Page 17 of The Unwanted Husband
“Hey,” she said, as she sat next to Ashok as he held the wailing kids.
It surprised her how much she sounded like her mother. A tone she had taken when she was trying to calm little Isha.
The kids initially did not pay attention to her but kept crying. She could feel Ashok’s unsure gaze on her as she reached for one of the kids. She had not held them ever, apart from the time she carried one kid to the bathroom and she didn’t know what she was going to do but she went with her instincts.
“Hey,” she said a bit louder. This time she saw how both kids turned to look in her direction.
Her stomach twisted when she saw their faces. She felt an acute pull in her chest in response to the dried-up tears on the babies’ cheeks. Swallowing the lump that started to form in her throat, she reached to take one of the kids from Ashok only to upset the child even more.
She knew it! She made it worse.
Isha, yet again surprised herself by persistently trying to calm the kids. She reached for the other child whose sobs hadsomewhat subsided and to her utter surprise, the kid stretched out their arms and swooped right into her chest.
Something clicked in her when the ball of warmth hit her chest. She had never experienced anything like it before and it made tears well up. She wrapped her arms around the child and looked up at Ashok, who looked at her equally shocked at the sight of her holding the kid.
“It’s okay,” she heard herself say, yet again sounding like her mother.
She gently ran her hand over the baby’s head as the child clung to her. The other child continued to wail in Ashok’s arms.
“Hey, look at your brother. He is with Isha. Do you want her to hold you too?” Ashok asked and the wails only got louder.
Minutes passed as they both held the kids, letting them be. At some point her eyes locked with Ashok and she sent him a silent apology. For not wanting to be around the kids and for intending to leave him alone to manage it all.
He broke their gaze and looked at one of the helpers and signaled them to bring the kids sipping cups. One of the nannies walked tentatively toward Ashok and handed him the sipping cup. Like he knew the child in his arms still needed space, he passed the cup to Isha.
She took the cup from him and looked at it, unsure how to proceed when the kid in her arms seemed to be hiding their face in her chest.
Ashok gestured to get the kid to drink some water. Still unsure how to navigate, she held the cup in one hand and with the other, tried to turn the kids face toward her.
“Just one sip.” Her voice was barely a whisper and the kid did not respond.
A few different tries later, Isha pulled the clingy baby away from her, only to make them wail but was quick to offer the water. She could hear music in her ears when the child reached for the cup and took a few sips of water before pushing it away.
How could that sight make her feel so good?
She got a nod of approval from Ashok. A moment later, the kid pushed away the cup and went back to clinging to her chest. As if everything her mom did was coming back to her, she held the child with her arm and rocked back and forth on the couch.
As one child seemed to settle down, the twin in Ashok’s arms seemed to have stopped wailing. The silence was somehow eerie and it was then she realized how much the kids’ noise had become ambient for her in the past few weeks.
Moments passed and she felt the child in her arms become relaxed and that made her tighten the hold around the baby.
She looked up when Ashok stood up holding the child in his arms close. He took a few steps away from the couch. The baby girl was tired from wailing and was resting her head on his shoulder. When the kid looked at Isha, it made her heart sink. It was the look in her brother’s eyes when her parents passed. No tears but solemnness and Isha recognized that.
“Ashok,” she called out as he walked away. He stopped in response.
She slowly stood up holding the now sleepy baby in her arms and walked over to where he stood. She held the child to her chest with one arm and ran her hand over the little girl’s back.
Like that was all it took the infant in Ashok’s arms, turned to face Isha, before wrapping tiny arms around her neck. It wasa moment she did not expect and she was thankful for Ashok’s reflexes.
Isha felt his arm wrap around her waist as he steadied her and he held the four of them in a tight circle. She saw the helpers sigh in relief at the sight of both children safe and now calm.
“I got him. You take her. She wants you,” Ashok whispered as he slid the sleeping baby boy off her chest and into his arms.
His words did something to her. She felt joy explode in her heart as the little girl who had refused to come to her earlier tightened her hold around her.
“It’s okay, I’m right here.” Isha heard herself say, as she rubbed the tiny human’s back.
Ashok picked up another sipping cup and offered the child in her arms some water which she gulped without making a fuss.
