Pregnant with Ex-husband's baby

Chapter 8

Nithila

“Congrats da..” A guy, a little less tall than Kavin but just as athletic as him was the first one to speak.

“Thanks, da..” Kavin rumbles, his voice thick and syrupy just like his eyes which are pinned on me in a way that is making me feel so many things all at once.

“Are you going to introduce us or not?” Another one asks, patting a hand on Kavin’s shoulder in a friendly way.

“I was going to..” Kavin takes a step back and with that our eye contact is lost, but only for a fraction of a second.

“Nithila..” My heartbeat jacks up when I see my name on his lips. I didn’t know my name had a shape until this day but I see it now.

“This is Ashok..” He waves his hand to the one who spoke first and then to the next one beside him, “..and Ranjith. My friends..”

“Hi thangachi..” They both say in chorus, making me smile wide.

“Hi..” I give them a shy smile.

“We are his best friends, by the way. We have known each other from the time we roamed in diapers.” Ashok says and I burst out laughing. Kavin is chuckling too and it causes a buzz in my stomach. This moment feels weirdly intimate, I mean, having this conversation with his friends.

Not every guy introduces you to their childhood friends, this means I am something special to him, at least that’s what I want to believe. Then, I wonder if he has ever introduced another woman to these two or will ever do it in the future, but I quickly shove those thoughts away.

“Nice to meet you..” I tell them with a warm grin. For the next ten minutes, Kavin is mercilessly teased by his friends and I couldn’t help but laugh at every funny incident from Kavin’s life that they are telling me.

Finally, they leave us alone and we are left to kill the silence that’s back between us. I know, Kavin is as hesitant as me but he is really making an effort.

“You look..” He drawls then says, “..nice. This saree really looks good on you.”

His words echo in all the empty spaces inside of me and I compel out a smile but I think it came out as a blush. “Thanks. You look good too..”

I say without looking at him but do I have to look at him to say that. I know he is magnificent as hell.

“Thanks..” He mutters and runs a hand through his hair, ruining them a bit but he still manages to capture my breath away.

After the ceremony, I introduce him to the very few friends of mine, both from school and college who have made it to this function. They were just friends, who kept me company at times. I never had best friends, to begin with, since I was always too focused on my studies and getting into medical college. My classmates called me ‘padips’, a term which means nerd in my language and I never spent more than what is needed in making friends, which sometimes I curse myself for. You know, whenever I feel lonely or left out when they go out to watch movies or on weekend outings.

“Kavin, Nithi..” We are interrupted by Kavin’s mom, “Come on, we have arranged some games for you two..”

“Games? What games?” Kavin's voice is filled with barely leashed frustration. “Why do we have to play games?”

“To entertain the guests, Kavin..” I would have laughed at her answer if Kavin didn’t look so pissed off by it.

“Mom, it’s our engagement, if I knew better, you people have to entertain us not the other way around..” Now I couldn’t suppress my laugh. He’s right though, why in the world do we have to entertain the guest?

“Sushh now, come on both of you..” She tugs us with her and without resisting we follow her towards the small crowd in our garden but before we could reach them, Kavin’s mom stops in her track and turns to us, “Kavin, you two are engaged now, it means that you are half married..”

We both stare at her, having no idea of what she is trying to hint at.

“So..” Kavin voices out my thoughts and she rolls her eyes.

“So, you two can at least hold hands now..”

I blush at her suggestion and bite my lower lip to stop myself from displaying that anxious grin that, I am certain, is already there on my lips.  

I look up to Kavin and I see that he is waiting for my approval. When I bob my head up and down in silent approval, he slips his through mine and I have to hold myself rooted to the ground so that I don’t jump in my place.

He doesn’t wait as he pulls me under the open sky. His strides are long and I have to keep up my pace to match his. We hear loud cheers and hoots when they see us walking hand in hand and the first face that captures my attention is my sister’s, who I know is going to tease me to death for this.

I try to ignore her but unfortunately, she’s the Emcee for today’s ceremony, all that she's missing is a mic in her hand. “Thank you everyone for being here with us. We have some exciting games for you all and I hope you enjoy it as much as our cutest couple do..”

Couple. Oh, she is referring to us.

Suddenly I feel all the eyes on us as if it wasn’t before and I grow too self-conscious but a soft squeeze from Kavin provides me all the comfort that I need.

When I gaze at him, his usual stormy eyes are glinting with warmth and understanding. “It’s okay, we can do this.. together..”

His last word travels deep inside me. Yes, we are together in this. Together forever.

I nod at him like his words had given me some kind of celestial energy.

 “Okay, so the first few games are exclusive for the bride and groom..” Nadhiya announces and walks up to me.

“I thought these games are played during the wedding. Why are we doing this now?” I ask her in a whisper.

“It’s your mother-in-law’s idea. She wanted to conduct these games now so that you two can loosen up to each other..” She winks at me and then whispers again, “I like her, by the way..”

Just then my brother walks in with a huge brass pot in his hands. It’s filled with milk that is colored with turmeric and a mix of various flower petals.

I didn’t need to be told more as I knew exactly what has to be done. Nadhiya asks both of us to hand over our respective rings to her and we do without another word.

I secretly don’t feel like removing it from my fingers, as if the ring has already become my lifeline or like a part of my body, a part that bumps your blood to various organs.

She drops them into the pot and stirs them with her hand. “Now all you have to do is find your partner’s ring and put it back to where it belongs..”

