[Nsme]

The mouthwatering aroma wafting from the kitchen drew in Vicky and Kathir, who were watching TV. Right on time for lunch, Sandhya finished cooking and called both of them to eat.

On the dining table, Sandhya had prepared and laid out a complete feast—steaming hot rice, aromatic mor kuzhambu (buttermilk curry), pepper rasam, potato poriyal, appalam, and finally, semiya payasam (vermicelli kheer) fragrant with ghee.

The three of them sat down together and began to eat.

As Kathir mixed the first mouthful of rice with the mor kuzhambu and put it in his mouth, his eyes teared up without him even realizing it. His throat choked slightly. Having grown used to eating only restaurant food and whatever mediocre meals he cooked for himself over the past several months since his divorce, he had completely forgotten the taste of authentic homemade food cooked and served by the hands of such a loving woman.

Every single dish tasted like ambrosia. As Sandhya attentively served him poriyal and payasam, Kathir melted completely inside. Even more than the physical pleasure she had given him last night, this filling meal she served him this afternoon completely drove away his loneliness. Vicky too ate his fill, praising Sandhya's cooking.

Once lunch was over and they washed their hands, the clock showed exactly two in the afternoon. From his pillbox, Kathir took out his daily dose of one 'Tazzle 5 mg' (Tadalafil) tablet and swallowed it with water.

Watching that, Vicky said with a mischievous smile, "Kathir... that pill you gave me yesterday was really too good! It worked on a whole other level."

Hearing Vicky bring up his performance from the previous night, Sandhya and Kathir laughed out loud.

Laughing, Kathir said, "Yes, Vicky. But whether I eat a meal or not, I have to take this 5 mg daily dose at sharp 2 PM every day. Only then will its level remain steady in the body."

Curious, Sandhya asked, "Then when do you take that Magnesium Glycinate, Kathir?"

"That has to be taken before going to sleep at night, Bhanu. It relaxes the muscles and gives a good night's sleep too. Even last night, I took it right after we finished dinner," Kathir said.

Once they finished talking, the drowsiness of that satisfying meal made all three of their eyelids heavy. Deciding to rest until the evening, they brought the large mattress back out into the hall and took a short afternoon nap together.

---

Around four in the evening, all three woke up.

Right when coming to Kathir's house, Sandhya had very thoughtfully packed spare clothes and essentials needed for two days in her bag.

The three of them got ready to leave for the temple.

Sandhya stepped out wearing a beautiful, traditional lehenga she had specially brought along to wear to the temple. The curve of her waist and her striking figure visible through the dupatta made her look like a princess.

Kathir took out brand-new dhotis from his wardrobe, handed them to Vicky, and said, "Vicky, pick and wear whichever dhoti you like."

As Vicky selected and tied a handsome bordered dhoti from Kathir, Sandhya took out a nice shirt she had brought for Vicky and helped him put it on. Kathir too got ready, looking majestic in a dhoti and shirt.

Looking just like members of the same family, with bright faces and smiles, the three of them set out toward the thousand-year-old Begur Panchalingeshwara Temple.

All three got into Kathir's car. On the way to the temple, Kathir drove, while Vicky sat next to him in the front passenger seat. Sandhya sat in the middle of the back seat, enjoying the conversation between the two of them along the way.

In a short while, the car reached the Begur Panchalingeshwara Temple.

As soon as they entered the temple, the peace prevailing there and the coolness of the thousand-year-old stones gave their minds a divine serenity. Walking along, the three of them marveled at the intricate stone sculptures from the Western Ganga and Chola periods. One after another, they offered their heartfelt prayers to the Panchalingas and the other deities inside.

After finishing their darshan, the three of them were walking slowly along the outer corridor of the temple.

Just then, near the shrine of 'Chandikeswarar', a teenage girl stood with her mother and younger brother, clapping her hands loudly as she prayed to Chandikeswarar.

Noticing them speaking among themselves, Sandhya realized that they were Tamilians too. Immediately, with a smile, Sandhya walked over to the girl.

"You shouldn't clap your hands like this in front of Chandikeswarar," Sandhya said gently.

The girl and her mother turned and looked at her in surprise.

Sandhya explained gracefully. "This Chandikeswarar is the chief accountant in a Shiva temple. All the property of this temple belongs to him. Therefore, to show that we, having visited the temple, aren't taking any of its belongings back with us, we should gently rub and dust off both palms together without clapping loudly. Also, he keeps an account of everyone visiting the temple, like taking attendance. So we should softly tell him our name, Rasi (Moon sign), and Nakshatra (Birth star) before leaving."

