One Day | One Shot
| Celebetory piece for The Wedding |
"Tell me again, why we are doing this?!" Shravan barged into our room, his hair, for once, flopping everywhere and moved into the closet to change out of his work clothes and into his favourite pair of black sweatpants and a black tank top.
"Because your crazy ass wanted to celebrate our first anniversary with a huge party," I say matter-of-factly, moving just my eyes to look at him for a second before going back to reading the PCT file in front of me on the coffee table whilst I sat on the floor.
"I did, didn't I?" He confirms, drawing his brows in a mock frown as he moves to sit behind me on the couch.
He brings one arm around, pulling me back to him, his hands wrap around my jugular, tilting my face up as he brings his down and kisses me deeply.
"Mmm..." I moan. "What was that for?" I ask after he pulled back.
We were in the same position, looking at each other upside down, His thumb moved back and forth on the side of my face as his eyes and lips smiled at me.
"Because." He replied and punctuated that with another searing kiss that made my heart beat faster and made my toes curl.
"Hmm. I have to work," I protested weakly, burying my fingers in his hair.
"It is our anniversary, Sumo. Be a little romantic." He chided.
Instantly, I pull away to correct him. "I was "romantic" last night and this morning. There is only so much romance I can do before I get tired."
"Why Mrs Malhotra, now which one of us has a "one-track" mind?" He said in that husky tone that he used only when his thoughts were drifting in the "one-track-mind" direction.
"Stop! I know what you are doing." I warn him.
"What am I doing?" He asked innocently.
"THAT! That... voice and that look on your face and in your eyes. So no... Not happening, Mister."
I move towards the table and have just picked my pen when Shravan pulled me back once more, both his arms going around me in a tight bear hug.
"AHHH!!! GET OFF OF ME!"
In return, he just smacks a loud and wet kiss on my cheek before letting me go.
"I hate you," I tell him as I wipe my cheek with the back of my hand.
"I love you too," He replied instantly, stretching forward to pick up the book that he is currently reading and I went back to my pending work.
I was immersed in my work, calculating the monthly profits, expenditure, income and the daily cash flow when I felt Shravan's long fingers massage my scalp slowly. From experience and a habit that he has acquired recently, I know that he is completely into the book he is reading.
I close my eyes for a moment and then move back to lean on the sofa and bring the ledger with me, placing it on my folded legs, but after a few minutes I realize that trying to work is futile because the circling motion of his finger's on my scalp was making my eyes droopy and lulling me to sleep.
Stifling a yawn, I close the ledger and put it on the table with the other files and move to get up.
Shravan is so engrossed in his books that it takes him a few minutes to realize that I am no longer sitting on the floor.
"Sumo?"
"Yahaan," I called out to him, standing on my side of the bed, adjusting the pillows and getting in the bed.
"What are you doing?" He asked confused.
"What does one do when getting into bed, Shravan?" I sassed.
The moment I finished speaking the sentence I realized what I said was going to end up in an innuendo galore and suspicions were confirmed the moment I see that mischievous glint appears in his eyes.
"Don't!" I shout, pointing my forefinger in his direction. "Do not answer that Malhotra." I continued sternly.
"I didn't even say anything," He said softly, his eyes becoming oh-so-innocent, a trick he mastered in the last year one year of our marriage.
"Mmm-hmm." I hummed, smirking a little before I yawn. "What time is the party?"
"The guests start arriving at 8."
Looking at the clock on my bedside table I note that it is quarter past two.
"Can you wake me up at around 5:30? That'll give me enough time to help or check in on any last-minute details and get ready for the party on time."
Moving from his perch on the sofa, Shravan moved towards his side of the bed and opened the comforter further, making himself comfortable underneath it, his book still clutched in his hand.
Leaning over to my side he kisses my forehead and brushed a few stray tendrils of hair away from my face.
"Sleep. I'll wake you at 6 because you are not helping with your own anniversary party."
