Rock-A-Bye Baby [✓]

Shot 8

*** Three months later ***

Gauri picked up her handbag that was packed, all set to leave for the day. The moment Shanaya had seen her pick her bag, she began to sniff, making a fuss, forgetting all about her blue elephant softie, and crawling on her fours towards Gauri, to cling on to her leg, refusing to let her go. The little one never liked it when she had to leave at the end of the day. Gauri smiled as the child glued herself to her ankle, and then bent down to pick her up in her arms. “You know I have to leave now, right? Why are you being so stubborn? I’ll come back tomorrow morning, you know that!” she said, peppering kisses on the little one’s face.

It had been about a month since Gauri had requested permission to stay at the Oberoi Mansion only during the day and leave from there by evening. It was her way of reducing her attachment she felt towards this home and the family that lived under this roof. Omkara initially had been reluctant in permitting her to leave by the end of the day. The way he’d been annoyed on the day she’d asked him permission, he’d made it sound so personal as if he was terribly hurt by her decision. Gauri thought he had felt differently for her, just as she was harboring certain feelings for him until now, but it had only taken him fifteen minutes to walk up to her and calmly tell her that she was permitted to do as she pleased. She had been grateful to him, letting him know she was just a phone call away if ever he had trouble with Shanaya. But he never ever called her up. That only meant one thing; her job was almost done at this house, and soon, she would not be required to come here at all. Which also meant, she would not be seeing Shanaya and him too.

There were just two instances where she had come across Omkara Singh Oberoi ever since she stopped being Shanaya’s full-time nanny. Both those instances were when he had come home early from work to spend time with the little girl. He had given her a polite smile and said a cordial hello, before picking Shanaya up in his arms and quietly marching away to his room, as if silently telling her that she was free to leave for the day. No, he wasn’t mad at her. Why would he be angry? But she could see he wasn’t as friendly or flirtatious with her like he used to be. Part of her told herself that it was a good thing because she didn’t need any complications at her work. But another part of her missed him terribly. She seemed to crave a lot for him to talk to and look at her just the way he used to. Such is life, she mused, as she carried on with her work, trying hard not to let her professional life get affected because of her conflicted feelings for the little munchkin and a certain long-haired man.

“Noo noo” Gauri was brought to the present when she heard Shanaya shaking her head and hugging her tightly, trying to cuddle as close as possible into her warm hug. “But Shanu, it’s time. I have to leave today, no?” she asked, pressing her cheek against the top of her tiny head. “Noo noo” Shanaya continued to mumble, shaking her head in refusal, and trying to wind her little arms around Gauri’s shoulders while hiding her face in her chest. Shanaya was making it as clear as possible: she didn’t want her nanny to leave her again like she did every single day.

“Ohh, you sweet little baby!” Gauri felt overwhelmed and hugged the child back. Never in her life had she felt so loved, so cared for, so wanted as much as this. Her own parents had left her at the entrance of the orphanage when she was just two days old. She never knew who her parents were, or why they didn’t want her. The orphanage took her in and brought her up with all the love they could give a child. But a parent’s love could never be replaced, and no matter how much they cared, Gauri had always felt the lack of it, especially when she saw her schoolmates’ parents’ come to school to pick their children up. every annual day, every parent-teacher meeting, a young Gauri grew up with a gaping void in her heart, waiting in vain if her parents would one day come back for her, not even knowing if they were alive or not.