Our Little Home

30

"Aravind, kai-a ipo eduka poriya ilaya!" she yelled loudly, making him quickly revert his hands in fear, while her chest heaved in anger.

"Nee naala mood-la iruntha vanthu hug panuva, unoda mood seri ilana kathuva, but na epothum quiet-a irakanum! Ipo poi sofa-la ukaru, please enna disturb panatha, aprom na kovathula etha sonna ne than hurt ava!"

The entire day passed in a jiffy and the two had little to no interaction. When Aravind realized Sivu had gone to bed, Aravind went to the balcony to spend some time alone. He was pondering over everything that had happened in the past few weeks. He had come to realize that he pushed her into a space where she perceived the little joys of their relationship negatively, and he realized he was solely responsible for that. He was determined to reverse the effect he had caused and went to bed with a list of plans and ideas.

Sivu woke up around 7:30 in the morning and got refreshed before going down. She went down expecting an empty house as Aravind would usually leave by 7:00 am. However, there was a pleasant surprise waiting for her when she saw Aravind sitting on the sofa, casually sipping a cup of coffee. Blinking her eyes a couple of times, she pinched herself to check if she was dreaming and sure did the pinch hurt. She kept staring at him, when he quickly turned and winked at her, making her get flustered.

"Innum office kelambala?"

"Office start time vanthu nine-than. Inime correct time-ku than varuven-nu soliten. Husband duties pakanum-la morning-la."

"Apdi enna husband duties panna poringa. Ozunga kelumbunga office-ku!" 

"Vai than ipdi pesuthu, kannu-la excitement bright-a therithu." he said, before moving to the kitchen.

She looked at him in surprise - he was able to see what she was truly feeling. She couldn't deny that she was bubbling with excitement to live what she expected their mornings would look like. Of course, she would understand if he had to leave early one day, and he would be just as understanding if she had to leave early, but it wouldn't hurt anyone to have these moments. 

Just as she was thinking about him, he came out with a plate in his hand that had hot, steamed idlis along with some tomato chutney. He walked close to her and took a tiny piece and extended it to her mouth. She turned her face away and stretched her hands, indicating him to give her the plate. He sighed before playing the train game with her.

"Sivu ma, train varuthu, train varuthu! Chu Chu Chu! Train idikapothu, ahhh pannu!" he said, dramatically bringing the piece of idly to her mouth. She instinctively opened her mouth and bit the corners of her cheeks to control her growing smile. 

"Uthatula oru chinna sirupu theriyuthu, nalla siruka vendi thana!" he said, before feeding her the next piece. She eventually ate the full plate and picked up her essentials to leave to work. 

Aravind held her hand and picked up the car key, walking to their car. He opened the door for her and he gracefully bent, welcoming her.

"My lady, please get in!" 

"Enna sudden-a intha lady-ku neriya love kadikuthu"

"Raja konja nallu brain damage-agi okanthutaru, inime parunga raja epdi intha rani-a love panren-nu"

"Rani avlo easy kadiyathu, Raja romba effort podanum."

"Wait and see!" he said, before quickly moving close to her face. He placed his hand on the seat and kept inching closer. 

"Eth..Ethuku ipo ket..ai vara!" she asked, stammering. He remained quiet and went even closer. She closed her eyes tightly, when she felt his warm breathe on her face. Her lips formed a little pout in anticipation, but she quickly opened her eyes when she heard a click. Opening her eyes, she saw him standing with a smirk on his face, and eventually realized, he had put on the seatbelt for her.

"Safety first!" he whispered, moving to the driver's seat. She hit her forehead for falling for his cliche antics. 

They reached Sivu's school in some time. She bid goodbye and got down the car, but turned when she heard Aravind's voice. He quickly grabbed her hand and pulled her down, placing a loud kiss on her cheeks. Her eyes widened in surprise - she looked around to see if any children or parent saw them, sighing in relief when she realized it was just them. In utter disbelief, she began to walk away but saw Aravind did not leave yet. She ran towards their car, and opened the door to his side. 

"Enna achu, ma? Car-la ethavathu iruka?" he asked, but she remained quiet, inspecting the surroundings before placing a little kiss on his cheek and ran away before he could ask anything. 

Aravind held his cheek, before clasping his hands together, letting out tiny scream in excitement. He began driving to work to continue with the rest of his day. In between, whenever time permitted, he would send her text messages and she would reply when she wasn't busy with the kids.

xx
This was their routine on most days and the couple enjoyed it. Aravind was able to balance both aspects without compromising one for another. They would go to work together, but return separately as Sivu would finish work before Aravind. They began conversing around like usual, after they went on a date, which helped them openly express their buried feelings. 

Aravind had called Sivu earlier in the day about his workload, and she thought he sounded very stressed. Since it was the weekend tomorrow, she picked out a romantic comedy and attempted to bake a small cake. Sivu set up the living room for their movie night and walked to the door when she heard the door bell ring. Aravind came inside and immediately hugged Sivu, putting his entire weight on her small figure, while she caressed his back. 

"Enna battery dead-a?"

"Negative-la iruku. Mudiyala! Enna da dinner-la kudukaranga-nu yosichen, nalla sapadu pottu, konutanga!"

"Seri, ne refresh aitu va, namba poi thungalam."

"Thonganum-a? Office-la vela pathu bore adikuthu-nu, vettuku vantha ne thungalam-nu solra, iniku movie ilaya?"

"Hmm..iruku! Una patha tired-a iruntha mari iruthuchu, athan ipo thungalama-nu kettan!"

"Tired-a ila, iniku enna movie-nu full day yosichen, seri sekirum vettuku pollam-nu patha, antha boss-ku sudden-a kadam unarchi jasti airuchu!" she laughed and told him to change into his night suit. Meanwhile, she cut the cake into pieces and placed it in plates, bringing to their living room. 

Aravind returned from their room in shorts and laid on the sofa, pulling Sivu to lay down next to him, while he wrapped his hands around her waist, bringing her closer. He used his free hand to feed her a piece of cake, before tasting it. He placed a kiss on her cheeks, appreciating her attempt. 

"Enna padam pakka porum?"

"Oru Kal Oru Kanadi, pakalam-a?" she asked, eyes glinting in excitement. 

"Ponna varam thana-ma patha, you want to watch it again?"

"Ama, apo thaniya pathen, ipo unkuda pakuren!" she said, and he played the film. They had the fair share of laughter hearing the jokes, and Aravind wondered how she still laughed like it was her first time watching the film, when she would have watched it at least a 100 times now. 

Towards the climax, Aravind heard tiny snores and looked down to see Sivu sleeping with her face stuffed in his chest. He smiled at her and continued watching the film. 

xxx
Helloo! How was the chapter?? The book is nearing its end, maybe 5 more chapters!