Continued from here:
The next morning the swelling in Maan's foot had considerably subsided but Geet wanted him to take the day off to rest. Maan, however, was in no mood to adhere as he had already fixed up an appointment with Geet's gynecologist for her regular check up. No amount of cajoling from Geet could get him to change his mind.
Geet tried one last time as he briskly pulled up his socks and slipped into his shoes. He winced a little when he tried to slip into his right shoe.
"Maan, your foot is still swollen. See, you are still in pain."
Maan looked up at her exasperatedly. "Come on, Geet. My foot is fine and I can walk around without much hassle. Your check-up is more important. I also have an important presentation to make to a client in the afternoon. So after dropping you, I'll have to go to the office. Get ready soon, now."
Geet sighed and picked up her towel to go for her bath. At the breakfast table they noticed that Dev and NT were missing and were told that Dev had called the previous night to say that they were staying over at their friends and will be back only the following evening. Both Maan and Geet were relieved to hear this because they did not want them to know about the doctor's check-up.
Before leaving, Geet gave Dadima her BP medicine and later bent down to receive her blessings. Dadima blessed her and asked Maan to drive carefully. Maan nodded his head and escorted his wife to the car.
At the doctor's clinic while waiting their turn, Geet downed at least six glasses of water as she needed to get her bladder distended for the sonography. Just as she returned to her seat, they got their call.
"Good evening, Mrs. Khurana. How are you feeling?" Dr.Sunanda Thakur asked Geet cheerfully as they stepped inot the doctor's cabin.
"Quite well, doctor," replied Geet.
"Is she eating well?" the doctor asked turning to Maan.
"Yes, doctor. I make sure that she does," he replied looking at Geet meaningfully.
"That's good to hear," said the doctor. Examining Geet's file, she noted,
"So you are eighteen weeks pregnant now."
Geet nodded her head.
"Mmmm....so are you excited to catch the first glimpse of your baby?" Dr.Medha's gaze swept both of them.
They nodded their heads in unison.
"Do you feel that your bladder is full?" the doctor asked as she escorted Geet to the examination table.
"Yes, doctor."
"You can come too, Mr.Khurana," invited the doctor and Maan quickly got up to follow them.
As Geet stretched on the examining table, Maan felt a mixture of excitement and apprehension and he turned his head to catch the enthusiasm on his wife's face.
The doctor rubbed some gel on Geet's fair, smooth and gently rising stomach and ran the instrument across it, gently prodding to get the signals.
"There you are! Can you see that?" asked Dr.Thakur, pointing to the monitor.
Initially they could not make head or tail of what was on the screen. The doctor patiently explained the picture to them.
"See that large oval shaped figure? That is the baby's head. See those elongated thin shapes facing up? They are the hands and the legs of your baby. There now, can you see the baby twitching its toes?"
Maan was excited to see the movement of the baby and went up to the screen, tracing the baby's form on it.
"Wow, that is amazing, doctor!" he exclaimed, his eyes widening in wonderment and he looked down at Geet's face which mirrored his expressions. He impulsively held her hand and squeezing it hard, he leaned forward to plant a kiss on her forehead. Geet smiled in satisfaction.
After a few minutes, Dr.Thakur assured them that everything is normal with the baby. She informed them that although she can figure out the baby's gender, she was forbidden by law from revealing it to them. They reassured her that they themselves preferred to wait till the birth of the baby to know whether it was a boy or a girl. The doctor gave them the pictures and a CD of the sonography. Thanking her, they left the clinic.
On their way back, Geet was excited to show the sonography pictures to Dadi.
"No, Geet. We cannot do that," said Maan firmly.
Geet looked at him in confusion.
"Why, Maan wouldn't she be happy to see the first pictures of her great grandchild?"
"She would, Geet but you are forgetting that she is under the impression that you are about three months pregnant and not four and a half months pregnant. The sonography pictures have the gestation period clearly indicated. Would she not then suspect that the baby is not mine?"
"That's true, Maan but how long should we keep her in the dark?"
"As long as it takes to gather enough evidence against Dev and NT to hand them to the police. You see, if Dadima comes to know the whole truth now, she will definitely throw the two out of the house. As we still do not have sufficient evidence against them as yet, they may still go scot free. "
"But then, the baby is going to arrive ahead of time. Would she not know then?"
"We can always say that the baby was a little premature."
"A little premature, Maan? It would arrive a full one and a half months before time."
"That's right but then we may not have to keep this secret for long. Hopefully we'll have enough evidence by then. I've already engaged detectives to gather proofs about their whereabouts during that period so that they do not come up with alibis. "
Geet had to agree that Maan was right about keeping the secret intact for some time. After dropping Geet at their house, Maan went to office to take care of his presentation.
Geet assured Dadi that the doctor had said that everything was normal. Hearing this Dadi fondly kissed her forehead.
Unnoticed by them NT, who returned home earlier than expected, overheard the conversation.
Her lips twisted in an evil smile as she asked languidly, "So Geet. You've been to the doctor? What did she say? Hope everything is fine with YOUR baby."
"Yes, Naintara, my baby is fine," Geet replied stiffly not wanting to continue the conversation.
"Naintara, where's Dev and what's with addressing Geet by name? Call her bhabhi." Dadi said sternly.
"Dev said he is coming later, Dadima," she said and turning to Geet, she glared at her and drawled, "So bhabhi, who is your doctor?"
Before Geet could respond Dadi piped in, "Why, Naintara, do you want to consult her regarding your problem in conceiving?"
NT went red in the face.
"I have no problem, Dadima. All the doctors have given me a clean chit."
"Oh yes, Naintara. There is no problem with your body. The problem is in your mind. As long as you keep your mind engaged in your deviant plotting activities how can it be relaxed. A relaxed mind is an important factor determining a woman's ability to conceive. It's high time you give that over active mind of yours some rest and concentrate on starting a family," Dadi said in a firm tone and proceeded to her room.
NT looked at Geet with hatred as she said, "I bet you did not have the nerve to go for that check up with Maan, did you? If he had gone with you, he would have realized that the baby cannot be his since he did not even know you when you conceived it. Wonder what he would do then?"
Geet was shocked to hear this. She marveled at how sharp NT's mind was and made a mental note to be careful around her.
"No, Naintara. He was not with me and I think you should be thankful that he was not because if he found out the baby was not his, I'll be quick to reveal that I was the victim who was duped by the two of you. We know where that will land you, don't we?"
NT's eyes widened in despair and clicking her heels, she briskly walked to her room swearing to herself that she will somehow lay her hands on the doctor's reports and prove at least to Dadi that Geet was pregnant with another man's child. She needs to act when Maan was not around to defend her.
That night, after Geet retired to bed, Maan took out the CD of their unborn baby and inserted it into his lap top. He kept playing it over and over again till he had memorised every crook and crevice of the life which was to come amidst them in less than five months time. His lips curled up in a smile which reflected his contentment and anticipation.
Geet woke up and not seeing Maan by he side, she looked around in alarm and saw him seated in front of his lap top. She quietly tip toed behind him and peeped over his shoulders. Seeing the image of their baby on the computer screen, she smiled and gently pressed his shoulder. Maan turned around with a start and seeing his beloved wife, he smiled at her. "She is beautiful, isn't she?"
"She? How can you be so sure?" asked Geet in amusement.
"Well, I've decided it would be a she," he said pompously.
"So when did Maan Singh Khurana replace God?" asked Geet mockingly.
"Geeeet!" growled Maan, glaring at her, even as Geet went into a peel of laughter.
Continued here:
Edited by Opti - 14 years ago
Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi 2
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