NURTURING US

Chapter 65

Sidharth walked to his mom and took Shehnaaz back in his arms and kissed her forehead, “Relax, everything is fine baby.. Mai hu tere sath and you are strong, okay?” Said Sidharth and she just nodded and hugged him back…
He rubbed her back, her arms and caressed her hair…
“Let’s leave guys, the garden will be closing soon…” said Umar and everyone walked to the parking area and Sidharth held Shehnaaz in his arms as they sat on the backseat of the car…. She wasn’t ready to leave him as well….
They all went to Asim’s house for the evening and Sidharth took Shehnaaz to Asim’s room and made her sit on the bed and he sat next to her, “Meri baat dhyan se sun, aise har baar tu aise ghabra nai sakti darling, Chetan ho ya koi aur, tujhe ye yaad rakhna hai ki tujhe koi kuch galat nai kar sakta… For sure.. Kuch karne ki bhi koshish karega to hum dekh lenge, Meri Jaan, please mayus na ho aur ghabra mat please…” He said and she snuggled into him….
“Mai dar nai rahi ya ghabra nai rahi, bas achanak se us aadmi ke face me similarity thi aur wo flashbacks aa gaye the isliye thoda sa ghabrai thi… Abhi thik hu…” She said coming out of his chest and he smiled and pressed his lips on her forehead…
They went out and were spending a great family time together…. Asim was packing his bag to travel back to Bombay… He had visited home for holiday and now he was leaving with Sidharth and Shehnaaz along with Roohi…
“Acha, Mom, Dad and Aunties, we all should leave for the hotel to get ready for the dinner… Aap log direct hotel me milo.. Hum bhi ready hoke wahi aaenge..” said Umar and the couples left while the parents stayed back at Asim’s house….
Sidharth was happy to see Shehnaaz back to normal and wasn’t able to get enough of his baby girl….
His arm was securely around her shoulder and his eyes were stuck to her as she laughed at a joke cracked by Naira sitting next to her…
They soon reached the hotel and walked to their respective rooms…
Shehnaaz took out a suit for herself for the night and a matching shirt for Sidharth…. He looked at the matching clothes and smiled and hugged her tight…. “I love this matching thing…” said Sidharth and they quickly dressed up and Shehnaaz wore the Jhumkas gifted by Sidharth and showed it to him, “Kaisa lag raha hai?” She asked… He bent forward and kissed her forehead and her cheeks, “Absolutely beautiful, mai ye jhumke lene se pehle soch rha tha tujhe pasand aayega ya nai… Lekin ab tere pe suit bhi kar raha hai to mujhe acha lag raha hai…” said Sidharth and tucked her hair behind her ear and filled her hair partition with Vermillion….
They both walked out and saw Baaz and Qiran were sitting in the hotel lobby waiting for the rest of the couples to come… Shehnaaz sat with Baaz and Sidharth kept his hand on her shoulder….
“Sab thik hai ab?” asked Shehnaaz and Baaz just smiled, “Haa sab badhiya hai ab to…”
“Bas khush raho dono..” said Shehnaaz…
Shehnaaz’s dupatta was constantly falling and Sidharth was looking at her, he held her purse and took out a pin from it and handed it to her….
“Relax kar, ye le pin laga le… Aise pareshan mat ho…” He said and she just looked at him and smiled at his efforts…
“Thank You Bebu!” she said and was trying to pin her the dupatta but wasn’t able to… He took the pin from her hand and adjusted her pleats and was about to pin the dupatta on her shoulder from inside… His cold fingers touched her bare shoulder… He knew it would affect her and his gaze was stuck on her face wanting to look at her reaction… He quickly pinned the dupatta and saw that her breaths were high and her eyes were closed, her back was arched behind, resting her back on his chest….
She opened her eyes as he was done with his work, he simply wrapped his arms around her and held her from behind, his face digging in her neck… He pressed his lips on her neck and rested his face there….
