Page 46 of Since You Came Along

Meera squealed. Her mother had always wanted to visit the Maldives. It seemed her dad had finally taken the hint.

‘He was saying you and Raghav should’ve gone there for your honeymoon,’ her mother teased.

Even after five months of marriage, they hadn’t heard the end of this. Meera sighed, ‘Mom, you know we had work waiting for us.’

‘Work goes nowhere, darling. You must make time for the important things in life,’ her mum said, huffing in disapproval.

Meera knew there was no winning this argument. Her mum began listing places they could visit. Just as Meera felt trapped, Swayam stumbled into the kitchen, looking groggy with sleep.

‘Yes, yes, I’ll think about it,’ Meera said. Then, with exaggerated excitement, she added, ‘Swayam wants to talk to you!’

Shoving the phone at him, she whispered, ‘Save me!’

Swayam looked confused, rubbing his eyes as he muttered, ‘Hello?’

Relieved to be off the hook from the honeymoon talk, Meera turned back to the stove. But Swayam wasn’t about to let it slide. ‘Aunty, what were you and Meera talking about?’

Meera spun around, panicked, glaring at him. She knew her mum must have spilled the beans.

Swayam grinned and agreed with Damini, ‘You’re right, Aunty. We should always make time for important things in life.’

Meera grabbed the nearest ladle and took a swing at him, but Swayam darted out of reach. ‘You traitor!’ she mouthed, flinging spoons at him like missiles.

Swayam ended the call later and held up his hands. ‘Truce?’ he asked, his gaze focused on the heavy wooden ladle still in her grip.

Just as he thought she was cooling down, she bolted forward and smacked him hard in the chest. ‘I told you to save me!’ she yelled, making him wince.

‘Yeah, but it’s more fun to get you in trouble,’ he quipped.

That earned him two more smacks before Raghav strolled into the kitchen, taking in the amusing scene of his wife thrashing her friend.

‘Shall I find a suitable spot to bury his body?’ Raghav asked, leaning against the table.

Her anger melted away as she turned to Raghav, a smile tugging at her lips. ‘You want to know what Swayam did?’ she began recounting his antics.

Raghav snorted, his deep voice filling the kitchen. Turning to Swayam, he asked, ‘What’s your defence, brother?’

All Swayam could muster was, ‘Your wife is mean.’

‘Oh, now she’s my wife? But when she’s nice, she’s your friend,’ Raghav retorted, crossing his arms.

‘That’s the reality. You’ve made her violent!’ Swayam replied and plopped down at the dining table.

Stepping behind Meera, Raghav wrapped his arms around her waist. She froze, startled. His warm breath tickled her ear as he whispered, ‘I missed you, Meera.’

She turned her head to look at him. When he planted a soft kiss on her cheek, she smiled and leaned back against him.

Abhay sauntered into the kitchen, yawning. Raghav let go of Meera and went to join them at the table.

Halfway through the meal, Meera asked, ‘Raghav, did you call Dad last night like I told you to?’

Panic flickered across his face as Raghav stuffed two spoonfuls of food into his mouth, buying time to think. He nodded with fake confidence. ‘Of course, I did.’

Meera raised an eyebrow but didn’t press further. Just as he relaxed, she added, ‘That’s funny. Dad just told me they haven’t spoken to you in two days.’

The table erupted in laughter. Swayam poked Raghav, grinning. ‘Never lie to her, dude. She always finds out.’

Raghav groaned, rubbing his temples. ‘You couldn’t have warned me sooner?’

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