by Candy Laine
“Rahat, I love you like a sister, but I don’t think I can take another minute of hair styling.” Shweta dragged the dupatta off her head and took her friend’s hand. “Come on let’s go sit down for a while. I’ll even make you some of that awful chocolate popcorn you seem to like eating these days.”
“Hey, chocolate melted on popcorn is good. I love microwaving my popcorn with cubes of chocolate. They become gooey and yummy. And I’m serving them as snacks in my baby shower.” Rahat quickly defended her current choice of snack.
“If you say so. Let’s go make some.” Shweta led Rahat away from her bedroom into the kitchen. “I’m sorry you had to delay the baby shower.”
“Well, I could hardly have a party with you missing! Plus it’s better this way. I have something to look forward to when I’m all fat and bloated.” They made the popcorn and Shweta added a couple of glasses of fruit juice to the tray with the bowl.
“I can’t believe you’re getting married next week.” Rahat made herself as comfortable as she could and reached for the popcorn with a spoon.
“Mom wishes she had more time to organize things, but I just want it to be over.” Shweta sighed. “This whole bride and wedding circus has been too much. I wish the two of us could just run away and get married, but that would really hurt The Mothers.”
“I love the way that Geeta Aunty and Urmila Aunty are planning the wedding. They are so cute together. Gagan took them to the caterers and the two of them had a blast planning the menu for the wedding and the reception.”
“I’m so glad I had physiotherapy as an excuse to get out of most of the wedding planning. I really shouldn’t complain. The Mothers have been so helpful. With Arun out in the valley and me laid out in the hospital for so long it’s only because of them that the wedding is still on track.” Shweta shuddered at having to do everything on her own. She remembered the endless parade of clothes that The Mothers had put her through to find ideal outfits for each of the wedding ceremonies.
Since Arun was a Punjabi and Shweta a Maharashtrian, they had decided to get married in court. However both mothers strongly objected to a lack of religious ceremonies and had planned a couple of blessing ceremonies post the legal registration of marriage. That meant Shweta had to get three stellar bridal outfits. It wasn’t as lavish as Rahat’s wedding had been, but it seemed to be taking on a life of it’s own.
“When is Arun getting here?” Rahat asked innocently, digging into the popcorn again. “He’s cutting it fine to the wedding isn’t he?”
“He’s coming in tonight.” Shweta smiled. “He said he’s got a surprise for me. I don’t know what he’s up to this time.”
Arun had been sending her a small gift every month that he had been away. He had sent her flowers, candy, books, a battery bank for her phone, and her personal favourite a framed photograph of their selfie from the beach. His gifts were something she really looked forward to. The doorbell rang, bringing her out of her day dream.
Shweta looked at the wall clock. Gagan must have come to collect Rahat early. She went to open the door and was surprised to see Arun standing there. Her hand flew up to her mouth as she let out an excited squeal.
Arun walked in and hugged her as Gagan walked in behind her. “Surprise.”
“We’ll be on our way.” Rahat took Gagan’s hand and pulled herself up. She didn’t look very surprised.
“You knew he was coming early!” Shweta shot her a dark look even as she refused to let go of his waist.
“Of course I knew. Just like I know he has stuff to tell you.” Rahat followed Gagan out of the door and waved at them as she walked away. “I’ll see you two this evening at home for the baby shower.”
“I can’t believe you’re here.” Shweta looked up at Arun.
“I’m here.” He bent his head and kissed her on the forehead. “Can we sit down?” Arun guided them to the sofa and sat down, pulling Shweta into his lap. She put one arm behind his neck and the other hand on his chest.
“I missed you.” She said softly.
“I missed you too.” He hugged her tight.
“I don’t know how I’m going to survive being away from you after the wedding.” Shweta had decided that she did not want to quit her job and follow Arun from posting to posting. A decision she was now rethinking.
“You won’t have to survive without me.” Arun tapped her nose with his finger. “We are going to be together forever.”