"But you did all the work! What's the harm in wanting to check in on some last-minute details?!" I protested.
"The harm is that I have a few tricks up my sleeves and knowing you those last-minute check-ins will somehow result in you finding the surprise. Now shush, and off to sleep." He ordered.
Huffing at him, I pull the comforter all the way over my head and go to sleep.
— * — * —
Shravan and I are dancing away in the night among the happy faces of our family and friends when I get the feeling of being watched, which is in itself weird because the guests are watching us but this is a different sensation, a tingling in my spine. It's not a bad sensation but a soothing one. My eyes wander over Shravan's shoulder looking everywhere when my eyes find two people, who couldn't possibly be present at my wedding, standing near a tree under all the fairy lights.
Maa. Papa.
A gasp leaves my lips and I feel Shravan pulling back to look at my face but I can't focus on him because my eyes are fixed on my parents.
"Sumo?" I hear through the fog.
They both are standing hand in hand, Maa's head resting on Papa's shoulder both of them looking satisfied and sporting brilliant smiles. You look exactly the way I remember.
"Suman." I hear my mother's voice in my mind.
"Maa. Papa." I call out to both of them.
"I approve of Shravan." My father says in a gruff voice. It sounds the same, a little hoarse but soothing nonetheless.
"He is a good man, beta and I know he will love you forever," Maa affirms.
A smile spreads across my face and I can feel more tears slide out of my eyes. Maa gives me a flying kiss and Papa winks at me like he always did when he knew a secret that I didn't before they both disappear and their lingering words still remain in my mind, "We're proud of the woman you have become."
— * — * —
I jerk awake. My heart is hammering in my chest, my breath is coming in short, quick pants and my left hand is clutching the comforter in a fist. It was a dream. It was just a dream. I chant in my head.
I suddenly hear the rustle and feel rather than see Shravan come closer to me.
"Sumo?" He called out softly, his hands caressing my hair. It is when he brushes his thumb across under my eyes leaving a smudged wet trail behind that I realize I am crying.
"Sumo? Baby, what happened?" He asked again but this time there was an undercurrent of urgency to his tone.
Looking into his eyes, I see the worry and wonder, questioning what spooked me and it takes me a few seconds to realize that he called me "Baby."
To the world, Shravan gave me a name when we were teenagers, Sumo. A nickname that a best friend or a lover would give; his term of endearment for me. It was after we got married that Shravan started calling me Baby and it didn't take a lot of contemplation to understand that he used this name only when it was the two of us and only in certain situations but mainly two — one, when he was feeling overly amorous, which was basically his state of being 24*7 and two, when he saw something that worried him about me, like right now.
"Nothing is wrong," I whispered, bringing my hand up to hold his that cupped my face.
"Then why are you crying?"
"It was a dream."
"A bad dream?" The worry still lacing his words.
"No, it was actually a good dream." I give him a watery smile.
"Then?"
"I just wanted it to be real." I shrug, a tone of despondence shrouding my words.
"Oh, baby."
He moves quickly, his arms going around me, his arms going around me and bringing me closer to him and hugging me.
His arms encase me in a tight but comforting hug, the one that he gives me more often than I can count and one that I've come to love dearly.
I turn my head into his neck and take deep breaths, letting the scent, which is the perfect blend of woodsy with a hint of spice from his perfume, calm me down.
"Will you tell me what it was about?" He asked, his voice muffled.
"I will but later. I promise." I continue to speak into his neck.
"I'll hold you to it. Now, come one." He says, rolling off the bed and standing up, pulling me along with him. "It's 6, everybody is waiting for us in the garden to have tea before we all have to get ready."
— X —
One Hour Later
I'm in my petticoat and blouse, the saree still hanging inside my cupboard, away from the prying eyes of my husband. I am buckling the thing strap of my favourite silver heels when I feel him behind me.
"Where is the rest of the blouse?" He asked gruffly, his fingers running over the thin strap of the blouse that is held on by a small hook.
