EMBRACING REALITY

Chapter 5 EMBRACING REALITY

CHAPTER 5
Sidharth blushed at the way he reacted.. “Bubbu, tu kinna cute hai.. Tujhe sachi laga mai andar kuch nai pehni hu.. Haye, Allah Tauba..” cooed Shehnaaz, pulling his cheeks and pressing her lips on his nose..
“Tu kyu karti hai aisa..” said Sidharth, pulling her close and snuggling into her bare neck..
“Tujhe aise hasane ke liye.. Maine couple pranks wale videos dekhe aur ye wala mujhe bada pasand aaya.. Maine socha aaj try kar lu..” said Shehnaaz and ran her fingers in his hair..
“Punishment milni chahiye tujhe..” said Sidharth, snuggling deeper into her neck and his arms were stuck on her waist.. “Oh baby, no baby.. You got me all wrong baby..” said Shehnaaz and Sidharth came out of her neck and looked at her, “Kya bol rahi hai bey tu aaj kal..” asked Sidharth..
“Tu Instagram nai use karta hai na.. Tujhe nai samjhega aise.. Ruk video dikhati hu..” said Shehnaaz and tilted a little.. She grabbed her phone and landed back in his arms.. He waited patiently for her to search for the particular video and finally she found it..
“Ye sab kya time pass hai.. Koi itna thodi apna valuable time waste karta hai..” said Sidharth.. “Tu kyu bolta hai aise.. Ab time pass logical thodi hoga.. Entertainment aise hi hota hai.. Sab tere jaise news me ghuse nai rehte.. Hadh hai.. Mood kharab kar diya tune..” scoffed Shehnaaz..
“Baby, Mai tujhe thodi na kuch bola.. Mai bas apna view diya hu reels ke baare me..” said Sidharth, trying to defend himself.. He forgot no husband can ever defend himself in front of an angry or irritated wife..
“Ha bolta reh ab.. Tu sahi hai, baaki duniya galat..” scoffed Shehnaaz and Sidharth felt helpless..
“Ab mai apni baat bhi nai rakh sakta kya? Baby, hum do alag log hai.. Kabhi jo cheez tujhe pasand aaegi, wo mujhe nai aaegi.. Aisa bhadkegi toh mai kaise apni baat rakhunga.. Mai tujhe rok thodi raha hu ye sab videos banane ke liye..” said Sidharth..
“Mai bol toh rahi hu, tu sahi hai.. Ab bas kar is topic me baat karna..” said Shehnaaz..
“Baby, are you down?” asked Sidharth, seeing her all clumsy since morning.. She didn’t reply and he held her in his arms again, “You were fine raat ko.. Tell me baby..” cooed Sidharth with love and she melted..
She nodded in agreement and frowned.. “Awww, my sweetheart.. Tu baith yaha.. Mai abhi aaya..” said Sidharth and walked out of the bedroom..
“Kavita tai, aaj kya bana rahe ho lunch me?” asked Sidharth.. “Aaj sprouts banai hu.. Daal chawal sath me.. Juice mana kiye hai Mummy ji.. Sprouts se kaam ho jaega..” said Kavita Tai..
“Okay, thank you.. Naira Kabir bhi aane wale hai.. Mai un dono ko abhi call karta hu.. Agar confirm kiye, toh khane ki quantity badha dena aap..” said Sidharth and grabbed his phone..
He dialed Naira’s number but it went unanswered.. He then called Kabir.. He picked it up in one ring, “Yes Mamu..” said Kabir…
“How are you, young man?” asked Sidharth.. “I am good, Mamu.. How are You? How’s lockdown treating you?” asked Kabir..
“Everything’s fine.. I want you guys to come home today.. Either for lunch or dinner whichever is comfortable..” said Sidharth..
“Actually, Mamu.. We are working from home.. I know we can’t do site visits right now.. But our boss suggested us to do the sample making of the interior work of the upcoming projects.. So that, ek cheez hoke rahegi toh we can directly work on the site once the lockdown ends.. Naira bhi abhi meeting me hai with her team.. Dinner pe join karte hai..” said Kabir..
“Sure, araam se kaam karo.. Stay hydrated.. Kuch lage toh bolo..” said Sidharth..
“Haa, mummy khana bhej rahe hai aaj.. Dinner aapke pass karenge..” said Kabir..
“Koi na bache.. You guys are new in the live-in relationship thing.. Sab araam se hoga.. I am sensing something fishy.. Agar kuch share karna hai toh you know, I’m just a call away and also, just a door away from your house..” said Sidharth..
“I will Mamu, very soon I’ll talk to you.. I love you..” said Kabir, feeling overwhelmed with the warmth he received from Sidharth..
Shehnaaz had come out and she heard Sidharth saying, “I love you too..” and he disconnected the call..
Shehnaaz grabbed a packet of popcorn and sat on the couch.. Sidharth saw her scrolling through Netflix and he got ice cream for her..
“Ye le baby.. Teri favourite..” said Sidharth but she ignored.. “Shehnaaz.. Le lena baby, pighal jaegi warna..” said Sidharth..
