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Chapter 24
'Hello... Nivedita?' Viren thought his voice sounded too loud. 'Hi Viren!' Nivi sounded chirpy and Viren smiled feeling a little relieved. His first thought after seeing Nivi's name and reminding himself to breathe had been whether she was ok because she was calling so late but she sounded fine. He tried to sound as relaxed as he could, 'What's up Nivi? Itni raat ko kyu phone kiya?' He suddenly remembered something, 'And you're not even whispering? Hai bagwaan, Dadi ne sun liya toh?!' It felt good to tease her, easier than being serious and he'd missed just talking to her so much. He could almost see Nivi roll her eyes as she said 'I don't always whisper on the phone you know...and anyway, Dadi's asleep so there!' Viren leaned back on his bed and closed his eyes imagining Nivi glaring at him.
Nivi was so relieved to hear Viren speaking normally to her on the phone; she hadn't realised how worried she'd been about it till she'd actually called him and was waiting for him to answer. She felt glad that he wasn't upset with her; she figured he must just have been busy all these days... She smiled as he tried to annoy her; today she was in such a good mood even he couldn't make her angry. 'Woh sab chodo Viren; guess what?!!' Before Viren could come up with another smart alec response she burst out, 'I got the job!!'
After a few seconds, Nivi heard Viren say, 'Sach?! Wow congrats Nivi, I knew you'd get it!' He sounded so happy and Nivi sat down on her bed and smiled imagining Viren's face all lit up. 'Did you really think I'd get it? I thought I talked too much in the interview...' She heard Viren laugh, 'I'm sure you did talk too much Nivi, you always start babbling when you're nervous!' Before Nivi could say anything he quickly said, 'I knew you'd get it because of me...with my pictures in your file, how could you not get it?!'
Nivi started laughing, 'Excuse me, I drew those pictures so full credit goes to me...actually you can have 10% but only for the flute playing!' She smiled as Viren said in a soft voice, 'Teek hai Moti, have ALL the credit, but just don't forget me when you become a famous designer...or I know lots of stories I could tell people!'
Viren listened as Nivi laughed again, he'd missed her laugh like crazy, he wished he could see her; he felt like kicking himself for not calling her all these days. 'I've only just got the job Viren, and it's part time to start with...tumhe bhool na toh door ki baat hai!' Viren sighed extra loudly and said 'Shukar hai, at least I have some time to make a good impression...' Nivi laughed and then asked him what he'd been up to all these days.
'I was home working on some job applications..' Viren wasn't totally lying; he had tried to work on them. 'Kyu? Meri fikar ho rahi thi?!' He said it as a joke but he wished he could see her face because she was always so bad at hiding how she felt. 'Nahi toh! I was just asking...people do that you know, when they talk after a while?' She sounded like she was avoiding and that made Viren smile, 'Accha?! Ok, so what have you been up to then?' Viren asked the question lightly but really, he felt like he wanted to know exactly what she'd done every minute since he'd last seen her. He shook his head at his own madness as Nivi said, 'Kuch bhi nahi, usual boring stuff... Oh Dadi said she was going to invite you all for dinner tomorrow evening! She'll call in the morning I think.'
Viren felt an insane amount of happiness at the thought of seeing her tomorrow and he sat up on the bed, wishing he could go over there now. He didn't want to seem too eager though, so he said he would try and make it and then Nivi asked him if he'd finished the job apps or needed any help. Viren opened his mouth to say no but then heard himself say, 'Actually, I could use your help on one...what are you doing tomorrow morning?' He desperately wanted to see her and the evening felt like too long a wait.
He waited as Nivi took her time answering and every second felt like a lifetime. 'Umm I have to go in to get my first assignment but it's only for a few hours so I'll be free after lunch?' Viren felt a huge smile spread across his face at her answer; he forgot all his reservations about seeing her, it didn't seem to matter now he'd heard her voice, he was sure he'd be fine and he could try and figure out how she felt too. 'Teek hai Nivi, I'll pick you up at the office after lunch?' Nivi said ok and they spoke a little longer and Nivi told him she was feeling nervous about her first day.
'You'll be fine Moti...and if you're stuck with anything, just call me.' Nivi was surprised, 'Why? Can you draw too?!!' Without missing a beat Viren said, 'Nope, but I can make you laugh...!' which made Nivi laugh, 'Viren! How will that help?!' She shook her head even though he couldn't see her. 'Pata nahi but it'll help make you feel better, I'm sure!' Viren did sound sure and Nivi felt better at just the thought. 'Thanks Viren; ok, it's really late, I should get to sleep.'
Viren wanted to talk to her all night but she was right, it was really late so he closed his eyes and said softly, 'Goodnight Nivi, see you tomorrow.' She said goodnight and hung up, leaving Viren looking at his phone with big smile on his face; he'd get to see Nivi tomorrow! He lay back down on the bed feeling happier but also restless and a little nervous too. He turned onto his side and closed his eyes, thinking of all the things he'd say to her; maybe he'd tell her about Sid's possible marriage too, she was bound to have some thoughts on it. It was a long time before he fell asleep...
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