Arnav drove wildly through the streets of the city while remembering the glimpses of his own children's faces. All these years, he had gone through life dreading every minute he had to spend without Khushi. The self-loathing had taken over him and now, when he didn't think it was possible, he hated himself just a little bit more.
What made him even angrier was the fact that he was fractionally angry with Khushi. How could she have lied to him about getting an abortion done? How could she let him live through life thinking that somewhere down the line, he was responsible for the death of his child?
He knew he had no right to feel this way. He had no right to be angry with her. Her actions were simply directed by the hurt, pain and betrayal he had bestowed upon her. He had not only lost her but he had also lost his children. They had no idea that their father was right in front of them. Did they even know he existed? Were they too young to question her about it? What would she have said if they had questioned her?
He slammed the breaks on his car and the car came to a screeching halt. He stared out at the empty road in front of him. He pushed the guilt aside and felt himself putting together a new resolve. He would go to the orphanage and meet his kids.
So, Arnav Singh Raizada found himself in the parking lot of the orphanage early in the morning. He gathered whatever shards of strength he could find and stepped out of the car. His eyes scanned the area for signs of Khushi. When he found none, he walked into the building, his senses alert to catch any hints of Khushi's presence.
"Arnav?" A woman called out behind him and Arnav stopped dead in his path.
He turned around and was instantly relieved to find Kripa standing there, along with a young boy and a young girl.
"Arnav...meet Sur and Prateek...my daughter and my son...and he is Arnav...He's my friend" Kripa introduced the children to Arnav. Arnav gave them a small wave while the kids gave him an enthusiastic wave.
Kripa smiled at him and reached into her bag. She pulled out a transparent container from her bag and handed it to the girl.
"Here you go Sur...Make sure you share with Prateek and Adi...and here..." She pulled out a dark chocolate bar and handed it to the boy. "Give this to Amby."
Arnav started walking towards Kripa just as the kids ran off merrily. Kripa smiled after them. "The smile on their faces is worth the spoiling..."
Arnav forced a smile. "All four are yours?"
"Four?" Kripa gasped.
"Sur...Prateek...Adi...and Amby?" Arnav asked.
"Oh no!" Kripa slapped her forehead as the two started walking again. "Sur and Prateek are mine. Adi and Amby are Khushi's.
"Adi and Amby?" Arnav choked.
"Well they're nicknames...their actually names are Aditya and Amber...they're best friends with my little devils, just like their mamma and pappa are best friends with their mom!" Kripa chatted away but Arnav's brain stopped at Kripa's last comment.
"You're best friends with her?" Arnav spat out, clearly shocked.
"Look...I know you didn't get off to a good start with her...I really hope her stubbornness over that background check hasn't upset you too much. She's just very careful about whom she hands over the children too...she makes sure the adoptive parents aren't abusive and such...she's a wonderful person once you get to know her and learn to ignore her fake anger."
"How did you meet her?" Arnav blurted.
"She was our paying guest nearly five years ago. I reckon she had trouble finding a place...you know...what with being a single parent and all."
Arnav swallowed a lump in his throat. "What happened to her husband?"
Kripa stopped and looked at him. "I don't know. I don't know anything about him. She never speaks of him."
Anjali walked up to them then. "Um...I'm sorry Kripa Ma'm but we need to appoint a new event manager. Ms. K is getting a little annoyed about that vacancy."
Kripa groaned. "I almost forgot about that...and we need to find someone to take over for you temporarily when you go on your maternity leave...is she here yet? I'll speak to her."
"Ms. K's here but she has a line of appointments until 2 this afternoon...oh...Mr.Raizada. I don't think you have an appointment today..." Anjali said.
"I know. I'm not here to see...Ms. K. I'd...I'd just like to spend some time with the kids here before I decide who I want to adopt...if that doesn't interfere with your protocols."
"Please Arnav...you're embarrassing me. Go ahead and meet them all. You saw Sur and Prateek, right? Ask them to introduce you to others." Kripa put a gentle arm on his shoulder. "Angad will be here soon and he normally likes to "coach" soccer matches. Perhaps you can join him."
