Learning The Alphabet... Arshi Style! [COMPLETED] - Page 15

"Laad Devi... Sanka Governor... Laad Devi... Sanka Governor... Laad-"

"What the-?"

Khushi jumped at her husband voice, jerking up to her feet. The remaining flowers cascaded down her dress to fall amidst the colourful petals and flower stems that lay on the floor. Her eyes were wide as saucers as she watched him take in the scene.

"Voh... Arnavji, hum..." (Actually... Arnavji, I...)

"Khushi... Yeh sab kya hai?" (Khushi... What's this?)

Arnav looked at the mess on the floor at his wife's feet. He wasn't really worry about the cleaning up bit. He was more concerned about her. What the hell could this possibly mean? Only this morning, as he was going out on a construction site to see to the almost finished fashion house he was opening – his fiftieth maybe, he had lost count – she had caught up with him to meekly ask him if he could bring her some flowers.

He had smiled and complied, returned home with the largest bouquet with the largest variety of flowers he had found and given it to her. She had been shocked. "Itne saare?" she had mouthed at his grinning face. Indulgently, he had bent to kiss her forehead, then her belly before informing her he had another very important work to attend to and left. His important work had been shopping. (So many?)

Yes. Arnav Singh Raizada, who had once declared he had no time for useless expenditure of money had himself gone out for shopping. But this time, it had been important and not useless. It had just dawned on him that time was flying past him. In mere months, they would be celebrating their third wedding anniversary and along with that, their first baby would be born. He was already planning a surprise for Khushi.

He knew the idea was a cliche; if someone had suggested that before they had been expecting the baby, he would probably have shot the person dead with a single glare but now, things were different. Preparing his firstborn's room while keeping it a secret from his wife no longer seemed a common meaningless thing. He wanted to do it. He wanted to see the surprise on her face when she would see what he had done for their baby. It was something, he realised, any typical, loving and exhilarated husband and soon-to-be father would do.

He had returned with his SUV full of diverse material; paint, brushes, wood, many things. He would do everything by himself, even if it meant spending months of sleepless nights. Okay, he could use some help from Akaash and NK, he was no superman... Anjali had told him Khushi had closed herserf in their room. Good; he, his cousins and the Prakaash brothers had smuggled everything into the room nearest to his. He had chosen that one to convert for his baby.

Once they had finished, they scattered about to avoid arousing the eldest Raizada bahu's doubts and he had gone to see what his mad wife was doing. And he did found her doing a really mad thing. He felt slightly dejected seeing the flowers he had brought her in such a state. Khushi lowered her eyes shamefully as two fat tears made their way down her flushed cheeks.

"Khushi," he muttered as he engulfed her in a tight hug. As if she didn't already cry enough on nearly every petty thing, her hormones found the necessity of kicking in, even when they were not needed, so that she was in tears at least once an hour. Hell, she even cried if she watched commercials. Who did that? Dammit!

Now he was having to keep buzzing around her to control her environment, lest she started crying for however he might boast of his 'unfeeling' nature, he could not help the clench that almost shred his heart into a painful mass when this particular woman's eyes pooled up.

"Voh... voh... hum," he heard her whimper against his chest. "Hum yeh dekhna chaahate the ki... ki humein Sanka Governor hoga ya Laad Devi..." (I wanted to see if... if we'll have a Sanka Governor or a Laad Devi...)

Arnav pulled back immediately with a completely incredulous look smudging his handsome face. "What?"

"Haan!" she sniffed, wiping her red cheeks. "Jaise filmon mein hota hai? Ek ek karke pankhuriyan nikaalna, aur jo sabse aakhri ho, vahi hota hai!" (Yes! Like in the films. Removing the petals one by one, and the last one is the one!)

"Vahi kya hota? Aur yeh Sanka Governor? Laad Devi? Khushi tum paagal to nahin hogayi?" (The one what? And this Sanka Governor? Laad Devi? Khushi, have you mad?)

She rolled her eyes. Was this the same Arnav Singh Raizada who prided on being so intelligent, never wrong, etcetera, etcetera? She pushed him so that they were both sitting on the recliner.

"Aapko pata hai, Arnavji," she started to explain. "Kal raat, na, humein ek bohot pyaara sa sapna aaya tha!" (You know, Arnavji? Last night, I had a beautiful dream!)

He raised his eyebrows high; she always had good dreams, compared to him, what was so special about this one?

