Sweet 'n' Sour | ✔

fifty-five

"I don't know."

"Then how is it!?" She asked impatiently.

I chuckled. "We are together."

She sighed, it didn't sound like a relief. "Are we really?"

"Why? You can't envision the same?" My heart plummeted in disappointment.

She smiled bitterly. "I do, just not physically." She mumbled. "In how many years will it be? Four? Five? When I'll be sitting here," she pointed at the floor in front of the coffee table. "with a laptop on the table. Talking to you through a video call."

I tsked. "Why are you already thinking about it? There's so much time before that." I released a heavy breath.

"I think because days are moving a lot faster for me." She muttered softly. "Aren't they for you?"

"I wouldn't know. You always seem to have all my attention nowadays." I smiled cheekily.

She rolled her eyes but couldn't fight back the smile blossoming on her lips. My smile turned genuine, relieved now that she was back to me again, instead of ahead in time where we wouldn't be together like this, hopefully only physically.

The doorbell rang and I looked over my shoulder, confused about who it was at this time. Bua is arriving at two pm and everyone else at three. The auspicious time suggested by the priest for the puja is three forty so we thought three would be the perfect time to put on the invitation card. Well, unless it was a delivery boy or some neighbour, I guess.

"I'll see who it is," I said to Priya, making my way towards the main door. I looked through the peephole but the person was standing on the side, availing only their shoulder in the frame. I shrugged and opened the door, smiling in surprise at the sight of Pari. She looked up from the floor, mirroring my gesture. "Hi,"

She nodded. "Hi, there,"

Opening the door wider, I let her in. "You are early."

"Ah yeah, I hope that's not a problem." We walked inside together.

"Not at all,"

Priya turned around in time to spot us, a frown replacing her smile. Thankfully, she covered her expressions in time and sported a welcoming smile on her face. I wonder if she knows it too. The thing that Vikram told me that night. That Pari thinks of me more than a friend. I hope not. Pari is just a good colleague to me, and a jolly neighbour, nothing more, nothing less. I intend to keep it at that for the rest of my life so there's no point in poking around the things that don't matter.

"Wow, you've got a nice place," she spun slowly, looking at everything, nodding in appreciation at the interiors. "This is beautiful." She smiled at Priya.

"Thanks,"

"Did you change the interiors and had it redone? Because what Aditya's mom put on her WhatsApp status was quite different from this." She asked curiously.

"Yeah, I changed around a bit of things." Priya nodded.

"Nice, it's even more beautiful now." Pari hummed. "Uh, by the way, this is for you both." She said, forwarding the paper bag in her hands. "A housewarming gift."

Priya took it hesitantly. "Thank you. You didn't have to get anything though. You came, that's more than enough."

I resisted the urge to scoff. Look at the blatant liar, lying so swiftly.

Pari smiled. "I'm sorry for coming so early. I've a flight in an hour and I really didn't want to miss out on meeting you guys one last time before leaving."