Part 25: Like father, Like Son, After all.
**This part is for everyone who wanted to see more of Amber and Aditya (namely -Kina-. This one's for you hun!)**
The following morning near dawn, another frantic phone call was made. This time, it was Khushi calling Arnav.
"Hello?" Arnav yawned into the phone.
"It's Khushi. Can you come over right away? It's an emergency!" Khushi said urgently.
Arnav sat up with a jerk. "Are you okay? Are the kids okay?" His first thought was that one of the three was hurt, and that had his heart beating in his throat.
"We're fine...Anjali's in labour! We'll have to head to the hospital as soon as we can but I can't take the kids there...would you mind staying with them?"
"I'm already putting on my shoes, Khushi. I'll be there." And with that, he hung up before rushing to his car.
Within a half an hour, he knocked at her door and she opened it almost right away as if she'd been standing behind the door, waiting for him.
"Thank you so much. We weren't expecting this. They're still asleep and...Oh God. Are you okay? You look really tired." Khushi looked at him worriedly.
"I'm fine." Arnav yawned. "I was on the phone with Akash late into the night. And don't you worry...I'll stay with the kids. I'll cancel your appointments for today." He said walking in and following her to the living room.
"Hey." Anjali looked up at him with a big smile on her face.
Arnav frowned in confusion. "I thought you were...in labour?"
Anjali nodded. "Early labour...the pain's tolerable for now and comes in waves."
"I called the hospital after I called you and they said we should go over anyway..." Khushi said zipping up a bag.
"Nervous?" He asked Anjali.
"A little...but Di's with me, so I'm not too worried." Anjali smiled affectionately at Khushi.
Khushi placed her hands on her hips. "I'm only a week older than you...stop calling me Di."
Anjali giggled and winced. Khushi put a hand on her shoulder. Anjali took slow breaths and Arnav just watched on.
"You're sure you don't mind staying with the kids? I don't know how long we'll be at the hospital." Khushi looked at Arnav.
"Don't worry. I'll be here as long as you want me here." Arnav said with a smile. It wasn't until a few seconds later that the depth of those words resonated in his mind. It didn't apply to this situation only. It applied to life, itself. He would be here until she told him to go away. Somewhere in his heart, he knew that she understood this.
"You can go to sleep. The kids wake up around 8:15...you shouldn't have any trouble with their morning routine." She looked at him and thought for a minute. "You can find a spare toothbrush in the cabinet next to the sink. You may have to wear the same clothes though."
Anjali just looked between the two amusedly while Khushi helped her up.
"I'll call Aman later...he can bring them for me." Arnav shrugged.
Him and Khushi helped Anjali into the car. After saying good luck to Anjali, he turned to Khushi.
"Let me know if you need anything. And don't worry about Amby and Adi." He said awkwardly. He was telling a mother to not worry about her kids. Even his conscious rolled its eyes at him.
"I'm not worried. They'll be more than ecstatic about having their buddy around all day." Khushi smiled at him.
An odd sort of sadness flashed across his face before he covered it with a smile. Khushi thanked him, got into the car and drove away. Arnav yawned as he walked back into the house. His steps automatically took him to the kids' bedroom. He frowned as he looked at the scenario.
Aditya slept on one edge of the bed, on his back, one hand resting on his chest, the other on the pillow. Amber took up three quarters of the bed and she was sprawled across it diagonally...upside down! Her feet were propped up on top of the pillow while her hands were under her head. Arnav couldn't help but chuckle.
Despite the fact that she behaved like him, subconsciously, she was truly her mother's daughter. Arnav recalled the earlier weeks of his marriage when he had realized that Khushi liked taking up her space on the bed. Lucky for them, Arnav didn't need much room even though he had a queen sized bed. Had his sleeping stance been anything close to his wife, they would have beaten each other off the bed daily.
He stepped back and walked to the next door. He paused with his hand on the doorknob. No. He shouldn't go into her room. It didn't feel right. He felt like he was invading her privacy, her space. He had already invaded her space before in a drunken state. The memory made him jerk his hand off the doorknob as if it were at a boiling temperature.
He went back to the couch, lay down, closed his eyes, and tried his best to make the thoughts go away. But they didn't.
- - - - -
"Khushi!" Arnav woke up with a start and looked around only to realize that he was at her house. He rubbed his eyes and hid his face in the hands.
It was the same nightmare. The memory of her crouching in the corner of her own bedroom, bruised and scarred, of her hateful and fearful glances, of her outburst after finding out about her pregnancy, of the last glance she'd given him before she'd walked out of his life forever. He woke up screaming her name at that moment, every time.
