Batten down the hatches

I walk around like everything's fine

"I walk around like everything's fine, but deep down, inside my shoe, my sock is sliding off."
—Anonymous

Jaddu

"Jaddu, that is my t-shirt!"

I barely held on to my chuckles as I sneaked in another pint of ice cream to Anushka and closed the door of the study behind us.

"Did he see you?" Anu asked, making short work of the lid and getting the ice cream collected on the inside.

"Saw me taking his t-shit, not the ice cream." I grinned unabashedly and met Anu's high-five with gusto.

I had arrived at Casa De Kohli a couple of hours back and after taking an extra long shower, mainly for Anu's protection, I had winded down with my friends. It has been a while since we had spent one on one time, outside of tours, and the hours had rolled by with ease.

"Is that Gym Rat rationing your ice cream?" I quipped, all up in arms to initiate a domestic squabble between the love birds and grinned brazenly when Anu flipped me the bird.

"I know what you are doing," she drawled, "but this is actually my 3rd pint of the day."

"Damn girl! Slow down! And what is this flavour even?" My eyes almost budged out as I read 'Blueberry Cheesecake'. "They make ice cream of this flavour ?"

Anu was licking the spoon with single-minded concentration. "You will be shocked at the repertoire of the flavours they make. Want some?"

Curiosity and distaste warred for a moment but distaste won. "No. You have it."

"Movie?" Anu nodded at the flatscreen.

'Conjuring?" A smile quirked my lips and I shook my head. "What is it with pregnant women and horror movies?"

The smack was expected and I stuck my tongue out in retaliation. We sat back on the couch; Anu with her ice cream and I had dug out a packet of gluten-free crisps from underneath the table. The movie was paused somewhere in the middle, where all the action actually started, and we were pretty concentrated on the movie when the door opened with a *THUD*.

And Anu and I screamed in unison.

On the screen, the protagonist had come face to face with the demon and we yelled for the second time.

*ARGHHHH*

"What is wrong with you people?"

It was Virat; of course it was that moron!

"You utter imbecile!" Anu screamed and threw a handful of crisps, my crips, at her husband; they all fell rather short of their target and showered like snowflakes around me.

"You are again watching Conjuring?"Virat narrowed his eyes and scowled hard. "And having another ice cream?"

"It is a different flavour and I dare you to come between me and my Conjuring!" Anu cribbed right back, protectively holding unto the Tub of Blueberry Cheesecake.

I crossed my hands over my chest and sat back in anticipation. "It is Blueberry, Veere. It is a fruit."

"It is also Cheesecake! And it is an ice cream!" Virat snapped, came over and pulled at my t-shirt!

"Hey!"

"This is mine; give it back!" Virat kept pulling at the poor t-shirt and my poor arm, as an extension.

I scampered away and it led to an involuntary, not-so-funny game of tag. The number of whacks I received, some deliberate and some by accident; I ceased to keep count after a while.