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FIVE YEARS LATER

This is the third consecutive deal I signed for the AR group this year and there are two more still in line to complete. Business is flourishing. All thanks to my company executives, who work day and night, including the Vice President of my company, Aman. His workaholic nature didn’t change even after he married my wife’s best friend Jaya. All’s well in their life. Touchwood. The way Jhanvi has molded my life around her and Jaya has shaped Aman’s, I don’t think any other women could have done the same for us. We are all together in every event, every festival and every outing. But I get my share of private trips with my wife too and that’s the only time when I don’t share her with anyone.

As I stride out from the AR Group building, taking off my suit jacket, my driver, Madan, opens the car door for me.

“Thanks, Madan.”

He smiles, and giving me a curt nod, drives me back home. It’s around 11:00 pm when I finally finished this meeting. I had been to Malaysia for a week and today after landing, I came straight to work to sign this deal without showing up at home first. My wife hasn’t texted me ever since I shared that with her. But I know she won’t be angry with me for long. She never has. We’ve had our share of fights and arguments. But none of it lasted beyond a few hours and I make sure no matter how much she is frustrated at me, she is still in my arms every night, for me to devour, for me to love.

Everything looks perfect in my life ever since I let Jhanvi into it. I was a wandering soul in the dark and she became that shining light at the end of the tunnel who gave me a reason to live, to smile, to love. She gave me a family I never had.

The car halts at the AR mansion breaking my chain of thoughts. I quickly pick the teddy bears, which I shopped at the airport and make my way in, with Madan unloading my luggage.

“Daddyyyy”

There she is. My little bundle of joy, my princess, my three-year-old daughter Aarvi, meaning peace. She’s really brought peace to my heart, my relationships and my life. Kneeling, I stretch my arms as Aarvi runs into them and cuddles me. With eyes like mine and a smile like her mother, Aarvi is a mixture of both of us. I kiss her cheeks and carry her in my arms with the Teddy bears.

“Why is my baby still awake? You should be sleeping.”

“I missed you so much, Daddy.”

“Daddy missed you too, baby.”

She pecks my jaw this time and continues admiring her toy.

“You got me a pink teddy bear? Yehh”

Aarvi jumps in my arms as I take her straight to the couch. She sits comfortably on my lap and hugs her bear, but then her eyes twinkle as she sees a white teddy bear in my other hand. “Is this mine too?”

“Nope.” I kiss her hair, untangling her soft curls. “That’s for your Mumma. Where is she?”

I don’t have to scan much as I see Jhanvi speeding out from the kitchen. She unties the apron from her neck and hands it over to the maid, which confirms she was cooking something for me. But this late?It’s going to be midnight in a few minutes. And right now, more than food, I am hungry for my wife. In a simple cotton salwar suit, with her hair tied into a messy bun, my wife looks like the most edible thing in the world. And she’s also wearing my favorite lip gloss. How I missed those lips!! And that blush on her face when I do things to her she hadn’t imagined. Jhanvi obviously reads those dirty thoughts in my head as she reaches us but makes sure not to give in. She’s mad at me and I can’t wait to soothe her down.

“Mumma, see what daddy got.” Aarvi shows her the teddies.

Jhanvi still loves soft toys and her craze for the teddies can never go. Those genes have passed to our daughter as well. Aarvi is just like her mother in those regards. When I was told my wife delivered a baby girl, I knew she had to look like her. Doesn’t matter Aarvi had both our traits, but she was daddy’s girl more than her mummy’s. The joy of being a father and taking up every single responsibility of your child is the most precious thing a man could ever ask for.

“These are very cute. Why don’t you show it to Daada and Daadi?” Jhanvi cutely suggests and Aarvi hurries with both the teddies to the huge photo of my parents, the one which Durga Raichand gave me when she was sick with guilt. I had enlarged that picture and framed it on the wall of our living room.

Since I had a habit of standing at that picture, admiring and talking to it, so had Jhanvi taught Aarvi to do. Ever since she was told the people in that picture were her father’s mummy and daddy, and her grandparents, she always showed them all her gifts and took blessings before going to her playschool every day.

Aarvi returns to us. “I showed them.”

“Wonderful. Now it’s time to sleep. Say good night to daddy.”

“Good night, daddy,” Aarvi kisses my cheek and I kiss her back.

“Good night, baby.”

Her nanny comes and leads Aarvi to the little room adjoining ours. We had to appoint a nanny full time to look after Aarvi as both Jhanvi and I had our independent business to run.

The moment they are off our sight, I pull Jhanvi on my lap and nuzzle into her neck, breathing her scent. A second later, her fingers slide into my hair.

“Missed you,” I murmur, licking along the seam of her lips.

She pulls my face away from hers.

“I’d promised not to speak to you for extending your trip by three days and then instead of coming home after landing, you drove straight to work?”

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