Midnight Kitchen Services | ✓

epilogue | parotta & egg curry

[ unedited ]

MANY YEARS LATER

─── ★ 𝐑𝐀𝐆𝐇𝐀𝐕

The young man rubbed his eyes. Stretching his neck back and his arms upward, he let out a yawn. He turned around and blinked. The bed was empty.

He immediately removed his headphones. His ears discerned the sound of frying and the clatter of the utensils. He smiled, standing up and pushing the chair back. He closed his laptop and sauntered out of the room.

Leaning against the doorframe, he watched his wife glide around the kitchen with a familiar ease and concentrate on what on the utensil that seemed to be boiling something.

This was his home.

Not the house, not all these furniture, not his laptop, not his bed. His wife cooking in the kitchen. That was Raghav's home.

Pushing himself away, he rested his hands in the pockets of the loose pants he was wearing. His pajama shirt's buttons half done from the top. He was also sporting a hint of a beard. His frameless glasses hung on his nose.

"What's on the menu today for the midnight kitchen services?" He asked, seating himself on the chair near the kitchen counter.

His wife, Ayana, peered at him from her shoulder and pouted. "Once again, I'm not successful."

"You cannot sneak past me, Ayana. Even if you do, you won't last long. You need to give it up."

His wife let out a defiant breath. "I'll keep trying."

He shrugged, in response.

"So," She started after a pause. "This is the service's dish for today. What do you think?"

Raghav stared down at his plate of egg curry and parotta, impressed. "How did you make the parotta in such a short time?"

"I made it in the evening at the restaurant and brough it back home." Ayana explained, removing her apron.

"Amazing. Just what I was craving." Raghav rolled up his sleeves, ready to dig in.

Ayana put her hand over his, stopping just before his fingers could collide with the parotta.

"Wait. Where's my payment?"

Raghav blinked.

Ayana stared at him. "Well?"

"Let me finish eating. I'll pay you back all night long."

Ayana's eyes widened, her face flushing. She slapped his shoulder. "That's not what I'm talking about, you idiot. Although that would be nice too."

"Then, what do you want?"

Ayana pouted again, "Didn't you promise to take me to the movies? That was supposed to be our first, proper date but then you ended up catching an infection."

Raghav let out an 'ah' as he remembered. "But we do have a home theatre. We can watch-"

"It doesn't compare to an actual movie theatre."

Raghav glanced at her. "Actually, it does. We have the perfect loud speakers which is just-"

Ayana jumped up with a frown. "Do you not get it?"

"Get what?" He began digging into his plate.

"I want to feel like a young girl again, sneaking around with her lover."

He glanced up at her, unimpressed. "Is this because of that drama you watched last night?"

"Does it matter? Are you going to say no to me?"

Raghav let out a sigh, averting his eyes. "Fine, we'll do it."

His wife let out a triumphant laugh. "That's right."

Before she trotted to her room, she kissed his cheek and whispered an 'eat well'. Raghav stared at her retreating back, a soft smile on his face. Yeah, that was what he considered home.

☰

Here's a look at Parotta and Egg Curry. Parotta is a dish that is popular in Kerala and Tamil Nadu (originating in Kerala) and is usually had with meat curries or gravies. 

And it's a wrap, folks. Thank you so much for joining Raghav and Ayana on this journey. I had intended to make a longer novella out of Midnight Kitchen Services but somehow it felt better to wrap it up within this length. Hope you enjoyed both the one-shot and this novella. Drop a vote if you liked the chapter. All thoughts are welcome in the form of comments. Before you run away, here's two questions for you readers :

I. What was your favorite scene from this novella?
II. What's your comfort food? (Mine is Hyderabadi Chicken Biryani, always)

See you in another story,
Adelaide.