Page 102 of Made in Mumbai

Her thumb jammed hard on the screen of her phone and he took it. She looked angry, but underneath that rage was pure heartbreak.

“Do we have a name, yet?” He cued, sitting in front of her so that he could look at both, M and MM.

Maya smiled, finally. She looked down at her baby and booped her nose — “Megha.”

“Megha. Any special reason?”

“It was a rain storm when I talked to her for the first time. When I decided I was doing this. Holding onto her.”

Gautam reached down to the baby’s head and nuzzled her downy forehead — “Megha. Mini Megha. Still MM.”

Maya’s body vibrated. “Did you call Kumar bhai?”

“I was waiting for her to wake up. How about we video call him?”

“Yes! Yes. Call now.”

Gautam pulled out his phone just as it buzzed with Kumar bhai’s audio call. “It’s him. Look at him living for 100 years.” He rejected the audio and pulled up the video, pointing the camera directly at Maya and Megha.

“Gauta…” Kumar bhai’s face froze as his screen filled with the scene. Gautam grinned.

“Look at your newest idol,” he showed the baby’s face. “Megha.”

“Waheguru mehr kare… Oye, Maya, she is so beautiful. When was she born?”

“Just this morning,” Maya waved. “Freshly delivered 5 hours ago.”

Kumar bhai’s loud laugh reverberated.

“Now I have to come back to see her.”

“I told you, you should have stayed back for two months. Do you know how much I have made G work? He even massaged my feet…” Gautam pressed his phone into her hand and gently took the baby from her cushion base. Maya was carefully honed in on the exchange until she saw him cradle her safely in his arms. Then she was bashing and ragging him with Kumar bhai, talking details about MM’s weight, height, the number of times she had already burped and how perfectly pretty she was. Gautam heard it all in the background, because his eyes were all for this newest girl he had fallen in love with. It was like a love that did not need anything in return. Even if she never looked at him, he was going to love her, adore her, cherish her.

Her eyes popped open. Their eyes met. And that was a bonus, along with her squeaky cries that softened when he rocked from side to side. They went silent, she yawned, looked at him, yawned again. Then she began to cry. Ugly cry.

“She must be hungry…” Maya cued, passing the phone back to him and taking her.

“I’ll send the nurse,” he got to his feet, retreating like he had the first time Maya had begin feeding. They had come close in the last few months, but not to a point of intimacy where she would be comfortable feeding in front of him. They had slept on the sofa together a few times, kissed more and more often. But her last trimester problems had put a a temporary stop to anything more between them.

“She’s feeding,” Gautam gestured to her nurse hanging out at the nurse’s station and walked farther away with Kumar bhai on video call. “You have to hold her to feel it, Kumar bhai. It’s like instant love. Nothing more matters to you…”

“Nothing more matters toyounow,” he smiled. “It’s you who feels that kind of love when holding her. I am sure I will love her too. But not how you are describing.”

Gautam stopped by the long window, smiling down at the city spread out underneath him. Maybe that was true. Maybe he was…

“Gautam?” He called out.

“Yes?”

“I was trying to get in touch with you. I know this is not the time for such a news but, you need to know. You mother… she passed away last week.”

His phone wavered in his hand. Gautam tightened his hold on it.

“Ok.”

“You take care of Maya and her baby for now. I will talk later with you about this. Just… take care of yourself too.”

“I am fine.”

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