Almost 5000 words.

Kavya's POV

'You know, when I installed social media apps, I searched your name, but couldn't find you,' he said as he took a scoop of his favourite, butterscotch.

Kabir loves butterscotch flavour.

'I am not on any social media app,' I said as I had a spoon of kesar pista ice-cream.

'Tina,' Sakshi shouted as we saw a couple with their daughter.

Tina was also in my class.

'Good Afternoon, madam,' Tina's mom greeted me.

'Sakshi, let's have ice-cream together,' Tina said.

'Uncle, can I go and have ice-cream with her?' Sakshi asked him.

'No, Sakshi. Let her enjoy with her parents,' he said.

'No problem. We will take Sakshi to our table. Let them enjoy together,' Tina's dad said and Tarun nodded his head reluctantly.

'By the way, I am Sakshi's uncle, Tarun,' he got up and greeted himself and they also introduced themselves to him and took Sakshi to their table.

While eating the ice-cream, he took out his mobile.

'Give me your mobile number,' he said, and we exchanged mobile numbers.

'By the way, you work in your father's electronic showroom, right, as you told us that while we were in college?' I asked.

'Yes. Now I handle the whole showroom. Dad stays at home and takes rest,' he told me.

'Good. By the way how is Priya?' I asked.

During our project, she was always with us and thank god for that, because, for her, I got so comfortable while doing the project with him.

When I heard that I was paired with a guy I was so nervous, as in the three years of college, I had never talked with a guy, but with her with us, it became easy for me to interact with him while doing the project

'We broke up three years ago,' he said after few seconds.

'What? Why?' I was so shocked to hear that. They were high school sweethearts and were always glue to each other.

'Few months after the graduation, dad told me that due to some bad decision taken by him, the business is going into loss. So, I decided to look at it, and started working day and night, and couldn't give time to her like I used to. When I was stable into business and finally had time for her, she told me that she fell in love with the guy from her office as he gives time to her, unlike me,' he told me.

'Ofcourse, if they work together, it is easy for him to give time to her,' I said.

'Yes, and it's not like I didn't try, I used to wake up early and come back late from the shop, still, I talked with her while driving, or while having lunch and dinner. Yes, we could not meet frequently as she only had Sunday off, and on Sunday only, many customers used to come. But, on some weekdays, I used to ask my workers to handle the business and go to her office so that we could have lunch together even though her office was two hours away from me,' he said.

'Anyways, leave all that, what about you?' he asked and I told him about my marriage and Sohum's death.

'Oh my god! I am sorry. Destiny is so cruel,' he said and I agreed with him.

Indeed, destiny was cruel with me. I lost my husband and also the first friend I made by myself.

Yes, I consider Tarun my friend but we were paired up together for a project. It's not that we bonded naturally but with Kabir, I bonded naturally.

'And how did you decide to become a teacher?' he asked.

'One of my friend asked me to join a teaching course with her, as she needed a company, but she left the course in the middle as her marriage got fixed but I continued and that's how, now I am a teacher,' I told him as he finished his ice-cream.

He looked at Sakshi to see she was laughing with Tina and a smile appeared on his lips looking her happy.

'She has wrapped us in her hands. We can't say 'no' to her,' he said.

'Kids are like that.'

'How is she at school? Didi said that she does all the homework and has no complains, but if, she is naughty, tell me. I will make her understand.' he said.

'Her mom is right. She is very attentive, and her grades are also good,' I said as I got up after finishing my ice-cream and he also got up.

'Sakshi, let's go home,' he shouted, and Sakshi bid goodbye to them came running towards us.

'I will drop you and then we will go home,' he said as he opened the front seat of the car and gestured me to sit. Sakshi opened the backdoor and went in.

'Can I sit with Sakshi?' I asked.

'Yes, Of course,' he said, and I sat in the backseat.

He sat in the driver's seat and asked for my address. He opened the map and wrote the address and started the car.

