Page 60 of Made in Mumbai

“Maya?” Gautam caught her in his arms, laughter under his breath. “Come, come, let me take you to the hospital.” She trudged to the car with him, the Havaldar’s concerned voice behind them. She was settled and locked in the car and within minutes Gautam had rammed out of the parking and onto the road. Laughing.

“That was some topnotch nautanki…”

“It’s not nautanki…” she ground her teeth together as her thighs tightened. The cramps were bad, period-bad. “Shit. Shit, shit, shit.”

“Maya?” His hand found her bicep, all laughter gone. “Maya? Are you serious?”

“Hmm mm…” she breathed through her mouth.

“What to do now? What’s happening? Oh no…” he braked hard. The road leading up to Pali Hill was packed. Maya’s heart deflated. She threw her head back into the seat and breathed, slowly, steadily. Maybe this would subside. Go away. Yes.

A siren sounded somewhere behind them and then a bike was in front of them, red light on. The man gestured with his hand for them to follow.

“It’s him… our Havaldar,” Gautam put the car in drive and followed him as he cleaved through the traffic for them. Maya didn’t care. She reached for her mobile and dialled her first Favourites Contact.

“Hello?”

“Hi, Rekha Aunty,” she smiled through her stress. “How are you?”

“I’m fine, Beta. How are you?”

“Why are you calling your relatives right now?’ Gautam hissed from beside her. “Call your doctor!”

“Sheismy doctor!” Maya hissed back. “Sorry, Rekha Aunty, not for you… so, actually I am having these bad cramps right now. Period cramps. And they are bad.”

“Mmm hmm, since when?”

“Just a few minutes ago. I can’t feel my thighs, it’s that bad.”

“Alright, relax. Come to me, I am at the hospital right now. We’ll take a look, ok?”

“Ok… whew. I am coming… Rekha Aunty?”

“Yes, Maya?”

“It’s not serious, right?”

“You come first, I’m sure it’s not serious.”

Maya squeezed her eyes shut and dropped her mobile between her lap. Her throat felt nauseous due to pain and everything felt like a big, black ball of smoke around her. “Please, please, please… please don’t leave me.” She held her tummy tight, clawed her dress to pain. “Please, don’t leave me, don’t leave me…”

“Oye, M!” His authoritative command broke her out of the nightmare. She blinked up at him. “Nobody is leaving anybody. Not her, and not you. Now channel your inner sunshine. You do it for everybody, do it for yourself right now.”

“I can’t…”

“You can. Or do you need your chocolate cake to refuel?”

She chuckled — “We left it at Carters…”

“Not really,” he reached behind her seat and held out the box. She laughed, the sudden movement easing her cramps. The box was upside down and the cake must have been smashed inside but the gesture made her liquid. More emotional if that was even possible. She held the box tight, channeling the ‘sunshine’ as he had put it — “You keep this cake safe, ok? Once I am given the all-clear, which I will be as soon as Rekha Aunty sees me, I am going to celebrate by dunking my face into this pool of goodness… Seriously, my baby is as much drama as me, huh? Left from here!” She directed, and the car veered inside the hospital gates.

Maya threw open the door as soon as the car had stopped. She could walk better now. “Aye? Sab ok?” The Havaldar who had led them here by running his siren showed his thumbs up. Gautam pulled a wad of notes from his wallet and handed them to him but he just stuffed them right back — “Baiko ko upar leke jaa, gaadi main dekhta hoon.”

Maya waved at him with a huge smile, praying it looked like a smile and not a grimace. And that’s how, with Gautam’s arm around her, she entered the hospital.

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She lay on the bed in her doctor’s OPD room, eyes hooked to the monitor that was connected to her belly. Examinations and tests had taken the better part of the night, and now here she was, waiting for Dr. Rekha to finish her delivery and come check her. The fact that she hadn’t rushed out meant everything was stable. Nothing bad had happened to her or her baby.

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