The wheels of the tires turned towards her again. She panicked and ran back to the divider. Anubhav rushed towards her witnessing the incident. The phone dial went on speaker in the commotion. On the other side, was his best friend, Sharad (SM).
He too got worried as he heard him shouting Haseena's name.
"Anubhav!!....Anu", she spoke loudly as he ran behind the car cursing at the reckless driver. "Kya kar rahe hai aap...? Aise tamasha mat kijye" "kya tamasha na kare?" He walked back, embracing her, looking for any possibility of wounds. "Hum theek hai", she whispered trying to hold his shaking hands. Her beats also skipped for a few seconds at that moment but she trusted herself as a mother and God for her child's safety
"Kya theek hai??". His growl made her shudder holding her womb. He breathed out seeing her terrified reaction. "Ghar chaliye wapis" He held her arm leading her to the car. She went gloomy, thinking of the incident which could harm her baby and that their beautiful plan of a day out was destroyed. He dialed back to Sharad, seeing his endless missed calls and explained the matter asking him to trace the car out, if he can.
_____________________________
"Ye lijye vanilla shake. Ab coffee pe toh thora control karna padega aapko BP ki wajha se". He said with a smile plastered on his face.
"Humme nahi peena", Haseena frowned. "Uss pagal, bewakoof, gadhe insaan ki wajha se humari lunch date aur shopping ka plan cancel ho gaya. Khuch khane ke mood nahi hai humara" She irritatedly covered her face but he pulled down the blanket again.
"Are sirf lunch date cancel hui hai. Uski jagha hum dinner pe jayenge aur shopping ke liye do ghante araam karke nikal hi rahe hai". He explained her like a mother, tapping her forehead.
"Pakka? Bahana nahi maar sakte aap. Varna baby ke samne bahane baaz ki image ban jayegi"
"Pakka. Bas ye pi lijye. Iske 2 hours baad hum aapka sugar test karenge, phir chalenge"
"Meetha pilayenge toh phir bhadegi hi na. Jo khane de rahe hai uspe bhi rok laga denge" She pouted in annoyance. He hugged her trying to calm her mood swings.
"Haseena doctor ne sirf precautionary check karne ko kaha hai. Blood sugar ke aapko koi symptoms nahi hai. Phir bhi humari tassali ke liye aaj home test phir ek fasting se lab test karwa lejye"
"Aree...Kitna dhyan rakhe hum apna? Kitne tests...irritation ho rahi hai humme" "isse pi lijye, mood acha ho jayega." He said smiling and pecking her lips. After finishing, she moved away from him and laid again. "Hum 2 ghante so rahe hai" "khane ke just baad bilkul nahi". She ignored his statement and yawned. "Humara baby so gaya hai toh Mamma bhi so rahi hai...aap apna dekh lijye". Anubhav huffed as she passed him a tight lip smile. It was difficult handling his pregnant wife.
__________________________________
In a baby care shop,
"Anubhav!!" Haseena whined. "Khuch toh aisa lijye jo kaam ka ho...ye humme, humare baby ke 6months ho jaane ke baad kaam ayega"
"Haan toh Haseena, tab nahi mila ye jhula toh?"
"Haan Haan Maddam, humara store exclusive product hai", the sales person tried to intervene seeing Anubhav's keen interest in the multi-pupose wooden product. It was a semi - circle wooden swinging bed that when inverted could act like a tent or slide for a toddler.
"Aap beech me mat boliye Bhaiya", she glared. "Anubhav...", she tried to reason but before that he said,"done kardijye isse bhi". She rests her hand on either side of her belly and stare at him. "Ab Haseena hum apne one and only bache ke liye nahi khareedenge toh kiske liye kharedenge?"
"One and only reh jayega ye? Kyuki aapka control toh bigadta jaa raha hai?", she taunts him for her unplanned baby. "Jaana...kya aapko bilkul bhi bura nahi lagta bahre bazaar me apne pati ke bare me aisa bolne me?" He acted dramatically.
"Ye TV serial ki acting mat kijye aur kharcha na soch samjh ke kijye. Jab aulaad badi hogi na tab pata chalega, Mumbai me kharcha". She scolded him like a strict mother and walked towards the billing section. "Abhi itne sare samaan ki delivery ke alag paise lagege" She shook her head roughly calculating the total, at her husband's shopping sense.
