Part 108
Armaan also cuddled him and kissed him making him laugh a lot. Abhi just sat looking at them, speechless. And Muskaan smiled to herself noticing that. Then she purposely said "Tumne itne aaraam se kaise usey ek haath mein pakda hain? Rohan jab chota tha, to Rahul usey uthanekeliye itna darrta tha."
R: He's been picking him up from the day he was born.
A: What's so difficult about it? Dads need to pick the baby and make a bond with it as soon as possible, after its birth. Because a baby knows who its mother is, from the day they are connecteded by the umbilical cord. But it has to be told who its father is. The earlier you bond with it, the earlier it accepts you.
R: Even if I'm not here, Ani'll remain with Armaan. And Armaan also understands his everyday need by his actions. You won't believe Ani said "dad" first and "mama" only a month after that.
M: Armaan is basically a very caring person. That's why he bonds so well.
Ra: Actually all of us do want to bond with our kids, only we don't know how to go about it. Main sahi bol raha hoon na Abhi?
Abhi stuttered "Bilkul sahi kaha aapne."
Armaan was talking to Ani, "Abhi nahi, abhi to hum shab ko mummum khana hai. Uskey baad jaayenge aur icecleam bhi khayenge." Ani got excited and started jumping on his lap and clapping his hands. All were looking at him in awe. Rahul couldn't control his curiosity, so he asked "How did you understand what he wanted without his speaking a single word?"
A: He was patting my shoulder, meaning he wants to go out and was saying "brrrrrrrrrrr" by pursing his lips. That means he wants me to take him in the car for a drive. He hasn't had his usual outing today. He loves going out.
N: I thought only a mother could understand her baby's silent language, but you have proven me wrong.
"Give the men a chance and you'll see how understanding we can be" Armaan laughed.
The whole evening everyone just sat round chit chatting. The children were on the floor. Only Akshita was in her crib. The three ladies were huddled together on one side. Armaan was sitting among the children and mostly playing with Akshita. Everyone noticed it. Muskaan nudged Riddhima showing how he was totally fascinated with the cute doll. Riddhima smiled and said "Ussey ladkiyaan bahut pasand hai." Only when Nikki and Muskaan burst laughing she realized what she had said and what she had meant. "Mera matlab hai, he very much wanted a daughter, but his wish remained unfulfilled. I know that in his heart, he still yearns for one."
M: Go ahead, have another try. Kis baat ki kumi hai tumhe? You can surely afford another kid.
R: don't make the mistake of even uttering this in front of Armaan, he'll blow his head.
Muskaan was very surprised to hear that and asked "Why? I thought he'll be too happy."
R: Both my pregnancies have been very difficult. I used to have severe morning sickness. So he has vowed that he won't let me go through another pregnancy.
M: Yes of course, I remember when you were carrying Ani, he used to call us up so many times and literally cry, because he couldn't see you suffering. He used keep cursing himself for getting you pregnant in the first place.
Hearing all this Nikki had a faraway look in her eyes. She asked Riddhima "Who looked after you during your first pregnancy?" instead of asking directly whether Abhi took care of her.
R: Abhi's mother used to take care, but mostly I would be just lying down in my room. The smell of seasoning or oil in the kitchen would make me throw up.
Kaka came and announced dinner and Akka brought khichdi to feed Ani.
A: Tum log jaakar kha lo I'll take care of Akshita.
Ra: Nahi yaar, let the ladies and kids eat, humlog baad mein khate hai. Tab tak kyon na ek drink ho jaye?
Armaan just glared at Rahul and said "Sorry maine peena chod diya hai aur ghar par koi drinks bhi nahi hai." Rahul didn't seem to understand and went on "Come on yaar just one peg. Ghar par nahi hai to le aayenge."
A: Nahi Rahul, Riddhima won't like it.
Ra: Oh, to phir no chance. Tu to joroo ka ghulaam hai. Tu aisa kuch bhi nahi karega jo Riddhima ko pasand nahi hai.
A: Yeh to tune bilkul sahi kaha. I cannot go against Riddhima's wishes at all.
Then turning towards Abhi asked "Main theek keh raha hoon na Abhi, what say? We should respect our wife's wishes, right?" Abhi was flustered, but said "yes of course, we should respect their wishes." Rahul winked at Armaan and only then Armaan understood why Rahul had spoken thus.
R: You people also come and have dinner. Akka will keep a watch on Akshita, as she is feeding Ani.
