Meenakshi Saravanan

Saravanan thought they should go  out and get a hot cup of coffee or hot chocolate fudge or some thing like that at the Barista on the next block. It was a cold winter morning. Thick cloud cover had blanketed the warmth of the morning sun and the cold breeze made the weather gloomy. Yet the air was romantic. Meenakshi didn't know if it was the events of the last night or the weather itself that made her insides tingle  with excitement, leaving a strange but pleasant knot in her belly. The pores on her body were all open, making her more sensitive to the chill in  the air. A faint smile crossed her face and was soon replaced by a sheepish grin. She was, probably for the first time in her life, feeling shy.

The last one month had been crazy.  "Mental!!", as she liked to call it. It started with her parents looking for a suitable groom and ended with her marriage to Saravanan. No one asked for her opinion and none cared if she was ready. Ready to make the biggest decision of her life, ready to let herself be given away to a stranger she would only have known for a few days, ready to give up her ambitions,  her dreams and even her career if it came to that. A decision, as was always the case had been made and it was imposed on her. She cried, wailed and even refused to eat for a week but nothing was going to come in the way of this prospective alliance. Her dad would say to her, "Saravanan has done his Masters in Management from IIM and is going to head the Marketing division of Coca Cola. You should consider yourself lucky to land someone like him." . How typical of her family to say something like that. Her intelligence, her own Master's degree from IIIT counted for so little.

As the dreaded date for her marriage drew nearer her wails had turned into meek submission; her resistance into resignation towards her fate. Little did she know that the tide was going to turn, and very soon too. Her first meeting with Saravanan, what most people in a relationship would call a first date, restored a little hope to the dwindling faith she had towards marriage. Saravanan, though burly and athletic, was very kind. Courteous even. He had shown no hint of an ego and treated her with respect, as an equal. He had appreciated her academic exploits and was even open to the idea of her working after marriage.

Short meetings were slowly turning into fun dates and the typical hi hello conversations into stimulating, exciting and fun filled chats. With every passing day, Meenakshi was getting more and more used to having Saravanan around. The initial hate that had clouded her when the engagement was announced had now been replaced by a strange longing for him and his calming presence. She had a shoulder to lean on and a patient listener to ramble out all her frustrations to. She liked that and yet there was one thing that she still dreaded. There was still one thing, she feared, she might not have the stomach or the will to bring her self to do.

These thoughts raced through her head as she lay on the bed, feeling Saravanan's unkempt beard tickle against her belly, making her gasp. She watched him gently cajole her tender breasts and roll over on top of her. He took her in her arms, held her tight and whispered, "You know, I love you! Only when you are ready!". But her senses had given way to her anxiety and she could barely hear what he said. She shut her eyes and dug her fingers deep into his back as she felt him for the first time since they had been married. The feeling was very different from what she had imagined. The thought of an alien bodily fluid entering hers had been very revolting to her but when he did come, she was filled with a strange glow. She no longer had any inhibitions left inside. It felt like a veil had been lifted and everything that was still keeping the two of them at arm's length had vanished into thin air.

On the Royal Enfield Standard, as they were they were riding into the cold gloomy morning, it was the memories of the previous night that infused the bout of excitement in her. A strange urge to wrap her arm's around Saravanan engulfed her as she smiled sheepishly at how foolishly happy she felt at the thought of it. "Enanga", she called, just to see the cute smirk across his face. She put her arms around him, held him as tight as she possibly could without strangling him, climbed up on his back and whispered, "You know, I love you too!! I couldn't happier if I wanted to."