Part - 47

"A Man Is Not Complete Until He Has Seen The Baby He Has Made"

(Karthik's POV)

"Mithra!" I call her before finding her in our bedroom sitting on our bed with her laptop on. "What my mother & yours told you?" I ask. She frowns, giving me a look that clearly shouts ‘Are you mad or what?’

"What exactly are you asking me now? Our moms have told a lot to me & in that what particular thing you are asking me?"

"About telling your pregnancy to others? Didn't they tell you to wait till you complete your first trimester before telling anyone?"

"Yeah & I didn't tell anyone." She says with a frown.

"Then what image you have on your Facebook cover page?" I ask raising my brow. It’s our baby's ultra sound scan she has kept as her cover image.

"Oh crap!" She cups her face with her palms.

"I forgot!" She lifts her head up and says in a contrite tone.

"Take it down. Now!" I command.

"But I like it." She says softly.

"I know, baby." I sit next to her & taking her hand in mine I plant a kiss on her little finger. "But our parents were very particular about this so let’s not defy them." I try to make her understand.

"Yeah, okay. But I don't think anyone will find out from my FB cover page that I am pregnant." She says coolly. I frown. How the fuck they won't find when the evidence is displayed so clearly?

"See, this." She shows me the image she has set as her cover image.

"What?" I ask.

"Look at it closely." She says. Why? I didn't get it but just concentrated on the picture. "Doesn't it look like a rock art?" She asks, her eyes twinkling with delight. Fuck! My baby doesn't look like a rock art, dammit. I want to scream at her but I control myself.

"Or ..." She studies the picture more to come up with something stupider this time.

"Or it looks like an asteroid" She says & giggles. Not funny!

"Or..." She thinks hard. Please don't tell me it looks like an alien then I will get a coronary attack. "Well, enough of your discovery. Just remove this picture & put something else. Maybe our wedding pic" I suggest.

"Alright" She grunts & changes her cover image… Well, not to our wedding pic as I suggested but to a pic of ours taken last night when we had gone to Purple Orchid Restaurant to celebrate our good news.

~~0~~

"Hello! Karthik…" I heard worry in Mithra’s voice when I attended her call.

"Mithu? You okay? You reached home? Or should I come to your office to pick you up?" I ask hurriedly. I told her to take some rest before resuming her work but she didn't listen to me. She stated that she was perfectly fine & even before finding out about her pregnancy she was working so she wanted everything to go normal & I reluctantly agreed to her wish.

“Karthik, um... My car broke down..."

"Where are you now? I will come there" I say & quickly grab my jacket & car key. She tells me she is in the outskirt of Mumbai. It's where the company’s warehouse is situated.

I don’t get why you need to bark when you have a dog at home?

She has people to do that job for her but why the fuck she opted to go by herself and do the warehouse inspection?

"Where the fuck is your driver?" I ask.

"Um... I..."

"Don't tell you took the car on your own?" I close my eyes in dread as I say that. Her silence confirms me that she has exactly done what I dreaded.

Shit! Shit! Shit!

"Didn't I tell you not to take the car on your own?" I ask in a menacing tone. Fuck! She is a rash driver and even if she drives slowly she easily gets distracted.

Oh God! She is stuck in the highway, at this time of the night, not knowing what to do with that damned car.

“Karthik please don't lecture me. I am standing alone here & it feels creepy so you better come soon." She says & hangs up on me.

What the fuck? She hung up on me?

"Hello!" she answers the call in the first ring itself.

"Just fucking sit inside the car safely with the doors locked and windows rolled up. I am coming!" I bark and hang up on her.

--0--

Why is she hell bent on defying me? I told her to sit inside the car but here she is coolly leaning on the car bonnet with her arms crossed over her chest & looking down at her feet. I quickly park the car opposite to her car before jumping out of it & going to her side.

"Mithra..." I pull her in my arms & kiss her hair but she pushes me away.

What's wrong with her?

"At what time I called you?" she asks me angrily. "You made me wait for nearly one hour." she accuses me.

