Chapter 12
“ N o peeking!” I instruct Veda as I guide her to the back of Urban Flame, her favorite restaurant, with my hands covering her eyes.
“Um, hello? I couldn’t even if I wanted to!”
I can already spot her family sitting at the table we reserved when we round the corner, and notice they brought with them an assortment of colorful balloons and party hats. Though Urban Flame isn’t a Michelin-star restaurant by any standard, it’s still fancy enough to warrant dressy attire and above-average prices; which makes it all the more heartwarming that her family is currently taking over the entire back section with their decor, despite the looks they’re getting from surrounding tables.
Cassie runs up ahead to get them ready to yell “surprise” while Veda huffs and puffs from underneath my freshly painted nails. She can’t stand being left in the dark. Her own matching manicure is fighting the urge to swipe my hands away, the gorgeous red jewel tone flashing in the air .
Our matching mani-pedis were just one stop in Veda’s Fabulous Birthday of Fun. It began with brunch at Sunnyside Up, a cozy little brunch spot in SoHo, followed by our nail appointment and then a walk along the High Line to take in the views of Manhattan—and to digest the comically large stacks of pancakes that sat in our bellies. After some “shopping” (which mostly consisted of browsing in stores that were way out of our price range), it was time to bring her to the real surprise of the day.
“You know I can tell we’re in a restaurant, right? The sound of crowds and forks scraping against plates pretty much gives it away,” she says matter-of-factly, and I can feel the cheeky smile on her face.
“How do you know we’re not at a plate-making pottery class?”
“Because it’s common knowledge that I break everything I touch, and I can smell my favorite risotto a mile away.”
Cassie’s got her family standing around the table now, ready to go, and I give her a nod as we make our last steps toward them.
“Fine, you caught us. We are at a restaurant, Smarty Pants. But I bet you didn’t expect this !” I announce as I pull my hands away from her eyes in one rapid motion.
“SURPRISE!” we all scream in unison, once again garnering dirty looks from the many patrons trying to eat in peace.
Cassie runs over to us and shoves a party hat onto Veda’s head while she stares at us in shocked silence, her mouth wide open.
“ No way !” she finally exclaims as tears crowd her eyes and a giant smile takes over her face. “Mummy! Daddy!”
She runs over to her parents and they take her into their arms, my heart soaring. A couple of those grumpy diners next to us even manage a few claps since no one can resist the cuteness that is the Sharma family.
Veda moves down the line to hug her two sisters, the three of them letting out excited squeals, while their parents greet Cassie and I. Cassie has known them for a couple years longer than I have, but I’ve met them enough times to share her total adoration of them.
“I can’t believe you’re all here!” Veda beams while her parents hand me and Cassie each a party hat.
“This one threatened to steal the car and drive herself if we didn’t come,” her father replies, nudging Veda’s youngest sister in the arm.
“What can I say, I missed my VeeVee,” Meera says with bright eyes as we all sit down. “And I’d never say no to a trip to New York.”
Every couple of months, she comes to stay with Veda for the weekend and we end up turning it into a big slumber party, complete with green face masks and cheesy Meg Ryan movies. She claims she only comes to spend more time with her oldest sister, but we all know she has a not-so-secret obsession with the city.
“And that’s exactly why it’ll be perfect when you go to school here next year. You’ll never have to leave!”
“Um, hello? What happened to applying to UPenn?” Surya, the middle sister, asks with a hand on her hip. “Meera, tell me you didn’t change your mind! I told you, UPenn has a stellar Computer Science program.”
“Relax guys, I still haven’t decided anything.”
Veda and Surya have been in a fierce battle all summer over where their youngest sister should apply to school in the fall, since she’s about to start her senior year. Veda obviously wants her to go to one of the Ivy League schools in NYC so she can be closer to her, but Surya has been making a strong case for the University of Pennsylvania, where she’s currently studying Law—an option also backed by their parents, since they don’t want to see their baby move to a different city either.
“Actually, Cornell and Columbia are ranked higher than UPenn for computer science,” V points out, patented overly-confident smile on her face.
“At least my school is in Philly. Think about it, Meer: you could stay at home and save some money instead of moving all the way out here to the Land of Overpriced Everything.”
“It’s less than a hundred miles away! Plus, she’ll probably get a ton of scholarships and she’ll be making bank once she becomes a software developer, so that’s not even a valid argument.”
“Maybe I should just apply to all three and wait to see which one I get into..?” Meera offers timidly amidst their arguments.
“That’s ridiculous,” their mom chimes in. “You will obviously be accepted into any school you apply to.”
From what I’ve been able to gather over the years, Meera is pretty much a genius. She’s an honor roll student at the top of her class and is already being scouted by various schools around the country after she won a state-wide essay contest and a regional programming competition last year. So really, it’s no wonder she—and her family—have such big aspirations.
“Okay, can we talk about literally anything other than school? Maybe something like Veda’s birthday ? A.K.A. the reason we’re here?” Meera finally declares, putting an end to the discussion.
Surya huffs at the change of topic while Veda beams, flicking a lock of deep brown hair over her shoulder. The clip holding together her pristine French twist fell out somewhere around Chelsea, and she’s already accepted the fact she was never going to get that sucker back.
“She’s right—it is my special day, after all. Go ahead everyone, shower me with compliments.”
Her mother rolls her eyes at Veda’s candid love of attention before adding, “First, I believe some ‘thank you’s are in order to Cassie and Gemma for organizing this little surprise.”
“Oh, of course!” she says, eyes wide before reaching for our hands across the table. “Thank you both so much, this has been the most perfect birthday ever.”
“You’re so welcome, V.” I beam, glad our recent efforts had finally paid off. “I take it you were surprised then?”
“Um, yes ! I wasn’t planning on seeing my family until next month, this is truly the best gift you could have ever gotten me.”
“Oh thank God, we totally thought you were onto us when we blindfolded you on the subway,” Cassie adds.
“Yeah, I’m gonna need you to never ever do that again. But nope, I had no clue,” she chuckles. “Guess you’re better at keeping secrets than I thought.”
I smile at that last part, thinking to myself: Oh V, you have absolutely no idea.