Sarvakahi vividha
Tai threw up many times during the night. Suvi tried to pretend she was asleep but after a while the pretense did not work
Tai ran the bath water, the sink water and the flushed the toilet 10 times
And at one point, pretending to faint on the side Aadhya was asleep, almost falling on the lil child
"Attention seeking witch" Suvi cursed
Aadhya moaned as Tai's fat arm smacked her back
"Tayeee" Suvi scolded sternly
Drgging Aadhya to her side
So she could lay down closer to the AC
"anna pachviney naahi"
"aapna rastyavar anna khall le" Suvi didnt back down
"aapna bolata kadhahi thambhava naka" (u never stop talking)
"tu mala apaman kadhahi thambhavu naka" (like u never stop insulting me) Suvi said firmly
Hitting the light walking over to the kitchen to find the medicine chest
There was nothing required for stomach flu
But Tai will not shut up until she got meds
Suvi had something for nausea.. she brought that and water
Tai first drank the water
Went back out threw it all up and then had more water with the pill
Suvi went back out to shut the kitchen light muttering inaudibly to herself
"Ghara atithi kapata bharale nahi, aheta lagna goshti, divasa upakrama nahita"
(The house is not filled with wedding guests the shelves are not filled with wedding things, the days are not filled with wedding activities")
She sighed audibly... realizing that some things she will never have the joy of knowing or seeing, her "Wedding" was a rushed Mahalakshmi visit after work one evening
"aai maajha navra maase karne" (my mother cooking fish for my husband)
She stood in the balcony, soaking in the humid 40C Delhi heat... couples walked hand in hand though it was way past midnight
Some women were pregnant, they rubbed against their husbands more...
She stared longingly at them, she didnt get that either... she was alone... resentful and uncared for
She went to her phone and looked up Neel's number in the dark
The blue glow of joy...
She woke no sooner than Noon that too because Aadhya wanted "andi"
She curled away groaning
"Aadu... shakkara" she scolded
"Aai hum Nihad house kab jaayegi" she asked
Nihar's name was enough to wake her up
she sat up thinking about teh weekend cartoon exchange
She picked up her ipad... and set it back down, picked up her art pad and sketched a polar bear sipping coke out
of a bottle from an ad she had seen at work belonging to a competing agency's US winter campaign from a few years ago
She took a picture and sent it to him
Aadhya watched on her ipad as Tai moaned disapprovingly at all the chatter
There was no response from Nihar
She showered brushed and fixed adhya breakfast/brunch
Tai woke wobbly... demnaded the very same breakfast
Ate an omelette made of 4 eggs and 4 slices of toast and downed three cups of tea
"Amma ka text aaya hai August 7th ki baat hui hai" Neel sent a emoji of two locked wedding rings from the stock emojis on his phone
She had to sit down to calm herself when she saw that
The pounding in her chest was extraordinary
"Devaaa" she whispered
"Bappa" she prayed
"Aayee" she invoked
Tai was back on her perch on the divan watching mid day Marathi movies
"hellooo" he texted
She smiled nervously... as her whole body shook in anxiety
"nEEL" she said messing up the letters
"Lagna mohim manjoor?" he asked (wedding campaign OK?)
"MEE sehMat aaHE" she typed with trembling fingers
"Soch leejiye" he said with a grin
"Barobar" she said with a grin back
Leaning back and smiling for the first time... for something that continued to be different about her life... his unique proposal
Kabhi Neem Neem Kabhi Shahad Shahad