He looked up and took a deep breath to collect himself. The sun was pouring in from the gaps in the blinds of her floor to ceiling French doors that led into her backyard. He glanced at the clock and it was almost 8:30. He walked into the kids' room and found them sitting up. Amber was stretching and yawning while Aditya rubbed his eyes.
"Good morning!" Arnav said cheerfully.
The kids gasped and jumped out of bed. "Buddy!" They simultaneously cheered as they ran up to him and he kneeled to gather them in a warm hug. He smiled contentedly. This was almost a perfect way to start the morning. Almost. It would be perfect if Khushi was here with them, partaking in the group hug.
"What are you doing here? Did you have a sleepover?" Amber asked with a glint in her eyes.
"Nope. I'm babysitting you two today. Your mom has gone to the hospital with Anjali aunty. She'll be back later." Arnav explained.
Aditya gasped. "Is it baby time?" He said excitedly.
"Yes it is." Arnav smiled wide.
"Oh man, oh boy, oh man!" Aditya did a little happy dance, making Amber roll her eyes.
Arnav chuckled at them and followed them to the washroom. Arnav observed them closely as they brushed their teeth. As he'd expected, Amber seemed to be counting the number of strokes in her mind. Every ten strokes later, she would change the row of teeth she was brushing. Arnav raised his eyebrows and looked at Aditya who didn't seem to give a monkey's furry little a** as he brushed his teeth in all directions, looking at the ceiling as if in deep thoughts. He looked at his own reflection in the mirror with wide eyes. Were kids always this amusing?
"Breakfast time!" Arnav chimed, placing his toothbrush in the holder...as if he'd be here again another morning to use it.
Amber looked horrified at the idea. Aditya just ogled at Arnav with a dropped jaw. He looked between the two a couple times.
"What?" He demanded.
"Shower first and then breakfast." The two chimed what seemed to be a rule in the house.
Arnav stopped the urge to roll his eyes. Before he could say anything, the kids ran out of the bathroom and into their room. Arnav muttered his signature what the' before following them. He had to say that he was surprised to see them making their beds. With an impressed expression, he watched on as Amber went to the cupboard and pulled out her clothes.
"Let's go, buddy!" Adi came up to Arnav with a jump rope.
Arnav raised an eyebrow. "What do I do with this?"
"You skip rope! I'll show you." And with that, the little one grabbed Arnav's hand and led him outside.
"How about you skip rope and I count for you." Arnav suggested, horrified at the idea of having to jump rope...something he hadn't done even as a kid.
Aditya's face fell slightly. "But mama always does the morning exercises with me."
With a sigh, he stood up and grabbed his rope from Adi. Aditya led him through 50 jumps of the jump rope, 20 jumping jacks, 10 sit ups, and a few stretches. Arnav followed Aditya back into the house at the end of their small exercise session only to be pulled back out by amber when Aditya went to take a shower.
"I can't reach those pots...I need help watering them." She pointed to the pots at the ends of the window sills.
He picked her up and placed her on his shoulder before walking to the pots. She watered them with a big smile on her face.
"Those are nice..." Arnav noted the small white petals of the aromatic flowers.
"Jasmines are my favourite. They smell nice."
The next few minutes, Amber took him around the yard, pointing out her favourites which seemed to be all of them. Just as he was kneeling next to a rose bush, admiring the dark red velvety petals, his phone rang.
"ASR! Where are you? I've been looking all over the house!" Aman said freaking out.
"Oh...Sorry Aman...I was going to call you but lost track of time. I'm at Khushi's house. Anjali went into labour and Khushi needed someone to watch the kids." Arnav explained.
"Oh...have you heard from them? How's Anjali?"
Arnav's eyebrows knit together in interest. "No I haven't. The kids woke up an hour ago and I've been...busy. Listen; can you bring me some clothes? And I can use some help here. I've gone from a novice to trying to babysit two kids at once."
Once Aman got there, he entertained the kids while Arnav took a shower. The four made their way into the kitchen and cooked up a delicious breakfast. Arnav called the orphanage and asked another employee to cancel all the appointments for Khushi. Amber and Aditya had busied themselves with their colouring books and puzzles. Arnav rummaged through the kitchen to find things he needed to make lunch.
He had just sent away Aman to the hospital with the lunch when Aditya and Amber walked up to him.
"Can we bake today?" Amber asked innocently, batting her eyelashes.
"Uh..." Arnav paused and pondered. He had taken up cooking as a way of keeping himself busy at home. Khushi always cooked when she was bored and made jalebis when she was upset. Taking up cooking had, in a very odd way, eased her absence a little bit. Baking, however, was not Arnav's cup of tea.
"No! Let's make jalebis!" Aditya beamed a huge smile.
