He snuck out of the room only when he had made sure she was fast asleep. Silently, he crept into the room down the corridor, where his Di, Akaash, Payal, Lavanya, Nani and NK were waiting.
"Ready?" he whispered.
Anjali came up to hug him briefly. "Sab kuch taiyyaar hai, Chhote!" she replied excitedly. (Everything is ready, Chhote!)
He grinned as he looked at his handiwork. Well, of course the family had helped enormously. There had just been some details he had wanted to complete but his wife's curiosity had been a problem, so the family members had volunteered to do it while he kept Khushi occupied. The room was perfect. At least from his point of view it was.
He had, unlike the norm, chosen off-white, pale cream and soft neutral colours instead of the typical blue or pink and he could proudly tell anyone that he had painted the walls himself. And all the furniture had been made out of white wood, according to his specifications. And he had covered every surface possible with a variety of soft toys. Now he could only wait till after the little party tomorrow afternoon, to celebrate their third wedding anniversary, before he could show Khushi this room. It would be her gift.
***
She awoke to a flutter of kisses tickling her neck pleasantly. Her eyes still closed, she smiled.
"Happy anniversary, Arnavji," she mumbled.
He kissed her under the ear with a chuckle. "Same to you, Khushiji," he reciprocated huskily.
She finally opened her eyes to look at him, then frowned slightly.
"Kya hua?" he asked, concern filling up his eyes as she felt him place his hand against her bump. (What happened?)
Khushi shook her head. "Aaj aapki beti kuchh ziaada hi naach rahi hai." (Your daughter is dancing a bit too much today.)
Arnav narrowed his eyes. "Hmm... Uski maa se hi yeh talent mila hoga. Kitne competition jeeti thi voh?" (Hmm... She must have gotten it from her mother. How many competitions has she won?)
"Dher saare!" she giggled. "Aur aapko bhi hara diya!" (A lot! And she made you also lose!)
"What the-?" his eyes narrowed to slits although he could not hide his wolfish grin. "Tum meri vajah se jeeti thi!" (...You won because of me!)
His wife giggled again, the sound of it warming his heart, and pulled his cheek. "Hum jaante hain!" (I know!)
She carefully rolled over and slid off the bed but he caught her wrist inquisitively. "Where are you going, Mrs Raizada?"
***
Khushi's outfit: http://i1148.photobucket.com/albums/o573/ShikhaKhushi/346322949_zps5810a137.jpg
Khushi's jewellery: http://i1148.photobucket.com/albums/o573/ShikhaKhushi/7706_571905886166806_970657805_n_zps809df54e.jpg
She squirmed uneasily as the last guests left by six in the afternoon. The party had been scheduled to end at around five so that they could have a quiet family dinner together then, Arnav would show her the surprise.
"Khushi? Tu theek to hai na?" Payal whispered to her, noticing her discomfort. (Khushi? Are you alright?)
Her younger sister shot a smile at her dismissively. "Haan, jiji. Bas peeth mein thoda dard ho raha hai." (Yes, jiji, It's just that my back is aching.)
Payal's eyes flew open wide in alarm but Khushi squeezed her hand tight. "Arnavji ko mat bataana, jiji! Yeh to kayi dino se chal raha hai. Voh khamakha pareshaan honge..." (Don't tell Arnavji, jiji! It's been this way for days. He'll worry for nothing...)
***
She sighed irritatedly as he steered her round another corner. The ache in her back was intensifying, spreading to her lower belly, and it was making her as grouchy as a Laad Governor. Her husband had her blindfolded, which only increased her grumpiness, but she hid it just so as to escape his fussy nature, because these days, his fussiness about her health had been quite maddening, in a really annoying way.
"Arnavji, kitni der lagegi?" Khushi whined. (How much time will this take?)
He smirked to himself as he shushed her authoritatively. The rest of the family had preferred waiting downstairs to give them a private little moment together. He pushed the door open once they had reached the baby's room and made her take a couple of steps in before he untied the silky cloth from her eyes.
Her jaw dropped open in wonder and she gawked at every single detail. She opened her mouth to say something while turning to him but he saw the pleasure melt from her face. It took no more than a second, but it looked like something in slow motion to him. A painful groan replaced her words and he saw her nearly double up with pain. All he could to was stare at her in horror. Khushi reached out to grip his arm, her nails digging into his skin.
And he still couldn't register what the heck was going on. He wanted to ask her if she was alright, but the words kind of came out wrong. Or was it that his ears could no longer hear his own words properly.
"You didn't like it?" he had heard himself splutter with horrified stupefaction.
She was breathing hard, and her nails dug further in his arm. "Baccha..." she gasped, gulping desperately for air. But her husband kept gaping at her like a goldfish hanging out of water since his eyes were almost bulging out of their sockets. She would have laughed, but right then, uncannily enough, she found neither the want nor the impulse. (The baby...)
"Baccha aa raha hai, Arnavji..." she panted. It did nothing to break him out of his bewilderment. (The baby is coming, Arnavji...)
"Yeah... okay..."
That was his only response. One hand holding her waist and another practically embedded in his forearm, she grimaced as another contraction racked through her being.
"Arnavji!" she shrieked, and finally that seemed to unlock his trance.
"f**k!" she heard him blurt out, and the neck minute, she was hauled up tight again his chest, her hands now digging in the lapels of his dark green shirt and black three-piece suit, and Arnav was running down the stairs.
"Call the f**king hospital and bloody tell them... Just... Gaah! Di, you know what to do!" he shouted when they passed the living room.
The Raizadas sat their petrified for an instant. It was only when Arnav had left that Anjali realised she should have told her Chhote to mind his language. But who really care about his language right now, Khushi's labour had started!
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