“Ye kya kr rhe hai dono papa beti?”

(What is the father-daughter duo doing?)

She asked not showing the effect of their gazes on her. Srish sighed dreamily and whispered.

“Hum Vishu ki mumma ko admire kr rhe hai. Isn’t she so pretty Vishu?”

(We are admiring Vishu’s mumma.)

He asked Vrishti in a baby voice and the girl giggled and pulled her head up.

“Maa..maamaa…maamaamaamaa…”

And that’s how she spoke her first word and kept repeating the sound over and over. Jiya’s eyes teared up and she picked Vrishti up and smothered her face with kisses.

Jiya was also noticing how he admired her. How had she not noticed the love in his gaze ever before. Was she so ignorant towards him? 

Vrishti was sleeping peacefully and Srish had returned from work almost two hours ago. It was almost sleeping time but she had some pending work to complete and he was waiting for her.

Jiya had been noticing him smiling at his phone for the past 15 minutes. She had even asked him what he was smiling at but he shrugged it off and didn’t answer her. And now, she was getting curious.

Did he finally give up on her and find someone new? Was he chatting with that ‘someone else’? Why did the thought make her stomach churn with unease? 

“Srish? Kya kr rha hai itni der se?”

(What are you doing since so long?)

She finally asked and huffed in annoyance when he shrugged again. That stupid smile was still there on his face and his eyes glued to his mobile screen. Having enough of his nonchalance, she got up from her seat and marched towards him with an intention to snatch his phone from him and see for herself.

As soon as she lunched at him, Srish clicked his phone shut and held it over his head. But the disadvantage was that he was sitting and she was standing, so she easily snatched it from him and ran.

“Jiya! Give it back! It’s personal!”

She laughed and ran towards the room where he used to sleep until Vrishti’s birth. The one that was unused now. She had planned on shutting the door but he was quicker and stronger and barged in making her run around the room.

“Achha? Kya personal? Girlfriend hai kya? Best friends ke beech kuch personal nhi hota.”

(Really? What personal? If it a girlfriend? Since when did personal come between best friends.)

She stuck her tongue out at him and ran around trying to avoid him. Srish realised that the phone was locked and that she wouldn’t be able to open it and stopped.

“You know what? Go ahead! Open it!”

He smirked and crossed his arms in front of his chest. Jiya bit her lip when she realised that she needed a password. She smiled too sweetly and moved closer towards him.

“Srish? Tu mujhse baatein chhupayega?”

(You will hide things from me?)

She asked in a sugary tone and he simply enjoyed her drama. Before he could realise, she put the phone in front of his face. It clicked open recognising his face lock and she ran away from him again, only to come to a stop just two steps away from him when she saw what he was smiling at.

Her. Her pictures. Pictures she didn’t know he had. Did he secretly click her? She scrolled and scrolled and saw a lot of her pictures doing random things. Playing with Vrishti. Working. Laughing. Smiling. Or just sitting. 

Her heart beat escalated. She couldn’t gain courage to face him. She felt him take his phone from her hand softly.

“When did you click these?”

She asked in a whisper and he smiled looking at the pictures once again before clicking the phone shut. He looked into her eyes and smiled softly.

“At random occasions. I’ll delete them if you feel uncomfortable.”

Did she want him to delete those? A part of her felt nice knowing that he kept her pictures in his phone. But the other part felt like he shouldn’t. That nothing could ever happen between them. But why did the thought of something happening not seem weird anymore?

“It’s… it’s ok. I mean…you don’t have to delete them.”

She whispered, making him smile wider. He nodded and left the room, not wanting to make her more uncomfortable or embarrassed.

Jiya sat in the room trying to understand what was happening with her. Earlier, she felt a weird tension in her stomach thinking that he might be smiling at someone else. And now, she was feeling an odd flutter in her heart knowing that he was actually smiling at her pictures. Pictures that he clicked.

She looked at herself in the mirror only to get surprised because of how red she was. Was she blushing? Jiya rubbed her cheeks and patted them to reduce the redness but in vain. 

When was the last time she blushed at something so simple like someone clicking her cute pictures?

Sure, Arnesh clicked pictures with her but never of her. At least not on his own. And now again, she was comparing him with Srish. She needed to stop doing that. Maybe she was finally moving on. But could she really do that without feeling like she was cheating on Arnesh.

He had been the first and the only man she had been with. And it felt weird to even think about being with another man now. But thinking about Srish…the way he looked at her…the way he made her feel…she felt that maybe he had been the one she had been waiting for. 

Sure, she had sworn to never get remarried but it was only because she felt that might never be that comfortable with another man again. But Srish made things different. She sighed and held her head in her palms. Now she felt even more confused about what to do.

Vrishti was 6 months old now and they have started giving her solids. Jiya still breastfed her but they also made sure to give her something solid at least once every day. 

The girl was so attached to Srish that she couldn’t sleep if not on his chest. The entire night, she slept on his chest and he was more than happy to hold her close. To make sure she was safe in his arms.

And that’s how they slept every night. But this morning, when Srish woke up, something was different. Vrishti was still on his chest, drooling in her sleep, but he felt a weight on his other arm which wasn’t holding Vrishti.