No One But Me

oh nakhrewaali

@oh_nakhrewaali

#4: No One But Me

It was a slow day at the bakery when Priya came in. She watched her husband, his salmon pink shirt covered in an apron, talking to a little girl who looked about five years old, with a grin on his face.

"I love cookies too, but I think your mommy is right. You should not eat so many cookies. They will cause your tummy to hurt," he said, giving her the packet.

"Mommy doesn’t know everything," she replied confidently with the quiet wisdom of a 5 year old and gave him the cash. He gave her the change, which she counted and went to her mother who was waiting for her outside the bakery with too many shopping bags to count. 

Ram watched her leave and absently munched on a cookie two minutes after he had advised a child to avoid them. Priya shook her head in exasperation. "Talk about practicing what you preach," she said sarcastically. 

"Hey, she is a kid, I am an adult, my tummy won't hurt!" He shrugged defensively, causing Priya to roll her eyes, and walk towards the kitchen.

"I’ll be in here if you need anything," she called out to him, and he waved a hand dismissively.

It was surprising for Priya that she trusted someone outside the family with the bakery. 

"But he is family, too, Priya," was her mother’s retort, and she brushed it off.

"Seems like we found someone to man the counter," Priya said to Sara, who was working on a birthday cake.

"Oh yes, he has been at it for about two hours now! Customers seem to like him, he has a charm, you know" Sara said, raising her eyebrow mischievously. 

Priya rolled her eyes and started working on the almonds for almond biscuits. 

Suddenly after about 5 minutes, they heard a commotion outside, and the two looked at each other in confusion. They sprinted to the counter and saw a woman fuming at Ram.

"I asked for decaf. Are you a complete idiot? I mean, how difficult is it to get right? One decaf, one choco latte, two black teas, and one bottle of water," she ranted, and Ram rubbed his forehead, clearly upset.

"Hey, lady, it was a small mistake. You needn't be so rude about it!" Priya stomped to the counter, throwing daggers at the customer.

"Priya..." Ram tried to calm her, but Priya was seeing red. How dare this woman yell at Ram?

"Also, it was a pretty big order, so you should know that it requires time, so consider yourself lucky that you got all that in about two minutes," she continued.

"Is this how you speak to your customers?" The woman shot back.

"No, but this is how we talk to people who have no patience. Thank you for visiting!" 

Priya snapped and looked at her husband. The two didn't even realize that the customer had left. Sara looked at them awkwardly, sensing the tension.

"And you? Couldn't you ask for help?" She turned her wrath on her husband now.

"I was about to..."

"About to what?"

Ram and Sara looked at her in shock.

"You yelled at that woman for yelling at me and are now yelling at me? What is your problem?" He was clearly bewildered.

"My problem is that no one can yell at my husband!" she replied without thinking. Ram gaped at her open-mouthed, while Sara couldn't help but chuckle. The two looked at her and then at each other.

"Only I get to yell at you," Priya continued in a softer tone and looked at the ground. Ram couldn't help but let out a low chuckle. It was moments like these that made him realize that they were slowly getting there, becoming husband and wife in the real sense. He knew without doubt now that she cared for him, and that she thought of him as a part of her life. Even if she liked yelling at him. No, he corrected himself. Especially because she liked yelling at him.