Page 139 - Musings 2020

10

Kryptonite

Aakash Shah 2015A8PS0392P

My wife has gone on a trip with my mother-in-law. It’s just me and my baby for the whole
day. We have a little family, me, my wife Cindy, and my eight-month-old daughter Allie. I am
terrified. This is the first time I am alone with Allie for a whole day.

I am not scared of babies actually. In fact, I love them. I love how they have cute little laughs,
give little innocent smiles, and are just oblivious. I can also usually tolerate their tantrums
and handle them proficiently while they are crying. I used to babysit a lot in my teenage days
for my daily allowances and I was good. The kids loved me and listened to me. One of my
employers even called me the baby whisperer. But my baby is different, very different.

It is early in the morning, somewhere around 7:00 a.m. and I am already counting down
hours. Twenty-four dreaded hours until Cindy is supposed to return. Babies run on a fixed
time table daily. Allie doesn’t wake up till 9:00 am. So I make breakfast for myself, brush my
teeth, and get ready. I run some errands at the bank and get in time for Allie to wake up. I
tread carefully in the room, taking care of each step not to cause something untoward that
could make her cry. I take her in my hands carefully and check her diaper. It is soiled and so I
bring a fresh one from the drawer. Allie is checking out the fan on the ceiling trying to figure
out what it is, as she does every day. It is like a ritual. I alert her to my presence and give her
a huge hint about what I am trying to do now by telling her that I am changing her diaper so
that she doesn’t get surprised. She doesn’t understand my words but accepts the hint. I swiftly
remove the dirty diaper, clean my daughter up, and put on a fresh one. I am sure she is
hungry and would like half a bottle of milk as soon as I can give it to her. I have everything
ready of course. I put the sipper in her mouth and handed her the bottle. I have about twenty
minutes of time before attending to her again. I sit at the couch, read the newspaper, and
check for any major headlines.

Then I shuffle across the room getting her toys to play with. And if she doesn't want toys, I
am there to cuddle with. I put away the now empty bottle, and take her in my arms. She likes
it and she recognises me. She giggles and pulls on my moustache. I kiss her a few times. She
now has reached on to my hair and is playing with it. I wobble her on my arms all the while
little Allie is chuckling happily. I put her down and take the rattler toy in my hand. She loves
its sound. I bet she is wondering how this round device makes such a weird sound. “Where is
the sound coming from Daddy?” she would ask me if she could speak. Instead, she just points
at it and giggles looking at me inquisitively. She takes hold of the toy and tries to explore
every corner of it. Soon, the toy is forgotten and her attention is drawn towards a pair of birds
chirping on a branch just outside the window. She looks intently at them and then stretches
out her hand towards them as if calling them out to come and play with her. She plays with
me for a little while but eventually gets drowsy, tired from all the activity and I put her to
sleep again. I sing a lullaby and pat her head and she is dozing in minutes. She has a round
face. So innocent and so peaceful, I could look at it all day. Her nose is slightly large just like
mine and so are her ears. My little girl was supposed to be my dream come true and the best
thing that ever happened to me, but why did it all go so wrong.

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