Chapter 58
Nivi hurried up the few stairs to her house and almost bumped into someone on their way out. 'Sorry,' she said quickly, and then looked up and was surprised to see Sid's friend Sameer in front of her. She frowned when she saw him but before he could say anything, she saw an older man who looked like he could be his father coming out behind him. Sameer smiled at her but Nivi remembered their previous meeting and ignored him; she said 'Namaste' to his father and then carried on inside wondering what they'd been doing here.
It was early evening and she was already late, they were supposed to be at a party at the Sood's and she was meant to have gone with Divya but she hadn't got home in time; there'd been a pooja that morning which she'd missed too. It had been a busy day and she'd had to present some designs to a client and the meeting had over-ran, she hoped Divya understood. At least I don't have to worry about Viren being annoyed, she thought with a smile as she went in; he was held up somewhere himself and he'd text her earlier to say he'd be late. She hadn't heard anything since so she assumed he hadn't come home yet.
As she walked into the living room, Nivi saw Dadi sitting on one of the sofa's rubbing her arm. Her cast had come off just last week but she still hadn't got used to it. 'Tu ne itni dher kyu laga di Nivi?' Dadi sounded concerned and Nivi explained about the meeting before asking what Sameer had been doing here. Dadi told her they were here for the party but Sameer's father had come to see to Keshav as they were business acquaintances but Keshav wasn't home. Nivi wanted to ask more questions but Dadi told her to hurry up and get ready so they could leave
***
'Don't talk to me Nivi, I'm still too angry!' Nivi rolled her eyes as Divya turned dramatically and folded her arms; she'd already apologised twice for being late. 'Siddarth, tum bolo naa Di ko?! I couldn't just walk out of a meeting!' Sid held up his hands as if to say 'I'm not getting involved' and Nivi sighed, wishing Viren was here to help her. She went and hugged Divya from behind, 'Diii, I'm really sorry! You're getting married next month and we've barely got any time left...don't waste it being mad at me...'
Nivi smiled as she felt Divya sigh, 'Fine Nivi, but that was the worst guilt tripping ever!' Nivi laughed as Divya turned and hugged her back, 'It worked though!' She asked Divya what she'd missed and Divya filled her in while Sid went to speak to some friends. 'Did Viren help you decide about this weekend?' Nivi shook her head, 'He didn't really help me decide; he just told me I had to go or he'd find a reason not to!' Divya laughed, 'You know Viren; he'll do it as well, so you might as well come!'
Divya smiled happily, for once glad Viren was so stubborn but Nivi sighed, 'I'm still not sure Di, shouldn't it just be yours and Sid's families going?' Divya glared at her and Nivi sighed; they'd already had this argument before and Nivi had already lost it. 'You're coming Nivi and that's final!' Divya gave her one last glare and then went to go and stand by Sid and Vandana so Nivi couldn't argue anymore.
The Sood's had invited Divya's family to their farmhouse for the whole weekend while the wedding decorators got to work on the house. Nivi and Dadi had been invited too but although Dadi was happy to go, Nivi wasn't so sure. She had a lot of work to catch up on and as well as that, the thought of what mischief Viren might get up to over the 2 days scared her; it wouldn't bother him that both their families were there, he was just fearless!
Nivi laughed to herself as she remembered Viren threatening to climb through her window again when she'd first said no to going over the phone, 'Main abhi aaya Moti! There's no way you'll be able to say no when I get there...' He'd sounded so determined and she'd wanted to see him so badly that she'd almost let him come till her head won over and she told him to stay where he was and that she'd think about it. They were going on Friday evening and it was Wednesday now so she had a couple of days to decide.
As she thought about Viren, she looked towards the door; he hadn't come home yet and she was missing him; it had only been a few days since their picnic lunch but Nivi felt like she hadn't seen him in weeks. She sighed thinking he'd driven her mad when she got a text which made her smile, 'You missing me yet Moti...?' How did he always know?! She decided to surprise him by being totally honest, 'I've been missing you all day Viren.'
It didn't take long for Viren to reply, 'ALL DAY?! Pehle kyu nahi kaha? I'll be there in half an hour!' Nivi laughed at his response, knowing he would get here as fast as he could now; she had a sudden thought, 'Ok but don't drive like a maniac to get here! I can wait...' She waited and a few minutes later he replied, 'Teek hai Moti, I'll be careful...I'm even wearing my helmet! See you soon xx' Nivi smiled at the two kisses he'd put at the end of the text and wondered when he'd get here.
***
'Beautiful evening isn't it?' Nivi made a face as she heard Sameer's voice behind her. She'd come outside for some air and also to wait for Viren because it'd been almost an hour and he hadn't got home. She'd just got to the gazebo when she heard Sameer. 'It's ok I suppose' she shrugged and folded her arms as she turned around, she really didn't want to speak to him any more than necessary. He had a half empty champagne glass in his hand and from the look of him it probably wasn't his first. 'Actually I'm a little cold so I think I'll go back inside...' She tried to walk past him but he stood in her way. 'Ek minute, I just wanted to talk...'
Nivi waited and considered her options for a minute; maybe he just wanted to talk but it was getting dark and she'd rather do it inside where there were other people around. She tried to walk around him but he moved so she couldn't and she started to get a panicky feeling in the pit of her stomach. 'Umm sure...we can talk inside...' she said, trying to smile but not quite managing it.
Sameer shook his head, suddenly sounding really angry, 'So you can ditch me like you did last time?' Nivi jumped a little as he yelled; he wasn't making any sense and he was clearly even more drunk than she'd thought originally, 'Except where's Viren today..? I saw you dancing with him that night, we can dance too..' He smiled as he took a step towards her and Nivi automatically took a few steps back feeling her fear growing.
Edited by anjaani07 - 12 years ago
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