Z is for... Zoo

Z is for... Zoo

It was one of those rare Sunday evenings where the entire family was gathered in the Raizada living room.

The children were sprawled across the floor watching a movie. Akash and Mamaji were playing cards on one sofa, Nani and Payal were looking through old photo albums while Mami and Anjali gossiped over their magazines

Arnav was reading his newspaper while Khushi watched the movie with the children from where she was sat on the sofa next to him. Her legs were tucked up on the sofa next to him with her feet under his thigh for warmth while she ploughed through a plate of pakoras.

His momentary idyll was broken with the sound of Akash's eldest son Sanjay's loud scream. 'Aditi! You hit me!'

The screams and grunts that followed were indistinguishable as to which child they emerged from as Aditi began to claw at Suraj's hair and he fought back, egged on and helped by their various younger cousins and siblings.

Payal, Anjali, Nani and Mamiji all stood up immediately to help break the fight. Khushi, although desperate to attend to her daughters and nephews and niece was restrained by her feet under Arnav's thigh.

He put a hand on her arm to stop her struggling and she was shocked to see him laughing instead of distressed.

'Arnav! What are you doing? They'll hurt each other, let me up!'

'Khushi, this is all your fault,' he shouted loudly over the sounds of Mamiji joining rh children's screams.

She stopped wriggling automatically, 'what?'

'You've turned my house into a zoo!' He said with a smirk, before taking advantage of his distracted family members to kiss her into submission.

Again Arnav's slice of heaven was interrupted by the sound of loud screams.

'Hawww!! Mummy and Papa are kissing!!'

'Eww Chachu!'