MaAn Love

Chai Pe Charche - Part 1

Anuj placed a steaming cup of chai in front of Anu. From her expression it looked like she was trying to find a way to enter the newspaper she was holding. "I-M-D pre-dicts hey-v... kya hai?" She asked, slightly annoyed when Anuj continued to hover around her, but her expression softened when she looked up at him. If you're thinking it's odd to find Anu annoyed at Anuj, you'd be right... normally. You see, Anuj and Pakhi had decided to restart Anu's English classes after hearing her talk about Moti Baa one night. As "homework" they had assigned her an hour worth of reading the newspaper daily. Anu found this torturous in itself what with the tiny print irritating her eyes but they made her explain what she had just read, in detail to see how much she had understood. That wasn't the part that annoyed Anu though: with work, a house and a relatively big family to manage the only time they got for this exercise was before bedtime; which meant the only "physical exercise" she had indulged in, in the last one week was cuddling while sleeping. Let's face it, when you have a husband like Anuj, this was definitely not an easy or happy task.

"Kya hua?" She repeated, softer this time. "Anu, Pakhi abhi tak nahi aayi. Usually inform kar deti hai... atleast message karti hai. Pakhi ne tumhe message kiya kya?" Anu grabbed her phone and exclaimed, "Oh! Suri suri suri! Meine yeh dekha bhi nahi. Aaj padhne ke liye bahot hai toh usne message kiya ki Vivian ke ghar rukhi hai. Kal subah aa jayegi." Anu looked relieved but it was Anuj's turn to frown. Anu looked at her husband puzzled as he quickly left the room, phone in hand. Shrugging she turned back to the cyclone report she had been reading.

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Anu stifled a yawn as she put the newspaper away. The doorbell rang and Anu looked at the clock puzzled. Who would visit them at 10PM on a Sunday night she wondered getting up from her study table. As she walked to the living room she heard Pakhi and Anuj talking in hushed voices. They seemed upset but she couldn't make out what the conversation was about. Anu's confusion grew; she hadn't expected Pakhi back tonight and at this hour. The conversation had moved to the kitchen and as she entered, she saw Anuj heating up the parathas she had made for dinner with the same frown from earlier. Pakhi was sitting at the kitchen island sulking and buried as usual in her phone.

"Sweetudi tum itni jaldi aa gayi?" Anu asked hugging her daughter as Anuj placed a plate of parathas and curd in front of her. "Kuch nahi mummy. Aise hi aa gayi" Pakhi grumbled quickly grabbing the plate and jumping to her feet. "Pakhi, tum..." Anuj started to speak but Pakhi cut him off, "KUCH NAHI HUA HAI" she repeated enunciating while glaring at Anuj. Anuj let out a defeated sigh and Anu looked from Pakhi to Anuj, now concerned. Pakhi and Anuj usually got on really well. So well in fact that Pakhi found it easier to talk to Anuj about school and her teenage woes than with Anu. Not that Anu minded; having raised Mukku through a particularly difficult teen phase, Anuj seemed well equipped to handle Pakhi - who Anuj kept insisted was an angel compared to a 16 year old Mukku.

"Kya hua?" Anu addressed Anuj, as Pakhi walked away, plate in hand. The door to her room (that she shared with Mukku) slammed shut making Anu jump. "Kuch nahi hai... ummm... Anu tum yeh sab andhar rakh dogi? Mujhe Kavya aur Nidhi ke saath videocall karna hai dus minute me" Anuj replied pointing to the leftover bowl of curd and parathas. Anu nodded, her thoughts running amuck. As she moved to clear the kitchen counter Anuj left as quickly as Pakhi did. Why did it feel like Anuj was keeping something from her she wondered, the fridge throwing light on her arm as she opened it.

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"I've checked the proposal AK, everything looks legit. My official recommendation is that you should definitely take this project on." A woman dressed in an oversized off shoulder jumper, seated next to Kavya was speaking as Anu walked in with two cups of tea. She noted the shiny hair in a messy ponytail, her long, neatly manicured nails painted matte grey and the confidence and comfort in her tone as she addressed Anuj. It suddenly hit Anu that this was the first time she was seeing one of Anuj's exs, live.