____________
"Ha toh bataiye kya khane denge aap humme", Haseena asked rummaging through the menu card and then looked up at him. His eyes were full of love, so as the romantic ambience of the restaurant. "Jo man hai kha lijye lekin waiter ko kam namak ka bolna aur agar khuch heavy liya toh kam se kam 15-20 ki walk karni padegi"
She pouted but eventually gave in to his condition.
He smiled. Both placed their order, when he was disturbed by a call. Anubhav went aside taking the call from Avni.
(Tech expert in IB introduced in previous story)
"Pata chala?"
"Nahi Sir"
"Tumhe kitni baar bola hai Avni, ab sir mat bola karo...hum IB me nahi hai"
"Lekin senior aur inspiration toh haina 'sir'!"
"Saari auratain hi itni ziddi hoti hai kya?", he muttered under his breadth, remembering his recent bickering with Haseena. "Aapki wife ke aadhe ziddi bhi nahi hun main"
"Acha theek hai, ye Jane dijye aur car ke baare me bataiye"
"Clean chit hai sir, highway cameras se gadi trace hui khuch kilometers tak. Aage jaake bhi woh out of control hi thi. Supposedly, non- intentional. Jaha car ki repairing hui waha bhi pata kiya. Everything fine"
Her words soothed him, relieving his stress. "Dhanyawaad"
"Dhanyawaad se kaam nahi chalega! Abhi toh kaha aapne kaha hum senior nahi hai, toh ek IB officer ka keemti samay ko personal kaam mein lagane ke liye khuch dena bhi padega". Avni replied having a cheeky smile on the other side of the phone. "Boliye kya chahiye behena. Kitne ki ghoos?", he too, responded smiling and joking. Surely he got a family in his IB team.
"Next Sunday, mere favorite restaurant me lunch"
"Mehenga hai par done!...chaliye abhi rakhte hai warna Haseena dategi, chuti ke din kaam karne pe"
"Okay. Bye"
As Anubhav turned back towards the entry of the dining place, A plastic small pla-card fell near his feet. His eyes furrowed and he picked it up.
Something awaits you. An adventure. A bad thrill.
He looked around to find a source. His eyes landed on the quirky decor of the entry gate. Pla-cards having text similar text written hung from the wall mount. He huffed and threw it in near by bin, giving a rest to his overthing and protective mind for his wife and unborn child.
But was it a coincidence or a warning?
While driving back to home, he noticed her smiling at him.
"Kya hua? Aise kyu dekh rahi hai"
"Soch rahe hai ab tak aapne saari investigation toh kar hi li hogi"
"Konsi". He tried to act but smiled seeing her giving him an obvious look. She bit her lips. At some places she liked his possessiveness for her. The car halted at the red light. With the onset of monsoon, the nights were cooler. She leaned on the window and lightly grinned seeing a mother - daughter relishing on bhuttas.
"Anu...pregnancy phase me naa, hum apni Ammi ko...ek motherly embrace, ko bahout miss karte hai...", she said in a blunt, all of a sudden gazing at the silhouette. He didn't knew how to solve this. Sharad's parents with whom they bonded strongly, were having their own health issues.
He interlocked their fingers keeping it on the gear. "Hum Naani Amma ko nahi bula sakte? Anu". She was Anubhav's orphanage caretaker. He called her Naani due to her old age and Amma because she was his sole parental figure since he had held senses.
"Humne baat ki thi unse. Abhi bhi woh US me hi hai apni beti ke paas", he replied in tears remembering her. His vision in front blurred as emotions loomed inside him. He had met her last, 2 years back, before the pandemic.
She carresed the top of his palm. They drove back home silently.
A month pass, Haseena was nearing her 5th month. Her mood swings were still the same or sometimes worse, her BP was under control. Mornings got better as the sickness reduced. Anubhav was happy as the mid of the 2nd trimester was approaching. He had read of articles on the first kick of a baby, where he could feel him intimately and that the child becomes responsive to sound.
Everything went well, until today...
YOU ARE READING
Mere Liye Tum Kaafi Ho (Part-2)
Mystery / Thriller"I am pregnant Anu", Haseena spoke with little bead like tears in the corner of her eyes. The last few months of their life had been a tussle. It was definitely unplanned. "Haseena...", He couldn't control his happiness, excitement, fear and a mill...
