A/N

Welcome and welcome back readers!

Indian weddings are an adventure, ordeal and a quest all rolled into one. It is an experience of a lifetime. An overflow of emotions seems to surround to you at all times. There is no escape.

Prying eyes, intrusive questions and probing conversations. 

It isn't all bad though. Quite the opposite, in fact. Weddings could be pretty amazing if careful thought was put into it.

Which was also the case at Meera and Angad's wedding. 

Angad Mehra, the pop sensation of Red Wagon fame was finally marrying his college sweetheart Meera Sehgal. Red Wagon was the hottest Indie band in the country, topping charts and recreating the face of Indian Pop Music. 

They had bonded over their shared love for music and the rest was history. A very dramatic history, to say the least. Their story had made many swoon. They had overcome a lot to get to their happily ever after. 

It was finally time. They had taken the plunge two days ago, surrounded by their family and friends in an intimate ceremony. 

Angad's fame had made their relationship quite a popular one. Paparazzi were dying to get a shot of the newly married couple but they had been firm on their privacy. They would make a public appearance later but at this moment the only thing that mattered were their loved ones. 

Meera rested her head on Angad's shoulder as they sat at their table. Their reception ceremony was winding down now. Everyone older than 40 had left already owing to their exhaustion. The rest were steadily getting drunker and drunker. 

The attention had swung away from them around ten p.m. as Siddharth---Red Wagon's back up vocalist, bassist and the newly married couple's best friend---had popped the question to his long time girlfriend, Chetna. 

Their story had been chock full of its own drama. Everyone was rooting for them. 

It had shocked everyone to the core when one fine day Siddharth had broken the news of his intentions to propose to his girlfriend for marriage to his bandmates. They all knew his opinions on the institution of marriage. 

When Shreyas, the guitarist, had married his girlfriend Deepani a few years ago, nobody could have predicted Siddharth would ever be in line for matrimony. Granted things were a little precarious between him and Chetna at the time. 

Yug, the drummer for Red Wagon, had all but tackled Siddharth to the ground when he nervously told them what he was planning. As much as Angad claims something fell in his eye that day in the studio, everyone knew that he was crying along with all of them. 

He had told Meera next and asked for her permission to drop the question at her reception. 

Meera was so ecstatic that she all but slapped him for even considering she would object to his plan. Everything was in place for the big proposal and it was all worth it. 

Seeing Chetna's expression of pure delight and shock made it all worth it. People were still cheering some minutes after her enthusiastic "Yes!" 

And for a moment, everything was perfect. 

Everything except the nagging feeling at the back of Vahni's mind that she could not brush off no matter what. A feeling that worsened when Meera reached from across the table and squeezed her hand with a content smile on her face. 

Vahni smiled back despite everything. She would evaluate what she was feeling later. This was Meera's day. She was delighted for Meera. Angad was perfect for her. Vahni had seen their relationship bloom and mature in front of her eyes. 

They had been friends since day one of college and except for a brief fight early on in their relationship, Vahni and Meera had been inseparable. This trio of Vahni, Meera and Smriti had made it through the ups and downs of college life and what came after it. This was one of the things she was most thankful for in her life,

***

"Everyone!" Meera yelled out, slightly swaying on her feet and raising her glass. 

Angad laughed and steadied her on her feet while still sitting on his chair next to her. 

"Meera that is enough," he mock chastised her.

"No, Angad. I need to make a toast."

The party had died down. Nobody was in the garden at this point and the chilly air of the night was settling in. The group huddled closer together on the central table. 

"No one's left to hear the toast."

"This is for us!" she insisted. She looked around at all her friends and seemed to choke up with emotion. "I mean look at us. We are all grown up now. We made it guys! Could you have imagined all this in college? Did you all ever think we'd be here? All of us, still together, with the loves of our lives?"

She paused again and gazed lovingly at Angad.

Vahni felt the nagging feeling again so she looked away and glanced around the table. Everyone was paying rapt attention to what Meera was saying and seemed in agreement with it. 

Vahni thought of her own boyfriend of almost two years, Aakash. He could not make it to the wedding owing to his work commitments. He did not personally know Meera and Angad either so it made little sense for him to come for a week-long destination wedding. 

Maybe his absence was the reason she was feeling this way. Everyone at the table was with someone with one exception, herself. 

"We are married now!" Meera exclaimed, breaking Vahni's train of thought, "So are Shreyas and Deepani! Smriti and Nirav you guys are next."

Smriti smiled shyly. It had taken some intense convincing to get her parents to agree to this wedding. They had finally given in when they'd seen how sincere Nirav was for their daughter. Their engagement had not been too long ago. 

"Who's after that? Sarah and Matt?" 

"Oh, it is definitely Siddharth and Chetna!" Yug yelled out. 

Vahni laughed along with the others. It certainly seemed to be the most likely scenario after today's grand proposal. 

"What about you and Jai?" Siddharth retorted. 

"Trust me, the day India legalises this, I am dragging him to court." Jai, Yug's boyfriend, piped up.

Yug rolled his eyes but everyone knew he was secretly delighted with what Jai had said. 

"Vahni and Aakash?" Smriti chimed in.

A small pit opened up in Vahni's stomach as she heard what Smriti said and the general agreement that followed.

The truth was that marriage was one topic they both deliberately avoided. Tiptoeing around it because they did not know what to say. Aakash was too occupied with his start-up at all times and Vahni was at a pivotal point in her own career. An opportunity had landed in her lap and she wanted to devote all her energies to that venture instead of these things. 

She just took a sip of her drink and smiled to avoid answering. 

"Totally! Vahni and Aakash would be great," Meera giggled.

Vahni swallowed and retorted, "Unlike you all I have no interest in being a child bride."

"We are all well into adulthood," Meera shot back. 

"Barely. Who even gets married in their twenties? Losers. I have too much left to do," she said and felt the need to change the subject. The pit in her stomach was widening. "Besides, we should be celebrating our professional accomplishments too! You are Red wagon, the pop/rock sensation! Smriti and Nirav, you guys are opening that non-profit venture! How awesome is that? Sarah and Matt are getting their PhDs for God's sake! Chetna and Jai, you guys are killing it with your blood-sucking lawyer skills."

"Hey," Siddharth interjected, "Chetna uses her skills for the good."

"And Jai doesn't?" Yug asked, narrowing his eyes. 

Everyone laughed at this exchange and Vahni was glad that the attention was off her. 

She didn't understand how her friends seemed to be so sure of their decisions. She consoled herself with the thought that everyone must have their doubts much like her. She could not be the only one slightly averse to the idea of spending the rest of her life with her boyfriend, right? When their time comes she will take that leap of faith. 

Thankfully, Aakash seemed to share her unwillingness to discuss marriage. His ambition was what had made him so attractive to her in the first place. His drive was magnetic. Lately, though it had seemed to take over everything else in their lives. 

She tried to quash her restless thoughts later that night as she undressed in her room. 

Her phone buzzed and the screen lit up with a notification from Aakash. He was sending heart reactions and compliments to the photos she had sent him of her outfit. 

A slight feeling of guilt flitted in through her chest. Her thoughts tonight had been slightly disloyal. Aakash was a great guy. He loved her. She loved him. Maybe that was enough. 

With that last thought, she rolled over and fell asleep.