

  ‘Hey Charu, sweetie come to the kitchen. I need your help.’

  ‘Should I come as well?’ Rashi asks and is about to get up.

  ‘No, no, you sit, I’ll just come. She can’t survive without me. I wish she wouldn’t need my help all the time,’ Charu laughs and gets up to go to the kitchen.

  ‘Who kept this under my pillow?’ Angira asks her in a low voice.

  ‘Oh yes, I was about to inform you. I got this in a courier this evening from the security guard. And there is a letter in your drawer as well.’

  ‘Do you know where this letter came from?’ Angira enquires.

  ‘No. Someone may have sent it to you to give you a surprise. Chill! Let’s go,’ Charu says.

  She takes four glasses and a plate of salted peanuts, and goes to the hall.

  Angira finally reads the card. It says:

  Everything has a reason, I do believe this.

  But meeting you without any reason

  has given me all the reasons to be with you.

  Wish you a very happy birthday.

  Angira knows who has written this card. There can be no other person except Ved. She wants to call him and express her gratitude for this kind gesture but everyone is waiting for her, so she writes to him on WhatsApp.

  Thanks for the card and wishes,

  So sweet of you.

  You are welcome.

  Enjoy your birthday.

  ‘Hey, keep the phone aside,’ Neha snatches Angira’s phone and puts it away. Neha pours vodka and strawberry juice in an equal ratio in all four glasses, and a little more in her and Charu’s glass.

  ‘Hey, I won’t have the drink. I’ll just have orange juice,’ Angira says, showing her displeasure at the sight of vodka.

  ‘It is just vodka with strawberry juice, you can have it. It’s your birthday, take this,’ Neha offers her a glass.

  She takes the glass and waits for the others to say cheers.

  ‘Cheers to Angira!’ Charu shouts, raising her glass.

  ‘Cheers!’

  ‘Cheers!’

  ‘Cheers!’

  They sit comfortably on the floor having finished a few rounds of drinks within fifteen minutes.

  Charu smiles looking at everyone and nods, saying, ‘Now may we all request Angira to come on the dance floor because the party tonight demands that she dance for us.’

  They all dance and party hard until they are tired. Then they sleep wherever they get a place in the hall.

  A cold chill runs through Angira’s calves as they all sleep on the sofa, while Charu passes out on the floor. The apartment is messy thanks to the party the night before. There is a knock on the door and Angira wakes up terrified, knowing that having late night parties in their building is not allowed. Thankfully, it is the garbage collector at the door. Once she has given him the garbage, she goes back into the hall.

  ‘Charu, get up,’ Angira pushes her a bit.

  Angira sits on the chair and drinks water from a bottle which is on the dining table. She is hungover. She takes a few more sips. She replies to the birthday messages she received last night. Once she has dragged everyone to the bedrooms and put them off to sleep, she cleans the apartment. When the chores have been taken care of, she goes to the bathroom only to find a card next to her toothbrush. She easily guesses that it is the second card from Ved.

  It says:

  Sometimes, I act indifferently to get your attention,

  You take all my worries and pain away, and fill my days with joy.

  I feel good taking suggestions from you not because

  I can’t make decisions alone but because,

  you complete me.

  I hope you had a great night and birthday.

  She washes her face and walks to the hall after reading the card again. She walks to her room and looks around on her bed for another card. The search is futile. She wanders to the kitchen hoping to make coffee for her friends, knowing it will help with the hangover. It is under the coffee jar that she finds another card. She excitedly opens it.

  When I am about to say something,

  You reach out to me at that very moment.

  It has happened several times in the last sixty-seven days,

  twenty-two hours and thirty minutes,

  and it’s not magic.

  It’s because we’re on the same wavelength.

  P.S. Now don’t validate the time ;
) It’s an approximation.

  She goes back to her room and starts checking everything, leaving the coffee jar and the pan on the stove unattended. She checks everything, from her handbag to the cupboard. It is then that she finds one more envelope in her handbag.

  Gosh! How many are there? She doesn’t read the card but goes on checking the whole room and then the hall. She wants to find every card before the others wake up, but she doesn’t find any more. She reads the one she got:

  I am not being cheesy, but it’s hard to sleep without listening to your voice.

