IN LOVE WITH MY BEST FRIEND

Punit sat in his car; his tall frame stretched out in the driver's seat. He ran his fingers through his silky hair and adjusted his soft, kind eyes on the camera.

"I'm gay," he said, pausing for a moment. "Well, not really. That’s what the others think. If you ask me why, then, let me tell you, it took me a couple of years to figure that out."

Punit frowned and leaned back against his seat as the traffic around him ground to a halt. He decided to go live on his YouTube channel to speak his mind.

"Apparently, people have this notion that guys into fashion designing, or the nursing profession are by default gays," he continued, shaking his head in disbelief. "I know, right? Crazy! I don't even know where they got that idea from! And maybe I'll never find out. But hey, you don't see any of them hitting on other boys. At least most of them. And even if they do, so what? That's their choice. That doesn't make nursing or fashion designing the official course for gays."

Punit glanced at the camera and sighed. "Okay, I know you must be wondering why I brought this up. For one, I'm frustrated that people think I'm gay. I'm not. Now let's get that clear. I'm happily married to a woman for God's sake. And two, I'm a nurse. A male nurse."

He paused as he watched some drivers in nearby cars staring at him, their faces scrunched up in disapproval.

"There, I see some of you scrunching up your faces already," he said, his voice laced with annoyance. "Whatever! I'm a nurse. Whether you like it or not. And to be honest, I hated my job too.”

He leaned back again, his voice becoming more animated. “Like, who wants to go around asking old timers, 'do you want to pee?' 'Do you want to take a dump?' 'Are you wet?' 'Come, let me change your diapers.' 'Ooh! Now that's a big load!' It's... well, tiring and... weird. I'm kind of used to it now."

He leaned forward again, his eyes shining. "I never wanted to be a nurse, to be honest. I've always wanted to be an actor. But then, my mom was like, 'acting? Is that even a subject of study? Go do something worthwhile in life, something that will help you stand on your feet instead of making faces a profession.'"

He rolled his eyes and shook his head. "So, I took up nursing, because apparently, male nurses were in demand. And at that point in time, it was the standard protocol: wrap up your studies and get a fucking job in the US, or Australia or UK, blah-blah-blah!"

Punit's cheeks flushed as he realized he'd cussed on his YouTube channel. "Oops! I cussed. I don't usually cuss. But blame it on her. Now that I'm with her 24/7/365, I'm sort of soaking up a lot of her. Swearing comes to her so naturally. Irritate her, and the first thing you'd hear is an F."

He chuckled and leaned forward, his eyes sparkling mischievously. "You must be wondering who I'm talking about. Who else? Anki."

"Ankita Agarwal. Anki. We’ve been, well, ‘best friends’, since the 5th grade. And then, one day, it happened, for her. For me, well... I guess I’ve always been in love with her." As Punit spoke about Ankita, his eyes lit up and a soft smile formed on his lips. He gazed into the distance, lost in thought, as he reminisced about their long-lasting friendship and the feelings he had for her.

"Okay, I got to make a move now. The jam is finally clearing up. Traffic here in the US sucks big time. Getting stuck up on the highway for hours is the last thing you’d need. Oh yeah, and I’m driving."

Punit looked ahead as the traffic started to move, his eyes scanning the road ahead of him. He gripped the steering wheel tightly as he manoeuvred through the traffic, frustration evident on his face as he thought about the tedious drive home.

"I know, you want to know more about her, right? About us?” Punit glanced at the camera with a mischievous grin, his eyes full of excitement as he teased his audience. “Then stick close, I’m taking you back to where it all started."

***