"It's my last day cooking for you, so you deserve a feast." I tell him.

"Aw, you're really gonna prepare a feast for me?" Arjun asks, his face lighting up at my words.

"Only if you agree to be a good helping hand." I tell him.

"Of course ma'am. Arjun Mehrotra is at your service." He says and bows in front of me.

My previous feeling of sadness vanishes and a chuckle escapes my lips.

"First you should sit and relax, Shravya." Arjun says and I agree.

I place my bag on the centre table and take a seat in one of the sofas. Arjun sits beside me and unlocks his phone after which he begins scrolling through it.

I rest my head against the sofa and close my eyes.

"Let's get going then, Arjun." I tell him after relaxing for a good fifteen minutes.

"After you." He says with a smile. I stand up from my seat and so does he after which he follows me to the kitchen.

I walk over to the sink and wash my hands after which I turn around to face him.

"What's the menu for today?" He asks me.

"You tell me, what would you like to eat?" I ask in response.

"You're a good chef Shravya, cook whatever you want to, I'm sure it's going to be finger licking good." He answers.

"Too much exaggeration, really. I'm not even half as good as Ma in cooking." I tell him, smiling.

"Oh really? Then I'll have to taste food prepared by your mother once." He says.

"Of course, she'll be more than glad and her future son in law is always welcome in her house, I'm sure." I say as I walk back to the counter.

"I am your mother's future son in law? Do you know that makes me your fiancé, then, Shravya?" He asks, giving me a sly smile.

Having realised my slip of tongue I quickly say, "Supposed son in law. A fake son in law, but she doesn't know that obviously."

"Of course." He replies, giving me a smile.

"Now, let's start making your dinner. No more talking." I tell him.

"I'm more of an action speak louder than words kind of a guy anyway, so let's begin working. Oh and before I forget to mention this, you'll be joining me in this feast too." He says.

"What? Me? That's not possible, I'll have to get back home." I say almost immediately.

"I am also someone who doesn't like no for an answer Shravya, you're having dinner with me today and that's final." He announces.

"What am I even going to tell my mother, yes?" I ask him.

"Tell her you're having dinner with me, simple." He says calmly.

"No, I don't want to tell her that. She's going to think we're out on a date or something." I tell him.

"What's wrong in her thinking that? Let her think whatever she wants to." He says in response.

"You, you're going to make me fall into trouble but because it's my last day here, I'll tell her I'm having dinner with you." I tell him.

"Perfect." He replies.

I pick my phone up from the counter and call my mother.

"The person you are trying to speak to is speaking to someone else. Please try again later." The voice of the annoying lady tells me.

"It was the annoying lady telling me my mother's line was busy." I tell Arjun.

"Annoying lady who?" He asks

"The voicemail lady. I call her the annoying lady because whenever she speaks it's to inform you that you cannot contact the person you want to because of some reason or the other." I explain and he laughs.

"Enough. I'm sure Ma will call me back. For now let's make dinner. No more delay." I tell him.

I quickly decide on the menu and announce it to Arjun.

"Chicken tikka kebabs for starters, with mint chutney. Mutton Biryani [Biryani is a delicious savory rice dish that is loaded with spicy marinated chicken, caramelized onions, and flavorful saffron rice.] for the main course, dessert we'll order from outside. Cold drinks for beverage. That's the menu I've decided."

"Cool with me. But it's going to take ages to prepare all this and I'm super duper hungry. You on the other hand, I'm sure have had a busy day at the office so there's no way I'm going to allow you to cook any of this." He tells me.

My shoulders drop.

"What are we going to eat then? Something lighter?" I ask.

"No Shravya we're going to order from The Mehrotra's." He tells me with a big smile on his face.

"I wanted to cook something special." I tell him.

"It's okay, Shravya, we'll order in." He insists.

"Wait, let's do one thing, we will order the main course from your restaurant and I'll make the dessert here, myself. This way we'll have something prepared by me included in today's feast too, okay?" I ask him.

"Sounds good to me." He answers.

"What should I make then?" I ask him.

"Phirni. That's easy to make right?" He asks me.

[Phirni : Rice pudding]

"Yep, phirni it is then." I say and get on my toes.

Arjun makes a call and orders the food.

"Now, Arjun Mehrotra is at your service, what can I do for you?" He asks me.

"Take out the rice container and bring it here." I tell him. He walks to the cabinet while I walk toward the refrigerator and take out the milk.

"That's pretty much all. You can now go back to the living room and set the table." I tell him.

"Sure. Call me if you need anything." He says and I give him a thumbs up.

About half an hour later I'm done preparing the dessert. I set it in two bowls and garnish it with dry fruits after which I put it inside the refrigerator to chill.

When I walk out of the kitchen I find Arjun on a phone call.

"Yes, I'll be there tomorrow. Haan [Yes], Chaachi, I'll be on time." Arjun says into the receiver.

When his eyes land on me he passes me a small smile. I return his smile and take a seat on the nearest sofa.

"Okay, I'll get it done. Sure, bye." He says and hangs up the call.

"Being the only responsible kid in the family is a tough job." He says with a sigh and rests his head against the headrest, looking at the ceiling.

"A responsible kid who almost put the kitchen on fire?" I ask him with a chuckle.

He turns his head to look at me and makes a face at me which causes the smile on my face to only grow.

"That was just a one-time thing and plus the poor kid had only good intentions in mind." He says.

"Poor kid, indeed." I say.