Kavin leaves my hand when we are asked to sit near the pot and I already miss his touch. We sit facing each other, with the brass pot separating us.

“Ready..” My brother alerts us and I am already hanging my hand over the small opening.

“Go..”

We pounce our hands inside in search of the rings. My eyes widen when I get hold of something like a ring and when I pull it out, it’s the ring of a keychain. To our utter surprise, there are many small objects floating inside to distract us. Each time we come up with something, we realize it isn’t what we are looking for and throw it out.

Somewhere through the game, Kavin and I have really loosened up to each other and are laughing like maniacs. We are like two athletes trying to race one another and reach the end line before the other.

Then suddenly I realize that our faces are literally brushing against each other. His clean-shaven jaw is after all not that clean-shaven since his rough, short stubble is scratching the soft skin on my cheek.

His warm breath is tickling the crook of my neck and I still. My hand doesn’t work anymore. For a second I forget my mission at hand and am lost in time.

“Akka, come on.. Don’t lose. Show him who is the boss..” Nadhiya reminds and that helps me to snap out of my stupor.

I glance at Kavin and he has a challenging smile on me. Once again I concentrate on the game and a minute or two later, I don’t know if it is sheer luck or I really worked hard, but I find a ring.

When I pull out, I gasp on finding exactly what I am supposed to, Kavin’s ring. Not a second later, he finds mine but I am already the winner in this game.

Everyone shouts around us as if I have won the world cup or something even greater. Kavin’s family and friends let out playful grunts to show their disappointment in Kavin for not winning.

We put the rings back on each other’s fingers and stand up slowly. I grin like a fool and Kavin is flashing his usual lopsided grin at me.

“You won in this game..”

“Yes, I did..” I say way too proudly.

“You were just lucky..” He smirks.

“No, I think I was more focused out of the two of us..” I know that’s a lie but I want to prove to him that he’s wrong.

“Is it so?” His smirk deepens.

“Yes..” my chin jerks out daringly.

"Okay, let's see who wins in the next game.."

"Let's see.." I nod in agreement.

The brass pot is now replaced by a colorful, long mat and we are asked to sit on it, once again facing each other but a ten feet distance between us this time.

Soon, we are given two coconuts each while Nadhiya starts to describe the rules, “Okay now the rule is simple. You have to roll your coconuts and try to break the other’s ones with yours. Let’s see who wins this time..”

“Come on, Kavin..” I hear his brother and friends cheer for him and my family members do the same for me.

We start rolling the coconuts and they collide mid-way. His eyes are riveted to the coconuts and the next time we roll them, mine shatters into pieces with the force he aimed at it. Laughter echoes in the air surrounding us.  

I should have known it before provoking him. He is a freaking cricket player, this shouldn’t be difficult for him.

He throws me a smug look as we come close to each other for the next game.

“The next one is arm wrestling..” My sister announces and my jaw drops to the ground.

Are they kidding? Have they even seen his large frame against my tiny one? Without a doubt I know that I am going to lose this round too however, that doesn't stop me from participating.

We place our hands on a table and he immediately grips my palm in his, almost engulfing my small ones. With the count of three, we start to wrestle. I apply full force to push his arm down and from what I feel, he is not even trying to apply force but he is still unmovable.

I laugh in between, making it impossible to concentrate and that’s it before I know it, I am losing. But right then, he stops fighting and lets me push his forearm down. We hear boos coming from Kavin’s supporters.

“Yah!!” Nadhiya hugs me, “I knew you would win..”

I didn’t. he let me win.

I wouldn’t have cared much if I lost to him but the thought that he didn't want me to lose in front of everyone made me all dizzy.

When the games began for the guest, I decide to ask him about it.

"It wasn't a fair match to begin with, Nithila. You are too small to fight against me.." That was his answer when I asked him.

"No, I am not. I couldn't have won without you giving up.." I argue.

"Really?" He c***s his brow intimidatingly and I have to look down to contain myself.

"Yes, without a doubt.."

"Okay, let's have a rematch after the wedding. Let's see if you can win me without my help.."

My cheeks warm up with the word 'wedding'. I am so looking forward to that match.

"Okay, we will see.." I tell him like a bratty child who can't accept defeat.

We didn’t talk much after that but anything that he spoke, made my heartbeat rise like I have run a marathon.

And then it was time for him and his family to leave. Until then I didn’t know that Kavin’s departure, someone who is still a stranger to me on many things, can bring such soreness to my heart.

I don’t want him to leave so soon or I want him to take me with him. I know, it probably sounds asinine to your ears but those are my genuine thoughts, no fabrications added. I will miss him and I am not a bit ashamed to admit it to myself.

Our families bid their goodbyes to one another. His mom kisses my cheeks and tells me how she cannot wait for the wedding date so that the next time she wouldn’t have to leave me behind.

I want to hear those words from Kavin but since I know that he is a man of very few words, he would never say that, at least not so soon.

“Bye..” He stops and says before getting into his car.

“Bye..” I say with something so heavy tugging in my chest.

“I will call you..” He adds and that soothes the heaviness momentarily.

“Hmm..” I nod and step away from him, watching him getting into the car and staring at it till it disappears into the night.

“It’s okay..” I feel Nadhiya’s palm rubbing my arm gently, “The days will fly and you will be with him before you even know it..”

I smile at her, wishing that the day comes fast.