'Do you want to come upstairs?'

'No. Some other time. I have to go and prepare dinner for us as didi can't do anything,' he said.

'You know how to prepare meals?' I asked.

'I know how to make for survival. It's not tasty but it's still edible,' he said.

'Wow! That's great.'

'Everybody should learn basic cooking,' he said and I nodded in agreement.

'Okay then, bye, I will leave.' I bid both of them goodbye and walked towards my building.

*****

After having dinner, as I was washing utensils, my mobile rang.

I wiped my hands with the towel and went to pick up the phone to see that Kabir was calling me.

'Hello,' I greeted him.

'Hello. Are you free?' he asked.

'Yes. Why?'

'I thought you are with your friend,' he said.

'No. What help do you want from me?' I asked directly without doing the small talk.

'Straight to the point, huh? Anyway, tomorrow, can you help me with buying birthday gift for Shalini aunty?' he asked.

'Whose help you take every year?' I asked.

'I usually give her an amount of money to buy for herself but this year I want to give her something,' he told me.

'What has changed this year?' I asked.

'I don't know. I am just feeling like it,' he replied.

'Okay, let's meet tomorrow.'

'But, tomorrow, I will not be able to come to pick up Raj. We will meet in the evening. I will come to your house to pick you up,' he said.

'No. You can give me a call. I will come downstairs,' I said.

'You don't want me to come to your house, right?' he asked.

I am scared that, I will start talking normally with him if he comes to my house.

'No. It's just that....

'It's okay. I understand,' he cut me off.

'Okay, let's meet tomorrow and then, we can discuss what she likes and buy her a gift. Bye---

'Kavya,' he called me as I was about to cut the call.

'Yes?'

'Nothing. Bye,' he said and cut the call.

Wierd.

*****

'You will also leave, right?' Tarun asked.

'Yes. I will leave after all my students leave,' I said and looked around to see few students waiting for their parents.

Raj had already left as Suraj bhaiya was early today.

'Okay. Then I will wait for you,' he said.

'Huh?'

'I will wait for you. We can go and have some snacks,' he said.

'No. It's okay. Sakshi must be tired,' I said.

'Sakshi, are you tired?' he asked her.

'No, uncle. I will have burger,' she said excitedly.

'See, she is not tired. I will wait for you,' he said and left before I could say something.

I called Neeraj Bhaiya and told him that I will leave with a friend so he can leave.

I felt guilty for asking him to leave as he was standing outside the school from last twenty minutes.

Everyday, he messages me when he arrives so I know that today he is standing for a long time but I can't say no to Tarun as he is my friend and he must be upset because of his sister's miscarriage even though he says that he is fine.

*****

I sat at the backseat with Sakshi as Tarun started the car. Sakshi was in her own world, enjoying the view of outside.

I remembered how I used to sit with Kabir and the time when we had gone to his farmhouse. That was our longest ride.

He took me there after burglar attacked my house.

I got to meet amazing people there, specially Tanisha.

'What are you thinking?' he asked while looking at me through the mirror.

'Nothing.'

*****

'Will you come upstairs?' I asked.

'Yes. Let's go. Today I don't have to prepare dinner. Our neighbour gave us dosa with sambhar and chatni for lunch. Didi told me that we can have it at night as we already had lunch,' he said.

'Good. That means, you are free today.'

'Yes. And, after having pizza, I don't think I will have dinner,' he said.

'Yes, uncle. My stomach is also full,' Sakshi said.

'Okay, then. Let's go upstairs and have a cup of coffee,' I said.

'Let's go,' he said and got out of the car.

*****

'Wow! It's really cozy and beautiful place,' he said as he sat on the sofa.

He had not seen the whole house, just the living room and kitchen.

Sakshi sat beside him and started playing some game on his mobile.

'Yes,' I said and sat across him.

With Kabir, it was very comfortable but with Tarun in my house, I am feeling awkward.

'You must be devastated after your husband's death, right?' he asked.

