Until I Found You

03| Ansh | Lemon tart

"Send in another black coffee please", I ordered my fifth mug through the intercom before leaning back in my chair with a groan. The throbbing in my temples was beginning to worsen into a full fledged headache but with the stress of closing two major deals and the sleepless night I had had, I couldn't say I was surprised. One peek at my wrist watch told me it was after five in the evening. Dadi would be landing any minute now. She had refused to be picked up, but I had managed to convince her to let me at least send my driver for her.

My eyes shot open at the thought, the ball of anxiety lodged in my throat. Dadi would be in front of me in mere hours and I still had no fucking clue how to have a conversation that would not round back to those years in London. There was a reason I had kept all the phone calls and texts short in the last four years, even with her, and she had known it. She had just let me be, but ofcourse, her patience had now run out. I couldn't even blame her for it.

The need for something stronger shot through me, and as soon as the pantry staff left after placing my coffee in front of me, I found myself reaching for the flask of whiskey I kept in my drawer for days like this. Two shots of strong liquor mixed in the bitter coffee had been my savior for longer than I tended to admit. The burn in the back of my throat was familiar, and sip after sip, I could finally relax enough to breathe in lung full.

The door opened again and Ayaan entered, whistling like a teenager. He paused right near my desk, took one look and scrunched his nose, "I don't understand your love for bitterness. Black coffee plus whiskey? Life is short my friend, try to enjoy the pastries, cakes and cheesecakes instead".

I rolled my eyes at him and took another long sip from the mug instead. I pretended to savor the taste, waiting a few seconds after each sip to intentionally annoy him without having to say a word. Ayaan only had the patience to watch me do it for a minute before he was picking up a random file and chucking it at me. Since I was expecting him to do something like that, I managed to save myself and greeted him with a smirk I knew he hated. Ayaan glared back, "We need to leave and I am your ride, so quit annoying me and ditch your love for this bitter liquid for the time being", he threw his hands in the air and then turned on his heels to leave, without giving me a chance to speak.

It was then I realized that the tension in my shoulders had melted off at some point during this chidish interaction between us. Someday I would tell him this aloud, thank him for being that friend, but like always, it just wouldn't be today.

Ten minutes later, we were on the way back to my apartment until he took a re route that I didn't recognize. When I looked at him for an answer, he just shrugged and offered me no verbal response. Before I could question more, he was turning into a narrow lane and parking the car. He got out and I followed suit, waiting for him to elaborate.

"I have a little something to do, it will just take me ten minutes. You can wait here - ", he said with no remorse, knowing I absolutely hated being stranded, but then looked around for half a minute and gestured behind me, "or you can go visit that pretty looking cafe and pick up desserts for Dadi. Her sweet tooth has only worsened in the past years".

He was crossing the road and out of my line of vision under a minute without further explanation. I cursed, slamming the car door shut and turned to take a look of my surroundings. This was someplace down town, but I had never visited this part of the city before. My gaze found the Cafe Ayaan had pointed earlier, it was on the other side of the narrow street. The door had a bunch of multi coloured flower hangings that I assumed were mostly for catching attention, which they definitely did. Plus points for good marketing.

I decided taking a walk there would be better than standing here waiting for my douchebag best friend who I knew for sure would take far longer than ten minutes. Quickly finding my way over there, I paused outside the door that had a small cardboard menu hanging by the wall.