“Oh my God! My God! Is it what I think it is?” screeched Parul, her eyes fixed on her elder sister’s finger. She was already up on her feet and was enveloping Payal in a bear hug before the latter could open her mouth and say “Yes”. The thinning lunch crowd at the Thai restaurant they frequentl craned their necks to see what the excitement was all about. “I cannot believe it – my didi is engaged. Wohoo! Have you set a date? Do the parents know this?” Parul kept her questions coming.

There was a polite applause from the other diners and Payal muttered “Thank yous” before settling back in her seat. Lynda, their usual waitress brought them glasses of iced Thai tea and added her congratulations. “Usuals right? I be back with your entrees soon” she said as she breezed away. “I need to take lessons from her, on how to smile, enjoy compliments and answer wedding questions” thought Payal. She has not been engaged for 24 hours and was already exhausted with the questions.

Taking a fortifying sip of the tea, Payal said “No date yet. No parents yet. You are first one from the families to know”. “Oh my gosh! We need to plan – so much to plan. Where do you plan to get married? Here? Or In desh? We must definitely head to India for a shopping trip. Do you have any specific plans/ideas on what you want? And what you totally don’t want? Oh my gosh! I really need to calm down and quit being the event planner. Unless ofcourse you want me to plan your wedding” Parul jabbered on in her usual dramatic style while toying with the straw in her drink.

“How can you be so calm? You are E-N-G-A-G-E-D. You need to plan you dream wedding” Parul proceeded without a break wondering for the nth time how the sisters could be so different. Payal was her anti-thesis. The yin and yang sisters they were called. Payal with her geeky aspirations and sensible ballet flats. Parul with her wedding dreams and stilettos. The PP girls – as different as chalk and cheese. And now Payal was engaged. “Parul, you are ofcourse planning my wedding – right down to the smallest detail – nail color and bhindi color included. You know I am not good at this stuff. Ideally I would prefer the smallest wedding on earth but I am sure I cannot get away without a big fat Indian wedding”

Their entrees arrived and they chowed down their food in silence. The usual Pad Thai with extra bean sprouts and peanuts for Payal and the entrée of the day for Parul. “I am yet to figure out the logistics. I need to talk to both sets of parents and come up with some kind of plan. We have not even decided a time frame. Ro just surprised me with a ring last night. I still cannot believe he managed to surprise me with a proposal and the ideal ring”

“Oh my gosh! The ring! Show it to me. How did I miss that?” Parul exclaimed as she pulled her sister’s hand towards her without upsetting the glasses of water and tea that stood between them on that tiny table. Payal resisted the urge to pull her hand back and tuck it out of sight. “It is not the traditional engagement ring but I never gravitated towards those rocks. It is much simpler and more me” Payal felt the urge to defend the ring – the gold band on her ring finger growing heavier. “It is a Mabe Pearl set in gold. Wave pattern with a diamond” she recited watching Parul’s face in earnest. “I love it” she felt the need to add and fill in the gap. Payal did love the ring – waves of gold encircling a perfectly formed Mabe pearl reflecting shades of pink and coral and green with a more traditional 1/4 carat diamond tucked in the corner was her perfect ring.

The sisters looked at the ring on Payal’s long finger with nails clipped too short to be considered fashionable, congealing mass of noodles and rice and curry between them. The gold waves, the tiny diamond and the Mabe pearl shined under the lights. “It is indeed perfect” sighed the sisters in unison and threw back their heads in laughter. “We still say the same things didi. We still do” laughed Parul gripping her sister’s hands tighter.

This post is a part of the April A to Z challenge. 26 days, 26 letters and 26 short stories. Come back tomorrow for more.