The Marriage Contract

16 - Heads is Me, Tails is Not You

It was around 9:30pm when the doorbell to Abhimanyu's apartment rang. He opened the door to find Akshara standing there wearing black sweatpants and matching black leggings. He didn't know why he was expecting her to still wear the red saree from earlier. He looked behind her for suitcases but all she carried on her was a small carryon that she was rolling behind her.

"Where's your stuff?" He asked mindlessly.

"Richa said she will have it delivered tomorrow. She says there are more chances of if it getting photographed in the morning."

Abhimanyu nodded his head and stepped aside to pave way for Akshara to enter his apartment.

"Are you hungry? Dinner?" He asked, interrupting Akshara as she glanced around his apartment and what would be her home for the next year.

"Umm no thank you. I grabbed a bite to eat before I left. You can eat dinner if you haven't already."

"Okay then..." What the hell were you supposed to do now?, he wondered. Make small talk? The weather? The news?

What did girls like talking about anyway?

Shoes? He only had pairs in the single digits.

Makeup? Other than face wash, moisturizer and lip balm he didn't own any.

Jewelry? He didn't wear any other than the 3 rings on his hands.

As Abhimanyu racked his brain for conversation topics —he couldn't believe he was even saying the word conversation —it was Akshara who spoke first. Or rather yawned first.

"So, umm can I get an apartment tour? I think I may want to go to bed."  She requested, drowsily.

"Of course." He replied. "So this is the living room. With a kitchen right there, attached to it. And a small dining area here." He strolled around the house with Akshara in tow. "And this is the common bathroom. And this." He unlocked the room door and stepped in. "Is the room. With an attached bathroom."

Akshara let go off her carryon bag and rolled it against the closet as she walked into one of the most impersonal room she'd ever come across. In fact the entire house lacked a sense of warmth. There wasn't even one single picture of Abhimanyu hanging on the walls. It was as if abhimanyu was trying to leave no trace of himself.

Akshara and Abhimanyu moved into the room and stood together at the foot of the bed.

"So, where's your room?" Akshara asked, looking around her.

"Here." Abhimanyu mentioned, yawning.

Akshara's eyed widened in confusion. "So where's my room?" She asked, nervously.

"Here." He mentioned, bored out of his wits.

"We're going to be sharing a room?" Akshara whispered, more of a statement than a question.

She looked around the room again, like a deer caught in the headlights.

"Yes. Yeah. Haan. Ji. Oui. Si. Are you getting it or do you want me to say yes in other languages too? Because if you do, you gotta give me a few seconds to Google translate it for you." Abhimanyu asked sarcastically, enjoying the uncertainty in Akshara's eyes. "What else did you expect?"

"What kind of man doesn't have two rooms in his apartment?" Akshara thought to herself.

"The type of man that has never needed a second bedroom before." He replied, much to her dismay.

Crap!

Had she said all that out loud?

"I meant...where do your guests sleep?" Akshara retracted her original thoughts for more proper and polite ones.