Aditya

ZOYA FUCKING SIDIQQUI.

In my town.

On my farm.

And she didn't remember me.

That only seemed appropriate. All things considered.

"Are you wearing a onesie?" Cheeku asked, finally dropping the pirate's brogue for a moment. She circled around Zoya, giving her clothes a close study. "It looks like a onesie. How do you go to the bathroom?"

Zoya gave cheeku a smile that held no hint of annoyance.

That surprised me.

I figured she would have no use for the six-year-old who'd never once kept a thought to herself. Or she'd offer some curt remark and then ignore the child.

After all, Zoya Siddiqui was too good for all of this.

For all of us.

"It's called a romper," Zoya said. She sounded like she was talking to a friend.

"If you want to talk about real grown-up onesies, that's a bodysuit, and those are a lot easier in the bathroom. These things"-she gave a half turn, gesturing to the zipper down her back-"are a little bit of a nightmare." She held out her hand to Cheeku. "I'm Zoya. What's your name?"

She ducked behind me, suddenly shy. I felt her fingers balled in my t-shirt.

"Cheeku," she whispered.

Zoya waved, saying, "It's so nice to meet you, Cheeku."

I really wanted to hate her, and for a million different reasons, but most of all, she had showed up here after all these years and she didn't remember me.

Not that I wanted anyone to be rude or dismissive to Cheeku-the kid had been through enough-but I would've appreciated it if I could walk away from this exchange resenting Zoya.

That would really help me out.

Instead, she gestured to Cheeku's striped skirt, the one with the ragged hems because the kid was not to be trusted with scissors, and said, "Tell me about this look you've put together. It's fabulous."

"I like black and white," Cheeku said, abandoning me altogether and dancing off to give a little twirl. "It's my favorite but Adi says I should try other colors."

Zoya reached for the diamond pendant resting at the base of her throat, zipping it back and forth several times while she blinked at Cheeku. It took her a second but then her gaze snapped to me.

Zip zip zip.

"Aditya?" she whispered, finally abandoning the necklace to push her sunglasses to her head and gape at me. Heat crawled up my neck. "Aditya Hooda? What?" I nodded. "Why didn't you say so sooner? You are the last person I expected to find in Mussoorie."

Wasn't that the damn truth.

"I could say the same to you," I replied.

She glanced out at the rolling mountains and the white clouds around us, her gaze far off and the shake of her head slow. "Yeah. I mean, this was not on my bingo card."

We stared at each other while Cheeku twirled around us, sword aloft.

If Zoya intended to offer an explanation as to why the hell she was here after fourteen years and a teenage vow to get the hell out, this would've been a fine time to do it.

Would've been a fine time for me to do the same.

But the moment passed and Cheeku stopped beside Zoya to toy with the bracelet on her wrist. "Your hair is really pretty," she said.

"Thank you. It's new," Zoya said, lifting a hand to her short brown hair. "I'm still getting used to it."

"You look great, Zoya. Time's been good to you," I said, which was stupid because we weren't the same kids we used to be and the last thing I needed was a problem like Zoya again.

Even if the years had taken that unforgettable girl with those siren eyes and that curtain of long wavy hair and transformed her into an unforgettable woman with short brown hair and curves too luscious to contemplate.

We've got enough beauty here .. the mountains, the valleys, the skies, the waterfalls... Mussoorie did not need what Zoya Siddiqui is.

She still stood on the short side of average and her skin was still peachy and clear, not even a freckle daring to interrupt all that perfection.

"You're kind to say it but that's hardly the case," she said, making an up-and-down gesture in my direction.

That was when I realized the compound nature of my stupidity. I couldn't call attention to her appearance without making mine a free game. If there was anyone who knew what it was for their body to be a constant source of public comment, it was me.

"You, on the other hand, are barely recognizable." She did the up-and-down thing again. "You grew, like, a whole foot."

"Adi is a hundred feet tall," Cheeku said, still fixated on Zoya's bracelet.

"Only a few inches." I shoved my hands into my pockets, waiting for the rest.

Ever since moving back to Musoorie, the first things anyone said to me were about losing the weight and my skin clearing up.
Once they were finished recapping my history as a fat kid with enough acne for it to be memorable, they promptly moved on to whatever they needed from me.

