A Walk On The Beach..-AR[New Page Link: Page 150] - Page 50

Thinking about home, my mind wandered back to where my heart still resided. I missed California, no doubt. And after witnessing the pollution, the traffic, and the crowd which still persisted here, I wished to be back there. But then I thought, had I actually become a fragile doll, an angrez like Andrea? No! I wouldn't let that happen, Mumbai's my home, and in spite of all the problems it was still where I belonged. I think.

I checked the time. It was 7 in the evening there. I removed my phone to call him when I remembered - Armaan would be with Andrea. I felt a sudden pang in my heart as I thought that. It was an understatement if I said that Patricia's words had provoked me into thinking. They had shaken me completely. And it was weird. In the past 3 years, I had had my friends pestering me about the whole Armaan and love issue. But I hadn't paid heed to that. Then why now, that too because of a stranger who didn't know me at all? I shook my head trying to remove these senseless thoughts out of my mind. Period!

The car pulled up in front of my house and I looked out - I was home! I quickly rushed out and looked at the place I had grown up in. It hadn't changed, and it seemed like just yesterday that I was there, packing my bags, waiting and anticipating the past 3 years I had spent away from home. Time flew!

I stepped inside and with a huge bout of nostalgia stuck in my throat, I smiled. I was welcomed with the typical 'puja ki thali' in my Nani's hand, and I hugged her, with slight tears. I didn't know why, but I felt guilty. I hadn't missed my family and my home as much as I should have and as much as they had missed me whilst I was there, and I felt like a criminal for that! Anyhow, I plastered a smile on my face, and looked around. My home!

Racing up, I ran to my room. The various Shahrukh Khan and Ashton Kutcher posters still adorned my blue coloured walls, much to my surprise - my Mum had promised me that she would have them removed once I was gone! But I guess she had missed me and all my obsessions a bit too much!

My bed, neatly made, and all my soft toys were placed next to each other above my pillows. I sat down and picked up my snowman which I used to call 'Hugsie' inspired by Joey Tribbiani's penguin in F.R.I.E.N.D.S! Hugging it slightly, I remembered I had another soft toy to add to that collection – the one that Aunty and Uncle had given me as my birthday present a year ago! I raced to my bag and pulled out my stuffed blue elephant. Out of habit, I christened it – Baby Ele! I chuckled at my childish behaviour and lied down.

It was early morning, and although I hated sleeping in the morning, the jet lag caused me to shut my eyes.

I opened my eyes slightly to see my mother seated next to me. I smiled up at her and shifted my head on her lap. Ah, that feeling, I had missed her a lot, now that I thought about it!

"Beta, don't you want anything for lunch?" She asked me, caressing my head.

"What time is it?" I asked her sleepily, and yawned.

"It's 2 in the afternoon. I understand you're tired, but you need to have something!"

"Hmm..." I mumbled and sighed.

"I've missed you so much these 3 years! I wonder what will happen when you get married!" She gave me a teary smile as I opened my eyes.

"Oh Mum not the emotional talk! There's still time!" I groaned and sat up.

"Not really! Tumhare liye kafi time se rishte aa rahe hain!" She gave me a smile, while my eyes widened. That cannot happen!

"No Mum! Nothing right now!" I grumbled and got up, running towards the washroom.

"Arre beta! Ek rishta America se hai! California se!" She called out and I stopped in my tracks.

"California se?" I didn't know why, but my heart leapt in joy. I smiled slightly.

"Haan. Mr. Khanna naam k ek businessman ka beta!" And my smile vanished!

"Nahi Mum! Abhi nahi okay! I haven't even graduated yet! And I have to go back there in like two months for my graduation and stuff! Once the date is fixed!"

"Nahi tum wapaas nahi jaa rahi!" My Mum exclaimed while my mouth dropped, with my toothbrush in my hand. "What? Why? Mum I came back here only for Mira Di's wedding! Warna main graduation ke baad hi aati na! And even you and Pa will have to come!" I exclaimed, matching her tone!

