“Three moves in three years. It’s a hassle constantly having to move furniture around so the only things I truly move with me are my kitchen, clothes, and bed.”
“Ah. I can see how that can be inconvenient. I’ll keep it in mind. I don’t really need to make permanent changes to bring the spice of India into Chicago, anyway.”
I grin and climb up the bed. A yawn overtakes me.
“I can go if you want to sleep,” Arush says.
I hum in acknowledgement. “It’s okay. I’m not quite ready to fall asleep yet, but if you want to go to bed, we can get off the phone.”
“No,” Arush says. “I like this. It’s nice. It’s so quiet here when you’re gone.”
I huff. “I know that feeling. I’m sorry. I wish there was a way that you weren’t alone so often.”
“It’s okay.”
“Hockey’s almost over,” I assure him. “Less than a month.”
“Then what?”
“I have a hockey thing a couple days after the last game at a local school. Otherwise, there’s not much going on. We can do whatever we want.”
“That sounds fun,” Arush says.
It does. I think I’m suggesting some ideas but as I drift off to sleep, my last thought is that I don’t think I was actually saying them out loud.
CHAPTER 16
ARUSH
My phone saysit’s almost fifty degrees outside already this morning. It took me some time to get into the fahrenheit meaning of temperature but when all the world around me is talking in different terms, I decided I needed to get on the same page. I’m excited for the warmer weather. After staring at the trees through the panels of glass in the condo, I decide that maybe the wind isn’t as brutal as it has been and I can brave some fresh air.
I choose one of Julian’s hoodies from the closet and pull it over my head. With my mug of tea, I step foot outside on the balcony for the first time. Somehow, the view looks different. It’s more expansive. There’s something that feels more real about it now that there isn’t a thick wall of glass separating me from the world outside.
There’s a small table with two chairs here so I take a seat to enjoy the view. The air smells cool but I swear, I can smell buds on it. Like the flowers are trying to poke out of the ground. Is it time for that? We’re not quite into April yet.
I bring my knees up and rest my chin on them as I look at the world around me. I can see a park not far from here. It’s about the size of my hand when I hold it up so it’s not super big. Thetrees and ground look like mud but there are patches of green here and there. Also, a small hill of dirty snow. At least I think that’s what it is.
I close my eyes and tilt my head up to feel the sun on my face. It’s definitely not hot out by any means, but when the wind isn’t blowing, I can feel the sun trying to warm the world around us.
There are birds, I think. They’re quiet, so I don’t think they’re incredibly close, but I can hear something that sounds like whistles. I’m not a bird expert, but I would definitely classify that sound as a singing bird.
Setting my mug of tea on the table, I pull out my phone and capture a few pictures of what I’m seeing. There’s a wall to the right where the neighbor’s balcony is and I try to keep that from the view. It’s a modern foggy glass panel, so it matches the rest of the building. Not the ugliest thing I’ve seen, but like everything else in the condo building, it lacks personality.
I send the pictures to my friends and then think that maybe my father would like to see them, so I text them over to him as well. Within minutes, my phone rings and I smile to see my father’s face flashing up at me.
“Hi, Dad,” I greet when I answer.
“Hello, Arush. What is the view that you sent me?”
“That’s the view from the balcony. It’s not freezing today, so I thought I’d sit outside. It’s really pretty, so I wanted to share.”
“It is beautiful,” Dad agrees.
“Julian says it’ll get prettier in a month when the trees begin to bud. And prettier still as the summer gets here.”
“Very good. Where is your partner today?”
I sigh. “He just left for Ottawa. Canada.”