This is not fair! Not at all fair! How could she blame me? If it was anyone else then I am sure they would have taken at least one & a half hours to reach here but I managed to come here as early as possible as I didn't want my wife to wait alone in this creepy place.

"Didn't I strictly tell you to sit inside the car?" I change the topic.

"It was suffocating inside the car so I just came out" she has ready answer for everything.

"Okay, come" I take her hand but she pulls away & walks past our car. I scrunch my eyes when a car’s headlight flashes brightly and honks noisily.

Fucking asshole!

Sanjeev gets out of his car & gives me a goofy grin.

"You won it!" he says pointing his finger at me. I shake my head irately. I didn’t race with you, man!

"See? Just ten minutes ago I called him and he is here. But you? You took nearly an hour!" Mithra complains.

That's what you know woman! But what you didn’t know is I called him as soon as you called me. I asked him to come & pick you up. I worried that I might get late as I was really far away from this current location & I want someone to take her home quickly so I practically ordered him to go in for Mithra's rescue but I myself reached here before he could.

"Thanks for coming, Sanjeev. Come, let's go!" Mithra drags his hand.

"Hey! You are not coming with me?" I ask. Ignoring me, she walks straight to his car. Silly girl!

"Hey, sit at the front. I am not your driver." Sanjeev orders when she was about to take the rear seat.

“Let her sit wherever she finds comfortable, Sanjeev” I shout but they didn’t seem to be listening to me.

Mithra slaps his arm when he tries to dump her in the passenger seat but then she got in the front only.

"Sanjeev! Drive slowly!" I order him.

He doesn't know about Mithra's pregnancy yet. Maybe I should tell him when we reach home.

He frowns. "Why? You wanna win the race again?" he asks, grinning wolfishly.

I am not participating in any fucking race, asshole.

"Just fucking drive slow" I growl at him and got into my car. I take U turn and slowly follow Sanjeev's car.

Thanks fuck, at least, he is obliging to my words unlike my defiant wife.

After about ten minutes of driving, Sanjeev pulls over his car at the side of the curb. I wonder why & as if answering to my confusion, Mithra clambers out of the car & rushes to the side of the road to throw up.

Shit! I jump out of my car & race to her side. I collect her hair with one hand and with other, I support her trembling body.

"Easy! Easy!" I tell as she tries to push me away from her.

"Don't feel embarrassed, Mithra! I am your husband & I have the right to see you in this state & help you!"

"No, please" she groans as her hand tries to push me away again but she doubles over again & spatters vomits. I hold her tightly worried she might faint.

"Sanjeev, get me the water bottle, please" I ask. He quickly gets me the bottle from my car.

"What's wrong with her?" he asks concerned.

"You okay, baby?" I ask Mithra. She nods her head wiping her mouth with my kerchief I handed to her & leans her upper body against my chest.

"I am sorry" Mithra whispers. I frown. "Sanjeev told me that you only called him an hour ago and asked him to come and pick me up just in case you got delayed"

"What you had for lunch?" I ask completely ignoring her apology. I got late and made her wait, though unintentionally... I feel it's my mistake and I understand her reason to get angry on me.

"A sandwich. Oh! And an apple" she says meekly before gulping down the water.

"That's all?" I ask in disbelief. "You should eat, Mithra. If you had had a decent meal then you wouldn't be throwing up now

"Karthik, what's going on? What's wrong with her?" Sanjeev asks frantically. He loves Mithra so much and I know he's panicking seeing her in this condition.

"Sanjeev, relax." I say scratching my temple. I don't know how to break the big news to him. After taking a deep breath I tell him in a soft tone "She is pregnant"

"I know she is arrogant but what's wrong with her health."

"Dude! I didn't say arrogant. I said pregnant! My wife is pregnant!"

"How?" he wonders.

"Are you stupid?" Mithra asks him, with her hands on either side of her hip. "Don't you know how? Shame! You are a father of a child but don't know how a woman gets pregnant. Of course Karthik knocked me up" Now she is being arrogant. These two are always fun to watch. Sometimes annoying too!

"Sorry, I mean to ask when?" He amends his question. "You didn't tell me?" he accuses me. I sigh.

