Annya's Enchanted Realities

If you’ve made it to Part 3, I must say—you’re now officially part of the gang. 😉 But hey, if you’ve landed here first, I’d gently suggest hopping over to Part 1 – A Mother-Daughter Day and Part 2 – The Housewarming Vibes. Trust me, there’s a whole lot of chaos, warm hugs, and even a Dosa awakening waiting for you there. You don’t want to miss it.

So where were we? Ah yes… we were just leaving Sandeep’s place, and Sainath and Bhupathi were also joining us back at Mahesh’s home. It was nearly 3 PM when we reached and honestly, we were all pretty beat from the day’s events. But—spoiler alert—there’s no time for rest when you have work to do. So, like the good little professionals we are, the guys set up in the living room and dove into their tasks, while I retreated to the guestroom to tackle my daily to-do list.

After a few hours of work, it was time for a little break—snacks, anyone? And then, the grand plan for the evening came together. We all agreed it was finally time to head out for dinner. Just the team. Mahesh’s wife had a well-deserved break and decided to stay behind, and as for Erin, well, I had a different plan in mind. You see, Erin had been talking non-stop about the park she spotted earlier, and since I promised her we’d go, I decided to leave her in the capable hands of Mahesh’s wife.

Plus, let’s be real: What parent wouldn’t want a quiet dinner with their friends and a break from constant parenting? 😉

Erin had fallen asleep while I was busy juggling work and planning our dinner outing. But of course, I couldn’t just sneak out without letting her know—that would be a recipe for emotional chaos later! So, I gently woke her up… and instantly regretted it. Let’s just say, Cranky Erin had entered the chat. She was not happy that her nap was interrupted and proceeded to make sure everyone knew it. 😅

With a bit of gentle convincing (and a whole lot of patience), I explained that she could finally go play in the park like I’d promised, and while she was having her fun, amma had to step out for dinner with the team. I told her I wouldn’t be able to take her along, and that she’d stay back with Mahesh’s wife—our ever-so-kind savior of the evening. I also gave Erin strict instructions: once she was back from the park, she had to take a bath on her own and change into the clothes I had already laid out on the bed. You know, just in case I had to leave before she returned. Thankfully, she nodded with a sleepy “okay,” and off she went to the park with Mahesh’s wife.

Meanwhile, the guys were already dressed and waiting. And me? I had to be lightning fast. But before Mahesh’s wife headed out to the park, I grabbed a quick moment with her to help me pick out a dress for the evening. Good thing I’m always prepared with options! I had packed a sleek black gown and a cheerful yellow one. We decided to go with the yellow—it felt just right for a fun evening out. A quick accessorizing session later, I was ready to roll.

I must have broken my own record getting ready. Honestly, deep down, I think I really needed this break. A quiet dinner, no child negotiations, no snack refills—just the team, some good food, and even better conversations.

We hopped into a cab and headed to Mannheim Craft Brewery, Whitefield. Mahesh had already made a reservation for us (of course, the planner of the group). But just as we reached, the rain had other plans. So, dining under the stars? Cancelled. 🌧️

Instead, we cozied up near the cake counter—because hey, if you can’t have stars, have sweets, right? The place was giving off some serious vibes. The walls had this quirky, artsy charm, the lighting was soft and moody, and the whole ambience just felt… right. Like, exactly what the doctor ordered after a full day of travel, meetings, and parenting on-the-go.

The menu was accessible only via a QR code, and even after scanning it, we were stuck. Turns out, you need an OTP to even see what you can eat. Fancy, huh? One of the servers swung by and casually dropped the magic digits—3072. Once that was in, bam, the menu opened up like a secret vault.

Now, I wasn’t about to overthink my order, so I left the food decisions to the experts a.k.a. the guys. Except for my drink—because that’s sacred territory. 😄 Honestly, I’m not much of a wine-and-dine connoisseur. I never know what to order, and all the fancy names just make me miss good ol’ lime soda. So I played it safe and picked something that sounded mildly familiar.

Question: What’s your go-to mocktail or cocktail when you’re out with friends?

Now the fun really began—as we placed our drink orders. Or let’s just say, as I placed my drink order. I went with Sex on the Beach. 😏 Hey hey, get your mind out of the gutter—I meant the cocktail, not the deed. LOL.

All three of them stuck to mocktails, being the ever-sober, ever-saintly teetotalers, stuck to their mocktails. No surprises there. Honestly, they made those drinks look cooler than they probably tasted.

They’d also placed orders for nachos and konchi mushrooms. Let me tell you—all of these were firsts for me. The Sex on the Beach, the nachos, the konchi mushrooms, being in such a fancy brewery, and that too with work friends… like, who even am I?

