Chapter Forty Seven

"Boy!"

"Girl!"

"Boy!!"

"Girl!!"

"Aryan-"

"Girl, girl, girl!!!"

Shalini shook her head as she laughed. "I'm married to a 4 year old."

Aryan scowled. "I do not act like a four year old."

Shalini cocked her eyebrow and Aryan looked away.

"O-okay... maybe I did act like one, but only because- Khushi!"

Arnav and Khushi came walking through the doors and joined them. Aryan and Shalini looked at the two curiously, especially because Arnav was scowling at Khushi.

"Chote, what did you do," Shalini questioned.

Arnav's eyebrow shot up. "Why do you automatically assume I did something? I'm the one scowling Ammu, not her. Ask her what she did," he frowned.

Khushi rolled her eyes. "I didn't do anything. All I did was tell the doctor that I didn't want to know the baby's gender."

"What? Why," Aryan asked.

"I want it to be a surprise."

Aryan and Shalini nodded in understanding and Arnav looked at them in shock.

"Why are you guys agreeing with her? I could hear you two arguing from the driveway!"

"Well if that's what mommy wants, mommy gets," Shalini said.

Arnav gaped at his mother. "But what about daddy," he pouted.

Aryan sighed and wrapped his arm around his son's shoulder. "Son, welcome to my world: where dads get absolutely no say or no part in 95% of things."

"Aryan," Shalini stressed.

"Okay 98%."

Shalini cocked her eyebrow.

"98.5?"

She crossed her arms.

"99," Arnav tried.

"No, 99.9%."

"99.9," both men exclaimed.

"Yup. And that .1% is when your little swimmers did this to us."

"I disagree," Arnav exclaimed.

"And I second that," Aryan exclaimed.

"Uh, Dad, please, no political crap."

Aryan scowled at him.

"Okay never mind. But I still disagree!"

Khushi rolled her eyes. "Come on Ammu, these men will never understand."

"I agree," and the two Raizada ladies linked their arms together and walked away, going to the conservatory for their tea.

*~*

"Can you believe I'm showing already," Shalini asked, pointing at her little baby bump. "I'm only 11 weeks!"

The two were walking through the garden for their 10 minute walk. Since they had changed into heir active wear, Shalini's baby bump was very evident.

"I read online that women who have already been pregnant once show earlier than first-timers. Something about the uterus being easily able to stretch."

"Well that make sense. How hard should it be for my uterus to grow into the size of a bowling ball since it once grew into a watermelon?"

The two ladies chuckled as they headed back to the house.

"Have you felt her yet," Khushi asked.

"No, not yet. But Manorama said that I might feel her in a week or so."

"Oh, how exciting! I can't wait to feel him kick."

"It's definitely an exciting feeling. However I hope he's not like his father, kicking repeatedly."

Khushi laughed. "A nuisance even inside, huh?"

"Oh yes! Especially when Aryan annoyed me, that was when Chote would act up, as if he wanted to teach his father a lesson, though he taught it to me more."

Khushi placed her hands over her stomach. "Don't be like your father."

"Ah, but my son isn't hat bad, is he?"

"True, true." She looked down at her belly. "Be like your dad, minus the excessive kicking, and no what the's!"

Shalini tilted her head in wonder. "Good idea," and the two laughed as they entered the house, only to halt in their tracks as they entered the living room.

"What the," Shalini exclaimed.

"Jaanemaan..."

Both Shalini and Khushi gaped at Aryan as he poked his head around a giant teddy bear that stood before them.

"What the-?"

"Jaanemaan, don't start with your string of what the's."

Shalini frowned and before she could say anything, Arnav came in with another large teddy bear.

"Arnav, why do you have such a huge teddy bear," Khushi asked. "Did you go to a fair or something?"

"Did you both," Shalini asked, glancing at both bears.

Arnav and Aryan looked at each other. With a hmph! both men walked away and went upstairs with the bears, pointing their noses up high.

Khushi looked at them confusedly. "Uh-?"

Shalini took her hand. "Let's go."

The two ladies went upstairs and followed the men. They followed them down the halls, and just as they caught up to them, the men split, going into a room opposite the other, shutting the door behind them. Shalini frowned and went to open the door, but it was locked.

"Uh, Ammu...?"

Shalini looked up and saw a sign on the door:

No Mrs. Raizada's allowed

"What the?!"

Khushi looked at the other door and saw the same sign on it as well. "What the?"

Khushi and Shalini looked at each other before banging on the doors and wiggling the doorknob.

"Arnav open up!"

"Aryan Singh Raizada, open this damn door before you really sleep in another room tonight!"

But neither men did. The ladies decided to switch places and knocked on the door.

"Papa, open up, please?"

"Chote, open this door right now!"

It should be pointed out that Shalini's emotions heightens quickly, which meant anger took over in a snap, like Hades' hair turning into flames.

Finally both men came out, however they quickly came out the door, blocking their views of what was inside.

Shalini looked at the two. "What on earth is going on?"

Aryan sighed. "Jaanemaan calm down, you're stressing yourself out which isn't god for the baby."

"I'm not, you are!"

"Ammu, chill," Arnav said.

"Don't tell her to chill," Khushi defended.

It should also be noted that pregnancy made Khushi brave.

Arnav rolled her eyes.