“Yeah, right.” Shweta sniffed and turned her nose in the air. “Like the Army is going to post you permanently in Pune.”
“The Army will not, but since I was just discharged from the Army I’m quite sure my new job in Pune will allow me to stay with you all the time.”
Shweta gasped. “What did you say?”
“You heard me.”
“You quit the Army?” Shweta could not believe it.
“The discharge papers are in my pocket.” Arun pulled them out and handed them over to her. “Think of this as my wedding gift to you.”
“But Arun, I never asked you to quit the Army.”
“I know. I didn’t do it for you, I did it for us. For me.” Arun held her in his arms again. “The Army was never really my first choice for a career. It was my father’s wish. A family tradition that I was honour bound to follow.”
“I thought you loved being in the Army. You were certainly very good at your job.” Shweta looked into his eyes from her vantage point in his lap.
“Just because I was good at it does not mean that it was something I wanted to do all my life.” Arun’s eyes grew serious. “I’m not sure how this new job is going to work out for me, but at least I’ll be doing something new that challenges me.”
“What’s the job?” Shweta was curious.
“I’m going to join Ashish with his start-up.” Arun’s eyes twinkled. “He is doing way too much all the time. He needs someone to split the workload. He’s going to look after the clients and coding. I’m going to supervise the content development and administration of the office. As I learn more, my role will grow and he’ll be freed up to do more of the business development that he’s been wanting to.”
“That’s wonderful.” Shweta liked the idea. “Are you going to keep the same crazy hours he does? Ashima is always complaining about him overworking.”
“The idea is that if I am there with him, he gets a break and I get to handle some of the issues he does right now. We have been streamlining the duties we will split since your accident.”
“You’ve been planning to quit for so long?” Shweta’s eyes grew moist and tears threatened to fall. “I can’t believe you didn’t tell me.”
“I wasn’t sure if it would work out with Ashish and then there was the uncertainty over how soon I would get the discharge from the Army. I didn’t want to tell you till everything fell into place.” Arun held her hand in his and rested them in her lap.
“Are you okay with quitting the Army?” Shweta searched his eyes.
“More than okay.” Arun squeezed her hand. “In fact, my mother is even happier than me if that’s possible. I never realized how much stress she felt each time I went into a field deployment.”
“I’m sure she will be delighted to know that no one is going to be shooting at you any more. I know I am.” Shweta sighed and brought her forehead to his.
They heard a key jingling in the main door and he reluctantly let her go. She slid down on the sofa next to him.
The Mothers walked in together. Laden with shopping bags. They were both happy to see him but not surprised at all Shweta noted. Seems like everyone but her knew about him coming home early. Arun was hugged and kissed by both of them.
“It’s so good to see you.” Urmila Karkake was flying off to the kitchen. “You both have to stay for lunch.”
“We don’t want to trouble you, Urmila.” Geeta Rastogi followed her.
“Nonsense, Geeta. It’s no trouble. We never did get to have that meal together that we had planned on.” U
rmila starting taking out pans to cook in.
“Okay, we’ll stay. Only if you let me help you.” Geeta took off her dupatta and placed it on the back of a dining table chair.
“The two of them are getting along well.” Arun observed to Shweta.
“They are. It’s like they have become best friends. It helped that they had to spend so much time together planning our wedding.”
“I’m glad. I think it will be good for both of them.” He pulled her close to him and sat down on the sofa again.
“I have one more question to ask you.” Arun spoke softly.
“What is it?” Shweta lifted her head and looked into his eyes.
“What are we getting Rahat for the baby shower?” Arun’s eyebrows wiggled up and down making Shweta laugh.
“Don’t worry my love, I already have a present and it’s gift wrapped and ready to go.”
“I can think of another gift I’d like to unwrap.” Arun kissed the side of her mouth.
“That’s going to have to wait.” Shweta said as Urmila called out for them to come to the dining table.
