Rock-A-Bye Baby [✓]

Shot 2

Omkara Singh Oberoi suppressed a yawn as the car drove towards his house. The day had been extremely tiring, and he felt completely drained to a point where he didn’t even want to have dinner, but simply fall into his soft, cozy bed and get some shut-eye. As the car moved into the premises of the mansion, one of his guards came forward to hold the door open for him. “Good evening, Sir” the man spoke in a warm tone. Omkara simply nodded and walked in.

His reheated dinner was waiting for him at the dining table, with Martha standing by the chair he usually occupied. He almost told her to take the food away, when his belly rumbled with hunger at the sight of sweet pulao and gravy of cottage cheese and green peas. He quickly washed his hands and settled into the chair. Hungrily, he took the first morsel and immediately closed his eyes, as if taken back into time. The taste was so similar to the gravy his Mommy used to make for him and for Shivaay when they were young boys.

Omkara looked at Martha in question, and she said with a smile, “Gauri insisted on making dinner today, saying she was bored. So, I permitted her into the kitchen.” When Omkara frowned in slight confusion, Martha said in a polite tone, gently reminding him, "Gauri Sharma - Shanaya's nanny."

Omkara wiped his mouth with the edge of the napkin, and swallowing the food that he’d chewed, he said, “No doubt, the food is good, Mrs. Rebello. But Ms. Sharma is here to look after Shivaay’s daughter. See that she does just that. If she’s bored, that doesn’t mean she goes around the house doing other people’s jobs. After this, refrain from permitting her to do anything that doesn’t concern her position as the baby’s nanny.” 

Mrs. Rebello nodded at the soft yet stern tone. Omkara finished the food served on his plate. One thing his Mommy always taught him was to never waste food because there were so many unfortunate ones out there who starved to bed. Finishing off his meal, he nodded his head as he rose from the chair, and Martha began clearing the soiled dishes off the table.

Omkara walked straight into his bedroom and peeled off his clothes. His clean set of clothes along with the towel was placed in the bathroom already. Having a warm shower, he felt each of his muscles relax as the water ran down his body. He then walked into his bedroom, pleased that his dirty laundry was taken care of already. Setting the alarm at half-past five in the morning, he fell into bed, lying down on his belly, and drifted off to sleep.

Somewhere in the middle of the night, Omkara heard a shrill cry, as if someone was screaming bloody murder. He groaned, turning his head to the other side, and covering his other ear with a cushion, trying to block that annoying sound out. Omkara struggled to stay asleep, but the cries wouldn’t stop. That sound only grew louder. His eyes flew open, and he sat up straight, his blood almost boiling in anger. The sounds were of Shivaay’s daughter, whose cries were now the reason for his disturbed sleep. In addition to her cries, Omkara could also hear the voice of another person trying to shush the wailing baby. “Oh, for fuck’s sake!” he angrily muttered, pushing the blankets away, pulled on his robe, and stormed out of his bedroom.

Omkara barged into the room where the screaming child, to witness Gauri Sharma holding the child against her chest and swaddling her while cooing to her. “Naa Shanu, kya ho gaya? Kyun ro rahi hai meri pyaari Gudiya?” he heard her saying in a comforting tone, while the baby only screamed louder.

“Why. Is. She. Screaming?” Omkara asked in a gruff tone, making Gauri look at him. She said in a helpless tone, “I thought she was hungry, but that isn’t it; she isn’t drinking milk. Then I assumed that-” Gauri stopped talking when she saw him put his hand at her in an irritated manner, asking her to stop. “I don’t fucking care!” he said in an angry tone. 

Gauri almost glared at him for using such rude language in the presence of a little baby. However, unbothered about her glaring eyes towards him, he continued in a rude tone, “I am super exhausted and I need some sleep. I have an important meeting tomorrow, and this one is screaming so loud that I might have the neighbors complaining tomorrow!”