Her Second-Hand Husband! novel Chapter 12

Arjun's PoV

I am now driving to Tirupur to my grandparents home. My mom hails from Tirupur and my dad from Coimbatore. We now live in Chennai because of our work. Mom hates to be in Chennai for she dislikes the traffic and heat. But the most important thing she hates about Chennai is the language they use to talk. She often would say that people here are killing Thamizh. Though I was born in Tirupur, I have been in Chennai for all my life and I love the regional Thamizh in Coimbatore, Tirupur and Erode. Their Thamizh is like music to our ears. The way they address you, you would feel compassion from even a stranger. I love being there to enjoy the love of my grandma and grandpa.

"Ma, When is the 'Kumbabishekam' exactly? Why is Priya not here?" I asked mom.

"Kumbabishekam is on Sunday. Priya is not here because though she comes she cannot come to the temple." mom said. Ah, ladies' monthly problem.

"Oh, ok. Then why are we going there on Saturday itself? That too the sun is not up yet." I asked her. I am feeling sleepy. It's 3am!

"That is why I asked the driver to come along with us. You wanted to drive and now complain about the same." mom said.

"Not that ma, I love driving and I don't trust drivers for such a long drive."

"I know, Ajju. Thatha and paati wanted to see you. They want to talk to you. That is why I asked you to come. I was happy that you at least agreed to come on Sunday but thanks to Preethi, you are here now. Thatha and Paati would be beyond happy if they see you today. It is actually a surprise. I have not yet told them that you are coming along." mom said happily.

I am happy to visit them too. The last time I saw them was two years back when that unfortunate event happened in my life. It pained them more than it pained me. They took me with them for a month to escape me from prying eyes and all nonsense stories people managed to spin. I was not myself at that time and I failed to take care of them. But I should make them feel that I am alright now and also make them happy.

"What did they want to talk to me about, ma?" I asked her.

"I don't know, Ajju. They just asked me to bring you to the festival. They said nothing more." she said but for some reason I thought mom is not telling me the whole truth. Preethi and the kids were sleeping peacefully and dad was trying to sleep.

"Pch, Stop talking, Yasho. Ajju put those songs on. Let me sleep for some time. I have to go to Coimbatore after breakfast. I need some rest." dad said.

"Huh, sleepy head! It is times like this, I get to speak to my son without worrying about the work and time. This man would always spoil it for me." mom mumbled to herself which we both heard well and clearly.

"Did you say something?" dad asked her.

"um... Nothing. You sleep!" mom replied sarcastically and a small smile crept on my face listening to their bickering. It is them I saw growing up. It is them who inspired me to marry. I thought my life would be like theirs, filled with love and happiness. But I realized later that not everyone is blessed with such life and I am one among them. I switched on the songs and the rest of the drive was just me and the songs.

My Grandparents' native is a very little village where you literally can count the number of houses. It is just 10 streets and almost everyone living there is our relative one way or another. You cannot hold back mom once she goes there. She will literally stop at every house to talk and greet before we go to our grandparents. My grandparents' home is not a big one but a beautiful one with all native things. They still don't use the fridge or washing machine or air conditioner or microwave oven or vacuum cleaner! My grandpa is 85years old and he still runs his errands on his bicycle. We have a whole lot of farming land and he manages them with my granny.

"Ada Arsun (grandparents' way of calling Arjun), come come. What a pleasant surprise! How are you Raasa(king - an endearment)." My granny was the first to see us as I parked the car in front of the house.

"Ammachi(mommy's mom), I am so good. How are you and Appuchi(mommy's dad)?" I asked her, getting down, giving her a hug, almost lifting her up.

"Ada, ayya. Let me down!" she said giggling. It is a beautiful sight to see her getting shy and blushing even at this age. She is a beautiful lady.

"Haha, Romba vekka padathinga Ammachi! (Don't get too shy Granny!)" I said.

"Vaanga Vaanga(come come!)" she moved a step away from me and received my dad and ran in. It is still a practice here to not speak freely to the son-in-law of the house. My dad is treated like a king here.

"Then what are we doing here?"

"Wait, we have to water the crops. We should switch on the motor and we should turn it off after an hour. Then we should go check our cows and bulls. We must gather their dung and clean their place. That should take another hour. Then I thought of taking a swim in our pump set!" He explained to me his work for the next three hours.

"Appuchi, you look after the motor thing, I will go clean up the cow shed. we both can take a bath in the pumpset and we also can save an hour." I told him.

"Aiyo, no, raasa. I will switch on the motor and will go clean the cow shed. You stay here and switch it off after one hour. Also check if all the varappu(ridges to retain water in the fields) are clear of dirt." he said.

"Appuchi, this is important. You look after the field. I will go and clean the cowshed. You can come and check on my work." I told him and went towards the cowshed disregarding all his denials.

I started cleaning up the cow dung and piled them up outside as it is used as a fertilizer for the crops. I turned on the water and cleaned the shed. I gave the cows and bulls some hay and by the time I was done with all the work, I was drenched in sweat and I smelt like cow dung. I checked for the time and it took me 1.30 hours to complete.

"Very nice job done, Arsun!" Appuchi came by and appreciated me.

"Shall we take a bath now, Appuchi?" I asked him as he was drenched in sweat too. We went to the water. We swam for a little bit and went back to our cycle in wet clothes. It felt weird to sit on the seat with wet underwear and the temperature was just right to dry it.

"Appuchi, you go home. I will walk home." I told him.

I started walking enjoying the greenery when someone came running at me from the side and pushed me aside and fell to the ground.