“The year I spent away from you had to count for something.”
Amaal’s face split into a beaming grin, her hand landing on his thigh. “This means… You know what it means, right? Panchayat elections get smoothened for you, and funding from KDP gets flowing. You have two legs to stand on against Himachal Jan Sangathan and Janta Party. A real party is coming, Samar!”
He couldn’t help the grin that split his mouth. “Himachal Development Party.”
“HDP. Imagine the possibilities.”
“I have been imagining them for a while now.”
“Sorry,” she smiled sheepishly. “All this while we have been talking about it but now suddenly everything has come into perspective for me.” She bounced in her seat. “Suddenly I am excited about it.”
Samar ran his knuckles down her cheek, pushing one into her dimple — “I know. That’s the case with everybody I am talking to nowadays. While I was building it, it wasn’t visible to the rest like it was to me.”
Amaal turned and pressed her mouth to his knuckle. Samar sighed. “I have a feeling Atharva won’t stand in my way any longer.”
“He won’t.” Amaal iterated.
“How are you so sure?”
“Because a lot has happened in this year. He caught Sufiyaan Sheikh and that chapter ended. He has scaled this government and the state beyond anybody’s imagination in just two years. They are finally completing their family with the twins… oh, oh, you know, I saw their hands and feet under Iram’s tummy yesterday?”
“Hmm?”
“It was so magical, to actually see the outlines even through the layer of clothes!”
“It’s common, especially with twins. The skin gets distended faster.”
Her eyes went wider, awed. “Just imagine what must be going around inside there!”
Samar smiled.
“But my point is, that Atharva has moved onto a better phase of his life. Time has passed. His anger has also subsided.”
“Does he say it?”
“Not explicitly. But I sense it in the way he becomes when your conversation pops up at meetings or just like that. He is not as… opposed to talking about you as he once was.”
“Anyway, we promised not to talk about them.”
“Yep. So let’s talk about us.”
“It’s going to be 7 and your CM might leave on his run.” Samar eyed his sideview mirror.
“Look at me here.”
He turned his eyes and she was kneeling over to his seat. Samar laughed — “Amaal, get down!”
She took his mouth. He kept laughing, trying to hold her face and kiss her back but so amused that he kept missing.
She pushed back — “You are not even a little romantic! What did you even get out of coming here? You didn’t even take advantage of me properly.”
Samar shook his head, figuring he won’t be able to leave her if she cracked him up one more time. “Ok, now, get out of my car. I need to go to KDP then come back here.”
“You are throwing me out of your car?!” Her mouth dropped open.
“Hmm.” He poked the dimple on her cheek.
“You are my boyfriend!”
