An unusual love story

Decisions

The next two months were exciting. This was Mithu's first stage performance and she wanted give her best. Samyu read lines with her, practiced the notes and even the choreography. This helped her to be a little distracted from her pregnancy symptoms and forgot to even notice that, except for a couple of lingering once, the rest had disappeared. Samyu continued to go for her recording but requested for morning recordings and most of the music directors obliged.

Finally it was the day of Mithu's performance. She started to have jitters. She could barely sleep the previous night. She sat up on her bed at 5am. She reached for her bottle of water, which was empty. She sighed and got out of the room to fill her bottle when she saw Abhi there. He was a morning person. He had finished his morning work out and was getting ready for his run. He saw Mithu and asked, "Enna da adhisayama ivvalo early ya ezhundhirukke?" He noticed the water bottle and said, "Ayo night thanni fill panna marandhuttiya?" Mithu pouted, "Illa Daddy inniki performance la? Adhu thaan tension la night full aa thookame varale. Thani ya kudiche gaali panitten." Abhi smiled at her and held out his arms inviting her for a hug. She ran towards him for the much needed warmth. He held her close to his heart and said, "Idhu paaru da, nee nalla hardwork paneerke. You know your lines. Apparam Edhukku bayapadarey. Just perform as if no one is watching you. Remember that there are no retakes on stage so take a few deep breaths before going on stage. Eppidiyum audience irukara edathula lights off pannidu vaanga so just forget that you are performing for someone. Remember, unakaaga cheer panna Naanum , Samyu vum iruppom, okay? Inniki Samyu ku doctor kitta appointment irukku so adhu mudichu straight aa we will come there and grab the best seats. You are our rockstar da kutty" he kissed her forhead. She held on to him for a few more minutes after mumbling a "mmm ok" and then let go. He cupped her cheeks, grabbed her bottle to fill it and then encouraged her to get some sleep atleast for a couple of hours.

Mithu felt much better after Abhi's pep talk and was able to sleep for the couple of hours. She felt much relaxed while she headed off to school. Samyu handed her lunch box saying, "All the best Mithu. Doctor appointment mudichu odane correct aa vandhuduvom ok?" Mithu gave her a side hug saying, "Unakkum all the best. Test results ellam negative aa irukanum and ellam normal aa irukkum ok va. Seri Tata." Although Samyu had a big smile on her face, she was a little nervous about her visit today. It was 21 week visit and they had run some test which included her gestational diabetes and other tests that would detect any chromosomal issues.

Abhi and Samyu were nervously sitting at the chambers of Dr. Lalitha. She adjusted her glasses to get a better look at the results. She then looked up at them with a feeble smile, "Samyuktha, I have your test results back. Most of it has come back negative, which is a good sign. Oru result positive nu kaamikkidhu. Fortunately or unfortunately sometimes these results could be incorrect but, as your doctor, I have to advice and give you options. Chromosome test onnu positive nu kaatudhu. Children with this condition are born with Down syndrome. We can go further and do a more detailed study if you want to. Unnoda amniotic fluid a konjam eduthu adha lab ku anuppi confirm pannalaam but there is a slight risk of a miscarriage because of the test. So neenga as a couple need to decide what you would like to do." Mithu's heart sank. Abhi held her hand and squeezed it indicating that he is there with her no matter what. They thanked the doctor and promised to let her know after discussing. Dr. Lalitha said, "Sure but romba time eduthukaadheenga. The sooner the better." Abhi nodded and said, "Ya two days later naanga solidarom Doctor. Thank you."

Samyu had been holding on without saying a world until they reached the car. Tears started pouring down her cheek. Abhi quickly held on to her and let her cry. He didn't stop her. After she calmed down she asked him, "Neenga enna nenakareenga Abhi? What do you think we should do?" Abhi cupped her face, looked into her eyes and said, "Samyu idhu namma kozhandhai. We are going to love this baby unconditionally, right? Enna andha kozhandhaikku edhavudhu prachanai na namma innum adhigama love, time ellame kuduppom. Naaliki unakko, enakko illai Mithu ko edhavudhu prachanai vandhichuna namma vittuttu poga maatom le? Adhe madiri thaan. Paathukalaam Samyu." Samyu smiled, pulled him close and kissed his forehead, "Naan nenachadha appidiye soliteenga. I don't want to do any further test. This is our baby however he or she is. This baby has chosen us to be his parents" she said touching her stomach only to feel a flutter. It felt like a little butterfly. Samyu's tears turned into happy ones and she placed his hand on her stomach only to feel another flutter. She smiled widely saying, "That was a kick."

Although Abhi couldn't feel it he could see it in her eyes and they both said laughing, "Football player in the making."

Brinda Subramanian