"When? Ugh! Yet again a stupid question from you, Sanjeev. We do it every day and every night then how will we know exactly when we conceived this baby?" Mithra is really shameless to reveal our sexual secrets to our best friend.

Sanjeev ignores her & turns to me.

"Dude, you are gonna be a dad!" he couldn't hide his joy. Like a force of nature, he launches himself on me knocking me off balance but gladly the car bonnet saved me from falling flat on my butt on the ground.

"Hey! Get off of my husband" Mithra starts hitting him on his back & pulling him up feeling proprietary for me.

"Get up or else I will puke on your car" Mithra threatens. Scared that she might hold on to her threat & puke on his favorite Audi car, he releases me and stood straight.

"Congrats, dude" he says giving me a bear hug. He is so f**king dramatic.

"Thanks!" I mutter.

"Hey, little Devil! Come here" he opens his arms for her. Mithra goes into his arms & hugs him, happily.

"I am so happy for you. You will make one hell of a mother. Good luck!" he kisses her head, a brotherly gesture. Mithra gets overwhelmed with happiness & starts crying. She is getting too emotional lately. Her mood swings from north to south & back to normal in a nano second.

"Hey, you look scary when you cry so stop it!" Sanjeev jokes and ruffles her hair before passing her to me.

I brush her hair off her face & wipe her tears.

“Karthik, I am hungry" she whispers.

"Okay, baby. We will have our dinner in some restaurant before heading home" I say. "Sanjeev, join us" I invite.

"Promise you will get me a beer only then I will join you."

"You are not drinking, Karthik" Mithra warns me even before I could answer him.

"I don't care whether your husband drinks or not. I want a beer." Sanjeev demands.

"Get lost!" Mithra barks at him & marches to our car & climbs in. Then all three of us went to a decent restaurant & had our dinner & of course Mithra didn't let me drink but Sanjeev enjoyed on my behalf.

~~0~~

"Oh baby, just tell me what would you like to eat?” I stop in track when I hear Mithra talk to our baby. “Your Papa keeps on feeding me & you keep on pushing everything out." Mithra pats her belly gently. "I am tired of this eating & puking business." She groans & lies back on the bed.

I have noticed Mithra talking to our baby for quite a sometimes now. She looks really sweet and adorable when she coos to our baby. I love hearing her funny talk.

She mostly narrates the entire day's event to our baby. If I cook something for her then she tastes it & asks the baby's approval whether he/she likes it or not.

She wishes good morning & good night to the baby daily. All these cute little antics of Mithra make me love her all the more & make me believe how wonderful mother she will be to our baby.

Though I love our baby as equally as she does, I couldn't actually talk to our baby as I find it weird. Maybe that's because Mithra could actually feel the baby while I couldn't so I find it difficult to bond easily with the baby. I just keep kissing Mithra's belly believing my kisses will reach my kid. That's my way of communication with our baby.

"Hey, I made your favorite chicken momos" I announce as I stride towards the bed. "Get up, baby. Eat first & then you can sleep"

"Your baby like chicken momos?" she asks me.

How do I know?

"If baby's momma likes it then I am sure baby too will like it."

"Okay, give" she takes the plate from my hand. I am surprised to see her eat with gusto. She must be starving. My poor baby! I fervently wish she doesn't throw up again or else she will go really weak. She is already half her size.

--0--

"You better get ready, I will take you to your Gyn, Mithra" I gently tell as I lead her back to the bed. She couldn't keep anything she eats in her tummy. The foods which she loved to eat are now making her feel nauseous. I don't know how to help her.

"No, Karthik! Doctor already assured me it’s normal so I am not coming" She protests.

"Mithra, but how long you will go like this? We can ask your doctor to prescribe some meds which will help you stop vomiting, right?

"No, Karthik. I am fine." she lies on the bed tiredly. It makes me feel sad to see her suffering. I hate being so helpless and not do anything for my wife.

"I can't bear seeing you like this, baby" I whisper to her as I kiss her temple. "I wish the pregnancy was easy for you…" she smiles at me as she caresses my stubble with her soft fingers.

