Better Together | ✓

20 | walk & talk

Ruhaani had slept like a baby without a care for the world. Perhaps it was the exhaustion. She wasn't the only one. Aadarsh had slept in too. They both hadn't cared to put any alarm. However, Aadarsh had been up before her. In fact she hadn't even realized when he had gone to bed beside her. He had been in the bathroom when she had woken up. He had ordered some milk tea and biscuits for them while she had quickly brushed her teeth.

They had bare minimal interaction while they had their morning tea. The silence was short-lived for the other Seghals had pounded on their room door. They were all ready for the beach. Pari included. Dai Jaan had followed them in. And then Badi Bua and Shelly Bua had. Suddenly, the dead room that was as silent as a graveyard had come alive with chatter and cross conversations.

The siblings wanted Aadarsh and her to accompany them to a famous beach that was twenty kilometers away but Badi Bua was trying to convince them to stay for the pooja. Finally, it was decided that the newlyweds would stay for the pooja while the other youngsters and kids would go to the beach. Ruhaani was reluctant to send Pari with them. Dai Jaan had probably understood her hesitancy and volunteered to tag along with the kids.

Ruhaani wanted to go too, the last thing she wanted was to be stuck with her broing husband. Luckily for her, a spa session had been booked for the newly weds. Thankfully, they had separate female and male wards. That one hour of pampering was everything she needed. 

The pooja, their first as a new couple, had been over in and hour. It was still noon and Ruhaani had a lot of time to spend until lunch. She looked at Aadarsh, who was apparently doing something on his phone. They had been sent to their room to rest until lunch. He had spoken to Abhi on a video call, some time ago, where the latter had told him about what he was missing on namely— a good weather, a clean beach and hot chicks. Abhi probably had no idea that she was in the same room, out of the frame, but within the range of listening clearly.

Aadarsh had become visibly uncomfortable after the call. So had Ruhaani. She didn't particularly like Abhi. He gave her a spoilt brat kind of vibe, but the guy definitely had a heart of gold for his family. She had particularly noticed him around his younger siblings. He was just as responsible as Aadarsh was when it came to that. However he stuck to his role of being an elder brother, he fought with them, teased them, made fun of them. Unlike Aadarsh who was not at all playful, far from it, and assumed the role of a father in their lives.

"I think, I will go walk around the resort," she spoke up, getting up from the bed correcting the pleats of her saree. Aadarsh kept the room too cold for her liking. She thought it was best to go bask in some sunshine. Anyways they'd be in their freezing city again tomorrow. Apparently last night in Delhi had recorded a temperature of fouron the centigrade scale.

"I can come along," he said, causing her to look up at him surprised. He was volunteering to spend time with her, to do something with her, out of his own free will; when she hadn't even asked. One had to be shocked.

"Sure," she said, walking across the suite to her luggage. She wore her sandals, the flat ones. She turned to find him wearing his shoes. He wore a plain sky blue shirt with black trousers. There was no sign on him that he had been recently married except the ring on his finger which mildly hinted he was in a relationship. Men had it so easy. 

At the same time, here she was, dressed in a beige saree that had red leaf prints, henna designs on her hands and feet, a huge sat of red bangles— that had been proved to be quite a bit of trouble, getting in the way of her usual day to day movements— a chain of black beads and gold pendant around her neck and the red color on her hair partition. 

They had quietly walked out of the room, towards the front lawn of the resort.

"Uh, for earlier, Abhi isn't used to having a brain to mouth filter so uh... you know,"