May 6, 2019.

Sreedevi

What should I plan for tomorrow?

Well, Tomorrow is May 7th, My dear husband's birthday but I am out of ideas. I dont know what to plan for tomorrow but guess I should do something. I have already planned a gift for him but what can I do other than that? A surprise?

"Devi?"

Ajay's voice brought me out of my thoughts.

"Haan?" I looked at him who was forwarding a piece of dosai to me.

I ate that dosai and placed another dosai on his plate.

"Leave illa nu soltanga devi maa.. Kaduppa irukku" he said chewing his dosai leaning to the kitchen counter.

"Ipo thane jay office eh start panirkanga... Oru maasam close panni vachurkanga.. Satharana vishayama? Ipdi irukrapo nee poyi leave keta epdi tharuvanga?" I said calmly pouring the batter on the Tawa.

"Athukunu personal life paaka vendama ma? Enaku pontati kudumbam ellam irukku la.. Epome vela senjit irukka mudiyuma?" He complained.

I raised an amused eyebrow. "Yen nga oru maasam munnadi iruntha Ajay ya yaarachu pathingala?" I said to noone in particular.

Ajay kept his plate aside and curled his left hand around my waist and pulled me to him.

"Pathen..." He said with a mischievous smile.

"Apdingala? Enga poyitaaram avuru?"

"Eppo avan, avan pontati kanna 10 second thaandi paathano apove avan maayama maranjutan"

"Ohoo"

"Enna dii Ohooo" he tickled my neck with his beard.

I giggled "Dosa karuguthu jayy"

"Athu kedakuthu" he tickled me again.

"Po jayy" I pushed him away giggling and flipped the dosai. He kept staring me with a little smile on his face. I controlled the urge to ask him a what. I blushed as his gaze was fixed on me unmoving, but ignored him and concentrated on the dosai.

"Devi maa?"

"Haan?" I didn't look at him.

"Devi maaaaa"

"Haan enna???" I looked at him irritated.

"Onula" he grinned.

I raised the spatula in my hand to beat him but he quickly pecked my lips. I went numb for a moment.

"Enak unna romba pudikum Devi" he said out of nowhere.

I smiled.

"Apdiya? Evlo pudikum?" I flipped the dosa.

"Evlo naa.. " he started thinking washing his hands on the sink.

He wiped his hands on my T-shirt and hugged me from behind.

"Unak unna evlo pudikumo atha vida 10 madangu athigama" he kissed my neck.

"Ahaan..." I kept the dosa aside and switched off the stove.

I turned in his embrace and kissed his cheek "Pothum.. Office kelambunga time aachu" I said.

Ajay started whining again. "Yen birthday ku kooda leave thara matranga dii..."

"Ajay..."

"Un kooda irukalam nu nenachen.." He pouted.

"Office mudichit veetuk thane varapora" I pinched his lips.

"Podii.." He turned his face away.

"Ponga poyi shoe podunga... Naa lunch pack pandren" I said removing his hands from me.

He showed me his cheeks. I kissed his cheek. He grinned at me and walked out of the kitchen. I shook my head and packed his lunch in the lunch box.

He was putting his shoes. I kept the lunch box inside his bag. He stood up and hugged me before kissing my forehead.

"Poyit varen.."

I nodded.

He smiled and left the house. I locked the door and sighed. Here we go again. I sighed at the loneliness creeping inside. I am used to being alone but now I can't live without him. A day without him is soo dreadful. Yesterday when he came home worried, I was worried also. When he told me about Reba, I felt bad for that child. Neither of them did anything wrong but she was hurt at the end. I felt sorry for her. Though I was possessive over Reba office, only after meeting her I understood how a good and kind personality she had.

She deserves every happiness and I am sure she will get it someday. I somehow convinced Ajay that she will be happy in the future and there is no need for him to worry. Ajay might look like he doesn't care but he has got such a fragile heart. He was worried she was hurt due to him. Ajay also said that she was once the reason for us to solve a misunderstanding between us. I was mad that he talked to her before actually talking to me but when I thought about it, it made sense.

Sometimes, we don't feel like talking openly to our closed ones but to people who are not even close to us. Sometimes we feel like telling something to a random not so close person, that we doesn't tell our partner. Vinay has an elder brother. His wife Adhira used to share some emotional things in her life with me that she doesn't even share with her husband. I used to wonder why she was sharing with me all those but then I understood maybe she just knows that I wont flex it anywhere.

I was close with Vinay, in my family. I used to play with him. He was in my house all the time but I don't feel like sharing anything to him. I had a close friend in school Anusuya, but I never felt like sharing anything to her. But one day when Asif found me crying in the bus on the way to college and confronted me, I felt like telling him and said my household traumas to him. I would have lied to him but I didn't. I just felt like telling him.

I finished my kitchen works and sat on the couch thinking for a plan for tomorrow. He has office tomorrow so I can't plan anything in the morning. I should go for shopping if I am gonna surprise him. I took my phone out and searched for any nearby store for birthday shopping. I found a store which was on the next street which was open. I swept the house and bathed before putting on a kurti.

I got ready, took my bag and locked the door. I was waiting for the lift when that BBC lady came and stood beside me for the lift. She looked at me casually and then looked straight immediately. She held the mop in her hand tightly under her knuckles turned white. I stifled a laugh.

From the day I gave her a nose cut, she didn't invlove in our lives much. That was a much needed nose cut for her. She was already gossiping about us in the apartment and I didn't want to give her more content to gossip about me. The lift opened, we entered inside. I pressed the basement while she pressed the 2nd floor.