'Yes. I felt alone in this big world. I don't know how I survived that phase,' I said as I rubbed the side of my head.

'What happened? Are you okay?' he asked.

'My head is continuously paining from the time I left the school,' I said and again rubbed my head

'Why didn't you tell me? We would have gone to eat some other day,' he scolded.

'I didn't wanted to make you upset as you must be already upset after your sister's miscarriage,' I said and he sighed.

'That's true. I feel bad for Didi as she and jiju were so happy and already imagined a future with the baby. Now also, didi cries everytime. She thinks I don't know, but sometimes I catch her crying,' he said.

'Yes. When we sleep at night, I could hear mom crying under the blanket but when I ask about it, she tells me that she is not crying and hugs me tightly. But, I am not upset as uncle said, that my baby brother or sister is in a better place, right?' she said and looked at Tarun.

'Yes, baby. The baby is in a better place with angels looking after him,' he explained Sakshi and that made me smile.

'Yes, Sakshi. And, mom will be fine in few days as she has an Angel like you near her,' I said and again rubbed my forehead.

'Now, let's talk about you,' he said and turned towards me.

'You only had a sandwich,' he continued.

'Because, I was not feeling like having anything,' I said.

And, I didn't want him to spend money on me.

With Kabir, it was different but I don't want Tarun to spend money on me.

I took maggie in tiffin as I was getting late to prepare roti and sabji and didn't have any leftovers of yesterday dinner.

'You were having headache so you were not feeling like having anything. Wait! I will make ginger tea for you. Whenever I have a headache, I drink ginger tea. It helps me with my headache,'

'No. You don't have to do that, Tarun.'

'I am your friend, Kavya. I can do this much for you,' he said as he walked towards the kitchen.

'Where is tea powder and sugar?' he said as he opened the fridge and took out ginger and milk.

'Tarun, you don't have to do that.'

'I know, some people don't like anybody entering their kitchen but---

'No. It's not like that. I am thankful that you atleast thought of preparing tea to cure my headache, but, you don't have to do that,' he said.

'Just have a cup and your headache will be gone in few minutes. Tell me where is sugar and tea powder?' he asked again.

'On the right side of the second shelf,' I told him and he found it.

Suddenly, the bell rang and Tarun looked at me.

Who is it?

'I will go and open the door,' he said.

What if it is some aunty from the society?

'Tarun---

I tried to stop him from opening the door but by that time he had already opened the door.

I was shocked to see Kabir standing in front of me.

He was staring at me without even blinking his eyes.

Why is he here?

Oh! Shit! I totally forgot that we were supposed to go together to buy gift for Shalini aunty.

'We met yesterday, right? Come in,' Tarun said and he came inside and sat beside me which surprised me.

'You are her friend, right? You came at the right time. I was making tea for her. I will make it for both of us also,' he said and again went in the kitchen.

'Wow! He has already entered your kitchen?' he whispered and my eyes widened.

'It took me so many days to enter your kitchen,' he continued.

I remembered the day I was sick and he prepared khichdi for me by taking help of aunty.

'Sakshi, greet that uncle,' Tarun said from the kitchen.

'Hello, uncle,' Sakshi greeted.

'Hello! You and Raj are in the same class, right?' I asked.

'Yes, uncle,' she said and went back to playing her games.

'Ginger tea for you. Now your headache will vanish in seconds,' he said as he gave me the cup and went to bring another cup.

'For you,' he gave it to Kabir.

'Sorry, I don't drink tea,' he said.

'You should have told me the time I said that I am preparing it for both of us also,' Tarun said.

'Sorry, I was thinking about something else, so I didn't listen to you,' Kabir said and again looked at me.

'It's fine. I will have it later,' I said.

'Okay,' he said and brought tea for himself and sat across us.

'Sakshi, do you want to have anything?' I asked.

'No, madam. I am full after we had pizza.'

'You had pizza with them?' Kabir whispered.

