Eternally Yours

Chapter 4

"Nandini!" Manik's loud voice reverberated through the house, diverting her attention from the pan where she was preparing parathas for breakfast as she called out, "Jee?!" while focusing back on the task at hand. His voice was muffled by her brother in law as he rushed in the kitchen and exclaimed, "Bhabhi, aapne mera tiffin pack kardiya?!"

"Haanji. Bas doh minute," Nandini replied, immediately moving over to the cupboard and grabbing the tiffin. While she was cleaning it, Manik, who sounded frustrated, shouted, "Nandini, yaar meri blue file kaha rakh di tumhe?"

Meanwhile, Aarav's loud cry rang out as he woke up from all the noises while Dhruv impatiently said, "Bhabhi thoda jaldi. Mera exam hai."

Her hands shook as she quickly worked while Manik was getting angry by each passing second as he was getting late for a meeting and didn't want to get scoldings from his boss early morning while Aarav's cries were getting louder. Handing over the tiffin, she quickly turned off the knob of the gas before running upstairs to their room.

"Kya Nandini, maine kitni baar kaha hai meri files esse mat cheda karo," Manik grumbled in frustration while her eyes frantically moved to and fro between Manik and Aarav before she picked her crying munchkin  from bed and bounced him on her arms while she walked to the drawer where she kept his file in the morning. She handed it to him and he checked it to make sure everything was okay.

As she was consoling Aarav, who was whining with his small hand in his mouth in hunger, she rushed after Manik as he walked out of the room and followed him downstairs and as he moved towards front door, Nandini said, "Manik, breakfast toh karke jaaye."

"Nahi. Mai pehle hi late ho gaya hu. Canteen se kha lunga kuch," Manik said, leaving for his work without a glance backwards. Nandini swallowed, slightly disheartened and feeling as if she was failing as a wife because she knew he can't keep well with the canteen food and she didn't even prepare anything for his lunch.

Her mind was pulled back to the present as Aarav slapped his sloppy hand on her face to grab her attention. She smiled at him meekly and started to walk towards their room to feed him. On her way upstairs, the door bell rang before her mother in law echoed, "Nandini, beta gate kholna. Dudh hoga."

Sighing, she walked downstairs with Aarav in her arms,  who started getting fussy, his eyes again turning moist as he dug his face in her bosom. While she walked to the kitchen to grab some utensil, she pressed a kiss on his head and softly said, "Bass doh minute, mere bache."

Holding him carefully on one arm, she got the milk filled in a cauldron. By the time she was keeping it to heat at low flame, Aarav lost his patience and his cries filled the house. Amidst his cries, she heard her mother in law shouting something about breakfast but ignoring it since she didn't want to feel like a failure as a mothed too, she moved to the guest room, knowing all the men were out for their respective works, and sat on the sofa Indian styled before pulling up her kurti.

As soon as she freed one of her breasts and held it against his mouth, Aarav instantly latched on it. While he suckled, she patted his back gently, lost in thoughts of all the piled up work that needs to be done. Her mind was snapped to reality and she lowered her kurti slightly, covering Aarav in process as Aryan, Manik's nephew, wobbled his way in the guest room.

While Aarav was fighting with her kurti for the life of him, Aryan gave Nandini an innocent smile as he stood infront of her and she grazed the back of her fingers on his cheek while gently saying, "Oye mera shona bacha. Nani paas jaye aaye aap?"

While Aryan nodded, Aarav succeeded in getting her kurti off his face, startling Nandini as he screeched loudly as if in victory and Nandini laughed softly at his antics while he latched back on her breast, quietening down again. Meanwhile, Aryan was watching the baby in her arms curiously.