Chapter 166

They drove to the hotel in silence except for Phoebe who was constantly talking to herself or pointed things out along the road that grabbed her attention. When they arrived and signed in, they walked up to their room, not bothering to unpack any of the things Alex laid down on the bed and sighed deeply, Phoebe was playing with her bag of toys on the floor, packing everything out then she'll leave it there for someone else to clean. "I'm sorry you had to witness that. No family event ever goes down without her reminding me of my past." Alex said when Ryan laid down next to her, rubbing small circles on her belly absentmindedly .

"It's okay, no family is perfect." He answered but she disagreed shaking her head.

"I don't care what she says to me, but when no one will disrespect you and Phoebe. Not even if it happens to be my aunt."

"Hey sweetheart you're gonna have to calm down." Ryan coached but Alex was far from calm.

"Okay I'm calm." She said loudly and Ryan laughed shaking his head knowing she was lying.

"Yeah you sound real calm, come on, let's get something to eat and then we call it a day and have some sleep." Ryan suggested and Alex sat up at the mention of food looking over the menu her husband had in his hand. "Cheese burgers and fries?" He asked and she nodded.

"I'll introduce you to some Indian cuisine in the morning. I hope that small restaurant is still open, they have the most amazing curry." Alex reminisced making Ryan look forward to what the next day will have in store for them.

Alex crawled to the end of the bed to look at her daughter who looked up at her mother when she saw her face. "Can I bath you and then give you something to eat and then we go sleep?" Alex asked and Phoebe nodded her head, and walked into the bathroom to run her daughter a bath while Ryan ordered the food. Her phone buzzed with a text when she came back into the room and she read it quickly. Her grandmother offering to look after Phoebe tomorrow while she and Ryan goes and explores town. Not sure how she felt about it but she gave in to the request initially as the two of them would be able to see much more and enjoy each other's company without their toddler, and the fact that she'll be in safe hands made Alex at ease with the idea.

After Phoebe's bath sleep seemed to get the better of her, and Alex handed her her bottle and laid her down in the crib that they requested from the hotel, and she soon drifted off to sleep. Seems like she wasn't the only one who was tired after their flight and the little family drama they had to endure earlier.

"Grandma offered to take Phoebe tomorrow, while we go explore. I said it's fine I hope you don't mind." Alex said looking over at her husband who nodded his head looking at her stealing some of her fries "It's fine. I don't have a problem with it." He said reaching over for more fries since she didn't say anything yet to make him stop.

"Ryan I'm eating for two, you're being selfish taking food right out of your unborn child's mouth." Alex answered looking at him.

"The baby won't mind. We're buddies." Ryan answered kissing the tip of her nose as he got up and gt ready to take a shower. By the time Ryan emerged from the shower Alex was fast asleep as her tiredness caught up with her, he closed her with the blanket and got comfortable under the covers next to his wife looking forward to their adventure in the morning.

The next morning after dropping Phoebe off at Ramashni's house the couple took off to get to know the city, or more like Alex wanting to show Ryan some of the hidden gems in this overcrowded yet really cool place that she calls home. Today she decided that she'll be driving since Ryan had no mercy with yesterday's traffic and maybe with her road rage they'd get to the places she wants to show him quicker. "So, where are we going?" He asked when they pulled up to a traffic light.

"We're gonna get breakfast, I don't know where yet I'll have to look around for the place." She shrugged forcing her way into a line of traffic where she saw a gap, and not being bothered by the other drivers honking their horns. "Yeah yeah just stop it, there was a space open in front of you so I took it!" She yelled looking in the rear view mirror and the look of shock on her husband's face was enough to make her laugh.

"I think that was illegal." Ryan said looking at her but she shook her hand.

"First rule husband of mine, personal space does not exist in India. This counts for whenever you're driving or when you're in any line." Alex explained but he was still confused by this notion.

He nodded his head and looked out the window at the vendors who were selling things on the sides of the road, "they sell water at the side of the road?"

"Never, and I repeat never buy water from vendors. Do not use tap water for drinking, that's what bottled water is far and you have to make sure the seal is still intact when you drink it." She said pointing a finger in his direction to make her point clear.

"Why? It seems perfectly normal."

"Because sometimes they take bottles from the trash and refill them so it can be sold on the streets. I'm not sure how much truth is in that but that's what grandma used to tell me, and I still believe her to this day." Alex laughed as they pulled up to an alley swarming with people and small restaurants.

