Yakeen Ka Safar: A Sequel

Chapter 13

Zubia was standing in front of the mirror looking at herself, her head slightly tilted to the side. She was thinking about the past three months and all that had happened during them. Her first trimester had passed by sooner than she had expected and without any serious complications, except for a few restless nights and the extreme fatigue that would sometimes creep up on her without warning.

These weeks had left her feeling delighted, frightened, anxious, sometimes all at once. The dreaded mood swings that are so common in the first 12 weeks had revealed themselves on a few occasions too, and poor Asfandyar was usually the one who had to bear the brunt of it.

As Zubia brushed her hair she laughed a little as she recalled all of the times he had been on the receiving end of her spiralling hormones. She had found out, through several bad experiences, that she was most active and fresh during the early part of the day with the night usually making her exhausted to no end. This had also led to an observation that she was mostly assigned morning shifts, and knew Asfandyar had something to do with it.

It had been a Tuesday, as far as she remembered, when she had been sitting in their room rifling through a magazine, once again feeling like all her senses and emotions were heightened. She was missing Asfandyar who was still at work. Lubna aunty was taking a nap and Usman uncle wasn't home either. She had decided to call him.

Asfandyar, in the meantime, had been sitting in his office having a very important discussion with some other doctors when his phone had started ringing. He saw Zubia's picture flashing on the screen. He hesitated a bit but then decided to ignore it. The meeting was almost at an end so he thought he could easily call her back in a few minutes.

However when she called for the second time he got worried and quickly answered it.

"Hello?" He said, hoping everything was all right at home.

"Asalamalaikum" He heard her say. He was relieved to note that her tone was normal.

"Walikumasalam. Khairyat hai?" He inquired.

"Haan haan khairyat hai. Bus akeli bethi hui thi. Aapki yaad aarahi hai" She told him, her voice softer than usual. Asfandyar looked up at the people sitting in front of him. They too were eyeing him curiously. Feeling awkward, he tried to choose his words carefully.

"Oh. Uhm main aapko baad mein call karta hun" He told her.

"Lekin mujhe abhi baat karni hai na. Are you not missing me too?" She replied. Asfandyar, feeling more and more embarrassed, was stuck. On one hand he had to maintain his image in front of his colleagues. There was no way in hell he would ever start issuing romantic declarations right there in front of them. But on the other hand he didn't want to go home and face an angry Zubia. Despite her small size and adorable expressions he still got slightly scared of her when she was mad.

"Of course I am. But I'm in a meeting right now" He told her, lowering his voice.

"Zyada important kia hai Asfi?" She shot back. He wanted to reply that this meeting was also important but anyone with common sense would've advised him against that. He sighed and did something for which he knew he would face the consequences later on. He ended the call. Main ghar jaa kar mana lunga usko, he thought.

"Sorry about that. Hum kahan they?" He asked, turning his attention back to his audience.

**

When Asfandyar got back home he greeted his parents who were in the lounge and then walked into his room. Zubia was lying in bed with her back propped up on the pillows, one leg on top of the other, a book in her hand. She looked up to see her husband enter. For a second her mind eased and her eyes lit up. Then she remembered their earlier conversation and a surge of annoyance ran through her.