Published on 21st March 2022.

______________________________

♡ I wish I could leave you my love

But my heart, is a mess

My days they begin with your name

And nights end with your breath ♡

– S H R U T I –

"YOU NEED WHAT?!"

Aditi's eyes widened as she detached her mouth from the straw connecting her to chocolate smoothie. "Shh... Everyone's gonna hear us."

"Repeat whatever you said."

"Everyone. Is. Going. To. Hear. Us."

"Not this. The thing you said before this."

I need a pregnancy kit.

No, she needs a pregnancy kit.

"I think I need a pregnancy testing kit."

"You think?" I stomped my hand on the table and her eyes came out of their sockets. "Who, when, how, why?" She rolled her eyes and sipped her smoothie through the straw.

"What why? Why do people mate?"

To reproduce.

And..... to gain pleasure.

"Who's the baby daddy?"

"What father? I'm not pregnant." She said and I looked at her with accusation. "I mean, I haven't took the test yet."

"Okay, but who's the man you had sex with? You know that you can't pop out a child alone. It takes two to tango. And, does he know about the baby?"

It was too much for me to take. My bestfriend was supposedly pregnant with only-she-knows-whose child. I knew she was not in a relationship currently. The last boyfriend she had was Sahil and she broke up with him even before anything serious could happen.

"I don't know if there's an actual child inside me. It's all based on assumptions. Let us be sure about it first." She spoke and I hummed.

"Why do you think that you're pregnant? Did you see any symptoms?"

"Hmm... Ofcourse! I missed my periods. Last night, I felt nauseated and vomited a lot. I even got dizzy today in the morning. What more reasons do you think I need to feel suspicious?"

"By any chance if you're really pregnant, are you gonna inform the father of your child about the baby?"

"I... I don't know. It seems wierd."

Wierd?

If sex isn't wierd then child talk isn't wierd too.

"Aditi, you know what a big responsibility a child is! You can't decide your child's future on your own. Discuss it with the father of the baby. He has equal share of duties towards the child." I stated and she nodded, "Wait a minute! Do you think he's going to back away from the responsibility? Trust me, I'll kill him if he does such a thing."

"Shruti, calm down! Let me take the test first. What if I'm not pregnant? Then, there would be no need to inform him."

"You're right. Go and get the test kit from pharmacy." She narrowed her eyes at me and finished her smoothie till the the last drop. "What?"

"Why did I even tell you about it? It was all because I wanted you to bring the pregnancy kit for me."

"Me?"

I pointed my index finger at myself and she nodded. "Ofcourse you. I can't go there. I mean, you're married and no-one would question you about it." She spoke and I sighed. She was right in her own way. She wanted no hassles in the work and she meant it.

I immediately picked my purse and walked towards the entrance of firm. While stepping in direction of the gate, my gaze crossed through Parth who was busy talking to one of his clients.

I feel bad for my best friend.

How would he even feel when he comes to know that the girl he genuinely likes is pregnant? Aditi really passed the test of hiding the matter from us- her bestfriends!

I quickly walked to the nearest pharmacy and searched for pregnancy testing kit. As soon as my hand touched the packet, I heard someone calling me. "Mrs Randhawa's daughter-in-law, right?"

I turned back and saw a familiar middle-aged lady. "Yes."

"Are we expecting any good news?"

Good news?

"No, auntie. It's for my friend."

"You don't need to hide it. Children are blessing." She smiled and I gritted my teeth. I gave her a fake smile and took a deep breath. She was messing up with my brain. I mean, why would I lie if I'm pregnant?

"Auntie, why would I lie? This kit is for my friend. She needs it."

"Oh, okay! Nevermind. If there's a good news, we'll know about it in a few weeks. Take care."

"You too auntie." I bid her bye and grabbed the packet tightly in my hand. Walking to the billing counter, I quickly packed everything and left with the bill. I drove back to firm and rushed to Aditi as soon as I stepped into the building.

My steps halted when I saw Parth sitting beside Aditi who was trying to avoid him at all costs. I know, it would be awkward. She would've had a tiny bit of idea that he liked her and it was enough to turn a friendship of more than a decade sour. Moreover, gender differences do cause some hesitations!

"What's the matter Shruti? Why are you both acting strange?" Parth asked and I looked at Aditi.

"Nothing. Just some female issues." I spoke and Aditi took a sigh of relief. Parth raised his brows and looked at me. Gone! I am gone!

"Okay. I know what female issues are. You can tell me."

"Periods."

"You or Aditi?"

"Aditi."

I told him a straight lie and he nodded. Suddenly, the expressions of his face changed and he turned to Aditi. "You should've told me about it. You know I always have a sanitary pad in my bag. There was no need to roam around in this state."