So all of them headed towards the dining room. There was wide variety spread before them. Some south Indian specialities prepared by akka and some north Indian ones prepared by Kaka. They couldn't decide what to eat.
M: Kaka, agar aap roz aisey khana humey khilayenge to dus din mein meri weight double ho jayegi. Aap aisey kijiye, agar nashte mein south Indian banaya to lunch north Indian banayega, taaki hum sub kuch relish kar sakey. Ismein ab samaj nahi aa raha kya khaye aur kya nahi.
Theek hai bitiya aap batao aap kya khana pasand karoge hum wahi bana denge.
Ra: Kaka, yeh to na insaafi hai, phir hamare pasand ka khana kab banega.
K: Koi baat nahi sab apni apni pasand bata do. Hum ek ek din ek ek ki pasandida cheez banayenge.
When Riddhima started feeding Armaan, Muskaan couldn't miss the chance to tease them. "Wah, wah Armaan. Ek baat batao, tumne jaan bhujkar apne right shoulder ko dislocate to nahi karvaya na?" "Mujhe shoulder dislocate karne ki aur itna dard sehne ki kya zaroorat thi? Waise bhi Riddhima mujhe roz apne haaton se hi khilati hai." He teased Muskaan. "Chahe to Kaka se poochlo, hai na kaka?" Kaka would of course side his son only, so he said "haan bilkul. Buzurgon ne theek hi kaha hai, ke jhoota khane se pyaar badta hai. Dekho inhein, kitna pyaar karte hain ek doosre se. Kahin meri hi nazar na lag jaye."
Muskaan noticed that Riddhima didn't blush, even though these talks were taking place in Abhi's presence. She thought to herself, Armaan's love had really made her bold. For once Akshat didn't ask his mama for his morsel, as he was busy chatting with Rohan, inbetween bites. Seeing everyone's eyes on her because of Muskaan's teasing, to divert their attention she said "Akshu khaate waqt baat nahi karte. Chup chaap khana khao."
Suddenly Akshita started crying. When Nikki got up Armaan asked her to stay put and went to wash his hands. But when he went there he saw that Abhi had already gone and picked her up.
Ab: Meri Angel kyon ro rahi hai. Bhook lagi hai? Ok ok, mama abhi aati hai.
Everyone's eyes were fixed on Abhi and Nikki nearly choked on her food. When she got up to wash her hand, Abhi pushed her back on her seat saying "Tum khana khatam karlo tab tak I'll look after her." Then he started rocking her in his arms. Nikki hurriedly finished her dinner and excused herself from the table.
Here, our little hero was not interested in eating the tasteless khichdi that athai was feeding him. So he crawled to table and holding Riddhima started saying "mamamama".
R: kya chahiye tumhe. Jao athai ke paas jaakar khao.
He shook his head vigorously and pulling her saree indicated that he wanted to come on her lap. Akshat intervened saying "Mama usey godh mein mat lena woh sab kuch gira dega." "Theek hai tum yahin khade raho main tumhe khilati hoon," she said taking a piece of roti, dipping it in sambhar and feeding it to him. He patiently sucked it till it dissolved in his mouth and then opened his mouth for more. Each one of them started feeding little bit of everything. He enjoyed it all.
A: Ay petu bus kar nahi to baad mein sab ulti kar dega.
When he wouldn't stop, he said "theek hai, kishko icecleam khana hai?" At once he crawled to him and holding his legs started his "dadada". All of them started laughing and seeing them he also started laughing.
After dinner Armaan took them all to the icecream parlour. Rahul was the driver and had to make two trips. They not only ate to their heart's content but also got different flavours of it, packed for home. Ani tasted all flavours taking a lick from everyone. Nikki asked Riddhima, "won't it affect his throat?"
R: no he's used to it. Even Akshat, whose throat gets affected by chilled water, has no problem with icecream.
N: lekin Ani sab ka jhoota kha raha hai.
"It's ok to ignore hygiene once in a way" Riddhima winked at Nikki. Seeing Armaan trying to feed Akshita, Riddhima called out to him "Armaan rukho, she's not used to it." Then she picked a little melted icecream from Nikki's cup with a fresh spoon and fed it to her and the cutie pie started smacking her lips.
As soon as they reached home, Riddhima ordered the children to go to bed. Akshat pulled Rohan along with him, to his room. Rahul went and got his night suit and saw both of them brushing as if they were having a competition on who brushes more. He was sure the 10 days with Akshat would have a wonderful influence on his son.
Edited by ssh57 - 14 years ago
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