THE HALF OF IT

Part - 13

I gave Karan an apologetic look, but before I can say anything else to prompt Ruhi to be nice, Karan crouched down to her level. She still remained timid, but the grip on my leg eased up slightly as she eyed Karan more curiously now.

“You look very pretty today, Valentine,” he said, his tone light and his smile friendly and approachable. “And you know what, Polka dots are my favorite, too. And that green bow in your hair is quite the fashion statement.”

I swallow back a laugh at how sincere he sounded about her outfit, but his comments worked like a charm with Ruhi. He blue eyes lit up at the compliment, and she let go of my leg to touch her fingers to the material of her romper.

“I picked it all by myself?” she said proudly.

Karan looked unduly impressed. “You did a great job.”

His gentle smile still in place, he slowly reached out and lightly grasped her little hand in his much bigger one, the contrast of his long, strong fingers against her tiny ones pulling at my heartstrings.

Surprisingly, Ruhi didn’t pull away. Instead, they stared at one another, as if silently comunicating, and the moment seem to stand still for me as I watched the two of them get acquainted in their own quiet way. The situation could have gone badly, with Ruhi yanking her hand back and deciding she didn’t like Karan at all, which would have been awkward and uncomfortable. But there was a patience to him that made my throat grow tight and clearly put Valetine at ease.

He didn’t force or push the little girl to accept him . . . Instead he allowed her to make her own decision about whether or not she was ready to let her guard down around him.

Ruhi have great instincts, because slowly, gradually, she gave him a bashful but approving smile.

Karan released her hand, as if knowing he’d been lucky to touch her for as long as he have without her severing contact.

“So, what do you say we go into the park so you can play and show me what a good climber you are?”

“I am a weally good climber,” she told him, jumping up and down in excitement. “I climb all the stairs without Mommy’s help now?”

“Wow, you’re a big girl,” he said, straightening to his full height again, though now Ruhi didn’t seem intimated by how tall and big he was.

She hooked her little thumbs into the straps of her backpack as we strolled toward the gate of the park. “That’s what my mommy says, too. That I’m a big girl.”

I smiled. “And what else do I say?”

“To hold on to the wail when I climb the stairs so I don’t twip,” she said, moving her head to each word she spoke.

The corner of Karan's mouth twitched with a smile as he glanced at me. “Would that be rail and trip?” he asked, trying to decipher some of her words.
“Yes. She speaks well for her age, but her r’s and w’s get mixed up a lot, especially when she’s excited.”

“It’s adorable,” he mouthed to me, his eyes sparkling with delight, and it was like I am seeing my daughter for the first time through another person’s eyes.

Her speech was adorable, but being the mother, I heard it all the time and the cuteness of it had subsided. But Karan is living it all for the first time, and I am finding him, and his reactions to it all, incredibly sweet as well.

After swiping my key card in the reader, the large metal gate unlocked, amd Karan held it open while I and Ruhi walked into the well-landscaped play area. There were tables for picnics, covered areas for shade, and a new large recreation areas for different age groups. I, or rather Ruhi, led us toward the playground for toddlers and we followed a few steps behind.