He still carries a spare pad with him wherever he goes, not for himself but for any woman who gets a sudden-uncalled period and forgot to bring one pad for herself.

He cares a lot for us.

Even more than we do for ourselves.

"Let's not fight over it. She needs to use the pad now." I threw the packet to Aditi and she caught it on time. She stood up and immediately rushed to the washroom.

"Is she going to use entire pack now?" Parth laughed and I chuckled. Thank God he didn't see that the packet was not of sanitary napkins but of pregnancy testing stick! I wanted to tell him about it but Aditi was against the idea. We could only wait for the result now.

"I'll go and see if she needs any help." I excused myself and walked towards the restroom. I quickly pushed the door of restroom and rushed inside. "Aditi!" I called her name out to know in which toilet she was.

"Here..."

Following her voice, I stood infront of the door of her toilet and waited till the time her test got over. No-one was inside the restroom except her and me, which was a good sign for us. "Aditi, is it done?"

"Yes, probably."

The door opened and she walked out with the stick in her hand. She forwarded her hand to me to hold the stick and I immediately backed away.

No...

She's my bestie and I admit that we're diaper buddies but I wasn't going to touch her urine. Eww!

She shook her head in disbelief and closed the door with her leg. Keeping the stick on slab, she squeezed some hand wash and washed her hands.

"When will the results be clear?"

"The instructions say five minutes. Two more minutes are left." She stated and I sighed while leaning on the adjacent wall. My gaze went towards Aditi who was taking deep breaths to calm herself down for the upcoming result. True! The wait for result was harder than any other tests we gave in past.

Pregnancy before marriage is a big deal!

What if the guy who impregnated her is an irresponsible jerk?

But Aditi isn't naive to be fooled by a fuckboy.

Something was fishy!

I checked the time in my watch and quickly peeked at the pregnancy testing stick to see the result. Seeing two pink lines on the screen, I closed my eyes and pressed my forehead with my fingers.

"Aditi, are you really ready to parent a child? You know that you have other options too."

"Shruti, I need some time to think."

"Take all the time you want. But inform the father of your baby before you take any actions. It's his right to know."

"Hmm..."

✨

"Rishi, stop it! We're at home." I placed my palm on Rishabh's chest and pushed him back. We were in the car, in our parking at our home. Just a few moments ago when the car came to halt as he parked it, he pulled me towards him while I was unfastening my seatbelt, just to plant a chaste kiss on my lips.

I knew how long we were away from each other, busy in our works and I understood the priority. But this wasn't the way to showcase our emotions. All I wanted to do was to hug him all through the night, but not in the car. It wasn't comfortable at all and anyone could've caught us.

"Shruti, that's cheating. You were asleep all through the ride. We couldn't even talk." I sighed at his complaints and pecked his cheek before getting down the car.

"Let's get in first. We'll talk inside." I spoke and stepped towards the main gate of our place. As I rang the doorbell he stood behind me, atleast a hand away. I turned around and saw him looking in another direction, trying to avoid me at most.

He's moody!

When I heard the sound of door creaking, I turned straight and saw Radhika smiling. Before I could step ahead, she jumped over me and hugged me tightly. "Radhika, slow. You'll fall down and I don't want my niece's caretaker to fall ill."

"You're so mean Rishi bhai!" Radhika taunted and patted my back a time or two before stepping backward. "I'll see you later! Let's go in Shruti."

I looked at Rishabh and gave him a faint smile before sticking my tongue out at him. He rolled his eyes and signalled me to walk fast.

A full blown smile touched my face as I saw Rishabh walking towards Anika. Before he could pick her up, ma stopped him and gave him a stern warning to wash up. Without waiting to get scolded, I ran upstairs and occupied the bathroom.

After cleaning up and changing into casuals, I walked out and saw him glaring at me. It wasn't my fault that I used the toilet first. I smiled and walked past him before he could say anything. Running down as fast as I could, I walked to ma and took Anika in my arms.

She was such a calm soul.

Her tiny eyes shifted from her grandma to me and scanned my face for a few seconds. When she understood who I was, a faint smile appeared on her face. I had been with her a few times and she was already familiar with my presence.

I loved kids like her whose main job wasn't crying.

Children who cry a lot are troublesome. Adit was such a child from the time he took birth. He used to cry a lot and only Akriti could pacify him. I remember my nights being disrupted because of Akriti's little one and his cries.

I was glad Anika didn't fall in his category.

Radhika and Ansh were safe.

I carried her upstairs and took her to our room. Sitting on the bed, I cooed her by making wierd faces and stopped only when the door of bathroom opened and Rishabh walked in.

