Deciphering His Love

15 | The One With The Baby

 -S H R E E    P R A S A D-  

I walk into Madhav's office room holding a Styrofoam cup of double espresso he drinks every morning. The blinds are open, and the morning sun fell on the glossy table and it shined like a bright piece of jewelry. He isn't here.

His desktop computer is running and there is a piece of paper with a pen. He had scribbled a man's name and his contact in his messy doctor's handwriting. He would have gone out somewhere, I guess. Nevertheless, I keep the styrofoam cup on the table and take a look at his desktop. He had run a Google Image Search for 'Wedding preshoot ideas' and there are several thumbnails of couples posing romantically, a few of which he had even downloaded.

"See something you like?" Madhav asks as he sneaks from behind and wraps his arms around me. His fingers find their way to my waist. "Good morning." He murmurs into my ear. Why does he have to make every simple thing sound so incredibly sensual?

"Are we having a photoshoot?" I ask turning swiftly to face him.

"I thought it would be a nice idea to have a photo shoot before I make you mine." He says as he pulls me closer, until my chest is pressed firmly against his. I blush at the awkward proximity we now share. I hope he doesn't hear the wild thudding of my heart. "Somewhere around next week. In Goa. Just us."

"Is this like an early honeymoon?" I ask teasingly as I play with his dark blue tie. I always marvel at how we unintentionally wore the same colours to work. He was wearing a light blue shirt with a dark blue tie, while I wore a plain blue sari with a sleeveless blouse.

He smirks. "That solely depends on your interpretation, Ms. Prasad. We can either play scrabble and take long walks on the Goa beach during our free time or we can take things up to the bedroom and rehearse our wedding night. You do need some sort of orientation, sexually, don't you?"

"I- I- I need to g-go now." I stammer nervously. The whole unabridged concept of sex before marriage, sounds scandalous to me, and to every Indian. I don't mind kissing before the wedding but sex? It's difficult contemplating whether he's serious or not. I look at his eyes, glinting with umpteen gallons of emotions. "I-I-I just forgot that y-y-you have an appointment with the delegates from-from-from Sabayasachi in a while. They must be waiting in the-" I push him from me and walk away. "I-I-I'll see you-"

He grabs my arm and pulls me to his chest.

"You aren't going anywhere, Mrs. Ramakrishna." He whispers to my ear. "I cancelled all the meetings and appointments scheduled for today." He adds casually. But why?

"We are on a half day today." I look at him raising my eyebrow. "We're getting engaged in the evening, darling."

"WHAT?" I exclaim out loud. "TODAY?"

"At 8.15pm. Your place. Mr. RK and I decided this last night-"

"At my place, why? Isn't there any proper place is this lousy city to have an engagement party? You've seen my apartment! It's tiny and untidy. Also, why are we in such a hurry? Can't this engagement be postponed so my family is prepared, and we get a decent location?"

For a moment I imagine his relatives, Amma and Devi crammed up in our little apartment as we get engaged. May be the terrace would be a good idea, unless it's windy or raining. Most of my relatives in Hyderabad will miss it. Where am I going to find an engagement ring I such short notice and with so little money?

"Will you let me finish?" he groans annoyed. "Today and the end of this month are the only auspicious days that complement our horoscopes. If we are to get married it should be by the end of this month-