~~~
I love you. Shweta’s heart beat just a bit faster when she read the text.
I love you too. She replied almost immediately.
I feel like sneaking up to your room’s balcony. She laughed.
Please don’t it’s a long drop from the third floor. I’m sure Romeo just had one story to climb.
Are you doubting my ability to scale walls?
No! I just don’t want you to have a leg in a cast when we get married.
Okay. I won’t climb your balcony, but I have to meet you. Shweta wanted to meet him too. Unfortunately The Mothers had decided that the bride and groom should not meet each other before the actual wedding. It was three days away. She didn’t know how she would survive that long without seeing him.
What do you suggest?
I have a lot of suggestions ;-)
About meeting up :-p
Want to meet up in neutral ground?
Like where?
You can go visiting Rahat and I may just show up at their home to meet Gagan.
We are not going to fool anyone.
How does that matter as long as we get to meet?!
Okay. I’ll be there in an hour.
Can’t wait to see you.
An hour later Shweta was ringing the bell at Rahat’s home and the door was opened by Arun. She giggled when he pulled her in and shut the door behind her. He pinned her against the door he had just shut and held her face in his hands. The kiss that followed was soft, gentle. Nothing like the fast possession she was expecting. Then he came back with another kiss, and she was glad for the support of the door behind her.
“Where is Rahat?” Shweta asked a couple of minutes later, her lips tingling and knees weak.
“Gagan had to take her to the gynaecologist for her weekly appointment. I took the house keys from him.”
“What about Gagan’s parents?” Sweta wanted to know.
“His mother is out with mine this morning. They had a long enough shopping list to keep them busy for a while. His father had a business meeting.” Arun led her into the house but before they could get very far both their phones beeped.
Shweta looked at him and shrugged her shoulders as she read the message. Arun looked up at her after reading the message on his phone.
“Seriously?” Arun pretended to be upset. “After all that effort to get you alone, the baby decides to come right now?”
Shweta chuckled, “Come on Uncle Romeo. We need to get to the hospital. I promised Rahat I would be with her in the birthing room. She’s going to need all the support she can get.”
“Can I at least get one kiss before we go?” Shweta giggled at the petulance in his tone. One soul stopping kiss later they were on their way to the hospital.
“Thank goodness you’re here.” Gagan rushed over and grabbed Shweta’s hand as soon as he saw her. “She’s yelling at me and I don’t know what to do! Help her, please. She’s in so much pain.”
“Where’s the doctor?” Shweta asked.
“He checked her out and said she needs to dilate some more. Then he left. How could he just leave. There’s a nurse in there with her.” Gagan was pulling her towards the room.
Shweta looked over her shoulder at Arun and signalled her need for some help. Arun quickly walked up to them and placed a hand on Gagan’s shoulder. “Why don’t you let Shweta go in there and see what she can do to calm Rahat down? Come let’s go check on where the doctor went.”
“Yes, let me go in alone. I’ll call you guys if I need any help.” Shweta opened the door and went into the room. Her ears were immediately assaulted by Rahat yelling out her displeasure.
“I’m going to kill him.” Rahat yelled between pains. Then moaned as the pain took over. She was lying on her side and hugging a pillow to her chest.
“Shweta, I’m not going to live through this.” She sobbed. Then moaned again as the nurse rubbed her back.
“I’m here now Rahat. You’re going to be okay. You need to breathe and stay calm. Understood?” Shweta looked at the nurse. “How many minutes apart are the contractions?”
“Seven minutes apart. She’s been in labour for nearly two hours now. It’s a Primigravida. She’s progressing well.” The nurse replied.
“At this rate your will have your baby before tonight, love.” Shweta took a hand towel from the side table and wiped the sweat off Rahat’s brow.
There was a knock on the door. Gagan peeked inside. “Rahat, your parents are here. Do you want your mother in the room?” Rahat’s response was to groan loudly as yet another contraction hit her.