Honestly, everything felt so new, yet so comfortable.

If I could sing, I’d probably burst into “For the first time in forever…” 🎶—yep, Frozen, not Tangled (don’t come for me Disney fans 😂).

I honestly don’t even remember when the order was placed—because I was way too busy checking out the guys at the restaurant. 👀 Priorities, right?

Also, let’s not forget my unofficial side mission: finding potential girls for Sainath and Bhupathi. If you’ve been keeping up, you already know I’ve self-appointed myself as their matchmaker ever since Part 2—surprise party and all. 😂

Question: Do you also secretly play matchmaker for your friends, or is it just me?

While I was deep in matchmaking mode, our drinks and starters made their grand entrance. Time to shift gears… for a bit. 😉

Once the waiters left our table, we raised our glasses for a good ol’ cheers. But just as Bhupathi and Sainath were about to put their glasses down without taking a sip, I stopped them mid-air.

“Uh-uh, don’t you dare,” I said. “It’s an unwritten rule—you raise your glass, you take a sip. Otherwise, it’s just plain disrespectful.”

The expressions on their faces? Priceless. Especially Sainath. I wish I had a camera ready—it was epic.

I asked him how his mocktail tasted and he said, “Like flowers.” 🌸

Curious (and slightly dramatic), I took a sip from his glass to check for myself. And I kid you not—it tasted like betel leaves. Yep. Paan. Who knew mocktails came with a desi surprise?

After that little floral-mocktail detour, I turned my attention to my own drink—Sex on the Beach. Now, I’ll be honest… I was kind of expecting a kick, something that screamed “cocktail hour.” But nope. All I could taste was orange juice. Disappointment? Mild. Dramatic flair? High. 😄

Question: Have you ever tried a drink that totally surprised you—in a good or weird way?

But honestly, the drink didn’t even matter after a point. Because I was having such a good time with the boys. Especially teasing Sainath and Bhupathi—figuratively pulling their ears, of course. I mean, what else are friends for if not some light roasting over good drinks and even better vibes?

The Konchi Mushroom? Absolutely delicious. But then came the onion rings… and the dumpling. Oh, that purple dumpling with the tuile on top? Let me just say, it was a masterpiece. It was so beautifully plated, I almost didn’t want to eat it—almost. Seriously, it was one of the most visually stunning dishes I’ve ever laid eyes on in real life. The kind of food that makes you want to take a million pictures before taking a bite. Pure artistry. 

There were actually five dumpling pieces, and naturally, we each grabbed one. But the fun didn’t stop there. We left the last one on the plate, took a snap of it, and sent it to Sandeep with a cheeky message saying, “We miss you.” I know, it’s a bit devious, but we couldn’t resist—just trying to make him part of the fun, I promise! LOL.

Then we moved on to the mains. Recently, a friend of mine had been raving about pink sauce pasta, and I promised I would try it. So, I eagerly checked the menu, hoping to find pink sauce pasta. But all I could find was “Roasted Tomato and Basil Pasta” and “Roasted Tomatoes with Ricotta Pasta.” I went with the latter, thinking it might be a safe bet. Little did I know, I’d regret that decision. Let me be honest—when Italian pasta and Indian rasam get together, it’s a match made in culinary heaven. But this? This was like the wrong pasta marrying the wrong rasam. Yikes!

Me and the guys really tried hard to clean the plate, but I swear to God, we couldn’t. So, we decided to order another round of Konchi Mushroom. Meanwhile, Sainath and I indulged in some desserts. I went with the classic vanilla ice cream, while he opted for rasamalai. Honestly, after all that food, a sweet treat was the perfect way to end the meal. 

Question: What’s the one ‘fancy’ food you’ve always wanted to try but haven’t yet?

While the guys waited for the dishes to arrive, I quickly dashed to the women’s room for a little touch-up. Dessert meant we were about to wrap up, and we all know that means pictures are coming. While I was freshening up, I overheard two girls talking seriously. Not wanting to intrude, I moved to one of the empty stalls for some privacy.

The conversation was all about a guy’s problems. One of the girls was trying to convince her friend to dump her boyfriend, all while stroking her ego. The other girl seemed to be getting riled up about it. I’ll admit, part of me wanted to step in, but who am I to interfere? I just ended up feeling a little pity for the guy who was going to get dumped that night, but also a little glad that I wasn’t involved in the drama.

When I got back, my ice cream had already arrived—and I dove right in. But just as I was enjoying that sweet, creamy bite, I noticed the guy who had been sitting right behind us with his girlfriend walking past our table.

Now, you might be wondering why he’s getting a special mention. Well… even while I was out here wining and dining with the gang, my internal radar was still on—scanning for potential crushes. And let me tell you, this guy definitely topped the list.

