& Then They Wed (Ampersand Love #2)

6. The Art of Saying No

6

The Art of Saying No

Rian

R ian walked into his kitchen on a bright weekday morning, surprised to find Aditi sitting on the bar stool. She was slumped over the island counter, her face resting sideways over folded arms.

He glanced at his watch, then back at her. It was nearly 9:00 a.m and while he was getting a late start today, Aditi was usually at the hospital by now.

He shuffled a bit closer, moving quietly despite his size, and peered at her. A small huff of amusement escaped him when he realised she was sleeping with her mouth open, a thin line of drool glistening down the side of her squished cheek. Lips twitching, he focused his phone on her face, feeling only the slightest bit guilty for taking a picture at such a vulnerable moment. He couldn’t wait to tease her with this. He stared into his phone, setting it as her contact profile, knowing that each time she called or texted would make him laugh just a little bit more .

“Rian?”

Groggy, she sat up, rubbing her eyes tiredly before swiping at her mouth. His amusement dwindled into a fond warmth at her gesture, looking more like a young girl than the busy doctor he knew her to be.

He slipped his phone into his pocket and strode around the kitchen island, heading to his coffee machine.

He lifted his usual mug out of the cabinet, picking up one of her atrocious ones at the same time. He waved it at her, placing it under the machine while he waited for it to come up to temperature. “What’s up, Doc?”

“Not me, Bugs,” she answered, slapping her cheeks lightly to awaken herself.

Brows clashing, Rian turned around and faced her. “What did I do to piss you off?”

“What?”

“Why are you calling me a bug?”

At that, her scrunched nose relaxed and she chuckled. “I’m not calling you a bug. I am calling you ‘Bugs’. Like you call me ‘Doc’. I thought we’d gotten far along enough in our relationship that I should give you a nickname, too.”

Rian crossed his arms over his chest and leaned back against the counter, still not convinced that she wasn’t finding a new way to pull his leg.

Since their truce, Rian had come to understand a few things about Aditi.

She was a dedicated medical professional and very involved with her patients. Nanamma told him that she’d graduated top of her class, and Rian could believe it. The tomes of medical books that she pulled up to reference when she studied each evening looked intimidating to him, but obviously did not phase her.

On the other side was her laid-back persona. The one who liked to roam about in her colourful pyjamas, drink copious amounts of coffee out of equally colourful mugs, watch TV as if she were in a competition, and read, as he had discovered one evening by mistake, romance novels that some might categorise as porn. Those people would be incorrect and narrow-minded, judgemental assholes, he'd been informed immediately by a flustered Aditi. He still had scratch marks from the speed with which she’d ripped her Kindle from his hands. The suggestive cover had intrigued him but she’d refused to look him in the eye after that or tell him was the book was about.

Obviously, it meant that he’d teased her about reading it out loud and finding out for himself. Only he knew it was a false threat. A childhood filled with tutors, teachers and his mother making him feel stupid for not reading or writing well, never to realise that he was dyslexic, had turned him off the activity altogether. Just as he never spoke about his learning challenges, he would never willingly put himself through the trauma of reading any book, even if it came with the added benefit of annoying Aditi.

Perhaps she was also trying to annoy him with this ridiculous nickname.

“I call you Doc because you’re a doctor,” he explained, reaching over to press the button for fresh coffee beans to be ground perfectly.

“And I call you Bugs because Bugs Bunny always greets his friend with ‘ what’s up, Doc?’ Just like you greet me!” She yawned.

He should have known she would have a reason. A convoluted one, but a reason nonetheless. Shaking his head, he tamped the coffee grounds into the basket until the surface was flat.

“Did you have a night shift?” he asked, taking her tired hum as a ‘yes’. He watched the fresh brew pour into their mugs while he swirled the frothed milk in his pitcher, readying it for the latte he knew she preferred.

“No wonder your brain isn’t working,” he grumbled, picking up her mug and angling it to begin pouring the milk. “Once you’re less tired, we’re coming back to how Bugs is not a good nickname. ”

“Too bad. I like it. It’s cute and it suits you. You don’t hear me complaining about your uncreative nickname for me, do you?”

Rian glanced towards her just as she yawned again, stretching long such that her back arched and her scrubs tightened over her upper body.

Distracted, he didn’t realise he was staring until he felt hot milk splash over his hand, causing his mug to slip. With a little curse, he looked down to see brown liquid spreading across the counter, dripping onto the floor.

“Aww, crap,” he mumbled, dabbing the counter with a nearby towel.

“You okay?” Aditi came up to him, face twisted in concern. Her eyes fell on the reddened patch of skin and she pushed him towards the sink, forcing his hand under cold running water.

“Stay here until the sting reduces,” she ordered, spinning around to begin cleaning up the mess he’d made. “I’ll put more coffee on.”

“Maybe you should hold off on caffeine until after you sleep.”

“Who says I’m going to sleep?”

“Aren’t you?” He’d seen her passed out until early afternoon after the last two night shifts she’d been on, emerging from her room looking like an ogre until that first sip of coffee. It never failed to amuse him that for such a happy person, she had terrible morning moods.

“No sleep for me today,” she yawned, walking past him to throw the wad of paper towels into the trash can. “I need to run errands for my family.”

Rian turned off the tap, reaching for the towel Aditi held out. He had seen her on calls with her family many times. He knew she was close to them. He had also seen her send multiple packages home in the weeks since he’d been back.

“What kind of errands? ”

“My aunt wants to wear this particular colour saree for my parent’s anniversary party. I have been tasked with finding something at the cloth markets here because her usual shops were a bust.”

