My Dad's Best Friend

Chapter 7: Respective Plan B s

"No one." Prakash answered.

"Dude, Plan B." Nick whispered.

"Shut up!" Prakash muttered.

"You guys realize that I can..." Raj was interrupted by Prakash.

"Yeah, we know you can hear us. We just happen to whisper louder." Prakash said with sarcasm and left the duo.

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I was waiting for my dad, with a lot of things on top of my head. I know I am not supposed to lose my cool under any circumstances. So, I was preparing myself to stand firm with my questions to get the reasonable answers. He comes and sits opposite me where NICK always sits. We both were quiet for some time, not knowing where to start and we both felt awkward and hesitant.

He finally began, "I know you have a lot in mind. But I want to be honest with you if I have to tell you everything. I need to open up about a lot of things if you could just promise me to not react in any way." He welled up.

I sighed and nodded at him.

"Thank you. Firstly, I was terrified when I found out that I could have a possible blood cancer. Like every time, when my blood sugar levels were fluctuating I consulted with our family doctor. He suggested I get a routine checkup of everything just to be sure that I'm healthy. And then, he said I should get more tests done because he suspects something wrong. He refused to tell me when I asked what I was getting tested for and insisted on speaking to you. I didn't want you or your siblings to get worried, so I refused to get the tests done. You know our Dr. Mishra. He understood my emotional blackmail and did what he was told. The tests are done and we're yet to get the reports. So, there is still hope that I could be fine."

I listened to everything patiently. What he told is, what I already anticipated. So, I asked him what bothered me the most.

"If you didn't want us to worry about it, why didn't you keep this to yourself completely?"

"I did keep it to myself." My dad looked confused.

"You told HER."

"You promised, you wouldn't react."

"I'm not. I'm asking you. What did she do to earn your trust?"

"She's my best friend. She understands me. I told her, when she came to the city. Because, I was worried how she'd take it."

"I think she took it pretty well."

"She didn't, when I told her."

"Dare I ask why." I stood firm.

He was quiet for a while nervously tapping with fingers on his knees, reminding me of NICK on the day she paid her first visit. He finally looked at me. I didn't even avert my eyes of him making it very clear that I need an answer.

"I want you to marry Nick someday." He said taking a deep breath.

I spread my eyes wide open in shock.

"Harsh, I know this is too soon. This is the reason I wanted her to stay close to us. So you could see her, talk to her, understand her. She is an amazing person. You guys will also make a good pair. I didn't trust her right away. I gave her a reason to trust me by telling her something I wouldn't share with you. That's how she kept her cool." He finished.

I was quiet for a while processing what he just said.

"Harsh, say something."

"Do you even realize the age difference we both have? I'm not sure about her age but it's definitely about a decade."