Deciphering His Love

57 | The One With The Business

"PREGNANT? How the fuck did that happen?" Madhav asks.

"I think your answer lies within the question, bro." Shyaam says and earns a deathly glare from Madhav.

"Seriously, speaking! You both did it before the wedding? Gross!" Shree exclaims.

"What's gross about that?" Shyaam asks.

"Because akka is the WNFS type: Wedding Night First Sex." Devi says giggling.

"I am not!" Shree exclaims perplexed.

Devi giggles.

"How far are you with the pregnancy?" Madhav asks.

"Two weeks, I guess." Devi says.

"This isn't right!" Shree says shaking her head.

"Technically it's wrong if Shyaam and I were unmarried by the time the baby was born." Devi corrects Shree. "Plus who cares whether I marry first and conceive later or conceive first and marry later. The important thing is that we married first and the baby will come later."

"She's got a point, you know." Madhav tells Shree.

"Will you stop supporting her?" Shree exclaims. "Guys! This is so wrong!"

"So what do you suggest? Do you want me to abort this baby and 'properly' conceive another child?" Devi asks angrily. "True that this baby was conceived out of wedlock but I will not abort this baby. Not even think of aborting my baby unlike you!"

"What are you saying, Devi?" Madhav asks confused.

"I'm so sorry." Devi says. "I'm didn't mean to bring up that topic!"

"I tried to abort Madhu when I was in London." Shree says. "I was afraid of doing all of it alone and that's why I made up my mind. I even went to the doctor to have the baby aborted. But I couldn't. I jumped off the hospital bed and ran away before the anaesthesia hit me."

Madhav wrapped his arm around her and pressed a quick kiss to her head.

"Devi and Shyaam, we're happy for you. But it's not right that both of you try to cover it off." Madhav says. "You both need to come clean in front of our parents."

"Fine! Fine!" Shyaam says. "We'll tell them!"

"Good." Madhav says. "Can you both leave now, because me and my wife are awfully tired and we would really like to get some sleep."

S H R E E      P R A S A D

Madhav hums a soft tune as he walks by my side in our garden as the sunsets. I turn to him and smile.

"You seem to be really happy." I say.

"Because I have you. Today and forever." He says and holds my face.

"You know what, Teddy?" I ask holding his arms. "I'm happy too. Because I also have you today and for-"

A distant gunfire interrupts me and I freeze. Madhav winced in pain, his knees shaking and he was losing consciousness. That's when I realised that someone shot Madhav.

"Madhav! Madhav!" I exclaim as I hold him to me. He groans weakly as falls on his knees.

Two more gunshots.

He falls on the grass.

Dead.

I wake up startled. It was almost sunrise.

The blue teeshirt I am wearing is drenched in my sweat despite the cool climate in Munnar.

"What happened?" I hear Madhu ask. I rub my eyes. She was wide awake, poking the panda faces on her pyjama. "I heard you say Nanna's name in your sleep."