Hyderabad Rains – Part 2: After the Flood

They talked until the small hours. About the city, which neither of them loved and both of them missed when they were away. About the design projects Karthik was secretly proud of, and the spreadsheets Divya had been drowning in for months. About the families who wanted them to marry, and the friends who said they were too stubborn to be happy.

"My mother still thinks I'll marry a doctor," said Divya.

"My mother still thinks I'll go back to Vijayawada and grow mangoes," said Karthik.

"Will you?"

"I hate mangoes," said Karthik, deadpan. "I've eaten too many."

She laughed until she had to put her cup down. The rain had softened to a whisper against the window, and the lake outside was silver under the streetlights.

At some point the conversation slowed. Karthik was sitting with his shoulder against the arm of the sofa, and Divya had her feet tucked under her, one hand resting on the blanket between them.

"Can I ask you something about the lift?" Karthik said.

"Yes."

"Did you ever notice me looking at you?"

She tilted her head. "Once or twice. I thought you were looking at the lift buttons."

"I was looking at you," he said simply. "Mostly. The buttons were a cover."

Divya's cheeks warmed. "Why didn't you say?"

"Because I'm terrible at the first sentence," said Karthik. "I'm much better at the second, when someone's already listening."

"Then say the second."

He turned to face her fully. The lamplight caught the edge of his cheekbone, the faint crease at the corner of his eye when he smiled.

"I'd like to take you out to dinner," he said. "Properly. No flood, no rain, no terrible coffee. And if you say no, I'll still carry your umbrella in the lift."

"Yes," said Divya, without hesitation. "Yes to dinner. And yes to the umbrella."

His face lit up. "Can I kiss you, then? Before the rain stops and everyone starts talking about the flood again?"

"Yes," said Divya. "And if I say stop, you stop."

"Always," said Karthik, and leaned in, slowly.

The kiss was gentle and warm, tasting faintly of bad coffee and the sweetness of the night. Divya's hand slid from the blanket to his shirt, and his hand came up to rest against her cheek, careful and certain. The rain whispered on the glass, and the city outside seemed very far away.

When they parted, both of them were smiling like children.

"Green?" he asked, very softly.

"Green," said Divya. "Entirely green."

By morning the rain had stopped. The sky over Hitech City was clean and pale, the roads still shining with water. They rode the lift to the office together, standing side by side, and when the doors opened on the design floor, Divya took the umbrella from Karthik's hand, and they walked out into the light without hiding a single thing.