Chapter 11 Evening Picnics
ADITYA
The message I send is simple.
Come to the terrace when you’re done closing the shop.
No explanation. No warning. And I imagine her eyebrows furrowing when she reads the message. I chuckle. Wow now I am predicting her facial expressions.
I stare at the screen for a second before slipping the phone into my pocket. The evening air is cooler up here than inside the house. The sun is already slipping down behind the buildings across the lane, painting the sky in those lazy streaks of orange that never last long enough.
The blanket is already spread across the floor. Two glasses. A container of pasta. Sandwiches wrapped in foil. Nothing dramatic. Just something that felt right while I was setting it up.
Neel isn’t home tonight. That, in itself, feels strange. The house is usually full of his noise—running footsteps, random questions, the occasional lecture about our life decisions.
Tonight it’s quiet.
I lean against the low terrace wall and look down at the street for a moment. A scooter passes by. Someone’s pressure cooker whistles in a nearby house.
Then the terrace door creaks open.
Divya steps in. She pauses immediately when she sees the blanket. Then her eyes land on me.
Her eyebrows pull together slightly. “What is this?”
I push myself off the wall and shrug, trying to look casual even though I’m suddenly very aware of the way she’s looking around.
“I thought we could sit up here for a bit.” She walks further onto the terrace, glancing between the blanket and the food. Her expression shifts slowly from confusion to something softer.
“You did all this just to sit on the terrace?”
“Apparently the terrace has been severely underutilized.”
She huffs out a small laugh. “You’re ridiculous.”
“Possibly.” She kicks off her slippers before sitting down on the blanket. I sit beside her, leaving enough space between us that it feels polite but not awkward. “Besides we had to tick the next item on Neel’s list.”
She narrows her eyes, “you do realize the more you follow his lead the more he’s going to lead you.” I laugh.
“What’s the harm, he’s a cute kid.” Her eyes soften and she smiles gently.
“Thank you for being so…sweet with him.”
“You don’t have to thank me…it seems you two are impossible to not like.” I murmur gently, meaning every single word.
“I…” she looks away from me, staring at the sky ahead of us, “I feel the same about you, Aditya.” she whispers and I feel my heart skip a beat.
She feigns a cough, “hey, we are actually ticking two items of his ridiculous list,” she chuckles, “Sunset date too,” she points out at the sky and I chuckle.
“You finally agree it’s a date?” I tease.
She rolls her eyes but the redness of her cheeks say otherwise. She tries the pasta, gives a small approving nod, and takes another bite. “You’re annoyingly good at this cooking thing,” she says after a moment.
“I’ll take that as a compliment.”
“It was meant to be one.” We don’t linger on the food for long. Eventually the plates are pushed aside and she stretches her legs out in front of her, leaning back on her hands.
The breeze catches a loose strand of her hair and pushes it across her cheek.
She looks up at the sky. “You know,” she says thoughtfully, “I rarely come up here.”
“Why?”
She shrugs. “I’m usually too busy.”
That answer lands heavier than it should. After a moment I lie back on the blanket and look up too. The sky is darker now, the first few stars beginning to show.
Divya glances down at me. “You’re just going to lie there?”
“It’s a perfectly good sky.”
She rolls her eyes but lies down beside me anyway. For a few seconds neither of us says anything. I am hyper aware of the warmth of her body as I listen to her quite breathing.
Then she sighs softly. “This is actually nice.”
“I know.”
“You sound very pleased with yourself.”
“I am.” Our arms are resting beside us on the blanket.
At some point—without either of us really deciding to move—our fingers brush lightly.
It’s the smallest contact. Barely there. But neither of us pulls away. The back of her hand is warm against mine. I keep my eyes on the sky, though I’m suddenly aware of every tiny movement she makes beside me.
“So,” she says after a moment, her voice softer now, “is this your idea of a date?”
I turn my head slightly toward her. "Trying to pry on my dating preferences now, Mrs. Gupta?" She rolls her eyes but a blush creeps up her ears.
