Maneet FF: Painting Glee...Note Pg 4

Chapter Two(A): Un Diner Presque Parfait (A Dinner Near Perfection).

Nighttime in Paris was even more muted, marshaled by the eerie silence of the illuminated city. The boulevards were frequently thronged with citizens heading to their domicile, to bistros or even to the cinemas, seeking to spend a night sucked away from the vortex of the hectic world. Dinners, banquets and feasts were a fundamental part of every Parisien(name given to people living in Paris).
Dinner was a silent and simple affair for the Khuranas. A candle disposed on a wooden table, roofed with a huge sapphire fabric, in conjunction with a large flagon filled with water, and plates cautiously positioned at the sides of the table, usually formed part of their daily typical dinner, evidently escorted by the numerous glances, bellows and snickers from the members.
"Maman, no more carrots, please," beseeched Arush, "They are wishy-washy!"
"Stop nitpicking Aru; finish your tomatoes too! They are beneficial to the health," admonished Geet before wadding a spoon filled with legumes in Arush's mouth, "You're a grown-up! Act like one."
Arush bobbed his head, while oscillating his legs to and fro and outlining large circles with the rice in his plate whilst dwelling on foodstuff, "Rice is even more tasteless than vegetables; I reckon, what is the difference between these, such that they are recorded in two different groups: food for energy and food for health? Besides, we need food to survive, grow up, play and stay in the pink; what's the need of pigeonholing them in sets and ingesting the craniums of children? Science is weird!"
"Mom, in Animal Farm', does Benjamine, the horse die at the end?"
"Of course not, Aru! It is revealed that he becomes aged, but nowhere is it printed that he dies," replied Geet evasively, wrapped up in Maan and her mingling fingers.
"Ohh... Is it so? In the assessment, I noted down that he dies latterly... Oh no!" vexed by his discovery, he looked down in downer, only to find the intermingling fingers of his parents.
"Les aines de ces jours, je vous dis!" remarked Arush with a sigh, "Ils pensent toujours a la romance."
("Elders of this era, I tell you!" remarked Arush with a sigh, "They constantly come up with endless romance.")
"Now, what is a humble child like me supposed to do? Boost their romance classes or act as a fly in the ointment?" pondered Arush before butting in the romance of his parents with a clamorous cough.
"Mom! Dad! What do you both keep doing the whole day long? I am really fed up of your romance lessons!" remarked Arush with a shrug only to be tipped off by the glower of his mother and to be welcomed by his father's simper, "I have really started feeling that I've become a pro in all these now... seems that my wife will not have to endure what Nandini aunty does!"
Receiving a light spank on his shoulders, he bolted his mouth with his hands, realizing his previous words.
"Don't have a word more! It doesn't suit you; good boys are not boorish. Whatsoever occurred with Nandini aunty could have ensued with your maman too. If I had gone through suchlike situations, would you have said such things too? I don't want to hear anything more; termine tes legumes et va au lit. Bonne nuit (Finish your vegetables and move to bed. Good night)," stated Geet tightly with a defiant stare, fury reverberating in her words, finishing with tears in Arush's eyes prior to stepping up away, before muttering an inaudible, "Excuse-me."
Arush looked remorsefully at his father to find him too, in snuffles.
Maan Singh Khurana's major task- Gumming his wife's unknotted pieces back to herself.
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A/N: Hello! Bonjour! Thank you for the startling feedback on the first chapter. Albeit being an amateur, I feel puffed up, to some extent...
Hope that you like this one too!

Chapter Two(B): Un Diner Presque Parfait (A Dinner Near Perfection).

