Chapter 95: Sangeet – Part 8
Right as the song ended, her phone beeped and she saw that it was a text from Shashank, letting her know that he was waiting outside.
She quickly rushed upstairs to get the Midol and came back down, going out the back entrance to where he was waiting.
"Hey…" he had been leaning against his car and straightened when he saw her.
"How are you?" He asked as she rushed towards him.
She hugged him without warning and he hugged her back without reserve. It had been a long time indeed.
"Congrats." He said smiling as he hugged her tighter. "It's a girl, you know." He added just as they pulled away to look at each other.
"How do you know?" She placed her palm on her tummy as she said asked.
"It's just a feeling… You look better than you ever have, Gauri. Is it that husband of yours or impending motherhood?"
She laughed as she answered him. "Both… How's Thalia?"
"Well…" he lifted the Midol bottle that she had given him in response.
"Ah, of course… well, that's one thing I don't miss now."
They were both quiet for a few moments until he finally said, "You know what I did was unforgivable."
"Yes, it kind of was..." she looked up at him, smiling, even as she agreed with him.
He took her hands in his then. "I should have said something, done something, anything… so that you would have known what happened to me or why I didn't show up that day and…"
"I imagine you would have only done it because something dreadful happened to Thalia." She cut him off mid-sentence.
"She told you why I had to go?" he asked, incredulous.
"No… but I can only imagine… And if it's anything like what I feel for Shiv, I am sure it would have made you lose your mind to know that something happened to her."
"You know I adore you, right?" he asked suddenly as he took her in his arms again.
"Yes, I adore you too…" she laughed now at his earnestness as she hugged him back.
"Thanks for the Midol." He lifted the bottle as he let her go.
"Yea, well. I won't be needing it for a while. You know you could have gotten it at a drugstore, right?"
"Yes, I know. But I wanted to see you... this time on good terms… No misunderstandings, no hidden agendas, no worries. I wanted to see my pregnant best friend and give her a hug and tell her that she is one of the best things that ever happened to me."
And the EPTs, which had been blessedly absent for several weeks, started full-force just like that. She hugged him again and found herself sobbing on his shoulder.
"What's wrong?" he asked gently, stroking her hair.
"It's the pregnancy waterworks. It often starts without warning. I have to wait until it passes on its own."
"Oh…" he trailed off and just held her until her sobs turned to sniffles and then to hiccups and then to nothing…"
"All done!" She said now, pulling back and smiling.
"Is Thalia going to do this when she gets pregnant?" He asked, without thinking.
"Why? Are you planning on making her pregnant sometime soon?" Her eyebrows hit her hairline as she asked in surprise.
"I mean… I… well, it was just a question."
"Marry her soon then! I want to see how she holds up through the morning sickness. In fact, because it's her, I am going to pay to see it!"
He laughed. "Oh come on, you know you like her! She is an acquired taste. You don't know that she has gotten under your skin until it's too late."
"She kissed my husband in public. I am going to pay to watch her clutch her belly and run to the bathroom first thing in the morning for two months straight."
When he looked taken aback by her statement, she laughed. "God, you don't get it. You know what, tell her I said that. She'll get it. In fact, she will probably up the stakes against me. And you're right. I do like her. She is probably the only woman I have ever met with whom I don't have to worry about being completely myself. The only other person who I can do that with is…"
"Shiv" he finished for her.
She nodded and smiled. "Yes, Shiv. You know why you are not on the list?"
He raised his eyebrows.
"Because you never make me mad, Shashank. You only ever get to see my good side. But let me tell you, I am a total badass! I need to let that loose somewhere." She winked and he smiled.
"Well, then I will leave that side of you to Shiv and Thalia gladly."
She smiled and waited until he got back in the car. And then she walked back to the house, a wide smile lighting her face.
As fun as this party was, she couldn't wait until it ended. She couldn't wait to be alone with her husband.
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Edited by sridevi27 - 14 years ago
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