'Tell me, how did I made tea?' Tarun interjected us and I took a sip.

'Wow! Perfect amount of sugar and it is very strong. I hope my headache will be gone after this,' I said and took another sip.

'I also hope that,' Tarun said.

'So, what do you do?' Kabir asked.

'I have my own electrictronic shop,' he replied.

'What about you?' Tarun asked.

'I own a hotel,' he replied.

'Wow! That's cool. If we come to eat at your hotel, we will get discount, right?' Tarun joked while looking at me and I gave him a small smile.

'Of course. Kavya's friend is my friend. Someday if you want to stay there, I will even give the penthouse at a discount,' he said.

'I stay with Didi. So I don't think I will ever need a room in a hotel but, we will come to eat whenever Kavya is free,' he said and took another sip.

'Okay. Just call me before coming. I will make sure to give you our best service,' Kabir said.

'Okay. Shit! It's so inappropriate to have tea infront of you while you are not having anything. Do you drink coffee? I can make coffee for you,' he said.

'You have got accustomed so easily in her house,' Kabir said and looked at him.

'I am like that only. I get accustomed easily,' he said and took our cup in the kitchen.

'Don't wash it. I will wash it,' I shouted.

'Yes, madam,' he said and came back and sat on the sofa.

'Do you want coffee?' he asked again.

'No, I am fine,' Kabir replied.

'I hope your headache will decrease after having tea. Usually it works for me. I hope it works on you too,' he said.

'Thank you so much, Tarun. It meant a lot. I love the fact that you can prepare food,' I said and he smiled.

'Girls like men who are good in kitchen, right?' he joked making me laugh.

'Anyways, preparing tea is not a big deal. Someday, I will prepare lunch or dinner for you. It may not be that great, but I will prepare it for you. Okay, I will leave now so that both of you can talk freely,' he said and looked at us.

'Tarun, it's nothing like that,' I said.

'Bye, Tarun,' Kabir said and I looked at him incredulously.

'Bye. Let's meet tomorrow, Kavya. Let's go, Sakshi.' he said and Sakshi bid us goodbye and they left.

Kabir went and closed the door.

'Do you have any problem with Tarun? He didn't notice it but I noticed the indifference.'

'I don't have any problem with him. He is a good guy, has his own shop, takes care of his family and can prepare food also,' he said.

'Then why were you not talking normally with him like you do with me? It seemed you were angry at him,' I said.

'Usually, I am like this. I am only good with people I care about. I am not like Tarun, who is good to everyone,' he said.

'Why are you here?' I changed the topic as I didn't knew what to say.

'I was waiting outside your building for the past ten to fifteen minutes and was continuously calling you but you were not picking up. I thought you were taking a nap but you were with your friend,' he said.

'Shit! I had put the phone on silent in school but I forgot to remove it,' I said.

'I understand. You were busy having pizza so you forgot about the plans we made but I didn't forget,' he said.

'Why are you mocking me?' I asked.

'I am not mocking you. I am trying to understand you.'

'I can feel the difference in your tone. And, I didn't have pizza with them. I had a sandwich,' I said.

'Only a sandwich? You love pizza right?' he asked and I remembered the day we had pizza in our balcony. The time, I thought that he was the manager of the hotel.

Those good old days.

'I love it, but, Tarun would not have let me pay, and I didn't want everybody to spend money on me. There were few people whom I gave the right to spend on me and---

'Was I one of them?' he cut me off.

'Yes, but not now,' I said and he nodded his head.

'In few days, your friend will take my place. I can't even talk with you without any reason. I can't even come to your house, but he is ruling your kitchen but I understand that it is my fault. You gave me that right but I lost it and now, that right will be taken by your friend,' he said.

What is he even saying?

He is talking like a stupid man.

'I---

I rubbed my head as it suddenly started paining again.

'Are you okay?' he asked while coming closer.

He was sitting so close that there was no gap between us and this close proximity bothered me.

