25 December 2015 - 8.00am
Bhalla Residence
Ishita sat on the edge of her bed, trying to suppress the wave of nausea that was threatening to sweep over her, as Ruhi looked at her through sleep drenched eyes.
"Aap theek ho mumma?
(Are you okay mumma)
Her sweet little-girl voice was full of concern at the sight of her mothers wan face and expression.
Ishita smiled at her daughter, then slid back into the covers of the bed she shared with Ruhi whenever Raman was away.
"Yes beta, mumma bilkul theek hai."
(Yes darling, mumma is absolutely okay)
She ruffled her daughters hair as the sleepy little girl closed her eyes again, and snuggled into her mothers arms.
Ruhi had started to call her mumma more and more during the past year, the Ishima tag now only being used occasionally. Ishita had been touched by the change - and by the implication behind it.
She had started out as a friend before she became Ruhi's mother, and had then graduated to her friend/mother, her Ishima, but she realized that for now, her little girl needed a mother. She needed to feel loved and cocooned in the special love that only mothers could give. They would become friends again later, when Ruhi became a teenager. Right now, she was just mumma.
She wondered how Ruhi would react to the new baby, and to being an older sister.
Ruhi was such a sweet child with a loving soul that Ishita had no doubt that everything would ultimately work out for the best, but would there be insecurity, jealousy and possessiveness along the way? Adjusting to Adi had been a challenge in itself, but Adi was a teenager who shied away from parental attention, and who himself showered his little sister with time and love - Ruhi was still undoubtedly the star of the Bhalla clan.
But the baby - the baby would be a squawking squealing bundle of need who demanded attention. How would Ruhi adjust to having to share the attention of her parents and family with a younger sibling, with the baby? Her competiveness with Shravu showed Ishita that perhaps Ruhi might take some time getting used to the idea of having a baby in the home.
The baby. Ishita sighed and cradled her stomach with her free hand, the other still stroking Ruhi's forehead.
It was still so difficult to comprehend, to take in. She was actually pregnant, right after they had given up hope, right after she had reconciled herself to her, to their, dream remaining just that, a dream.
She had called her obstetrician after leaving Dr Sharma's clinic the previous day, still unable to accept what she had been told. Dr Asha had looked at the results she had emailed, and had laughingly and happily confirmed the news to her. She had then made an appointment to see Dr Asha on the 28th of December, the day after Raman's return to Delhi. There was no way that she would do this alone - she needed her Raman with her, by her side.
Raman. Ishita frowned as she picked up her phone, trying her husbands number yet again. The phone was unreachable, as it had been half an hour ago.
She had last spoken to him the previous afternoon, but after asking her how she was, he had told her he had to return to his meeting when she assured him she was fine, and had cut the call.
He had sounded terse, and she had wanted to call him back later that night to check whether everything was okay with his new business deal, but then both parents and children had demanded her attention when she got home, and time had slipped away.
He had called twice that evening but she had missed his calls, busy with getting Adi packed for his visit to Shagun and Ashok's Barbados home for the new year holidays, trying to get Ruhi to decorate the Christmas tree, and dealing with the complaints of her mother and mother in law, who were enmeshed in their latest tiff.
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Desire ✔️
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