Page 241 of The Circle of Exile
His mouth pulled up on one side.
“Don’t do that.”
“Do what?”
“Show me those variations of your smiles.”
“It’s been years, myani zuv.” he gave her his full-blown naughty hands-in-the-cookie-jar smile. “How does my smile still affect you?”
“Eight minutes now.”
“Eight and a half, liar,” he warned. And then his expression turned solemn. “You did not ask me about my conversation with Yogesh Patel.”
“I knew you would tell me when you had made peace with it, whatever it was.”
“So you knew it wasn't immediate relief.”
“If it were immediate relief, we would have been halfway to Srinagar already.”
Atharva’s eyes went soft. “Do you think we should get our house renovated? Both your father’s house and our house are regularly checked and cleaned. But when we go back…”
“We should. Arth was a baby when we left. Now…”
“He is still a baby but a menace,” Atharva chuckled.
“Hmm… Baby-proofing, among other things… as our family changes,” Iram felt her throat tighten. But she went on, letting the words that she had been trying to bring to her mouth finally come. “Grows.”
His face froze.
“Are you trying to say that you are pregnant?”
“No,” she replied immediately. “No, no. I am not pregnant. But… this is the time to think about having that second baby. Arth is three. We decided three years. That age gap will be perfect if we start now. We are in a good place, everything considered.”
“Are you ready, myani zuv? All that happened last time. The hormonal cycles, the end, the postpartum. I am not saying it will repeat but it may.”
“Are you ready to be with me through all of that?”
“Do you doubt it?”
Her face stretched into an unconscious grin. She took a deep inhale. His tired Old Spice. Her favourite version of his cologne. At the end of a long, busy day. Today had been victorious as well.
“What did Yogesh Patel say then?”
“No, no,” Atharva held his finger up. “No jumping topics. Let’s finish this one first.”
“What’s there to finish? We’ll start trying. You said you are ready.”
He exhaled with a smile. His eyes went faraway.
“Atharva?”
“No, I am ready, Iram. I am ready to become a father again.” Grey eyes returned to her. “But… there is a chance that we may be able to go home.”
She held the hitch in her breath.
“Soon,” he added to balance out the hope in his statement.
Iram exhaled. She did not let the flare of hope show on her face. She hoped she had succeeded because Atharva looked cautiously hopeful for both of them.
