Instructing people was certainly not Anya's thing, not when she mostly did everything on her own. Two men were scooting around with a glass panel that would separate Kaynath's side of the shop from hers. They adjusted it as one of them took out a metal handle from his bag.

"The door pushes to the other side to open. Getting one of the Push stickers might help so people don't get confused," he explained, as he examined the handle and took out his tool kit.

"Yeah," Anya responded. She recounted walking into many shops and pushing the door instead of pulling it open, even though there were signs. Not that not having a sign would be a hazard, but just confusing. She shrugged, glancing at the main door every once in a while to see if anybody would pop in.

"Sundays are quiet," she muttered, pulling up a chair.

"Very," he responded as his work mate continued screwing the handle onto the door. Anya kept thinking Kaynath would show up to watch the work and if there were other fittings she needed, but apparently she didn't care.

I wonder what they're doing. It feels lonely without either Mirza or Kaynath.

The realization struck her and she blinked. Wait, why do I need Kaynath? All the more better, if she isn't here, after all.

A few moments later, the front door burst open and Kaynath panted. "Sorry I'm late, I over slept."

"You? Not be on schedule? What a surprise," Anya bit back as she sunk into the chair further.

"Shut up," she turned away from her and looked at them. "Hey. I'm Kaynath."

"Hello! We've heard a lot about you. My family adores your sweets," he showed a toothy smile and perked up. Apparently everyone seemed to know her, but by no means did Anya think she was the type to actually enjoy conversing with people.

"Thank you. Come stop by Christmas and Onam, there'll be offers," she smiled politely. "Has it been long since you guys came?"

"No, just a little while. We'll finish this soon. Was there anything else you wanted to fix, before we left for lunch?"

"Yes, but it can be done after lunch. I wanted to get some cabinets fixed on my end and maybe a shelf?" she looked hopeful, her doe eyes large and Anya saw his composure crack a bit.

"Of course, anything."

"Okay, you guys can have lunch, and we'll see about the space. I have some options for the shelves now that the space is less," she said pointedly and Anya ignored every bit of her, scrolling on her phone.

"Any way we can help," he smiled and left with his coworker.

Kaynath readjusted her hijab just as Anya looked up from her phone. It had come loose and Anya spotted the curve of the kurti, a V-neck embellished in silver, her skin warm with the sunlight streaming through the windows, before it got covered again with her hijab. She swore she saw some marks but maybe that was her imagination.

Kaynath looked around and Anya suddenly felt defensive, as though she was judging her. "What? I'm sure mine is nothing as fancy and I don't know how else to design a place much, considering I just have garlands to sell–"

"I didn't say a thing," she laughed awkwardly. Kaynath seemed to be quieter and less sharper today. Her words didn't swing in full force to taunt Anya the way it did when she saw her, today. Something was different and she stared, trying to gauge if it was the appearance or because she just woke up late and felt hazy.

"You seem different, today," she mused, going to stand behind the counter.

"Are you going to be the one handling the cash register and the selling?" Kaynath ignored her.

"Well, I really don't know. Small business, right," she replied, wondering why on earth did she need such a large space and get into a fight. She couldn't remember. But having a shop and a name was better than standing in the hot sun, yelling at strangers to come buy flowers.

Kaynath looked infuriated. "Did you seriously have no idea about what you wanted to do, and just picked a fight with me to have your miniscule garlands–" she shut her mouth.

"Hey, just because I don't have every single detail planned out for my life doesn't mean you can get to say shit," she narrowed her eyes and was surprised she was actually saying something back for once.

"Yeah. That was uncalled for," Kaynath looked away.

Anya didn't really expect an apology. She started randomly cleaning the table, rubbing the same spot over and over again.

"There's probably gonna be a lot more dust, you know, when they come back to finish the jobs. You don't have to clean right now," Kaynath muttered.

Anya glanced up. She was right. Maybe she was trying to be helpful. But it only came across as needling her and she hated people telling her what to do and what not to.

She looked at Kaynath, who looked a little lost, playing with the ends of her hijab. She looked radiant as always, but today her cheeks seemed puffy and her skin pale, like she hadn't slept much.

She put down her rag cloth. It was not her place. If it were Mirza, she would have jumped and attacked her with a teddy bear hug.

Not that she wanted to hug Kaynath. That would be so weird. Her floral embellishments were sure to itch her face if she hugged her. Plus, her whole structure was bones jutting out, sharp angles. She must have a smooth, hard stomach. Anya secretly wondered if she worked out, and resented her if she did. Her hijab was the weird lime green shade today, and Anya hated the colour. Her nails painted green to match her outfit were sure to claw her eyes out if she went near her.

Fuck you, Kaynath, she whispered in her head and her mind gave her very disturbing images that Anya tried so very hard not to think about.

She was annoying as fuck and so, the next words surprised both of them. "Want to grab lunch? I haven't had anything yet, either."

Kaynath looked bewildered, and Anya clapped a hand over her mouth.

Her brain was definitely buzzing. "Um–sorry, you don't have to, it's just–"

"I would love some food," Kaynath looked down, and for a moment, she could swear she saw Kaynath blush.

