"Contractions?"
"I promise I will talk with Ritu about taking off starting end of April
today ma" II rushed out the door forgetting her lunch, waddled back to the kitchen to grab her lunch
"END OF APRIL? Starting Monday April 18th" Amma shouted shrilly
"Amma I will try" "I forgot my lunch" II whimpered, weary
"This is not good Ishita YOU NEED REST" Amma shouted
"I am getting it, please dont start" II argued..
"Its the 15th of April already, u are coming home for New Year no?
Appa said we can all go with u to Malai Mandir one time before u hunker down,
teacher a cancel pannu, we can start lessons after baby is 9 or 12 weeks old"
"When baby is ONE YEAR OLD" II shouted
"THEN u will be tired?" Amma asked sarcastically
"I will be the only mother taking paatu class" II said ashamed
"Dont argue" Amma scolded
"Amma he will not send me to D II" II said agonized
"How is that possible, its an Iyer tradition" Amma scoffed
"Its a Punjabi tradition to have the wife at home" II blurted
"Appa will be very angry, he didnt want to send u after March 8th itself" Amma was pissed
"Umm... Amma.."II begged
"Ennadu dee idu.. first u hated him, then u wanted to marry him only, then u dont want to leave him for even a minute?" Amma spoke bluntly
II blushed
ARGHHH
TRUST AMMA TO TO SUCK THE ROMANCE OUT OF LIFE
THANKS MA
Her hands and feet were permanently swollen, her arms were skinny as ever, her belly stuck out, she only wore tights and colorful silk blouses
He was missing at lamaze class the last two weeks "Its going to be a QUICK one" he promised
As she nestled in his arms and cried
"Ya sure!! That sounds like your promise during love making" she cried
"That came out as a compliment II" he whispered, reminding her that her mockery actually sounded like "he wanted a quickie and took an hour"
"Well u do dont u? Especially on nights I am super tired?" she raised her teary face and questioned
He wiped her cheeks
"I do" he nodded
Laying her back down on his chest, he felt the baby's head, feet, the kicks, everything, like a film of rice paper separated him and his child
He could even count the toes most nights, after lovemaking, when Nivi was at her acrobatic best
He had 1000s of pictures of his satiated wife and his angel.
Love making was exhilarating and thrilling, her body swollen and in a constant state of arousal, he only had to touch her or fondle her she would feel herself
on the doorway to heaven
"This is crazy" she would whisper
He smiled mischievously...
"The lamaze instructor is going to be heart broken" II said quelling her jealousy
"U just have to tell her I will bring something back for her"
"Paavi... I dont get anything?" she asked
"What do u want?" he groaned
Laying her back down and staring down at her nude body
"You"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
She got Sam's baby shower the first weekend of April.
The atmosphere was still tense but Manya and Ranjan avoided each other the whole evening
Chachu & Co werent invited
It was at Sam's so Ranjan couldnt say a thing
(More on how Ranjan's disappearance played out in the next chapter)
She sat too fast in the car she thought, she felt a twinge of pain
"When is sex ok?" R&B had asked his lamaze hottie the first day of class
II had turned a beetroot red
YA LIKE YOU DONT GET ANY NOW
GO TELL HER HOW I AM DENYING YOU
RAKSHASANEY
Women sucked their breath in coyly
OH PLEASE
LIKE U NEVER HAD SEX?
HOW DID U GET PREGNANT THEN?
HUH?
PHONIES!!
"Umm... I will say that depends on what ur wife thinks is OK" the woman winked being all politically and post partum-ly correct
"Oh? Thanks" R&B muttered politely
PAAVI
ALL THE MEN ARE ASKING 100S OF QUESTIONS
IS THIS YOUR ONLY QUESTION?
ARGHHH!!
He wore sweats and a collar less tee every day of the appointment
He wore flip flops, his hair was tousled...
PEOPLE MUST WONDER WHY HE LOOKS LIKE THIS
He was quiet and shy as usual
The other men hob nobbed and shared pictures and exchanged contacts, and ignored him because he looked like a "one-album-gone bust soon after" rock star
The lamze instructor was all over him though
She used him as an example
"R&B here got it right the first time"
"Lets say your water breaks and your R&B is out of town"
"R&B is holding his wife's hands the right way"
"Lets say R&B"
PORUM DEE
STOP IT
USE SOME ONE ELSE
She felt another twinge as the driver leaned at a40 degree angle to turn into the Gurgaon expressway
The twinge stayed on all morning, she rubbed chamomile and lavender lotion
And when she went to the bathroom after her 2 PM meeting, she felt warm stuff pour out of... well... yeah
She had never peed in that color... ever
She began to sweat
"She walked back to her seat uncomfortably
And texted rakshasan
"Its hurting so bad" she sent atleast 10 crying faces
"Contractions?" he asked confused