Finished with the buckle I stand up from the vanity seat and meet his eyes in the mirror. "That is the blouse," I reply with a smirk and raised an eyebrow.
He whispered an oath that was not meant for me to head but did anyway as his head came down, his forehead meeting my shoulder. "You are going to kill me." He groaned. "By the way, which saree is this? I haven't seen it before and this is a colour you would never buy let alone let me buy it."
"Papa got it for me two weeks ago when he was in Dubai for a case. Said it was my wedding anniversary gift." I told him as I recalled that day.
— * — * —
Papa had come from his trip sometime late afternoon, while I was at work. When I reached home everyone had congregated in the drawing-room talking about the gifts he had brought for the ladies. Vandy Bhabhi was just telling me about her new Burberry bag in excruciating detail when Papa called me in his room.
Thankful for the interruption, I got up and went in his room when he promptly shut the door and locked it. When I asked him why he did that his answer was simple, "I don't want anyone to see your gift. It is for your eyes only. For now, anyway." and proceeded with putting a box on the bed and quickly sat behind it, a childlike glee on his face. "Come on! Open it!"
Sitting down on the bed, I opened the box with a designer's name I wouldn't even think of buying anything from and parted the tissue paper I found the most exquisite saree I had ever laid my eyes on.
The colour was one I rarely ever wore but at that moment there was no beautiful colour than the one of the saree and under the bright lights of the room it lit up like a thousand stars.
Afraid to even touch the saree, I admired it from a close distance. "Oh. My. God." The words left my mouth breathlessly followed by an unexpected excited squeal which resulted in Papa laughing out loud in sheer joy.
"This is literally the best present ever!"
"I was walking past the store and this saree was draped on a mannequin and the moment I saw it, I knew I had to buy it for you. It was like, of all the ladies in this house, you were the only one I could picture wearing this."
"Wow! Okay, one, this saree is super expensive and don't deny it. I mean, hello! Look at that brand! Two, this is perfect... Papa. Like, sheer perfection. Thank you so much." I let him know with all the love and appreciation packed in my voice.
"So you'll wear it for the party?"
"Duh!" And then I had my first ever Vandy Bhabhi moment. "I have the perfect jewellery and shoes to go with it!"
— * — * —
I am pulled out of my thoughts when I feel Shravan's fingers gliding up and down my arms and then encircling my waist. "You're not even fully dressed and you are killing me."
Turning around in his arms I bring my arms up to rest on his shoulder. "Now we don't want that, do we?" So, husband, this is me kicking you out of our room." I say cheerfully.
"What?!"
"Yes! I have to finish getting dressed and with you here with your wandering hands, smouldering gaze and looking like sin in that tux, it won't be possible, so out!"
"But —"
"Perfection takes time, Malhotra and I am just asking for 10 minutes and then I'll be down."
"Sumo! —"
"GO!" I push him out and quickly lock the door and get back to getting ready.
Pulling out the saree from the back of the cupboard, I hang it on the cupboard handle and admire it for a few minutes before I take it off the hanger.
The saree is a Sabyasachi from the Paris-Calcutta line. Yes, I literally googled the saree to find any and all information I could about it. The "Aakash-Tara" saree has sequins hand-sewn on a chiffon cloth that was hand-dyed black in colour.
Not my colour.
Not my style.
But I was absolutely in love with this one.
Carefully but deftly, I drape the saree across my frame, careful of the pins I put in the saree.
My hair was blow-dried to large curls, a welcome change from my otherwise pin-straight hair, giving them volume and shine.
I gently push them back and bring out my four-line diamond choker from its box, a gift from Shravan because he felt like buying it, and place it on my neck and fasten the clasp. Not wanting to take away from the saree and also not wanting to add any more bling, I wear the simplest and smallest pair of diamond earring I owned, which were a gift for me from me, an impulsive buy on my part and one nobody in the Tiwari family knew about.
