Better Together | ✓

60 | Unchained

Chapter 60 : Unchained

It was a warm summer night. Thankfully, the classroom themed ice-cream parlour they entered was air conditioned. It was neither too hot nor too cold, making it perfect for relishing ice-creams.

They had all decided on their preferred flavours during the drive to the place. Thanks to the advancement of technology, she had the menu on her phone and had already placed an order to avoid the waiting time for placing the order.

While Aadarsh went to the counter to collect their order, Ruhaani led the kids to the table in the corner. The tables were made just like the ones in a classroom. It was a long bench to sit on either side of a rectangular shaped table. The three kids sat in a row against the wall, while she took the other side, leaving a spot free next to her for her husband.

Aadarsh returned with a tray. He settled the plate on the table. He first picked up the glass of water and placed it before Ruhaani. He then went on to hand a tissue to each of the children and then their respective ice-creams. While the girls preferred ice-cream on a waffle cone, Nirvan had chosen to eat from a cup.

Ruhaani watched him, as she picked up the glass of water. She was thirsty, yes. However she hadn't asked for water or even said she needed water. Back in the car, she had reached out to the water bottle placed in the holder on the door, but it was empty. She had quietly kept it back and said nothing.

Aadarsh's thoughtfulness moved her.

"Here's your Belgium chocolate!" He turned to her at last and placed a long cup with a ice-cream cone fixed in between, before her.

"Thanks! Where's yours?"

"Getting it!" He said and walked back to the counter. Her eyes followed him to the counter. He could be so thoughtful at times and a jerk at others. It was confusing to decide whether he was truly a thoughtful gentleman or an obnoxious jerk. Not that it mattered, her heart had already carved out a big place for him, irrespective.

"Kulfi?" Ruhaani asked surprised when he returned with small clay plot filled with a ivory coloured dessert.

"Kesar Badam Matka Kulfi!" He corrected slipping on to the bench beside her. The side of his thigh pressed against hers. His arm rested beside hers, the material of his shirt brushing her bare forearm. Ruhaani blinked, wondering why she had suddenly become so hyper sensitive to every touch from him.

"It was not on the menu," she stated to distract herself.

"It's today's specialty." He answered passing an extra tissue to Pari.

Ruhaani's gaze moved across the table to her daughter, instinctively. "Oh my God!" She muttered taking a few of the spare tissues off the centre of the table and stretching her arm across the table to clean her daughter's forearm.

"The ice-cream is melting." The little girl complained, trying her best to lick off the trickling streams from the various sides of her cone.

"That's why you should eat from a cup, Pari." Nirvan said, distancing himself from Pari so that her dirty hands didn't run against his.

"That's why you should wrap tissue around the cone." Mukti imparted her wisdom.

"But you can end up eating the tissue then." Nirvan argued.

"Mumma, ice-cream is melting ...fast!" Pari cried for help, while trying to lick the ice-cream.

Aadarsh chuckled.

"Nirvan, wipe her right arm." Ruhaani said handing the boy one tissue. While she took the cup that the ice-cream cone had been served in and placed it under her cone. "Hold this under it Pari, so it won't fall on the table."