Sponsor the softball team, buy a booth at this upcoming event, donate a basket for that charity auction, join this new committee, rescue that family's farm before it hits the auction block.

But all she said was, "It's really good to see you, Aditya," and I was sixteen all over again.

Sixteen and awkward as fuck and in absolute awe of this girl.

And that could not.....under any circumstance, continue.

"Yeah, you too. So, about those trucks down at your tea garden," I said, rubbing a hand along the back of my neck. As usual, it felt like concrete.

"The guys kept seeing trespassers parking there and hiking down. We stationed a few out-of-commission delivery trucks down there to make it difficult for anyone to park." I lifted a shoulder, the one with the pink backpack Cheeku threw at me the minute she got off the bus.
Hated the pink backpack but loved Zoya's pink romper.
Of course.
Made sense.

"We didn't know anyone was coming."

Her brows creased and she made a face I didn't really understand. "I didn't know I was coming either."

"Your earrings don't match," Cheeku announced. "Aren't they supposed to match?"

"Don't see why they should," Zoya replied. "If I can't have fun with my earrings, why even wear them?"

I reached into my back pocket for my phone. "I'll get someone to take care of those trucks now."

"Wait a second," she said with a laugh, her hands fluttering while I shot off a text message. "What's with the dairy?

What happened here? What about the orchard?" She pointed to my hat.

"And that. Little Star Farms? What's that all about?"

I held her gaze, my heart in my throat. I was certain she had me nailed right then and there and I'd have an eternity of explaining to do while she handed my ass to me but- "So much has changed," she cried, waving at the greenhouses and the farm stand.

"I can't believe it. Didn't that used to be a row of berry bushes? Something weird, right? Like fraggleberries."

"Fraggleberries aren't a thing. You're thinking of gooseberries," I said.

"Fraggleberries should be a thing," Cheeku murmured.

"Yes! That's it. Gooseberries," she said. "The gooseberries are gone!"

"No one bought the gooseberries. They were a terrible use of resources," I said. "Anyway. About the dairy. My dad didn't know how to say no when neighboring farms asked if he wanted to buy them out but he never knew what to do with all those assets either. When I took over, I consolidated the operations, including the old dairy, into one. We distribute across the region and offer home delivery. Milk, produce, breads. It's not a big deal."

Cheeku took that moment to stab her sword at the ground and announce, "I'm bored as fuck."

To her credit, Zoya had no reaction to Cheeku's outburst. She only blinked and glanced up at me.

"CHAARVI" I snapped. "This is why they gave you the boot from summer school. We've been talking about this. You can't-"

"But that's how bored I am." Turning to Zoya, she grabbed her hand and said, "Can I show you the puppies? They're so funny."

"I think," she stated with a glance toward me, "Aditya's trying to talk to you about that adult word you just used. What do you think about giving him your attention before we make plans to visit the pups?"

Cheeku bobbed her head and turned to me with an expectant pout as if she'd endure the minor inconvenience of listening but only because Zoya liked the idea too.

Now that I had an audience, I couldn't remember the first thing about how to set limits with a rogue of a child. "You can't use that word," I said. "We've talked about this. You can't use any variation of that word."

Cheeku dragged the toe of one of her sneakers in the dirt. With a shrug, she said, "I'll try."

I stared at her for a long moment. I knew that promise was as flimsy as they came and she wanted nothing more than to end this conversation and introduce Zoya to our pups.

I knew she was already halfway in love with Zoya.

That was how it went with Zoya.

One minute of gazing into those feline eyes and it was all over.

If I was smart, I'd end this now. I'd start Cheeku on her chores and send Zoya on her way.

But I wasn't smart when it came to Zoya.

I'd never been smart.

"I'd like you to do more than try," I said. "And Zoya is not your prisoner, cheeku. She probably has things to do"-I cut a glance toward the last woman on earth I expected to find on my land today-"or something like that."

Cheeku stamped her foot once. "I promise I won't use the f-word for the rest of the day." Beaming up at Zoya, all traces of rebellion gone, she asked, "Do you want to see the puppies or do you have things to do?"

With a shrug, Zoya replied, "I could meet a puppy."

Cheeku grabbed her hand and damn near sprinted down the path between the greenhouses. I followed at a more measured pace, watching them laugh together and listening in as Cheeku introduced Zoya to the farm.

