Page 40 of That Same Old Love

She was in the check-out line waiting for her turn when she heard a familiar voice. Her heart gave a joyful thump when she realized whom the voice sounded like. There were four more people in between her and that person who was facing away and speaking with the cashier.

It must be Jhanvi!

Especially since the chances of seeing a tall woman who was five foot ten inches tall with a similar voice were pretty low.

Before she could confirm, she found herself blurting out excitedly, “Oh my god Jhanu. Is that you?”

The woman in front stopped talking and turned back to look at her.It is Jhanu!Mahi was overjoyed to see her after so many years. But Jhanvi didn’t seem to return the same feeling. She stared at Mahi coldly and grabbed her bags and walked away.

Confused, Mahi left her shopping cart and ran behind Jhanvi who was walking away pretty quickly. Considering the long legs Jhanvi had, Mahi had to break into a run to catch up with her.

“Jhanu wait!”

Jhanvi stopped and looked back at Mahi with any icy expression. “What is it? I’m in a hurry. So if you don’t mind, get on with it quickly.”

Mahi was puzzled; she thought maybe her friend didn’t recognize her after so many years. “Jhanu… it’s me, Mahi, your college friend,” she said with a joyful smile.

Jhanvi still had a steely eyed look. “So? I know who you are,” she said and started walking to the parking area.

Mahi’s face crumpled. “Jhanu wait. Please. Not you too. I can bear anyone rejecting me, but not you. We promised to be best friends forever remember? Please talk to me. I know I hurt people, but never you. At least not deliberately.”

Mahi felt the sting behind her eyes and soon tears welled up. Jhanvi stared at her for a few more seconds, until she broke down as well.

“You left without saying goodbye. It wasn’t just a broken hearted boyfriend you left behind. You left me broken hearted too. We were supposed to be in the same Master’s University, get married the same month to our boyfriends, and then plan kids at the same time and grow old together. You didn’t care for me. All of that was a lie. You just pretended to be my friend,” said Jhanvi with a quivering voice.

Mahi went closer and looked into Jhanvi’s eyes. “It was never a pretense. I loved you like a sister that I never had. When I left the country, I was missing your company along with Sidhu’s. I wanted to talk to you so badly and tell you about the things happening in my life. I went through hell, but if you had been there with me, I could have faced any kind of hell.”

“Oh, Mahi.” Jhanvi began to sob and hugged her.

Soon they realized that they had quite an audience around them.

Mahi wiped away her tears. “Okay. Seeing two ‘aunties’ hugging and crying in the middle of a mall is quite a spectacle I think.”

Jhanu laughed. “I missed you so much Mahi.”

“Me too, Jhanu.”

Jhanvi smiled. “Let’s go somewhere. Hubby and the kid have gone to my in-laws place for the weekend. It’s my two day decompress-alone-time of the month that Srinu lets me have. He says it makes his and my son Arjun’s life easier to live with me.”

Mahi grinned, remembering Srinivas who had been crazy about Jhanvi in their college.

“Let’s go to my place. The same one. I got here in a taxi, so I can ride along with you.”

Jhanvi squealed like a little girl. “I’m so excited. Wait. Let me see if any of our other gang can join us today.”

“They live in India too?” Mahi asked excitedly.

“A few of them have always been living here and some have returned from abroad in the last few years like me,” said Jhanvi as she typed in a message:Mahi is here. We are cool now. We are meeting at her old place. See if anyone of you can join us.

During the drive to Mahi’s place Jhanvi told her about getting married to Srinu and having an eight year old boy named Arjun. Both Jhanvi and her husband worked for the same multi-national company and had moved to India two years ago from Seattle on an intercompany transfer.

They reached Mahi’s place and got in with Jhanvi’s bags.

“Hey Paru, Ashu and Smitha are on their way,” announced Jhanvi.

Parvathi was the first to arrive. She was decked up in a heavy sari with a lot of jewelry. She hugged Mahi. “Oh god. Finally. I had to see you. I ditched attending a wedding midway. I was just about to stab myself in the eye with a fork because of the sheer boredom from listening to the same mundane talk about handbags, jewelry and saris. Thank god I saw Jhanu’s message on time.”

Mahi laughed, remembering their group’s sense of humor that was very similar to hers.

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