"Par beta abhi aayi ho—"

"Haan, like I said Mira Di ki shaadi ke liye! I came early just for that!"

"Okay, okay! We'll talk about that later! Your graduation is still 2 months away! Aura b tak date toh nahi aayi na! We'll decide that later!" My Mum said trying to calm me down as she must have sensed my hyper mode. "Neeche aa jao, main khana laga deti hoon!" Saying so, she walked towards the door when she stopped again. "Waise beta, tumhare liye kal kissi ka call aya tha. Nikita naam ki koi ladki thi. I told her you'll be coming today!"

"Nikki! Did she leave a number?" I exclaimed happily. I had completely forgotten about her engagement!

"Haan! Neeche aa jao main deti hoon!" She walked out of the room while I chirped around while getting ready.

Post lunch, I took Nikki's number, and called her, hoping she would come here as soon as possible!

"Hello!" I heard her voice and smiled.

"Niks!" I called out happily.

"Ridz! Oh my God! I've been waiting ages for you to get here! Maine kal call kiya tha! Your Mum told me that your flight got delayed and stuff!" She said in one breath.

"Yup it did! I had to spend an entire day there! But I'm back! Anyway gimme updates! When you coming here, and engagement and—"

"Ridz mujhe bolne toh de! I'm already here! In Mumbai I mean! You gotta meet me! I have loads to tell you! Sab tujhe milke batati hoon!"

"What? You're already in Mumbai? But how? You just got home a week ago! Itni jaldi hai shaadi ki?" I teased, while she sighed and told me to shut up! But nevertheless, I was happy! First, because she was here and I could meet her! Second, the sooner her engagement, the better! Armaan could come earlier, I thought happily, as I decided where to meet Nikki.

Although I still didn't know what was causing this sudden emotional gush towards him, I had stopped being in denial. Maybe there was something! And there was no hurry! I could figure that out over time, think out everything!

"Okay, see you tomorrow!" Saying so, I kept the phone. Nikki had sounded a bit tired and worried, but I shook it off as pre-engagement stress. She probably had a lot to do!

Since it was my first day here, my family waded in and out of the house to meet me! And I couldn't understand why! I bet even a person with a terminal illness wouldn't have got so many visitors! And although that was a mean thought, it was still a fact! What annoyed me most was the repetition of 'Arre Riddhima, tu kitni badi ho gayi! Itni choti si thi jab tujhe dekha tha!' and 'Ab toh teri baari hai! Kab karni hai shaadi!' If this wasn't enough, they actually recommended names of eligible MBA and MBBS bachelors they knew! I still hadn't called Armaan, and I was dying to talk to him! Excusing myself from my family, I quickly paced up to my room and picked up my phone to call him. It was past 3 in the morning over there, but oh well, who cares! I was dying to talk to him and he wouldn't mind!

I waited for him to answer, but he didn't pick up. Determined, I called him up again. After the 7^th call, I gave up. I sighed; probably he was deep in sleep! I would just have to talk to him tomorrow, I thought. Separate time zones would be a hassle, but I was sure we could get through that! But what if we couldn't? It wasn't only distance and time separating us now. Soon, there would be other things. My Mum's words from earlier that day came back to me. Whoever I would get married to, would object to the relationship Armaan and I shared. And so would Armaan wife – whoever she was. If Andrea, being Armaan's girlfriend had such a big problem, his wife would be even worse, and worse still, I wouldn't be able to fight back, nor object to that either!

The phone ringing snapped me out of my thoughts. What the hell was I even thinking? None of us were married yet! Why worry!I looked at the phone and smiled. It was Armaan.

"Hey Peanuts!" I said cheerfully.

"Munchkin what's up? You reached home safe right? Everything alright at home? Why'd you call so many times?" He said all of it one breath. Would he ever stop worrying, I thought. Look who's talking, my heart mocked me.

"Everything's fine! And yeah I reached home safe. My house's become a sort of carnival here! People are coming and meeting me as if I am on my sick bed or something!" I chuckled.

