17 Chapter 17

Janani paced across her room in agitation .

What had come over her?

Did she seriously kiss the man?

Albeit, it was an innocent one. After seeing the sadness in his eyes when they were in the park, she had felt something for him.

Who would kiss someone just because they felt sorry?

She is an idiot. A complete idiot.

And who did she kiss? The Armaan Verma out of all the people.

And what would he be thinking now??

Definitely he would have concluded that she is on her way to seduce him.

She groaned at her own stupidity.

She walked into the washroom and splashed cold water onto her face.

It might bring her to sanity.

Because she is definitely out of her mind.

Why else would she kiss Armaan Verma out of all the people?

She dried her face with a fresh towel and looked into the mirror only to gasp.

There, Armaan Verma is standing leaning against the wall staring straight into her eyes.

He raised his left hand and rubbed his left cheek where she kissed him and smirked at her.

"What was that about??" He asked huskily

"What??" She asked dumbly

She didn't want to have this conversation now!!

She didn't want to have this conversation ever!!!

"Why did you kiss me ??" He asked, taking a step forward.

"It was just a good night kiss!!" She shrugged trying for a nonchalant look.

"Why did you kiss me, Janani??" He asked again irritating her.

Why is he making it a big deal??

It was just an innocent kiss ,after all!

"I don't want to talk about it" she said

"Too bad!! I want to talk about nothing else" he said walking towards her

"Look ,I don't know why I did that okay. Stop making a big deal out of that" she said

"Admit it. You couldn't resist " he said walking forwards and trapping her efficiently against the sink and she looked at him in disbelief.

Couldn't resist?? Like seriously?? Who does he think he is?? Imraan Hashimi?

"I just felt sorry ,okay??" She blurted out

"You felt sorry???" He asked looking at her as if she was talking in some foreign language.

"You were looking so sad and lonely in the park today" she said helplessly, averting her face sideways only to see their reflection in the full length mirror on the wall.

How many mirrors does a bathroom have?

"Are you telling me you kissed me out of pity??" He asked in a dangerous tone, making her groan.

Why God?? Why me?? She mentally screamed

"I didn't mean it like that. I just don't know, okay?? I am sorry it happened. Now let me go" Janani snapped, pushing him away and stalking out of the wash room.

"Where do you think you are going??"

"Out of here. I am sick of seeing your reflection in the mirrors. One of you is bad enough. Ten is more than I can handle" Janani snapped

"Running away is not the way to handle this" he said coming out of the washroom

"As far as I am concerned, there is nothing to handle" she said in a tone of finality.

At the moment Advi cried gaining both of their attentions .

For the first time in the last ten months, Janani thanked God for Advi's distress.

Does that make her a bad mother?

Definitely that makes her the worst mother.

But she would grab anything to move on from this topic.

"Oh sweetie" Janani picked up a crying Advi in her arms and tried to sooth him.

His diapers felt heavy and she knew he needed a change.

Well, a father is supposed to know how to change diapers, aren't they??

What better time to start learning?

"Here ,he needs a change," she said, placing Advi into Armaan's arms, startling him.

"Me??" He asked bewildered

"Who is the daddy??" She asked tilting her head to one side

"Right!! Daddy" he said and walked towards the changing table in the corner of the room

Armaan placed the squirming baby on the changing table and shot a helpless look at Janani.

Did she really expect him to change the diapers on his own??

He knows nothing about diapers.

He is willing to be a hands on father ,but a little help would be nice.

He again looked at the woman who had shook his entire body with the most non seductive kiss ever.

How could she do that??

Janani seemed willing to speed up the process by sliding the pajama bottoms down Advi's legs.

She leaned down to retrieve a diaper from a bag and set it at the end of the table.

"You can take it from here" Janani said and waved a hand towards the diaper Advi is presently wearing.

"I am not well versed with the proper diaper changing procedure" he pointed out

Janani sighed

"First, you need to remove the wet diaper by releasing the tapes. But I need to warn you about something first." Janani said

He suspected it wouldn’t be the last child-rearing caution he would hear.

"To take care not to flip him on his head?" He asked.

She frowned.

"Well, obviously that, and make sure you’re ready to hold the diaper back in place if he’s not done. Otherwise, you could find yourself being drenched in the face." Janani said

He certainly had never considered that.

"How do you know these things?"

She withdrew a white container from the bag and opened it to reveal some sort of paper wipes.

"I learned the hard way."

After he lowered the diaper and didn’t have to dodge, he readied for the next step.

"Now what?"

"Gently grasp his ankles with one hand, lift his bottom, then slide the diaper from beneath him with your free hand."

Armaam had earned a degree in Engineering and Masters in Business Management and yet this task seemed astronomical.

The boy continued squirming and grabbing for things around him making it difficult for Armaan.

Armaan huffed.

"He keeps moving" he complained like a five year old making Janani chuckle

"Distract him" Janani said

"How am I supposed to distract him when I am trying to remove this diaper??" He asked looking at her as if she is stupid

"Ah, I thought you were a wonderful multi-tasker??" She asked smiling cheekily at him

"Right. Multitasking" he huffed

"Talk to him, Armaan" Janani suggested and he followed it.

And thankfully his hand easily circled both the infant’s ankles, and raising his legs was akin to lifting a feather.

Once he had the diaper removed and the baby lowered, he turned back to Janani.

"Piece of cake." Armaan beamed making Janani roll her eyes.

She took the plastic garment from him and discarded it in the nearby bin.

"True, but he’s still a little drowsy from sleep. Just realize when he is more awake he’ll be much more mobile, and a lot less cooperative."

The image of his child vaulting from the dressing table assaulted him.

"Will I need to strap him down?"

Janani laughed

"You will get used to it soon" she said

"I had no idea that caring for someone so small would require so much knowledge. I am ill equipped for the task." He admitted reluctantly

"You’re more than equipped,bArmaan" She handed him a damp paper wipe, set the container aside, then grabbed the clean diaper and unfolded it.

"But right now your son requires that you finish this task. After you clean him up a bit, repeat the first step, only this time slide the diaper underneath him."

Janani displayed great patience as he followed her instructions to the letter. Once he had the infant diapered and redressed, he noticed that his son had fallen asleep.

"Now we’ll put this little guy to bed" Janani said as she lifted the baby, crossed the room and placed him on his back in the crib.

Armaan came to stand by her side. As he watched his child sleep, he experienced a strong sense of pride.

"I must say he’s quite something."

"Yes he is" she replied in a hushed tone.

He heard the same pride in her voice

He looked down at the same time as she looked up ,her eyes reflecting the love she felt for his son.

The moment seemed too intimate.

She averted her gaze and looked a little uncomfortable.

"Now let’s go so he can have a decent nap before it’s feeding time again." She whispered and walked him towards the door.