Hearing this, the teenage girl smiled brightly and said, "Thanks, Akka! I had no idea about this."

Her mother, standing beside her, also beamed with a warm smile and inquired affectionately, "Are you Tamil too, dear? Very happy to meet you. Have you come to the temple alone?"

"No, I've come with my husband. He and a friend of ours are talking right over there," Sandhya said, gesturing toward Kathir and Vicky standing a short distance away.

Delighted, the mother said, "Is that so! I've come with my husband too. Look over there, the man standing and distributing sweet pongal (Sakkarai Pongal) to everyone coming by... that's him! I lovingly cooked it at home myself today to distribute to the devotees visiting the temple. Come, you and your husband come get some sweet pongal too!" she invited them with an innocent, pure heart.

Signaling to Vicky and Kathir to join her, Sandhya walked behind the lady.

The very instant he saw the husband standing there distributing sweet pongal to the devotees, Vicky, who was walking in front, suddenly froze in shock, slowed down his pace, and stepped back behind everyone else!

Sandhya looked closely... The man standing there was none other than Aadhi—the very same man who had put on the act of a 'good family man' at the swimming pool to trap Sandhya, only to get slapped across the face by her!

Although Sandhya was stunned for a second at first, she composed herself the very next instant. Thinking of the poetic justice of this situation, laughter bubbled up inside her beyond her control.

"Dear, these people are from our home state too. Give some sweet pongal to this girl and her husband," Aadhi's wife said.

Aadhi, who was bending down scooping pongal into leaf cups, looked up.

That was it! Seeing Bhanu (Sandhya) right in front of his family, and Vicky standing behind her, Aadhi was scared out of his wits! His insides trembled; the ladle in his hand shook as if it would slip and fall.

Sandhya, however, smiled very modestly as if she had never seen him before in her life, held out her hand, and took the leaf cup of sweet pongal.

Even in his wildest dreams, Aadhi wouldn't have imagined that he would once again be serving his wife's homemade sweet pongal to this woman with his own hands! How she had slapped him hard across the face at his flat that day and asked, *"The sweet pongal you brought saying your wife made it was so wonderful! Having such a good wife at home, why the hell are you wandering outside, da?"* echoed like thunder in his ears, tormenting him. Yet, in front of his wife and children, he couldn't even let out a squeak!

Kathir came and stood right behind Sandhya. Seeing the tall, well-built, and majestic Kathir standing there, Aadhi was intimidated. 'Who is this guy looking so stiff and muscular? She has a husband like this?' confused, he handed a cup of pongal to Kathir.

Vicky, who came up last, looked straight into Aadhi's eyes and took the sweet pongal from him while flashing a mocking, smug smirk. Aadhi broke into a heavy sweat.

As they stood talking, Sandhya casually held Kathir's arm and introduced him to Aadhi's wife, "This is Kathir... my husband!"

That single sentence made Kathir's heart skip a beat for a second!

In that sacred, thousand-year-old Shiva temple, when Bhanu (Sandhya), dressed auspiciously and standing beside him, held his arm and told others, *"This is my husband,"* an electric current coursed through Kathir's entire body. An indescribable pride and emotion surged within his heart, which had yearned so long for love and a partner. A sweet longing—*'Even though this is just an act, couldn't she have been my wife in real life too?'*—caressed his chest.

At the same time, Aadhi, who was listening to this, glared slightly at Sandhya as if to say, *"You know what will happen if I tell your husband about you right now, right?"* Seeing Aadhi glaring at her, Sandhya could barely contain the laughter inside her.

Just then, Aadhi's daughter looked at Vicky and asked, "Then who is that uncle, Akka?"

"He is Vicky... our friend," Sandhya said casually.

Since there was still some sweet pongal left in the vessel, Aadhi had to stay back alone to distribute it to the incoming devotees.

Kathir looked at Sandhya and said, "Bhanu, shall we go sit in front of that mandapam entrance and talk?"

Immediately, Aadhi's wife said, "Oh, is your name Bhanu? Very nice name! Come, let's all go sit over there and chat," and leaving Aadhi standing there all alone, she went and sat down with them.

Right before Aadhi's eyes, a short distance away, Sandhya, Kathir, and Vicky sat in a circle with Aadhi's wife and children, relishing the sweet pongal and chatting away cheerfully.

Standing alone, Aadhi was fuming inside! Worse still, watching Vicky—the guy who had had sex with Bhanu (Sandhya) right on his own bedroom mattress that day—now sitting and laughing with his own wife, churned Aadhi's stomach!