He was tall, handsome, had a neatly trimmed beard, and was wearing a brown shirt that somehow made him look even more put together. I noticed he had one of those bangle-type bracelets on his right hand—and a tattoo on the back of his left bicep that peeked out just enough to be mysterious.

But it wasn’t just about the looks. The way he was with his girl? His whole body was turned toward her, his eyes locked on hers—even when she wasn’t looking. There was this genuine care in the way he looked at her, and I swear, he never once got distracted. It was giving main character energy. And I… was in awe.

Sigh… they don’t make them like that anymore. Or maybe they do, and they’re all taken. Just my luck. 😅

Anyway, as I was finishing up my ice cream, the bill arrived, got settled, and our cab was already on the way. So we decided to step outside and click a few pictures while we waited. I remember feeling a bit surprised with myself. I’ve hung out with friends before—usually, it’s at least 3–4 drinks deep—but this time, I stopped at just one. And honestly? It didn’t even feel like I needed more. I was having such a good time with these people that the drinks didn’t matter. The laughter, the chatter, the vibes—that’s what filled me up.

I really hope we get to do this again soon. Nights like these are rare… and they’re everything. 🥂✨

But guess what? The night didn’t end there.

Once we got back home, the party quietly shifted gears—we pulled out a deck of cards and dove into a full-blown Donkey showdown. Six intense rounds later, Bhupathi had earned the title of “official ass” not once, not twice, but three times. The rest of us wore the crown once each, so I guess it balanced out.

Question: What’s your favorite post-dinner game to play with friends?

After that, we moved on to a couple of rounds of Uno—because clearly, sleep is overrated when you’re having this much fun. By the time we wrapped up, it was already 1:30 in the morning. That’s when we finally called it a night and hit the beds, crashing like the happy, tired bunch we were.

When I woke up the next morning at 7:45 AM, I noticed that Sainath and Bhupathi had already left. Mahesh’s room was still locked, so I didn’t want to disturb them. I freshened up and wandered around the house for a bit. Then I texted Mahesh to check if he was awake, but there was no response.

Just as I was debating whether to crawl back into bed for a bit more sleep, Mahesh appeared in the hall, and we started chatting. I had shared some of my favorite video clips with him earlier and he had promised we’d watch them together—so we finally did.

After a couple of videos, his wife joined us and got busy with the morning chores in the kitchen. While she was making breakfast, Erin woke up and joined us too. Since she was up and buzzing, we let her watch TV—and of course, she went straight for her favorite space fact videos. The girl’s a walking NASA brochure at this point!

I’m not sure how or when we reached lunchtime, but soon enough, Mahesh’s wife called us to eat. She had made chapati with paneer masala—and let me tell you, Erin had been drooling over the smell since morning. She kept saying, “What is she cooking? It just smells so delicious,” on repeat like a broken record (a very enthusiastic one!).

While we were having lunch, Erin turned on a Quiz Blitz video on YouTube that asked around 20-30 questions about space. It started off with just her screaming answers at the TV while me and Mahesh exchanged smiles. But before long, we were both sucked into it—turning into full-on quiz competitors. 😂

Question: Are you a space trivia buff like Erin, or more into pop culture quizzes?

Soon, Mahesh’s wife joined the madness too, and the quiz shifted from space to body parts, then to general knowledge and animals. That’s when I noticed the time—it was already 2:30 PM! I excused myself while the other three were deep in their trivia championship, rushed to the room, and started packing our bags.

Within an hour, we were ready and in a cab, heading to the bus station. We got there by 4:15 PM, even though the bus was scheduled for 5:30 PM. Just as I was settling in to wait, I got a call from the bus operator saying the bus would be delayed.

To make things a little more complicated, I had a bit of an emergency and needed to find a room to freshen up and wait in peace. Thankfully, a kind auto driver helped us find one nearby. We got some rest and were able to freshen up before heading back to the station.

When we returned, I was clearly running low on energy—dragging myself, half-asleep. That’s when Erin completely surprised me. She gently held my hand and led the way, pointing out the bus and saying, “It’s okay, Amma. We’re almost there.” She made sure I got on, settled in, and was comfortable. My little girl turned into the adult for a moment, and I couldn’t help but feel overwhelmed with pride (and emotion).

This bus wasn’t a sleeper—just one of those semi-sleeper “sweater” buses (you know, the kind that forces you to sit up straight and question your life choices). Erin felt a little uncomfortable at first, but like the little trooper she is, she managed it with ease. And just like that, we both reached home safely.

Question: Have you ever had a moment when your kid completely surprised you with their maturity?

And well… that’s how I ended up sitting here today, reliving it all and putting it down in this blog. 😊