Arnav's eyes really widened now. Baking, he would still deal with but Jalebis? Arnav Singh Raizada making jalebis? That was definitely a recipe for disaster.
- - - - -
"Get out right now!" Anjali yelled at Aman.
Aman looked at her wide eyed and Khushi came running into the room.
"Khushi...tell him to leave...ugh...he's so irritating!" Anjali complained.
"I'm sorry...I was just joking...trying to lighten your mood, you see." Aman looked at her sheepishly.
"Messing with the wrong woman at the worst time possible Aman..." Khushi murmured. "Thank you for bringing lunch. How're Amby and Adi?"
"They're fine...and...So is ASR." Aman smiled at Khushi.
Khushi raised her eyebrows at him. "I didn't ask about him..."
"You wanted to..." He teased, taking the lunchboxes from her.
"Tell him I won't be home until after dinner time. I'll stay here with her until visiting hours are done." Khushi said as the two walked out of the room.
"Anything else you want me to tell him?" Aman rolled his tongue into his cheek.
"Shut up, Aman." Khushi glared at him. "I already feel bad for having him babysit the kids. They can be a handful..."
"M'am...He's having a great time. They're having a good time, don't worry. Besides, I'm about to go back and bestow them with my awesome company."
Khushi rolled her eyes as Aman walked away, smirking to himself. When he got home and knocked on the door, he was surprised to his core when Arnav opened the door.
Aman looked at Arnav's ruffled hair, untucked shirt, opened buttons on the vest. He looked back up at Arnav's face and blinked blankly.
"Aman! What the hell are you staring at?" Arnav shook Aman a little bit.
"Nice style...ASR." Aman bit back a laugh. He had never seen a single hair misplaced from Arnav's scalp and here he was, standing completely unkempt.
"Shut up. We were playing tag." Arnav explained, closing the door once Aman stepped in.
Aman whipped around with a dropped jaw. Arnav frowned at him.
"The Arnav Singh Raizada is playing tag?"
Arnav rolled his eyes. "Yes. And Aman Singhania is playing with us."
Aman put up his hands as if on gunpoint. "Whoa...that's not on my job description."
Arnav jabbed him lightly in the middle of the chest. "It is now."
Numerous games and diversions later, Arnav took a break, collapsing on the couch as he answered the phone.
"Hello?" He said breathlessly.
"IT'S A BOY!" Khushi screamed cheerfully from the other end. "It's a cute little healthy baby boy!"
"That's great news!" Arnav smiled wide, still breathless. "Congratulations! Give her my best wishes!"
"She's over the moon right now..." Khushi chuckled. "The joy of becoming a mother...how are you guys holding up?"
"We're doing alright. I'll tell them about the baby...they seemed excited about it this morning."
"Why do you sound so breathless? I hope the kids aren't giving you a hard time..." Khushi said worriedly.
"Oh, not at all. Aman has them in the yard now...I'm about to get started on dinner. Any special requests?"
"No...Actually...don't worry about dinner. I'll be home after the visiting hours are over...why don't you four come over and see the baby?" Khushi's voice was restored to the original cheerful one and Arnav smiled hearing it after so long.
With a promise to be over at the hospital in a few minutes, Arnav hung up and went to inform the kids.
Within half an hour, Arnav and Aman walked into Anjali's room with a very excited Adi and Amby at their tails. Arnav's breath caught in his throat as he looked at Khushi, who was currently holding on to the baby. He hadn't seen her this happy since their first kiss. The men greeted and congratulated Anjali before walking towards Khushi. She greeted them enthusiastically while Arnav and Aman took a glance at the baby over her shoulder. She sat down in a chair so that Aditya and Amber could take a look too.
"He's so adorable!" Amber said in an amused voice.
"Why isn't he talking to us?" Aditya questioned.
The adults giggled at the child's innocent inquiries.
"He's too young to talk...he won't be talking until he's one year old." Anjali explained with a smile.
"Do you want to hold him?" Khushi asked Arnav, taking him by surprise.
"I...Uh..." He looked at Anjali for approval and she still smiled at him. He looked at Khushi and shrugged. "Okay."
Khushi stood up and handed the baby to Arnav. Arnav held the little bundle of joy awkwardly. Though he'd had practice with his nephew, Sahil, he still felt odd. Khushi placed her hand under the baby's head, effectively covering Arnav's. An electric tingle ran up and down his spine at her touch and he had the feeling that she felt something similar too because she looked at him at the same instant he looked at her.
"Do you have a name for him yet?" Aman asked, breaking Arnav and Khushi's eye lock. Khushi removed her hand and smiled at Anjali who was chuckling to herself.
"Ishan." Anjali and Khushi said together before bursting out into waves of laughter.