'Yes.'

'Let's go in the bedroom and sit. I will massage your head with oil,' he said.

I remembered my mom used to always massage my head with oil, whenever I had a headache.

'Kavya,' he called me which bought me back to reality.

'No. You don't have to do that,' I shouted.

'I know that you said that I can only be with you, if I need help, but, right now, you need my help. So, go and sit in the bedroom,' he ordered and I listened to him without arguing as my head was paining a lot.

He asked me for the bottle of oil, and when I told him about it, he took it and followed me into the bedroom.

I sat on the bed in Indian style and he adjusted his pant before climbing on the bed.

He sat behind me and took oil on his palm, rubbed both his hand and started massaging my head.

I remembered the convetsation I had with mom before marriage while massaging my head. I had asked her, who will do it after my marriage and she said that if I am lucky, my husband will do it for me.

My husband used to buy medicines and give it to me but never considered to massage my head, so I thought that I was not lucky and didn't thought much about it until today.

'Are you feeling better?' he asked.

'Yes. From where did you learn it?' I asked.

'One day, when I was young Ti was giving head massage to princess when I went into their house. Ti made me sit on the sofa and asked me to watch how she gives massage to princess and jokingly said that, I should also learn to give massage as it will help me if my wife suffers from headache. That day I laughed it off, but, today, it came to use,' he replied making me smile.

That girl will be so lucky, whom he will love.

'You can stop now. I am feeling better,' I said as I don't want to get used to this.

'I know that you are dying to throw me out of your house, but just few more minutes,' he said continued with his massage.

I wanted to tell him that I dont want to throw him out of my house, but decided to not say anything and closed my eyes feeling his fingers massaging my scalp.

*****

'Okay. I will leave. We can buy gift tomorrow. Tomorrow, remove your mobile from silent. I will stand under your building and call you,' he said.

'Okay. Thank you for the massage. I am feeling better now,' I said.

'You are welcome. I will leave,' he said and I closed my door without even waiting for him to get inside the elevator.

I should be like what I was for the past two days if I don't want to get hurt again.

Because, I know if I agree to be friends with him, he will say something which will again break my heart.

*****

Kabir's Pov

I sat in the car and cursed loudly.

Tarun is a good man. I said that I don't like Ravi as he is a divorcee and does not even earn much.

Yes, I checked on Ravi after I got to know that his mother wants him to marry Kavya.

But Tarun has his own business, and he is also a good man, then why am I getting angry?

I cannot give her what she wants, she can marry a good man and move on with her life then, why my blood is boiling seeing them together?

Why I got hurt after seeing Tarun casually roaming around in her kitchen, as if it's his own kitchen?

Why I felt angry when Kavya complimented his tea?

Why it hurt me knowing that Kavya likes that he can cook, whereas I have never cooked my entire life, except for the khichdi I prepared for her when she was sick and that too when Shalini aunty send me an youtube video of that recipe.

They were talking so freely and I can't even talk with her, if I don't want help from her.

That's why I decided to ask for her help in selecting gifts for aunty otherwise I would have given her money like every year.

I did it so that I can spend time with her but she forgot about our plans as she was busy with Tarun.

But, I am glad that she doesn't want Tarun to spend money on her. That means, she is not that close to her yet, but I think that, in some days, he will be close to her.

But, what should I do other than giving them my blessings, but, thinking about me congratulating them for their wedding, wants to make me punch something.

Anyways, I will go home and think about it. I told aunty that I will be home early today as she has to go to the hospital for regular check up.

Already, aunty thinks that something is wrong with me, when she saw workers of the shop coming with a new refrigerator. Now, if I am late, she will definately think something is wrong with me, as I always come on time, when she has to do regular checkup.

*****

Please COMMENT and VOTE if you liked the story.

I hope you liked the chapter.

What do you think of Tarun?

What are your thoughts on Kabir?

What do you think of Tarun and Kavya?

*****