Our conversation is interrupted by the ringing of the doorbell.

"That must be the food delivery guy." He says and immediately walks to the door.

He brings the food packets inside and places it on the table after which he makes his way to his bedroom.

A minute later he appears with his wallet in hand.

He walks back to the door and pays the guy.

"Do you have to pay for getting food from your restaurant too?" I ask him as soon as he shuts the door.

"Of course, if I don't, Dadi's going to make the finance department cut it from my salary anyway." He answers.

"Your Dadi sounds like a strict woman." I comment.

"She's a mixture of sweet and salty. When you see her crazy side you won't believe this was the same woman who threw me out of MM." He answers.

"It's a good thing, she must be keeping everything balanced in your house." I say.

"That's true. By the way, you don't even know how many members there are in my family, aren't you curious?" He asks me.

Oh I actually do. I think to myself as I am suddenly reminded of how I stalked him after our second meeting.

"Shravya?" He calls out and I am broken out of my trance.

"Tell me who all are there in your family?" I ask him with a smile.

"There's Dadi, Chachu Chaachi, their twins, Abhimanyu and Aarohi. There's also my Bua who lives with us and her son, Abhay, who's currently abroad for further studies. He answers, a smile on his face the entire time. [Chachu - Paternal uncle, Bua - Paternal aunt]

I read on the internet that his parents are no more, so I don't pry about them. They may be a sensitive topic to him.

"Wow, that's great. I noticed that the names of your cousins are from A and you have the same initials too." I say.

"That's right. Every one born into the Mehrotra fam is named from the letter A, it's a thing in our family. My Chachu's name is Ajay and my Bua's name is Anjali." He adds.

"Too many A(s). By the way, do you plan on carrying this family thing on, will you name your kids from the letter A as well?" I ask him.

"Of course." He answers almost immediately and both of us break into a laugh.

We then decide to end the conversation and begin eating.

"I'll take the food out while you bring the dessert, yes?" He asks me.

"Sure." I reply.

•

"And the dessert is here as well." I announce as I set the tray containing the two bowls of phirni and two empty plates, two spoons and a couple of more stacked bowls, down on the dining table by the balcony where Arjun has already taken out the parcel containers.

"Looks amazing." He comments.

I am about to sit down when Arjun suddenly moves towards my side.

I take a step back. He pulls out the chair for me. "Have a seat, Shravya." He says.

I take a seat, a smile playing on my lips. After me, Arjun takes a seat across from me.

"Should I go ahead and serve us?" Arjun asks me.

"Yes, of course." I tell him and he begins doing so.

My phone rings and I see Ma's name flash across the screen.

"Excuse me." I mumble to Arjun and receive the call.

"Shravu, where are you?" Ma asks me.

"Ma, I am with Arjun. We're having dinner together today." I tell her.

"Oooh. All that is fine but you should have at least informed me beforehand. You know I get worried if you aren't home by eight." She tells me.

"I did call you, but your line was busy." I tell her.

"Oh, yes I saw your missed call but forgot to call you back, I was speaking to a matchmaker." She tells me and I suddenly panic.

"What? Why?" I immediately ask her.

"Relax Shravya, I was only telling the matchmaker that I no longer want him to bring proposals for you." She tells me and I sigh in relief..

"Okay, Ma, Arjun will drop me home, safely so you don't worry, alright." I tell her.

"Okay Shravya. Now go enjoy your dinner with my son in law to be, I don't want to disturb you guys." She tells me.

"Also, tell him that this weekend he'll have to meet us, he has to spare some time for the meeting okay?" She adds.

"Yes Ma, okay." I tell her and she hangs up the call.

"Let's begin eating, I'm hungry." Arjun whines.

"Of course. I am not too sure about the responsible part, but you're definitely no less than a kid, that's for sure." I tell him with a smile.

He's already begun eating and looks at me with a frown, his mouth filled with food. I chuckle after which I begin eating too.

•

"Thank you for the dinner. The food was delicious." I tell him as we eat the dessert, now sitting on the sofa.

"It was a pleasure. The phirni is very tasty." He says as he brings another spoonful of it to his mouth.

"Thank you."

"Arjun, will you be free this weekend?" I ask him remembering Ma's words.

"I have a few meetings to attend and a few places to be in regard to the new restuarant's launch, but I'm sure I can manage to take out some time. Why do you ask?"

"Will it be okay for you to meet my parents over dinner this Saturday then?" I ask him.

"Sure." He answers.

"I think it will be better if we meet in my house, yes?" I ask him.

"Of course. That way I'll get to eat food prepared by your mother too." He says with a chuckle.

"She's going to be very happy. Is there anything specific you would want to eat?" I ask him.

"I'm fine with anything, really, don't bother so much." He tells me.

"Well, okay." I reply.

After we're done with the dessert Arjun and I get ready to leave for my house.

He goes to bring his car keys and mobile from his bedroom while I take a last look around his apartment. This is my last time here.

The thought makes me a little sad but I cannot exactly figure out why.

On the way to my house we remain silent listening to the soft music playing inside the car.

When we reach my complex the car halts.

"I'll see you this Saturday then." Arjun says and I nod my head at him before unfastening my seatbelt and reaching for the car's door.

"Drive safe and text me when you get back okay?" I tell him through the window.

"Okay. Have a good night." He says.

"You too." I say and turn around, walking inside.

Without even turning back I know he begins driving only after I enter inside my complex.