As Armaan looked up from his laptop to see Riddhima standing in front of the mirror, her finger tapping under her chin as her eyes stared at the bulging tummy, he stifled a smile. Pregnancy had got to be one of the best things that had happened to them...not only for the regular titbits that they shared between them, but for Riddhima. She was just so....so cute during it. She turned around n looked at herself from the back. Making wierd faces, she was totally unaware of him staring at her as his mind drifted off to a particular incident when she had been conceiving Arima...
It had been the initial months of her pregnancy that got Armaan really confused while he dealt with her. Though Dr Keerti had already warned him that he should expect sudden mood swings and strange carvings, Riddhima, still was very very funny as he looked back now.
One night, long past he had cuddled up to sleep he heard a little sob and tossled in bed. A tiny cry again n Armaan shifted again till he tried to open his eyes. What he saw was a blur. The night lamp was flickering n the damp light fell over her face. She was sitting up, a heap of tissues lying on her lap. 'Riddhima...,' he instantly sat up, trying to understand what was happening. She sobbed n sniffed, wiped her tears, n blew her nose.
'Riddhima?,' he put a hand on her face n tried to know the cause of her weeping in the middle of the night. She sobbed, n he frowned a little. 'Whats wrong? batao...,' he whispered as she blew her nose again. 'Armaan...,' she hiccuped, n he gently placed his arm around her shoulder. 'Okay...jo bhi hai, theek ho jaayega; first look at me,' he rubbed his thumb on her cheek to wipe the tears then made her look up at him, 'Rona band kero...Riddhima please...stop crying, n take a deep breath,' She sighed, then meekly followed as he muttered softly to her.
'Hmm,' he felt her shaking stop a little, then asked, 'Ab batao, kya hua?' She had been perfectly fine that night. He could not fathom what would have had happened that late, at night...
'Armaan...woh...,' she was barely audible even as he sat so close. 'Maine naa...I...I killed...,' she sobbed, 'I killed my...puppy,' she broke down again in his arms as he sat stir for a moment. Puppy? She had a puppy? And she killed it?
'Okay...okay Riddhima...sweetheart its okay,' he gently pulled her closer, putting a hand to her head. 'No Armaan...its not...,' she cried, 'I..I killed it...,'
It was one of those moments when you had absolutely no idea what was happening. Right there, at half past two in the night while he was still groggy, his wife just announced that she'd killed her puppy. Riddhima. Puppy. HER puppy. Killed it? He didnt even have a clue that she liked them...okay, maybe he knew about it, but when the hell did she own one? And when did she kill it? And why was it affecting her now?? Should he ask...? Oh no...looking at her state, he thought the better of it.
'So...when did this happen?,' he asked softly as she seemed to calm down now. Riddhima spoke without moving, 'When I put...the laundry into the machine...,'
Thsi was getting ridiculous. 'Umm, and when was that? Last week?' he asked and she looked up at him instantly. 'LAST WEEK? Armaan NO!! ...You know Misty always used to be such a good baby...never used to bother me...' she sighed, 'In fact it was me who....,' she cried, ' who..killed it,'
'Okay shusshhh Riddhima...but,' Armaan sighed at his state of ambiguity. 'And Armaan those days were'nt even as if I had my exams or something...the last set had finished in December only.. yet I didnt give enough time to him,'
'Umm...so we're talking about your college days here, haina?' It was a huge risk that he took n when Riddhima looked up at him with those big puffy eyes he thought he was gone for worse. 'Of course Armaan...my final year...' n then she stopped, sighed, n continued, 'Misty never barked unless necessary..always saw to it I finished up with my dinner...that my room was tidied up before I went to bed each night...he was there when I got my new home and even when I brought that fish tank with me...when I score the highest in my batch...we were just the best of friends...but see what happened...,' she trailed off while he held her, still trying to make ANY head or tail out of it.
'So what happened with the laundry then...?'
'I...I always did it on Mondays...n that day Misty had been in an off mood so I had put up his favourite music he loved when I suddenly realised he was nowhere. I'd been cooking all the while and suddenly the washing machine peeped n while I called out for him...I just looked into the glass of the machine...n there...,' she broke down in his arms completely now.
'Riddhima..,' he shushed her, 'Its okay...we can keep a new dog if thats how badly you miss him...hmmm?'