  It doesn’t matter if I try to fight against my will, because I still find all the reasons

  To call you in the middle of the night just to listen to you.

  Now Angira is feeling nostalgic about the moments they shared just in sixty-seven or sixty-eight days. She is in seventh heaven, and feels so happy and pampered with these cards with lovely messages written in them. Ved can be so creative. She never expected this of him given his busy schedule. However, he made it all possible. She smiles. She suddenly remembers that Charu said yesterday that there was a letter which came with these cards and it’s in her drawer. She goes to her room and finds the letter but last line says:

  Please throw the other paper just to keep the surprise a surprise. Please :)

  Angira feels like waking Charu up and asking her for the other letter, but she is still sleeping. Angira checks the dustbin and then realizes that she has given it to the garbage collector.

  ‘Shit! Now what do I do?’

  Angira is super charged to find all the cards. She runs to the hall and pokes her head out to check if she can spot the garbage collector downstairs.

  Oh, this is madness! Are there any more? she wonders.

  Arjun’s words, about a bad past having little relevance in her happy future, come back to her. She smiles knowing Ved is around her and has become her best friend. She calls him to enquire about the fifth card.

  ‘Thank you so much! You actually gave me goosebumps. But I hope you’re not in love with me,’ Angira thanks him and cracks a joke.

  ‘Oh, is it? I just tried to make your birthday special and I am happy. Hope you’re not missing home much now.’

  ‘Yes, you did it. You deserve ten on ten for the effort.’

  ‘So you got all the cards?’ Ved asks nonchalantly, trying to find out if she has gotten all the cards or not.

  He planned everything meticulously and hopes Charu can manage to help him execute his creative plan exactly the way he envisioned it.

  ‘Yes, I got four cards,’ Angira says, having kept all four of them in an envelope.

  ‘You got only four?’ he asks.

  He wants her to read the fifth and last card which he considers to be the most special.

  ‘Where is the fifth one?’ she asks.

  ‘It’s there on the bed but at the foot of the bed.’

  ‘Why did you keep it there?’ Angira asks, shaking her head in disbelief.

  ‘Because by the time you wake up in the morning, your head is near the foot of the bed,’ he laughs.

  ‘Smart…’ Angira says over the call while turning the bed sheet and pulling up the corners of the mattress. Ved knows her so well and talking to her for long hours has helped him plan the surprise well.

  ‘I checked everywhere on the bed, it’s nowhere,’ she checks her room one more time but she doesn’t find it.

  ‘Okay, leave it. I must have forgotten to give the last one,’ Ved says, still wondering if he forgot to give the card to Charu.

  ‘There are only four,’ he lies knowing he will have to tell Angira about the fifth card if she does not find it. It will entail Ved confessing his love for her over the telephone, something he hopes to avoid.

  ‘Ved, thank you so much! But you need to promise me something.’

  ‘What?’

  ‘You are the one I trust the most now. You helped me in every way. Never leave me and be my best friend forever,’ she sounds poignant and emotional.

  ‘I am always there for you. You just need to stop criticizing me when I play badly on the ground,’ he laughs and tries to make her smile so she does not get too emotional since she is missing home.

  Sometimes things don’t go as planned. Ved wanted to propose to her today in his way and things turned upside down. However, Ved has not panicked. Maybe today was not the day. He knows there is always a tomorrow awaiting him. More importantly, he is happy to have her in his life.

  The Final Card

  It’s been more than a week and Ved has not heard from Angira about the fifth card. Either the card was not in the envelope that was given to Charu or Charu must have misplaced it. Sitting alone at home, he thinks about Angira. He is hoping to meet her in the evening. Suddenly, his cellphone vibrates. It’s Angira on WhatsApp.

  Hey, what’s up?

  Hey! Hi.

  He wonders if she has received the card but decides not to ask her about it. He thinks for a moment. How can I be so silly? If I love her I should tell her. Why the hell am I playing this game?

  What’s up?

  Just came back from jogging,

  Just relaxing on this lazy Saturday morning.

  What about you?

  Nothing, I am getting bored.

  Charu has some project.

  So she is in Delhi for two weeks.

