"Ready?" Buttoning up the ironed rayon black shirt on his body. Sameer turned to ask his wife who was dawdling around the room.
"Kaha jaana hai?" Naina stared at him with perplexed eyes.
"Tumhari appointment haina vaini ke saath?" Sameer reminded her with a raised eyebrow while thinning his lips.
"Haa toh? I can go there whenever I want. She is free today." Naina informed him with a small smile, unable to contain the anxiety burdening her fragile heart at imagining receiving a piece of bad news.
"Hum dono jaa rahe hai unse consult karne, right now." He emphasized his last words in a finality tone and picked up a steel Titan watch to wrap the belt around his skinny hairy wrist.
"Tumhara kya kaam hai waha par? It's a women's problem." She stared at him with a scowl marring her uneasy face, already worried about the results of her pregnancy test. She can't take him along with her even if he gets upset and angry at her. She needs to have a heart-to-heart conversation with her sister-in-law regarding the delay in her menstruation.
"Toh? I am your husband. We have shared everything, humare beech kuch hidden nahi raha hai kabhi, phir isme gender problem kaha se aa gaya ab?" Sameer's voice had firmness and a tilt of disappointment, the ferocity of his black orbs menacing her insides.
"Tum office jao na, main milkar aa jaugi, and I promise I wouldn't lie to you." Scooting closer to her stiff man with steady steps. Naina cupped his prickly chin and adjured for his understanding.
"But tumhe issue kya hai agar main bhi saath me aauga toh?" He wasn't able to comprehend the valid logic behind her firm refusal to have his company for physical and emotional support.
He expected her to react happily to the unasked assistance she was earning from him. She should have appreciated his unfiltered concern to have a word with her sister-in-law and act like a sensible loving husband, but here, her response was truly unexpected and insulting as well.
"Par tumhe saath me aana kyun hai? Aisa bhi kuch nahi hua hai mujhe jo tumhe apna office chod ke mere saath aana padhe." She replied to him in a disgruntled tone while lowering her right hand to carefully stroke the fabric of his shirt, her soft squinted eyes boring into his turbulent ones.
"Are you seriously refusing me to tag along with you because you don't feel comfortable?" Sameer's voice softened momentarily when his anxious eyes comprehended the unwanted rise of discomfort on her countenance.
"Aa jao." Surrendering to his request and longing to witness the womanly discussion and be a part of it. Naina announced in a low-pitched tone.
It wouldn't be acceptable and logical from her end to pointlessly keep refusing him and neglect his approval stress for her when he should be equally participating in the conversation consequential for both of them. If there is something she should be worried about then it was the ignite of hope which had suddenly grown firmer and unremitting in her heart concerning her pregnancy. Sameer might not express often about his unconditional love for kids and uncontrollable hankering for embracing them in his strong arms and pampering their adorable faces to his heart's content with tons of kisses, but she caught him discreetly watching heartwarming videos on YouTube and Instagram where the toddlers are seen happily crawling on the floor or anywhere they sit to locate their parents who are purposely hiding themselves behind curtains or under the bed, giggling so euphoniously as if it's the only soothing music you would want to listen to every moment, doing limitless mischievousness and giving no heed to your scolding, speaking gibberish language while learning to talk which may be beyond one's understanding yet the most beautiful words to hear, throwing cute tantrums at their not-so-kind-hearted Mumma for feeding them all the healthy food existing in this world, and there had been countless such clips saved on his phone to watch later.