"Munchkin you freaked me out! You've any idea what time it is here? It's quarter to 4! You could have just called me in the morning!" He said sleepily, and I immediately felt guilty.

"I'm sorry, I was just missing you! And I wanted to call earlier, but there was so much going on at home here! Couldn't find the time!" I mumbled guiltily. "Anyway, you go to sleep! We'll talk tomorrow or something!"

"No!" He said quickly, "Talk, its okay! You've woke me up anyway! I won't be able to sleep now!"

"Oh okay!" I smiled slightly. "Oh by the way, Nikki called this morning! She's already in Mumbai! I'm meeting her tomorrow!"

"Already? Why? I thought she's getting engaged next month!"

"I dunno, she's yet to tell me! But hey that means you get here sooner!" I said happily.

"I dunno if I can come!" Armaan said hesitantly and my face fell.

"What? Why?" I knew I was making my disappointment obvious, but I didn't care.

"Just kidding Munchkin!" Armaan chuckled, and I had the sudden urge to fly there and punch him. "Did she say anything though?"

"Nope! She just said that she'll tell me everything tomorrow! And hey, let me know if you come to know anything about our graduation! As soon as possible! Mum told me not to go, but I'll come there anyway!"

"Why are they saying no?" Armaan asked me curiously.

"Ah they think that I just came, and blah blah blah. But I'll come anyway!"

"Yeah we'll see!" He chuckled.

"Challenge accepted Mr.!" I smirked, and I knew he was rolling his eyes!

We talked for another hour, when finally my Mum came to call me down. Sighing, I hung up and went back down to get annoyed all over again!

Next day:

"Ridz!" I looked up to find Nikki running towards me. Smiling widely she pulled me into a bear hug.

"Uh you're choking me!" I pretended to cough.

"Shut up! How have you been?" She laughed.

"Everything's cool! You tell me! Oh and Armaan's told me to tell you to decide on a date quick if you want him to come!"

"Hey he has to come for my wedding!" Nikki raised her hand up to show me the stone on her finger. I choked on my coke as I saw that.

"What? Already? But I thought...."

"Yeah, it sort of just happened. Abhi didn't want to get engaged in that typical Indian way. So you know he planned the entire thing, and well! But we're still having that official party...And then we get married a week later!" She smiled while I looked at her completely shocked.

"Are you sure? I mean, isn't it a bit too quick? I mean...And hey why didn't you call me once it happened! Biatch!" I glared at her while she looked at me guiltily.

"I'm sorry Ridz! But I thought since I'm coming here anyway, I might as well just surprise you! And see you're surprised!" She winked at me while I rolled my eyes. "And about the wedding...It's not at all quick! I mean it's been 8 years! How much more time do I need to know someone! And in Abhi's case, no one knows him better than me!"

"Yeah but...Still..." My voice trailed off...Why was I feeling out of place all of a sudden? As if my life had come to a stand-still? Ugh, Riddhima! Stop over-reacting, I reprimanded myself.

"Ridz! Where you lost? And hey, you gotta help me out with all the shopping and stuff!"

"Forget that! When do I get to meet your to-be-hubby?" I teased and winked, while Nikki blushed and looked down. She looked up again and glared at me, while I chuckled.

"He's coming here next week, after finishing up with his work! But my Mum's here, and his Mum's here..."

"Where you staying? Stay with me!" I exclaimed excitedly, while Nikki laughed.

"Nope, my Uncle stays here, so I'm with them! Anyway forget about me! Tell me what's going on with you!"

Rolling my eyes, I began to tell her about how I came back, the welcome I got, and the supposed 'rishtas' I was getting! Nikki burst out into fits of laughter after hearing the kind of 'rishtas' I was getting.

"Are you serious you've been here only a day? Wow that was hilarious!" Nikki laughed while I glared at her.

"Yeah you're lucky you never had to put up with this crap!" I said scrunching my brows.

"Well you could have avoided it!" Nikki gave me a meaningful smile while I sighed. I knew exactly where this conversation was headed, but for the first time, I was curious about what she had to say!

"Yeah let's get back to my famous non-existent love life because we're bored right?" I rolled my eyes and smiled.

