Enough

14

"You're doing really well, Abhi," Dr. Aman closed Abhi's file and set it on his desk. "I'm happy to say your health is about 80% restored."

Pragya turned her head, flashing Abhi a huge smile. He was momentarily dazzled by it, but then he regained awareness of where they were.

"So does that clear me for all normal activities?" Abhi asked Dr. Aman. For once the lothario was looking at him instead of his eyeing his wife, and Abhi was glad about that.

"You should still avoid anything that's very agitating or physical. Was there something specific you wanted to check about?"

"My manager said some of my concerts got delayed. I feel well enough to do them, but is there anything I should be concerned about?"

Dr. Aman frowned. "I'm afraid that might not be such a good idea." To Abhi's surprise, the doctor actually looked apologetic. "It's hard to say how you would be affected being on stage in front of a big crowd. I think you need to give it more time before you get back to that."

"I see." Abhi touched Pragya's hand. "Suno, will you step outside for a minute? I'll come out soon, we're almost done."

Pragya stared at him, her eyes huge. "You want me to leave? But -"

"It'll just be a few minutes, don't go far." Then he gave her such an intense smile that she blinked. Reluctantly, she got to her feet, still frowning at him.

She turned to Dr. Aman and offered her hand. "Thank you, Doctor. I'm very glad to hear you think he's doing well."

Abhi watched with annoyance as Dr. Aman stood, shook Pragya's hand, and smiled at her. "You're doing a wonderful job taking care of him. Keep it up."

Pragya nodded in thanks. She cast him one last look over her shoulder and finally stepped out of the doctor's office, quietly closing the door behind her.

"You wanted to discuss something private?" Dr. Aman asked, looking at Abhi curiously as he settled back into his seat.

Abhi was surprised to find he actually felt a little nervous bringing this up. It had been an impulse, and he was thinking now he shouldn't have followed it. He didn't really need the information he was going to ask for, and he was not enjoying the sudden sense of awkwardness.

He'd never in his life had to ask anyone this question.

Still, he wasn't going to let a little thing like nerves stop him. He cleared his throat and looked Dr. Aman in the eye. "Is it safe for me to sleep with my wife?"

If Dr. Aman was surprised by the question, he didn't show it. He looked at Abhi consideringly for a moment. "And by sleep with, you mean -"

"Have sex with," Abhi answered, suppressing the urge to roll his eyes. Of course Dr. Aggravating would make him spell it out.

"Ah," Dr. Aman said with a brief nod. "It depends. If you take it slow and easy, you should be fine. Just avoid anything that might put stress on your spine, or any sharp movements of your head."

"Right," Abhi said, taking this in. "So it should be safe, just depending on how we do it."

"Yes."

"Thank you," Abhi said, although it went against the grain for him to thank another man for giving him permission to sleep with his own wife. "And...is there anything else I should know, about my condition or recovery, that you couldn't say around my wife?"

"No," Dr. Aman answered. "She really is doing a good job, and you're doing very well. It's not possible for us to predict how or if you will regain more of your memories, so my advice to you is simply to keep living your life as normal, keeping in mind that your body and brain are still recovering."