Originally posted by: swaggerchick16
Only I knw wht I had to go through but yea I guess I am kinda lucky to hav a dad lyk him and he was not all by himself he hired ppl too😆
The next few weeks passed in a blur, with Aman donating his bone marrow to Arti, her treatment and both their recoveries. About six weeks later, once Arti was declared well enough to go home, Aman flew back to Denmark.
Aman was nervous about meeting Neha again. They had spoken nearly everyday on the phone. Somehow, during these crazy few weeks, she had become his haven of refuge. But meeting her again….and that too after their last meeting on the day he left for Bhopal…..he still didn't have the answers to her questions.
They had agreed to meet at their favorite coffee shop. Neha strolled into the coffee shop, a few minutes late. It was her day off and she had overslept. Aman was already there – a first – and fiddling with his coffee cup – another first.
She walked up to the table and put her purse down. Sitting down she said "Hi Aman".
He looked up startled at her voice. Damn – he had planned to do the chivalrous thing, pull out her chair for her, seat her, get her coffee. And here he hadn't even realized when she came.
He smiled brightly, "Hi Neha. Its really good to see you."
"How's Arti?" Neha asked, sensing his discomfort and giving him a safe outlet.
Safe topic, thought Aman and then grinned internally. How did Arti become a safe topic between them? He filled her in with the latest details while they finished their coffee.
"So….do you have any plans for today?" Aman asked, knowing it was her day off.
"Usual – relax, sleep when I can, catch up on some reading or movies perhaps" Neha replied.
"Can I interest you in a change?"
"Depends….what do you have in mind?" asked Neha cautiously, knowing Aman's eclectic tastes.
"I was thinking of the New Harbour. We can go boating, or just walk and then eat at one of the cafes?" Aman ended questioningly. Neha had mentioned the restoration work at the New Harbour in passing one day – and he knew how much she loved the waterside.
"Sure!" Neha was delighted.
As Aman walked around the table to pull her chair out, Neha pushed back and stood up. Aman held out his hand….and after a few moments, Neha placed hers in his.
It had been a lovely day. They had spent hours strolling along the water-front, then taking a boat-ride, coming back to walk through the quaint shops. They had talked some, but spent a lot of their time just taking in the sights, in comfortable silence – so much like their initial days of friendship. As they lingered over coffee after an early dinner, Aman finally broached the topic that was on top of his mind.
"Neha….." he reached out and held her hand. As she looked at him enquiringly, he hesitated, but then continued "before I left, you said something……You said we should re-evaluate our relationship."
Putting her coffee cup down carefully Neha said "Yes".
"And what have you thought about it?" Aman asked.
Neha shook her head. "Not this time Aman – this time, you go first. You tell me what you have thought, what you have decided."
Aman sighed and leaned back. "This has been a wonderful day. And all the times we talked on the phone – I don't think we ever spent that much time talking earlier, did we?"
Neha smiled, a small gentle smile. "No, we didn't Aman".
Aman leaned forward again. Grasping both her hands in his, he laced his fingers through hers. "Neha – can we start over? Be friends? Only friends – and see where that takes us?"
She pressed his fingers gently "I would like that."
____________________________________________________________________________
One year later….
Neha walked into the room to find Aman packing.
"I hope you left some space for the gifts", she said putting the packages down behind him.
"Yes, I can fit in one package" Aman said. And then the plural she had used registered. "Gifts? Neha? What have you been upto?" As he saw the pile she had just brought in, his eyebrows shot up. "No way, no way am I going to take all that stuff."
"So you are going for Pooja's first birthday and are taking a gift for her. What are you going to say to Ansh, Palak and Payal when they ask their Mama for their gifts?"
"Ok, ok, I have to take gifts for all the kids – got it" Aman sighed.
"Did you give anything to Yash and Arti at their marriage?" At Aman's startled look, she added "thought so – so there's something for them." He nodded.
"You will be staying with the Scindias again, and really you cannot go empty-handed can you? What would Aunty say?" she added, referring to Sneha. "So there are some small items for all the family members. And of course" she added in a rush as Aman opened his mouth – likely to protest "a token gift for Shobha Aunty".
Aman sighed – she was right of course. But how was he going to take all of this? "I can't fit these in Neha" he said, almost in despair at the thought of more packing.
"I know. I'll pack these in a separate suitcase while you finish up your packing."
As he turned back to his suitcase, she grabbed his arm. "Not so fast Mr. Khanna. Check out the gifts first."
"No need Neha, I trust you."
"Not the point dude – how will you know what to give whom?" she wasn't going to let him off easy – served him right for making her buy the gifts Aman grumbled to himself as Neha showed him her purchases and then – sweet girl – gift-wrapped each one.
After they were done packing, they relaxed on the sofa, sipping the steaming espresso Aman brewed. "When's Robert coming?" he asked.
Neha blushed as she replied, "he's on his way. I called him while you were brewing the coffee."
Aman grinned as he caught her chin and pushed her face up to get a better look at her "you look so cute when you blush" he teased her, making her go even more red.
"Idiot" she said, slapping his hand away.
Just then the doorbell rang and she jumped up "that must be him". Neha rushed to open the door and then embrace the young man standing there.
A couple of months after Aman's return from India, Neha had met Robert at one of the client parties Aman took her to. They both often ended up being each other's "dates" for these kind of events. Robert was one of Aman's closest friends in Denmark and a client aide too. They had met when working for the same company before Robert moved into the diplomatic corps. In fact, he had been instrumental in helping Aman get his first client as he started his own company.
They hadn't met in about two years as Robert had accompanied his diplomat overseas. As soon as he saw them however, he came over and the two men hugged each other. "And will you introduce me to the lovely lady with you Aman?" Robert asked.
Once formally introduced, Robert had asked Neha for a dance. When she came back from the dance, she had a dazed look on her face. "Do you know him well Aman?" Neha asked and listened closely as Aman told her about Robert.
A week later, Robert came to meet him and insisted they go out for a drink. Over drinks, he finally asked the question he had come for. "Aman, are you and Neha in a relationship? Are you dating her?"
"We are friends, and we are each others dates for any events or parties we care about" Aman replied cautiously.
"Are you in love with her man?" Robert asked.
"Why? What do you want with her Robert?" Aman's protective hackles were up and tingling.
"What do I want with her? I want to marry her and spend the rest of my life with her" Robert said softly.
"You just met her once!" Aman exclaimed, feeling his way through. Neha and he were comfortable in their friendship and both had realized that that was all they wanted together – this close warm friendship where one friend could call the other up at the middle of the night, where they could depend on each other.
"She's the one" Robert sighed.
"How do you know?" Aman asked, his curiosity and need to protect Neha making him want to be sure.
"I couldn't take my eyes off her. We talked all through that dance you know. And I haven't been able to stop thinking about her – this week has been hell. I want to call her, talk to her, see her again. But if you guys are together I am going to stay away." Robert said miserably.
"Neha and I are friends Robert. If Neha likes you, go ahead. But remember, she is my friend. Don't you even think of hurting her. If I ever find out you are not serious about this…"
Before he could finish Robert interrupted "I have never been more serious about anything Aman."
Aman had known Neha was in love before she did. Six months after they first met, Neha and Robert were engaged. The wedding in Denmark was a few months away, but Neha had always wanted a traditional Indian wedding and no way was Robert going to deprive her of that. So it had fallen to Yash and Arti to plan out the Indian wedding and Aman had been entrusted with detailed instructions to finalize with the duo during this trip to India.
As Aman saw his two friends together, he felt the familiar twinge of pain in his heart. Was it jealousy? He was happy for both of them. But seeing them together made him feel his loneliness even more….
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