Arush looked remorsefully at his father to find him too, in soft snuffles.
Maan Singh Khurana's major task- Gumming his wife's unknotted pieces back to herself.
"Papa, I am sorry," said Arush with a remorseful air, "I did not intend to upset maman."
Maan looked up at a blubbering Arush, his nightshirt waterlogged with tears. A twinge shot in his heart at the mere sight of his son, which could only be alleviated by him. Fondling Arush's hair with care, he ventured to dwindle away his gloom by his riddle of words, "Maman is only slightly displeased; she'll be okay, don't worry."
"Are you confident of your words papa? It's regarding Nandini auntie that we're talking about here; Maman is very emotional whenever Nandini auntie's issue is broached. Papa..." spoke Arush in a trouncing tone, still sniveling periodically.
"No, Arush," sighed Maan looking away evasively, prior to dabbing away a tear, "It's not just about Nandini; it's about us..." he simply left the words hanging before brushing away the topic, "I really feel that good boys do apologize once in a while, what say?"
Arush plainly bobbed his head, indicating that his father's words had sunk in, sooner than speeding to his mother's room. Maan followed him, incapable of matching to his alacrity, submerged in his own waves of thoughts.
Arush halted at the door, staring at the back of his mother; her head was buried in a book, lest what it seemed to appear as from far, her whimpers were ambiguously rumbling in the room, her hair appeared to be still coupled in a bun, nevertheless it had become cluttered and she was visibly in pain.
"Maman," he called out.
Geet shifted back sluggishly only to reveal her face sopping wet with tears. She clumsily endeavored to wipe them away but they were instantly reinstated by new sets of tears. Arush looked at her apologetically, tears scrolling down the expanse of his face, too. He had never spotted his mother in such a condition and what was even more unsettling was that it had all dawned due to his words.
"Sorry," Arush burbled incoherently, "Je suis vraiment desole, maman... Je n'ai jamais voulu te faire de la peine; tu sais comment je t'aime maman... Pardon," he said, his last batch of words swallowed up in his sobbing voice.
("Sorry," Arush burbled incoherently, "I am really sorry, mom... I never intended to put you in such a chagrined situation; you know how much I love you, mom... Sorry," he said, his last batch of words swallowed up by his sobbing voice.)
Geet's hands reached his cheeks and she planted a squashy peck on his forehead, before hugging him and mumbling an audible, "It's okay."
Arush stroked his mother's back, occasionally, soothing away her pain, only to be disrupted by the noisy exhalation of Maan. "Arush, go to bed; it's late now," Maan puffed out in one breath before toting up his backbone and entering the room, "Je dois parler a ta maman; bonne nuit." (I need to speak to your mother; good night.)

Geet huffed out a lungful of air and strived to speak, "I... I was just thinking..."
At the soft dub of the bed and a hand on her wobbly fingers, she stopped and stared at his hand. The ring, her ring, gilding on his finger certainly brought back many reminisces. Her fingers trailed over the ring, recollecting the past days. Tiny bead-like structures fell down, proportionally, the span of her crimson cheeks. That etched back a smile on her face, albeit the agonizing recollections were speeding up, down her backbone.
The hatred, the support, the attraction, the pain, the love, the marriage, the parenthood, and all the eminent events of her life flickered by, at the mere sight of the ring.
"I miss her," she cried on his shoulders, "I miss her, a lot..."
Maan lifted up his gaze to hers, meeting her inundating eyes and said, "I miss her, too..." Eventually wrapping her fingers in his, he held her hand firmly, leaning his head on hers and decanting out his heart, too, "I would have loved her a lot, Geet, a lot... She would have got everything that she demanded, I..." he failed to continue his sentence. Geet looked at him and wiped away his tears, "Maan... Don't... They hurt me..." Geet rested her head, too, on his and closed her eyes. They stayed in the same position for a couple of minutes, emptying all the buried feelings. Geet's tears had no frontier; they kept streaming down, blobbing on her dress whilst Maan's eyes were constantly wet with uncountable tears. Both had their minds evaded in remote areas, drenched with heavy rainfall. They let the matter diffuse in before Maan took over, "So, diary again? Memories, again?" he said in a muddled voice, hinting at the blue covered book on Geet's lap. Geet nodded, "They make me feel, happy, maybe," she suppressed a smile amidst the tears. "I think it's the feeling of you and me being together, ultimately that boosts me up," added Geet, "And also, perhaps, the ultimate feeling of motherhood... of being...being pregnant with my... our first child," she said, sorrow clouding her face and breaking back into snivels.
"I miss her, our daughter, Akriti," both said in unison, their voice echoing with the same pain. "She was very mischievous but docile," Maan beamed, looking away. "Maan, I want her back... I want Arush's sister back... I want my daughter, our daughter, I miss her, a lot..." wept Geet, her tears soaking Maan's hands.
"Let's see the diary, together, as we do always," he avoided the topic.
Geet sited the diary on Maan's knees, directing him to open it. His hands unknotted the white string binding the diary, and it flew wide open. He flickered through the pages, stopping at a certain one.

