A Four-legged Friendship [COMPLETED]

Chapter 13

I stare at Sid. I twiddle my finger in my ear to make sure I heard right.

"I'm sorry?" I ask Sid, politely.

"Please try and get Elsa in the hospital, I really want to meet her. I miss her", says Sid. He is speaking with ease, as if the task he has given me is as simple as reading a book.

"Sid, have you gone mad?" I whisper angrily. I look around to make sure nobody's there. "That's not allowed! I may be barred from coming here ever again!"

"Why are you whispering?" asks Sid, looking confused. "Don't be melodramatic Al. Nothing of that sort will happen. C'mon, don't be a wuss. And if something happens to you, God forbid, you could always be admitted to another hospital." He rolls his eyes and sighs. "God, women."

"Sid..." I say slowly, as if I'm talking to someone who is mentally challenged. He may as well be, right now. "This is crazy. You will be discharged after a few days." He looks at me angrily. "Sorry, a few weeks." He nods. "Drama queen", I mutter under my breath. "Anyway, once you are discharged, you can meet her."

"No", says Sid, curtly.

"C'mon Sid, don't be a baby! Okay tell you what, I'll skype with you! I mean, Elsa will skype with you. You can see her, virtually", I plead, trying to get him to drop his stupid idea.

"No, Alia. Once in your life, risk something for somebody else", he says angrily.

Okay, that hit a nerve. And it was below the belt. I breathe and decide to ignore him, trying to keep his frail health in mind. People say women go through a lot of hormonal changes. I beg to differ.

"Look Sid, it's impossible", I say, calmly. "How do you exactly expect me to get her inside, past the security and everything? A frigging animal, Sid. A living being which moves and barks. Barks, Sid!"

Sid seems to be deep in thought. He pauses for a while before answering. I knew he wasn't going to back down so easily. "You can smuggle her in a huge bag, get Tanvi and Saurav to distract the security, don't try to get attention to yourself. I've seen it on FRIENDS."

I frown at him. "That's fiction. Huge difference. And for your information, Phoebe was caught trying to smuggle the dog."

"I don't care. You promised." God, he's so stubborn!

"Sid, I can't. Please try to understand what you are asking of me. This is insane! Beyond all the crap I have seen and heard in my life", I say. I'm close to tears now.

"Don't know, don't care", says Sid. "I'm sleeping now. Goodnight."

"Are you frigging PMSing Sid?!" I yell at him.

"Keep your voice down, this is a hospital", is all he mumbles.

I stamp my feet hard and leave. I meet Sid's parents in the way.

"Leaving so soon, beta?" asks aunty. I think I sense sarcasm, since she wanted me to leave earlier so that her psycho son could go to sleep.

"Yes, aunty, Sid is sleeping now", I say, trying hard to smile but failing to do so.

"Come soon, Alia. Sid remembers you a lot...." her voice trails off at the end. Okay, maybe I was wrong about the sarcasm. She seems to be hesitating, trying to find the words to say whatever she wants to say, next, to me. "While we are on that, Alia, ummm..."

"Please go on aunty", I say, curious now.

"Are you Sid's girlfriend?" She asks in a rush.

I look at her stunned for a moment. And then I start laughing. Even she smiles a little. "I think I got my answer", she says, smiling. "Not that I wouldn't disapprove of you being his girlfriend. You seem to be a really nice girl." She pats on my back a bit.