LIFE.... AS IT COMES (CHAPTER 24)

“You are what? Are you both out of your mind?”

Ryan was rendered speechless. Times like this really bought out his depth of vocabulary to null and void. Sheila had to speak. She just couldn’t rein it in.

“We are getting married. No kidding. Remember the new love I was talking about? It was Tam.” Said Kunal looking in Tam’s direction.

“What? Why? How? When?” Questions stumbled out of Ryan’s mouth.

Sheila was having a surreal feeling. She was sure that all this was just a bad dram and would be ending soon. She would get up to a normal world. Not this.

Ryan though was blank. He couldn’t get himself to think. Feeling was out of the question.

“Tam. I think we owe them an explanation.”

“Yes Kunal, I think we do.”

Tam came up and sat in front of Sheila and Ryan. Both of their faces were very comical to look at. But Tam reined in her laughter.

“Remember the night when you guys had kissed for the first time?”

“Vividly.” Answered Ryan.

Sheila nodded her head.

“Well, I returned home late after the party completely drunk. I came home to find Kunal alone. I wasn’t expecting him. He was supposed to be at his relatives place. He too was drunk. He had come home feeling lonely as everyone out there had someone special in his or her lives. Kunal felt very left out. We both decided that we were the world’s biggest losers and went up to the terrace. Totally drunk and somewhere far romantic ballad was on. We got to dancing. Well, as clichéd as it may sound but I guess that that moment I knew he was the guy for me. We did end up in bed, or rather on the terrace and we were feeling really happy and committed. We had decided to break the news to you guys but your infamous kiss and all sort of dominated it.” Tam explained.

It was greeted with complete silence.

“So like you guys were mad? No I mean Kunal was mad at me for kissing Sheila----”

“Ryan, Ryan. I was mad because I thought you were trying to take advantage of her. You were thinking her to be like those chicks. Plus I thought what you did was very wrong since you are gay. You were just getting her hopes up. And I guess at some level I was jealous.” Kunal confessed.

“Hmm. This part is clear. Ok. Right. So just let me get this straight. Ryan is gay. Tried falling in love with me but was confirmed gay. I love him. Kunal is bisexual. Had a crush on Ryan. But Straight part pre dominated due to Suzie. Suzie left. Kunal heartbroken. Tam heartbroken due to loss of actual love. Gets drunk. Realize in love. End up together. Tells after 3 weeks. What the ****? You kidding me?” Sheila ranted.

“No Shell. This time this is the truth.” Tam reassured her.

“Ok. Great. Why did it take you guys to get drunk to realize that you were in love?” Sheila asked.

“We fell in love then. With each other. With the moment. With the way we were complimenting each other. Everything. It was the right time, the right moment. You don’t need romantic circumstances to fall in love. Love just needs a moment. And it happens.” Tam said.

Sheila turned her face away. It wasn’t as if she didn’t know this. But it was harder hearing it from someone who came out of the tunnel happy, whereas, she was left holding her broken dreams in hand. Suddenly a thought struck her.

“Wait. What about Danny?”

“Yeah. What about him, huh?”

Ryan spoke up. He had been quite subdued for some moments.

“Yeah Tam what about him? You had just told me to play along. Can you explain his part?” Kunal questioned as he sat down next to Tam.

“Danny.” Sighed Tam. “Danny was always a mystery. Guys please bear with me. This part has never been easy for me. You see Danny suffered from split personality disorder. From childhood. We knew that. He used to make up imaginary people and talk with them. Doctors later on claimed that the hours he spent behind books lessened his social skills. His loneliness thus drove him to have imaginary friends. I was sort of the only friend he had in his life for a long time. So it was obvious that he would fall for him. But to me he was like a brother, whom I had to take care of.”

“But what about Rohit? He was there too?” Questioned Ryan.

Tam sighed deeply and answered.

“There was never anybody called Rohit. Danny did not have a brother. Rohit was a figment of Danny’s imagination.”