Blueprints and Boundaries

It was well past noon when Saisha finally got a moment to herself.

The apartment had quieted down. Shubman had left to head to the gym, leaving behind a sticky note with a doodle of a cricket bat and the words:

“For coffee, hoodie, and everything in between — more soon.”

She smiled, folding it gently into the pages of her journal.

Aarav had disappeared into a call shortly after breakfast, pacing in the guest room with his laptop open and AirPods in. Classic VC energy. But now the silence was stretching — no more pacing, no more commentary.

She stepped into the guest room, found it empty.

Aarav had left a note of his own, scribbled on the back of her grocery list:

“Meeting Adi and the guys. Might crash at the old place tonight. Don’t wait up. — A”

But as she picked up her phone to text him, it buzzed first.

Bhai: Don’t fall too fast.

Bhai: But if you do — make sure he’s worth your time. And if he ever breaks your heart, he better hope he’s not playing at Wankhede that week.

Saisha laughed out loud — a sound she hadn’t realized she needed.

She typed back:

Saisha 🦦: I already knew you’d do a background check. Was it the gym schedule or the skincare routine that impressed you?

Bhai: Neither. It was how he looked me in the eye when I asked him the hard stuff. Most guys don’t.

Saisha 🦦: He also fixed the coffee machine. So… there’s that.

Bhai: God, you’re gone.

Saisha 🦦: Maybe. But I’ll still pick your side in a fight.

Bhai: Good. Because I’ll always pick yours. Even when you’re stupid.

She sat with the phone for a moment, thumbs hovering, then finally sent:

Saisha 🦦: I think this might be something real, bhaiyu.

The typing bubble didn’t appear for a while. But when it did:

Bhai: Then hold on. Not too tight. Not too loose. Just enough that he knows where home is.