The next morning Armaam walked lazily downstairs as it was a sunday and he is free for the day
He didn't have much sleep last night either
He had tossed and turned for most of the night and had fallen asleep somewhere near the dawn
He came into the kitchen to see both Ava and Advi sitting in their high chair
Janani was feeding them alternately
She was feeding Advi some kind of paste that looked hideous and his son was eating it without any complaints
He made a face involuntarily and Janani saw that
"Careful Armaan. Babies are very much attuned to your body language" Janani said
As if to prove the point ,Advi turned his face away when Janani took the next spoonful of that mix to his mouth, and he made a face similar to how Armaan did
Janani glared at him
"See what you have done"
"What did I do" Armaan asked perplexed
All he did was make a face at the hideous mixture his son was heartily eating
Who would have thought Advi would imitate him so quickly
"He was eating it without any complaint and now after seeing you he is already starting a tantrum"
"It looks hideous, if you ask me." He said defensively
"Its healthy" Janani countered
He hadn't had coffee yet and he simply didn't want an argument in the morning
"Fine.What should I do now"
"Eat this and make a happy face so that he will continue eating" Janani said and took a spoonful of baby food towards his lips
He gulped at the thought of swallowing that thing and looked at his kids, both of them are looking attentively at him
Great way to start a morning
He opened his mouth and took the spoonful of baby food and gulped it in a go not giving his tongue a chance to taste it
"Wow....yummy" he forced out a bright smile making Ava giggle and Advi bang on his high chair table with his chubby little fists
Janani took the next spoonful for Advi and he ate it without a complaint
"Oww...mmyy" he copied his father making Armaan chuckle
Now the next problem is how he is going to get a coffee
Usually Khanna gets it for him
"Coffee is there in the pot" Janani pointed out as if reading his mind
"Oh!! You didn't have to make it for me" He said coolly
"Well!! I thought I should take care of the kitchen works from now on" she said
"Why??" He asked frowning
"Its just that ,you paid off Saa- I mean my debts and I think I should do some work in return for that" Janani said and her shoulders are tensed
Why is she tensed
"You are taking care of the children" he said
"I don't want to be paid for taking care of them.So I will do the cooking and kitchen gardening in return for the money you paid off" she said as she continued to feed the children
"Good morning " they looked up to see Aadesh walking into the kitchen and pouring himself some coffee
"Boiled milk is there in the other pot and sugar is here in this cupboard " Janani said pointing at a cupboard
"Thank you" he smiled and that smile didn't reach his eyes
Armaan frowned
Aadesh took a seat next to him and kept looking at Janani feeding the kids
Armaan saw the longing in his brother's eyes and a lump formed in his throat
He had long overcome his longing for a mother ,but Aadesh ,it seems still longs for a mother's love
"Okay!! Let's see who finishes first. Ava ,Advi or Addy chachu??" Janani clapped her hands gaining all their attention
She had already served a plate of breakfast and asked Aadesh to join a chair next to Ava
She must have seen the emotions in Aadesh's eyes because she started feeding Addy along with his kids in the pretense of an eating competition
He felt overwhelmed seeing the tenderness of her gesture
He can see Aadesh's heart in his eyes
Why is she doing all these??
What does she gain by this??
*****
A while later ,once he had composed himself Armaan walked towards the kitchen where he heard the excited chatter
He saw Ava and Advi inside the play yard which is now placed in the kitchen and Addy and Janani standing near the kitchen island dicing vegetables
"Real men don't eat mushrooms" He heard Aadesh saying as he was slicing it into tiny white buttons
"They are not even vegetables. Aren't they fungus??" Addy asked and Janani laughed
Armaan stilled listening to the sound of it
That laugh of hers is damn infectious !
Made a man want to smile in response ,then pull her in close for a deep ,long ,wet kiss that would end in -
"Technically, yes" she said when she stopped laughing
"They are fungi. For a long time ,they were considered vegetables. But then researchers discovered they weren't plants or animals ,but their own species"
"Great! And I'm going to eat them.Remind me again Why??" Addy asked looking at her with a playful smile on his face
Armaan waited for it and wasn't disappointed .She laughed again and something inside him shifted, expanded
"Heyy Maan ,when did you come??" Aadesh asked when he saw his brother standing there looking at them
"I just came. Janani, yesterday you said you wanted to talk about something to me??" He asked looking at Janani
"I do. Are you free now??" She asked to which he nodded
"Great!! I will come now." She said removing the apron and turned to Addy with a warning look
"Don't burn the kitchen down" she said and Addy crossed his fingers and placed it against his heart and pressed his lips together to stop himself from laughing
"Shanthima ,keep an eye on them okay" she called out Mrs Seth who was sitting in the living room
"Let's talk" she said and they walked towards the living room
"So what is this important matter you wanted to talk about " he asked
"I wanted to talk about Ava's schooling" she said
"Schooling?? She is only three Janani" Armaan said surprised
Does she feel burdened by taking care of Ava too??
Is that why she wanted to sent his little girl to school
"If you find it difficult to cope with Ava ,you don't have to. I never asked you to look after her in the first place" he said his voice rising
Why is he angry??
She wasn't supposed to look after Ava
So why does it matter to him if she doesn't want to
Did he start expecting too much from her
"What??" She asked stunned at the way his brain works
Will it always be like this ,she wondered
"Armaan, yesterday I had a video chat with my kids there in my town" she said
"Your kids??" His eyes widened in response and Janani rolled her eyes
"My students" she corrected and he nodded
"As I said ,during the video chat ,I introduced Ava to them and I have never seen Ava so excited about anything so far. So I just thought it would help her to come out of her shell if she interacts with more children her age" Janani explained her point of view
Armaan sighed in relief
Why did he feel relieved anyway??
Armaan shook his head. He simply didn't want to analyse his feelings
"No school would take in a three year old Janani" he pointed out the obvious
"That's right!! But there are pre kindergartens nowadays for pre schoolers" she said
"Well then let me enquire about these pre kindergartens" Armaan said already taking his phone out to call his PA to make enquiries
"About that ,there is one I know here. Its named Kiddokids" she said opening a page in her browser and started showing him some photos
"Its been only an year since it started but it's already a success among the elite class in Mumbai" she said
"You said you know about this place?? How do you know??" He asked looking through the site
"Oh I just did some internet searching yesterday. This is actually a pre kindergarten cum day care. The pre kindergarten hours are from ten in the morning to two in the afternoon. And they just provide day care till six in the evening for working parents" she said
"It's just a fifteen minutes drive from here" Armaan said as he saw the address
"They say they provide morning snack and lunch there ,but I'm not sure about that. Don't know what kind of ingredients they use" Janani said already tensed about the children having foods containing chemicals in it
"I will ask my PA to look into this" Armaan said handing over the phone back to her
"Oh,I was planning to go there tomorrow to have a look , er..that is if you don't mind" Janani added the last portion when she saw him raising his eyebrows
"Okay! I will ask my PA to clear my schedule" he said
"You are coming too??" She asked surprised
"Who is the daddy??" He repeated the same words she asked him last night and walked away with a small smile on his face at the look on her face