She was gulping and twisting the mop in her hand. I faked a cough and she flinched. I bit my lips to control my laugh. She smiled at me nervously when I looked at her. I didn't smile, I kept my face straight and neutral. Her smile vanished. She looked straight. Another lady in her mid thirties joined us at the 6th floor, wearing a pink churidhar. She smiled at the bbc lady.

"Akka enna innaik aalaye kanom?" She asked in a malayali accent.

The Bbc smiled at her. "Athu 7A la konjom vela adhigama irunthuch chechiii"

"Ohh romba vela vaanga vaikranga pola" she said.

The Bbc just sighed.

"Ama uma sonna antha paiyan ah pathalam kalaila office porathu honeymoon ellam mudinjirkumo??" She said.

I frowned.

Bbc widened her eyes and eyed me before talking to that malayali lady with her eyes.

"Enna ka?" She asked seeing her wierd expressions.

"Antha paiyan pontati thaa chechi athu" she whispered in a low voice but I heard it.

I pretended like I never heard that and checked the time in her watch. A low gasp escaped from that chechi's throat. The lift went silent. The lift opened at the second floor. Bbc aunty rushed out of the lift. That chechi smiled awkwardly at me when the lift closed.

When I reached the basement, I walked outside and opened the umbrella to save myself from the sun. That chechi went to the parking. I shook my head at them. They have surely gossiped about us and I assume that when Ajay didn't go to office for a month and when we were out of station for 5 days, they might have thought that we went for honeymoon. I smiled at how they were soo interested in our personal lives when they had enough and more in their plate.

I walked to the store shown by the map and reached there within 15 minutes. I purchased some decorating stuffs from there. Birthday banner, baloons and seriel lights. I saw a cake shop opposite to the store. I walked to the shop and asked if there were customised cakes. I explained them how I wanted the cake and gave my number to them. They gave me a piece of cake for sample. It tasted good. I said I would contact them tomorrow and left the place.

When I was on my way back, I found a pani puri shop. My mouth watered. I stopped by and ordered a plate of pani puri. I waited there and relished it fully on my own when my phone rang.

"Hello?" I said attending the call.

"Madam enna pandringa??"

I smiled hearing his warm voice "Pani puri saptut iruken" I said.

"Pani puri ah??"

"Ama sapdanum pola irunthuch athaan inga pakathula vanthen" I lied.

"Ohh paarrah.. Enak tharala" he said in a said voice.

"Evening neenga vantha aprom namma polaam" I said.

"Evening vanthuta enak sapda pani puri venaam.." he said in a mischievous tone.

"Eiiii" I blushed.

He laughed at the other end.

"Saptingala?" I asked.

"Saptut iruken dii.. Reba inga thaa irukka aana ava pesave illa enkitta.. Naanum pesala"

"Hmm apdiye vitrunga avala..."

"Hmm avaluk work from home kuduka poraangalam next week la irunth.. Deva darshini maam sonnanga"

"Ohh" I paid for the pani puri and walked back to the apartment.

"Jay onu theriyuma unak?"

"Enna di?"

"Namma BBC aunty irukanga la? Avunga namma oru maasam honey moon la irunthom nu apartment la oru gossip parappi vuturk" I chuckled.

"Etheyyyy"

"Ama ajay"

"Unak epdi theriyum??"

"Naa lift la vanthut irunthena..." I said all those that happened in the lift.

"Adapavingala...Enak matum thane da theriyum.. En pontati ah naa thottath kooda ila nu" he said in a sad voice.

I laughed.

"Atleast avunga apdi nenaikavachum seirangale.. Athu varaikum santhosham"

I laughed out loud.

"Sirikkava dii seyra? Iru unna enna pandren paaru" he threatened me.

"Poyaa yovv" I crossed the road and entered the apartment premises.

"Ama namma epo dii honeymoon lam povom?"

"Ithu vera kekutha ungaluk? Olunga office pora vazhiya paaru yaa yovv" I walked to the lift.

"Atleast Epo namma Coimbatore povom next time? It was the best vacation I have ever had Devi maa"

I smiled. "Enakum"

The way he comforted me, stood for me infront of my mom, our first hug, his drunken atrocities, dance in the rain, everything came in my head like a montage.

"Geetha ku ipo kalyanam aagala na enna aagirkum jay?"

"Naa unmela vizhunthath ivlo azhaga irunthurkathu"

I smiled.

"Vizhunthutingala?" I asked when the lift door opened.

"13 varshathuk munnadi antha purple saree katit vanthiye.. Anaike vilunthuten"

"Ahaaan... Apo naduvula oru madam vanthut ponangale abirami?"

"Ava melayum vizhunthen thaan.. Ana ava enak kedaikalaye.. Yen? Yen na en idhayam unak thaan nu eludha patruk.. onum panna mudiyathu"

"Ohooo" I unlocked our house. "Veetuk vanthuten" I said.

"Okay.. enakum lunch time over.. Naa poyi work pandren.. Neeyum sapdu seriya?"

"Serii byee...."

"Byee di"

I ended the call and placed the decorating stuff inside the kitchen store room. Ajay won't see it if I keep it there.

Last year I never knew your birthday date, you didn't celebrate it too but this year you have a wife, who is gonna surprise you.

-

A very big sorry for not updating for almost 19 days. The next day after I updated the last chapter, I got sick. I couldn't take good rest due to my college culturals and projects. The sickness fell in love with me I guess, It never left me🥲. It sticked to my body.

This chapter was a filler one. I planned to give a double update but I don't think I will have time for it. So I will give it tomorrow.

Tell me how the chapter was.