Part~27
That night had been especially awkward for Priya. Ram could detect the sudden changes, but he just shrug it off.
Priya tied her hair up into a neat bun, after changing into her night gown. She knew Ram didn't like anyone's hair on him, and she didn't want to make the following morning awkward so she pretty much wanted to get over this night and never have it mentioned again. It didn't strike her that she was going to have to share a bed with Ram until they left back for Mumbai. Priya almost begun to wish that she never even came to Boston now.
Ram had no idea what was going on with Priya. He realized that this situation was a little weird but Priya was definitely overreacting. There had been far more situations in these 10 years with her that were more awkward but Priya never reacted a bit to any of them. He just came to the conclusion that she was nervous over Khushi and this was just the outcome.
'Tum theek ho?' Ram asked Priya before slipping into bed. Priya was sitting stiff on the couch, clearly nervous.
'Haan'. Priya mumbled.
'Kya hua tumhe?' Ram raised an eyebrow.
'Kuch nahi'. Priya muttered.
'Kal ke liye nervous ho?' Ram inquired.
'Nahi'.
'Tum itni ajeeb tareeke se kyun behave kar rahi ho? Matlab...tum kya comfortable nahi ho yahan mere saath?' Ram asked.
'Aisa kuch nahi hai'. Priya confirmed.
'Toh baat kya hai?' Ram asked. 'Aise bohot si situations aaye hain Priya jahan hum dono ko...ko ek saath hona pada lekin tumne kabhi bhi aise react nahi ki. Kuch hai...jo tum bataana chaahti ho mujhe?'
Priya knew her odd behavior was because of the odd feelings she had been going through with Ram, but she wasn't going to bring herself down and tell him that. Instead, she got this sick and spontaneous idea of pinning this on him.
'Yeh sab kuch aapki wajah se ho raha hai'. Priya bluntly said.
'Meine kya kiya hai?' Ram asked.
'Jab se aapne mujhe bataaya ki aap mujhse pyaar karte the tab se mujhe bohot ajeeb lag raha hai'. Priya said, not thinking at all as to what she was saying. 'Iss liye mein itni uneasy feel kar rahi hoon aapke saath'.
So this was the problem...Ram should've known. He thought Priya had decided to be mature about this and she had put this behind her, deciding to walk right past it but he was totally wrong. She was still stuck on this page.
'Mein tumse pyaar-vyaar nahi karta, alright? Yaar agar kissi ko awkward lagna chahiye toh it should be me kyunki pyaar MEIN tumse karta tha! Aur kissi ko bhi aisi situation mein awkward hi lagega, lekin I'm not feeling awkward! I really do not love you that way, get that out of your head. I love you as a friend and that's just it!'
Priya didn't know what to say. She just blankly stared at Ram, blinking away. Ram was annoyed now, with her behavior and with this silent treatment.
'So ab tum decide kar lo. Tumhe zameen pe sona hai ya bistar pe?' Ram questioned her, knowing what her response will be.
Priya didn't reply. She tugged uneasily on her blue flowery nightgown, and quietly slipped into bed after creating a perfect line of pillows down the middle of the bed.
'Oh my god'. Ram muttered. 'Sach mein tum iss maamle ko lekar kuch zyaada hi overreact kar rahi ho'.
'Ram mujhe aapke uppar sone mein koi interest nahi hai'. Priya snapped. 'These pillows will prevent that'.
'Pagal ho gayi ho tum'. Ram yelled.
'Haan ho gayi hoon mein pagal'. Priya mumbled to herself.
'Kya kaha?' Ram raised an eyebrow.
'Kuch nahi. Goodnight'. Priya turned her back towards him, praying on to her dear life Ram would just leave the conversation at that.
Much to Priya's delight, Ram didn't try to stretch the conversation any further and left it at that. He slipped into bed a while after she did, and Priya instantly got the shivers. She wasn't unusually close to him or anything, she hugged him almost everyday so sleeping beside him...that too with a built in wall with pillows between them shouldn't be a problem for her.
Ram sighed loudly, wondering if Priya would react at all. Her back was still facing him, so he had no idea whether or not as to if she was awake or really asleep. He didn't want to lean over and check if she was sleeping or not because if she awake and found him peeking at her, she'd freak and would never speak to him for several weeks.
Coming to the surprisingly disappointing conclusion that Priya was asleep, Ram turned off the night lamp and drifted off to sleep.
The next morning:
Priya had woken up before Ram. Initially she was a little shocked finding herself sharing a bed with Ram, but last night came back to her and she let out a sigh of relief.
The line of pillows that Priya had arranged to separate the two was still in place, and they were each on their own sides. Neither of them had crossed the line, and Priya felt a little bit easier today.
-xxx-
Ram woke up around an hour later, and was kind of surprised. Priya was roaming around the hotel room with jeans and a shirt. He was so used to seeing her in a salwar suit or kurtis, but seeing her in navy blue skinny jeans and a loose pink shirt, topped with a flowery pink scarf...was extremely different. Ram could tell Priya had put in the extra effort to look good. He had noticed she straightened her hair- usually it leaped down the side of her shoulder in gorgeous beach waved curls. Her face had a certain glow embedded into it, and Ram found her looking absolutely stunning.