"Everything will be worth it in the end" she says with a smile. I agree. Once we have a healthy baby in our hands we will... No she will forget all the pain she has endured. "Shall we watch some movie? So that I can get some diversion?" she asks.

"Okay. What you wanna watch?" I ask.

"As always, horror movie!" she grins.

Then we watch a movie, cuddling in our bed.

"I feel sleepy" Mithra mumbles half way through the movie.

"Sleep, baby" I kiss her forehead and then Mithra rolls off my arm & sprawls on her front.

"Mithra!" I shriek.

"What?" she comes wide awake as she scrambles up on her knees & crawls closer to me "What happen?" she asks me worriedly as her rubs my chest with her palm. “Is it paining here?”

"You turned over & laid on your front"

She is not supposed to sleep on her front right?

"Oh shit! I forgot! I am sorry" she says & kisses my lips softly.

Then she lies on her back & places her hands securely on her belly. I switch off the TV & join her under the blankets & loosely wrap my arm over her chest so that I can make sure she doesn't flips & sleeps on her front.

~~0~~

One Sunday, we invited our close friends to our place to have a small get together party.

Nisha & her husband Micheal have come down to India with their son Steve. Micheal has some conference in Mumbai and Nisha & I have some business deal to sign together.

Making Nisha my business partner is one profitable move. She excelled in her job & she is running our Singapore business successfully. So we invited them for lunch along with our other friends Sanjeev-Deepa & Sunny-Tara.

Initially, I wasn’t very pleased about the idea as it means more work for Mithra & I didn't want that for her giving regards to her current condition but she insisted and reluctantly I agreed not wanting to upset her. She loves to have fun with our friends and their kids.

"Mithra…" I call as I walk into the kitchen and find her frying fish. "Give me, I will do the frying. You go sit with them."

"No, Karthik..." She gets interrupted by a fit of cough. "It's fine. I will manage." She coughs again. The spicy hot pepper smell is making her cough & every time she does that she clutches her tummy. I guess the rigorous coughing gives her abdominal pain.

"Is your stomach aching?" I ask.

"Yeah. Slightly. Only when I cough" She admits as she rubs her four month pregnant belly. She has a cute little baby bump. I find it fascinating to see her growing big with the baby. My baby!

"That's why I am telling you to go out of the kitchen. Sit with our friends. I will join you shortly." I insist. She smiles & agrees with me.

Then she turns around & slips back as her foot lands on a toy car which the kids must have left it while playing here. "Ouch!" She shouts. I quickly catch her by her waist & she clutches my shirt collar tightly with her hands, pulling me towards her. She has her eyes tight shut in fear.

"I have got you. I have got you." I repeat the words softly as I help her stand straight but hold her closer to my chest. She needs a moment to bring down her racing heart beat. I am glad I was able to catch her in time before she fell down. I can't even contemplate what would have happened if I hadn't caught her.

"You okay?" I ask.

"I am sorry." She whispers taking a deep breath.

"Just be careful & watch you steps." I tell her. She nods. Then I let her go.

After finishing fish frying & getting our lunch ready to serve on the dining table, I walk back to join everyone in the living room.

"So? How you feel the new experience of being pregnant?" Deepa asks Mithra.

"Weird! Still I can't believe a life is really growing inside me." She says as she pokes her tongue out like a kid that she is.

I remember her telling me our first love making experience was 'weird' but later she started loving it & became so demanding, became a border line nymphomanic.

And now she is saying the same about her pregnancy. Does that mean she will demand for more kids? I think I am capable of handling only two kids, one - Mithra & two - the baby on the way. One more will be difficult... Though it will be a challenge for me... well, let’s think about that in future. Right now I want to fully focus on Mithra & our little heart growing in her.

"I am just glad I have overcome with morning sickness. I can't even call it morning sickness because I was puking all the time, even in the midnight. My poor Karthik, he was always running behind me to the bathroom to help me... I don't know what I would do without him." She tells with a genuine smile.

God! She had a horrible morning sickness for three awful weeks & only after she crossed her first trimester it got under control and now I am glad she could keep whatever she eats in her tummy. She is also putting on some weight she lost in those three weeks. I sigh in relief.

