One Day At A Time

Chapter 15 - Tea For Terrace

"Tea." She said with a slight tremor in her voice.

"No, thank you." He stated in a clipped tone and got back to the papers in front of him.

She had been dismissed rudely, and it hurt and angered her at the same time. She closed the door and swallowed hard in an attempt to ease the tightening in her throat. The determination to keep the tears locked behind the lids was almost exhausted. She somehow found her voice with great difficulty by the time she walked back to the kitchen. "Kaki, he doesn't want it."

Shaila stopped pouring the tea into the mug. She glanced at Khushi for a long moment before resuming to pour the remaining tea in the last one.

"He was pestering me to make tea all this while! Take this one to his room and leave it on his desk." She said with an edge to her voice as she handed over a mug to her. "I have made some for Anagha as well, so I am taking a mug for her. I will have tea with her, okay?" She didn't wait for an answer and walked out of the kitchen.

Khushi stood staring at Kaki as she walked past her towards her house, a tad bit surprised by the sudden change in her plan. Weren't they meant to have tea together? Shrugging the thought off and not willing to spend more time on wondering and contemplating, she walked towards his bedroom once more and knocked on it. Without waiting for his response this time, she opened the door and placed the mug on the desk.

"I think I said I don't want it." He said a bit too harshly.

"Throw it in the sink then." She bit out and turned around to walk towards the door, the anger now beyond her control.

"Wait."

Her heartbeats picked up pace, but she didn't stop. She was too angry to turn around and face or talk to him. This insolent behaviour had gone on far too long for her taste, and it was the last thing she was willing to put up with after an exhausting day and trip.

"Khush," He said with a longing in his voice as he took a step towards her. "Please."

The justified anger which she had held onto with all her might betrayed her the moment he uttered her name the way he always would. She stopped and turned around to face him from the doorway.

"Where is Ma?"

"I don't know." She snapped, her eyes spitting fire at him.

"Where is your tea?"

When she didn't reply or look at him, he shook his head and walked past her towards the kitchen. Returning with her mug in his hand, he handed it to her and then shut the door behind him.

Khushi jumped as she heard the door close, and her heart stopped beating when she saw him walking towards her. Her eyes flickered for a moment as she opened her mouth to protest and then closed it again. She realised she was nervous, very nervous. Desperate to find that one object to focus her entire attention on while her emotions swung between two extremes in her head, she concentrated on the mug, which shook slightly because of her trembling hand.

"I was hoping to have coffee made by you. It's been —too long." He said in a husky voice as he stood next to her.

"You should have—"

"Some other time." Arnav took the mug from her hand and placed it on the desk. "You will spill it. Why don't you sit and drink?" He asked while pulling out a chair for her.

Mortified, she sat down, placing her palms on her cheeks to stop them from catching fire. She glanced at him and found him staring at her. Bhaggu ji, spare me, please.

Seconds ticked away, and the silence drove her mad. She had to say something. Now! She cleared her throat and asked, "Why did you clos—why don't you open the door?" Her voice shook, and her eyes caught the motionless fan hanging from the ceiling above his head.