"I'm not allowed in that field," Cheeku said, pointing her sword toward the white boxes in the distance. "It's for the bees and Adi says bees are too busy making honey to be nice to me."

"He's right about that," Zoya said, tossing a smile over her shoulder.

Zoya had always had one of those faces meant for smiling. Not every face was meant for smiling but Zoya's was one of them.
The corners of her lips were always tipped up as if she was waiting for a reason to smile.

And when she aimed those smiles in my direction...well, the adolescent version of me had lived and died by those smiles.

I stared out at the bees. I wanted a few of them to come and sting some sense into me.

"That's the greenhouse Adi uses for his secret projects," Cheeku said, sword angled toward the glass building set apart from the other hothouses.

"I'm not allowed there."

"No one's allowed in there," I called. "And they're not secret projects. They're just things I don't want anyone interfering with until they're ready."

"Sounds like a secret project," Zoya teased.

They jogged down a gentle hill, still hand in hand. It was quiet down here, insulated by trees from the wind that screamed in from the bay.

"And that one, with the big white dot near her eye, is Dottie. I named her Dottie. Because of the big dot," Cheeku explained.

"Makes sense," Zoya said.

She glanced back at me, several paces removed from the enclosure and my arms folded over my chest as if I could fortify myself against this woman.

I stared off into the distance.

"People come here and do yoga here," Cheeku continued.

"Someone always screams when a puppy climbs on them."

"Wow. This place has really changed."

"The yoga studio in town approached us and-" I held out a hand, wishing for a simple way to explain that yeah, this place has fucking changed in the past decade and a half and if you hadn't left and forgotten all about me, you'd know that. "Their students clean out the farm stand after every class. It's good for business."

"Good for business," Zoya repeated as she looked at me. "Okay."

I would've responded to that loaded look, would've said something about how someone had to pay attention to the business. But Cheeku yelled, "and that is Tyson... Adi said that I had to name him Tyson even though I think it's a dumb name."

"Just because you don't like it doesn't mean it's dumb," I called.

"Is she allowed to be in there?" Zoya asked me.

"They're harmless. Worst they'll do is knock her over and she'd just enjoy that." I shrugged. "Anyway, do you get the impression that I could stop her?"

"Fair," Zoya murmured. After a few minutes of listening to Cheeku's explanation of each pup's name and watching her attempt to pick up the smallest of the group only for that puppy to lick her face until she fell down giggling, Zoya glanced over at me again.

"I can't believe you're here. With puppies and a greenhouse with secret projects and a kid."

There were so many things I wanted to say to her and most of them were not kind. But more than any of that, I wanted to tell her that I couldn't believe she was here.
I hated that.

I didn't appreciate her draining me of all the resentment and contempt I'd built up over the years with little more than a smile from her.

Instead, I called, "Cheeku. You're gonna lose that sword if you're not careful."

"Okay," she replied, wrestling the sword away from Dottie. "We have to see the kittens now. Zoya wants to meet the kittens."

I glanced over at Zoya, a brow raised. "She'll keep you here all night if you're not careful."

"You have that many pets?" she asked with a laugh. "You're good to worry but you don't have to rescue me. Not from your little girl. She's a real sweetheart, Aditya."

I could've corrected her.

Could've mentioned that Cheeku was my niece and I was her legal guardian and I didn't have a wife waiting at home for me.

That none of this had happened the ordinary way.

But once again, all I could do was watch while Cheeku skipped off toward the cat run with Zoya at her side.

Here I was, thinking I'd beaten the worst of my shyness out of me years ago only for Zoya to bring it roaring back.

With an annoyed shake of my head, I studied the puppies.

"Would it have killed any of you to be rude or offensive? You have no problem doing that during yoga. You ate that woman's hat the other day, Tyson, but now you're playing nice? That's some very convenient bullshit."

The dogs barked their outrage back at me.

I yanked off my hat, ran the flat of my hand over my forehead, and marched across the field. I was fully aware that I could've gone back to work and left Cheeku and Zoya to visit with the cats.

I didn't have to hover.

I didn't have to supervise.

Cheeku knew her way around the farm, and Zoya -well, I didn't give a fuck about Zoya.

That wasn't true but I preferred it to the alternative.

