Adultery Awaited desires - Completed

[Haran000]

2. Appreciation

Three days later, the morning sun was already warm when I returned from my cricket game. A quick bath, then into my shorts, the wet towel carelessly tossed aside—a typical habit in a house where only my elder brother and paternal aunt were usually present.

As I reached for a T-shirt on the shelf, my sister-in-law, Sandhya, unexpectedly walked in.

"Oh, Auntie, I'm bringing it…" she began, then approached me. "Hari, where are Auntie's blouses?"

Caught off guard, standing there in just my shorts, my cheeks burned. I fumbled for the towel, quickly wrapping it around myself. A faint smile touched her lips.

"Haha… Tell me where they are."

I pointed to Auntie's cupboard, and she headed that way, retrieving the blouses before leaving.

Once I was dressed, I emerged to find Sandhya handing my brother his packed lunch. As she headed to the kitchen, I seized the opportunity to ask my brother for some money.

"Brother, I'll buy ice cream this afternoon."

Without a word, he pulled a hundred-rupee note from his pocket and handed it to me. I knew Sandhya had seen it.

"Bring some for Sandhya too," my brother called out.

"Okay," I replied.

Later, Sandhya made rava dosas, served with a delicious coconut-peanut chutney. Despite my earlier awkwardness, I found myself craving another dosa. Hesitantly, I made my way to the kitchen where she was pouring batter on the griddle. The rava dosas were in a basin, just under her right hand. It felt strange to ask, and taking one myself seemed impossible with her standing right there.

Finally, I had no choice. "Vadhina…"

She looked up, a slight smile gracing her face. Seeing her expression, my gaze immediately dropped; my courage failed me.

"What is it, maridhi (brother-in-law/devar)?" she prompted.

"…"

"What, do you need chutney?"

I looked up again; she was still smiling, watching me. "Vadhina, I want one more dosa."

"They're right here, come and take them. Take two if you want."

"One is enough."

"Okay, as you wish."

She told me to take it, but I was still wondering how. The dosas were literally under her elbow. "can you give me one?"

"My hands have flour, Hari. You take it yourself."

I felt awkward again. I don't know what it was, but in her yellow saree, with a few strands of hair falling across her forehead near her ear, and the sunlight from the front window illuminating her face like the moon, I was momentarily lost in a trance.

"Hari, take it, how long will you stand there?"

"Hmm…" I moved to her side, still feeling a bit clumsy, and leaned past her shoulder to grab a dosa. The faint fragrance of her hair was intoxicating. In a rush, I quickly put the dosa on my plate and retreated to the TV.

Sandhya turned off the stove, got her own dosas, and joined me. We ate while watching songs on TV.

"How long has he been working, Hari?" she asked, referring to my brother.

"It's been six years, vadhina."

"Since yesterday, I've wanted to ask you something, Hari, but I thought you might feel sad."

I knew immediately what she wanted to ask—about my parents. "When I was studying LKG, we were coming back from Mancherial town, and there was an accident on the highway near Sultanabad."

My casual delivery of such a tragedy stunned her. She moved closer and sat beside me. 

"Sorry, Don't be sad."

"Why would I be sad, Don't I have all of you?"

A small smile curved her lips. She gently held my cheek, her eyes filled with a curious eagerness. Leaning closer, she whispered in my ear, "Hari, are my dishes good?"

I saw a hint of shyness in her cheeks. "Why you ask vadhina, don't you have faith in your cooking?"

My reply seemed to take her aback. The next moment, she pouted, a small, sulky anger making her turn her face away. She looked incredibly adorable; in that instant, her age seemed to drop from twenty-eight to eighteen.

I remained silent, tearing off a piece of dosa and taking a bite.

"I've been cooking for five days," she began, a hint of complaint in her voice. "Your brother doesn't tell me, Auntie doesn't tell me. I worried so much if they were just eating so I wouldn't feel bad, no matter how I cooked. And you, instead of telling me, mock me like that? Go hari, I'll see how will you ask for dosas again."

Something stirred within me. How charmingly she had said that, with such a childlike sulk, as if she had just learned to speak.

"Forgive me, I didn't mock you. My intention was, your cooking is so delicious, why would you doubt yourself like this?"

"Hmm… okay…"

"Eat vadhina."

She began to eat silently.

"Vadhina, if I didn't like it, I wouldn't have eaten it, right? It's because it's so good that I took another dosa."

"Hmm… Thanks."

Having finished my meal, I put my plate outside, washed my hands, and returned to sit. 

Sandhya finished her last bite, washed up, and joined me.

"Vadhina, can I tell you something?"

"Yes, tell me."

"They say that the cooking of beautiful people is definitely delicious… Haha…"

Her cheeks glowed like hibiscus flowers. My words had clearly pleased her. She looked directly at me, and I instinctively lowered my eyes. She gently held my chin, lifting my face until our gazes met. She pinched my cheek playfully.

