A month passed by, and life was slowly getting monotonous for Aadya, but it was nothing new.
It was depressing before these three months too, so not a big deal; she can handle it.
The only good part of her life is her nights and mornings. Mornings because she prepares breakfast and chai for everyone, and Tanay tells her how yummy the chai is. He also kisses her head every day before leaving the house. And nights because Tanay and Aadya would cuddle all night long, telling each other about their day.
In the evening, around 4 pm, Aadya received a call from Tanay.
"Hello?" She said into the phone.
"Hey, Aadya. Did you have lunch?" He asked.
"Yes," she answered, frowning a little because he already knew it; she had told him that over text.
"Okay good. Accha listen, I'll be coming home late today, and I'll have dinner outside with my colleagues, so don't cook for me and don't wait up. I can't say how late it will be."
"O-Okay... Um, why all of a sudden?"
"I'll tell you when I get home. Don't worry, it's good. Nothing bad."
"Okay. Have fun."
"Yeah, bye."
Aadya cooked dinner, told her in-laws that Tanay is not coming home for dinner. She served them first, and after they were done, she cleaned up and ate her food while watching some random YouTube videos.
After that, she washed the utensils and went to her room.
She went to her room and scrolled through her phone all night long, waiting for Tanay. She couldn't sleep anyway.
Somewhere around 12 am, her phone rang. It was Tanay.
"Hello?" She whispered although no one was around to hear her anyway.
"Love, open the door please. I'm outside. I don't wanna ring the bell and wake maa baba up."
"Okay, give me a second." She hung up and walked downstairs.
She slowly opened the door, making sure not to make a sound.
The first thing she saw was a huge bouquet of red roses.
"Huh?"
Tanay peeked from behind them and grinned at her. He handed her the bouquet and kissed her lips, loud and firm.
She blinked in surprise.
"Hold this too." He handed her a cuboidal gift box.
"Okay?" She took it.
Tanay lifted her up, all of a sudden, and she yelped out loud.
"Shh." He carried her upstairs to the bedroom.
Once in the room, he closed the door behind him and set her down along with the bouquet and the gift.
He cupped and cradled her face in both his hands and smiled brighter than ever.
"I got the promotion."
"What?!" Aadya's eyes widened in surprise and pure delight. "Oh my god, Tanay! Seriously?"
"Yes." He laughed.
"I'm so happy." She hugged him tight. He hugged her back, just as tight. She pulled back and kissed his lips before hugging him again.
"Come here." They both sat down next to the foot of the bed. Tanay handed her the gift box. "Open it. It's from my boss."
"It's your gift; you should open it," she softly said.
"Babygirl," Tanay cupped her face and pecked her lips again. "It's our gift. Now, open it."
"Okay." Aadya giggled in excitement. She carefully opened the present and was confused with the gift. She sort of expected the gift to be something professional like... A fancy pen or an expensive tie. "A bottle?"
"Show." Tanay turned it over and chuckled. "It's wine. Red wine."
"And there are two fancy glasses too." She pulled one out. "It's pretty."
Tanay looked at her for a moment.
"What?" She questioned.
"Nothing." He shook his head. "Do you wanna drink?"
She choked on air. "You want me to drink alcohol?"
"No... I mean yes." He laughed.
"Which one is it?" She narrowed her eyes on him.
He snickered. "It's not 100% alcohol. Around 10%, so don't worry. Plus, red wine is said to be healthy."
"Um..."
"Okay, I don't want to force you for it."
"I mean... I always wanted to know what it tasted like." She bit the inside of her cheek and confessed.
"Now's your chance." He laughed. "I'm not gonna tell mom and dad; it will be our secret."
"I feel like I'm a school kid bunking classes for the first time." Aadya giggled, making him laugh too. "Okay. I wanna drink."
Tanay pulled her face to his and kissed her cheek and lips. "Mm, go change."
"Into what?"
"Sweatpants and t-shirt."
"Okie." She giggled and went to change.
While she was changing, Tanay made a cozy spot for them on the floor. He laid down pillows and mattresses. He was afraid of accidentally spilling the wine on the bed.
He brought out his laptop, the wireless earphones, and connected them to the laptop.
He opened the curtains, which made the room dim-lit with the light from the streetlights outside.
When Aadya came back, he heart almost melted when she saw all of that.
"This is so cute." She smiled and hugged him.
He pecked her head and poured the wine into the fancy glasses as she called it.
When they clinked their glasses together, it made such a loud sound Aadya got startled thinking she broke the glass.
"Oh god." She sighed in relief, finding no damage.
"Okay now drink."
"Why aren't you?" She asked.
"I wanna see your reaction. It's your first time."
"Okay." Aadya slowly pressed the dim to her lips and closed her eyes, taking a sip.
Her face almost immediately scrunched up. Tanay couldn't help his laugh. She was too cute.
"How's it?" He asked.
"It's like... Bitter, sweet, sour, all at the same time." She eyed the glass. "Like cough syrup."
Tanay broke out laughing. Aadya giggled too.
Tanay took his first sip, and since he was quite experienced, he could tell it was one of the most expensive wines out there.
He asked her if she wanted more, and she said yes. He did so and poured her some more. He then turned on Netflix on his laptop and handed her one of the earphones.
They laid side by side with the laptop on their laps, leaned against one another with wine glasses in their hands.
In the middle of their movie, Aadya rolled over and sat on his lap, placing her thighs on either side of him and facing him.
"I think I'm getting drunk." She mumbled.
"With three glasses?" He chuckled, moving the laptop aside and wrapping his arms around her.
"Mhm."
"Might be possible. You have a small body, alcohol might get to you faster plus it was your first time." He turned the laptop off. He could tell it was not wise for her to drink more, and she needed to sleep. It was four in the morning.
"Don't say all this technical stuff." She whined. "My head hurts."
"Yup. We are sleeping." He kissed her lips one last time before pushing her off him, standing up, and then pulling her with him.
He crawled in next to her under the blankets and pulled her to him.
"Tanay," she muttered, followed with a yawn, "thank you for the flowers and the wine and the kisses and... everything we did today."
"Thank you for celebrating with me." He smiled and kissed her head.
"You're the best husband." She smiled into his chest.
"Thank you, sweetheart."