Once Upon a University Campus

A sunset to remember

Tia and the few other women failed to hold Annika's interest beyond the usual pleasantries and gushing over the size of the solitaire in her engagement ring. Their common ground was limited to the family she was marrying into. They were the woman who wore designer clothes and stilettos to a casual picnic. Like Tia was wearing a long sleeved, boat necked floral Prada dress, another was wearing a sheer maxi dress with strategically placed floral prints gave the dress a degree of modesty. One another wore a really short skirt and a bikini top. Annika on the other hand was very much in her lightly embroidered yellow suit. She was who she was and did not have to be someone else to fit in. It just did not matter anymore. True she will always have a lot more in common with her fellow students, her professors, Rana ji or Shukla ji compared to Tia or her buddies. It was a fact that she was neither ashamed of nor was she proud of. It was a fact that had to be accepted without judgement. With that acceptance, she was no longer uncomfortable in this company, though it was not much fun either.

Payal without wasting time pulled out her iPad and quickly produced some designs, what if she was on vacation.

"Something simpler " Annika kept insisting only for Payal to remind her that bridal designs were seldom simple. Finally Annika short listed a few. The size of the diamonds and emeralds had to compensate for the simplicity of the designs Annika had chosen, Payal made it clear.

"By heavens, this is so overwhelming." Annika remarked.

"This is just the first step, I will have multiple meetings with your dress designer, wedding planner and Pinky Aunty before we come up with something more substantial. And of course you will need to sign off on it all. So gear up for more of this. "

"Dress designer? ...right... how I wish for a Court wedding and none of this pain." Annika sighed

Payal laughed heartily, "No wonder Shivaay Bhaiyya fell for you. No other girl I know would have preferred a court marriage over the great Indian wedding."

The banter was cut short by a loud splash.

"Is that Bunty?" Payal gasped eyeing the man who had just been thrown into the water by a burly man and a few of his accomplices.

"Shivaay?" Annika gasped and the two ladies ran to the waterline.

Shivaay stood there with his hands crosses and Bunty was struggling to get up on his feet. The burly man turned out to be Khanna and two other men watched Bunty closely and lent him a hand. By the time Annika, Payal and Payal's bulging belly made it to the edge of the water, the guys were chest bumping, pushing and pulling each other into and out of the water, essentially playing rough and tumble like little boys on a sugar rush.

This was not the Shivaay Annika knew, not the man who wore impeccable clothes, that at the end of the day did not as much as crease at elbows. Not that man with a pair of hazel eyes and perfect hair, not the calm, cool moonlight that lit up her dark nights. Here was a man half wet in the salty water of Arabian Sea, hair in disarray, splashing like a kid. Annika could not belive that he was wearing a white polo T-Shirt and shorts. He had been wearing his regular clothes just a while back. The men were so engrossed with themselves that they did not notice the two women at earshot distance.

"Gulati you traitor.. " Bunty said huffing "SSO, it was this bastard's idea. "

"No, no.. I swear on Babaji, it was Bunty's idea.." another mostly wet man defended himself with his fingers at his throat.

"I hold Bunty and Gulati culpable." Declared another man pointing to the two bickering men.

"Yaar, Paddy.. That is not fair" Both Bunty and Gulati exclaimed at once.