Chapter 40

Superpower?

He had wanted to know if she was going to let Jaidrith know today since his sister Apoorva and Mihir were planning to arrive tonight and he hoped Jaidrith could spend some time with them

Mrunalini tried her best not to break down and cry

On the one hand he was going to have a real family, cousins and aunts and uncles unlike herself who had been shunned by her mother’s relatives completely, she had the larger family

Her father was an only child like her and there were no cousins

On the other hand it meant Jaidrith was going deeper and deeper into this connection.

There was no intellectual disability in Jaidrith only social, he had a mouth, with her…. But not at school

The following day Mrs Dhawan the principal called her to report Jai had punched a kid who had mocked him for having a brace on his pinkie finger and called him “Pee pee boy”

She had to rush to go pick him up

The boy had punched Jai back on the playground and his upper lip had bruised a bit… again

Sai had instructed her to “let Aatreya know” since he is also a legal parent

She didn’t want o tell him

She already owed him a deliverable of letting Jai know he was the Dad

His sister would have arrived last night, she wondered if he was going to just show up with her

Her Baba texted to ask if he could come see her new place, he asked if she was still in Mumbai and if yes if “THEY” could come by

Rage and grief competed inside her head

Her father was in bed with a 33 year old, …. For 10 years now… at the age of 62

It was as gross as can be

She had a half sister from her mother, soon she will have a half brother from her best friend and Dad she speculated

She leaned on the bathroom sink and wondered why she was so cursed

She wondered if Mendy would even talk to her if he found out

Then she had an IDEA, maybe telling Aatreya how screwed up she was might run him off? Yeah!! He probably doesn’t want anything to do with a kid whose mother has been shunned by her own parents.

I mean who wants to deal with all the trauma… I know I know… I am not going to marry him

But its natural for him to suspect, the kid received the residual mental soup

 It gave her new energy, she read through packaging information for the different spices ingredients she had bought

She spent hours trying to understand what she could feed the kid and what would be dangerous

It was not a joke… one wrong move and he would be gone

Dhru was mostly amused by how she lunged and read labels in stores when they went shopping together. 

She peeked into the bedroom, he was waking up

She had a talk with him about how violence is not OK

She told him sometimes when someone mocks him about having his finger up

He should retaliate by saying “If I am king of pee you are king of poop”

He giggled cutely

“We cannot change everyone shakkara” she hugged him and caressed his soft dense hair

“There is shampoo in the bathroom for a reason” she mumbled making a face

“There is also a ghost” he reminded her

“In the toilet” she waved a finger

They smiled at each other, they were similar yet dissimilar

He was adorable… and so was… well, she is not adorable, but she is his MUM

That made her insanely happy

She had stopped looking at herself, or admiring her looks a long time ago

She didn’t wonder what clothes looked great on her, and how she should wear winged eyeliner and cherry red lips on a Friday night

Her distaste for herself had gotten to a point where she has somewhat made up her mind that being 33 is like being 63, post menopausal and indifferent to the needs of her body and heart

“You think it would be fun if we were to find your Dad?”

“I mean are going to look NOW?” his eyes opened wide in wonderment

She burst out laughing

Mumba'īcyā rastyānvara bhaṭakalyāsārakhē (wander Mumbai streets at midnight?)

He nodded smiling

“Shakaraa” she hugged him fondly

“Does he have super powers?” he asked innocently

“Umm.. I don’t know” her heart skipped a beat

He was getting curious, this was not a good sign for HER but it was the best for Aatreya Rao

“Did u enjoy going to the pool?”

His eyes lit up like a 100 watt bulb

“Are we going again?”

“Hey tey Amaltas ghara naahi” (she reminded it was not Amaltas they could go whenever)

“He is funny, he made faces… mala” he tried to say it in Marathi

Malā tyācyā cēhaṟyācē bhāva āvaḍatāta” she taught him how to

“If he was your Dad?”

“REALLLY?” Jaidrith was in shock

She didn’t answer in the affirmative

Her phone rang, Sameena wanted to know if she wanted a 8 PM on Saturday

He went back to his superhero comics

She was overcome with grief

This journey was SUPPOSED TO BE ALONE

Never will a person grieve over wanting single parenthood

Mrunalini did

She texted Aatreya after dinner

“I have told him”

He was at the airport

“He punched a kid in school because his finger was up and he was mocked for showing  his pinkie”

He sent a shock emoji and a smiley face

He called her as she was tidying the kitchen, yelling at Dhru over not finishing his bhindi

“is he hurt?”

“that boy or Dhru”

“Umm.. both” he chuckled

“Dhru’s lip is bleeding again, and his right knuckle is purple, that boy only has a scar on his jaw, its red”

“I am sorry”

“This is his third this year” she said coolly hoping he would be scared off

“Niiice”

“You still like him?” she asked earnestly

He laughed out loud

She was insanely naïve he thought

“I do” he said