"Just enquiring, I should know considering I am your wife."
The sunset light makes her eyes look darker. “Well, it depends,” I say slowly.
“On what?”
“Whether you’re enjoying it.”
She chuckles and hits my arm lightly as she looks at me.
“Yeah. I am.” She whispers, our eyes locks on each other.
Our fingers shift slightly again. This time they don’t just brush. They settle together. Not fully holding hands. Just… resting there.
Divya glances down at the contact and then back at the sky.
“You know what I like about this?” she says.
“What?”
“No one is asking me for anything.”
“That’s a surprisingly low bar for happiness.”
“You’d be surprised.”
The honesty in her voice makes me look at her again. She’s still staring upward, her expression thoughtful but peaceful. “You work too hard,” I say.
She snorts. “Not enough to pay my debts.” After a beat of silence she adds, “I am glad though.” she smiles, "I got to meet you that way."
She laughs softly. The sound drifts into the evening air. The breeze moves again, cooler now, and she shivers slightly. My heart beats against my chest as I take her in. Without thinking too much about it, I shift closer and pull one side of the blanket over her shoulder.
She glances at me. “You didn’t have to do that.”
“I know.” Her hand moves slightly under the blanket. This time our fingers properly lace together. The moment feels strangely natural. Like we’ve done this before. I can feel her pulse faintly where our hands meet.
She turns her head toward me slowly. “So,” she says quietly, “what happens if I say this is the best evening I’ve had in a long time?”
I meet her gaze. “Then I’d say that’s a very dangerous thing to admit.”
“Why?”
“Because now I’ll feel pressured to outdo myself.”
She smiles faintly. “Good luck with that.”
The sky above us is darker now. The stars are clearer. Divya shifts onto her side suddenly. Now she’s facing me completely. Our hands are still tangled together between us.
Up close I can see the tiny crease that appears beside her mouth when she’s trying not to smile. “You’re staring again,” she says.
“Am I?”
“Yes.”
"You make it very hard not to, Divya"
“Is that so?” We are both whispering now, even when there's no need for it.
“You're very beautiful, it's hard to take my eyes off you.”
Her eyes widen slightly as she flushes. Her fingers tighten slightly around mine.
“Smooth,” she murmurs.
“I try.”
She rolls her eyes but doesn’t look away. The space between us feels smaller now. The breeze moves softly around us.
Divya’s gaze drops briefly to my mouth. Then back to my eyes.
My heartbeat picks up. Slow at first. Then louder.
She shifts closer. Just a little. Our foreheads almost touch. I can feel her breath now.
Warm. Uneven.
“Aditya,” she whispers.
“Hmm?”
“This feels like a very bad idea.”
“Probably.”
Neither of us moves away. Her hand slides up my arm slightly. My other hand lifts without thinking and settles gently at her waist.
Her breath catches. The moment stretches. We’re inches apart now.
I can see the way her eyelashes lower slowly. And then—the terrace door slams open.
“DIDIIII!” Divya jerks back so fast she almost rolls off the blanket.
I drop my head back and look disorientedly toward the sky.
Neel appears at the top of the stairs holding a birthday party return gift bag and a balloon. He freezes when he sees us.
Then he grins. “OH GOOD YOU’RE BOTH HERE.” he's shouting now.
Divya sits up quickly, pushing her hair back. "Neel,” she says weakly, “why are you home already?”
“The party finished.” He looks down at the blanket.
Then the food containers. Then us.
His grin gets wider. “Were you two having a secret picnic without me?”
I sit up slowly and glance at Divya. She’s trying very hard not to laugh. I lean closer to her and mutter under my breath. “That was extremely poor timing.”
She bites her lip. Then whispers back, “Your timing was the problem.”
Neel drops down onto the blanket between us triumphantly.
“I want pasta.” Divya finally gives up and starts laughing.
And despite the interruption—despite the ruined almost-kiss—I find myself laughing too.