#1: Buddy
Satya watched as Savi looked at the Adhikari women. There was no contempt in her eyes, but pure curiosity. He could hear her head whirling with questions, so when Sai declared that Savi should retire to their room, Satya offered to help her. He knew that Sai should answer her questions, but he had never spoken to the kid. He has never spoken to both the kids, actually, but Savi would stay with them, which means he had to have a chat with her, hopefully, put her mind to ease.
Savi held onto his hand as they climbed the steps, probably scared of the steep staircase.
He kept her bag in the cupboard, but she shook her head.
"I need my clothes."
He kept the bag on the bed and was about to open it, but she got it first. He let her pick her clothes and saw herself in him as she did that. As a kid, he had always taken care of himself, especially when his Aai had to go for her performances. He used to complain a lot, because, unlike other kids, he never had his Aai to tell him stories at night or help him with his homework.
"Why?" He snapped out of his thoughts and looked at Sai, who was sitting on the bed, her clothes in her hands.
"Why what, Bala?" Satya asked, out of instinct. But she made a face and he corrected himself.
"Why what, Savi?"
"Why did Aai marry you? She said she would marry Baba!" She whined. Satya sighed. This was not the conversation he had signed up for, it was between her and Sai, but he had to address her question.
"Your Aai promised to marry, she didn't say to your Baba, did she?" Savi looked at him, trying to find a loophole in his logic, but there wasn't any. Sai had left no chance for that to happen.
"But I want my Baba!" Savi grumbled.
"And we will go to meet him soon," Satya promised. She looked at him in surprise.
"But I thought, after marriage, Aai and Baba make a family, so you are my Baba now."
"Do you want me as your Baba?"
Savi looked at the floor, clearly wanting to say no but the politeness in her not allowing her to do so.
"I am your Aai's husband, it's not necessary that I have to be your Baba unless you want me to. Savi, I know for Vinu Dada, you made a lot of sacrifices, but you don't have to make one now. You can choose what you want here and you can say no when you don't want something."
"Aai and I are a team, she always tells me what to do."
"Well, I think you are smarter than Aai, so for this one round, why don't you decide how we should play this game?" Satya entertained her with a smile.
"I have my Baba, but I know Aai wants to be here, so what do we do?" Savi tapped her chin and Satya couldn't help but cover his mouth to stop laughter from escaping.
"I have a suggestion. You can call me Buddy. We can be friends. You have your Baba in Chavan Niwas, you have your Buddy in Adhikari Niwas?"
Savi looked at him, contemplating.
"That is a brilliant idea, Buddy!" Satya raised his hand for a high-five and she high-fived him.
"Sai, did you change?" Sai entered the room and looked at her daughter high-fiving Satya. She raised her eyebrow but Satya shook his head, signalling her not to worry about it. Savi apologized to Sai and went to the washroom.
"What you guys talking about?"
"It's our secret," Satya winked and left the room, leaving behind a grumbling Sai.
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Index
#4: Storytime
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