I am an incurable romantic and my husband's marriage proposal remains a favorite memoir. Marriage was the grave of love as we had been told. But then who knows? One starless night, we strolled along La Rue Des Orchides' with quiet hearts; my mind was occupied with the thought. How should I approach this subject? How will he react? Nevertheless, I rehearsed my speech in my mind to make it sound as natural as possible. At that moment, he excused himself to visit the restrooms and it gave me an opportunity to mull over. Just then, a cloud of colorful balloons surrounded me; they floated all over gleefully. What a wonderful surprise it was! He then knelt down before me and sang my favorite song, It might be you'. I melted at the sound of the beautiful lyrics which held that important implication for me. By the time he finished the song, a large crowd gathered to watch and they cheered and applauded. I was exhilarated! He finally was going to pop the question! I waited impatiently and after he did his rounds of bows to the boisterous cloud, he whispered tunefully, "Bonne Anniversaire!" (Happy Birthday!). My birthday was two months away, and I was totally confused by that statement. I stared at him blankly, trying desperately to control my tears. I felt like a fool thinking that he was actually going to propose to me. I finally ran off angrily and cried uncontrollably. He ran after me with the float of balloons and caught me in his arms. He explained to me that it was a joke and that the balloons and the song were for another purpose. "I think it's high time you share your name with me! What about Maan Singh Handa or Maan Handa simply?" was all that he uttered. I was so overwhelmed with relief that I cried all the way home and finally broke into mirth when his words came back; what a proposal! He was really defying the normal customs; maybe that's what I love about him, the most. I smile each time I recall that incident.

Maan smiled as he touched Geet's fresh tear drop on the page, "Still crying, are we?" he asked with a smirk.
"I am glad that I have such a husband, Mr Maan Handa," Geet joked around, with finally a smile creeping on her face and wrapped Maan up. "Let's see this," mentioned Maan with a gloomy smile at the sight of Akriti's photo. Geet shunned the page, ogling at the wall.

I was reading in my room that day when I felt a tug. The pain was getting increasingly unbearable. I tried to reach for the phone but the pain was so sharp that I fell back on the sofa and sucked in my breath. Why did I choose to stay at home alone? The number of contractions was increasing and I was breathing like I was having an asthmatic attack. I then remembered the breathing techniques taught by my gynecologist and tried applying it. I felt better but the pain was excruciating. I crawled slowly on the floor towards the table where I thought I had left the phone. It was not there! How could it be possible? In the midst of my perspiration and struggles, I realized I was the one who left the cordless phone in the bathroom. I was grateful that the bathroom was only a few metres away. I made my way to the bathroom painfully. At last, I reached the bathroom and took hold of the wonderful creation; I called for an ambulance and Maan. He was calm and told me to continue with my breathing exercises and that he was bringing the gynecologist along. I was terribly exhausted and so I climbed into the bathtub and rested there. I can still recall the first words I heard after, "Congratulations, lady, you have given birth to a healthy baby girl!" My eyes were hazy and I could not make out what was happening. Where was I? I saw Maan's face glowing with a certain pride as he held our first child, our daughter in his arms. I was told later that I had actually given birth in my bathtub!

Maan looked up to find Geet, again in sobs. His hands swabbed away her tears as he kissed her softly before adding, "No matter in how many pieces you are split in, I'll be always there to glue you back!"

Author's Note: Thank you for the response; it has been overwhelming. Hope to meet up to your expectations, in future, as well. Will start replying to the comments asap! Hope that you liked this chapter! :)
Coming to the chapter, I have some notes:

1. I absolutely have no idea about the subject of pregnancy or delivery. I have simply incorporated things that according to me seem realistic, lest the delivery in the bath-tub fact does not deem so. Feel free to make any criticism about the Delivery in the bath-tub' part. I do apologize, beforehand.

2. Yes, Akriti was Mr and Mrs Handa; Oops! Mr and Mrs Khurana's daughter.

It's nice...

Narrative is very eloquently written...with fine precision in every description ...even the food clutter and amundane task of setting up a breakfast/dinner table looked sophisticated coz its written so well...
J'aime votre le style. Looking forward to more, Merci .. 😳

Originally posted by: lovesia

awesome update

aww poor aayush what he can do when his parents will romance in front of him

the update was perfect i m loving it

waitng for next to update😊

Thank you! =)