Loving Her

One Hell of a Day

It is early in the morning, the sun just barely on the horizon. There is no movement within the silent city. Within the shared Kapoor-Joshi household, a loud ringing sound pollutes the home, disrupting the stillness in the atmosphere. A man shoots up out of his bed, reaching for his phone.

"Dr Kapoor, we need you here ASAP. We have an emergency that needs responding." someone shouts desperately over the call. 

"Give me like 15 minutes and I'll be there." he responds, his voice hoarse from disuse. Placing his phone back down on his nightstand, he makes his bed lazily. 

Elsewhere Sai gathers her belongings into a bag, pulling her hair out of whatever lame excuse for a ponytail she has. 

24-hour shifts are really not my thing. she thinks to herself, rubbing a hand across her face. Now if only Prem won't take his regular hour to get ready she might be able to go home a bit earlier. 

"Hey Sai, I've got some good news. Prem's coming in earlier today. You might want to go down a bit earlier today." Pooja peeps in. Her hair too, is disheveled, but still has a few more hours of her shift to go. With Diwali coming up in 2 days, many of the nurses and quite a few of the doctors have been taking days off, leaving the Hospital short-staffed. Sai is taking Diwali and the day before it, off so she can spend it with Veenu. And her roommate seems keen on joining them for those 2 days.

Sai sighs in relief folding her hands. "Thank you Bholenath. For once I won't lose minutes on the time I get to spend sleeping at home." 

At the exact moment, she says that Pooja disappears, replaced by Prem standing at the doorway with the car keys dangling from his hand. "Hurry up madam, I have to go perform a surgery."

"Thank you, Dr Kapoor." Sai nods, waving at him as she brushes past him at lightning speed. 

"TRY NOT TO CRASH THE CAR!" he reminds Sai, rushing off in the opposite direction of her. 

Prem quickly enters the OT, washing his hands, while listening to a senior nurse recite the patient's file. 

"Well god, bless me with the ability to fix this person," Prem states, going inside. And please let this surgery be over afternoon. I don't want Sai chopping my head off for calling too early into her nap.

...

What keeps Sai from preventing herself from crashing the car is, well... watching a car crash. 5 cars, holding people who are no doubt stupid and tired AF, run into each other near an exit on the highway. 

Sai whines in irritation. "OF ALL THE TIMES I CAN GET STUCK IN TRAFFIC, RIGHT NOW?!"

In an attempt to figure out what the hell is causing the hold-up, she pulls out her phone. Angrily Sai abuses the car horn, impatient and incredibly tired. 

Might as well fall asleep. she thinks to herself, rotating the seat backward. For god's sake, it is 7 AM and these people are going mad!

Poor Veenu, he must be close to waking up, and Muma's still not home yet. At least he has Kajal to take care of him until she comes home. It's a nightmare for her, with her pregnancy in its 5th month, and the heat of the morning sun. That is a combination that makes her feel irritated by everything around her, from the very clothes she wears to the leather on the car seats, which warms up faster due to the sunlight. 

...

Prem sighs, pulling out his phone and calling Sai for the 3rd time in the past hour. She left before the surgery began, which was 8 hours ago. 

Can't you notice I am not picking up your phone calls? she shouts frustratingly over the phone.

"Nice to hear that you are alive Sai. Look, I don't know why the hell you aren't here yet but-"

There was a car accident on the highway. Take a ride with one of your numerous friends because I was stuck in traffic for 4 hours. 

"Are you feeling okay? You know with being pregnant and all..."

I feel like sleeping. Now, I'll see you this evening. 

"Fine then. I'll... come up with a way home. Sorry for bothering you." Prem apologizes, suddenly feeling guilty of bugging her. "Should I bring anything on my way back?"

Sai pauses for a moment, and very sweetly whispers, Candy floss?

Prem shakes his head, a smile slipping onto his face. Candy floss it is Miss Joshi.

I'll see you later.

"Bye." he bids farewell, putting his phone into his back pocket. As long as she is happy, and not ready to kill him, Prem will willingly do as she says. 

He sometimes wonders what she's really like. A murderous roommate, a hormone-motivated pregnant woman, or simply a person who's still recovering from something from their past. Maybe, after the birth of her baby, he will finally get to know her properly.  

...

Sai wakes up upon hearing the sound of the door creaking open. Prem waves at her, candy floss in his right hand. 

"Morning sleepy head." he greets, outstretching his hand to help her up from the couch. "Here's your demanded snack. Hopefully, you enjoy it."

Her lips grow into a grin, and she graciously thanks him. "You do not know how much I was craving this."

"Well my friend, all you need to do is ask, and I will bring it home," Prem says. "Now where's my buddy? Is he sleeping?"

"Veenu's in the bedroom. I didn't meet him, as you can see, I passed out in the living room." Sai responds, pulling off a piece of the cotton-like candy. "I'm sure he's awake though." 

"Well, that answers my question." Prem smiles, heading towards the bedroom. "I'll bring him out here unless you want to go-"

"No, it's fine. Bring him here." 

"Okay." 

Seeing Prem bond with little Veenu is surely a treat. They are inseparable when around each other. It almost reminds her of Virat, and how he'd coddle newborn Veenu whenever he'd find time to spend with his family, which was very rare. Prem and Veenu's interactions occurred daily, and it warmed her heart to see her little boy so happy and excited.

They make a splendid duo. she thinks to herself, when Prem returns with his little friend, blowing raspberries with him. 

She could feel her heart melt, watching as her son played excitedly. This was perhaps the best decision she's made in her life.

____________________________

Sorry for the late update. 

Midterms finished a few days ago, and I took a few days to finally ease back into my previous schedule. 

Thank you all, for the support you've been giving this story. Hopefully you liked the chapter.

Please vote and comment! I would love to hear your opinions.

-K.K.