The Life She Wants

Six

"Tanay..." Aadya called out to him, her gaze fixed on her nails as she painted them.

"Yes?"

"I was thinking," she started, "we should buy a bike for you, you know? It's more efficient with all the traffic."

"Hmm," Tanay walked to the bed and sat next to her. "Not yet."

"Yet?" She looked at him.

"Do you wanna know a secret?" He asked, peeking at her nails. They looked so pretty. She was painting them a shiny nude pink.

"Yes." She whispered and nodded.

He smiled. "There's a slight chance... That I might get a promotion and transfer to Mumbai."

Her eyes widened. "That's really amazing."

"Mm-hmm." When she was done with her nails, Tanay took her hand in his and smiled. "I want to buy my own house." He looked at her. "Our home."

"And we'll decorate it together." She grinned.

"Yes." He kissed her hand. "If we get a promotion and move to Mumbai, we'll get a bike there. If not, we will still get a bike."

"Okay."

For a while, they just laid together in silence. Aadya's head was on his shoulder, almost on his chest, and he had his arm wrapped around her shoulders, caressing her hair.

"Am I a bad son... For not wanting to live with my parents?" Tanay softly muttered.

"You're not taking them to Mumbai when you get promoted?" She asked.

"...yeah."

"Is it...is it because of what I said? That day?" She looked into his eyes. "I don't want to be the reason to separate you from your parents. You have a different kind of bond with them."

"No, it's not because of that. I had been thinking about it from quite some time." His hand paused and rested on her arm. He took a deep breath.

"Well," Aadya placed her hand on his chest, "if you have kids someday and they wish to live by themselves after their marriage, would you mind?"

Tanay looked down at her and shook his head, "no."

"Choose yourself for once." She patted his chest and smiled. "I'll be right here no matter what you decide."

He turned over to her and kissed her forehead, letting his lips linger for a while.

"Let's sleep."

"Mhm."

"Tanay, can we go out today?" Tanay stopped brushing his teeth and looked at Aadya from the washbasin mirror and raised an eyebrow as if to ask "where?"

"Somewhere." She answered him, moisturizing her legs and arms.

He gave her a thumbs up and continued brushing his teeth.

After he showered, he pulled on blue jeans and a white shirt, rolling the sleeves halfway to his elbow.

Aadya stepped in wearing a white kurti with a pink dupatta and leggings. She had her hair in the middle partition and small braids clipped behind her ear, leaving the rest loose down her back. She wore a pink stone bindi between her brows and her mangalsutra.

"Ready?" She asked, looking at Tanay.

"You're so beautiful." He whispered in awe.

"Really?" She smiled, looking down at herself.

He walked towards her and stood behind her, facing the mirror. He looked at their reflection of standing together and kissed her hair.

"Really."