Chapter One Hundred Thirty Eight: The Day the Mansion Almost Imploded
The morning started like any other.
Jay woke up craving something impossible. Shreya woke up wanting to murder someone. Neither of them knew which would be worse.
Keifer opened his eyes. Saw his wife staring at the ceiling with the intensity of a general planning war.
"What is it?"
"The baby wants something. I don't know what yet. But it's out there."
He braced himself. "What did we learn from yesterday?"
"Chocolate sauce fixes everything."
"Not everything."
"The baby disagrees."
---
Downstairs, Shreya was already at the kitchen table.
Staring at her coffee like it had personally offended her.
Mithun sat across from her. "Good morning."
"Don't."
"Don't what?"
"Don't 'good morning' me. It's not a good morning."
"What's wrong?"
She pointed at her coffee. "This is wrong."
"The coffee?"
"It's too hot."
"I can add ice."
"NO! THEN IT'LL BE TOO COLD!"
He paused. "What temperature do you want?"
"I DON'T KNOW! FIGURE IT OUT!"
---
Akshi walked in. Froze. Backed out slowly.
Chethan followed. "What's wrong?"
"Akshi and Shreya are both in moods. We're not safe."
"Jay too?"
"Jay too. This is DEFCON 1."
---
Percy arrived with Honey. He was already vibrating. "GOOD MORNING, EVERYONE! WHAT ARE WE CRAVING TODAY?"
Jay looked up from her plate. "I want pancakes."
"PANCAKES! EASY!"
"With pickles."
Percy paused. "Pickles?"
"And chocolate sauce."
"And hot sauce?"
Jay's eyes lit up. "YES."
---
Honey grabbed Percy. "Babe, let's just order breakfast."
"I CAN MAKE PANCAKES WITH PICKLES!"
"You'll burn the kitchen down."
"I'M AN ARTIST!"
"You're a menace."
---
Shreya watched this exchange.
Her eye twitched.
"Why is everyone so LOUD?"
Mithun put his hand on her arm. "Shreya—"
"DON'T TOUCH ME!"
He pulled his hand back.
She started crying.
"I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I don't know why I'm like this."
"It's okay."
"IT'S NOT OKAY!"
She cried harder.
Mithun sat there, helpless.
---
Akshi appeared with water. "Shreya, drink."
Shreya took the water. Threw it across the room.
"I DON'T WANT WATER!"
Akshi stared. "That was my favorite cup."
"I'M SORRY!" Shreya sobbed. "I'M SORRY ABOUT YOUR CUP! I'M SORRY ABOUT EVERYTHING!"
She ran to her room.
The door slammed.
Mithun sat there, water dripping down his face.
Chethan handed him a towel. "Pregnancy hormones are no joke."
Mithun nodded slowly. "I'm learning."
---
In the kitchen, Jay had found her perfect breakfast.
Pancakes. Pickles. Chocolate sauce. Hot sauce.
She took a bite.
Her face went through seventeen expressions.
"The baby likes it."
Keifer stared at her plate. "That's... that's something."
"You want to try?"
"I want to live."
She shrugged. "More for me."
---
Percy ran in. "SHREYA'S CRYING! JAY'S EATING WEIRD THINGS! THIS IS THE BEST DAY!"
Honey grabbed him. "Percy, people are upset."
"UPSET IS DRAMATIC! DRAMATIC IS FUN!"
"Your girlfriend is crying!"
"SHREYA'S NOT MY GIRLFRIEND! SHE'S MY SISTER!"
"YOUR SISTER IS CRYING!"
He paused. "Oh. Right."
He ran to Shreya's room.
---
He knocked. "SHREYA! IT'S PERCY! YOUR FAVORITE BROTHER!"
Mithun appeared behind him. "I'm her husband."
"SECOND FAVORITE BROTHER!"
Shreya's voice was muffled. "Go away."
"I BROUGHT SNACKS!"
"I DON'T WANT SNACKS!"
"WHAT ABOUT CAKE?"
Silence.
"What kind of cake?"
Percy grinned. "CHOCOLATE!"
---
The door opened a crack.
Shreya's face appeared. Red eyes. Puffy cheeks.
"Chocolate?"
"THE BEST CHOCOLATE!"
She took the cake. Ate a bite.
Her face softened. "This is good."
Percy beamed. "I SAVED THE DAY!"
Mithun put his hand on Percy's shoulder. "Thank you."
Percy puffed up. "I'M A HERO!"
---
In the kitchen, Jay had moved on to her second craving.
"I want ice cream."
Keifer opened the freezer. "What flavor?"
"I don't know yet. The baby will tell me."
She stared at the options.
Vanilla? No.
Chocolate? No.
Strawberry? No.
Her eyes landed on the mint chocolate chip.
She grabbed it. Ate a spoonful.
Paused.
"The baby wants this with pickles."
