Periods, Pyaar And Patriarchy

Chapter Twenty-nine

When Shweta returned home from the wedding, she was a bit more stable than she had been when she left. The meeting up with friends had done her some good. And in between Afghani chaap and Samosa chaat; the week had been full of indulgences. And this time around, it had done her some good.

While the onslaught of acne would likely start within three days, making her regret the extra gulab jamun, she was still glad that she'd had a great time. The color in her cheeks had returned a bit and her heart didn't nearly hurt as much as it once had when she looked at Vaibhav's number saved in her phone.

When her plane landed at the airport in the middle of a very busy afternoon, Shweta couldn't help but feel as though she were forgetting something. A thing that she couldn't really put her finger on. But chalking it up to travel paranoia; she simply let it simmer in the back of her mind. It felt great to be back in the city. The afternoon was melting to give way to the evening- and Shweta really loved this part of the day.

When she was in school, she'd often lie on the grass with her best-friend Riddhi and together they'd gaze above as the sky slowly changed colors. The bright brave blue of the afternoon would give way into a gentle yellow for a bit. Then would enter a blazing orange with a coquettish pink blush that ran along the horizon. The evening was such a lovely time of the day to be in, a celebration of being alive. The evenings seemed almost congratulatory in nature because of the abundance of colors in the sky. Gone was the blue palette; having given its' way to colors more robust and charming.

And with Bob Dylan playing in her earphones, Shweta felt her heart settle against her like it hadn't in weeks. It felt calm, almost.

Her mother had her duty the afternoon and wasn't available to pick Shweta up at the airport. There had been a brief discussion of letting Shruti drive- but Shweta and Seema had both vehemently disagreed. "We'd both like to see Shweta alive." Seema had said and after that, there had been no discussion on that. But Shruti had agreed to meet her sister at the airport, book an Uber and get her back home.

While Shweta could've just as easily booked an Uber for herself; Seema was always a bit anxious about letting the girls travel alone in an Uber. And Shruti having nothing better to do decided to accompany her sister.

This is why Shweta found her sister waiting for her with a little fanny pack and a rhinestone on the top of her ear.

"Shruti!" Shweta exclaimed, "What in the world?"

"What do you mean, what in the world?" Shruti asked, knowing what Shweta was referring to, evidently very proud of herself.

"You're flaunting your piercing! What did maa say?" Shweta asks, wondering what on earth their strict mother would've said.

"She hasn't said anything. But that's mostly because she hasn't seen it." Shruti says, giving Shweta's suitcase a little kick and eliciting a 'hey!' out of her.

"But what do you mean she hasn't seen it?" Shweta asks, carefully.

"Um." Shruti says, guiltily, "I was hoping that you could explain it to her for me."

Shweta's eyes widen. "Shruti!" She gives a mini-yell. "You possibly cannot be serious about that! You know I'm the last person she'll listen to. If it were the other way around then it would make a lot more sense."

"So, what you're saying is that I'm always going to have your back but you're just going to let me fall?" Shruti asks, her lips curling into a frown.

"Well," Shweta says, scanning around for an Uber ending with 7888, "Yes, more or less. At least when it comes to our mother."

"Then it's a good thing I didn't get my ear pierced." Shruti says, "It's a magnet and you're a coward."