"Sarah, come on? Why won't you tell me more stories about your past? I want to know more about when you met Mason, and when he proposed to you!" I ask, as I roll the lavash on the cutting board. 

Sarah looks slightly embarrassed, as she puts the food into the oven. "It's embarrassing! I was a complete klutz back then! I still don't know how Mason ended up marrying me, to be very honest." 

I look at her, with a slightly weirded out look on my face. "I'll be the judge of that. Now, tell me, what exactly did you do to make you think that you're a complete klutz?" 

Sarah smiles a little bit, as she remembers exactly what happened that made her seem like a goof. Granted, she's always smiling, but this one is a special smile. It's one that makes her reflect on all the good times that she's had with Mason, and how she just wants all of them to come back before she gets too old and possibly forgets everything that she once remembered was happy. 

"Well, for starters, when he came over, I nearly burnt the dinner, set a towel on fire, oversalted the food, and spilled water all over him. I was so scared that he would think that I was a total klutz, but he found it adorable, and requested a second date. Then, about three years later, he proposed to me, but not in the most conventional way. There weren't any firecrackers, lights, mystical dancers, nothing. He did it in the middle of our lawn, wearing a pair of sweatpants, and me wearing one of his old shirts, and just straight up asked, 'I hate really sappy love speeches. I'm going to make this short. Sarah, I love you. Marry me?' I got so scared that I ended up running back inside the house, stuttering 'Oh my god.' Well, he followed me back in, calmed me down, and then I agreed. Almost 15 years strong." 

I smile, thinking to myself how lucky Sarah is to find love like that. I mean, Mason and Sarah are pretty much like a power couple, and I'm glad that they are so happy together. I haven't been as lucky as I've wanted when it comes to love, but I've got time. A lot more than I would have expected, but it's still time nonetheless. 

I reflect back to my early college ex, whose personality was a bigger dick than his actual dick. Considering how he screwed around with another woman during our relationship, it was probably a good thing that I forgot him. "Ah, you've had a better love life than I probably ever will." 

Sarah nudges me a little bit with her elbow, and then I look with her. She has a confident look on her face. "Hey, just because Daniel the Douchebag cheated on you doesn't mean that all your future partners are doomed to cheat on you at some point. He was just one irresponsible asshole who couldn't keep it in his pants and took you for granted. You didn't deserve him anyways. There's plenty of men that are ready to drool over you. Don't worry," she said, with a reassuring look on her face. 

I raised an eyebrow a little bit, considering that Sarah is one of the last people that I would expect to make such a dirty joke in regards to my dating life. "I doubt that I'm going to go out to the bar and have people want to make out with me. For one, the bar is one of the last places that I want to go to alone. I always have someone like Usha or Mason with me. Second, if I want to drink, I just ask Mason for some wine and he's happy to give me a glass. Simple," I say, as Sarah takes the lavash out of the oven. 

"Fair. Oh, I should get some amazing wine for Mason for our anniversary. I think it will be the perfect thing for us to have while we celebrate our 15th year anniversary. What do you think?" Sarah asks, as I grab a plate. 

I smile, and then nod. "That's perfect. He'll love that," I say, as I think about how Mason will probably drink that whole bottle before Sarah gets to finish her glass.

***********

"Can you grab a can of chilis right there?" Mason asks, as he pushes the cart. I grab the can and throw it in, as he examines his shopping list. "I think we're halfway done. You need your hygiene products, right?" he asks, to which I nod. 

Without another word spoken, he pushes the cart to the hygiene aisle so that I can grab some of my products. I pick up a few boxes to compare the quantity and quality to make sure that I'm getting the best product that I possibly can. "You good? You have a few other things to pick up over here, right?" 

I look over and nod. He nods, and then places his hands back on the shopping cart. "Alright, cool. So I'll go grab a few more things. I'll be down in the refrigerated section if you need me. Everything else I need is around there. Call me if you need anything." 

"Sure." 

Mason pushes the cart and then makes his way to the refrigerated section so that he can get his groceries. Thankfully, it doesn't take long before I find everything that I need, so with that, I walk out of the aisle to go find Mason. 