  I want to go too :(

  Oh! That’s sad.

  No worries, enjoy your time.

  Go shopping ;)

  What are you doing?

  Come home if you have time in the evening.

  Ved pauses to think.

  Are you inviting me?

  No, I am getting bored so need your company.

  I suggest you use your brains on the football pitch and not here.

  Okay, okay. At what time?

  Let’s have dinner together.

  I will cook something.

  Oh my god! A Delhi Punjabi girl knows cooking.

  Am I dreaming? Someone pinch me.

  Ved, I know how to cook, okay.

  Moreover, I have gotten better at cooking after coming to Mumbai.

  I’ll let you know when to leave.

  Sure.

  See you.

  Need to finish some work.

  Ved and Angira have always met each other for dinners and outings in the city. However, this is the first time they will meet at her apartment. He wants to make the night special and sees this as an opportunity to express his love for her. He starts getting ready and once he is in front of his cupboard, his hands automatically go to the white shirt he feels is lucky for him. After trying different combinations of outfits, Ved goes for his old favourite combination—blue and white. Ved reaches her place by 8 p.m.

  ‘Hello Mr Ved Gulati, welcome home,’ Angira lets him in.

  Ved sits on the sofa in the hall.

  ‘What happened? What are you thinking?’ she asks, wiping her face. She is looking fresh.

  ‘Nothing, just a little thirsty,’ he says in an effort to hide his nervousness.

  She gets a water bottle for him from the kitchen. He utilizes the time to check himself on the screen of his phone.

  Angira gives him the bottle and asks, ‘You want to freshen up?’

  Ved looks tired. He gulps down more than half of the bottle in one go. Angira smiles inside thinking all athletes are the same— fast but not furious, and forever energetic.

  ‘Yeah, where is the washroom? I’ll wash my face. It’s humid outside,’ Ved asks her while getting up and then looking outside from the window.

  He can see children playing and the elderly walking in the garden. Angira shows him the way to the washroom. After Ved washes his face, he comes out of the washroom.

  ‘Do you want a towel?’ she asks him, going in her room.

  ‘No, I have a handkerchief,’ he responds, wiping his face with the small piece of cloth.

  Ved goes to the extreme corner of the apartment near the window and looks outside, by whi
ch time Angira comes into the hall, holding a card in her hand. Before Ved is able to recognize it Angira shows him the card and asks, ‘Was this the last card, Ved?’

  They both are standing at the extreme corners of the room. Ved doesn’t respond to her. He didn’t expect this to happen. He pauses to think. There is such a sense of uncertainty in the air. He nods without saying anything. In this moment Angira looks gorgeous, more beautiful than ever.

  ‘You could have told me this. Were you scared?’ There is a sense of uncontainable happiness on her face.

  ‘It’s never too late. I can say it now,’ Ved smiles and continues, ‘I love you, not just because you are beautiful but because you make me happy when I am with you.’

  She just smiles listening to him, standing in the corner. She hasn’t moved a step closer to him. Ved takes the initiative. He walks to her. She looks calm, but there is an uncertainty in her eyes. Ved breathes in her scent and takes her soft hand in his own.

  ‘What happened?’ she asks.

  ‘Nothing, I like looking at you…’ he smiles.

  He touches her lips with his thumb and then her lips start quivering. He comes closer and can feel the warmth of her breath on his lips. He kisses her softly. There is no hesitation between them. Love takes its own course. No planning ever works in this sphere. Knowing this, he holds her tightly in his arms. Neither of them wants this moment to end. Fearing that if they blink the moment will end, they hold on to each other.

  ‘I love you too,’ Angira says looking into his eyes.

  ‘I didn’t say yet…’ Ved gazes at her.

  ‘Well, you already said those words to me last week in this card,’ she grins, showing him the card.

  ‘I love you,’ he says kissing her hands.

  ‘C’mon let’s have some food, you must be hungry,’ Angira releases him from her grip.

  ‘I am not hungry,’ he refuses to release her.

  ‘You didn’t eat anything. Let’s eat something. I cooked for you,’ she pushes him softly.

  ‘Just two minutes, I am feeling good.’

  They hug each other a little more firmly this time.