"You think it's non-existent...Riddhima seriously I'm so tired of giving you guys wake up calls! Mark my words, one day you'll get such a bad one that it will completely shake you up! If you don't pay heed to me that is!" Nikki joked while I shook my head, but in my mind, I was contemplating over her words – was she right?

"But Niks, what if there isn't anything? I mean, I don't wanna ruin our friendship...I don't wanna lose him....Honestly, when I went there, met him for the first time after all those years, I actually felt something! But then Andrea happened! And then I thought maybe there wasn't anything, and somewhere, I guess I was happy with our relationship as it is!" I looked at Nikki helplessly, while Nikki just stared at me in surprise.

"Is this really happening? You're not denying this, nor are you getting annoyed at me?"

"Yeah, even I'm surprised...I dunno why, but I kept thinking about this when I was leaving, when I was coming back here...And it felt weird when I was leaving...It felt like he was pulling me back, but then I realized I didn't want to leave him...But I dunno why, I'm still not convinced that it's love...I'm a die-hard romantic, I would have read the signs if it was love...But I dunno...I still can't figure out...!"

"Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey! Wait! Relax babes! Tension kyun le rahi hai! There's still time! And maybe staying away from him will be enough to make you realize!" Nikki gave me a reassuring smile and I smiled back, hoping I would get my answers...

Forget the answers, even the questions remained forgotten in the next few days. Although I had nothing to do, assisting Nikki in her selection of clothes, matching shoes, accessories, and other minor details was maybe the toughest jobs I had had to do! She was the pickiest person you could ever come across, and sometimes, she would back out of buying something at the check-out counter!

I, being a little different from that typical girl, was completely exhausted, and while Nikki looked forward to every day we spent shopping, I began to dread them! The only positive outcome of it all was, that time was passing by as quickly as I wanted it to, and Armaan's arrival drew closer.

With only 2 weeks until the engagement, and another week after for the wedding, it was time I began my shopping, and although that would have been a pleasant thought to my mind, with Nikki on top of my head 24x7 and her pre-bridal woes, I was seriously dreading it!

Nevertheless, I had to agree, with Nikki by my side, my shopping was a lot easier than her's! She was pretty calm, now that all her stuff was finalized, she let me take my own time to select stuff!

"Here, I think this should suit you!" Nikki held up and green sari, but after seeing my disgusted face she kept the sari down. Suddenly something struck me.

"Uncle, aapke paas red mein koi saris hai?" I asked eagerly, while I saw one of Nikki's eyebrows shoot up.

"Red? As far as I know your favourite color is blue missy!" Nikki asked me confused. "And as far as I know, Armaan's favourite color's white!" Nikki winked at me while I glared at her.

"It's not for him!" I blatantly lied. Somewhere deep down in my heart, I knew it was. I remembered distinctly, when Rhea and I had forcefully made him sit and watch 'Main Hoon Na' with us, he had groaned, grumbled, but he had nevertheless found Sushmita Sen extremely hot in that red sari she had worn. And I didn't know why, but I felt like wearing something which he liked in the wedding.

The shopkeeper showed us a few red saris, but failed to show me any which I, or rather Armaan would like! Determined as I was, I dragged Nikki to every shop we could find, and finally I found my heart's desire (pun intended!).

"And you grumbled about me being choosy!" Nikki rolled her eyes...

As days went by, my confusion, instead of getting cleared, only deepened. The reasons behind my sleepless nights, unreasonable smiles, and nonsensical dancing and prancing remained unknown, and all I could hope for, was to find answers once Armaan got back! Only God knew what he had in store for me!

Anyhow, confused, dazed, and yet happy as my days were, they went by super-quick, and the day I was looking most forward to finally arrived – the answer to all my questions was going to arrive that day – Armaan was going to arrive today!

Okay, I know the part is boring, but it's just a filler! I wanna start with Nikki's wedding fast! And hey, you guys want AR together anyway, so I'm just gonna zoom up the days their gonna be away from each other! Then the fun starts! 😛