"Amma, make sure you prepare two large bottles of pickles this time." I thought, mentally imagining the spicy-sour taste of mango pickles that my Amma prepares with her hand-picked mangoes from the tree near our home in the village.

My mother prepares the best pickles in the world, and I have no shame in admitting that Im addicted to the pickles she makes. By mentioning pickles, I recall my childhood days when my Amma would handpick the best mangoes for pickles. Amma would be chopping those mangoes while I and Keerthana would sit beside her, watching her every move with a wandering smile. After completing the ingredient-addition part, Amma would let us taste the pickle as a reward for being her audience and we both would jump around in excitement at getting to taste the world's best pickle.

"And also pack one small bottle of pickle separately... Amudha Aunty wants one too" I added while balancing the phone between my shoulder and ear as I poured the coffee into both mugs.

Amudha Aunty is our Neighbour and a specialist in handmade embroidery work. The last time she came here to deliver the Kurti, I asked her to add an embroidery design since it was too plain and dull. While I was arranging the fridge, she arrived, and somehow, she noticed the pickle bottle. She asked me if it was homemade, and I offered her a taste. She loved it. However, at that time, I could only give her half a bottle of pickles as I had only that much available at home. Therefore, when she called Amma to inform me about the housewarming pooja for the new house my parents bought in our village, I asked her to prepare some extra pickles for Amudha Aunty as well.

The new house was a dream for my parents, who were born and brought up in the village. They had moved to the city for the sake of our education and a better lifestyle, but I knew that my parents didnt like the city lifestyle much. They wanted to build a house in our village after I and Keerthana got settled in our own lives. As I've got married and settled with Abishan in Chennai and Keerthana is going to shift to Bengaluru to pursue her passion for fashion design at Bengaluru University, my parents thought this would be the best time to go back and settle in our new house in the village after performing a pooja there.

" Hmm, okay, Maa, Ill call you later... bye" With that, I hung up the call and took the coffee mugs out of the kitchen. Its Tuesday evening, and we both just came home from the office after a hectic day. As Abi has an important presentation tomorrow, he started to work on it right after getting fresh. I was free, so I thought of making hot coffee for both of us, and thats when my Amma called. Usually, it takes less than five minutes for me to make coffee, but today it took half an hour because I kept talking to my Amma, forgetting the milk on the stove.

" Abi, why haven't you dried your hair yet?" I asked, walking into the study room where he was seated in front of the study table with his eyes fixed on the laptop screen ahead of him. Hearing me, he peeked at me for a second before continuing to work on his laptop. I had told him to dry his hair before I left for the kitchen to make coffee, but look at him, still sitting with wet hair dripping. The droplets of water wetted his T-shirt, and later he caught a cold because of it and turned into a kid who hates medicine.

" Here, drink this and work" I said while pushing the coffee mug near him, which he took immediately. Placing my coffee mug on the table, I picked up the AC remote and switched it off.

The new house was a dream for my parents, who were born and brought up in the village. They had moved to the city for the sake of our education and a better lifestyle, but I knew that my parents didnt like the city lifestyle much. They wanted to build a house in our village after I and Keerthana got settled in our own lives. As I've got married and settled with Abishan in Chennai and Keerthana is going to shift to Bengaluru to pursue her passion for fashion design at Bengaluru University, my parents thought this would be the best time to go back and settle in our new house in the village after performing a pooja there.

" Hmm, okay, Maa, Ill call you later... bye" With that, I hung up the call and took the coffee mugs out of the kitchen. Its Tuesday evening, and we both just came home from the office after a hectic day. As Abi has an important presentation tomorrow, he started to work on it right after getting fresh. I was free, so I thought of making hot coffee for both of us, and thats when my Amma called. Usually, it takes less than five minutes for me to make coffee, but today it took half an hour because I kept talking to my Amma, forgetting the milk on the stove.

" Abi, why haven't you dried your hair yet?" I asked, walking into the study room, where he was seated in front of the study table with his eyes fixed on the laptop screen ahead of him. Hearing me, he peeked at me for a second before continuing to work on his laptop. I had told him to dry his hair before I left for the kitchen to make coffee, but look at him, still sitting with wet hair dripping. The droplets of water wetted his T-shirt, and later he caught a cold because of it and turned into a kid who hates medicine.

" Here, drink this and work" I said while pushing the coffee mug near him, which he took immediately. Placing my coffee mug on the table, I picked up the AC remote and switched it off.

"Aru, stop playing around... Turn on the AC... I've got a lot of work to complete" he groaned out of irritation.

Ignoring him, I went out and came back within a minute with a towel and stood behind him as I said" Stay still... You can continue your work, and Ill do mine."

Covering his hair with the towel I began to dry his hair while he drank the coffee and worked on his presentation.

"Abi" I called him slowly while still rubbing the towel over his head at a gentle yet fast pace.

"Hmm" he hummed with all his concentration on the laptop screen.

"Amma called me to ask when were going to book the ticket for the village" I said matter-of-factly.