"Are you blushing?" Anya smirked a little.

"No, of course not," Kaynath snapped, turning on her heels. "It's the heat."

"Of course," Anya responded breezily. I am going to die, she thought and sighed.

"We'll go there by my scooter," Anya was excited now. Food and driving were the only two things that made her spirits go high, other than plants. She fished out her keys and jingled it, walking with a skip in her step and then suddenly remembered they were both in public and looked to the side, expecting to see Kaynath's disapproval.

Her hand covered her mouth as she snorted. "Pfft, you can be cute, too."

Anya walked to her and rapped her knuckles against Kaynath's head.

Kaynath yelped. "Ouch, what was that for?!"

"Where's Kaynath, this isn't her. Bring her back!" Anya screamed and Kaynath swatted her hands, pushing her away.

"Oh, shut up."

"Or wait, don't, this version of her is fun," Anya laughed lightly. There was something off about Kaynath. She was quieter and softer.

Kaynath went silent after that as they reached her scooter and Anya wondered if she hit the wrong nerve. But she didn't say anything and Anya didn't want to assume she had done something wrong if Kaynath were going to stay silent.

"You don't mind driving with me, do you? I'm a safe rider!" she smiled brightly, trying to lighten the mood.

"I don't."

Anya got on and moved the scooter from the main stand. She keyed in as the scooter whirred to life and she looked at Kaynath from the mirror. "Get on."

Kaynath wordlessly got on and Anya felt her breath catch. It was obviously because she was used to driving alone, although she had taken her mom to the grocery store countless times. Still, it had been a while. Yes, that was definitely why she felt her nerves getting the best of her and her heart malfunction.

"Hold on to something," Anya said, as she zoomed away. The restaurant was a fifteen minute ride away, and she wondered if she should have told Kaynath to hold on to her instead of the handle at the sides or back. But then, she most probably would have crashed into a pole. Anya blinked, trying to focus. Driving and taking care of plants were the only times she had full concentration.

Kaynath was silent for the most part.

"Oh, look, that's the place me and mom usually go for groceries!" Anya jerked her head to the right to a big supermarket.

"Most people go there," Kaynath replied bluntly.

Ah, guess her nice personality lasted like, two minutes, Anya thought.

"That's where I got the scooter from. Their showroom is pretty right?" Anya tried again.

"I suppose so. Never been much for vehicles."

"Well, it'll come in handy, I tell you. At least to places where bus service is low."

Kaynath hummed and stayed quiet.

Anya parked her scooter as they got off. She saw Kaynath looking around, and supposed this must be her first time here. The place was tucked away in a corner, through meandering roads that weren't tarred yet. It seemed like a secret, but there were a handful of people inside. The interior was lined with plants, the tables wooden and chairs stacked. Only two tables had cushioned sofas for six or more people.

Ambient lo-fi music played as the paper lanterns swung under the breeze.

"Well, do you like it?"

Kaynath shrugged. "I can see why you would."

"It gets a little busier at night. Also the lighting is better in the evenings, but I do like this time. It's like my own secret place, you know?"

"Why must we come here, anyways? This place is way too shabby for me," Kaynath looked around and groaned.

"Have you never eaten from places like these?"

Anya stared at her. Kaynath was more vocal about what she felt, rather than portraying how she should seem to feel to others. Or maybe she was just out of it, today. One could never tell with her.

"This is where I usually have food. They have the best prawns," Anya softly said, but she felt embarrassed. Her body felt hot and she wished the ground would swallow her up. What, was Kaynath too high and mighty for such places?

"No, it's just I feel hot and irritated and I wanted A/C. I guess, I don't know."

"Oh, I'm sorry, I don't have the money right now for a lavish lunch in a five-star restaurant," she bit back and looked away. The plants around them moved viciously and the waiters looked at it, before spotting Anya.

"Oh, Anya!" one of them rushed to her, and smiled. "Did you wait long?"

"Ah, no," she smiled back, calming down. Or at least, the plants were back to normal. "I brought a friend here today. I'll have prawns fry and one meals. You?"

Kaynath looked at her and then down to their menu. "Uh, one fried rice with pepper chicken, please. And, a falooda for dessert."

"Okay!" he tapped something in his ipad and then repeated their order to double check before leaving.

Kaynath pulled out her phone and then started scrolling. Anya hated when the other person did that, especially when it was just the two of them here together. Not that there was much to talk about unless they were fighting.

Friends seems like an absurd concept, she thought bitterly.

But Kaynath's playful smile calling her cute kept tugging at the back of her mind until the food arrived and she dismissed all thoughts of it as they both dug in. 

***
Glossary:

scooter: a two-wheeled motor vehicle built for the capacity for two people to sit. Anya rides a Honda Activa.

meals: South-Indian meals are vegetarian and usually consist of rice, a few curries to go with it, a pappadam and some pickle, usually had during lunch. 

falooda: It is a cold dessert, made by mixing rose syrup, vermicelli, and sweet basil seeds, often served with ice cream and fruits and nuts. 

***

Also yay, update! It's been so long, but I'm glad and thank you so much for the support on this story! What do we think of them getting lunch together?

Vote and comment if you enjoyed it!