The Marriage Contract

73 - Allergies or Afraid?

It was a week later and things had rather settled down formidably. With Shreya no longer  part of Birla Hospital Board of Directors, the construction of the Children's Ward went rather smoothly and without any major roadblocks. A few more weeks and the Ward would be fully operational.

Abhimanyu was at work till 7pm and Akshara was out shopping, spending their money. She needed a breather from the apartment and decided it was the best time to get some grocery shopping down. That was until she saw the most beautiful flowers sitting at the front of a flower shop.

It was a bouquet of assorted flowers which she picked up and paid for. As she turned around to make her way back home, her gaze fell upon a small four legged creature sitting beneath a car, disheveled and shivering.

"Oh, poor baby..." Akshara walked over to the car and leaned down on her knees, peeking beneath the car.

"Come here, you." She looked up at the most frightened pair of eyes staring back at her. The puppy looked terrified and lost. The constant noise and honking making him curl him tremble.

Akshara outstretched her hands, gently petting the puppy, letting him get used to her touch. She could feel his heartbeat was erratic, adding to his shakiness. Akshara continued to pet him with one hand before gently moving her other hand forwards, until she got a grip on the puppy's bottom. Once she knew he was secure in her hands, she pulled him out from under the car and embraced him to her chest, cooing at him.

Letting him know: "You are okay. Shh... You are safe."

Akshara's heart beat recklessly against her chest. The puppy was terrified and she couldn't just leave him out here like this. Maybe she should take him to a shelter. But he was so tiny, so bruised, so beaten up. So perhaps she should have him examined by a veterinarian first.

"Come, bubba, let's go." She carried the groceries and flowers in one hand carefully carried the puppy against her chest in the other.

~*~

"Abhi is going to be so mad. But look at you, you are so cute!" Akshara caressed the puppy's head gently as he snuggled on top of her chest, napping.

The puppy cooed and snuggled in deeper, enjoying the warmth of Akshara's body. "We also need to give you a name." Akshara racked her brain to think of an appropriate name but failed.

She remembered Abhimanyu telling her he was allergic to dogs and cats alike on their movie 'date'. So the last thing she wanted was for him to end up in the hospital because of his allergy attack, but maybe, just maybe, if she kept the little man away from Abhi, in different areas of the house, it wouldn't be too bad?

Right?

As if on cue, Akshara felt the doorknob jiggle, making her aware that Abhimanyu was home.

Crap! She looked at the watch to see it was just 6:30pm. He was home early.

Akshara picked up the puppy and quickly ran over to their bedroom, into the bathroom and putting the puppy in there. "Stay! Okay? And be super quiet!" She whispered to the puppy in the hopes that he would understand.

As she made her way out, she ran into Abhimanyu entering the apartment, giving her a wide grin.

"Hey you."

Akshara smiled at him, anxiously. "Hey."

"Where's my kiss?" Abhimanyu frowned playfully.

Akshara made her way towards Abhimanyu, and was about to wrap her arms around his neck when she realized she hadn't washed her hand or changed her clothes since touching and cuddling with the puppy. Which meant that the puppy's hair was very much a part of her clothing. Which also meant it would trigger off Abhimanyu's allergic reactions.