"What is first love worth, except to prepare for a second? What does second love bring? Only regret for the first." – John Hay
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Virat woke up that next day and chose violence apparently. Because he shoved open her bedroom door, his chest heaving in anger.
"What the hell were you doing out of the house with Savi after dark!" Virat shouts, grabbing her arm with his uninjured hand and pulling her out of bed.
Sai, still half asleep slaps his hand off her, and sits back down on the bed. "She asked for Ice Cream. I got her Ice Cream. Now, stop spreading your contagious negative energy everywhere and go to work. I doubt you will be useful there either, as the commissioner has mentioned before, but hey, it's always worth a try."
Virat, offended by her remark, contorts his face. "What the hell is wrong with you?"
Sai rolls her eyes, standing up and leading him out the door. "It's Savi's and my day off, she's sleeping in, and I want to as well. I listen to Satya crack at least 20 dad jokes everytime I see him, and I am trying to forget how bad they were. So please, don't start with your trash now. Good bye."
With a huge grin, Sai shuts the door on his face.
So now, the stupid Virat Chavan stands outside of her door, a day after getting rejected, completely roasted, and abandoned.
What in the world made her so flipping enthusiastic first thing in the morning?
...
Sai, having slept in an extra 5 hours until noon for the first time in weeks, got started with the day left ahead of her.
Savi's going on a playdate with her friend to the indoor playground, and she's definitely not staying in BS Niwas all day. Maybe she should go to the mall... or to the park for a walk in the rain. That would be refreshing.
So, she dresses Savi for her day, and then herself. Today's outfit consists of a cream colored kurta, a maroon dupatta, golden dangle earrings, and a pair of cream colored kitten (short) heels. The extra amount of time she put in getting made her feel practically invincible.
Who knew an extra ten minutes can help you feel more confident? She didn't.
When she went downstairs with Savi, she could feel the Chavans' appraise her attire with disdain.
"Where are you going today, that you are getting so dressed up?" Ashwini asks begrudgingly, taking a sip of her tea.
Pakhi simply waves at Sai for a greeting, her face displaying a neutral expression as Vinu runs to her for a hug.
"Good morning Doctor Auntie!" the 9 year old exclaims, embracing her tightly. He lets go after a few seconds, and looks up at her. "Where are you and Savi going?"
Sai smiles, putting a hand on her son's cheek. "Good morning Bada. Savi's going to a friend's house, and I am going to drop her off."
"Oh!" Vinu says, his mood dampening. "I thought we could play together today."
"Once it's time for me to come home, we can play, ok?" Savi consoles, hugging Vinu. "Bye Vinu Dada!"
Savi skips off in the direction of the exit, and bumps into her father, in full uniform, at the door.
"Hi Savi!" Virat says, placing a kiss on her forehead. "Sai, where are you two going on such a rainy day?"
"Savi has a playdate. I'm going to drop her off." Sai explains briefly.
"And then where will you go?"
"It's none of your business Virat." Sai declares, taking Savi's hand. "We'll be eating out, don't expect us to be home before dark."
Virat once again, is left behind by the mother-daughter duo, who strut out of the house, excited to finally begin their day.
...
She just stopped outside Soumaya's house after taking an hour-long walk at the gardens. The weather, she found, was beautiful outside, rainy and so fresh. Now, she finds out that Savi's going to be half an hour late because of the traffic caused by the storm.
What a bummer. This might mean they'll have to get take out and eat it back at Chavan Niwas.
"Dr Sai?"
She looks up from her phone, and smiles out her open window. Rain is pouring down from the sky and onto the man who stands outside her door.
"Well I'll be. Dr Satya taking a day off from work?" Sai remarks with a laugh. "What are you doing here?"
"Pani puri." he states simply, like it is all the explanation Sai needs.
A smile pops onto Sai's face. "Pani Puri?"
"Pani puri." Satya nods, taking her hand and helping her out of the car. "Come on!"
Quickly, she grabs her umbrella, and opens it. "Oh Satya you are so stupid. You are going to get sick standing in the rain like that!"
He runs a hand through his soaked hair and laughs. "I'm immune to everything Dr Sai, it's medically proven!"
"I doubt that." she purses her lips. "Better safe than sorry."
"You are so boring Sai." he rolls his eyes, but then he pauses. "I... I can call you that?"
"As far as I know, I just called you Satya." Sai shrugs. "So, we go informal when not at work?"
"You don't have to ask me twice!" he exclaims joyfully, leading her on as the walk to the Pani Puri stand.
"Hey, can you give me the spiciest one you could possibly make." Sai asks the vendor.
Satya looks at her, eyes wide. "Oh, and I thought I was crazy!"
"You don't need to think about it Satya. You are crazy." Sai grins sarcastically.
"In that case, I want what she's getting." Satya orders, crossing his arms.
It was Sai's turn to shake her head in disappoitment. "You have spice immunity?"
"Like I said, I am immune to everything Sai." he reiterates, passing her a side eye.
The vendor hands them their orders, and Sai is quick to stuff it into her mouth. Satya follows her action.
Oh does he regret doing that now.
Because once he swallowed the gol-gappa, he found his tongue to be on fire, and Sai's giggles loud and clear as he spits it out a few feet away.
"That, tasted, disgusting." Satya coughs, his eyes red and bulging. "I am never coming here again. You did me dirty old man."
"Hey, it was you who said you wanted what she did." the vendor shrugs indifferently, making a second one for Sai.
"I think you should opt for sweet and sour Satya. It'll suit your spice immunity better." she giggles.
Satya frowns, but nods his head. "Maybe you are right. But jeez that tasted disgusting. God knows how your tongue is not on fire right now!"
"It's raining Satya. Common sense."
"Oh, buzz off." he exclaims, good heartedly.
So that's how Sai spent her day. She spent it with her best friend. She finally left behind her worries for that fraction of time.
And you bet it came in handy later.
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Look what I found
woooo.
I wrote a chapter :)
I had so much fun writing this chapter.
Hopefully you liked reading it too!
Please vote and comment! It's what keeps me going!
-K.Kaur
P.S.
Choose which one is better.
#1: Insecure, senseless, police officer, Vi-RAT
#2: Good-hearted, sensible, doctor/surgeon, Satya
(personally I prefer non-toxic men, so I go with option 2)