Ashwin Kumar rolled around in his sleep, his hands instantly searching for his wife but he only felt an empty bedside. He slowly cracked his eyes open and indeed, the space beside him was empty. He rubbed his eyes, and sat up. The bathroom light was off so she wasn't in there either. He was about to get up when he heard a loud noise from downstairs.
He pulled off the covers, and walked down the stairs. It had been their dream, to own a house together. And the moment Sivaangi got pregnant, they started looking for houses and moved in. He passed by the living room finding it empty, and he peered into the kitchen. He saw the figure of his pregnant wife bent over the floor.
"Sivaangi?"
Sivaangi looked around and saw him, messy hair and sleepy eyes. Ashwin glanced behind her, and saw spilt chocolate on the floor.
"Enna achu?"
Sivaangi sighed and placed a hand over her swollen belly. "I was craving for some cake so I decided to make some," she said. She glanced at the spilt chocolate and pouted, "But kotrichu."
Ashwin shook his head, "Nee ethuku keezha guniyara? You could've woke me up."
Sivaangi's frown grew deeper, "But you were sleeping! Ezhupa manasu varala."
Ashwin kissed the top of her head. "I know, but na ethuku iruken?"
He gently moved her aside before cleaning up the mess. Sivaangi watched as he did, wiping down the floor and sweeping it. She didn't understand why, but suddenly she felt so bad and tears welled up in her eyes. Ashwin placed the broom aside and turned to her with a smile.
"Okay, cake venum-?"
He stopped when he saw the tears in her eyes. Immediately, his mind went into full blown panic, and everything screamed red for him. He rushed to her side,
"Enna achu ma? Ethavathu problem ah? Validkudha?"
Sivaangi shook her head quickly and wiped away her tears. "Ennala evalo kashtam la? You can't even get a night's sleep."
Ashwin's gaze softened at her words and sighed. He pulled her into a hug. Sivaangi buried her face into his chest, and he stroked her hair gently.
"Ennaku enna kashtam? Ithellam kooda seiya mattena? I'd do anything to make this easier for you."
That made her burst into another fresh set of sobs. Ashwin knew this was partly because of her hormones, so he held her quietly, allowing her to ride it out.
When she pulled back to look at him, he held her face in his hands. "Okay, listen. Unaku enna venumo, you tell me. It doesn't matter if it's 3 in the morning or if I'm in a meeting or on a shoot. One word, and I'll be here. It doesn't matter how silly you think it is. Naa unakaga panren, okay?"
Sivaangi stared at him in awe, wondering how lucky she should've been to have him as her husband. She huffed and Ashwin furrowed his eyebrows,
"Enna?"
"Neenga yen ippadi lam pesaringa? Ennaku emotional aaguthu."
He chuckled and pecked her lips, "It's okay."
She glared at him sharply, "I love you."
Ashwin laughed, "Atha yen ma morachitkite solra?"
She didn't say anything and he kissed the back of her hand, and said. "Okay! Cake panlama?"
Sivaangi nodded excitedly and he went around the kitchen to get the ingredients. She wasn't so far along, just 6 months, but her stomach was bigger than the regular person. Why? Because they were having twins. It had been a surprise for both of them when they went for a normal checkup and found out they were being sent not one, but two special packages.
