“Too bad. I like it. It’s cute and it suits you. You don’t hear me complaining about your uncreative nickname for me, do you?”
Rian glanced towards her just as she yawned again, stretching long such that her back arched and her scrubs tightened over her upper body.
Distracted, he didn’t realise he was staring until he felt hot milk splash over his hand, causing his mug to slip. With a little curse, he looked down to see brown liquid spreading across the counter, dripping onto the floor.
“Aww, crap,” he mumbled, dabbing the counter with a nearby towel.
“You okay?” Aditi came up to him, face twisted in concern. Her eyes fell on the reddened patch of skin and she pushed him towards the sink, forcing his hand under cold running water.
“Stay here until the sting reduces,” she ordered, spinning around to begin cleaning up the mess he’d made. “I’ll put more coffee on.”
“Maybe you should hold off on caffeine until after you sleep.”
“Who says I’m going to sleep?”
“Aren’t you?” He’d seen her passed out until early afternoon after the last two night shifts she’d been on, emerging from her room looking like an ogre until that first sip of coffee. It never failed to amuse him that for such a happy person, she had terrible morning moods.
“No sleep for me today,” she yawned, walking past him to throw the wad of paper towels into the trash can. “I need to run errands for my family.”
Rian turned off the tap, reaching for the towel Aditi held out. He had seen her on calls with her family many times. He knew she was close to them. He had also seen her send multiple packages home in the weeks since he’d been back.
“What kind of errands?”
“My aunt wants to wear this particular colour saree for my parent’s anniversary party. I have been tasked with finding something at the cloth markets here because her usual shops were a bust.”
His reaction must have shown on his face because she sheepishly scratched her ear.
“I know that sounds like a silly thing. I’m usually the planner for all the big events in the house but since I am not there, I offered to pitch in from Mumbai as much as I can.”
“That’s why you keep sending boxes home?”
She nodded. “Decorations, invites, gifts, jewellery. I’m getting a lot of it sent directly—thank god for online shopping. Those boxes you’ve seen hold just the items I’ve picked up from the markets here.”
"Why do you take so much on? Tell them to do it themselves. You’re in a whole different city. I’m sure it's okay if you take a step back."
Aditi’s nose scrunched in an odd expression, a defeated sort of smile gracing her face as she considered that option. She waved him over so that he could help her fit the portafilter into his machine properly.
"You don't have a large family, do you?" she asked, focusing on getting the coffee basket in.
"No."
"Pros and cons to it,” she said after a moment, stepping back to take a seat at the counter once more. Her chest expanded as she breathed in, clearly about to explain further. “Almost my entire family is in Bangalore so we are all very close—physically, and emotionally. I have four uncles and an aunt on my dad’s side and two aunts and an uncle on my mom’s.”
Rian tipped his head, wondering where she was going with this.
“The younger generation has me, the eldest child,” she pointed to herself, tapping her fingers in a silent count, “and fifteen younger siblings and cousins. I have always been the one to lead the way. Whether it was studying, or extracurriculars, or being the dutifuldaughter, I was expected to set the proper example. Now, it’s simply become my place to get things done.”
Finished with her explanation, Aditi watched Rian, his expression hard to read. Had she confused him or was he just thinking?
"You can be a role model without letting people walk over you,” Rian told her quietly.
"It's not easy to say no when it's family. I feel like I'm letting them down."
He could understand that. He had been manipulated to feel that way for a good part of his life. Leela had only bothered to pay attention to him when she required him to play the part of a perfect son. And when he failed to meet those expectations. . . Even now, recalling those moments made him anxious—the yelling, the rage, the loneliness which inevitably followed each punishment.
His eyes focused on the woman in front of him. By all means, she didn’t look like she shared the kind of tumultuous relationship with her family that he did with his mother. Unfortunately that did not mean that she was not being taken advantage of.
"Do youwantto run these errands today?" he asked instead, handing her a cup of coffee.