Surprised Me

By Rashi Kaushik

Ella never makes any sudden plans. She is not impulsive, never has been. She likes to plan her day and stick to it before starting it. She knew what she had to do today. First attending the college and then meeting her best friend, Peter. She was running late and though he was her friend she didn’t like wasting anybody’s time. Time has to be valued. She would never appreciate if someone wasted hers. Peter has been her best friend for past six years now. They have known each other since high school and never stopped hanging out with each other since then. They never dated each other but also nobody else. They were sufficient for each other even as friends. He knew if there is any problem she will be there for him even if she had no solution, she will support him in every other way possible and on the other hand Ella knew Peter would do anything for her if she is in trouble. They had all kinds of ups and downs with their friendship but no fight or argument ever lasted for more than three days. She reached the restaurant they had decided to meet at but almost an hour late. She ran to him and apologised while she was trying to control her breath.

“Sorry! I’m so sorry! I kept you waiting for long.”

“It’s Okay! No problem. Drink some water and relax first.”

She drank a glass full of water and excused him for going to the washroom. When she came back she was much relaxed and at ease. She was breathing normally and smiled at him and said,

“So? What’s going on with you? You asked to meet me yesterday saying it’s important.”

“Nothing much! Just wanted to tell you that I will be out of town for a couple of months for an internship. They won’t be paying me but I’ll get to learn a lot.”

Ella didn’t expect that, though she was very happy for him. She smiled and said,

“Peter!! That’s Great! I’m so happy for you. So, when are you going?”

“Tomorrow, I had got the mail a week ago but I had failed to check. Yesterday they called to confirm if I’m joining or not.”

“I can’t believe you failed to check your email, you could have missed the opportunity. That was so careless of you.”

“Yeah I know that! I am actually thankful I got the call and I didn’t miss it. Anyways, let that go. I’m joining and that’s all that matters.”

She smiled and said “Yeah, that’s true.”

She started looking at the menu to order something and then looked up at him and asked “What will you have?”

“Anything light, not much hungry.”

“Really? I’m starving. I’ll order some Chinese food.”

He ordered a burger with coke while she ordered noodles. The restaurant was not so fancy, though quiet and subtle with great music.

“Your birthday is next week and for the first time I won’t be around to celebrate it or give you your present.”

“Oh! You don’t have to. I am not excited about turning 21 unlike others.”

“Why? You should be. It’s a huge deal.” Anyways, guess what I got for you!”

“Can you provide me with any hints?”

The waiter interrupted our conversation with food. He served us and we started eating. He continued,

“I can provide you with hints but then that will be equal to providing you with answer.”

“Okay but still try to give me the hint with minimal information or in riddles.”

“It’s something you wished to have few months ago but didn’t buy it.”

She got confused because in past few months she had wished to have a lot of things like any other person. There’s always we want, need or wished to have. She further said,

“Doesn’t ring a bell. Give me another hint.”

“You saw it as you passed by a store one day.”

Now it clicked her that it’s a dress she wished to have but it was too expensive so she couldn’t afford it and she had shared it with him and even shared the pic she had clicked. She wanted to believe that it could be true but she was scared to be expecting more than possible. Maye be he was just kidding about this. Though he has never played with her emotions even for fun she was not prepared to believe that he got her that dress so she pretended like she didn’t understand.

“I’m still not getting it, I don’t remember about anything as such in particular. I don’t think I’ll be able to guess. You should directly tell me.”

He was smiling and looking at her while chewing his food. He looked excited and then took out his wallet from the back pocket of this jeans and asked her to close her eyes. Initially she refused to close her eyes but had to after he insisted. While her eyes were closed she thought what could it be because the dress she expected can’t be put in a wallet and he had no carry bags with him. She wondered why he asked her to close her eyes when he doesn’t even have the gift.

“Now you can open your eyes.”

He gave me a small paper which wrapped something really small because it was hardly the size of a lemon. This confused her even more. She was hoping this is not some kind of prank. That would be an utter disappointment. She dared to open it and found pair of ear studs. It was golden in colour with diamond like several stones attached to it as you will find in many local stores. She wasn’t at all happy to see it. It was beautiful but She doesn’t wear such artificial ear studs so it wasn’t special for her. She couldn’t pretend to be much happy but she tried her best. She had to say something because she wasn’t good at her first reaction.

