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• Anirudh's POV •
I rang the doorbell of our home and waited patiently for someone to answer the door. A few seconds later the lock bolted and tiny feet came into my view.
"You are late again Baba", my five-year-old complained as she folded her little arms over her chest and glared at me trying to be intimidating but failing miserably
"Sorry little one, you know right Baba had a lot of work piled up so he couldn't come but I promise I'll make it up to you all", I apologized holding my ears and quickly entered inside closing the door behind me.
I removed my shoes and kept them in my shoe rack neatly and walked towards our bedroom, my daughter following me swiftly.
"Where's everyone sweetheart?", I questioned, hanging my leather work bag on the small handmade hanging. Sadhana always had a thing for handmade decor so she made sure that each and every corner of our small abode was decorated with everything she made from scratch. She thought it would make it more welcoming and homely which it did.
"Dadi went to the terrace to get the sun-dried clothes, dadu went for his evening walk, bua along with Mumma went for Diwali shopping", she answered and sat on the bed, resuming adding colours to her drawing book.
The specific word shopping caught my attention and I bit my tongue. I'd promised Sadhana to tag along with her for the Diwali shopping as she didn't want to burden anyone with the work. I closed my eyes and rubbed my face as a groan escaped from the back of my throat. Shit! I was domed.
"Sadhana beta you are back, this early?", it was Maa's voice that dragged me out of my thoughts and I made a beeline towards the washroom. "We rushed things up early Maa, there was so much hustle and bustle everywhere, special tyr traffic uff-", it was Sadhana replying this time and I hurriedly stripped out of my work clothes and splashed my face with water
"Oh, Bhai! You are late today". "Well, you see it's the festive season around the corner so I was caught up with the worker's payment.", I replied wiping my face with the towel and passing an apologetic face to her
"Beta, here drink some water", Maa passed me a glass of water and I gave her a small smile. " Haye mera beta, bohot mehnat kar Raha hai", she remarked
(Trans: my son is working very hard)
After dinner, I walked inside our bedroom after talking on the call with an investor. Sadhana was putting on a fresh bedsheet while dumping the old one in the washing basket. I swiftly made my way towards her and encircled my hand around her waist from the back.
"I'm sorry, I couldn't accompany you for shopping", I nuzzled my nose in the crook of her neck, my voice coming out muffled. I inhaled deeply taking in the smell of her natural fragrance.
"It's okay, work is important", she spoke melting in my embrace, her head leaning back on my shoulder. My calloused thumb finger drew a circle around her navel and her belly shuddered with anticipation
"But still, let me make it up to my wife", I spoke and turned her around.
My lips descended upon hers in a slow and sloppy kiss as our bodies swayed against each other. It was slow and soft conveying our love and emotions for each other.
After a while, we parted as a string of saliva connected us. We rested our foreheads on each other and panted for oxygen. Once our breaths were normalised we opened our eyes and stared at each other in a daze. A small smile grazed our lips and she wrapped her arms around me fitting just right in my embrace.
It was finally Diwali. After the tiresome hours of cleaning the whole house and doing the Laxmi puja, we were ready to burst the crackers.
"Baba, you got me puljhadi and anar?", Riya, our daughter questioned as she twirled innocently in her little lehenga. After she got ready in her new dress she couldn't stop bouncing around the house, excited and flaunting the whole neighborhood with it.
Sadhana and Maa were busy lighting the diya and placing them around the house, while Baba was busy on a call with my father-in-law. My in-laws were in another city enjoying their holidays. After Sadhana's father could walk back on his legs, she took it upon herself to make up for everything her parents had missed. The first thing she did was to send them to Ayodhya, to the famous Ram temple.
We were completing 6 years of our successful marriage. Our relationship was never a bed of roses rather it was filled with hurdles that we overcame together. We stood by each other being our support. There were days when I would stay up late to set up my business and Sadhana would do the same giving me company. She gracefully managed the house along with her work, from taking care of the family to being a working woman, managing her dance classes, looking after a child and then being there for me. She played every role of hers perfectly and elegantly.
"Baba, come let's burst crackers", Riya tugged on the hem of my kurta and pouted pointing at the crackers. I nodded my head and she jumped excitedly. I chuckled at her enthusiasm and helped her burst them. "Dhyan se Riyu beta, make sure not to hurt yourself", Maa warned as she walked down the stairs carrying the empty plate of diyas
(Trans: Be careful Riyu beta, make sure not to hurt yourself.)
"Ji dadi", she shouted in glee while Baba helped her further.
"How did we come so far Anirudh?", Sadhana questioned as we stood beside each other watching our little family enjoying and celebrating. We smiled looking at them and I pulled her closer wrapping my hand around her shoulder.
"It's simple. We have each other enough time. We supported each other and stood beside each other through thick and thin. We were always a team, being each other's strength, constant encouragement, motivator, guide. We never gave up on ourselves because the belief that resided never let us do so", I replied basking in her warmth. My heart was at ease. Finally, it felt like home, it felt complete.
"Our journey isn't perfect. But it's ours. And I'll stick with you till the end", I confessed and placed a chaste kiss on her forehead sealing our promise of forever.
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And here we mark the official end of Qurbat. Hope you enjoyed reading it till here.
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