Rock-A-Bye Baby [✓]

Shot 7

Shanaya Singh Oberoi had been grumpy since evening, and no matter how hard Gauri tried, the girl refused to stop throwing her tantrums. For the last two days, Omkara Singh Oberoi had made it a habit to come early to play with her and pamper her. However, today, he was late. Although Gauri somehow tried to explain it to the child in her own way and divert her attention with numerous toys and games, Shanaya only kept looking at the door, waiting for her Dada to walk in any moment. Who was to explain to the child that the man she called her ‘Dada’, her Uncle was an extremely busy person, and it was only by a rare chance that the last two days had given him a little time to play with her!

“Shanu! See, baby elephant!” Gauri distracted her and held the soft toy in front of her face, and in response, heard an irritated groan from the child. Gauri sighed, not knowing how else she was going to put the child to sleep. It was already striking ten, and Shanaya, even if yawning constantly and sleepy, refused to lay down to sleep. This, in turn, made her all the more irritated and crankier. Gauri looked up to the skies and hoped for some miracle. For the last two hours, she’d been trying to placate the child, and nothing worked. She prayed that the man himself would make an appearance, and soon. Gauri herself was exhausted, and couldn’t wait to hit the bed at the earliest.

Then, as if God had heard her prayers, Omkara Singh Oberoi walked through the door. Gauri had never been happier to see him because the moment he walked in, Shanaya’s face lit up like the fourth of July. “Arey! Shanaya? You aren’t asleep yet?” Omkara said in a tired voice. He had a busy day at the office, meetings after meetings, and was finally able to wrap up his work by quarter to ten, which otherwise was still early on his clock.

Shanaya crawled on her fours up to where he stood, and then folding her legs, sat on the back of her heels. She had been playing with the wooden blocks, each of which had a letter of the ABC’s on each side of it along with the picture. Shanaya was in no mood to let go of her Dada once she saw him, and excitedly offered one of the blocks to him. Omkara smiled at her, and then glanced at Gauri, whom he caught yawning in exhaustion. “Tiring day?” he asked her, and she looked at him with a smile, saying, “A little; nothing too much. How about you?” Omkara made an exhausted groan, nodding his head while looking at Shanaya, saying, “Very exhausting!” Gauri didn’t know why, but she said, “You want some water?”

Omkara glanced at her, with amusement in his eyes. For some off reason, that sentence sounded and the scene looked so domestic as if a wife was asking her husband about his day and then asking him for a glass of water. Omkara was surprised at the thought that struck his mind and then smiled. Gauri turned pink in embarrassment, thinking that he was laughing at her. She simply wanted him to be comfortable, although this was his house and she was the outsider here. So when she gave it a second thought, she assumed she sounded stupid when she asked him if he wanted water. He had once told her that she was Shanaya’s nanny and not his! Yet she just had to go ahead and make a fool of herself again.

Or so she thought! Because, in the next second, she heard him say, “Sure, that would be great if it’s not too much of a trouble?” Gauri smiled with a nod and rose from the floor to fetch him a glass of water. As she crossed him at the threshold of the room, she felt him hold her by her wrist. Standing side by side, he took a small step sideways, his shoulder almost touching hers, and lowered his head slightly. “Cold water, please?” he whispered, and Gauri felt her insides melt at that silky smooth voice of his. Had he asked her to give him one of her kidneys in that same mesmerizing tone, she would have given him both! Unable to say much, she just nodded.

Omkara noticed her face turning red and slowly let go of her hand. With a smile, he thought she blushed pretty and turned to look at her as she walked out. His gaze eventually dropped to her backside, which swayed side to side as she walked to the kitchen. Sexy, he mused as his brain started to conjure up images that took him in a totally different direction. He was just beginning to imagine colorful images inside his head when he felt a sharp pain at his kneecap. Looking down, he saw that an angry Shanaya had thrown the wooden block she was holding right at his knee when he didn’t give her the attention that she demanded from him. Kneeling down with a frown, he rubbed his hurting kneecap, as he asked her, “You decided to wake up today and choose violence, didn’t you?” She gave him an irritated frown, complaining to him in her own baby words, something that he didn’t comprehend at all.