Akash impatiently took a drag from his cigarette and looked at his watch.
"She was supposed to call me after she landed," he thought to himself.
He paced around the monitor, which said that her flight had landed. And yet, 20 minutes since then, there was no sign of her.
Akash always hated waiting. He'd gotten used to it at this point. He was always the punctual one in the two. But he still hated it.
And then he saw her walk out of the Arrivals gate. Sanjana was a 5 foot 5, petite girl. Her outfit of choice was a crop top and daisy dukes. She enjoyed wearing them because it showed off her hourglass figure and her well toned legs. And when she saw her brother, she ran straight to him and engulfed him in a hug.
"Hiiiiii! I'm sorry I didn't call you after I landed. I got caught up at baggage claim. An elderly man thought my suitcase was his and it took a while to explain to him."
"That's alright. Did you have a good flight?"
"Yessss. I was chatting with this woman from South Bombay, she was telling me about a cafe that I should really visit?"
"Leopold Cafe? Yeah, it's their crown jewel."
"Do you think we'd have time?"
"Maybe Monday. Getting to South Bombay at this time on a Friday evening is hell."
"Oh alright. But we haaaaave to visit it, it sounds amazing."
"Sure, we'll find time. I'm parked this way."
Akash and Sanjana made small talk, while they got into his car. They hadn't seen each other in a few months. It was fun to FaceTime each other once in a while, but Akash's work kept him busy, and Sanjana was in her final year of college. Besides, there was no substitute for real company.
"So, what's our plan for tomorrow?" she asked her brother while plugging her phone into his car's system.
"We've got to be up early, we'd probably take around four hours to reach Lavasa. We can grab breakfast along the way. If we're up early enough, we should get there by lunchtime."
"And you've got us a place to stay?"
"Yes, it's all planned out."
Of course it was planned out. How could it not be? It was their special weekend. Akash had chosen the perfect place for the weekend. Lavasa was a small private town, built on hills surrounding a lake. It was a scenic spot. It was mostly cool all year round, and there were barely any people there. It was a great place to getaway from the hustle-bustle of city life and to just spend time with each other. And it was only gonna be the two of them.
Akash and Sanjana made one of these trips annually. Akash would meticulously plan out the details, while Sanjana enjoyed showing up and having fun. It was their thing. Even their parents loved the fact that their children spent time with each other. Akash and Sanjana had always been close, they never had serious fights, and Akash being the big brother, always took good care of her.
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They next day, Akash and Sanjana caught up with each other on the road. She told him about her new boyfriend, Raunak. Raunak was apparently a metalhead, and had a college band. He was working on album he hoped to release soon. Maybe even go on tour. The more she talked about him, the more he sounded like a basic jock. Akash never quite approved of her boyfriends. It was obvious why he didn't. But he had made peace with the fact that Sanjana enjoyed the company of other men. After all, Akash himself was dating Anisha. Anisha was a lawyer. She was smart, resourceful and she cared for Akash. And they were getting serious.
"Sooooo. Are you gonna ask Anisha the question?"
"What?! No, I haven't really thought about it."
"Now you're lying. You're 26, you're well settled and you've been with this woman for almost a year and half. She's 27 and she's doing well in her career too. You're both in the right place for this. Are you telling me that you haven't seriously considered asking her?"
"Well...I have. Or at least, I've considered that she might be waiting for me to ask her."
"And?"
"I honestly don't know how."
"It's not very hard. You walk up to her and ask her to marry you."