I barely have any make-up on apart from eyeliner and a few swipes of mascara so to complete the look and add a pop of colour I swipe a bold red lipstick across my lips, smacking them together gently and dabbling a little powder through a tissue paper on the lips so that that lipstick doesn't bleed.
Twirling a little in front of the mirror I give myself a once-over to check if everything is in place. Happy with the outcome, I give myself a smile and move towards the door.
Showtime.
I've just gotten down the top two steps, careful of the saree when I hear Vandy Bhabhi's gasp. "O.M.G... SUMAN!!!" She screeched.
By the time I stop at the last step and give Vandy Bhabhi a hesitant smile, her exclamation has led to all the family members turn to look at me.
"Oh, Teri..." That was Pushkar.
"Oye Hoye," Lalaji said boisterously.
"Hayee. Kinni soni lag rahi hai." That would be Kamini Chachi.
"Bhai," Varun Bhaiya, the ever eloquent.
And another screech that sounded frighteningly like Preeti's.
But my eyes were stuck on Shravan, waiting to see his reaction and he did not disappoint.
After Vandy Bhabhi's screech, he had done a double-take and with every passing second his eyes got wider until...
A deep breath.
A gulp.
A muttered oath not suited for our company.
And then...
Those brown eyes turning into molten chocolate, his gaze becoming heated as continued to stare at me. Giving me a wink and a small smirk, that I've come to love, gracing his lips, he walks towards mein measured steps and helps me get down the last step.
"Damn!" He said loud enough for everyone to hear and it broke the spell as everyone finally stopped gawking at me and laughed out loud. At that exact moment, Papa came out of his room with Pakhi in his arms talking his ear off, which was an evening ritual between the two.
The two of them were invested in their conversation and Pakhi was in the middle of another one of her fantastical stories when she stopped abruptly mid-sentence, once she saw me.
"Dadu down! Dadu down! Dadu down!" She wiggled in his arms until he put her down.
At two years old, little Pakhi Malhotra had everyone wrapped around her little finger and much to her father's dismay I turned out to be the favourite, second one being Shravan.
"Badi Mumma..." She stood close to me, he neck stretching all the way back. I get down on my haunches to be at level with her. "You bootiful!" She exclaimed in awe as only a two-year-old could.
"Thank you, Pakhi" I reply, kissing her cheek before she ran to Shravan, raising her arms up in the universal sign to pick her up.
"Bade Papa! Bade Papa! Bade Papa! Badi Mumma sooooo bootiful!" She said with her eyes wide, her hands on both of his cheeks, squeezing them making me smile.
"Yes, she most certainly is," he muttered to her.
"You look exactly how I envisioned." I turn to find Papa standing beside me, smiling down at me.
"I love this saree and if I wasn't worried about pulling a sequence or making a tear, I would continue to wear it for the whole week."
"Well, who says you can't do just that?"
"Arre! Agar sab ki baate khatam ho gayi ho toh garden mein chale? Guests aate hi hongay!" Kamini Chachi shouted from the door and with that, we all moved into the garden that was lit up like a thousand stars.
— X —
A Few Hours Later
With a flute of the celebratory champagne that was opened by Shravan after we cut the cake, I am now walking around the edges of the garden, looking at everything from the outside.
Soft and slow music, the kind that soothes the soul, my one demand for this party is being played in the background as people mill around chatting and laughing. I lean against one of the trees that is illuminated by fairy lights, my second demand for this party.
Standing at that spot, under the tree and all the lights I'm reminded of my wedding day and the dream I had in the afternoon.
Closing my eyes and tilting my face up I send a silent prayer to my parents hoping they could be here today. "How I wish you two were here to celebrate this milestone with me. How I wish you could meet Shravan and just see how amazing he is as a person, a friend, a son and a husband."
My eyes are still closed when I feel him behind me. I open my eyes as his fingers run the length of my arm in a feather-light touch and then he interlaces his fingers with mine.
Pulling me away from my spot he gestures with his head for me to follow him and just like that I do. Quietly moving away from the party he walks me inside the house, a few flights of stairs and then we are at the door that leads to the roof.
