Twin Pregnancy

Chinmay called for the umpteenth time on Anaaya’s cell. When she did not answer, and did not reply to his Whatsapp texts, finally he decided to call his mother. He never called on any other number to speak with Anaaya, but today she had forced him to change the rule in all the 10 years he’d known her.

Chinmay and Anaaya had become friend during their final year of graduate college. They went on to do their MBA together, and fell in love. And then they got married the year after they graduated. It had been six years since their marriage. They had been trying to expand their family. After several years of trying, Anaaya had been unable to get pregnant. All her treatments had failed. She was losing interest in work, home, marriage and all else. She was depressed. She ate less, slept less, and thought a lot. Finally last year, she decided to give up all the treatments, and lived without any medication.

This morning, when Chinmay left for work, she had been sleeping, and had skipped office. Chinmay decided not to disturb her then, and to call her from office. But when she was not picking up his calls, and decided to ignore his texts, he grew worried, and there he was - calling his mother.

“Ma, I have been trying to reach Anaaya. She is not responding. I am worried. Can you check on her? What is she doing?” said a worried Chinmay to his mother, who lived two blocks away from their house.

When Chinmay’s mother reached there, she saw Anaaya happily humming a song, and performing a small jig. She entered inside. Immediately Anaaya touched her feet, and greeted her. They spoke for a while, and finally she asked Anaaya why she was ignoring Chinmay’s calls. Anaaya smiled, and said, “Mummy ji, I want him to get worried, and run back home to meet me. That is when you will all know the reason for my behavior.” Thus they decided to cook up a small story.

Though a little confused, Chinmay’s mother placed a call to him, and said, she was unable to talk to Anaaya because when she reached their house, Anaaya did not open the door.

Now Chinmay was more than worried. He spoke to his senior, took the day off, and rushed home. He called his mother too, and they both reached home. As soon as they got there, they saw Anaaya doing Yoga. She was even listening to her favorite music. Both of them looked at each other, confused. When they entered, Anaaya greeted them both with a grim face.

Chinmay said, “Anaaya, why aren’t you picking my calls? And why didn’t you open the door for mumma? You know how worried we are. Is everything okay?”

Anaaya looked gravely. Finally, she handed to Chinmay a small packet. It was wrapped in a gift paper. Then, she handed an envelope. Then, she went and sat down on a chair, and said, “I cannot live here anymore, Chinmay. That’s all!”

Chinmay knew she was depressed and fed up, but he had not seen this coming. With trembling hands, and shaky fingers, he opened the small gift pack. Inside it, he saw a Home Pregnancy Test kit, with two pink lines. He stared blankly, because it meant positive pregnancy. He was unable to understand anything. Then he tore open the envelope. It read, “Positive Twin Pregnancy”. He was totally dumbfounded. He stared at Anaaya.

Anaaya was smiling. She said, “Not just I, we cannot live here any more, dear husband. We’ll need a bigger house. Right?”

With that, Chinmay had tears in his eyes, and he went and hugged Anaaya. He then went and hugged his mother and announced their twin pregnancy. Yes, after years of failed treatments and attempts, Chinmay and Anaaya were expecting not one but two babies! Their joys knew no bounds!