" Oh, for the housewarming pooja?" He tilted his head up, meeting my gaze. The curled-up semi-wet hair covered his forehead as he twinkled his eyes adorably at me. Why is he looking so cute when I'm talking about something important? Should I kiss him?

Shaking off those thoughts i came back to my sense" Ill book the tickets just tell me how many days youll get off from your office so that i can also book the return tickets"

He thought for a seconds before replying" four days"

" Huh? four days? Youll stay at my parents' house? Are you sure?" I didnt intend to ask in such a dramatic way, but it just came out like that.

He again listed his head up" why are you giving daily soap a kind of shock reaction for my simple answer?"

"No, I mean .... it's just i thought youll stay there for hardly two days.as mostly husbands feel uncomfortable staying in their in-law's place" i answered still not feeling sure about if it was convincing enough. Honestly I've seen a lot of husbands making faces and putting demands like I'll take the Room with AC, I'll eat this or that only and still they would complain about how they got bored in their in laws house and had to compromise with their comfort because a son in law staying in their in laws house for more than two days would hurt the pride of son in law. I dont know how some people drag pride and dignity into such a simple thing as this. If a wife doesnt feel uncomfortable staying in her in-law's house for years and tries to adjust herself to fit into a whole new family after marriage, then why should a husband feel such a thing? Is it not like only the wife got married? They both got married, thus they both should accept each other's family with equal effort. Infact the son in laws gets the best treatment during his stay in his in laws. From food to their entertainment things and yet these husbands have the audacity to say that they dont like staying in their in-laws ' places. How rude.

"Aru"

His voice pulled me back to the current moment as I looked at him for him to say something.

"Why would I feel uncomfortable to stay in my in-laws?" he asks with a lipped smile.

I stayed mum and let him talk further.

"maybe I might feel a bit lost since this would be the first time me staying in my in laws place after marriage..but I'm sure that after few hours or a day I'll gel with my in-laws..and also this would be great time for us to spend some time with your parents as after marriage we got busy with setting our own home and work that we didnt visit them even for once." he spoke sense.

"Yeah, but what about your office? you might need to take six days of leaves.i know that will add more workload on your shoulder after we came back. No need to do all these. lets leave a day before the housewarming day that would be enough"

"a day before? Aru were not some distant relatives of your parents"he chuckles and continues" youre their elder daughter and I'm their first son in lawin that way we have to share the responsibility too."

"Just six days off, two days travelling and the remaining four days we will spend with your family. Dont worry about my workload, I'll handle it.. Besides I'm sure your dad will need help in sending invitations, and in catering arrangements etcetc if we went there three days prior then we can be more helpful to them."

"Hmm but what about your." and before i could talk any more he looked up and glared at me.

"Enna than di un prachanai ?(whats your problem?) "

Splashing all my teeths in a silly smile I shook my head as no.

" Hmm, then I'll book the tickets. you can take off the packing please. I only create a mess in the name of packing. And also, do let me know if we must shop for something for your parents from here" with that he resumed to work after i gave him an understanding node.

I felt relieved. Hes willing to adjust himself for my life, just like I'm willing to do the same for his family. This kind of relief comes when I realise that he is not just a good husband but also a good son-in-law.

Awww, my husband deserves a wild night tonight, for sure.

With all the thoughts layering in my mind, I resumed drying his hair with the towel. After making sure that his hair was dry, I smiled to myself and was about to move away but instead got pulled by him, causing me to land on his lap.

Gasping loudly, I looked at him with a shocked expression, but he just gave me a wicked smile and put his arms around me, blocking me from getting up.

"I swear if the chair breaks—hhh" the following words got muffled as he kissed me, not letting me talk.

"Ughhh, stop it, Abi."

"Im just rewarding you for the little things you do for me," he said, smiling against my lips.

"Ahaan", circling my arms around his neck, I continued" then I guess this isnt the kind of reward I expected from you."

His smile brightened up like a hundred-volt bulb. Raising his eyebrows, he said" So you want something more than a kiss as a reward?" The desperation and desire in his voice made my cheeks turn crimson as I bit my inner cheeks to prevent myself from blushing.

Nodding slightly, I gave him a slight idea of what I could ask for. Suddenly, the room became hot, and the air became thick. His gaze stayed on my lips for a longer minute before he lifted his gaze and looked into my eyes.

"Whats that? I promise, whatever it is, Ill do it" he whispered softly.

"I thought you had a lot of work." I dragged out the sentence to tease him.

Leaning in, he shut the laptop with a thud and looked back into my eyes." You come first before anything."

"Hmmm." I bit my lower lip to stop smiling too much over his statement.

"Now tell me... what's on your mind?" He nuzzles his nose in my neck, causing me to giggle as I feel ticklish.

"Come here he said, asking him to land his ear. I smiled to myself thinking about what his reaction would be after I said exactly what I wanted.

Covering both sides of my mouth, I husked what I wanted in his ear, only for him to hear.

It took him a moment to understand as he leaned back on the chair and kept looking at me with a blank face before he understood what I said, his eyes went wide along with his mouth.

"Cheeeyou dirty little woman" he shied away, making me hide my face in the crook of his neck

That I am, but only for him.