She was staring at the blank screen of the laptop waiting for her thoughts to unjumble themselves... waiting for the words in her mind, hiding in its deep recesses, to tumble forth onto her fingers and in front of her eyes. The more she stared the more deeper they hid. The determined stare at the white document made her eyes water but she kept staring, kept waiting.
The sudden chirp of her phone made her jump. She blinked, furiously. The water in her eyes made its way down her cheeks. Sniffing and wiping her face, she picked up the phone. The name flashing on the screen made her smile. She swiped the flashing green symbol.
Without any greeting, she began, "I got your wedding card. It's nice."
"Why are you crying?" He asked concerned.
"I am not crying... just frustrated. The writer's block is going to be the death of me!"
"Ahh.. why don't you write about me?"
"Puh-leaze... I would rather be blocked. Anyway, I can't believe you are getting married!"
"Neither can I."
She could sense the smile in his voice, the happiness in her words. She could even imagine him lounging back on his couch, lazy grin in place, with his feet dangling from the sides.
"I can't believe someone agreed to marry you!"
"Sour grapes, sweetheart... I know you are jealous," he said in his trademark teasing tone.
"Ha! As if! I pity the poor girl who has to spend her entire life with you," she snickered.
"She is very lucky that I am a part of her life and, unlike you, she knows it. Thank you very much."
"Come off your high horse, mister... there's still time for your baraat procession."
"I know and you have to come and dance in front of my ghodi. No reason, excuse, prior appointment will be accepted, understood?"
She mock-saluted him, "yes boss! And you don't even have to say that, silly, I will be there. After all it's my best friend's wedding."
"I love you."
"I love you too."
She hung up the phone with a smile on her face. She couldn't believe he was getting married. The silly goofy guy who ran from commitment and girls was finally ready to settle down.
'My boy is growing up,' she smiled, tenderly.
He was her best friend, her 3AM agony aunt, her patient ear... Her soulmate. They had known each other since school. Over a decade long friendship, they had shared their deepest fantasies, their darkest fears, their boundless dreams and their life. They were always together and their constant companionship had made people, including their friends and family, assume that they were in a relationship... that they were a 'couple'. They were a couple indeed... a couple of best friends who loved each other, unconditionally.
'Men and women can't be friends because the sex part always gets in the way.'
She remembered her girlfriends quoting Harry from When Harry Met Sally innumerable times. But sex never came between them. She was an attractive woman and he was a good-looking guy, but during all the time they had spent together, they had never, not even once, spoke about dating each other... There was never any awkward sexual tension, no unspoken words, no lingering touches, no uncomfortable hugs. They were as comfortable with each other as moon is with the stars. They talked about their crushes, their romances, their dates with abandon... But, people never understood that.
She remember when she got married, their common friends were 'consoling' him. They thought, he was crying because I had got married to someone else. She remembering laughing heartily when he had told her that someone hinted that he shouldn't turn into a Devdas. Nobody knew, he was crying because he was losing his best friend. He knew that with my marriage, things would change. Like I know that with his marriage, things would change further.
The calls would become less frequent, the meetings would be few and far between and might include two more people... their world which previously had a population of two would increase exponentially. She touched her baby bump with a tiny smile.
'Change is the only constant,' she sighed.
She got up to get a glass of water. While walking back to her seat in front of the laptop, she remembered a quote she had read sometime back - '“A guy and a girl can be just friends, but at one point or another, they will fall for each other... Maybe temporarily, maybe at the wrong time, maybe too late, or maybe forever.”
'or maybe never. They might never fall in love with each other, but they will always love one another,' she smiled sipping her water. She had got an idea for her next post.
The sudden chirp of her phone made her jump. She blinked, furiously. The water in her eyes made its way down her cheeks. Sniffing and wiping her face, she picked up the phone. The name flashing on the screen made her smile. She swiped the flashing green symbol.
Without any greeting, she began, "I got your wedding card. It's nice."
"Why are you crying?" He asked concerned.
"I am not crying... just frustrated. The writer's block is going to be the death of me!"
"Ahh.. why don't you write about me?"
"Puh-leaze... I would rather be blocked. Anyway, I can't believe you are getting married!"
"Neither can I."
She could sense the smile in his voice, the happiness in her words. She could even imagine him lounging back on his couch, lazy grin in place, with his feet dangling from the sides.
"I can't believe someone agreed to marry you!"
"Sour grapes, sweetheart... I know you are jealous," he said in his trademark teasing tone.
"Ha! As if! I pity the poor girl who has to spend her entire life with you," she snickered.
"She is very lucky that I am a part of her life and, unlike you, she knows it. Thank you very much."
"Come off your high horse, mister... there's still time for your baraat procession."
"I know and you have to come and dance in front of my ghodi. No reason, excuse, prior appointment will be accepted, understood?"
She mock-saluted him, "yes boss! And you don't even have to say that, silly, I will be there. After all it's my best friend's wedding."
"I love you."
"I love you too."
She hung up the phone with a smile on her face. She couldn't believe he was getting married. The silly goofy guy who ran from commitment and girls was finally ready to settle down.
'My boy is growing up,' she smiled, tenderly.
He was her best friend, her 3AM agony aunt, her patient ear... Her soulmate. They had known each other since school. Over a decade long friendship, they had shared their deepest fantasies, their darkest fears, their boundless dreams and their life. They were always together and their constant companionship had made people, including their friends and family, assume that they were in a relationship... that they were a 'couple'. They were a couple indeed... a couple of best friends who loved each other, unconditionally.
'Men and women can't be friends because the sex part always gets in the way.'
She remembered her girlfriends quoting Harry from When Harry Met Sally innumerable times. But sex never came between them. She was an attractive woman and he was a good-looking guy, but during all the time they had spent together, they had never, not even once, spoke about dating each other... There was never any awkward sexual tension, no unspoken words, no lingering touches, no uncomfortable hugs. They were as comfortable with each other as moon is with the stars. They talked about their crushes, their romances, their dates with abandon... But, people never understood that.
She remember when she got married, their common friends were 'consoling' him. They thought, he was crying because I had got married to someone else. She remembering laughing heartily when he had told her that someone hinted that he shouldn't turn into a Devdas. Nobody knew, he was crying because he was losing his best friend. He knew that with my marriage, things would change. Like I know that with his marriage, things would change further.
The calls would become less frequent, the meetings would be few and far between and might include two more people... their world which previously had a population of two would increase exponentially. She touched her baby bump with a tiny smile.
'Change is the only constant,' she sighed.
She got up to get a glass of water. While walking back to her seat in front of the laptop, she remembered a quote she had read sometime back - '“A guy and a girl can be just friends, but at one point or another, they will fall for each other... Maybe temporarily, maybe at the wrong time, maybe too late, or maybe forever.”
'or maybe never. They might never fall in love with each other, but they will always love one another,' she smiled sipping her water. She had got an idea for her next post.
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