MIRA

15. Epilogue

Six months later, BOSTON

''Vikraaaaanth!!!'' Mira yelled from the kitchen. Vikranth knew something wasn't good when she stretched his name out like that. He was trimming his stubble in the bathroom and nearly cut his chin thanks to his beloved wife.

He leaned outside the door and asked, ''Yeaahhh?''

''What on earth is your hoodie doing here in the kitchen?'' she said walking into their bedroom looking frustrated.

Vikranth winced as he realised that he had forgotten to put his hoodie away when he got back from the gym early that morning.

''Uhh yeah sorry M, just put it in the laundry.''

Mira let out an annoyed sigh and mumbled to herself, ''You'll never learn! Always throwing clothes around here and there!''

This had become a morning ritual. As they both got ready for work, Vikranth would always leave one thing or the other behind for Mira to pick up after him. It wasn't just that, Vikranth would always alter something in the kitchen whenever he used it. Despite her telling him countless times, he would always forget to put the utensils or dishes back in their original places and Mira would spend the morning wasting her time looking for them. On most days, he would forget to throw his clothes in the laundry or worse, leave them lying around the house for Mira to play treasure hunt! What annoyed Mira, even more, was when he left his wet towels on the bed...ugh!!!

Mira was an early riser, and so was Vikranth but he would hit the gym first thing on most mornings. When he got back, he would rush to get ready for work, thus leaving all the mess behind for Mira to clean up! He wouldn't do it intentionally, but his routine was such that he had just enough time to shower and get dressed. Breakfast would be on the go on most days.

Since their wedding in Kerala, Mira and Vikranth had spent a few days in Chennai with their family before flying to Boston. It had been an emotional month but Mira's sadness about leaving her friends and family in India was eventually replaced by her excitement for beginning their new life in Boston together. When they arrived in Boston, Mira finally entered their new house that Vikranth had finalised before their wedding. The first couple of months were busy with buying furniture and appliances for the house as well as acquainting themselves with the new neighbourhood. Mira enjoyed setting up their house. Every piece of furniture and interior deco that she selected and placed in the apartment, was a step towards turning it into their home. She especially enjoyed doing their balcony which Vikranth had left completely to Mira's discretion. She bought lots of plants to decorate the balcony and chose comfortable patio furniture as she imagined having tea or coffee on weekend evenings with Vikranth whilst catching the sunset.

On the other hand, Mira and Vikranth also caught up with old and new friends. Abhinav was one of the first to meet them after they landed in Boston. He introduced them to his new fiancee Payal and even took them out for dinner. Vikranth introduced Mira to some of his colleagues from work who also lived nearby, Neel, Ashish and Joshua. All three were senior to him in age and experience. Once Mira felt that the house was all set, she began job hunting and to her luck received calls from two major risk analysis firms in the city. After attending interviews for both, she got into Analix, a small risk analysis company located about 30 minutes from home. Then life became a routine when she joined work.

Every morning, both Mira and Vikranth would get up. She would cook lunch to pack for both of them the night before on most days or fix something quick otherwise. If there was time, she would make breakfast otherwise, Vikranth would grab something for them on the way to work. He would drop her off on the way to work at the subway station where Mira would take the train to her office. Mira was usually home by 6:30 or 7 on most evenings while Vikranth would reach by 7:30. Mira eventually joined as a trainee since her boss wanted her to familiarise herself with the type of work that was done in the firm. Initially, Mira found it challenging as her work was very different to what she had done in Bangalore, but luckily her colleagues and supervisors were very helpful. She even managed to make good friends in the first few months at work.