I raise my eyebrows at him in question and in reply, all I get is a small smile as he opens the door and gestures me to go first.
I cross the threshold and am just a few steps in when I see... absolutely nothing.
Turning back to look at him I see his shoulders shaking lightly as he laughs. Walking towards me, he interlaces our fingers once again and pulls me to the other side of the terrace, the one that doesn't face the party and there I find a small round table with two chairs placed in one corner that is lit up with more fairy lights.
A small smile breaks out onto my face as I turn to look at him before looking back at the simple setting for two in front of me. A walk a little closer and that the huge bouquet at the centre of the glass-top table is of my favourite flower, white tulips in a crystal vase that looks like the one that Kamini Chachi loves and a small chocolate cake, definitely not the one that was used in the party, with a knife and a plate and two forks right beside it.
"Oh, Shravan... This is perfect." I let him know with a serene smile on my face.
"It's... not yet." He says, putting one finger up, indicating for me to wait for a second as he goes to another end of the terrace and comes back with a small speaker. Connecting his phone to the speaker he hits play and Sam Hunt's Speakers comes to life, Shravan pulls me to him and slow dances with me as the song continues to play.
I softly kiss your neck and slowly whisper
You breathe in cause it feels cold where my lips were
T-shirt for a pillow, music up real low
Creeping through the window
I can feel the bass line in the bed liner
And your heart on mine
Trying to jump up out of your chest
"Do you like it?" Shravan whispered as we danced.
"I love it," I tell him with a huge smile on my face.
"I just wanted to do something that was for us... No family, no friends, no intruding eyes or ears."
"What if somebody starts looking for us down at the party?"
"I already told Papa, Chachi and Pushkar about this plan so they will handle everything and besides, the party is almost over so we don't even have to be there anymore."
Baby your now on fire, girl your on fire
Out in the dark, wrapped up in the stars
So right, girl, I'm so high
You and me, wild and free
Way out in the woods nobody for miles
Love in the back of the truck with the tailgate down
Just us and the speakers on
Love in the back of the truck with the tailgate down
Just us and the speakers on
"Sumo..." Shravan whispered trailing in the end.
Understanding what he wants to talk about I take a few moments to collect my thoughts; on how I should frame my words so that I don't sound like I'm losing my mind.
"I saw my parents." I blurt out.
"Uhhhh..." He tilts his head back to look down at me with furrowed brows and a confused smile on his face. "What?"
The moonlights tracing those treetops across your face
There's a feeling in your eyes the shadows can't erase
The cool wind around us is breezing around us
Following my fingers through your hair
The engine is idling and girl this heat lightning is flashing
Pictures of you and burning them in my head
"Remember at our wedding when everyone was having dinner and it was just the two of us dancing?"
Shravan thinks about it for a minute and his eyes clear when he realizes the moment I am talking about. "The moment you didn't respond to me for a minute and was crying for no reason?"
"Yeah, crying for no reason. Thanks." I deadpanned, hitting him on the chest as he laughed. "But, yes, that moment."
"I saw Maa and Papa standing under the tree, under all those fairy lights. Maa had her head on Papa's shoulder and they were talking to me."
"What did they say?" He pushes when I stopped talking.
"They said they approved of you, that you were, are good, for me and that they were proud of me." I finished in a whisper.
Shravan stared at me for a minute when a smile broke out on his face. "Okay, so I am going, to be honest, I'm don't really know what happens when you "cross the bridge" and I don't think I would ever believe, call it the lawyer in me. But if you say you saw them, then I won't contest it."
"I actually dreamed about that night again."
"Ah, so that is why you were crying."
"Yeah... I just remember them every day and every second."
"Does it ever go away?" Shravan asks hesitantly. "The pain?"
