~ For my dearest and loveliest and bestest Mantaal Family ~
Picture Perfect Family!
It was like any other normal day in the Khan Mansion but when it comes to the Khan family normal' is always overrated. If you only you could call a noisy, overly active huge family consisting of four generations, two dogs and one cat a "normal" family. To an outsider it might look like the craziest family but they didn't care. The members of this family were happy and content in their life, in their happy home, they were happy having each other during every phase of their life. And so here it is, a "normal" day of the Khans.
oOo
"Asad I swear if you don't get up now this bucket of cold water will be all over you." Zoya screeched in Asad's ears. Asad scrunched his eyes and covered himself fully with the duvet not bothering about his screeching wife standing over his head with a bucket full of water. She wouldn't dare, he smirked to himself. But as usual he always underestimated his feisty wife.
Zoya tried to give a little more weight to her ultimatum by pouring a little water on him and that had him jackknifing up the bed as the cold water made contact with him. He looked at his wife grinning away and he ran towards her in a playful manner. No, the old OCD-iac Ahmed Khan was not completely extinct but the playful, carefree Ahmed Khan had taken precedence over him. If he had learnt one thing from Zoya then it was to live life like there was no tomorrow. He had learnt to smile more and frown less. The tension lines on his otherwise handsome face were Not good at all.
Zoya kept the bucket aside and ran on the other side of the bed, Asad climbed on the bed not bothering that he was actually ruining it.
"You've got me wet, funny how it was the other way round last night." Asad grinned shamelessly. Zoya's eyes widened in shock.
"Haw, Mr Besharam Ahmed Khan." She took the pillow from the bed and threw it at him but he tossed it aside with his strong muscular arm.
"Really Zoya? Pillows are your weapon of choice?" he laughed at her and jumped from the bed, Zoya turned away to make a dash to the bathroom but Asad beat her to it. He grabbed her wrist and pulled her flush against him. He had her pinned against the wall in an instant and he pulled her closer to him if that was even possible. He blew on her face making her fringes move back only to fall back on her face covering her left eye. He lifted his hand and pushed the strand of hair behind, he then leaned forward and kissed her left eye open which had closed. He then moved lower to kiss her cheeks, her nose as he slowly made his way to her lips. Just when he was about to capture her soft lips with his, he heard the damn cat's sound from behind him and he groaned in frustration.
Zoya laughed at him and pushed him away to look at the proud cat that had made herself comfortable on Asad's pillow. The OCD was back in action and he cringed at the sight of the room.
"Grumpy you dumb cat. Humare romance main yeh billi humesha kyun aati hai?" Asad huffed and moved towards grumpy to get him to get off the bed.
"Aw he must be hungry. Aren't you?" Zoya cooed at the silly cat which earned her an eye roll from Asad.
"Grumpy, khud toh khush nahi rehta dusro ko bhi khush nahi rehne deta." He muttered to himself and went inside the bathroom to shower and get ready for the day. It was Sunday and Najma and Nikhat were to arrive at the Khan Mansion for their usual Sunday family brunch.
Zoya took grumpy outside and emptied the can of cat food in his eating bowl. She then went toward the kitchen to help Dilshad prepare the food for the brunch. Dilshad looked around the house which was so quiet and calm. She smiled to herself when she realized the quiet and calm was going to vanish as soon as the kids were up. As if just on cue the sound of a crying Naira filled the living room.
"Ammiii Zaid pushed me." three-year-old Naira ran in the kitchen and hugged Zoya's legs while going on and on about her evil twin brother Zaid. Zoya smiled at Dilshad. It had become like a daily routine, half of her time was passed away in sorting out Naira and Zaid's fights. Dilshad had told her enough times how her time also used to get waste in sorting out Asad and Zoya's fights. They were no less than kids themselves when they fought and children learn from their parents after all, don't they?
"Baby calm down." Zoya kneeled down and wiped the tears that were rolling down Naira's cheeks.
"ZAID COME DOWN RIGHT THIS INSTANCE." Zoya hollered.
Zaid of course walked down the stairs with a proud look on his face.
"Say sorry to your sister." Zoya said sternly. Zaid looked at Naira then at his ammi and then at Naira again.
"I'm sorry..." he said, but then added quickly, "that you are so weak that you fell when I just pushed you lightly." He laughed and ran away to his room.
