Azmaish-e-Ishq

Ch. 31: Kashmiri Chai

An hour later, I was stood in the kitchen, whisking up a batter.

"Weren't you going in to Hayat today, beta?" Baba asked as he placed his empty breakfast plate in the sink.

"I called out last minute, Baba. Just wanted a day off."

"Yet you're still baking on your day off?" he questioned amusedly.

"Salaar wanted brownies, so I thought I would make some for him. I'll make sure to save some for you too," I giggled.

He came closer and ruffled my hair, studying my eyes happily, "Ek dusre ke bohat khayal rakhte ho tum dono, maine dekha hai. Bohat khush karta hai woh tumhe, hai na?"
(You both take good care of each other, I've seen it. He makes you very happy, right?)

I smiled shyly, focusing on my batter.

"Mere dil ko bohat rahat mili hai yeh jaan kar ke tum khush ho uske saath. May you remain smiling always, beta."
(My heart has found a lot of peace in knowing that you are happy with him...)

"Thank you, Baba. By the way, where's Anne?"

"She went out to breakfast with Aiza Bhabi, Daniaal, and his mum."

Oh. Which means Sally mustn't have eaten anything.

"Alright, beta. I'm getting late for work. I'll see you tonight. Have a good day," he pecked my head, giving me a side hug.

"Same to you. Bye Baba!" I called after him.

"Bye!"

I opened the fridge, "Hmm. What can I prepare for my Froggie?"

While the brownies baked, I whipped up an omelet sandwich along with his favorite vanilla cream cold brew.

"Yes, Mr. Wilmore. We'll be focusing on the fenestration in my meeting with the team. I'll let you know what the consensus is afterwards. But they've disagreed on an enfilade, so I think we'll be scratching that idea," I heard my architect of a best friend say as he opened the door when I walked over and rang the doorbell.

I couldn't help but giggle at the fact that he brought his laptop with him to open the front door.

"Hi," I whispered, "I brought breakfast."

He smiled, welcoming me in.

"Maybe it's for the better. I was just thinking about flaneur, but I think you're right. I'll be waiting for your meeting takeaways," I heard Mr. Wilmore's respond through the laptop as I began spreading out the food on the dining table.

Fenestration, enfilade, flaneur, what language were they even speaking?

"Alright, sir. Bye."

"Bye... Oh, I'm still on the call... Hello, Salaar, can you still hear me? A whole pandemic, yet I still struggle to end these calls."

"No worries, Mr. Wilmore. I'll end the call."

"Okay, thank you, my boy. Bye."

"Bye," he chuckled, pressing the red icon before setting the laptop down on the sofa. He came up behind me and wrapped his arms around my waist, kissing my cheek, "I thought you were at Hayat, Mrs. Riaz. What are you doing here?"

"Someone wanted molten lava brownie bites," I raised my voice when I said the name of the dessert, just like he had when he informed his cousin and I of his craving last night, "Tada!" I unveiled the glass tray of brownies.

He grinned, "Love, I-" he squished my face with his hand, pressing a hard kiss to my cheek.

I giggled at the adorable action. "Aaa," I lifted a brownie to his mouth, and he ate it one go. He moaned with delight, reaching for another. "Eat your sandwich first while it's still warm!"