Two anniversaries later…
Keerthi stared at the plastic item in her hand, clutching it against her chest, not bothering that it was dirty. Tears blurred her vision, as she held the edge of the sink.
She had mixed feelings. Although she was thrilled, she felt nervous.
What would Vikram say if she told him she was pregnant?
She didn’t think she had the guts to look him in the eye and tell him that she was pregnant. The thought made her too nervous. Although she was positive Vikram might be happy, she couldn’t rule out the possibility of him not taking it well.
She tried to calm her racing heart, the nervousness not allowing her to be happy about the most precious moment in her life. She was going to be a mother.
So why couldn’t she be happy?
She deep down knew it was because she wanted to share the news with her better half.
Maybe she could just leave the stick on the sink, and Vikram would accidentally see it and question her himself?
She shut her eyes, tempted at the possibility, jumping in place when the calling bell rang.
She threw the stick, quickly washing her hands and making it to the door.
Vikram tiredly raised his hand to ring the bell again when the door to his home opened.
“What were you doing so long?”
“I… Nothing”, she gave him a quick kiss, distracting him.
“Okay.”
She took her bag from him, wondering if she should just blurt it out.
She couldn’t keep it within her when Vikram took steps towards their room,”I am pregnant.”
Vikram froze in his steps, wondering if he heard right.
Keerthi grew paranoid as time passed. She walked to her husband, standing in front of him. She knew from his body language that he had heard her.
She was sure she heard wrong when she thought Vikram’s voice cracked,”W-hat?”
“I am pregnant”, she whispered again, daring to peek at him, stunned to see a sheen of tears coating his eyes.
Vikram pulled his wife into his arms, giving her a hard kiss,”That’s such wonderful news, darling.”
“You are happy?”, a slow smile grew on her lips.
“I am ecstatic”, he held her in her arms, spinning her around, the news settling, as he gave his wife another kiss.
Keerthi laughed, relieved.
Now, they could celebrate.
****
A few months later,
“Do you like it?”
Vikram flinched,”You have murdered it.”
“Hmm”, Keerthi winced,”I could become a chef. What do you think?”
Vikram laughed,”With what? This dish?”
“Why not? Practice makes man perfect.”
“Yeah. Like we perfected a lot of things.”
Keerthi blushed, slapping her husband’s chest,”No. Don’t eat it.”
“It’s edible.”
“It’s too bland”, Keerthi made a face.
“I can eat it.”
Keerthi smiled,”You don’t have to force yourself to eat it.”
Vikram swallowed hard. He didn’t know if it was a trick. He had requested her to make it. They had made it together. So, irrespective of the taste, he knew he was expected to eat it.
The last few months were extremely jumpy for them. He didn’t know when his wife would take it easy, when she would cry, when she would yell at him, his mind going to a time when he had chastised her for eating ice cream.
“What the hell are you doing?”
“It’s called eating.”
Vikram rolled his eyes,”Why are you eating an ice cream?”
“Why shouldn’t I eat an ice cream?”
“Because you have cold? And you’ve grown allergic to ice cream in the last few months?”
“Don’t shout at me. And sneezing five times is not allergy.”
“Keerthi.”
“What?”
“Fine. If you can’t do it for yourself, do it for the baby.”
“The baby is fine.”
“That’s enough”, Vikram snapped,”It’s not going to be nice if you continue to eat ice creams.”
“You don’t get to decide that.”
“Shut the fuck up. Of course I get to decide that. Just because the baby is growing inside of you doesn’t make it solely yours. If you are going to compromise the both of your health, I’ll be forced to intervene.”
“Are you saying I don’t care for the baby?”, Keerthi’s lips quivered.
Vikram sighed, giving his wife a short kiss,”I didn’t say that.”
Keerthi pulled away, annoyed.
“Where are you going?”
When the only response he got was his wife walking towards the door, he sighed, talking short strides, cupping her face.
Keerthi looked down, tears blurring her vision, sniffing when she looked at her husband.”Don’t be mean to me”, she demanded.
Vikram sighed, pulling his wife into a hug when she poked his chest.
“What?”
“Say Sorry to me.”
“What for?”
Keerthi gave him a blank look.”Are you saying it or not?”
Vikram was amused,”Okay. Sorry. But no ice creams.”
He kissed his wife’s pout,”I promise you as many as you want after the baby is born.”
“Fine”, she kissed his chest, placing a kiss on it.
“Your mood swings are bad.”
“You don’t say that to a pregnant woman. Do you know how offensive that is?”
“You are right. It’s very offensive”, Vikram agreed quickly, not wanting her to start screaming.
That was one of their many irrelevant arguments, his wife’s mood swings.
“Um…”
“Really”, Keerthi rolled her eyes, pushing the dish away.
“I love you.”
“Even if I spoil your favorite dish?”
“Even if you spoil my favorite dish”, Vikram confirmed.
“I’m going to make it better than your favorite restaurant.”
Vikram laughed, pulling his wife gently into his arms, “You are so-“, he stroke his wife’s cheek.
“So what?”
“Refreshing”, Vikram kissed his wife, tasting the sauce in her mouth, wrapping an arm around her waist protectively, cupping her baby bump.
“I love you”, Keerthi smiled.
“I love you too”, Vikram hugged his wife, letting her settle comfortably on his lap.
Keerthi smiled, content in her husband’s arms.
As her husband held her, Keerthi realised one thing.
The man she sat on, the man she loved with all of her heart, the man who stood by her side through thick and thin, the man who laughed at her, laughed with her, scolded her, who made her cry, who understood her, was her person.
She lived through various emotions with him.
Some days, they couldn’t get enough of the other, some days they didn’t even want to see the other’s face. But, on all days they found comfort in each other at the end of the day, in the other person, in their love, in their better half, their person.
As Keerthi rested her head on her husband’s shoulder, she realised happy endings didn’t really exist. It was only a mirage.
At that moment, on her husband’s lap, as they laughed at her kitchen disaster, she got her happy ending. She understood life.
Happy endings were merely moments, a beautiful lie.