Zoya wanted to giggle at her son's smart answer but she couldn't do that in front of Naira who had started crying more on hearing Zaid's comments. Asad who had just entered the hall took her in his strong arms and she buried her small head in the crook of his neck.
"Aw, why is my baby crying?"
"Because Zaid is a meanie." She sniffed.
"Don't worry we won't take him to visit the zoo with us." He said a bit loudly for Zaid to hear.
"NOOO, no, no, no, no! I want to go too." Zaid rushed downstairs.
"Then say sorry to your sister. A proper sorry buddy!" Asad said sternly.
"Fine! I'm sorry." He said with a huff and went toward grumpy to irritate him further while he ate his food. Nothing could be more interesting than irritating a cat while he ate.
"Ayaan you are not wearing those hideous, old, worn-out orange pants of yours once again." Humaira walked inside the hall with Ayaan on his heels.
"But they are so cool."
"And so old. Ayaan I feel like you've been wearing them ever since you were born."
Asad and Zoya looked at each other and shook their heads. Although they knew even they sometimes fought like kids but they don't remember ever fighting over which clothes to wear.
"How'd you know I've been wearing them ever since I was born? You probably weren't even born when I was born."
Humaira wanted to pull her head at her dumb husband who couldn't even understand sarcasm.
"Ok stop fighting you two and tell me where is Ayra?" Dilshad decided to intervene before they practically killed each other.
"She is still sleeping." Humaira answered and went inside the kitchen to help her.
Ever since they came to know the entire truth about Zoya's father and Razia was out of their lives for good, Humaira wanted to spend as much time possible with her sister to compensate for all the lost years. Ayaan too wanted to be close to his brother and so they had decided to move in, in the khan mansion living as one big family. Badi bi, Shireen, Rashid, Gafur, Razia and Nuzhat continued to live in the Siddhiqui mansion but the relations between both the families had improved and Shireen and Nuzhat kept visiting the Khan Mansion now that she was finally at peace with Dilshad. Nikhat had married Farhan and Najma was married to Imran and although things were a little awkward in the beginning, everything was soon sorted out and they were happy and content with their lives. A year after Humaira and Ayaan were married Humaira gave birth to a beautiful daughter whom Zoya named "Ayra" fusing their names together and Asad and Zoya still fought over why she should be calling Zoya badi ammi and not khala.
"No one understands me except for Jammy." Ayaan sniffed dramatically. That was it, the mere name was capable of enraging Zoya Farooqui, er, Khan.
"No one and I mean no one will ever say that name in this house ever again." Zoya screamed and pointed her finger at everyone.
"But bhabhi what else do you want me to call him? That's his name!" Ayaan rolled his eyes.
"His name is James. I've given such an awesome name to him, perfect and apt for a dog like him why do you wanna turn it into something as hideous as Jamie." Zoya kept her hands on her hips and looked at the Labrador standing near the door of the house wagging his tail and staring at all the faces. As soon as his eyes landed on Ayaan he ran towards him and jumped on him, licking his face. Sarah, their other dog was outside in her dog shed.
"Oh c'mon bhabhi Jamie sounds so cool!" he cooed at the dog.
"And so gay and... Zaid don't eat the cat food." Zoya turned to look at her son whose cat food covered hand was inches away from his mouth.
"But I'm hungry."
"Come I'll make you some pancakes."
"But why can't I have the cat food?" he pouted.
"Because I didn't give birth to a cat." Zoya tried to sound calm but she was failing miserably. Asad laughed but soon shut up when he received a glare from his wife. He helped Zaid wash his hands and settled both the kids on their seats on the dining table as Zoya prepared the brunch. They could hear the doorbell ring and Asad sprinted off to open the door but not before glaring at Ayaan who didn't even acknowledge the bell. He welcomed Najma, Nikhat and Nuzhat inside and took Nikhat's 3-month-old daughter Amrin in his big, strong arms. Amrin looked up at her mamujaan and giggled showing a glimpse of her toothless mouth. Naira got off her seat and walked towards Najma. She tugged at Najma's dupatta and Najma looked down.
"Hey my angel, what's up." She said.
"Can I hold him?" Naira pointed at the small infant in Najma's arms.
"You want to hold Ali?" Naira nodded at her question.
"Of course you can."
"Um, Naira, sweetie you'll drop him." Asad said.