"Oh, you speak quite well, Hari. Everyone said that younger sons in the house are naughty, and I wondered, so this is it."

"Haha… no."

"Oh, stop… You're praising your sister-in-law, imagine how much you'd say to girls outside."

I was surprised by her sudden question. I turned my face away, feeling shy.

"That's enough, vadhina, you're going somewhere else."

"Oh, you're shy… Haha…"

I never imagined that Sandhya and I would become so close, so quickly. It felt remarkably normal. As I beamed, she released my chin.

"We live in the same house, don't address me formally, Hari. Okay?"

"Hmm."

After a while, feeling the urge to continue our conversation, I wondered whether to ask about her family. Instead, I asked a different question. "Vadhina, you…"
She quickly turned her head and looked at me, noticing my informal address. "What, Hari?"

"I mean, how far did you study?"

"I studied degree, Hari. B.Sc. Computers."

My sister-in-law, with a degree, had married my brother, who had failed his.

"You're more educated than brother, vadhina."

"So he didn't study degree?"

"What, he didn't tell you? Brother failed second year degree. He wrote the exams twice and gave up. Haha…"

When I laughed, she also chuckled softly. "Aha, you're mocking him. Wait till he comes tonight, I'll tell him."

"Oh no, no, vadhina."

"Hahaha… I was just kidding."

Then, sandhya went off to do some work around the house.

Afternoon,

Sandhya served lunch, and when I looked at my plate, it was brinjal curry. I detested brinjal. If I asked Auntie to make something else right now, Auntie might tell my vadhina, creating extra work for her because of me. She might think negatively. So, I decided to somehow swallow the brinjal for today.

I ate the curry, mixing it sparingly. Sandhya looked at me suspiciously, perhaps thinking I didn't like it. As I ate slowly, she asked, "Is it not good today?"

Auntie interjected, "He doesn't like brinjal."

"Oh dear," Sandhya exclaimed. "If you had told me earlier, I would have made something else."

"It's okay, he's eating, let him eat," Auntie replied.

"Hari," Sandhya asked, ignoring Auntie, "there's an egg in the fridge, should I make an omelet for you?"

"No need, he'll eat it tonight. No need of extra work now?" Auntie insisted.

Sandhya, however, disregarded Auntie's words. She looked at me directly. "Tell me, Hari, do you want it?"

"Yes…" I said, a hopeful note in my voice.

She went and made an omelet for me, bringing it back to the table. I carefully picked out the brinjal pieces, put the omelet on the side, and ate.

"Thanks, vadhina."

"Haha… Go wash your hands."

I grabbed my bicycle and rode to the bakery in the center to buy ice cream. Only upon reaching the bakery did I realize I hadn't asked Sandhya what flavor she liked. I preferred butterscotch, so I bought two cones of that, placed the covered ice creams on my bicycle handle, and headed home.

At the doorstep, I pulled them out and called out, " vadhina…vadhina…" impatiently until she appeared. I handed them to her.

"Hari, why are you panting like that?"

"It's ice cream, you see, it would melt, so I cycled fast."

"Oh, I see…"

I unwrapped mine and took a bite when Auntie’s voice cut in. "I didn't know you were getting ice cream?"

Oh no, my Auntie also liked ice cream. I was the one who had gotten her into it. When I was kid, she used to buy it for me and eat it too. I put on an innocent face and looked at her. "I forgot…"

"Yes, you'll forget. How many ice creams I bought for you, how many I fed you, you ate all of them and grew up like a camel, you donkey."

Sandhya laughed. I felt shy.

"Exams are over, now it's just wandering on the roads. Will you stay at home if I tell you to? When will you ever listen to me?" Auntie continued.

"Oh, Auntie, don't start reading all the Puranas from the your days now. I'll bring one for you too."

"No need, just eat."

"No, he'll bring it, Auntie," Sandhya chimed in, taking my ice cream from me. She held both ice creams in her hands. "Go, Hari, you go get another one. We'll eat these."

One minute, would they eat both of these? Did I have to get another one? But I had already licked mine. "That… I… li…" My words wouldn't leave my mouth. I stopped, unsure why. I just stopped.

My sister-in-law took my ice cream, which got my taste on it, in her right hand, then gave the ice cream in her left hand to Auntie, who was to her right. So…? All these thoughts swirled in my head, making it burn.

Anyway, I bought another ice cream and returned home. Both of them were sitting watching TV, having just finished eating.

"Sit down, Hari," Sandhya invited.

"Those serials aren't for me. I'll sit in the back of the house and eat."

I went to the back of the house and ate peacefully.

In the evening, I went out to play with my friends. 

Sandhya clearly enjoyed my appreciation.

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