He said She said - The Unexpected Hour

“Flowers check, Chocolates check, Wine check, Protection check check,” I checked myself before ringing the doorbell.

“Hey, come in”, she said. She was wearing a knee-length emerald green voile dress along with the golden round earring that perfectly matched with her dimple on the left cheek and her long black hair.

“Hi my Pumpkin”, I Said gifting flowers and chocolates and extending my arms to hug her but my wide-opened arm ended up hugging the air in her room, as she ran to the kitchen in a hurry on the sound of a cooker whistle.

“I am making some spicy momos, hope you like them.”

“Like? I love them,” I said keeping the wine bottle on the table. “You are making it extremely difficult for me to leave, this perfect evening with spicy momos and spicy you, how am I supposed to say GoodBye.”

“Then just don’t.”

“I wish Pumpkin. Why don’t you come with me to Australia, I have heard it’s a great place for dentist education too.”

“For that, I first need to complete my boards honey, anyways, the momos are ready, pass me the mayonnaise.”

“I will get the glasses.”

“What for?”

“Wine.”

“Let’s just avoid that this time.”

“Avoid what? Pumpkin it’s York’s red wine, your favorite.”

“I know but not today”

“Why what’s wrong?”

“Will you please keep that aside and sit here, the momos aren’t getting any hotter.”

“As you command my lady.”

“So, all set to fly tomorrow?”

“Yes, can’t wait. You want to hear something funny?”

“Always.”

“My mom has packed four jars of Ladoo, one holy book of “Shri Bhagvat Geeta”. You know what, I am the first from my family to fly abroad.”

“You sound thrilled, you have worked hard for this day, you deserve it, honey.”

“We have worked hard for this Pumpkin. It’s like this momos and mayonnaise, individually they taste good but together they taste pleasurable.”

“Oh Really!”

“Absolutely, you have always been there for me, cared for me, your care has made me go through this with ease.”

“Wow, look at you on your last day how flattering you have become.”

“Do you know that a mayonnaise kiss before taking a flight is a sign of good luck?”

“Stop leaning, go and get your hands washed first Mr.Kisser.”

“Yes mam, as you command.”

“How much melodrama, you do.”

“With how many girls are you going to flirt there?”

“One or two or maybe a lot, you never know,” I replied with a burst of laughter.

“Yes, I will never know, I am just an idiot who will be waiting here for you.”

“Hey Pumpkin, you know I am just kidding.”

“Do you love me?”

“What?”

“If you love me, then give me a legal note that you will never flirt with someone else.”

“Are you crazy dear, what’s wrong with you today?”

“What’s wrong, maybe I missed my period that’s wrong.”

“I just can’t understand you, there’s something weird about you today. First, you refuse to have your favorite wine, then you don’t allow me to kiss you, pick up a fight on some stupid topic and now this, ‘missed my periods’, you are acting as if you are pregnant.”

I became numb for a moment as I dropped the word “Pregnant”. My eyes looked at her, this time right in her eyes, her face became fretted and her eyes revealed the truth as if they were saying ‘Yes I am’.

“What? When? How?”

“How, do I need to explain How?”

“No but you are just sixteen, How can you get ...”, I know that’s the dumbest question ever but do you think that I was in my mind at that moment?

“I am sixteen, not sixty.”

“So?”

“So?”

“So, what have you thought about this?” My hands unintentionally point to her tummy.

Her wide-open eyes look gave me a befitting reply.

We both sat on the bed, there were so many questions to ask, but no word could come out from our mouth, the room had become silent, the silence in the room was now doing the talking.

“Is it healthy for your body to give birth at this age?”

“I don’t know but I have read a few articles about girls getting pregnant at my age and giving birth.”

“Do you want to have the child?”

“I don’t know, do you?”

“I don’t know. I don’t know, how it’s like to become a father at 20.”

“My parents will kill me when they find out I am pregnant. I haven’t yet completed my 12th, graduation is beyond far for me now.”

“My father selects which college I should go to, my mom chooses what clothes I should wear. I haven’t yet paid any utility bill, I am a student, I have no earnings, how can I raise a family.” The room was filled with silence for the second time.

“I can make momos.”

“And I can deliver them.” with a pause I continued, “Did we just start our family planning?”

“I think so,” she said with a smile.

“Then I guess I don’t need to go to Australia to learn MBA, I just did here.”

A message popped on her mobile screen. She read the message, re-read it, and kept reading. She then showed the message to me. The message was, ‘It’s Negative’ from Dr. Swati Naik. I looked at her for an explanation.

“I was a bit unsure If I am pregnant or not, some of the tests showed positive and some showed negative. So for a final confirmation, I found this doctor on the web, and as per her saying I had sent my urine sample for testing.”

It’s so strange, we both were supposed to get relaxed and feel happy after seeing that message. Instead, we ended up having these mixed feelings, as if we were now ready for the baby.

This unexpected and most difficult chapter of our life ended up teaching and testing us in a lot of areas. Someone very well said, “When life gives you lemon you make lemonade”, but how exactly, no one explained. The trust, the belief, the togetherness, and above all, the love for each other is a knot that keeps holding a relationship no matter how worst the situation becomes.