"No I won't phupi I'm strong like abbu." Naira showed her arms to Najma who giggled at her cuteness.
"Don't worry bhaijaan she won't drop him because my angel is strong, but you have to sit on the sofa ok?" Naira nodded and ran towards the sofa. She sat there cross-legged and waited impatiently for her phupi to lay Ali on her lap. Najma bent down and placed him on his cousin's lap gently, she adjusted Naira's hands so that she could have a firmer grip on him.
"Phupi he is so small!" Naira exclaimed. She was amazed at how small and delicate he was.
"You know even you were this small once." Najma explained. Naira's eyes widened and she said,
"No, I was born big." Her comment made everyone laugh.
"Ok everyone come and sit, the brunch is ready." Humaira called out everyone.
Sundays at the Khan mansion was never a quiet affair what with so many kids and Asad, Zoya, Ayaan and Humaira were no less than kids themselves. The dining table was laden with food. There were eggs, pancakes with maple syrup, variety of fruits, tea, coffee, juice, and milk for the children, croissants and even some waffles. Sunday brunch was always entertaining with Ayaan and Zoya reciting their shayaris, Humaira and Ayaan's fights over petty things, Asad and Zoya's subtle yet not so subtle eye locks and the adorableness of the kids. Asad had given up his Jahapanah's seat at the dining table so that he could help Zoya in feeding the kids. Dilshad now sat there and every Sunday she would tear up as she looked around the table at her happy family.
Once they were done with the brunch the girls cleaned the kitchen and washed the dishes while Asad and Ayaan looked after all the kids.
"Ok mera ek bhai, bohot sari beheno, ek begum, ek bhabhi, badi ammi, aur..."
"Ayaan please come to the point." Asad said while pinching the bridge of his nose.
"Ok, ok so my dear family, it's time for..." He took a dramatic pause. "A family photo." he went inside him room to get his camera out. The girls squealed and went inside Zoya's room to get ready for the photograph. Ayaan and Asad began setting the camera to get the perfect angle. The girls soon came out and Ayaan gave everyone their positions as he angled the camera so that everyone could fit in the frame. Dilshad sat on the sofa with Zaid and Naira on her lap. Asad and Zoya sat beside her while Humaira with Ayra and Nuzhat sat down on the floor, Nikhat with Amrin stood beside Zoya and Najma with Ali stood beside Asad.
"Ayaan you need to be here too." Asad pointed out.
"Yes bhaijaan I'll just set the timer and I'll come too. Ok perfect angle, are ya'll ready?" he asked. He pressed the button when everyone nodded and ran and landed next to Humaira. Everyone smiled widely at the camera.
"Wait, but what about Grumpy, James and Sarah?" Ayaan suddenly exclaimed right before the timer went off, making them all laugh as the flash took over the room. Asad sprinted off towards the camera to see how the picture had come while the others joked and laughed at Ayaan. Asad's eyes watered at the picture on the screen. Since everyone was laughing, the smiles were genuine and real. Happiness was palpable. Asad knew this was the best picture, it was their family picture. It was a proof of their togetherness, a proof that after everything they had been through they were still together and happy. It was a proof that they breathed, survived the worst, rose up, cried, laughed and lived together.
Everything was perfect, from the way Asad and Zoya looked at each other with love in their eyes, the way Dilshad looked at her family, the way the kids laughed at Ayaan. Asad was so lost in the picture that he didn't notice Zoya standing behind him.
"It's perfect." She whispered in his ear. Asad smiled and pecked her dimples before replying,
"Mm-hmm, it's picture perfect!"
THE END!
A/N - Aww, someone pass me some tissues! And leave me some love too! Man, I really wanted to write something before going on a hiatus for my exams! Plus being the jealous soul that I am I wanted to post something looking at all the wonderful works by wonderful writers! I haven't proof-read it!
As ya'll have the read the dedication, it's for my mantaal family, My ankie mommy, my sohu, ridz n ramsha babies, my shreya jaanu, my Tanya sister, my anks granddaughter, my sadaf son-in-law, my farhana abbu and sorry if I'm forgetting any other mantaal relative! This story is even for my bestoo Amrin, who is always there in all my fictions but I've recently avoided her in my AsYa fictions, sorry baby! Love you all! 🤗
Love,
Sadie! 😃
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