When I reached the cats, it was the sound of Cheeku's laughter that hit me first. It was deep and infectious, the kind that came from the belly and forced a smile to my face every time I heard it.
She didn't laugh like that often. She didn't laugh much at all.

"Aditya," Zoya started, gesturing to the old-timer leaning against her leg, "when did you get all these animals? I don't remember you guys having"- she waved at the dozen or so dogs-"anything like this before."

"We have them so they don't die," Cheeku replied.

Zoya gave me then what the hell does that mean grimace.

I peered at the bunkhouses where some of the farm crew lived. Easier than making eye contact with Zoya.

"We take in elderly dogs that have trouble finding homes. Give 'em a comfortable place to live out their days."

I tipped my chin toward the bunkhouse. "The guys like having dogs around."

"And we have chickens too," Cheeku said, "but they're dumb bitches."

"Chaarvi" I cried. "We just talked about calling things dumb and you know that other word is not acceptable."

Cheeku cut a glance toward Zoya. Her voice lowered, she said, "But they're not smart."

Zoya pressed her knuckles to her mouth and choked down a laugh which triggered a laugh in me.

I had to turn away, clear my throat, and mentally flip through this month's expenditures to pull it back in.

When I shifted back, Cheeku was on the other side of the run, trying to pick up a kitten.
Unless there was a chicken chop in her hand, the cat was going nowhere.

Then again, it wasn't completely impossible that Cheeku didn't have a chicken chop on hand.

"What don't you do?" Zoya asked. "When do you sleep?"

"Infrequently." I nodded toward Cheeku. "Less since she came along."

"I'll bet," Zoya murmured.

Another silent moment settled between us as we watched Cheeku playing with the dogs and it frustrated me to no end that Zoya could still go quiet and watch the world.

It would've made my fucking day for her to experience an ounce of my awkwardness.

After all this time, I felt like I deserved that much.

I couldn't be the only one struggling to string words together here.
Couldn't be the only one with flashes of heat climbing up my neck and around the tips of my ears.

It couldn't just be me suffering.

"This really is amazing, Aditya," she said.

I nodded and called Cheeku. "It's getting late. You still have chores to do."

"With the stupid chickens," she muttered to the basset.

"I heard that," I said.

"But I didn't say dumb or bitches," she replied.

Zoya smothered a laugh, saying, "She's a firecracker. Oh my god."

I pushed away from the fence and stepped toward the path leading up to the house. "Those trucks should be gone by now," I said. "Sorry about the inconvenience."

"Oh. Thank you." She lifted a hand to her face, toyed with one of her earrings. "It makes so much sense now-and thank you for helping with that. I should've known there would be a good explanation. After that drive, and I ate too many cheese crackers, and I just-the name on the trucks was unfamiliar and-"

"Yeah, I get it. Things change and you haven't been around in a while."

Zoya took a step backward, grabbed the pendant at the base of her neck again. She zipped it back and forth as she peered at me.

"I'm shocked you're here at all. This place wasn't kind to you and-"

"Come on!" Cheeku ran up and saved me from having to survive the rest of that comment on my own. She took hold of Zoya's hand, saying, "The chicken house is a mini version of our house. It has a mailbox too but it's only big enough to hold one egg."

"Only one egg?" Zoya asked. The disbelief in her words made Cheeku's eyes sparkle, the girl's answering nod coming as a whole-body quiver. "You have to show me that."

Again, I followed them because what the fuck else was I going to do?

Pink backpack high on my shoulder, I climbed the gentle hill while Cheeku regaled Zoya with stories of the chickens' misdeeds.

When they reached the coop, Cheeku went right to work collecting eggs.

As was her habit, she insulted the chickens as she opened each box. "Don't peck me, you nasty old lady!"

Zoya turned to me, her eyes wide. I realized she looked tired, the type of tired that edged into weariness. She hid it well.
All those bright smiles and the boundless enthusiasm she had for Cheeku. You'd have to really look to see it.

"Just wait. It gets more colorful."

"Get away from me," Cheeku grumbled. "Stupid asshat."

I motioned to the henhouse. "Like that."

"Gimme the egg, shithead."

I nodded while Zoya clapped a hand over her mouth. "And that."

"Fucking chores. I hate this dumb shit."

I rocked back on my heels. "Mmm. That one too."

"Aditya," Zoya whispered. "What is going on right now?"

