Since our marriage and since returning home, Ganga and I had very little time to spend with each other. I became busy with work as did she. She also had Mannu to take care of, as well as house work. I had promised myself that I would make sure Ganga's life was full of every experience she had previously lacked in her life. As a wife, she had been treated like trash by Ratan Singh. I wanted to make sure that as her husband, I made her feel like the most beautiful person in the world. So, I hatched a plan with Dadisa. I would take Ganga on a honeymoon. It couldn't be very long because we were both needed at the hospital. Mannu also needed us. Dadisa said she would make sure Mannu would be alright. I decided to take her on a five day honeymoon.
The best part was breaking this news to her in person.
"A honeymoon? What's that?" She frowned.
"It's like a short holiday for married couples..." I said.
"Oh, but why?"
"So we can relax and be alone. We can go shopping."
"But we can go shopping around here too...and relax at home. Why do we need to go far away for that?"
"Oh Ganga, we won't go that far. I want to take you to Mumbai...we'll stay in a hotel...you'll get to see the city..."
She still looked skeptical, but nodded. "Fine, but I'm bringing Mannu..."
"No!" I shouted. I wasn't supposed to shout. I felt embarrassed. It seems she still didn't understand that honeymoons were just for couples.
"Why not? Mumbai probably has toy stores and parks for kids, right? We could take Mannu to the beach too! I heard there's a..."
"Ganga...listen to me..." I held her hand. "A honeymoon is usually something couples go on right after their weddings...when they don't have kids." I said. I was blushing hard myself.
"But we have Mannu. I can't leave my baby." She made this adorable sad face and pouted.
I put my arm around her. She was wearing a purple and green sari and looking so beautiful. "Our Mannu will be safe with Dadisa. It's just for 5 days. We'll come back early if Mannu needs us. I promise. Is that ok?"
I lifted her chin and she nodded. "It's ok then...I'll go."
"Perfect. We're leaving tomorrow morning. Pakka! No changing this plan. Pack up!"
Taisa teased Ganga until the very moment that we actually left home. Ganga kept looking at me but I shrugged. She deserved to have her leg pulled a little. Just because I lay off of that for a while didn't mean someone else couldn't do it.
We drove to Mumbai. It was bright, hot and sunny. Ganga held on to my hand and we arrived at our hotel which had a very nice view of the sea side. Ganga looked out the window and pointed it out to me.
"I knew you'd like this..." I said. She smiled with that childlike excitement. It was afternoon.
"Do you wanna rest? We've been driving a long time." I said.
"Yeah, you look tired. I think you need a little bit of rest." She said.
"Uh, yeah...well I'll take a nap and in the evening we can go out for shopping and dinner." I raised my eyebrows and smiled at her.
"That sounds nice." She said. "Mumbai is so big...I never expected to see it. I always wanted to." She said.
"Well, I'll make sure you get to see every place you wish to see."
We both took turns showering and changed into something more comfortable. I lay down for a while. I informed everyone that we had reached safely. I let Ganga know that Mannu was just fine.
I slept for a couple of hours. When I awoke, Ganga was fast asleep. She was wearing a light blue chiffon sari. She was facing me. Her hair was open. I turned in her direction and watched her sleeping. She looked so vulnerable and beautiful. She was at once delicate, but strong. She was so hypnotizing. I touched her shoulder lightly. There was a whole aspect of ours being alone here. After marriage, we hadn't been very close together physically. I didn't know how to proceed with that. At home, there was no time. I was also a little bit nervous because Ganga had a history. She had a bad past. These were sensitive issues.
I hadn't noticed that she had woken up. She touched my hand.
"What are you thinking?" She asked me sweetly.
"Oh, just that we should get ready to out now." I said.
"Oh, yes...I'll get ready." We went out. We walked around and had dinner. I brought her a new sari. It was all black. We walked outside for a long time but around late night she told me she wanted to go back.
"Ok, let's go..."
Back at our room, Ganga got busy with unpacking and folding this and that. I sat on the bed and watched TV. In reality, I was just watching her. She took that new sari out of the bag and put it in our suitcase.
"Wait, Ganga...I wanna see you wearing that right now." I said.
"Now? But we're not going anywhere." She looked confused.
I smiled. "Will you wear it for me? Please..." I requested. Her mouth opened just slightly. She nodded shyly. "I'll be back..." She said. I waited for her.
She came out wearing it a few minutes later. She looked so beautiful that I just stared at her. The black sari, her long hair, and her pink lips were enchanting. I just kept staring like a complete fool.
She half smiled at me nervously. "Dr Sa? Is it ok?" She adjusted the pallu and ran her fingers through her hair nervously.
"Wow...you're gorgeous..." I said. I walked up to her. She looked nervous and a bit breathless. I had no real idea how I was looking at her and what feelings were showing through my eyes. I held her face and she closed her eyes.
Naagin 7
Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi 2
