Shivay who have been waiting outside still could not wait for more and barged in. He somewhere was angry as Anika called Rudra first and not him, but as soon his eyes fell on the new face of the world his anger melted and that came out from his eyes as tears. He took slow steps and went close to them. Rudra looked down and moved aside. Shivay sat beside Anika and was staring the little face, he was trying to make out that to whom the baby resembles most.
“Than…thank you Anika” he muttered softly as his shivering hands touched the new skin of the baby. But she was angry, very angry and hurt too. He extended his hands to take the baby in his embrace when Anika broke off “sorry Mr. Shivay but you were not there when your baby needed you the most, no need to prove now that you are his father” her curt reply shivered him within.
A lump of mere emotions bubbled up in his throat which almost chocked while gulping it down. Anika started after a pause “I know Shivay that I am no one but just a mere surrogate mother, but at times there is the need for you, I know you respect me as a person but when your baby was to come to this world… the need for you was more but where were you… oh haan busy with your files and meetings”
“I am sorry…” he muttered looking down and locking the fingers of both his hands. “Bhabhi… please wo…” Rudra tried to defend his brother but Anika have had enough when she heard that Rudra was being scolded by everyone to save hers and her daughter’s life. “No Rudra, your bhabhi can never overlook these facts, I know that he has work but why the hell he shouted over you?” she looked at Shivay. His head was still bent down.
“I am sorry…” he said again and all the angers of Anika started dripping down from her eyes.
“If this was Tia in my place, Shivay would have never been such careless and aggressive… here is your baby Shivay” Shivay shot up his head to look into the pained eyes of Anika. Her tears pierced something inside him. Is he loosing his heart to her but no he loves Tia right. Her words pained his heart that he has too, he just scolded his brother out of tension and not aggression. He was reluctant to go to office but some managers of foreign companies came without any prior notice to discuss something about the ongoing deals so he had to go to the office. Its not about Tia or Anika its about his baby, his daughter now.
He held her close to his heart. “I love you beta” he said as tears dropped over the face of the small being. She moved her hands in such a way that they wiped away Shivay’s tears from his face, it was as if she is asking him not to cry as she cannot see tears in her father’s eyes. Shivay smiled over this. He also can never see tears in Anika’s eyes. Her anger was justified because every wife wants their husband to be with them at this phase of their life. He looked at Anika and ever so lovingly wiped away her tears from one hand while balancing the mere weight of his daughter in other hand.
“I am sorry Anika… I promise I will never ever leave you alone when you will need me… please don’t cry” he said and placed her head over his chest. She rested her head and wiped her tears and held the small fingers of her daughter, no their daughter. He pecked over her head to sooth her down more.
“Ek pic to banta hai boss” Rudra said taking out his phone and clicked the smiling faces of the creatures in front of him. He then sat in front of Shivay. At times lightly poking the cheeks of the baby to feel the soft flesh of this innocent soul.
The family went in. Everyone blessed the child.
“Rudra… listen” Soumya called Rudra and he upped his right eyebrow to ask what. “Ufff come na…” Soumya moved her lips and Rudra followed Soumya.
“We should go now, let Shivay-Anika spend some time with the baby” Daadi said. It has been an hour that the family is inside the cabin and adoring the little soul. Outside the cabin Soumya and Rudra were busy in making plans to welcome the baby. They were thinking to decorate Shivay-Anika’s room as a bride and entire oberoi mansion too. Seeing the family coming out of the cabin they suddenly stopped their discussion and smilingly looked at them.
Back in the cabin Anika was sitting silently and staring the baby and was blushing hard. This didn’t go unnoticed by the father himself and he at last asked “why is the newly made mother blushing so much?” “Wo… I am thinking… wo…” she was at loss of words to explain that she is blushing because her daughter is lying over her lap and she wants to br*astfeed her.
Shivay never understood but the nurse who came just the moment family went out understood what Anika was trying to say. “Mam you can, he is your husband after all” she said assuring her smilingly but not knowing the fact that at which circumstances they were married and what relation do they share. “No please ask him… ask him to go out, I can’t in front of him, I am shy” Anika said turning into shades of scarlet. Nurse smiled and asked Shivay to sit over the couch placed on one side of the cabin and she covered Anika by the curtains on the side of the bed.
He understood then what she was trying to say and he looked down blushing and thinking that they will take time to lessen the awkwardness between them. After sometime it was done and the nurse went away placing the curtains at a side. Anika was still blushing and was looking down. Shivay was the ice breaker this time “it’s… it’s okay, baby too needed it…” he cannot perfectly say. She again rested his head over his chest as he sat back beside her.
“Hey look the nose of the baby… just like you” Shivay said. “No… but it’s like Tia, but do you know… doctors were saying that she has kanji eyes… like you” she smiled and looked at his face which were full with proud. “See hence proved she is my daughter” he said. “Ohh mister I went through all the pains to give birth to her” she said. Yes no one can ever deny that a mother is most attached to their child from the time they are inside their womb.
“Okay okay no arguments and thank you so much, you have given me the best gift” he said and she again rested her head over his chest while closing her eyes. He leaned a little back to support the posture of his small family. Their daughter was sleeping and the parents were dreaming for the bright future of their daughter.
PRECAP- WELCOMING PARTY OF TIANSHI