His reaction must have shown on his face because she sheepishly scratched her ear.

“I know that sounds like a silly thing. I’m usually the planner for all the big events in the house but since I am not there, I offered to pitch in from Mumbai as much as I can.”

“That’s why you keep sending boxes home?”

She nodded. “Decorations, invites, gifts, jewellery. I’m getting a lot of it sent directly—thank god for online shopping. Those boxes you’ve seen hold just the items I’ve picked up from the markets here.”

"Why do you take so much on? Tell them to do it themselves. You’re in a whole different city. I’m sure it's okay if you take a step back."

Aditi’s nose scrunched in an odd expression, a defeated sort of smile gracing her face as she considered that option. She waved him over so that he could help her fit the portafilter into his machine properly.

"You don't have a large family, do you?" she asked, focusing on getting the coffee basket in.

"No."

"Pros and cons to it,” she said after a moment, stepping back to take a seat at the counter once more. Her chest expanded as she breathed in, clearly about to explain further. “Almost my entire family is in Bangalore so we are all very close—physically, and emotionally. I have four uncles and an aunt on my dad’s side and two aunts and an uncle on my mom’s.”

Rian tipped his head, wondering where she was going with this.

“The younger generation has me, the eldest child,” she pointed to herself, tapping her fingers in a silent count, “and fifteen younger siblings and cousins. I have always been the one to lead the way. Whether it was studying, or extracurriculars, or being the dutiful daughter, I was expected to set the proper example. Now, it’s simply become my place to get things done.”

Finished with her explanation, Aditi watched Rian, his expression hard to read. Had she confused him or was he just thinking?

"You can be a role model without letting people walk over you,” Rian told her quietly.

"It's not easy to say no when it's family. I feel like I'm letting them down."

He could understand that. He had been manipulated to feel that way for a good part of his life. Leela had only bothered to pay attention to him when she required him to play the part of a perfect son. And when he failed to meet those expectations. . . Even now, recalling those moments made him anxious—the yelling, the rage, the loneliness which inevitably followed each punishment.

His eyes focused on the woman in front of him. By all means, she didn’t look like she shared the kind of tumultuous relationship with her family that he did with his mother. Unfortunately that did not mean that she was not being taken advantage of.

"Do you want to run these errands today?" he asked instead, handing her a cup of coffee.

"I usually don't mind."

"But?"

"I'm tired. I want to sleep. And this doesn't seem important. But if I don't do it. . ." Her voice tapered off and she tiredly closed her eyes. With a shake of her head, she lifted her mug and took a tentative sip, annoyed when he pulled it back to grab her attention.

"If you don’t do it, then someone else will learn to get off their ass and figure shit out. Don't do it. Go sleep."

"I can sleep later."

"When? After you drop down from exhaustion? You look like you are five seconds away from doing a faceplant.”

She patted her cheeks self-consciously, wondering if she looked that terrible. She hadn’t had time to change out of her scrubs yet. She glanced at herself, a little embarrassed.

"I'll be fine,” she muttered, picking up her phone to begin scrolling for the closest fabric markets.

Engrossed in her task, she did not notice Rian’s annoyance. His brows clashed at her refusal to put her own needs ahead of others. He wished he could demand that she go to bed and take care of herself first, but recognized that he had no right.

What he did have, however, was an alternative. He plucked the phone out of her hand, shushing her protests.

"I have a proposition for you. Call your aunt and say you can't go right now."

Aditi’s face cleared, surprise etched across her features. Wide eyes met his and she blinked, waiting for him to say something more.

"It doesn't have to be a call,” Rian caved, her obvious shock and stunned silence prompting him to explain further. “Text her. You do that, and I'll take you shopping after you rest."

“You will?” she asked, unable to hide her scepticism. “ You ? In person?”

“No, my spirit will accompany you,” he snapped, rolling his eyes. “Yes, me. In person.”

Her phone rang, interrupting them. The caller ID flashed, and Aditi cast him a discomfited look.

“It’s my aunt,” she explained. “She probably wants to know if I’m on the way to the shop yet.”

Feeling weirdly like she was doing something wrong, she reached for her phone, her sights snapping to his face when he placed his hand over hers to hold her still.

“Don’t pick it up,” Rian requested again. “If you can’t say no, at least ignore the call. And I’ll take you to the market later tonight.”

His face was serious, and Aditi couldn’t understand why. She tried to lighten the moment .

“I am looking for a very particular shade of saree. This isn’t the kind of shopping anyone would like.”

“I’ll deal with it. Don’t pick it up,” he said again, nary a smile on his face, his eyes never straying from hers. She gulped, feeling the phone vibrate under her hand, but Rian did not let go.

“But. . .”

“At most, she’ll be waiting a few hours. Not the end of the world.”

“Rian.”

“Listen to me.”

Aditi waited for the urge to rush to her family member’s aid come calling, the guilt that was part and parcel of an elder daughter’s life when she was unable to jump to do their bidding.

However, for the first time in a long time, none of those emotions hounded her. Rian seemed so certain that it would be okay for her to pick her own timeline to help them, his request—nay, order—so clear, she felt a calmness leach into her. The compulsion to obey him felt like a relief rather than cause for alarm, because it was clear he was concerned for her.

The phone went silent and she still couldn’t look away, his ash-grey eyes pinning her in place.

“Good girl,” he said quietly, giving her hand a soft squeeze of approval before he let go.

Good girl? Did Rian Shetty just call me a good fucking girl? Heat bloomed across her body and all she could do was stare at him like a mute fool while he entered a voice note reminder for himself on his cell.

“Go sleep. I’m off to the restaurant. I’ll be there to pick you up later.”