"Oh! Mithra! You are only on your fourth month. You still have 5, 5 ½ months to go & you will see what more this little one can do to you" Deepa comments dreadfully. Guess, she had it bad when she was pregnant with Roshan.

"Once the little one starts kicking she will start believing that there is really someone playing football inside her." Tara jokes.

"Kicking?" Mithra exclaims. “Will it be painful?”

"Hey! You both are scaring my little wife" I tell to Deepa & Tara as I draw Mithra in my arms.

Mithra is having Steven on her lap & he is trying to stand up & pull her hair.

Oh no!

He successfully grabs her hair & pulls it down as he sat on her tummy & bounces his baby bum a little.

Of course, he doesn't know about the baby inside her & even if I tell him not to bounce he will not understand as he himself a baby.

"Ouch!" Mithra winces & tries to release her hair from his grasp while I take him off her stomach & place him on my lap.

This is better.

"Steve!" Nisha scolds him to leave Mithra's hair.

"It is okay, Nisha." Mithra says & smiles at Steve. The little boy gets overjoyed & surprisingly releases her hair & stretches his arms out for Mithra to take him. When she took him, he soundly kissed her cheek & settled on her lap resting his head on her tummy.

"Aunty, you have a baby here?" Siddarth asks Mithra gently touching her belly.

"Yes, Sid" Mithra smiles

"Dad, I want a baby too" Sid demands

"That's like my boy! Go ask your mommy, dude?" Sunny winks at his wife. Tara glares and slaps hard on his thigh though she blushes, maybe, thinking about the idea of having another kid.

"What about you Roshan? Don't you want a baby sis or baby bro?" Sanjeev tries his luck. Deepa glares at him. A clear glare. Means a clear NO to another baby.

"No!" Roshan shakes his head, disinterested. He likes being an only child like me, I guess. Sanjeev's face fell in disappointment. Deepa giggles and kisses her boy's chubby cheek.

"Is it a boy or a girl?" Sid asks eagerly to Mithra.

"We don't know yet!" Mithra tells him.

"Better be a boy" Sanjeev says. Why? I frown at him. "That will save my poor friend from handling one more brattier girl like Mithra" he says with an arrogant smile.

Come on, Mithra is a sweet thing to handle. I loved her ever since I took her in my arms. My baby brat! I squeeze her shoulder & kiss her temple, lovingly.

"What you want, Karthik? Boy or Girl?" Mithra asks looking straight at my eyes.

"You! Mini you" I whisper to her with a smile.

"If it's a girl then I am pre-booking, Karthik. You will get your daughter married to my son" Nisha orders. "I can be a looser but not my son."

Aww... Poor Nisha lost the chance of marrying me as I was so deeply in love with Mithra. Well, now, she doesn't want the history to repeat. She wants our kids to get married, already assuming we are having a girl.

"Well, I don't have any objection as long as my daughter is willing to marry your son. I won't force her like mine & Mithra's parents did to us." I say. I don't want to give her blind hope so I made it clearly it's purely my daughter decision to decide her life partner.

"I agree"

"Then we have a deal" I show her thumps up. Nisha & Micheal grins in delight.

"See, my son now itself started singing for your baby" Micheal comments. Steve as his head rested on Mithra's stomach & he is silently singing 'ahahahahahaha..." Mithra laughs & bending down she kisses his head.

"If your baby is a boy then my son will love your son just like I love you..."

"Fuck you, Sanjeev" I kick his leg and chuckle.

"Wish you could fuck me" Sanjeev fucking blushes.

"Ahhh" Sanjeev and I scream in pain at the same time.

Our wives have pinced our thighs painfully.

"Kids are around us so mind your language" Mithra hisses.

"Heard her, right?" Deepa asks. Sanjeev nods. "Language, okay?"

"Okay" we both said in unison.

"So you love, Karthik? Then what about Deepa?" Mithra asks seemingly innocent.

"I love both of them" Sanjeev panics.

"Really?"