Arnav gave her a slight nod of the head. Anjali smiled at them politely and left. Arnav was just about to leave when Kripa stopped him. "Wait...can I talk to you for a minute?"
Arnav nodded and started walking with Kripa again. "I just want to know what you've been up to all these years. I haven't seen you since high school. You just disappeared after...after..."
"After my parents passed away." Arnav completed for her.
Kripa pushed a button on the coffee machine and filled two cups. She handed one to Arnav and the two walked into her office while Kripa still tried to form her next sentence in her head.
"We used to be best friends..." She said in a small voice. Arnav gave her a sad smile. "I used to tell you everything and then one day you just disappeared without warning...I had no way of contacting you."
"I had isolated myself from the world...I felt too miserable to be a part of it..."
Kripa nodded. "I understand...anyway...forget all that...tell me...how have you been? Still single like old times? Too good for any women on this planet?"
Arnav's mind slipped into a place of its own where Khushi was a part of every inch of every object. A part of him wanted to tell Kripa that Khushi was his wife and another part told him to keep quiet.
"I'll...I'll go and catch Sur and Prateek before I lose them...I want them to introduce me to some kids." Arnav said as he walked away, leaving Kripa behind shaking her head.
"Clearly...not single." Kripa said to herself and sipped her coffee. "Heartbreaks are hard to deal with..." She muttered to herself and got back to work, thinking that Arnav wanted to keep quiet about his relationship status because he had his heart broken. She was partly right but partly wrong. Very wrong.
Arnav on the other hand went looking for signs of either Sur and Prateek or amber and Aditya. He found Sur before any of them. She was walking through the hall, holding the transparent container with jalebis in it.
"Who are you looking for, Sur?" Arnav said suddenly, startling sur.
She looked at him wide eyes and then relaxed her eyebrows. "Oh...Hi Uncle...I'm looking for Aditya..."
The mention of his name made Arnav's stomach fall as if there was a huge block of lead in it. He kneeled in front of her. "Why are you looking for him?"
In response to his question, Sur held up the container of jalebis. "I have to give this to him."
"Here...give it to me. I'll find him and give it to him." Arnav held out his hand.
Sur smiled wide, placed the container in his hand and ran off merrily after thanking him. Arnav began his look for signs of Amber or Aditya. He also kept an eye out for Khushi so that he could make sure she didn't see him looking for the kids. He stood at the end of a hallway and looked out the window into the playground, searching for familiar faces.
When he turned around, he found a head pull itself behind the wall. Arnav's brows knit together in confusion and he walked towards the spot where the head was. He turned the corner suddenly and caught a little boy with his hands trying to cover his face. Arnav couldn't help but smile. It amused him how kids thoughts that if they couldn't see the world, the world couldn't see them either. Arnav cleared his throat loudly and the child peeped at him through a gap in his fingers.
Arnav watched the kid's eyes travel down to the box in Arnav's hand and then go wide.
"Jalebi!" The kid exclaimed and moved his hands away from his face.
Arnav's breath got caught in his throat and his heart raced at an unbelievable rate. He was looking at his own son. In fact, he felt as if he was looking at a child version of himself! He could see the obvious similarities between the boy and himself in his childhood. How he had missed these similarities before, he couldn't fathom.
Coming back to his senses, he pushed the container towards the boy. "They're for you." He said in a small voice.
A wave of excitement washed over Aditya's face but then he looked at Arnav and frowned.
"I don't know you." His eyes moved between Arnav and the Jalebis.
"I'm friends with Sur and Prateek and...Kripa aunty...would...would you like to be my friend too?" Arnav said, feeling weird. He'd had enough practice interacting with young children, thanks to Sahil--Payal and Akash's son--but he never thought he'd be talking to his own son!
Aditya looked at him unsurely. Arnav squatted in front of him so that they were at the same level.
"If you become friends with me, all these are yours." Arnav smiled sweetly.
Aditya pondered over the offer for a few seconds before smiling back. "Okay...what's your name?"
"Err...you can call me...uhh...buddy. You can call me buddy!"
