Parinayanantaram

Coffee

“What are you staring at?”

Siri blushed and lowered her head. {I just loved her blush.}

“Nothing.”

“Okay.”

There was long silence between us. Ganesh fell asleep in my arms. I gently placed him on the bed beside Siri.

“Umm … where is Bhabi?”

“Please call me Paaru, Siri.” Came Paaru's voice from the door.

“I … I …”

“No excuses. We are best friends from now on. And I prefer you calling me Paaru.”

“Ok Paaru.”

I smiled. I am happy that my best friend has become the best friend to my wife too.

“Paaru. Shall I cook? I am feeling better now.”

“No … lunch is almost ready. I came to check if Ganesh is troubling you. But he seems to be comfortable with you people.”

“Yes Paaru. He is such a sweetheart. I love him so much.” Siri grinned.

{When will you say that about me?} I sighed.

But the truth is, I too loved Ganesh a lot. He is really a sweetheart.

“Yes, he is … but managing his mischief at home is hell.”
Paaru let out a sigh.

“Paaru, then can I help you? I mean, when you are busy, I can babysit him … I love playing with him.”

“Thanks, dear. I was about to ask you the same. Did you just read my mind or what?”

“Okay then we will have fun together, isn’t it Baby?” Siri whispered in the ear of sleeping Ganesh. I couldn’t help but smile. She looked so happy. {But why can’t she be nice to me?}

After lunch; {which was delicious} Siri and Paaru started talking.

{These women … ugh … how much do they speak? Don’t they ever get bored of chatting?}

I became busy with my pending work from office.

By evening, I heard the door bell and opened the door to find Shiva.

“Good that you are early. How was the surgery?” Paaru asked.

“It went well. Not much a problem. The patient is stable, out of danger. But can I get a strong coffee, my head is exploding.” Shiva settled in the couch, pressing his forehead.

“What happened … are you alright?” I asked out of concern.

“This is common for him. It is a hectic and skilled job. Moreover, he never gets time for us. A very busy person … sometimes I feel like I am his second wife.” Siri sulked.

“You too know the importance of my job. I can’t put the lives of my patients at risk just for the sake of my pleasure. And you never know when an emergency occurs. We are dealing with lives; it is a sin to be careless.” He explained with a calm face.

Meanwhile, Paaru brought 2 cups of strong coffee for us.

“But I must say … all that stress and tension disappears when I have a cup of coffee prepared by you. There is some magic in your hands.” He smirked. Paaru blushed and rushed into the room.

Shiva winked at me and we both laughed. “I have to learn a lot from you.” I said, sipping the tasty coffee. {He was right. It did relieve me of my stress.}

“Women are a peculiar but interesting creation of god. And dealing with them is an art.”

“Exactly. But they are so difficult to understand that, sometimes I doubt whether god himself has a difficulty in understanding them.”

He let out a hearty laugh.

“It is fun to spend time with you. Just like my Paaru.”