"Humaare sapne mein humaare do bacche the!" she went on, her eyes wide with excitement, bringing a soft smile on Arnav's face. "Ek ladka tha, dikhne mein bilkul aap, lekin bartaav mein hum. Aur ek ladki thi jo humaare jaise dikhti thi lekin swabhaav mein ek dum Laad Governor! Phir subha jab hum uth gaye, humaari batti jal gayi!" (In the dream, we had two children! There was a boy, he looked exactly like you but he behaved like me. And there was a girl who looked like in but in terms of behaviour, she was a total Laad Governor! Then when I woke up this morning, my bulb lit up!)

"Oh really?" he chuckled.

Khushi ignored his teasing tone and hugged his arm, leaning her head on his shoulder. "Humaare bacche aadhe hum honge, aur aadhe aap. Hum Sanka Devi hain, aap Laad Governor hain. To seedhi si baat hai, ladka hoga to Sanka Governor, ladki hogi to Laad Devi!" (Our children will be half me, half you. I'm Sanka Devi, you are Laad Governor. So it's clear, if it's a boy he'll be Sanka Governor, if it's a girl, she'll be Laad Devi!)

Arnav disengaged himself from her to look down at his little wife, his dark orbs glazed with mirth. "Khushi, tum paagal ho!" (Khushi, you're crazy!)

She made a straight face at him. "Voh to hum jaante hain, bachpan se! Lekin humaari baat abhi khatam nahin huyi hai!" (I know that since childhood! But I'm not over yet!)

"Aur kuchh baaki hai?" he sighed. (There's more?)

"Kyun?" she pouted cutely at him. "Aapko aur bhi zaroori kaam hai?" (Why? You still have work?)

Hell, jealousy looked so good on her. That was why he loved his work more and more with each passing day. Whenever he would announce to her that he had some important work, her jealousy against his first wife – as she now referred to the ensemble comprising his business, his laptop, his mobile and his Bluetooth earpiece – would make her react in a way he found devastatingly adorable. He faked up a sad smile and nodded. Khushi turned her head away, her lips still pursed.

"Jaldi bataao, Khushi," he pleaded. "Mujhe abhi ek bohot bade client se milna hai," he smirked when she still refused to look at him. "Main agar late hogaya to voh naaraaz hojaayegi." (Tell me quick, Khushi. If I'm late, she'll be angry.)

Her head snapped towards him immediately. She narrowed her eyes suspiciously at his innocent face. "Hojaayegi?" (She?)

Arnav gave her his most earnest nod.

"Kaun hai voh?" she demanded, his favourite colour gradually staining its way up her cheeks. (Who is she?)

He tried to hold back his laughter. "Ek ladki hai, bohot sundar hai." (She's a girl, a beautiful one.)

She gaped at him, her lips forming a very wide O and giving him this urge to kiss her right away. He hastily grabbed that thought and shoved it down in a corner for later use before trusting himself to speak again. "Mujhe usse convince karna hai ke main usse kitna pyaar karta hoon." (I have to convince her about how much I love her.)

At once, the anger flew off her face to be replaced by a shy smile, which soon converted itself into a taunting one. "Agar voh pehle se hi jaanti ho to?" (What if she already knows?)

He leaned closer to tuck a lock of hair behind her ear. "Nahin jaan sakti, kyunki mera pyaar har second badhta jaata hai to usse regularly update karna hi hoga, na?" (She cannot, because my love for her increases with every passing secound so I have to update her regularly, right?)

Khushi giggled. "To jaayiye, aur jaldi humaare paas vaapas aayiye! Lekin usse achhi tarha se yaad dilaane ke baad!" (Then go, and return to me fast! But remind her well before!)

"Pehle apni baat poori to karlo! Baad mein bhool gayi to?" (First, you finish what you wanted to say! What if I forget later?)

"Arrey haan!" she winced, smacking her forehead. "Humein bacche ke liye naam bhi to sochna hai!" (Oh, yes! We have to find a name for the baby!)

Arnav sighed in exasperation. "Voh baad mein karleinge. Tumhaari baat poori hogayi?" (We'll do that later. Are you finished?)

His wife smiled up at him. "Ji haan." (Yes.)

"To main jaaoun?" Without waiting for an answer, he scooped her up in his arms and took her to bed, smothering her squeals and giggles with his hungry lips... (May I leave now?)