Chapter 17 SUCCESSFUL NEGOTIATIONS
ADITYA
The front door sticks a little before it opens.
It always does.
Divya says the wood swells in the evenings when the air gets damp, but I suspect the door just enjoys putting up a fight before letting people in. I push it with my shoulder and step inside, dropping my bag on the small side table by the wall.
The house smells like detergent and something faintly sweet.
Not food. Just the lingering scent of the attar bottles from the shop downstairs drifting up through the stairwell. And then I hear it.
“Neel that piece does not go there.”
“It absolutely goes there.”
“It literally doesn’t.”
“You’re sabotaging the architecture.”
I lean against the doorway of the living room and cross my arms. Divya and Neel are on the floor surrounded by Lego pieces like they’re in the middle of a tiny plastic war zone. The instruction booklet lies abandoned somewhere behind them, half folded, clearly ignored.
Neel is kneeling with both hands planted on the floor, staring accusingly at the structure between them. Divya sits cross-legged opposite him, holding a bright red Lego brick in her hand like evidence in a courtroom.
“You cannot just invent floors,” Neel says.
“Why not?” she argues. “Buildings evolve.”
“They do not evolve randomly.”
She points the red piece at him. “You are limiting the building’s creative potential.”
I push myself off the doorway and walk toward them. “What exactly is happening here?”
Neither of them looks up. Neel gestures dramatically at the half-constructed tower in the middle of the carpet. “Didi is ignoring the instructions.”
Divya scoffs. “The instructions are merely suggestions, Neel.”
“They are the foundation of engineering!”
“They’re boring.”
Neel finally notices me and his face lights up. “Aditya! Tell her the instructions matter.”
Divya glances up at me with an expression that says choose carefully.
I crouch beside them and pick up the instruction booklet. “You know,” I say thoughtfully, flipping through a few pages, “this does seem fairly straightforward.”
Divya narrows her eyes. “Don’t you start.”
Neel leans closer to me like we are about to form a secret alliance. “She added an extra floor.”
I look at the tower. Then at Divya. Then back at the tower. “Well,” I say slowly, “I admire the ambition.”
Neel gasps. “You’re encouraging her!”
Divya grins triumphantly. “See? Visionaries understand each other.”
Neel throws his hands in the air. “This is chaos.”
I settle onto the floor beside them and pick up a handful of pieces. “So what exactly are we building?”
Neel says proudly, “A space research center.”
Divya mutters, “It’s becoming more of a… vertical village.”
Neel stares at her like she has personally betrayed science. I start assembling two random pieces together. Neel watches suspiciously. “What are you doing?”
“Contributing.”
“That is not part of the design.”
“Every design needs innovation.”
I attach a small yellow piece to the top of the tower. Neel leans forward, horrified. “That is a window.”
“It’s now a satellite dish.”
Divya bursts into laughter. Neel points at the tower like a furious architect. “You are both ruining my structure.”
“Relax,” I say. “Every great building goes through revisions.”
Divya nudges Neel’s shoulder. “See? Aditya understands creative freedom.”
Neel squints at me. “You’re both fired from the project.”
Divya laughs again, leaning back on her hands. The sound fills the room in a way that makes something warm settle in my chest.
I’ve started to notice it lately. Moments like this.
Small ones. The kind that sneak up on you.
When I first moved into this house it felt temporary, like I was just passing through someone else’s life.
Now when I walk through the door after work and hear them arguing about Lego instructions, something inside me relaxes without asking permission.
Divya tucks a loose strand of hair behind her ear and reaches forward to adjust a crooked piece on the tower.
She looks completely at ease sitting on the floor with Neel. Like this is where she belongs. Like this has always been her world and somehow I’m standing inside it. Neel hands me a blue brick. “Fine,” he says reluctantly. “You can build the parking garage.”
Divya snorts. “There was no parking garage.”
“There is now.” I take the brick and attach it to the side. “Parking garage accepted.”
Divya leans closer to inspect it. “That’s not a garage.”
“It’s conceptual.”
Neel sighs deeply like he’s aging rapidly. “You two are impossible.”
We keep building like that for a while. Or more accurately, Neel builds while Divya and I add increasingly ridiculous features to his perfectly organized structure.
At one point Divya adds a tiny green piece to the roof and announces it’s a rooftop garden. Neel protests loudly. Then accepts it when I add a small staircase leading up to it. Eventually the tower stands nearly two feet tall. Neel sits back and studies it proudly. “This is impressive.”
Divya nudges me. “Don’t tell him we destroyed the instructions.”
“I heard that,” Neel says.
I stretch my legs out and lean back on my hands. “Your research center is magnificent.”
Neel beams. Divya wipes her hands on her jeans and glances at me. “You’re late today.”
“Long meeting.”
“Good long or bad long?”
“Mostly long.”
Neel starts attaching tiny pieces around the base of the tower. “What do you actually do at work?”
I grin. “Important mysterious things.”
“Like what?”
“Reading books.”
Neel stares. “That’s not work.”
“It absolutely is.”
Divya tilts her head at me. “Someone has to suffer through manuscripts.”
“I’m very brave.”
Neel shakes his head. “You two are weird.”
I watch Divya pick up another Lego piece and turn it between her fingers. There’s a comfortable rhythm to this house now. Neel talking endlessly. Divya laughing more often than she realizes. And me sitting here like this has always been my place.
I clear my throat. “Actually,” I say, “I wanted to ask you something.”
Divya glances up. “What?”
“There’s an event tomorrow night at the publishing house.”
She raises an eyebrow. “Fancy event?”
“Moderately fancy.”
“Do I need heels?”
“Only if you want to intimidate the authors.”
Neel suddenly sits up straight. “Wait.” We both look at him. “You must agree to the terms first.”
Divya immediately plays along and nods. “What terms?” I ask.
Neel folds his arms like a tiny negotiator. “If didi goes with you…” He points dramatically between him and Divya. “…both of us are allowed to steal books from your office.”
Divya gasps. “That is an excellent condition.”
I laugh. “You two are unbelievable.”
Neel waits expectantly. “Well?” Divya says. “You heard the little man.”
I shake my head. “You don’t have to steal anything.”
They both stare at me. “You’re my family,” I say simply. “What’s mine is yours.”
Neel jumps to his feet. “YES!” He runs around the Lego tower like he’s just won a championship. “Didi can go then!”
Divya doesn’t move. She’s still looking at me. Not smiling this time. Just… watching.
Like the word family caught her off guard.
Neel finally collapses onto the carpet again. “This was a successful negotiation.”
Divya nudges the Lego tower with her finger. “You’re very generous with your books.”
“They deserve a good home.” Neel pats the tower proudly.
“They will be very happy here.”
I stand up and stretch. Divya slowly gets to her feet too.
The room is quiet for a second. Not awkward. Just warm. The kind of quiet that feels full instead of empty.
Neel clears his throat. “I think we should celebrate the completion of the research center.”
Divya looks at me. “With what?”
Neel grins. “Ice cream.”
I sigh dramatically. “This child is very demanding.”
Divya laughs again. And the sound makes the whole house feel like it’s breathing.