"First day pe hi periods aa gaye, pehle hi abshagun ho gaya, ab pata nahi aage ki zindagi tum dono ki kaisi jayegi." Aditya's mother, Rekha said with a pointed look while shaking her head.
"Come on aai, isme Radhika ki kya galti hai? She didn't invite periods, woh naturally aa gaye use jaldi." Aditya replied to his miffed mother with a calm expression.
"Sabko naturally hi aate hai beta par Rasmein aur Abshagun naam ki bhi koi cheez hoti hai, jab tumhare chote chachu ki shadi thi tab usi din mere bhi periods aaye the medicines lene ke bawjud, but still I attended his wedding, did all the rituals as a bhabhi, aur ab dekho. Tumhare chachu aur chachi ki bilkul nahi banti hai aa paas me." Rekha shared an old story that Aditya heard for the first time in the past twenty-eight years.
"Aai sabke naseeb ek jaise nahi hote hai," Aditya said thoughtfully.
"Main janti hoon par tum mere eklaute bete ho, I don't want you to be unhappy with Radhika because of all these things. Isliye keh rahi hoon ki yeh sab rasmein jaane do filhal ke liye, chaar din baad kar lege." Rekha softened her tone when her son stared at her with disappointment on his face.
"Jo marzi karo, par Radhika ke saamne yeh shagun abshagun ki baat nahi honi chahiye hai." Aditya calmly warned his mother, who, for the world, was a highly educated woman with a modern mindset, but for him, she had the most backward and chauvinist thinking when the matter was about Indian customs and traditions.
"Shadi ko do din nahi hue aur tum toh abhi se joru ke gulaam ban gaye ho." Rekha gave an unbelievable look to her only son.
"Aai," Aditya whined in response.
"Mazak kar rahi hoon baba." She playfully pulled his chubby cheek and then patted his head with motherly affection.
Radhika heard the bitter conversation from inside her bedroom and felt bad for her husband who had to bear his strict mother's scoldings because of her. She truly wished to go back in the past and rewrite her periods' date so that she can follow all the rituals and pooja with Aditya without being labeled as an inauspicious woman. She morosely stared at the door while exhaling slowly, and wondered if her mother-in-law's assumption about they having fights in the future because of the wrong timing of her menstruation was true or false. She truly can't afford to upset her loving man or make him distance himself from her for any reason.
• Inside Samaina's room.
Sameer was working on his laptop with a bored expression as he wanted to enjoy his holidays to his fullest but his oh-so-loving boss didn't like him being happy, hence he ordered him to complete the work from home. He typed monotonously on the keyboard while yawning, his eyes looking drowsy because of last night's wild experience with his pretty wife.
"Ajeeb zindagi hai, shadi ke do din baad biwi ka haath pakad kar baithne ki jagah main is laptop ko godh me lekar baitha hoon." He muttered furiously under his breath while going through the bug, and squinted his eyes at the screen.
Sameer could hear the soft jingles of her Payal and all his attention was drawn towards the heavenly woman walking out of the bathroom with Nazakat touching every inch of her body. He quickly shut the laptop, his lips parting in admiration, and eyes filling with pride.
Naina saw her husband sitting on the bed, shirtless, with a shiny black electronic object lying comfortably on his lap. She narrowed her eyes in recognition of his growing laziness and said with a lopsided smile - "Kaam karo kaam, mujhe mat dekho."
"Tumhe dekhne se accha aur kaunsa kaam ho sakta hai." He replied to his wife in a husky voice.
"Mujhe dekhne ki salary nahi milti hai tumhe," Naina said amusingly while uncovering her head from the towel.