“Mai abhi popcorn khaa rahi hu.. Freezer me rakh de, mai bad me kha lungi..” said Shehnaaz, without even looking at him..
“Is everything okay? Pain zyada ho raha hai kya?” asked Sidharth.. She just nodded left and right, indicating that it wasn’t paining much..
He took her feet in his hand and massaged it like the previous night.. She closed her eyes as she felt his cold fingers massaging her feet.. “Baby, swelling aayi hai kya?” he asked and said, “Haa, wo abhi slip ho gayi thi bathroom se bahar aate waqt…” said Shehnaaz..
“Toh boli kyu nai baby..” said Sidharth, getting up from the couch and walking back to the bedroom.. He got a pain relief gel and came back to the couch..
He didn’t panic this time and massaged her left foot.. She winced in pain.. “Shehnaaz, boli kyu nai baby.. Mai pehle massage kar deta na darling..” said Sidharth..
“Mai aayi thi bahar, tu hi phone pe busy tha..” said Shehnaaz and closed her eyes feeling the pain..
“Kabir se baat kar raha tha Meri jaan.. Wo dono hamare floor pe rehte hai toh thoda unka bhi dhyan rakhna hai na..” said Sidharth, softening the massage..
“Bas hua Sidharth.. Kitna karega.. Mai toh pata nai kya ban gayi hu.. Kuch na kuch hoye jaa raha hai.. Kabhi vitamin low kabhi kuch.. Ab ye fisal gayi.. Hamesha kuch na kuch ho raha hai..” said Shehnaaz, lowering her gaze towards the floor..
Sidharth decided to wrap her ankle with a crape bandage first and then talk to her…
“Shehnaaz, baby.. Aisa kyu soch rahi hai.. Tujhe choti moti cheeze hi ho rahi hai.. Mai hu na dhyan rakhne ke liye.. Mera bacha idhar aaja..” cooed Sidharth, keeping a pillow under her feet and carefully taking her in his arms..
“Sidharth, mai thik hu na? tu kuch chupa toh nai raha?” asked Shehnaaz, with a sad pout..
“Mai kyu kuch chupaunga baby.. You need to relax.. Aaj raat drive pe chalte hai.. Sea side nai jaa paenge because wo band hai abhi.. Bas ek chote se drive pe jaenge.. Okay baby?” asked Sidharth and she agreed..
“Meri Jaan, abhi tere sath kaafi cheeze ek sath ho gayi hai.. Plus, you’re down.. har cheez tu abhi extreme level pe feel karegi, so it will be better agar tu acha soche toh… Teri favourite movie dekhte hai.. Fir mai tere liye video shoot karunga tu maze karna.. Okay?” cooed Sidharth..
“I promise, mai sab dawai time pe leke thik ho jaungi.. Mujhe bho time se lag raha hai ki tu, maa mujhse kuch chupa rahe ho..” said Shehnaaz..
“Baby, stop thinking about all this.. Tujhe kuch hua nai hai.. Bas tera normal hai ye.. Vitamin aur blood level tera upar neeche hota rehta hai.. You are absolutely fine, Meri jaan..” said Sidharth..
“Aisa hai toh hum abhi baby plan kyu nai kar rahe? Kal bhi tune protection use kiya..” asked Shehnaaz..
Sidharth didn’t know what to say.. “Shehnaaz, abhi covid har kisi ko ho raha hai.. Thoda ruk jate hai.. Tujhe baar-bar doctor ke pass jana hoga.. Isse risk ho sakta hai.. Mai ready hu for our child.. Tu bhi ready hai bas ye pandemic ke wajah se I’m thinking to wait..” said Sidharth..
“Agar aisa hi tha toh mujhse baat kyu nai kiya is baare me?” asked Shehnaaz..
“Baby, mere dimag me aaya hi nai.. Ek ke baad ek cheeze ho rahi thi… Tujhe pata hai, Kabir aur Naira me bhi kuch na kuch chal raha hai.. Aaj sham wo dono aa rahe hai.. Mai Kabir se baat karunga, tu Naira se kar lena.. Dekhte hai, kya chal raha hai..” said Sidharth and she agreed and her mind was diverted..
He took a sign of relief and they watched the movie.. Shehnaaz felt immense pain on her lower back and she kept shifting her position.. Sidharth lifted her up and made her lay on his stomach.. She felt comfortable and he pressed his lips on her forehead..
He massaged her head and she fell asleep on him.. He smiled and paused the movie..
She made faces when he was about to leave so he let her sleep over him and grabbed his phone.. He sent a text to his mom telling her about Shehnaaz’s multiple questions..
“Bache, she is mature enough.. She won’t panic.. I think, you should tell her now..” said Mom’s text..
“Are you sure Maa?” asked Sidharth.. Whenever he shifted to Maa from Mom, Rita maa would understand he was panicking..
“Trust me, and trust her.. Sab acha hoga..” said Mom..
Promo- Will Sidharth tell Shehnaaz about her health condition to her.. Stay Tuned..