"No. I mean it gets easier with time. Not easy. Just easier. You just push through each day and hope it is not the day you break and with time you remember all the good days rather than focusing on the bad and it gets better. Of course, there are days when I miss them more than I can comprehend, some days a word or smell or any small thing would trigger but that's part of grieving." I shrugged, giving him a small encouraging smile so as to ease his thoughts and the worry.
"And today?"
"It's a little hard, honestly but then again any milestone is hard. I just wish they could have met you, you know. Known you, the kind of person you are and how good you have been for me, for always putting me first and thinking of me even when the situation might not ask for it." I continue, running my fingers lightly through his hair on the nape of his neck. "Shravan... They would have loved you so much. To them, you would have been equal to a son they never had. I'm not saying this because I am your wife or I love you. I knew my parents and you are exactly what they would have wanted for me."
A proud smile broke out on his face like he had conquered a big battle or something after I told him that but it is the truth, my parents would have loved him so much, maybe more than they loved me.
"From what you have told me, I would have loved them too." He replied, brushing my hair back gently and wrapping his hand around the back of my neck before planting a sweet and soothing kiss on my lips.
"Soooo...."
"So?"
"You want to eat the cake?"
"Pfft." I snorted in the most unladylike manner which resulted in Shravan shaking his head at me. "Like you have to ask. Come on!"
We both reach the table and Shravan is just about to sit down when I stand up, pick up my chair and move it closer to him, sitting right next to him.
I'm tuned in to you,
Something's on your mind ain't it?
Go on and tell me baby,
Don't act like you can't say it
I know your body language,
You ain't gotta translate it
Let it talk to me, 'till I can't take it
Your lips, your hair, your smile, your touch
Your kiss, your stare, your vibes too much
It lights me up, you got me set
I'm way too gone, so baby let your eyes close
Say my name and watch me going up in flames
"It didn't seem right sitting there."
Pulling my chair further into his side, our legs touching, we both ate the cake and talked about anything and everything under the sun. This was like our nightly ritual where both of us would sit down sometimes on the bed, sometimes on the sofa or sometimes on our balcony and we would talk about our day. Some days there was no talking, just the two of us sitting beside each other and taking comfort in that.
Later on, when the guests had gone home, the family members in their respective rooms and all the lights from the party shut down we both went down to the garden and quietly walked hand in hand, still dressed to the nines.
One year into our marriage, Shravan and I didn't need to fill in the silence with needless talks. What we needed at the end of the day was each other in the same, that is if his work didn't demand him to be away from home. On those days, our nights would end up with both of us falling asleep while we Skyped.
After taking off my heels at the entrance of the house, wiggling my toes and stretching on the balls of my feet to get the blood flowing, both of us walk to our room without making any noise.
After we've changed out of our clothes and finally into something that allows us more movement and comfort, we both get into the bed, a deep tired sigh escaping the both of us. I turn to switch off my bedside lamp and lie down on my side and a second later Shravan arms band around me, pulling me into the middle of the bed, into him as he spoons me from behind.
He hands gently wrap around my neck and pull my face up as he plants another kiss but this time it's a slow-burn kiss that builds up with each passing moment and before we know it the exhaustion has given way to desire and a primal need to be with each other.
Clothes start flying as moans, hitched breaths and heavy gasps of our names, a litany on our lips fill up the quiet of the room as we both become one.
It's not sweet and slow. Our love-making is burning and fast and hard, it's like we can't be close enough to each other and the closeness we share right now is not enough.
We reach the high together, both of our names a prayer on our lips as we come down, our bodies trembling and our chests heaving with deep breaths as we try to get them under control.
"Happy Anniversary, Sumo. I love you." He whispers in my ear.
"Happy Anniversary, Shravan. I love you too." I whisper back.
—X—X—
My baby is one!
5000+ words should make up for the tardiness, no? Lol! So, how was it? Is there anywhere where you think I could work or improve on? Like it or love it? Because I've come to realize you people aren't capable of hating any piece written on Shravan and Suman.
As always vote and comment!
See you until the next story!
XoRo
PS. Here is Suman's look in multiple pictures.
Cricket
