Amends In Your Arms

OS: Ladoo

Abhi's only surgery for the day had gotten canceled last minute. By the time he found out he had the day off, Akshu had already left for work. He messaged her to ask what time she would be home, but she told him that  she had therapy sessions scheduled until 5pm. He sighed to himself, not knowing what to do...not knowing how he would make it through so many hours without her at home with him. He spent some time cleaning their room, organizing all of the books on their desk over and over again until he could not take it anymore. He moped as he walked down the stairs, wishing that he would see Akshu entering through the front door at that very moment. After pacing back and forth in the living room staring at his watch, he decided to go find Manjari in the kitchen. 

Manjari was busy making ladoos for the family, wanting to celebrate the happiness that had finally returned to their house. Without saying a word, Abhi started helping her...taking the atta into his hands and rolling it into the messiest balls, a frown plastered across his face. Manjari laughed, knowing exactly what was going through his mind. 

"Akshu ki yaad aa rahi hai?", She teased.

"Haan maa." He whined before he caught himself..."Arey nahi maa, bilkul bhi nahi", He corrected himself, shaking his head. 

Manjari rolled her eyes as she told him to finish making the rest of the ladoos while she went and watered the plants outside. Abhi silently nodded, waiting for the clock to strike 5. Once all of the ladoos were finished, he moved the platter to the dining table, sitting down and flipping through the newspaper. That is when he realized that his engagement ring was missing. His eyes widened in horror, remembering the last time he had misplaced it in the hospital...Akshu would fume when she learned that he had done it again. He had to find it before she got home...and he had exactly one hour left. Abhi replayed his entire day in his mind, trying to figure out the last time he saw it.

Just then, Parth came to the table, telling him how much he had been craving ladoos lately. As he was about to pick one up, Abhi realized what had happened...his ring was in one of these ladoos. His stomach dropped as he looked at the 50+ ladoos on the platter, knowing that he had no other choice but to break apart every single one until he found his ring. He snatched the ladoo out of Parth's hand, saying that he forgot to add sugar to the mix and would have to remake all of them. Abhi grabbed the platter and rushed towards the kitchen, beginning to smash apart every single ball that he had just made. 

A few minutes later, he heard Akshu's laugh coming from the corridor. She was home early. For the first time today, he wished that she could have stayed out a little longer, that her last therapy session could have gotten delayed. She could not know what he was doing. So, before she could get to him, he started shoving the ladoos into his mouth, hoping that he would bite down on the ring before she made it to him. He was entirely prepared to tell her that he was starving, that these were the best ladoos he had ever tasted, and he would finish every single one of them.

Akshu walked into the kitchen and laughed at what she saw. Standing at the door, she asked through her giggles, "Abhi, tum ne aaj se pehle kabhi ladoo nahi try kiya kya?" 

"Nahi Akshu...aisa ladoo toh kabhi bhi try nahi kiya...yeh sabse best hai...jadoo hai isme..." He responded nervously through his mouthful. 

"Acha? Mujhe bhi toh taste karao phir." She said, walking towards him, trying to take one off of the platter. But, before she knew it, Abhi took the platter away from her, saying that these were all for him, but he would ask Manjari to make her more later that night. Confused as to what had gotten into him, she playfully touched his forehead, asking him if he was feeling ok. 

"Tum theek toh ho na? Mera brocoli khane wala pati aaj itne saare ladoo..." 

"Akshu, tum upar jaao, mein abhi aya..." Abhi interrupted her, pushing her towards the door. 

Akshu turned around and looked at him, taken aback by how he was acting. "Tumhe mere yaad nahi aayi kya", She asked, knowing that he had likely waited the entire day for her, desperate for her to come home. 

With those words, Abhi remembered how much he had missed her, how much he had longed for her. He set the platter down, taking her into his arms, kissing her hair. "Poore din mein ne siraf tumhe hi toh yaad kiya hai meri jaan." 

"Acha ji?" She smirked, licking a few crumbs of the last ladoo he had eaten off of his chin. "Cheeni zada hai." She whispered as she left the kitchen, telling him that she would be waiting for him in their room. 

Not wanting to spend a single more second away from her, Abhi went through the rest of the ladoos with no luck. He sulked as he made his way upstairs, knowing that he now had no other choice but to tell her. He held his stomach, which was growling in pain...he had not eaten this sugar since he was a kid...maybe not even then.

"Abhi, idhar aao, mere pas tumhare liye ek surprise hai." Akshu said as she saw him enter their room. Abhi slowly made his way towards her, trying his best to hide his pain. She reached for his hand and kissed it, pulling his engagement ring out of her pocket. "Aaj subha bed mein mili thi...tum so rahe the toh mein aap ne saath le gayi aur socha aaj sham ko wapis kardoon gi." She said smiling as she placed it where it belonged. 

Abhi did not know whether to smile or cry...he looked at his finger in shock...all of those ladoos for nothing...what had he done? Noticing his distress, she was about to ask him what was wrong...ready to question him until he finally confided in her. First his behavior downstairs and now this...she was sure he was hiding something from her. But, before she could speak, she heard his stomach start to make more and more sounds. Just then, she realized what had happened... 

She started laughing at the top of her lungs, her heart bursting with nothing but love for her husband. "Abhi!" She said in between her laughter..."Abhi, tumhe laga ki yeh ring...isilye tum ne woh ladoo..." 

"Akshu ki bachi," Abhi groaned as he gently pushed her against the wall. "Tumhe yeh sab mazak lag raha hai?" 

"Nahi, Abhi...mujhe toh bas yeh lag raha hai ki mera docman sabse cute hai."