She opens the door. 

Darshan: Can I come in?

She opens the door wider and allows him in. He looks at her petite form to see her wearing a gray long sleeve t-shirt that is a bit oversized for her. The first two buttons are open and it falls off one of her shoulders. She is wearing gray shorts that are hidden under the t-shirt. She locks the door behind him. 

Jaimi: Did you need something?

Darshan: I'm sorry! Meine subah jo bola woh nahi bolna chahiye tha about your family.

Jaimi: It doesn't matter. 

She says it flatly with no emotion. 

Darshan: It does. I shouldn't have crossed my lines. 

There's a brief moment of silence. 

Darshan: Tumne Bhai se baat ki?

Jaimi: Nahi. 

Darshan: Kyu?

Jaimi: I- I- I'll go to Ahmedabad with you. 

Darshan: Heh? I mean aise achanak se kyu?

Jaimi: You were right. Aap mere boss hain so I have to respect my work, so.

Darshan opens his mouth to say something but closes it. He is staring at her with a train of thoughts running in his mind which is disturbed by a notification sound. Jaimi looks at her iPad to see it showing the program has been saved successfully. His eyes finally fall upon the mess on the floor.

Jaimi: I... was working. 

Darshan: I can see and mujhse itna formally baat karna band karo. I don't like it!

Jaimi: You are my boss!

Darshan: Tum abhi tak gussa ho meri subah wali baat se? Look, mera woh boss card play karne ka koi intention nahi tha. I want to be friends with you like I am with everyone else. 

He forwards his hand. She contemplates for a few moments before placing her petite hand in his rough one. His hand envelopes her and they fit together like they were always meant to be together. She is the first to pull away from his hand. 

Jaimi: Chai, coffee, ya phir juice? Do you want something?

Darshan: I'm good. 

Jaimi: You're going to stay or what because if you're staying then, have a seat. 

Darshan nods and sits on the small couch. Jaimi sits on the floor with her back to the couch and starts working. 

Jaimi: Is there anything specific I need to know before we leave for Ahmedabad?

Darshan: Nahi. Hum kuch dino ke liye meri family ke saath honge kyu ki rakshabandhan aur sab aa raha hain. Then, 23rd ko concert hain. 

Jaimi hums. 

Darshan: Tum 23rd ke baad- uh- I- mean tum chali jaogi?

Jaimi: That's the plan. 

Darshan: Kaha jaogi woh final kiya? I mean 10 din hi reh gae hain. 

Jaimi: Abhi tak toh kuch decide nahi kiya! 5th or 6th September se pehle India se chali jaungi.

Darshan: Koi plan for the 10 days?

Jaimi: Not much. I have to attend an event or two. Aur, meri family ka kuch paperwork baki hain so woh wrap up karungi. 

Darshan: Ok. 

Jaimi: Why are you asking though?

Darshan: Nothing! I- just wanted to know. I mean hum ek dusre ko kaafi waqt se jaante hain so-

Jaimi: Ok. 

They heard the sudden bolts of lightning and thunder, followed by heavy rain. The shockwave of the lightning and thunder cause the glass windows to rattle. The electricity goes off of the area. Darshan's phone buzzes. He looks at his phone to see it's a weather alert. Jaimi's phone does the same after a few minutes.

Darshan: Mein chalta hoon. 

Jaimi nods. He leaves and she locks the door behind him. A few minutes later, the electricity comes back. She continues with her work. Darshan pulls out of the building's parking lot and starts towards his apartment, but is stopped by the cops. 

Darshan: Kya hua sir?

Cop: Aage paani bhar gaya hain, so roads band kar diye hain. 

Darshan: Abhi toh baarish shuru hue hain. 

Cop: Waha aadhe ghante pehle baarish shuru ho gae thi aur rain water drainage ki pipe tut gae hain toh woh paani bhi aa gaya. 

Darshan: Sir mera ghar uss taraf hain. Yaha raat ko rukne ke liye koi jagah hain?

Cop: Kisi ke ghar pe ruk jao koi dost ya koi ho toh. Yeh toofan toh puri raat chalega!

Darshan nods and reverses his car. He drives back to Jaimi's apartment. She is the only person he knows who lives in this area. He knocks on the door. She opens it after a minute or two and looks confused. 

Jaimi: Kuch bhul gae yaha?

Darshan: Nahi. Uh- woh- actually roads jam ho gae hain. 

Jaimi: Oh. 

Darshan: Kya aaj raat yaha ruk sakhta hoon?

Jaimi: Uh- yeah. 

She lets him in and locks the door. He takes off his shoes. She hands him a towel and he dries his hair, arms, and legs with it. She takes a good look at him to see him wearing a t-shirt and shorts. She can see his bulging muscles. She averts her gaze away from him. 

Jaimi: If you want you can dry your clothes. I mean gile kapdo mein bimaar pad jaoge. 

Darshan nods. She goes to her closet and takes out a large bathrobe she never used. She hands it to him along with a fresh towel. 

Jaimi: Bathroom mein laundry and dryer hain. You can shower if you like. 

Darshan: Thank you. 

Jaimi nods and points towards the bathroom. He makes his way to the bathroom and freshens up. His clothes are still in the machine. He puts on the robe and exits the bathroom. He finds his phone that he dropped on the bed and dials Jyugal's number. 

Jyugal: Hello? Kidhar hain tu? Mausam kharab ho gaya hain. 

Darshan: Mein Jaimi ke ghar pe aaya tha. Woh kuch trip ke baare mein discuss karna tha toh. 