"Come on, let's check out the ones across the street." She said and linked her hand with his and he looked around.

"Here's no crosswalks." Ryan noticed and Alex laughed nodding her head. "How are we gonna cross without being killed by busses, or cattle or these weird looking taxi's."

"Rule number two, close your eyes, pray for mercy and run." Alex said, he didn't think she was serious but when she yanked his hand when she saw a gap that was exactly what they did as the two of them run through traffic to make it to the other side safely. "That wasn't so bad was it?" She looked up at him as he looked back to the road they just crossed.

"I guess not, we survived." Ryan laughed following his wife. He was afraid of letting go of her hand because for some reason he felt like a toddler in a shopping center on thanksgiving as he might lose her and then have no idea where to start looking for her or how to find his way out. He was really overwhelmed in every aspect as it felt like this was the land of extremes.

They walked through a famous food lane in the middle of a market place, where a handful of well -known eateries were situated; all of them serving the same dish. "Okay so what makes this place unique is that they all sell the same thing, like flatbread made from wheat and dough that's been fried on both sides." Alex explained to her husband above the noise from the people

"Why would it be special if all of them are selling the same thing?" He asked confused.

"Because the usual filling would be potatoes, but on this street you can get them filled with just about anything from cheese to squash, or raisins or mixed vegetables or even cashews." She beamed as the entered into one of them. The place was swamped with people and there was a long waiting line Ryan was unsure if they'll even be helped if this as the line because it seemed like they would be stuck here until lunch time as they were right at the back.

In front of them there were a few gaps in the line and Alex made for it to get into those gaps as she politely said "excuse me" to the people standing in the line. "Weren't they in front of us?" Ryan asked in her ear and she nodded.

"Yes they were, but remember what I told you in the car about no such thing as personal space, well it counts even when you're in a line. See when there's a gap between you and the person standing in front of you it looks like that person isn't in the line and you're legally allowed to bust in front of them." She explained, as she repeated the same action for at least two more times and they made it to the front of the counter, and ordered their meal. Ryan though he'd seen it all but when they sat down to eat at a table next to the window he saw other people doing the same thing his wife did a few minutes ago. Alex followed his eyes and smiled slightly. "This is how we do it." She answered laughing as he still couldn't seem to get a hold of what was going on.

They lingered around the restaurant for some time before they left and continued their walk down the alley to a more quiet, yet over populated place, with more vendors, only difference is that besides the ones they saw while driving here who were adults these ones were children. Ryan tried his best not to stare but it was difficult having to take in all of this. And the fact that it wasn't only one but whole families that lived on a sidewalk and children selling flowers. But despite the fact that they were poor the boy looked up at them and smiled broadly waving at Alex and Ryan as they waved back. He took one rose petal out of the bunch of flowers, ran over to Alex while he broke the stem and told her to bed down so he could put it in her hair and said something Ryan didn't understand as Alex lauhed and ruffled his hair, thanking him for it. He shook Ryan's hand and walked back to his position behind the table.

"Hhhhmmm, seems like I'm not the only one appreciating my fine wife." Ryan smiled kissing the side of her head as they continued to walk down the street.

"Seems like I have a boyfriend on the side now. He told me if I ever happen to leave you, I should come back here and he'd be waiting for me." Alex laughed at how childlike the little boy was despite his circumstances.

"Well I hope you keep him waiting forever because I'm not planning on going anywhere anytime soon." Ryan smiled as he looked back at the little boy who was still waving at them. "This makes me feel so bad about complaining about trivial things in my life, when these people are living on the streets but they're smiling everyday."

"I know." Alex said squeezing his hand, as they take a seat on the bench overlooking a little lake where it was less crowded. "I'm just so grateful, because at times I wonder that what if my life didn't turn out this way, and what if I were the kid having to give u my education to sell things on the sidewalks so my family could have something to eat tonight." She said softly laying her head on his shoulder as they watched the morning turn into midday.

Hey guys, I feel like this is a really short chapter, I am swamped with work and my exams starts in a week so I have studies to attend to also. So I hope this little chapter is satisfying enough for the time being. I am not sure when I will be able to update again, hopefully soon but I am not making any promises. Hope you enjoy.

Lovies-S