The clock ticked slowly for Yuti as she tried to stop a grumble from escaping her throat. She had been sitting at the table for the last 2 hours while Khusi was teaching her how to do simple addition and subtraction. Undoubtedly she was a good teacher, but Math was out of her domain, even primary school level.
Yuti was tapping her feet restlessly on the ground beneath the table while Khusi tried to explain how to do two digit addition. But her mind was wandering off every 2 minutes.
"Did you get it?" Khusi enquired to which Yuti nodded, her eyes barely open.
"Show me then, how to do this addition." Yuti was tired of doing arithmetic. She loathed that subject but couldn't ignore it no matter how much she wished she could.
Without a blink of an eye it was done, and she passed the notebook back to Khusi.
"Excellent. You're a really fast learner," Khusi praised and ruffled Yuti's hair to which she blew her bangs off her forehead and heaved a deep sigh.
"Can we stop now? I have already learned how to do addition and subtraction," Yuit whined. She was already in a bad mood from that morning because of her father's absence from their home. Abhay had promised Yuti to spend time with her that weekend but work load kept him occupied.
"2 more sums, and then I promise. No more arithmetic for today."
"Okay Khusi Ma. Bring it on," Yuti groaned and rested her head on the table, smacking her lips in annoyance.
Khusi smiled at her impatience but jolted down two tricky sums for her to solve. Needless to say Yuti was smart for her age and it didn't even take her a minute to solve the two.
"Done for today!" Yuti didn't even let Khusi utter another word before she jumped off her chair and dashed outside the room leaving a slackened jaw Khusi behind.
•••
It wasn't until noon when Khusi finally got a glimpse of Yuti in the kitchen. She was preparing chicken curry and Khusi knew the scent would drive Yuti back inside the bungalow.
"Are you really cooking?" Yuti hovered beside Khusi, her eyes stuck to the cauldron and a slight drool dripping down her chin.
"Yes, and we will be taking lunch for papa today." A wide beam spread on Yuti's lips as she threw her hands up in the air in joy.
"Yippee. Give me 2 minutes. I will change and be back." With that she dashed away. Khusi chuckled at her enthusiasm before bringing her attention back to the cauldron.
After the day when Khusi had come back to their bungalow with Abhay by her side and a cardboard box in his hand containing her things, Yuti's first question had been, 'Are you my mother from today, then?'
Khusi had welcomed her in her embrace with a stretching smile and open arms and had nodded profusely.
It has been over a month since that incident but the memories keep on playing in her head like a tape recorder. Especially Abhay's words. Quickly shaking her head to extricate the distraction she brought her eyes back to the cauldron.
She rarely got the opportunity to cook so she wanted to prepare something special for Abhay. Specifically after he informed her on the call that today he might not get enough time to have lunch.
The food was ready within a few minutes and the duo departed for Abhay on a car waiting for them 24X7 outside their bungalow, always at their service.
•••
Khusi took a deep breath as she climbed down the car and took the sight of the enormous building in front of her. She missed visiting his old office but the new one was a sight to behold.
YOU ARE READING
Not Her
Romance"I don't want to become a mother." This line is a taboo for women in some parts of the world, and so was for Khusi Mukherjee. At the age of 25, independent and single, she wanted to live her life according to her rules. But everything changed when...