Priya had no idea that Ram was even awake yet. She was running around, opening all the bags she had, looking for the right earring and the right pair of socks. She wanted to look special for her daughter...just her daughter. Priya was finally meeting Khushi today.
'Acchi lag rahi ho'. Ram complimented, sitting up on the bed.
Priya basically jumped out of her skin. 'T-thanks'. She managed to mumble, tucking away the strands of perfectly straight and silky hair behind her ear.
'Nervous ho?' Ram asked.
Priya didn't want to seem awkward during the whole trip. She decided that she had to be mature and at least try and be normal with Ram. She decided to stop replying in one word answers, and have a real conversation with him.
'Nervous ho kya?' Ram repeated.
Priya sat down on the bed in front of him, heaving a deep sigh. 'Haan, bohot'.
'Kuch nahi hoga'. Ram smiled. 'You'll be fine'.
'Ram, meine aapko...abhi tak thanks nahi kaha yeh sab kuch ke liye. Aaj mein apni beti se mil rahi hoon...aur woh aapke bina kabhi nahi ho paata. Mere paas yahan aane ke liye aadhe paise tak nahi thi, aur aapne...aapne sab kuch kiya mere liye. Mera itna khayal rakha...papa ke baad. Apna ghar diya, apna parivaar diya, apna sab kuch...bina kuch soche samjhe aapne mujhe sab kuch diya Ram. Mein apni saare khwaahish poore hote hue dekh rahi hoon ab...sirf aapki wajah se. Jo khwaahish meine socha tha ki mein kabhi nahi poora hote hue dekhungi...aapne unhi khwaahishon ko poora kiya mere liye. I fell into depression Ram...meine apna sab kuch kho diya tha. Meri maa, meri behen, mera bhai, mera pyaar, meri beti, mere dost, sab log mujhse door gaye the...sirf papa the mere paas. Aur jab papa bhi chale gaye the toh mere dhimaag mein sirf ek hi khayal aaya tha aur woh tha ki mujhe zindagi jeene ki koi wajah hi nahi hai ab...kuch nahi hai mere paas. Mein apne aapko khatam karnewaali thi, lekin aap...aapne mujhe phir se zindagi di. Aur pata hai kya? Agar meri shaadi Ashwin se kabhi hota bhi, toh woh bhi mujhe itna khushi de nahi paata jitna ki aap de sakein mujhe'. Priya blushed.
Ram was touched. Priya never opened up this much, but when she did...it made him feel special. Bringing a smile on her face seemed like an huge achievement to him, and the fact that she considered him so important in her life made him even more happy. Seeing her gleam with joy and happiness instantly had the same effect on him. He didn't know why...but yes, he did feel this way.
'Aur mein galat thi Ram'. She continued.
'Kya? Mein...mein samjha nahi'. Ram raised an eyebrow.
'Jab aapne mujhse kaha tha ki aap mujhse pyaar karte the US jaane se pehle, I thought that changed the bond between us. Lekin...chaahe kuch bhi ho jaayein humaare beech mein, mujhe ehsaas ho chuka hai ki woh humaari iss itni khoobsurat si relationship ko kabhi affect nahi karegi. Aap mujhse pyaar karte the...it's all in the past, aur mujhe pata nahi kaise laga...I felt so odd knowing that my best friend loved me. Lekin I was wrong, kuch bhi nahi badlega humaare beech mein, chaahe kuch bhi ho jaayein. Mein aapke saath hoon hamesha'.
Ram smiled at her. 'Mein bhi'.
'I know'. Priya patted his hand gently. 'Anyways, aap jaakar ready ho jaayiye. We have to leave soon'.
'Mein bhi chal raha hoon tumhare saath?' Ram questioned.
'Haan, of course!' Priya stated. 'Aapke bina thodi jaaungi mein!'
'Mujhe laga tumhe Khushi ke saath privately...hona tha'. Ram hesitantly replied.
'Ram agar aap nahi aayenge mein Khushi se milne hi nahi jaaungi'. Priya chuckled. 'Go get ready now, please'.
Ram had dressed up looking absolutely dashing in a white shirt with a black blazer, topped up with a sophisticated blood red tie.
'Yahan bhi tie?' Priya grumbled.
'Matlab?' Ram asked, straightening his tie.
'Matlab ki aap yahan bhi tie pehen rahe hain?' Priya sighed.
'Haan'.
'Yahan aap office nahi jaa rahe hain'. Priya giggled. 'Meri beti se milne jaa rahe hain'.
'Accha? Tum dekhna jab Khushi se hum dono milne jaayenge naa toh woh khud bolegi ki mein kitna accha lag raha hoon'. Ram bragged.
'We'll see. I'm sure woh aapko boring waale uncle ya aisa kuch naam de degi'. Priya laughed. 'Seriously, it looks like aap koi business meeting attend kar rahe hain'.
'Very funny'. Ram mocked her.
Behaving normal as though nothing seemed different between the two of them was difficult for Priya...she didn't know what this was, but lately Ram had made her feel really really really odd and she felt kind of guilty feeling that way.. But she forced herself to believe that nothing would change their bond...nothing.
-xxx-
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