Infinite

Chapter 5

Patience had never been Arnav Singh Raizada's strong suit. Especially if it did not result in something productive. But then, anyone would run out of patience if they had to wait hours in a waiting lounge in a crowded shopping mall, thought Arnav as he flicked his wrist again to read the time. He had come shopping with his wife exactly 3 hours ago, the time in which his wife had yet to pick one single thing.

Arnav preferred shopping online. You know what you need, you know your size and you know the standard of the stuff you're ordering. Great. Pay, place the order and wait for it to be delivered. Even better was shopping at Elan and he knew he didn't even have to lift a finger to get what he needed. Even on the occasional days that he did shop at a store, he took all of ten minutes.

But, his wife made shopping look like a complex process with journeys through countless stores and comparison of prices on similar objects. He had told her countless times not to worry about the price tag but if only she listened. He had tried hiring a personal shopper for her. But that didn't work either. She did her own shopping.

He would be at peace if he knew she at least found what she was looking for. But she didn't even know what she was looking for. He had been to shopping with her before but it had never been this worse. So, he had found a quiet corner, a sofa and begun working while she went into the children's shop across from where he sat.

It was the weekend and Arnav had flown down to Lucknow to spend it with his wife who had moved to her mother's home until after childbirth. After thinking things through thoroughly, they had decided that Khushi should move to her parents'. While she had bravely told him that he was all she needed, Arnav knew that she also needed her mother. And neither of them had the heart to break it to her expectant parents that they have made other decisions. He knew she was struggling with choosing between them. So, Arnav had made the decision simple for her. He told her that he would spend as much time as his schedule would allow with her even in Lucknow. He understood that Khushi understood his need to be involved in everything. He knew the reason she put him above everything. If she can do that for him, he decided he should make it easy for her.

After all the back and forth that happened in the matter of Khushi's delivery being planned in Lucknow, the family learned to never take sides when it came to these two. Because there were no sides to take. Arnav and Khushi were always on one side. And after all the ruckus over the issue, Khushi was now still in her maternal home. And seeing how happy her parents were, especially her father who lit up at the very sight of his chutki, Arnav knew they had made the right decision. He liked seeing them fuzz over her and have their own little moments with their daughter and to-be born grandchild.

Now, close to an hour later, he saw Khushi walk out of the shop and spotting him seated at the same place where she left him, she walked straight to him, her gait swift and effortless even at eight months.

She saw him watching her and looked down at herself, "what are you looking at, Raizada? How I'm growing bigger by the day?"

Arnav grinned at that. "I was thinking I could get used to this. I like this," he said jumping to his feet.

"Where's your bag?" He asked as an afterthought.

Khushi let out a panicked gasp thinking she probably missed her bag but then sighed spotting it right on her shoulders. "Arnavji, my handbag is right here."

"No. The shopping bag."

"I didn't buy anything. I wasn't going to buy anything. I was just perusing some baby stuff we would need later so I can make a list and know where to buy it."

His expression was a little bit confused as he asked next, "If we would need it later why didn't you buy it?"

"Because it's said to be ab shagun to buy stuff before the baby is here." She said that as if it was a no brainer and Arnav looked at her incredulously. "What the hell are we doing here then? If you weren't going to buy anything then why the f- were we wasting time here?" He bit out through gritted teeth.