Married in Love

19. The First Positive Result

*Purely Fictional Story*

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Having given her blood for tests, there was nothing much that the couple could do but to wait patiently for the results. They were back home and relaxing on their bed - with Ananth cautiously monitoring Sadhana's every movement. If she moved too fast or turned too quick, he would immediately pelt out a series of "paathu maa paathu maa".

Sadhana was dealing with her own anxiety and Ananth's cautiousness was not helpful. It added to her stress of wanting to be stress-free. Every time she heard a 'paathu maa' she would glare at him, but then quickly realize that it was out of his concern, and would cuddle herself more into him. The couple hardly moved away from each other the whole day, except when Ananth went to the kitchen to make their meals.

The phase of having to wait for the blood test results was the most tense that they had faced in their adult life. Should they rejoice? Should they contain their excitement? Should they openly talk about it? Should they plan around it? The young couple had a million questions and thoughts running in their minds, some of which they shared with the other, some of which they kept to themselves. In just that evening, they realized how much they missed having easy access to their parents and the elders' knowledge around this.

"Namma oru telephone connection vaangiduvom maa" Ananth said, while feeding Sadhana crisp dosais. "Selavu jaasthi aagume Ananthu" Sadhana managed to clearly state though her mouth was stuffed with thakkali chutney coated dosai.

"Adhu paathukalam maa. Oru phone irundha namma inga thaniya irukarudhuku evalo useful a irukum" he wiped his thumb on the tip of her nose where the large piece of dosai currently in her mouth had deposited a small amount of the chutney. Tearing off a smaller piece of the dosai for the next mouth, he took a moment to observe how his wife's eyes were lost in thoughts even though her head came forward to take the dosai from his fingers.

"En Saadhu enna yosikara?" rather than pull her towards him like he would usually do, this time he moved himself closer to her and leaned into her. Realizing he was seeking comfort from her, Sadhana focussed on him and gave him a wide grin. Knowing very well the tension hidden behind the smile, Ananth acknowledged it by rubbing his nose on hers.

"Ennavo pala vishayam mind la oduthu Ananthu. Alai paayudhu. Unakkum appadi iruka?" she stopped him from feeding her more, indicating to him that she was done with dinner. She leaned into him sideways and noticed how he tore big pieces of the dosai for himself. "Medhuva saapdu pa" she softly told him, rubbing the side of his arms "Nee seekaram saaptaalum, tomorrow is going to come tomorrow dhan".

"Enakkum appadi dhan iruku maa. Enna yosikanum ne therila, aana nooru vishayam oduthu thalaiku ulla" Bending his neck at an odd angle, he nestled his head on her shoulder. He felt that her usually plump neck seemed more bonier than usual - he could actually feel her collar bone which would usually be deep seated, buried under her flesh.

He registered this as a point to check with the doctor once they went back to her with the results. Heaving a deep breath in the familiar scent of her neck, he placed a soft kiss on her collar bone and got up to wash his hands and the plate. By the time Sadhana washed her mouth and got into bed, he had switched off the lights in the hall and kitchen, and came into the room with a tumbler of milk for her.

Raising her eyebrow at him, she took the tumbler and sipped the hot milk. She closed her eyes and let the warmth of the milk wash away the confusions in her mind. "Enna enakku paal ellam pudhusa?" she slowly opened her eyes and teasingly asked her husband.

"Kazhuthula bone theridhu di" his gentle voice conveyed the concern he had. Chuckling, she drank a bit more of the milk and gave him the tumbler back. Her face told him that she had had enough milk and that she was not going to drink it fully, so he emptied the liquid content from the tumbler into his mouth and got into bed, carefully wrapping his arm around her chest and pulling her closer to him.