An unusual love story

Surprise!

Meanwhile Abhi called from the Airport before boarding the flight. Just when Samyu was about to answer, Mithu stopped her, "Edukaadhe. Nee olariduve" with a naughty look on her face, she said, "Konjam wait pannattum" and giggled. Although Samyu was eager to share the good news with him, she decided to let Mithu have her moments of excitement. Abhi was a little surprised that Samyu wasn't answering his phone. He checked the time and mumbled to himself, "Indha time ku muzhuchuttu thaane iruppa. Yen phone answer panna maatengara? May be restroom ku poiruppa. Seri message viduvom." He left a voice note saying, "Eiii chella kutty, yen phone edukkala. Inga un purushan Unna evvalo miss pannaren theriyuma? Unakku thaan en mela paasame illai. Phone kooda edukka maatengarey" Just then his boarding was announced. He left another voice note saying, "Ok naan ippo board panna poren. Madhyanam reach ayiduven. Mithu vera school poiruppa. Puriyum nu nenaikaren. See you soon maa. Love you. Mithu ku naraya chocolates and unakku naan."

Samyu's phone indicated the voice messages. Mithu said, "Samyu kekkalaam vaa. Play pannu." Samyu wasn't too sure but as soon as she heard the "chellakutty" she paused and turned red in embarrassment. Mithu's mouth opened wide saying, "Ennadhu Chellakutty ya? Daddy iru unngala apparama gavanichukaren." Then she looked at Samyu and said, "Nee aparama un room la poi kettukko. Enakku 3 oversized T-shirt kudu. Enakku konjam velai irukku and naan oru cake bake pannaporen. Ingredients list Selvam Anna kitta kudukkaren. Nee cash kuduthudu. Mathadhellam naan paathukaren. Nee poi rest eduthuko." Samyu was surprised but also was happy with the idea of able to rest a little.

She walked up to Abhi's closet and pulled out 3 old t-shirts. Although Abhi still used them, Samyu kept telling him that it was time to get rid of them. She thought Mithu was going to rip them apart so gladly handed it to her. Mithu thanked her and shut the door saying she did not want to be disturbed for a couple of hours. Samyu insisted that she have breakfast first so both of them settled for cheese toast and hotchocolate before heading off to their respective rooms.

Samyu decided to call her parents and give them the good news. They were thrilled and wanted to see her right away but Samyu promised to pay them a visit in the evening. It was Friday anyway so there wasn't any rush for the weekend morning. She also called her gynecologist to get an appointment as that wasn't such an easy task especially with the senior doctor who she wanted to see. She knew that morning was a good time to reach out to someone at the office. After looking through Dr. Lalitha's schedules, they were finally able to give her a 9am appointment for the following Thursday. They did send out some lab work to be done before the appointment, from the 24 hours lab at their hospital. Samyu was given further instructions on the do's and don't. Finally, when she hung up, she wanted to rest her back but within minutes she was fast asleep.

She finally got up when she felt a tap on her hand. Mithu was standing beside her. She had flour on her face and a spatula on her hand. "Samyu Unna ezhuppa vendaam nu thaan irundhen but I need your help with the oven timer." Samyu jumped up to to help. She gasped at the sight of the kitchen but Mithu promptly said, "Samyu naan clean pannaren. Nee kavala padadhe. Indha oven mattum set panni kudu. Aparam nee po." Samyu did not want to loose her temper so he helped with the preheating but she quickly went to the kitchen and cleaned up the mess. Although Mithu had promised to clean she was happy that Samyu did it. Actually Mithu hated cleaning the kitchen. While Mithu was busy getting the cake ready, Samyu decided to make some one pot mushroom biryani and raita which they all loved. She then went to have a shower since it was almost time for Abhi to arrive.

Abhi was expecting Samyu to be at the airport to receive him but was shocked and a little hurt to find the smiling Selvam standing there for him. He told Abhi exactly as instructed, "ammaku edho mukkiyamaana recording irundhuchu. Paapa school poitaanga adhu thaan enna mattum anupitaanga." Abhi gave a fake smile but was clearly disappointed. He did not want to disturb her during recording so he just sent a message, "Just reached. Heading home" and he put his phone away. He felt uneasy thinking about Samyu's behavior but he decided that he was going to find out sooner or later. He was even more irritated to see the indication that she had seen his messages and yet not replied. He was lost in thought and closed his eyes as the fatigue of travel hit him. It wasn't until he heard the sound of the gate that he realized that he had reached home.

He got out of the car and grabbed his luggage. Selvam offered to help him but Abhi refused and thanked him saying he would do it himself. As he reached the front door, he fumbled through his pocket to get the key. As soon as he opened the door, he was welcomed by the smell of biryani. He sniffed. It did make him happy but biryani also meant it was a special day. He smiled. She did want him to know that his arrival was special. He then noticed a cake on the dining table and a gift wrap. He walked up to the table and saw the writing on the cake, "Welcome Daddy of 1+" He nodded his head and smiled, "Idhu Mithu oda velaiya? Edhukku plus potirukka? May be a design". Then he noticed the gift and said, "This must be from Samyu." He slowly unwrapped the gift to see one of his old t-shirt. It had something written on it with fabric paint. Just when he opened it and read it, the two ladies came out of  Mithu's room yelling, "Surprise". They were all wearing T-Shirts with similar wordings. His shirt said "World's best Dad" but Samyu's said, "Mom to be" and Mithu's said, "Big Sister soon".

It took Abhi a moment to understand but when he did, his eyes widened and Mithu screamed jumping and running towards him saying, "Namma veetukku kutty paapa vara pordhu daddy. Naan akka aaga poren." Samyu stood there with happy tears. He hugged the approaching Mithra but his eyes were on Samyu. There were mixed emotions exchanged. He was grateful to God. Wrapping his arms around her he asked, "Eppo? When did you find out?" With happy tears she said, "Inniki morning. I still have the test for you to see." He kissed her forehead and, on Mithu's insistence, cut the cake. Mithu got the first bite and she fed her parents a piece each.

That evening they all went to the temple and then to Samyu's parents house. While it was time to leave, Mithu decided to stay at her grandparents. She went to her Dad and whispered, "Unga Chellakutty ya kootindu veetukku ponga Daddy. Naan Sunday varen." Abhi blushed and looked at Samyu. She giggled and whispered back, "Kavala padaadheenga adha mattum thaan kettudhu adhigaprasangi". He touched his chest and sighed in relief.

Brinda Subramanian