As I'm walking through the store, I hear a disgustingly familiar voice say, "Ashmita Patel." I turn around, almost knowing exactly what's going to happen, and then I see the pure asshole himself. It's Daniel Harrison, the guy whom I dated in my first two years of college before he went and screwed another girl named Mara. Fun times, fun times. 

"Daniel Craig Harrison. I knew you were here. The smell of pure shit coming near you is very distinct." Daniel rolls his eyes and then eyed me very weirdly. It was like he was still trying to check me out even though I dumped his ass a long time ago.

 "So, how's it going? Is your dear dad still trying to fight your battles?" 

I raise my head a little bit higher, and say, "Depends. Are you still trying to find a girlfriend after you got herpes from Mara?" Daniel raises an eyebrow, and then looks back at the things in my hands. "If you don't have anything to say to me, other than wanting to hook up with me, then go find someone who will actually want to date you. Of course, barely anyone would want to date a cheating douchebag who got herpes from his side chick, but I'll leave that up to them. Have fun, and convey my condolences to your next girlfriend." 

I turn around and swiftly walk away, and thankfully, I don't hear him yelling, "ASHMITA, COME ON. WE CAN STILL HOOK UP, LIKE THE GOOD DAYS." Some days, I wish I could go back in time and ask my 18 year old self what I saw in him. And hopefully, persuade myself to not date him, or talk with him, ever. I walk down the aisle so that I can attempt to find Mason, and then I hear him talking with another person, who has kind of a noticeable Indian accent. 

I follow the sound, and the next thing you know, I see Mason talking with a tall Indian man whom I've never really seen in my life. I come up to Mason, and then he notices me. He smiles, and then turns back to the man. "Ashmita, this is Sunil. He used to work with your mom and I back when she was alive. He moved to another job a while back. Sunil, this is Ashmita," Mason introduces. 

I smile, then drop my things in the shopping cart. I hold my hand out, and say, "Nice to meet you." 

He smiles, and then shakes my hand. "You too. You look so much like your mom. It's pretty insane. I also kind of see Arjun in there as well. You got a good mix going on," he says. 

Mason nods, and then his phone starts to ring. "Oh sorry, give me a second." He rushes off to a little area so he can take the call, while I look at Sunil. He gives me a smile, and then, a crazy idea sparks my mind. It's now or never, and I can get an idea of who to focus on when it comes to the case. It's a good idea to know if I'm going in the right direction or not. 

"What are you studying?" 

"Computer science and criminology. I'm in my last year." 

He smiles, and then I spring my question. "Okay, this is completely random, and promise you won't tell Mason I asked you this. But what do you know about my mom's murder?" 

Sunil's eyes widen a little bit, and then I realize that I may have come off as a little bit too assertive for his liking. "Sorry, that was probably a bit unexpected." 

"No, you're fine. I will tell you this. First of all, I won't tell Mason. Second of all, I was surprised that Arjun killed Jyoti. He's never been the one to take it out on his wife. He always tried to control his temper around those that he loved, especially Jyoti. He would have never laid a finger on her to harm her. I thought it was Cody or something. He's more likely to do it. He has all the motives, as far as I know. I knew there was something going on when it came to him liking her. I could smell it a mile away. Look into that. That's your best bet." 

I nod, and thank him with a smile. Mason walks over, with his phone in his pocket, and says, "Sorry, that was a work call. I hate that people from work are calling me on the weekend. Anyways, good seeing you, Sunil. Take care," Mason bids. 

Sunil nods, wishes, the same, and Mason pushes his cart. 

As we're walking away, I mouth, "Thank you." 

Sunil smiles, and says, "Anytime." 

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I know that someone on here wanted to see Daniel, so you got it! Ah, Ashmita responded to him perfectly. So do you think Sunil's information will be of any help? Let me know. 

Hope you guys liked this chapter!

Please vote/comment/share/follow/message if you like my work! See you all next Sunday with a new chapter of TSOC! Have a great week! 

Love you guys, 

Shree