"Hi buddy!" Aditya held out his hand.
Arnav gently held the tiny hand in his big hand. He fought the tears that were forming in the back of his eyes. After the handshake, Arnav handed the jalebis over to Aditya and just watched as he excited bit into one.
"Adi!" A girl's voice echoed through the hallway and Aditya looked as if he was in big trouble.
Arnav looked towards the direction of the voice and to his pleasant surprise, amber was stomping towards them. She had her hands placed on her hips and with a very stern look on her face, she walked up to Aditya.
"Mamma told us not to talk to strangers, remember? You are in so much trouble!" She said with authoritatively.
As she went on to explain this to Aditya, Arnav found himself smiling. He saw glimpses of himself in her behaviour. The attitude, the stern tone of talking, the way she was being authoritative.
"Mom will get mad if she finds out!" She said crossing her arms.
"But I'm not a stranger." Arnav said. He was very well aware that out of the three of them, only he understood the true depth of his statement. "I'm his new friend. Right Aditya?"
Amber looked back and forth between Arnav and Aditya as if contemplating something.
"I'm also friends with Sur and Prateek and--" Arnav started but was interrupted.
"There you are!" Kripa walked towards them. "You left your phone in my office. It's been ringing." Kripa handed the phone to Arnav and looked at amber and Aditya.
"And I'm friends with her too." Arnav completed. "See...I'm not a stranger...Kripa knows me."
"Does he?" Amber questioned Kripa.
"Yeah. We've been friends for a long time." Kripa smiled at Amber. Considering that Kripa has known Amber since her birth, she had assumed what might have happened here.
"Now can we be friends?" Arnav held out his hand.
Amber smiled and shook his hand. Arnav's heart stumbled a few beats. Not only because holding her hand gave him this fluttery feeling in his stomach but also because it dawned on him how much she looked like Khushi--especially when she smiled.
"Buddy, you wanna come play with us?" Aditya asked and Arnav agreed almost immediately.
"You go ahead. I just have to call someone and then I'll come and play." Arnav got up.
Amber and Aditya started down the hallway while Arnav looked at them and smiled to himself--forgetting that Kripa was standing right next to him.
"You sure have a way with kids."
Arnav shrugged. "I have a five year old nephew. I guess I've had practice."
Just as Arnav and Kripa were making their way back to her office, Anjali found them.
"Kripa M'am. Have you seen Amby and Adi? Ms. K is looking for them." She said looking frantic.
"They were here a minute ago. I think they're in the playground. Why is she looking for them?" Kripa questioned while Arnav prayed for his life that she hadn't seen him with the kids.
"She's going for that meeting with the school's board and wants to say bye to Amby and Adi." Anjali explained, looking calmer than before.
"Oh right...that reminds me...I'm taking them home for the night. Khushi will pick them up after her meeting...can you just remind them of that?" Kripa requested.
Anjali nodded and walked off again leaving Arnav's brain working overtime. He had broken the ice with the kids, Khushi wouldn't be on the orphanage's premises, the kids would be staying at Kripa's place until Khushi picked them up...Arnav already had the day planned out.
Later that evening, Khushi made it back in time so that the kids didn't have to go to Kripa's house but she hadn't gotten back in enough time to see Arnav having the time of his life with the kids.
As she drove home with amber and Aditya in the backseat, they happily described their day to her like they did every day.
"And we made a new friend today! His name is buddy! He's fun! He played with us all day and he's very good at cricket!" Aditya said excitedly.
"And he's very fast when we play tag." Amber added to the description.
Khushi smiled and dismissed this new "buddy" of theirs, thinking that it must be another boy that the kids had become good friends with.
The rest of the day, Khushi got to hear the stories of what buddy did and why buddy is so great and how much fun buddy is.
Aditya was finishing up another story of buddy when Khushi tucked him in. "You have to meet him mamma. He said he'll play with us tomorrow too."
"Okay. I will meet him tomorrow. Happy? Now go to bed silly." Khushi kissed Aditya's forehead and moved to Amber's bed and kissed a sleeping amber's forehead before stepping out of their room.
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