"Yes, little devil. If I didn't love him then I wouldn't have named my son Roshan, the name, Karthik chose for my baby" Sanjeev blurts out. I suggested a name just like everyone else did but didn't know he went with my choice because he fucking loved me.

"I thought you named him Roshan because Deepa loves actor Hrithik Roshan? That's what you told me, right?" Mithra asks cutely frowning. Deepa stomps Sanjeev's foot with hers hardly making him cry in pain.

"Why baby? Why you got my poor friend in trouble?" I ask Mithra in a whisper.

"He deserves more than a mere stomping on his foot" Mithra says loudly.

"Shut your big mouth, little devil" Sanjeev shouts at her. She giggles.

Well, that's how our Sunday became a Fun-day with our silly banter and laughter.

It’s a blessing to have good friends who care for your welfare dearly and Mithra & I are blessed with such friends.

~~0~~

(A month later)

"Hello, doctor" Mithra greets, enthusiastically as we walk into his cabin hand in hand.

"Hello, Mrs. Karthik. Mr. Karthik." he acknowledges us with a smile. I nod.

"So how are you doing?" Dr. Rishab asks.

"Good." Mithra smiles

"No more morning sickness?" he asks. Mithra shakes her head in negation.

"Good!" he says & then asks a nurse to test Mithra's blood pressure. "Do you find any other difficulties? Like chest burn, breathing difficulty, swelling of foot…?"

"No! Nothing like you mentioned but I do get leg cramps." she says.

"Well, that's quite normal so no need to worry." Dr. Rishab says & scribbles something on the prescriptions pad.

"So are you ready for the detailed scan?" he asks. We both nod though we feel so nervous about the very detailed level 2 ultrasound.

Madhu lies on the bed & grips my hand as I sit on a chair next to her, our heads facing the monitor.

It takes nearly half an hour, as every part of our baby's anatomy is carefully scrutinized and thankfully declared our baby’s growth is normal.

"You sure wanna know the sex of the baby?" Dr. Rishab asks for confirmation. Mithra nods excitedly.

"Yes" We agree in unison.

"Alright, we will find the baby’s sex but make sure you guys don’t breathe a word about it to the outsiders and get me in trouble” he says jokingly.

“Don’t worry, Doc” Mithra shows him thumps-up.

“So what do you see here?" Doctor asks pointing to the private part of the baby. Mithra & I stare at the screen intently.

"Nothing!" Mithra says confused.

"So that's your answer." Dr. Rishab says with a smile.

Why is he talking in puzzle?

"What? 'Nothing' is the answer? You mean to say I have nothing inside my tummy? Then why it’s so big?" she asks, throwing her hands in air in frustration.

For your kind information doctor, my wife is little dumb so she will not understand your riddle.

“Mithu, Mithu, calm down! We are having baby girl, okay?" I say softly as I kiss her hair.

"What? Baby girl?" she asks me and turns to the doctor for confirmation. He nods his head in yes. "But how do you know?" she asks me.

"Because I am smarter than you, baby!"

"Doh!" she punches my forearm.

"When there is ‘nothing’ in the front…” I pause giving her time to absorb my words “…it means we are having a girl baby" I spell it out for her in a whisper so that only she can hear it.

Yeah, I know it's a cheesy way to declare the sex of the baby.

She frowns initially but soon realization dawns to her as her gaze falls on my front lower part. This is so embarrassing. Stop eying me like that Mithra. I feel puppy shame.

I look up at Dr. Rishab and mutter a thank you. He just gives me a smile before making his way out of the sonogram room to his cabin.

When I look back at Mithra, she is still staring at my thing. Girl, we are in hospital so don’t look at me like that.

“Mithra…” I hold her head with my hands and plant a soft kiss on her forehead.

"A baby girl!” Finally, she snaps out. “Wow! We are having a baby girl, Karthik" she squeezes my hand & kisses it, grinning widely.

"Yes, darling" I kiss her cheek.

"I am so happy" she beams.

"So am I" I really wanted a mini Mithra & now she is on the way.

“We have five more months to go…” she starts

“…to welcome our Baby Doll” I finish.

... To be continued!!!

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