“Khud gloves nai dalta hai aur hath thande kar ke mujhe gudgudi karta hai…” She whispered….
“Maine kya kiya baby, aisa to kuch nai kiyaaa..” He whispered again, in a baby accent…
“Ha tu to duniya ka sabse bhola pati hai…” She said making him laugh….
“Aur tu, jangli Billi!”
She hit his stomach with her elbow but failed to hurt him and they laughed their hearts out…. He finally pressed his lips on her hands and saw that she had changed her ring and was wearing the one he gifted her during the premiere party of the project which Sidharth was directing for the first time (If you remember the chapters of Entangled where Sidharth had tried directing a short film!)
He loved when she would wear his gifts with love and grace…
Just then Qiran sneezed, “Araam se” said Baaz as he handed her a handkerchief…. Shehnaaz rubbed Qiran’s back and the other couples came down walking at the lobby and hugged Sidharth and they all settled in the car to reach the restaurant they planned to visit….
Shehnaaz and Sidharth were with Shehbaaz and Qiran…. They quickly reached and four people were holding each parent’s hand and helped them climb the hilly entrance of the restaurant and the couples sat together along with the mommies next to Sidharth and Shehnaaz….
The dinner was amazing, filled with fun and happy banters and people from different families combining together as one big family..
The parents headed towards the house and the couples back to the hotel… Sidharth held Shehnaaz’s hand as they got down from the car and said, “Walk pe chale?”
Shehnaaz agreed and Sidharth casually informed the rest of the gang about it and they held their hands as they walked in a random direction, slowly, step by step…. The night was dark, the moon was lit and the stars were shining bright…
“Kitna acha lag raha hai…” said Shehnaaz and rubbed Sidharth’s palm to warm him, “Mai thandi feel karne ke liye gloves nai pehna hu aur tu har baar garam kar rahi hai…” Said Sidharth but Shehnaaz didn’t budge and continued rubbing his palm…
“Abhi Qiran ki tabiyat kharab ho gayi na, risk ni lena Bebu, health is wealth!” She said with a smirk and he chuckled looking at her beaming with pride for using an English phrase…
“Pagal hai tu puri…” He said and they walked ahead…. They came across an ice cream parlor and Shehnaaz jumped holding his hand, “Ice creammm!!!” She screamed and Sidharth looked at her in disbelief…
“Madam, abhi mera hath garam kar rahi thi aur ab khud ko ice cream khana hai… Wahwah!”
“Mujhe khana hai Bebu!!”
“Shehnaaz, Qiran ke pass chipki padhi thi, already risk hai bimar padhne ka, kyu ice cream kha ke aur risk badhana hai?” Sidharth pulled Shehnaaz’s hair pulling her closer to him and she was continuously saying, “Maine khana hai bas!” she was adamant and wanted to eat and this was seen by an old lady who owned the ice cream parlor saw that and remembered the times with her own husband who was sitting inside…
“You both are just like me and my husband…” said Mrs. Cooper…
“Hey thank you Ma’am..” said Sidharth and Shehnaaz pouted, “Dekhiye na Aunty, ye mujhe ice cream ni khane de rha.. Aapke husband bhi aise hi the?” She asked cutely…
“Aunty, aap iski cuteness pe mat jao.. Abhi hamari ek friend ki tabiyat kharab hui thi, aur ye uske pass hi baithi thi… Isliye mana kar raha hu…” complained Sidharth and Mrs. cooper chuckled…
She said, “Ice cream khane ka asli maza to thand me hi aata hai…. Pani pee lena khane ke baad…” and Shehnaaz smiled wide and looked at Sidharth with a puppy face which he couldn’t deny…
Mrs. cooper handed them the ice creams and Shehnaaz ate with a winning smile…
“Gadhi!”
“Kutta!”
They were done and Mrs. cooper handed them water to gulp in and they left after paying…
Walking on the quiet street of Kashmir, cherishing the last night there, hand in hand with each other and finally made their way to the hotel and drifted off to sleep! Stay tuned!