"Well, do I get to hold Ishan?" Aman asked. Arnav passed Ishan to Aman and felt better seeing that even Aman held him a bit awkwardly. Maybe women were naturally gifted with how to hold a baby tutorial' engraved into their brains.
In a couple of hours, as Anjali started drifting into sleep every few minutes, Arnav stood up to take leave.
"Is it okay if I stay here? I'll drive M'am back home." Aman suggested.
Khushi stared at Arnav, trying to telepathically convey to him to let Aman stay. When he felt her gaze boring holes into face, he glanced at her. She nodded in the slightest and he frowned slightly in confusion but nodded his approval to Aman anyway.
"I'll drop them downstairs." Khushi smiled at Anjali and the family of four walked through the hospital's hallway towards the elevators.
"What was that?" Arnav said quietly to Khushi as they stood in the elevator.
"She needs someone to distract her. She's been thinking about her ex-boyfriend. She's worried that he'll come and try to harm Ishan." Khushi explained, her voice barely above a whisper.
They walked to the car quietly. Khushi kneeled and hugged both of her kids.
"Don't bother your buddy too much, okay? I will be home in a couple of hours." Khushi smiled lovingly at them.
The kids nodded back obediently. Khushi stood up and looked at Arnav.
"I'll see you in a couple of hours." She smiled at him. He just nodded in response, debating whether or not he should give her a hug. She'd hugged him after dinner last night, so it would be okay if he did, right?
While he was having an internal debate, Khushi turned to leave only to stop again when she felt the dupatta around her neck tighten. She looked over her shoulder and saw Aditya holding the end of it, looking at her sheepishly. She kneeled to his level again and he kissed her cheek before saying goodbye again.
She kissed his cheek and stood up, catching Arnav's eyes in the process. His bewildered eyes were looking at Aditya, observing his actions. Arnav looked at him until he'd walked past him and had settled in the car. Arnav turned to look at Khushi, his expression still bewildered. She just smiled at him knowingly for she knew exactly what he was thinking. She shrugged and looked at him with a soft gaze.
"Like father, like son, after all." Khushi said before turning on her heels and walking away.
In a daze, Arnav got into the car and started driving. He was aware that Amby and Adi were talking, to each other or him, he wasn't sure. He just nodded anyway. His mind was elsewhere. They reached home and Arnav found himself sitting at the step that separated the living room from the yard while the kids played catch.
"Here's your coffee." Khushi said taking a seat next to him. He thanked her taking the cup from her hands.
"Why don't you start coming to the office, again?" He asked her, frowning.
"I will soon after our niece or nephew is here." She said taking a sip of her coffee. "Until then, there is a lot to take care of around the house."
"We have Hari Prakash, Om Prakash, and Jai Prakash for that..." Arnav sulked. He wanted her to resume coming to the office because he missed her presence there. He missed her when she wasn't around. Ever since they'd been on their weekend getaway, he felt restless when she wasn't around.
She placed her cup next to her on the ledge of the poolside. That had become their favourite spot these days. Sitting on the ledge of the pool, sipping coffee and chatting until one of them felt sleepy. He felt arm wind through his and her fingers closer around his biceps, her head resting on his shoulder.
"I like taking care of the family...I've been alone all these years and it's amazing to have all these people that I can care for...having all these people who care for me...you know...you, Payal Babhi, Akash, Nani..." She said in a quiet voice.
He held his cup in one hand and placed one hand over hers, resting his head on hers.
"I don't mean to take any of that away from you...I just...I..." He wanted to tell her that he missed her but couldn't. He was never good with talking about feelings. "I have competition for your attention."
He felt her chuckle lightly before she lifted her head off of his shoulder. The two drank their coffee in comfortable silence. She took the empty cup from him and stood up. She rocked back and forth on the balls of her feet for a moment.
"I miss you when you go to work, too." Khushi said emphasizing on the last word, indicating that she understood what he was trying to say earlier.
She had taken a couple of steps forward only to stop again when the dupatta around her neck tightened. She looked over her shoulder. Her cheeks turned a shade of crimson when she saw him holding the end of her dupatta in a fist, looking up at her with the expression of an innocent child. He stood up and closed the distance between them. He tucked a loose fringe of hair behind her ear and cupped her face with the same hand. She looked up at him with twinkling eyes and smiled at her. How had he gotten so lucky to have a wife like her was beyond him. He leaned in and kissed her cheek, making her blush an even darker shade of red. A few seconds later, she went on her tippy toes, planted a kiss on his cheek and then ran away shyly leaving Arnav chuckling to himself.
Like father, like son, after all.' Khushi's words came rushing back to Arnav and he smiled to himself.
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