Miss Shetty Mr Polishetty 2

Lonely

Anvi stood at the airport, holding the baby, to send off Siddhu and his parents to US. It has taken them some time to get the arrangements done. Siddhu was looking guilty as he held her hand.

His eyes were brim with tears, "Am so sorry, Anvi. I was not there with you during your pregnancy, which is the most difficult experience. And again now, I am leaving you alone with a toddler, all alone."

She patted her hand "Siddhu, it was thanks to you, that I got Shivani and then your family became the family that I had missed all my life. So don't worry about me. You take care of Mom. She does not open up about her pain or illness, so you need to keep a close eye on her health. I have Kavya here to support me. The nanny will also be there from tomorrow."

He hugged her as words failed him. Anvi was reluctant to tell him how much she would miss him as she did not want to make him feel bad. But as she rested her head on his shoulders, she knew it was more difficult for her now, than before. Earlier she was used to being alone, but now after experiencing all the love of this family, staying away from them was going to be painful. But she could not be selfish, his mother's heath is all that mattered.

As she looked at Siddhu's back when he went into the airport, a tear that lay hidden all this time, gradually dropped. She took a deep breath, telling herself that it was going only few months and will pass fast. What she did not realize was how time can be a cruel enemy, when it wants to. Moments seem drag for ages, when you wait for your loved one. And for Anvi, it was almost like the Murphy's law came into effect immediately i.e. "Anything that can go wrong will go wrong, and at the worst possible time."

The nanny who came in for few days, had to return to her hometown, due to personal emergencies. Kavya had to leave for an offsite to Singapore for a project. Owing to the baby's tantrums, Anvi was having sleepless nights. Despite taking long leave, she was struggling to handle Shivani all alone. Anvi's mental and physical health was taking a toll, and just when she was on verge of a breakdown, help arrived in an unexpected form one fine morning, when a tired and irritable Anvi opened the door to come face to face with Gautam. As she explained why she was not coming to work since last few days, He took one long look at her. Signs of exhaustion wrought on her face. She desperately needed help.

He held his hand out for the baby "I want you to go sleep now. I will take care of the baby."

"No Gautam. I am okay. I will sleep once Shivani sleeps. Then I will be fine."

Gautam pursed his lips and switched to his authoritative tone "I said I will take care of everything. You rest now and leave the rest to me." A smile curved his lips at unintentional pun.

Anvi smiled back and reluctantly handed over the baby to him and went to her room to get some well-deserved sleep. Gautam walked around the house, trying to pacify the baby. With a single call, he summoned his team to complete all the house chores. When Anvi woke in the afternoon and came down, to her surprise to a clean house and hot food waiting for her.

As Gautam and Anvi sat down for lunch, with Shivani settled happily in his arms, Anvi asked him curiously "How are you so good at handling kids?"

A dark shadow pass over his face momentarily. He said in a somber voice "My wife was pregnant when she died in the accident. We were attending pre-natal classes where they taught me how to change diapers, get babies to sleep, etc."

He looked into Anvi's eyes to find her looking sad hearing this. She patted his hands to console him.

He immediately added "Of course all that training is coming in good use with Shivani. So, it is all good."

He spent the entire day with her and Shivani, for which Anvi was so grateful.

He waved her thanks off "Anything for my best employee. I would suggest that you bring Shivani to work from next week since we have lots of people there with hardly anything to do. So, we will take care of the baby."

Next day when Anvi entered her office with the baby, she was directed to a small makeshift play area setup near Gautam's cabin. Gautam stood there proudly with couple of attendants who were appointed to take care of the baby. Anvi was unable to believe her eyes, until Gautam took Shivani from her and sent her back to her cabin. Thankful to have such an understanding boss, she left, only to return anxiously within an hour to make sure Shivani was fine. Not finding her in the play area, she searched around for her desperately when she heard a cooing sound from Gautam's cabin.

She found Gautam playing with Shivani in his cabin, with a bottle of milk in his hand, trying all sorts of antics in order to get her to drink the milk. Anvi was touched at his thoughtfulness. She went back to her work, convinced that Shivani was safe with Gautam. After that, it became daily practice to have Shivani to work, and Gautam would have lunch with Anvi and Shivani. It was almost a relief for Anvi to have him around, especially when she had felt lonely without Siddhu and his family. Gautam who had grown up without his parents, felt at ease with Anvi who grew up without a father. The loss of family brought the relatability factor for both.

One day while playing with Shivani in his cabin, Gautam received a call on his mobile phone.

He answered it with a huge smile "Hi Grandma. You remembered me after all these days?"

Before his grandmother could answer, she heard Shivani's cute baby voice.

"Who is that baby?" she asked, only to be met with silence from Gautam.

Gautam answered "Anvi's baby."

Realization dawning on her, she demanded "Gautam! I told you to stay away from her. You can't destroy that family for your selfishness. Please listen to me."

Gautam's voice became serious "Granny, she deserves someone like me. She will be happy with me. I will make sure of that. At any cost!!"