Cheeku emerged, the basket full of fresh eggs and her expression murderous as usual. "Here," she said, setting the basket down halfway between us. That was her way of making it clear how much she hated coop patrol. "I'm going to find my kitties."

I snapped my fingers, pointing to the house. "Not before you wash your hands."

Cheeku trudged toward the white farmhouse on the other side, still muttering about the chickens. Once the door banged shut behind her, I said to Zoya, "She's working through some stuff. She's had a tough few years."

"I'm sorry to hear that." She tucked her hair over her ear.

"She's my sister's kid," I said because I was fully incapable of keeping anything to myself when I had Zoya's attention trained on me. "Aditi is Cheeku's mother but Cheeku lives here now. With me. I adopted her last fall."

Zoya gave a slow nod. She didn't ask any of the follow-up questions that everyone else liked to harp on, like where was Cheeku's mom and why wasn't she with her child and what about the father? She just met my gaze without an ounce of judgment and asked, "Is she okay? Aditi?"

My shoulders sagged before I could stop myself. "No. She's not. But Cheeku's here now and things are getting better. Slowly. ....If you ignore everything you just heard from her."

My sister was a little more than two years older than me and Zoya, and she'd already left home when Zoya came to town. If it was possible, Aditi had been even more motivated to get the hell out of Musoorie than anyone else.

Zoya gave another slow nod. "That's a lot of stuff.... For both of you."

The problem with Zoya was there was no way to resist her.
Even with all the resentment in the world fortifying me, I was defenseless against a few kind words and a sympathetic smile. She'd always had an ability to make people feel special.

More than special-chosen.
For once, I knew better than to fall into that trap.

"Yeah," I managed. "The profanity is part of the package."

She gave a quick bob of her head as if this was completely expected. "Is Cheeku getting help to work through it?"

I barked out a laugh. "Oh, yeah. Tons of therapy. We go to Providence twice a week to see a therapist and she works with some specialists during school hours too." Despite my better judgment, I added, "School is difficult for her. She missed a lot during"-I glanced at the house, shrugged -"everything that happened. You've seen how she behaves so it hasn't been easy. They want her to repeat kindergarten."

"Oh, shit," she said under her breath.

"Yeah, that was Cheeku's take on it too." I chuckled softly.

"The emotional impact would be worse than any academic deficits," Zoya said. "You can't let that happen, Aditya."

"Trust me, I'm working on it," I snapped, now regretting that I'd shared so much. I didn't need input from anyone else on this.

I already had more than enough.

"Is there any possibility of her being promoted or is this a done deal?"

I lifted the shoulder carrying Cheeku's backpack. "Summer school was the last-ditch effort. She was kicked out after asking the teacher if they'd be doing boring shit again today."

Cheeku barreled out of the house then and sprinted toward the barn while screaming, "Goin' to get the kitties now!"

"Only if they want you to get them," I called after her. "You will not win a fight with barn cats." We watched her streak by, dust and gravel flying behind her. I glanced over at Zoya.

"When she first came here, she wouldn't go anywhere near the animals. Cried her head off when she got within fifty feet of a dog. Now she'll grab frogs right out of the pond. Bare hands."

Cheeku emerged from the barn, her arms overflowing with an annoyed cat.

"This one is Brownie," she announced, "because she's brown. I couldn't find Blackie but that's okay because she's a hunter and yesterday she had pieces of-"

"Let's not tell Zoya that story," I interrupted. "Not everyone needs the details of Blackie's catch of the day."

Zoya gave me a small smile and mouthed "Thanks."

"Just a few minutes with Brownie," I said, watching the cat squirming in Cheeku's hold. "You've been all over the farm this afternoon, kid, but we need to get you fed and washed and ready for bed."

"Bedtimes are bullshit," she murmured to the cat. "'Specially in the summer."

"And I should head back to the house," Zoya said, taking a step away from us. "I haven't unpacked yet and-wait, where am I?"

"This is our new house," Cheeku said. "It's away from the farm stand and the old house because Adi values his privacy."

Zoya swallowed a laugh. "Hmm. Yeah."

"We'll walk you back," I offered.

"Zoya can have dinner with us," Cheeku said.

~~~

Thanks for reading.
A long enough post to compensate for the days I'll disappear because of Diwali and travelling.

I'm loving the response...thank you so so much.

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