New Non CID story - Motherhood

Motherhood

Naina plonked down tiredly into the flimsy chairs in her apartment. It was a long day , she thought and it was never easy to please everyone, especially men. In three years of her career as a bar dancer , all she had done was please ,with her dance , with drinks and it always came with a price. A price that would decline with age and youth. As she peered into the mirror, she saw herself as a flawless , pale and petite woman – a thing that many woman aspired to be but miserably failed. She was tall and slender , and the appearance made her look like a cat- always looking for warmth and luxury. Her eyes were wide and brown and her shoulder length hair was gorgeously curled.She was slightly dusky , but it just enhanced her features and made her more appealing to the male species.No wonder her pay check was high.

The next day at the bar , a new customer had arrived and had created a lot of buzz. He was known to be filthy rich and was looking for a companion and the boss was certainly trying his best to please him. Meanwhile , Naina sat in the deserted bar , surrounded by shreds of glass , thick wisps of smoke of tobacco and the stale smell of ale. The smell choked her and the sight disgusted her , but all that held her in this place was the sheer feeling of power she felt over the men who came here. Probably in the wide world outside , she would have held no place. No one would have turned their heads or gasped.Yes, she decidedly liked power , even if meant lot of compromises.

The man flipped through the possible candidates and his search ended when he saw Naina's photo. Perfect , he thought but there was nothing his money couldn't buy for him- even epitomes of perfection.

The boss called Naina to his makeshift cabin ,a place that was earlier a warehouse was now cluttered with secondhand tables , chairs and stolen artefacts. An abode of crime she observed , for she had never been here before .A crime that they would later be punished for, the crime of lust.But however , the boss , with whom she had never come face to face with , failed to impress her. A small puny man he was , a couple of inches shorter than herself. His back was bent inspite of the fact that he was elder to her by only a few years and when he turned , his face had a long scar on it, probably the reminiscent mark of his unsuccessful criminal career.But the man in the chair opposite created a stark contrast to him.He was in his early thirties and was easily six foot tall. He sat with a slight smile on his face at the arrival of a stranger and he was handsome with neatly set manly features. She wondered , with a slight satisfaction if he was the reason she was here , then it meant salvation form those long days and even longer nights , the dingy atmosphere of the bar. Atleast she thought so.

Dr.Shwetha shook her head in dejection as she looked at the patient in front of her.She was wondering how she could convey the news that all her life's dreams of having a child of her own would be destroyed.She cleared her throat as if to hint that a startling revelation was coming through. "Mrs. Mehta" she said , for the first time seeing the patient's eyes open in fear and innocence, "You cant have any children.There are ways though..."she paused, in an attempt to give her time to think and also to let her words penetrate.

Pari sunk deeper into the comfortable arm chairs as the words hit her like a tornado wave on the shore. Her hopes had been destroyed as this was the only way that she could have saved her marriage. This was the only thing that could have kept her husband turning his attentions to the woman he had been seeing recently , though her identity was still a mystery to her. 'was there any other option? ' she enquired , her voice betrayed her hopelessness and futility in doing justice to her husband.

"I understand Pari" Dr. Shwetha continued "the wish that you wanted a child went unheard.But there is an option , you can opt for surrogacy.I can provide you the numbers..."Her voice was a warm tone cutting against the cold ice of Pari's feelings.

"No doctor" she shot back , as if defending herself.'You don't understand' , she murmured to herself...'its not the children that i want or love , but it's my husband'. Unable to justify her actions , she walked out quietly and the doctor assumed she had accepted defeat.

Naina was appalled by the size of the flat that the stranger had gifted her.It was warm and splendid with a bird's view of the city.There were warm cushions replacing her torn chairs , a mattress that outdid her cot and several other things that even years of toil could not have given her. When a man desires , he certainly compromises with money she thought. But yet the thought of being a man's mistress was not appealing to her. For now at least she was settled.

Pari struggled to breathe as she walked out of the hospital.There were limits to man's powers also , she reminded herself. She would not rest though, she would find a way. She walked into the parking lot and drove her car into her place of relaxation - the West Star mall.

When Pari walked into the usual boutique that she visited , she was surprised to see a woman, still young, try on a pair of clothes with apparent indecisiveness. She wants all of it , she thought , and it was a new found luxury for her.She thinks she'll loose it soon , she thought, like her husband. Evidently conscious of Pari's stare , she looked up in embarrassment .Pari could not but be impressed by the girl's almost perfect features. Something in her heart ached when she looked at a perfect woman, especially the kind her husband her wanted to be. He would found this one perfect, she mused, her lips curving in a ironic smile.It was then that the thought struck her. Pulling a few wads of notes from her Kenneth Cole handbag , she walked towards the woman.

Naina was startled to see a woman offering so much cash. After yesterday surprise gains , she now believed in opportunity cost , though the term had been a vague memory of her B.A class.She was a graduate , but she had never gotten to complete her education , and her career was to redeem a loan her dad had made from gambling. Since then , she had lost hopes on family and herself until she found the power she wielded ruthlessly- charm. She fell back to reality when the woman was murmuring "my child's surrogate mother..."She just widened her eyes in surprise and pointed to herself as a child might have-"me...?"She laughed a sharp, painful laugh and after a gasp said "Do you happen to know who I am? My only way of living is my beauty and my youth. And what you say will destroy it. None of your money can compensate it." She stopped as if waiting for her words to seep in and expected her to be gone after she finished. But instead , she pulled out another bunch of notes and looked at her expectantly. She said quietly , and poignantly " this is just the beginning", "you'll love the ending "she smiled and left leaving a bewildered Naina staring after her.