---
Keifer stared. "Pickles. With mint chocolate chip ice cream."
"Yes."
"That's... that's the worst one yet."
She added pickles. Took a bite.
Her eyes rolled back. "OH MY GOD."
"You're scaring me."
"The baby is SO HAPPY."
She ate the whole bowl.
---
Shreya emerged from her room, cake in hand.
She saw Jay's empty bowl. "What was that?"
"Mint chocolate chip ice cream with pickles."
Shreya stared. "That sounds disgusting."
Jay held up a spoon. "Try it."
Shreya took a bite.
Her face went through seventeen expressions.
"That's... that's actually good."
"RIGHT?"
---
They sat together. Eating ice cream with pickles.
The pregnant sisters.
Bonding over chaos.
Keifer watched them. "This is my life now."
Mithun appeared beside him. "This is our life now."
"Are we surviving?"
"Barely."
"Good enough."
---
Akshi walked in. Saw the scene. "Are you two eating ice cream with pickles?"
"Yes."
"Together?"
"Yes."
"Is it good?"
Jay held out a spoon. "Try."
Akshi took a bite.
Her face went pale. "That's HORRIBLE!"
Shreya shrugged. "More for us."
---
Percy bounced in. "WHAT ARE WE EATING?"
"Shreya and Jay's pregnancy special."
He grabbed a spoon. Took a bite.
His face went through seventeen expressions.
"THAT'S THE WORST THING I'VE EVER TASTED!"
Honey took the spoon from him. "Then stop eating it."
"I CAN'T! IT'S FASCINATING!"
He took another bite.
---
By noon, the entire household had tried the ice cream-pickle combination.
C.N. took notes. "Subject: Pregnancy cravings. Result: 73% of test subjects found the combination revolting. 27% found it intriguing."
Rakii photographed the bowl. "For the album. 'The Worst Thing Ever Created.'"
David tried it. "I've eaten worse."
Freya stared. "When?"
"College."
"That explains nothing."
---
Mica tried it. "THIS IS AMAZING!"
Calix grabbed her. "Mica, no."
"MICA YES!"
Calix tried it. His face went pale. "That's terrible."
"You have no taste!"
"I have excellent taste!"
"You have BORING taste!"
---
Felix and Bridget refused to try it.
"I'm happy for you," Felix said.
"But I'm not eating that," Bridget finished.
Jay shrugged. "Your loss."
---
The afternoon brought new challenges.
Shreya cried because her shoe was untied.
Then cried because Mithun tied it for her.
Then cried because she didn't know why she was crying.
Mithun held her through all of it.
---
Jay wanted tacos for lunch.
Then didn't want tacos.
Then wanted tacos again.
Then cried because the tacos weren't the right tacos.
Keifer ordered from three different restaurants.
The fourth one was perfect.
---
Percy tried to help.
He brought Shreya flowers. She cried because they were pretty.
He brought Jay chocolate. She cried because it wasn't pickles.
He brought himself a snack. He cried because he was out of snacks.
Honey patted his back. "Pregnancy is hard."
"I'M NOT PREGNANT!"
"Empathy is hard."
"OH."
---
By evening, everyone was exhausted.
Jay sat on the couch, finally satisfied. Her cravings had been met. Her belly was full. The baby was quiet.
Shreya sat beside her, calm for the first time all day. Mithun's arm around her. His hand on her stomach.
Akshi collapsed into a chair. "Is it over?"
"For now," Jay said.
"Until tomorrow?"
"Until tomorrow."
---
Percy lay on the floor. "I need a nap."
Honey sat beside him. "We all need a nap."
"Pregnancy is exhausting."
"You're not pregnant."
"I'M EMPATHY EXHAUSTED!"
---
Jay leaned against Keifer. "Today was a lot."
"The most."
"I'm sorry."
"For what?"
"For being crazy."
He kissed her forehead. "You're not crazy. You're growing a human."
"A human who wants pickles with ice cream."
"A human with excellent taste."
She laughed. "You're biased."
"Your biased."
---
Shreya leaned against Mithun. "I'm sorry for throwing your cup."
"It's okay."
"I'm sorry for yelling."
"It's okay."
"I'm sorry for crying about my shoe."
He kissed her hair. "It's okay."
"I love you."
"I love you too. Even on crazy days."
"Especially on crazy days?"
"Especially on crazy days."
---
Percy raised a hand from the floor. "TO SURVIVING!"
Honey sighed. "Percy, that's not a toast."
"IT IS NOW!"
"TO SURVIVING!" everyone echoed.
Jay kissed Keifer's cheek.
Shreya kissed Mithun's cheek.
Akshi hugged Chethan.
Percy fell asleep on the floor.
Honey let him.
---
The night was quiet.
The cravings would return tomorrow.
The mood swings would return tomorrow.
But for now—
They survived.
Together.
---
End of Chapter One Hundred Thirty Eight