After finishing the sweet pongal, the three of them wholeheartedly praised Aadhi's wife, saying, "The sweet pongal tastes just like ambrosia! We have never eaten sweet pongal like this before."

Beaming with pride, Aadhi's wife immediately looked at her son and said, "Kanna, go tell Appa that he's distributed enough to others, and ask him to bring the remaining sweet pongal over for us."

The boy ran over to Aadhi and said, "Appa! Bhanu Akka really liked the sweet pongal, and she wants some more! You've given enough to others, bring the rest over!" and brought him along.

Left with no choice, Aadhi carried the remaining sweet pongal over, sat down with them, and served a second helping to Sandhya, Kathir, and Vicky with his own hands!

To hide his nervousness, Aadhi tried making small talk with Kathir. Kathir replied casually. As they spoke, Sandhya deliberately sat very close to Kathir with her shoulder brushing against his, kept Kathir's hand resting on her lap, and answered a few of the questions herself.

Then, Aadhi's wife looked at Vicky and asked, "Aren't you married yet?"

Glancing at Aadhi from the corner of his eye, Vicky said to Aadhi's wife, "If I find a good woman like you, who cooks such wonderful, delicious sweet pongal... I will get married the very next second!"

Hearing this, Aadhi's wife was touched and blushed with a smile. Aadhi's face, meanwhile, darkened with rage.

Later, as Aadhi's daughter eagerly asked about the current state of the IT job market, Kathir and Vicky guided her very clearly. Aadhi's younger son also listened to them with keen interest.

After a while, as it began to get dark, everyone walked out of the temple.

While bidding farewell to Aadhi's family, standing near Kathir's car, Sandhya looked at Vicky and said, "Vicky, come in our car itself, we'll drop you off," and making sure Aadhi's family was watching, she opened the front door and sat in the front passenger seat of Kathir's car! Vicky climbed into the back seat.

The very second Kathir started the car and pulled out of the temple premises...

Sandhya in the front seat and Vicky in the back seat burst into uncontrollable, roaring laughter!

Kathir, who was driving the car, didn't understand a thing. Confused, he asked, "What was that, Bhanu? Why did you introduce me as your husband to them? And why are the two of you laughing so hard right now?"

Trying to catch their breath between laughs, Sandhya and Vicky took turns narrating the entire story of Aadhi in detail—how he had cast his net for her at the swimming pool, how he brought the sweet pongal made by his wife, how he fell for her fake office-affair story and offered his own flat for her illicit rendezvous, how Vicky and she went there posing as lovers and had sex in his bedroom while he waited outside, and how she finally slapped him across the face.

Listening to this, Kathir was left amazed. "Wow... it was so daring of both of you! Looking at his face back there, I felt half-sorry for him, and at the same time, it was hilarious!" he said, joining in their laughter.

---

At the exact same time... inside Aadhi's car!

Aadhi was driving with a grim, scowling face. Sitting in the passenger seat next to him, his wife said proudly, "Dear, how beautiful, good-natured, and traditional that girl Bhanu is, visiting temples and all, right?"

Already burning with jealousy inside, Aadhi couldn't contain his rage and yelled perversely, "Yeah, right... how do you know she's a good woman? Right now, she might ditch this husband and go straight to a pub! Why, that friend Vicky who came along... she might even be having an affair with him!"

Hearing her husband suddenly speak so filthily about a woman they barely knew, Aadhi's wife's face flushed with embarrassment.

Sitting in the back seat, Aadhi's teenage daughter felt disgusted hearing her father's cheap talk and snapped sharply, "Ew... Daddy! Shut the fuck up!"

Shocked, Aadhi barked, "Hey... language!"

Thinking to herself, *'Yeah right, look who's talking... I'll handle my own damn language!'*, his daughter said out loud, "Just drive, Pa!" shutting him down to his face before turning away to look out the window. Aadhi was left completely speechless.

---

Meanwhile, Kathir's car went straight to a fine restaurant. All three sat down and happily had their dinner there.

As they finished eating, Kathir bought a special dinner parcel for his apartment security guard. Learning that he made it a habit to buy food for the night-shift security guards at least once a week made Sandhya and Vicky's respect for Kathir's kind nature grow even more.

The car reached Kathir's apartment. The security guard standing at the gate accepted the food parcel Kathir handed him with deep gratitude and warmth.

The three of them got into the lift. The liveliness of the evening combined with the prank they had pulled on Aadhi had put all three of them in high spirits. As soon as they stepped inside the flat, all three were brimming with excitement, ready to begin the next stage of their carnival of lust for the night!