Along the Lines of Love | ✓

Chapter 8 : A Day Well Spent

I'm just scared of what you'll think

♪

~ ~ ~ ♡ ~ ~ ~

Nikhil wasn't expecting Sharanya to chose a garden to meet. However, he had no problem being present at Lalbagh Garden at four in the late afternoon on a Sunday evening. It was almost equidistant from their houses.

He was present outside the plant nursery just as they had decided. He stood under the shade of bougainvillea shrubs waiting for her. He looked left and right and then glanced at his watch, wondering if he should call her. A minute passed and he spotted a figure dressed in a red kurta at a good distance approaching in his direction. He guessed it was Sharanya. The closer she got the surer he became. She looked elegant in the kurta and the white bottom. What surprised him was that she wore sports shoes for footwear. A rather odd choice but he thought it was smart.

"Hi!" She greeted with a smile.

"Hey!"

"I just thought it would be nice to meet here than a Cafe." She explained.

"Hmm," He nodded.

"Let's walk, till we find a good bench?" She suggested.

"Sure,"

"How was your week?"

"Hectic!" He answered as he fell in step beside her.

"I can only imagine how much you work!" She said with an appreciative smile, readjusting the strap of the bag she had on her shoulder.

Nikhil didn't know how to accept that without making it look like boasting. So he just nodded, and looked around. He was blank at the moment. Just an hour ago he had a few things in mind that could be good pointers to start a conversation, but they were all gone. Wiped clean from his mental whiteboard.

"How was your week?" He asked, remembering one of the little things he had learned about speaking and socializing with people. You can't think of anything, you ask the person the same thing or something along the lines of what they asked.

"Okay, I guess." She smiled.

Nikhil glanced at the ice-cream vendor who stood a little ahead under the shade of a big tree with widespread branches. "Ice-cream?" He asked.

"Uh, no. I don't really like ice-cream. You can go ahead and have one." She said.

Nikhil had never thought a woman could say no to ice cream. "You don't like ice-cream?"

Sharanya forced a smile. "They give me a headache, especially if I eat it under a sun."

"Oh, but do you like them?"

Sharanya smiled at his query. "With chocolate sauce, yes."

"Haa.. corner house style!"

She smiled. "You can buy yourself one."

"Nah," He answered, watching kids around the ice-cream vendor.

They walked ahead in silence for a few minutes, looking around mostly.

"When we were kids, my parents used to bring us here a lot. Especially during the time they had fairs." She said.

Nikhil smiled, "I was just remembering the same. Maa used to frequent this place a lot. She loves plants. In our older home, she had converted the balcony into a garden with a variety of plants. I literally had to beg her to not do the same to our current home. The bees, dragon flies, moths, and mosquitoes that come with gardens aren't exactly good company."