"I was going to do that first. Main mama hu uska." (I'm her uncle)

"Aur main mami." (And I'm her aunt)

"Evil!" I heard him mutter as he sat beside us. When Anika turned her gaze to Rishabh who was busy making funny expressions, I knew he was successful in snatching her attention from me.

I carefully kept her in his arms and covered her neck and legs with the little warm blanket she had over her. A frown appeared on Rishabh's face when a shrill cry left Anika's mouth. He was scared and I wanted to see how he would handle it.

"Shh..." He cradled the baby right and left while walking all through the room. It took him a few minutes to calm her state. He smiled when her soft giggles hit our ears but his expressions soon changed into worse. "Shruti!"

"What happened?"

"Shruti, Anika's teeth."

Teeth?

"What teeth?"

"She doesn't have teeth. She looks so scary when she smiles." He said and I held my stomach before laughing. Which sane person doesn't know that a child doesn't carry a single tooth? When Anika's eyes grew wider while looking at me, I stopped myself. "Why are you laughing?"

"Newborns don't have teeth. It would still take a month or two for her." I chuckled and his mouth turned in an 'oh' shape. Anika was born two months ago than the given due date and her growth would take place just the way if she was born in normal conditions on given date.

"I didn't know it."

"Now you do."

"Vaise, hum yahan kar kya rahe hain?" (Well, what are we doing here?)

"I don't know. I came up to call you. I think we should go down. Radhika would be waiting for Anika." I said and he nodded. While walking down the stairs he held her close to himself and took careful steps.

I had seen him playing with Adit before and now his care for Anika had brought me to a conclusion. The way he handled kids made me fall for him more and assured me that he would be the best father figure to our kids.

"What were you two doing upstairs? I hope you didn't do something shameful in front of my innocent daughter." We heard Ansh's voice as we walked in the living room. He would've arrived when we were up in our room.

"What we were doing is none of your concern, my dear brother-in-law."

"I understand. But upbringing of my daughter is my concern."

"Shut up Ansh and Rishi. It's time for dinner. Get to the dinner table now." Papa said in a stern voice and it was enough for them to shut their mouths and run to dining room. Papa is a bit strict but not all the times. He's a little too punctual.

Time slipped by as everyone dined together and talked till late night. When we felt that moon was up for a long time and was waiting for us to sleep, we decided to retire to our rooms.

I took off all my sweaters and quickly slipped inside the quilt. Although the environment inside was warm, it could've been warmer if Rishabh was beside me.

I was missing him a lot.

He was in the toilet from past one minute and I missed his company.

When the door of bathroom opened, I sighed and fell back on the mattress. As he joined me in bed, I closed my eyes and rested my head over his chest. My arm wrapped around his chest and his' went behind my back.

"Tired?" I asked.

"A lot. I didn't know handling a child could be so hard."

"No-one told you to force yourself when you couldn't do it. And yes, kids are messy. It's hard to take care of them."

"She's my niece and it's my duty to take care of her. Moreover, I need some practice for our kids. You understand what I mean to say?" He asked and I nodded.

How easy it is for him to talk about kids!

"Is everything alright? You look tensed."

"Nothing. I'm fine."

"Don't lie to me, Shruti."

"Aditi is pregnant." I said and closed my eyes. This matter was eating me alive since morning and I couldn't hold it in. It wasn't something light to handle. Kids are no easy.

"What?"

"I told you. Aditi, my bestfriend is pregnant."

"Who's her boyfriend?"

If she had a boyfriend, there would've been no problem at the first place.

"No-one."

"Then who's the father?"

"P... Parth."

"God! They actually are something. You knew about them?"

"Ofcourse, I didn't. They're my bestfriends and they were successful in hiding it from me! I don't even know what to say. God knows what they would decide for the child."

"Calm down. It's their matter and they're grown-ups. I'm sure they would take the best step."

"I hope." I mumbled and attached my ear to his chest. Minutes passed by in silence as my gaze remained fix on the clock. "Do you really like kids?"

"Ofcourse. I admit they're crazy, but they're adorable too and it clears all their madness."

"I'm taking about our kids. Our future kids. I mean, would you be ready for them."

As easy as it sounds, it's too difficult to talk about.

"Shruti, by any chance are you pregnant?" I turned to him and saw him already looking at me.

"No! I told you I'm on pills. I'm just talking about our future. I mean kids won't be a problem, right?"

His eyes softened as he held me tightly. "Kids would never be a problem for us, trust me. But not now, let's wait for a year before we plan for one. I want to spend some time with you alone. Only you and me. Let's knows each other properly and understand our strengths and faults before we bring another life between us."

"Hmm..."

"I would love to have a child with you. Actually, more than one. Two. Or three?"

"Shut up."

For god's sake, I'm not a baby vending machine.

"Four?"

"Rishi!!"