"Either you tell us what's going on," Shalini began, "or you both are camping outside your rooms," and Khushi crossed her arms, nodding in agreement.

Arnav and Aryan looked at each other and with a shrug, both men headed to their rooms. Moments later, the two came out with a pillow and change of clothes in hand, and walked away. Khushi and Shalini gaped at the men as they disappeared. Both groaned in frustration and shook on the doorknobs. Unfortunately, it was still locked.

What the hell was behind those doors?

Chapter Forty Six

Arnav and Aryan came down for lunch, both quite a bit tired. Arnav had been too wrapped up in work, since once again, Khushi had a bad case of morning sickness. She had gotten ridden of everything she had eaten the night before, as well as everything she had eaten for breakfast. The doctor has said her morning sickness would go down as she was close to entering her second trimester, and he couldn't wait! He hated to see his wife in such a position and he would question his child why she was making her mommy suffer like this and would tell her not to be jealous for his love for mommy, which would only make Khushi laugh. With that, he would spend most of his morning with her, making his work pile up more and more each second he didn't attend to it.

Aryan on the other was somewhat tired out thanks to his wife's libido, not that he was entirely complaining. It did, however, sometimes come in the way, like the other week when he woke up to see her lazily riding him when he had a town hall meeting only an hour later, as well as a charity event for the elementary school. And because there was no demanding his wife at that moment, since she wasn't in the mood for that, Aryan ended up being half an hour late to the meeting, which pushed him to go to the charity event even later.

Arnav and Aryan plopped down in their seats and sighed.

"Work," Aryan questioned.

Arnav sighed with a nod. "Late again?"

Aryan sighed with a nod.

With a groan, both rested their heads back on their chair. The maids came in and placed the food on the table, causing the men to wonder where the two ladies were.

"They're with their yoga instructor, out back," one worker replied.

Yoga instructor, both men wondered.

It turned out that both ladies had decided to get a yoga instructor for prenatal yoga, that is, after the men had read in pregnancy books that exercise would be good for them. It seems that the ladies had taken their word, but they were curious if yoga could really do anything for them.

Glancing at each other, the two men got up and headed out to the backyard. They found them in the gazebo with their instructor, sitting on their individual mats with their legs crossed and eyes shut. Arnav and Aryan glanced at each other, a smile tugging on their lips.

Is this what they call exercise, the two wondered.

The instructor opened her eyes and saw the two men. "Good afternoon Mayor Raizada, Mr. Raizada."

The two Raizada ladies opened their eyes to look back at their husbands as the two men gave a simple nod in gesture of their greeting.

"Would you like to join us," the instructor asked.

"Oh, no, that's fine," Aryan said.

"Yeah, Arnav agreed. "You guys can go back to resting or whatever that is."

The instructor cocked her eyebrow while Shalini frowned at him and Khushi scowled at him.

"It's a breathing exercise, Mr. Raizada," the instructor explained as she stood up. "It's important to breathe at a steady pace and getting a pattern, especially when in labor."

Arnav nodded. "Right, right, I read about that, during contractions and all, I remember."

Shalini couldn't help but to snicker, her son's need to know of pregnancy being quite entertaining. Khushi's eyes widened, not just from shock at his ease of saying such words, but from annoyance as well, hoping to find that damn book of his and chucking it into the fireplace.

"Yes, exactly," the instructor smiled. "But there's more than that of course. Ladies," and she gestured them to stand up.

Both women did and neither men couldn't help themselves but to ogle their woman, their active-wear defining the curves of their body.

"Let's get into tree pose and stay in it for as long as we can."

Khushi and Shalini did just that and a scoff escaped from Aryan's lips.

"Is something wrong," Shalini questioned, not breaking from her pose.

"Um, no, not at all-"

"Do you think this is too easy?"

Aryan's eyebrows shot up. "I-"

"Typical," and she rolled her eyes.

Aryan looked at his son and Arnav shrugged, as if to say don't look at me, I held my tongue.

"Seems my son agrees with his father."

Arnav looked at his mother wide-eyed. "I-"

Khushi scoffed. "I bet he wouldn't last a minute."

His eyes shot to his wife. "Would too!"

Khushi rolled her eyes.

"Prove them wrong," the instructor said.

"You know what, I will," Arnav said, walking over to his wife. "Dad, get over here."

Aryan came forward and stood by his wife. Both men did the pose, the women not yet breaking from it. While the men wobbled now and then and felt somewhat silly, the women stayed properly balanced with their eyes shut as they focused on their breathing.

It didn't take long for Arnav to lose his stance with a groan. Khushi's lips twitched, but she didn't look at him. And soon enough, Aryan lost his balance as well.

"What the-"

"Don't," both Khushi and Shalini said.

Arnav gaped and looked at his father, but his father was scowling as well. Giving up, he turned back to the house.

"Stupid poses," he muttered, and the ladies grinned.

With a shake of his head, Aryan headed back to the house.

"Oh, Aryan honey," Shalini called out.

Aryan paused and looked back at her. "Yes, Jaanemaan?"

"The next time you think something I do is silly, you will sleep in one of the spare rooms."

Aryan's eyes widened.

"You're lucky I'm calm and in a good mood. Love you!"

Dumbfounded, Aryan walked back to the house, both father and son defeated, while the women strived.