MaAn Love

Where Were We?

06:00 AM, HOME

She opened the kitchen window to grab a few fresh stalks of lemongrass and noticed it had started to drizzle. Taking in the smell of morning rain, her eyes wandered and stopped at the nearby stoop. The neighbor's daughter and her boyfriend were exchanging...gifts? Sara must have loved her gift because she leaned into the rain and gave him a hard kiss on his lips. Anu giggled, lowered her gaze and walked back to her stove. Swiftly chopping the stalks with the expertise of a woman who had made chai all her life, the faint pitter patter of wintery rain in the background, she let her mind wander...
It was Valentine's Day after all.

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She heard deliberate and heavy footsteps coming down the stairs and poured out two steaming cups of tea, freshly made; the earlier drizzle was now a downpour, and she quickly reached over to close the kitchen window before the wintry showers interrupted the warmth inside.

"Good Morning!" said a shrill sing song voice. Aah we're in happy mood today I guess, Anu thought as she turned to greet a glowing Kavya who was slowly shuffling to their breakfast bar. "Aaj itni jaldi? Woh bhi itni khuss? Kya baat hai Kavya?" Anu asked curious, sipping on her cup of piping hot tea. "Anupama tum bhool gayi? Mera aaj video call-" whatever Kavya was about to say was cut short by the long thud of two tiny feet landing on their foyer rug followed by rapid clicking noises as the two youngest members of the household rushed to the kitchen for breakfast. "Hiiiii beautiful aunty, hiiiiii beautiful aunty ki potato, hiiiii mummmyyyyyy", Chutki announced making her way around with her greetings, first blowing a kiss to Kavya, then placing one more gently on Kavya's growing belly, ending her greeting by burying herself in Anu's open arms.

"Aaj bhi aap office nahi jaoge?" Chutki asked her favorite aunt, pulling out another high stool to sit next to her. "Kal se meri maternity leave start hui hai na? Toh abhi ke liye mein work from home karungi." Kavya replied. Anu meanwhile stacked choco chip pancakes on one plate & a regular smaller pancake on another tray. "Work from home me kya karoge?" Chutki asked, taking the two plates her mom had offered. She kept the stacked pancakes for herself and placed the small tray on a small hollowed out stool next to her for her eager friend who had been wagging his tail at the speed of light ever since they both entered the kitchen. "Mmmm filhal toh mujhe apke papa aur humare marketing team ke saath conference call karna hai. Uske baad, aaj zyada kaam nahi hai." Kavya answered, on her feet, holding her tea cup in one hand and checking her phone with the other. "Anupama, main apne kamre me chalti hoon, con call abhi 5 minute me start hoga." Anu nodded and said, "Tum bahar walk ke liye jaogi toh Comet ko bhi leke jaana. Mujhe aaj jaldi nikalna padega". As Kavya shuffled away, Chutki looked at her mom with a glint in her eyes. Anu knew what this meant... "Mummy mein bhi work from home kar sakti hoon? Pleaseeeeee" "Bilkul bhi nahi! Work from home karne ke liye, work hona chahiye. Uske liye pehle skool jaana padega. Waise bhi aaj aapke skool me biology presentation bhi hai ne?" Chutki gave a dramatic resigned sigh and turned to finish her pancakes in silence.

Anu was just about to pour out another cup of tea for herself, something she usually only did on stressful days when Chutki spoke again, this time in her "Mom" tone. Anu wondered what she had done wrong... "Mumma, apke ghungroo mere lunch bag me kyun hai?" Choti Anu asked, holding out her open lunchbox which currently housed one very inedible item. "Suri suri suri bebli" Anu apologized, hastily emptying the lunchbox and cleaning it out. "Mumma... aap theek ho na?", Chutki asked concerned, her tone reflecting another familiar warm one & Anu nodded, the sentence throwing her slightly off balance. She glanced outside; the sun had come out finally & the rain had stopped. "Dekho, bahar kitna sundar dhoop nikal aya hai! Chalo aaj hum skool paidal chalte hai." Anu exclaimed in a forced cheery tone. Chutki smiled and nodded, closed her backpack and ran to grab her coat almost stumbling over Comet, who had decided it was a great day to chase his tail.