'No Armaan,' she hicupped, 'Dont you see?' she blinked her eyes, 'I..I wont be a good mother...,'
God damn Riddhima. Sometimes she could be SUCH a baby. As Riddhima now caught him staring at her stomach that was prodruding out, she glanced at him in the mirror with one of those looks. He shook his head n went back to his laptop.
........................
'Riddhima yeh Anji ke kuch papers--'
'Ssshhhh...,' she took hold of his hand and ushered him to be quiet. In her oversized white tee and PJ's, her hair drawn up at her nape she looked absolutely fresh. Her skin was just soft, clean, and beautiful. Her touch, fragile.
They were standing at the door to Arima's room. A blissful silence inherited it and the only sound they could hear was of the baby's breathing. Two pairs of eyes peeped down at the cot where she peacefully slept with her hand on her face, lightly nibbling on her upper lip. Her tiny fingers would spread out, then close in the fist very slowly every five minutes. Riddhima made a mental note of cutting her nails the next day as Arima let out a small sound. As Armaan moved his hand to pull the little mobile hanging from on top, Riddhima pulled his hand away. He looked back assuringly, then extremely quietly and very gently adjusted the little cuddling toys that hung, lest they would touch the baby's face. When he retreated, he placed his hands on her shoulders.
Watching one's baby sleep had got to be among the best things in the world. That was something both Armaan and Riddhima had learnt quite early. Very simply, they could never resist such an oppurtunity, than to just sneak upto her room, then keep standing there, mostly in each other's arms to witness the world's prettiest baby sleep before them. As his hand again sneaked up to pull the tiny string that hung from above the cradle, a very sweet music, 'Whistle a Happy Tune' started playing. This was their favourite rhythm. It always made Arima laugh too. Somehow, Riddhima felt this music had all their wonderful memories safely stored in it. So when the faint tingling sound surrounded them, she didnt frown at him. He moved his hand forward to her, and she looked down at it. Her face registered slight confusion and she narrowed her eyes, as if to ask, what? And he simply tilt his head to a side. As Riddhima slipped his hand into his, he took hold of her waist, and within a moment, she was there, so close to him. And the world just stopped there for them.
His gaze was just too much for her to look into his eyes. She blushed for the umpteenth time and a small smile played on his lips. He looked down at her. First, she blushed, then she would lower her gaze, and next she would smile slightly. Then again she would look up slowly and almost when she would be about to meet his gaze, her head would turn back down, and she would shy away. This was something that always happened, and yet he never got bored of viewing it. He just loved her. As they started moivng very slowly to the beats of 'Whiste a Happy Tune' the almost perfect night just turned better. He twirled her around, very carefully. As she came back to him close, he put a hand on the back of her head to open her hair. Tadaaa...there it fell on her shoulders and she smiled at him. He looked back into her face and at that moment it was that expression she had on her face, in her eyes, in that smile that meant everything to him. If they would hae separated from the world by this room, it wouldnt have had mattered at all. It was as if his whole life resided in this room, in her face. As the smile didnt leave her face even for a moment, Armaan realised he had been holding her breath. Inhaling sharply, he very slowly kissed her cheek. As her eyes closed for a second, she felt his breath all over her face. When Armaan loosened his hold on her to twirl her once last time, the world's prettiest smile was replaced by a tiny frown. So then, he got her back to him again, closer than they could have ever made it, especially with her slightly bulging tummy.
'Riddhima...,' it wasnt even a whisper, she had her eyes looking straight into his blue ones. As the sweet music very faintly drifted away, the two of them shifted to a world of their own, too. It could never have been more beautiful...
...........................
Hey Guys!!
You know I was just going thru my PMs, n I realised I never knew I had SO MANY FRIENDS out here!! You've all been here with me...it was just overwheliming, the feeling. Thsi was something I klnew I had to give it to you people..take it as a little gift, on this special occasion...for hanging up with me whatsoever :D You hv no idea abt what all this means...just thanks!!
Life's been pretty hectic, ya Swabhi, so am afraid about even reaching to 'when i'll be updating the others'.... I really have no idea. Anyways, I hope yu like THIS for now...
Happy Friendships Day!!
Love,
Spriha
Book Talk
Anupamaa
63