Naina was now accustomed to her luxurious living. She had expensive , cultivated tastes and her man funded her endlessly. But her peace was ruffled .The power which had seem so tempting suddenly seemed hollow , and she emptied the contents of her purse to find the card that the woman had slipped among the wad of notes. "Dont be foolish " she reminded herself, "how long will this work?" Inspite of the reluctance she felt , she called up the number and waited and after what seemed like ages , she heard a tiny , pained voice at the other end .It made Naina wonder if she had got to the right person."yes", Pari replied , almost in disbelief."I will accept your offer" Naina said , making the experience as short and unpleasant she could. Pari reeled back in shock as she heard the response at the other end. As her eyes filled up with tears _, she managed to say thank you before her emotions choked her.

Naina spent the next few days in apprehension as she visited the doctor and confirmed her eligibility to be a surrogate mother. And finally , when the procedure was completed she felt at peace and the sight of Pari's relieved and brightened face , she realised motherhood was all about sacrifice and she felt nothing could make a woman happier, but maybe money did.

When Arun Mehta went to meet Naina , he saw her smiling in a curious way and her face glowed with a never before joy and all it did was to enhance her beauty. He wondered why his wife had also undergone a curious change overnight , and he hoped that it was just a coincidence. It was only then that he had seen that his wife also was a beautiful woman – something he had failed to see in her in all these years . She could never have surpassed Naina though, or could she have?

As the days passed , the visits from Arun Mehta dwindled considerably. It was possible that he had a found a more impressive girl or it was possible he knew – neither of the ideas brightened her. At the same time , Pari was constantly funding her inspite of the denials. Pari's smile soon lifted away all her worries and she also found a constant friend and companion in her.As the days passed , Naina felt herself at peace with the world.Somehow the dark past had formed itself into a beautiful future. A vision of her lulling her child to sleep , of showering her love on it...she paused. She lived in a world that she had no complete control over.The money was an exchange for favours, the child would never be hers. This sudden discovery hurt her and the thoughts in her mind were more fierce and rebellious than the fire glowing in the grate. Why couldn't she for once have something for herself? Tears welled up in her eyes at her helplessness and she sobbed herself to sleep.

As the date for the delivery drew nearer , Pari offered to stay with her at her flat.Inspite of all the love that Pari showered on Naina , she felt that this was also a return for the favour she was doing. For once , all her love for money dissolved and she prepared herself to tell Pari that she wanted the child for herself. But somehow , there was no such opportunity as the next day , she had severe labour pains and had to be admitted to the hospital.

It was a long and tedious wait and Pari strolled as Arun Mehta walked inside the hospital.Pari was shocked as to how he was here. He quickly walked up to one of the nurses and asked them if Naina was here.The nurse replied in the affirmative and said she was here for delivery.

Arun Mehta stepped back in surprise and amusement as the nurse replied.What was Naina's intention?A surprise package? He snorted in amusement and joy and asked the nurse if she was fine and the nurse enquired how he was related to her.He paused for a moment before he replied "wife". It was then he saw Pari there.

Pari took a moment to realise that the person who was responsible for destroying her family's happiness was the one she had given the privilege to bear her child. She just walked out of the hospital in haste , in anger and hurt by the fact that Naina possessed everything she didn't – even her husband. She was in such a hurry that she failed to see the truck hurtling towards her at full speed.

Arun waited anxiously for the news of Naina and he assumed Pari must have here by chance. It was then that a bloodied patient was carried in a stretcher.He thought it must be a serious case but a closer look revealed it was Pari. He hurried to her side and held her face in apprehension. Before he could say anything, she shot back haughtily at him " Your wife will soon have a child in her arms" and they wheeled her into the emergency theatre.

Naina was soon blessed with a daughter and she lay in a delicate state , wondering why Pari hadn't still arrived to see her baby. Instead Arun Mehta walked in .Naina wondered if she thought he was the father and did not realise that it was a surrogate child.He smiled as he picked up the wailing infant in his arms."It's Pari's surrogate child" she replied in a attempt to clear his doubts.

Arun was tongue tied for a few minutes.His wife had chosen his mistress of all to bear their child.It was then that the doctor who had been operating on Pari walked in. Before Arun enquired , the doctor announced that she was in a very delicate state and had had a severe heart failure and they were looking for a donor. Before anyone could react , Naina replied"I will give her my heart. When I have already given my baby to her , nothing is left for me to save my heart and body". She pulled the tubes that kept her alive before anyone could intervene and gave a large gasp before collapsing.She managed to say "Motherhood's all about sacrifice."

Pari managed to return to normal in a few months and she also had a baby to care for. The very sight of the infant reminded her that she lived totally on favours .The very giggle of the child reminded her of the friend she had spent a mere nine months with and a heart so noble that she understood why her husband had chosen Naina over her.Now she had everything she had wanted , but the person who bestowed more boons than a doctor did."Motherhood is about sacrifice" , she reminded herself as she lulled the child to sleep in her arms