Poles Apart

Chapter Fifty-Two

Not having an argument in turn, I remain silent while Arjun picks up an Osmania biscuit and munches on it quietly.

"Have you packed?" I ask him, swatting a mosquito away when it dances around my arm, ready to drink my blood, without a doubt.

"No," he answers in a single syllable, not even glancing at me.

"Come, then. Let's pack," I call him, checking to see how annoyed he is.

Arjun raises an eyebrow at me, mockingly. You are going to pack? his expressions read.

I offer a sheepish smile. "Fine, you pack and I'll just sit there."

"But it might be indecent if we were in the same room together," Arjun taunts, feigning an overly stressed gasp. "What would my parents think?"

I look at him for a moment, trying to measure his annoyance. His features are very calm like he's not perturbed in the slightest but I know for sure that I have annoyed him.

Not willing to back off, I change the topic, "Athayya talked to me today—"

"About moving out?" he completes for me.

I nod.

"We'll move out after I come back," he says, decidedly, like he has everything settled. "You only have to pack your things."

"But what about finding a house?"

Arjun's features flicker with minimal amusement, a small smirk taking over his lips, but it's gone as quickly as it came. "You need to learn many things," he says plainly, picking up his suit jacket and walking towards the house.

I frown at his back as he walks away in long strides, uncaring of my shorter legs or saree. Shaking my head to myself, I stand back, watching him go, and wondering when he'll turn around to find that I'm not following him.

Arjun turns to his side halfway and turns back to look at me as an uncontrollable smug grin takes its place on my face.

I watch his cross demeanour fall as he looks down and looks back at me again, allowing a small smile onto his face and then chuckling.

"Aren't you coming?" he asks.

"No, I think the mosquitoes here are hungry, I'll let them drink my blood up," I answer sarcastically, carefully lifting my saree's pleats and walking towards him.

A smirk crosses Arjun's face as he holds his hand out to me. "Let's go inside, I can also drink you up."

"Arjun," I gasp, slapping his arm when the intended meaning sinks in.

"What?" Arjun laughs, pulling my mortified self closer to his side. "We are husband and wife, aren't we? I'm sure it's allowed."

Well, I can't say it's not, or that I wasn't looking forward to it ever since I wore a saree in his favourite colour.

~.~.~.~.~

The next day, Arjun leaves home by 8:00 in the morning, and I have to go through my excruciatingly painful day all by myself.

In the evening, I skip going to the gym and lie down on the floor, trying to ease my period cramps, but even the hot pack doesn't work as nausea kicks in to join the party. I desperately want to sleep, but the discomfort doesn't allow me the simple pleasures of life.

I try taking deep breaths, but even that hardly helps.

As I lie there on the floor, cursing my uterus, my husband video calls me.

I try not to let exhaustion seep into my voice, but it does, and I can't stop Arjun from recognising it.

"What's wrong?" before I can answer the first question, the second one is quick to follow, "why are you lying on the floor?" and then the third: "Why do you look sickly pale?" and they continue until he probably runs out of breath because I can't remember the first question he asked.