19 Chapter 19
Armaan had his schedule cleared by his PA for the day.
He got ready in blue jeans and white shirt.
He tucked his black aviators inside his shirt and walked towards the nursery to see if his companions are ready to go yet.
"Shanthima, I have already prepared lunch. Please reheat it before packing it. Khanna bhaiyya would take it to the office for Aadesh" he heard Janani instructing while changing Ava's dress.
She had got Ava into a pretty white T shirt with some Disney princess printed on it and paired it with blue shorts.
She herself was dressed in blue kurti with white leggings.
"Oh my!! Ava and Jaan are matching today" Janani said rubbing her nose with Ava's
Jaan. That's what Ava calls her.
"Ava Jaan same same" Ava giggled touching their dresses.
"Let us make Advi also wear same same" Janani said combing Ava's hair leaving it open with just two colourful butterfly clips pinned to the side.
Janani then picked up Advi and got him out off the dress she had made him wear after his morning bath.
She picked up a blue shorts and white T shirt with Ben 10 printed on it and proceeded to change his diapers.
When she took the diaper pants a smile appeared on her face thinking of Armaan learning to diaper his son.
There is something so endearing about the way Armaan is around his children.
He might be arrogant and rude to her most of the times and he has a PhD in drawing his own horrible conclusions, but deep down, she could feel that there lies something else.
Something gentle and sweet.
Which he has expertly masked with his arrogant persona.
If you ask her how she knows it ,then she doesn't have an answer to that.
No ,she is not psychic.
But she feels a connection, something she can't name yet.
Maybe because he is Advi's father and she is deeply attached to Advi, it might be natural to feel a certain connection to Advi's father.
Wasn't that why she felt something that afternoon at the park, which had led to the controversial kiss on the cheek.
"Heyy ,that's easy" she came out of her dreamland when she heard an almost accusing tone.
She looked up to see Armaan pointing at the diaper Advi is wearing now.
He is wearing casuals.
She had never seen him in something other than his suits.
And he had always looked handsome in suits.
But in casuals, he had taken it to the next level.
What is wrong with her??
Why was she ogling him now as if she is seeing him for the first time?
Okay she hadn't liked him very much in the beginning, so she had overlooked his obviously handsome looks.
Now that she had started warming up to the real man in him ,she could actually appreciate his looks.
Not that she would let him know. Not until she breathes.
One slip from her part already is enough, no more.
"Huh??" She asked confused as to what he was talking about.
"This diaper. This is not the one you made me do. This is simple" he said and a grin appeared on her face.
"This is diaper pants and the ones you made him wear are normal diapers" she said
"If diaper pants are available, why would you make me do something difficult" he grunted.
"Difficult?? But I thought it was a piece of cake for you" she said playfully remembering his words once he finished diapering Advi.
"You were having fun at my expense" he said through gritted teeth making her grin wider as she made Advi wear his dress for the day.
"A girl ought to have her fun right" she said with a cheeky smile.
Once Advi was also ready she packed a small bag with some essentials.
"Diapers check ,formula check ,spare clothes check, wipes check ,snacks check ,water check" she said checking the things in the bag making Armaan shake his head.
What is he going to do with her??
What is he going to do without her?? He wondered
"Dada same same" they both looked down to see Ava looking at her dress and Armaan's with twinkling eyes.
That's when Armaan realised that he was also matching with them.
They almost look like a family!
Almost ,he reminded himself.
They are not a family. Never will be.
*****
They had a look around the pre kindergarten.
Janani instantly liked the place.
It's perfect for kids.
And she liked the woman who owns the place.
Ananya Mittal.
A single mother of a three year old boy.
She saw a photo of a young good looking man with a diya lit in front of it in Ananya Mittal's office.
That might have been the woman's husband.
There are not many children in the kindergarten.
Around fifteen kids with two caretakers.
One among them is pregnant too ,maybe in her third trimester.
The place is warm and kid friendly.
"We start at 10 and end by two in the afternoon. If you need to use the day care facility it can also be taken care of" Ananya said.
"Oh no .That won't be necessary. You have mentioned snacks and lunch. Is it a must to only have food from here? Can't we sent packed lunch from home" Janani asked her most pressing concern.
"Oh it's perfectly alright. The pre kindergartens are mainly opened for the convenience of working parents. So I thought providing lunch would be more convenient for them. If you want to send packed lunch for your child you definitely can" Ananya said with a smile.
Janani was about to correct the woman that Ava was not her child when Armaan intervened.
"The security service?? It's completely safe here right?? Would you mind if I ask my security team to do a thorough check up here" Armaan asked and Ananya raised her eyebrows amused.
She had seen many overprotective fathers like him.
Her agency is mainly availed by the elite class of Mumbai ,so she had made sure the place had the best security precautions.
"Sure Mr Verma" she said and Janani shot her a light apologetic smile on behalf of Advi's father ,in case the woman felt offended.
*****
Armaan walked out of Ava's room after kissing his baby girl a goodnight.