“It’s beautiful. Thank you.”

She carelessly put them aside as if she didn’t care much. She told him that none of his hints justified the gift. He smiled and said, “I wasn’t giving you hints for that. There’s another gift.”

Now she got excited again, feeling of happiness and waiting for him to say that yes, it’s that dress you desperately wished to have. She was guilty as well for judging her previous gift and comparing it to the dress.

“So, are you going to tell me what is it?”

“It’s the dress you wanted few months ago, remember?”

“Yes, I remember but I can’t believe you got me that. It was so expensive. You shouldn’t have got me that.”

“It’s no big deal. You deserve it. You’ll look amazing in it. It’s yours now.”

“Thank you so much. I got no words to say. I’m still processing.”

They both were smiling at each other.

“So where is it? You didn’t bring it with you?”

“No, I didn’t. I can bring it now if you wait here for five minutes. It’s in my apartment which is just a building away from here.”

“Okay! I can wait for 5-10 minutes with food.”

And they both laughed. He got up immediately and left his meal to get the present.

“At least finish your meal. There’s no hurry.”

“No, I’ll get it first”

He rushed out hurriedly. By the time she was checking her phone, basically using Instagram and eating.

“Here it is!” he said handing her over a paper bag.

She took it and peeped inside but it was packed up.

“It’s packed up like a gift. Shall I open it here?”

“No, I am getting late. I will have to leave now. You open it when you get home. Try it on and tell me how it fits.”

“Sure, I will.”

As usual he paid. He never lets her pay because he says that he earns some money from trading while she had no source of earning. She was feeling a little sad that he is going but on the other hand happy for his progress. They had to go in opposite direction. They said bye and went on. She got to her car and drove while he just walked up to his apartment.

She came to her room, locked the door and opened the present. It was the dress. She was thrilled to see it. So beautiful and bright. She saw a box that was hidden inside the dress. She opened it and it was empty but looked like it was for keeping the ear studs. She didn’t pay attention to it at all. She tried the dress and it was perfect. She was dancing wearing it. It was the most expensive dress she owned and definitely gorgeous. The pink and the white combination along with the floral work was just perfect. It looked like a princess dress from Disney. She called him immediately after that,

“I tried the dress. It’s just perfect! Thank you so much. I can’t express in words, how happy I am.”

“That’s great! Did you find the box that was there?”

“Yes, what was that for?”

“Those ear studs should be kept in it. Keep them now before you lose them.”

“Okay! Okay! I will. First let me get over my dress.”

He was silent for a moment and then said,

“I have to confess something to you.”

She got nervous, thinking he might say he has feelings for her and she will just become blank on what to say. She never thought how she feels about him. She gathered her senses and thought, why is she even thinking like this. They never had any such moment where they felt a spark or anything. She might be overthinking.

“What’s that?” She asked in a casual tone.

“The ear studs that I gave you are actually real gold and diamond. I thought it would compliment your dress so I bought them but couldn’t tell you before as I thought that you wouldn’t accept it.”

She was shocked. She couldn’t believe what she just heard.

“WHAT???” She shouted.

“Please tell me you’re kidding. You can’t be serious.”

“I am, just keep it nicely.”

“I can’t keep them now after knowing the truth. You have to take it back.”

“You have already accepted it and you can’t return a present just because it’s expensive. Gifts are given with love and should be accepted with love. You can’t see the cost before accepting them. That’s absolutely wrong thing to do.”

She couldn’t say anything further. She didn’t know why he gave her such an expensive gift and if she should accept or not. She wasn’t sure yet she kept it but she couldn’t sleep that night thinking about that. Her thoughts got stuck on a doubt that what if he had feelings for her. Did she feel the same for him or it was just friendship? She was scared to ask anything like that because of the fear of being wrong or even right. It could complicate things between them. Maybe she will never know.

By Rashi Kaushik