MaNan : Love is Just a Word

11. Attention

Please do vote and comment :)

*********

"-the stairs lead back to the first level, but as you saw there's the street entrance through the alley. You're more than welcome to use this entrance as well, though. And the kitchen of course like we said. Studio has a kitchenette but it's not fully functional. Abhimanyu mostly just recorded in there and starved until I reminded him of food or death. We understand it might be a deal-breaker", Mukti explains the studio room as they walk around it.

The man gives her a smile like a sunflower, "Oh. It's not a deal-breaker. That's generous of you, really. My current landlord's idea of a kitchen is a portable stove and an outpost sink. The design really is beautiful. Is this the original brick? Limestone, yes?"

At that question, Mukti's eyes go wide like a child, "Great eye! And yes, it's dated from the 19th century. Pure Bedford", she says excitedly.

Manik too, who is genuinely interested in this stuff goes on, "You know, excavations in areas where the Mississippian Culture lived have uncovered some really fascinating uses for limestone. They made pipes with it", he says while running his fingers on the wall tiles.

Mukti goes around the wooden window frames as she continues, "It's funny you say that because-"

Both Manik and Mukti's voices go low as they walk around and continue to discuss the different types of wall materials, wood designs and trees, and art and where it came from, all of that. 

Mukti is actually an introvert, she does so many things like producing music and writing, composing for others but it's the first time she actually talks this much with a person whom she met on the first day. Unexpectedly both share pleasantly similar hobbies.

"Where'd you say you found this guy again?" came a deep voice from behind.

Nandini blinks away from the baby monitor app on her phone, Aarav snoozing with her left leg kicked up on the bars of her crib in HD. 

"You know. Around", she says to Abhi without looking at him.

If deadpanning via facial expression were an art form, Abhimanyu would be a regular Botticelli. Nandini sighs. 

She clicks out of the app, and figures she's watched her kid, who's but meters away, sleep long enough. Maybe technology has made obsessive parenting worse, but Nandini personally thinks it's nice that she can verify that, no, Aarav isn't spontaneously choking in his sleep with a swipe of his finger.

Abhimanyu gets more protective than Mukti sometimes when it involves Nandini being around other men. She repeats. "I already told you. He's a grad student at the university. He was a TA for one of my classes last year."

The older gives her a stare, "Isn't it, like, inappropriate if he lives with us? A violation of the university's moral code of conduct?" Abhi asks while folding his arms against his chest.

Nandini sighs, "He won't be living with us. He'll be renting the studio. You didn't seem to care about any of that when I first mentioned him to you. Like, you didn't care at all." At Abhimanyu's souring face, she says, "You said he sounded nice."

Abhi gives her an animated nod, "Sure he sounded nice, Nandini. But, I don't know, Nandini. You bring some hot guy into my house, Nandini. My house where my wife lives and he's having an intellectually stimulating conversation with my wife and you know how I get around other men who can intellectually stimulate my wife, Nandini", he says while looking at his wife, Mukti and Manik having a conversation about some historian rocks.

"Okay. Okay, wow. Please stop saying my name like that."

Abhimanyu grunts. He has that scrunchy look on his face, the one he got the first time he realized Nandini was an adult now. She doesn't get why he is jealous, Manik talks to everyone like that and Mukti is like a useless encyclopedia, she knows random information.