Jyugal: Abhi nikal waha se! Raaste band ho jaae usse pehle. 

Darshan: Raaste pehle se hi band ho chuke hain. Mein aaj raat Jaimi ke yaha rukne wala hoon. 

Hardik: You lucky bastard!

Darshan: Tu kidhar se aaya be?

Hardik: Jaimi se pehle mein hi aaya tha kamine!

Darshan: Uska iss baat se kya lena dena? Aur, yeh lucky bastard kya hain?

Hardik: Waha rehne ko mil raha hain uske saath woh tere liye koi lottery jitne se kam hain?

Darshan: Tere dimaag mein aise khyaalat aate kaha se hain?

Hardik: Jaha se tere dimaag mein ye jasoos Raval aata haina wahi se!

Darshan: Bakwas karna zaroori hain?

Hardik: Shuru kisne ki?

Darshan: Tune!

Jyugal: Tum dono chup ho jao. Darshan, thappad khane wali koi baat mat kehna aur kuch bewkoofi mat karna! Aur, agar Jaimi nikal de toh ghar ka raasta toh pata hi hain. 

Darshan: Kaise insaan ho tum dono?

Jyugal: Soja aur sone do. Good night!

Before Darshan could reply, Jyugal hangs up the call. Darshan goes out to the living room not knowing what to do. He sees Jaimi sitting on the floor writing something on a piece of paper that is placed on the coffee table. Her iPad is sitting in her lap. The flat-screen mounted on the wall shows what looks like a blueprint. He walks back to the bathroom and slips into his clothes. He throws the robe in the laundry basket. He goes back to the living room and sees Jaimi controlling the TV from her iPad as she scrolls through what looks like the architecture designs. He sits beside her and looks at her iPad. 

Darshan: Yeh kya hain?

Jaimi: One of the projects I have been working on. 

Darshan: Kis cheez ki design hain? 

Jaimi: School! Pre-school se 12th-grade tak. 

Darshan: Iska construction kaha ho raha hain?

Jaimi: Gujarat mein hi hain! Construction pura ho gaya hain. I am just finishing up the interior and landscaping!

Darshan: Oh. Kya mein dekh sakhta hoon?

Jaimi: Give me a minute. I'm done with the design, so I just need to fix a few settings. 

She finishes it up in a few minutes and shows him the designs which play in a video style.

Darshan: Wow. Iss school mein bahot kuch hain par tum mujhe basics de sakhti ho?

Jaimi: The school is divided into multiple sectors. First is the administration and maintenance. The second is preschool to 5th grade. The third is divided from 6th to 10th. The fourth is the 11th and 12th. Third sectors ke baad student will rotate to classrooms rather than students. Third and fouth sector ke students core classes ke alawa apne pasand ke classes choose kar sakhte hain. The school promotes careers in any field be it art, science, commerce. Technology is widely used and interior aise design kiye hain ki student can still move. Most of the desk ke neeche stationary paddle fit kiye gae hain jiss wajah se- I mean bahot lambe waqt baithe rehte ho toh cramps aur woh sab ho toh woh nahi hoga. Football aur cricket stadium ke saath gym, indoor swimming pool, tennis court, gym, aur running tracks bhi hain. 

Darshan: This is amazing! Private school hain toh pay bhi bahot kiya hoga. 

Jaimi: Nahi. This is going to be public school aur yeh project meine free mein kiya hain. 

Darshan: That's nice! Tum iss project ko dekhne jaogi?

Jaimi: Maybe! Anyways, ab so jaate hain. 

Darshan nods. Jaimi cleans up and puts everything up in less than five minutes. 

Darshan: Mein yaha so jaate hoon. 

Jaimi: On the floor?

Darshan: Sofa pe?

Jaimi: It's too small for you aur hum dono kahi baar saath mein soe hue hain, so who cares?

Darshan: You don't like me around you so?

Jaimi: Agar mein tumhe pasand nahi karti toh tum abhi mere ghar mein khade hote?

Darshan: So you like me?

Jaimi: I didn't say that. 

Darshan: Par tumne abhi toh-?

Jaimi: Don't get too ahead of yourself, Raval! And, go to bed. 

He nods and makes his way to the bedroom. She makes sure that all the doors are locked and makes her way to the bedroom as well. She sleeps on the left side by the wall while he's sleeping on the bathroom side of the bed. The twin-size bed is not leaving much room to spread out, so they're very close to each other. She uses her phone to turn off the lights.

In a few minutes, Darshan dozes off. Jaimi tosses and turns to make herself comfortable and fall asleep, but sleep is far away from her. She looks at Darshan and her hands itch to run through his soft hair. She fists her hand and turns away from him. She grabs her iPad and sits on the marble window seat in the kitchen and starts reading a novel. The sound of rain and lightning with a light breeze serves as background music to her. 

Around 12, Darshan wakes up to see her missing. He uses the bathroom then makes his way to the kitchen. He sees her sitting on the window seat. He gets his phone and sneakily takes a picture of her. She is sitting back and her legs are bent at the knee. Her iPad is placed against the knees. Her head is hanging to the side and is against the window. A few pieces of hair are falling on her face. He goes close by and takes away her iPad and glasses. He carefully lifts her bridal style and lays her down. As the lighting strikes the sky, she nuzzles her face into his neck. He wraps his arm around her for warmth as the blanket is not enough to shield him against the air conditioner and the cold weather. 

The next morning, they find themselves tangled like usual. They finish their morning routine and have a quiet breakfast. The next two days are spent packing. Ayesha visits Jaimi multiple times a day to make sure she stays calm at all times. 

**********