“Let her sit outside for a while.” Shweta took the decision. “We don’t want too many people crowding her. She can come in when I go out.”
“You’re not leaving me here.” Rahat said plaintively. “I need you. No one else is a doctor.”
“You don’t need a doctor right now, Rahat. You’re doing fine. The baby is doing fine too. I’m going to be with you all throughout. Now breathe.”
Eventually everyone managed to sit with Rahat for a while as she went through her labour pains. When she had finally dilated enough for the birth, the gynaecologist returned. He sent everyone but Shweta and Gagan out of the room. It was a normal delivery. Even though Rahat screamed her lungs out and crushed his fingers, Gagan did not leave her hand.
Eighteen hours later an exhausted Shweta held the newborn baby boy in her arms and walked out of the room. Rahat had fallen asleep within minutes of the baby’s birth. Totally exhausted. Gagan had kissed the baby once it had been cleaned up and placed him in Shweta’s hands. Shweta carried the precious bundle out to meet all his relatives who were waiting eagerly to welcome him into the world.
Arun saw Shweta with the baby and couldn’t help but think of when they would have their own little miracle. Finally they left Gagan to stay the night with Rahat and the baby at the hospital and everyone else went home.
o0o
24
Forever Together
o0o
And on that cheek, and o’er that brow,
So soft, so calm, yet eloquent,
The smiles that win, the tints that glow,
But tell of days in goodness spent,
A mind at peace with all below,
A heart whose love is innocent!
George Gordon, Lord Byron
It was finally happening. Shweta couldn’t believe it. She was going to marry Arun today. A small court marriage, just as they both wanted. They would have a simple ceremonial blessing after they returned from the marriage registrar's office. They would be leaving for their honeymoon a day later. Arun still hadn’t told Shweta where they were going.
Sameer was driving them to the marriage registrar's office. They were meeting up with Arun and his mother there. Vishal and Sameer were going to be their witnesses. Rahat and Gagan had opted out of bringing the baby to the courthouse. Shweta hadn
’t wanted to dress up too much for the occasion but Ashima had changed her mind for her.
“You only get married once! Don’t you want to look good in the photographs?” Ashima had helped her get ready and although Shweta missed Rahat, she was glad to have Ashima with her. Now as Ashima sat up front with Sameer and chattered away, Shweta hoped that the two of them would also manage to get together.
Her mother, Urmila, held her hand tightly all the way. There were mixed emotions clearly visible on her face. Shweta knew they were both thinking about her father, and how he would have loved to have been there on this day. It was bittersweet knowing that he wouldn’t be there. The car came to a halt and Ashima got out from the front and opened her door.
She helped Shweta with her saree. It was green. The typical Maharashtrian colour rather than the traditional Punjabi red. She had a red ensemble for the ceremonial blessing in the evening. It was the smell of the flowers that alerted her to his presence. Arun was walking up to them with Vishal. Vishal held two beautiful varmalas in his hand. The rose and jasmine in the garlands perfumed the air around them.
The expression on his face when he caught sight of her in her finery made Shweta glad for the trouble Ashima had put her through. He was wearing his heart on his sleeve and literally couldn’t take his eyes off her. He did manage to greet everyone else though.
“We have a fifteen minute wait.” Arun shook Sameer’s hand and gave her mother a side hug. He looked at her then, his adoration shining through his eyes. “My mother is sitting in the room inside. Would you like to join her Aunty?”
“Yes I would.” Urmila and Ashima were escorted away by Vishal. Sameer went to park the car. Finally it was just the two of them.
“You look so beautiful” He whispered to her. “How did I get so lucky? Punch me in the stomach.”
“Why?” Shweta looked startled at his request.
“So that I know I’m not dreaming.” She pulled her fist back in a mock punch and connected it with his stomach.
“Ooph, that hurt more than a bullet.” Arun pretended to double over bringing his face close to hers. Then quickly sneaked a kiss.