Its past ten at night and she is fast asleep.
Once back from the kindergarten he had to go to the office and couldn't reach home before the kids slept.
He walked towards Janani's room and knocked twice and when he didn't get any response he opened the door and entered.
He saw Advi sleeping with his mouth slightly open and one leg out of the blanket.
He gently tucked the wayward leg inside the blanket without waking him only for the kid to kick the leg out of the blanket again.
He shook his head and bent down to place a feathery kiss on his forehead.
He couldn't find Janani there but he saw the baby monitor was on.
"Now where has this woman gone?" he murmured, walking towards his room.
Once he freshened up and changed into a track suit and V neck tee shirt he walked towards the kitchen.
He is hungry.
He hopes Janani has saved some dinner for him.
He opened the fridge and searched for anything to eat, but found nothing cooked.
His lips pulled down and he straightened up only to see a sticky note on the microwave oven.
Reheat for two minutes
A smile made its way on his face.
He reheated the food and was about to sit on the kitchen island when he heard noise from the theatre room.
He took his food and walked towards the theatre room to find Janani sitting there and watching some movie, the baby monitor right next to her.
Janani was watching the Zoya factor.
She liked Dulqer Salman.
She is a movie buff and she hadn't restricted her interest to Bollywood movies only.
She loves South Indian movies very much and DQ is one of her favourite South Indian actors.
She was too much into the movie that she didn't notice the presence of another person until he changed the channel to sports.
She looked sideways to see Armaan sitting next to her and eating food while watching cricket.
"I was watching the movie" she pointed out reaching for the remote only for him to keep it away.
"It was some movie related to cricket right?? Why waste time watching something fake. Watch the real cricket" he said pointing at the screen where an India-Pakistan match re telecast is going on.
"I hate cricket" she said and he choked on his food.
How could someone hate cricket?? He absolutely loves cricket.
"But you were watching a movie related to cricket?" He asked confused
"There is a difference between watching sports and sports based movies" Janani argued.
"Sure. There is" he agreed
"Sports based movies are always more interesting" she said and he looked at her in disbelief.
"You gotta be kidding me. Why would you say so?? Cricket is an amazing sport " he said.
"I don't like it" she said
"Have you ever watched cricket??" He asked
"I have. That's why I hate cricket. Can you believe I have watched an Australia-South Africa match four times. The same match four times that it became by heart for me what run it is going to be on the next ball" she said rolling her eyes.
"Is that the match where South Africa wins chasing a score of above 400?" Armaan asked excitedly.
That is one of his favourite matches and he had lost the count of how many times he had watched it.
Janani threw a dirty look at him
"Don't tell me you like that match. I absolutely hate cricket" she said
"Why would you watch that if you hate cricket" he asked in confusion
"Aditya ,my neighbour. He is like my little brother. He always comes to my home to watch cricket as his father is always watching the news. He would sit and watch cricket all day, not letting me watch movies." she huffed remembering all those fights for the remote.
"So you have never watched a cricket match on your own will?" Armaan asked
"I have " she grinned " just to see- " he cut her off
"Sachin Tendulkar??" He asked.
Obviously there are people who watch cricket just to see Sachin Tendulkar.
Legend of Indian cricket team!
"Actually ,Irfan Pathan" she said and he looked at her in disbelief.
"You watch cricket to see Irfan Pathan??" He asked, shaking his head, confused at her thoughts.
"Kitna handsome hei??" Her tone turned dreamy, making him scowl
(What a handsome man!)
"Armaan movie rakh lo. Please " she said
(Armaan, please play the movie)
"No" Armaan said, miffed at her dreamy sigh talking about Irfan Pathan. He couldn't understand why he was feeling annoyed with that.
She heaved a dramatic sigh.
"Okay. All day I have my hands full with Ava and Advi, I thought I could watch some movies at night. If you don't want me to, then.." she trailed off sneaking a sideway glance at him.
Guilt tripping. He scowled at her.
"Fine. Watch the movie" he said, handing her the remote making her grin.
Armaan decided he would watch the movie too ,after all the movie is cricket based.
"Don't fall asleep on me like they do in movies okay?? I am not going to carry you in my arms bridal style" he said making her roll her eyes.
Once the movie is over, Janani sighed
Like seriously, Zoya devi??
Admittedly the movie was entertaining, but there is no logic in it.
She felt the weight of his head on her shoulders and sighed.
"Don't fall asleep on me like they do in movies. I am not going to carry you bridal style" she mimicked Armaan, rolling her eyes.
"Armaan. Armaan wake up" she shook him awake.
He groggily opened his eyes
"What??" He asked in his sleepy tone
"I can't carry you bridal style in my arms, hero. You will have to walk up to your room" she said standing up.
"What a boring movie. How can people be so illogical" he murmured as he stood up to leave. He fell asleep halfway through the movie, because it was seriously threatening his IQ levels.
"Goodnight Armaan" she said and he turned around to look at her with a smirk.
"No kiss today Janani??"
