Chapter 26: Chapter 26
Christina
The office was quite busy today. I had meetings one after the other. Daisy my translator was on leave but thankfully Jennie now understands three-fourths of my hand gestures. She went to an extent of taking a crash course in sign language just to understand me better. For the rare complex things that she seldom cannot interpret, I write it on my scribbling pad or my mobile and show it to her to avoid misinterpretations.
It is ten in the night while I take to home. Adrian must be worried and probably mad at me. Just day before yesterday he counselled me on why I should look after my health and how much I am neglecting it because of doing over work. Consider it as a miracle or God's mercy upon me, Adrian forgot everything about his past including 'us' but he did not fail to remember his communication with me in the sign language.
Every night he sleeps with a baby monitor beside him. Whenever our princess wakes up, he will be the first among us to get up from the bed obviously because I cannot hear. Another sign of the Almighty's clemency upon me is Adrian was home before Ria's arrival in our family. He would wake twice every night in order to change Ria's diapers and woke me up only when she needed a feed.
Our princess is no less a challenge in testing his patience. She would poop in the most difficult times - during the middle of the night when we are fast asleep. Adrian is understandably the first among the two of us to hear her and wake up from sleep. I haven't noted him not a single time crib or grumble against our daughter's irritating schedule. Admirable, he is a man with the patience of a tree. Initially we had a nanny to look after Ria but Adrian is hell against too many servants working inside our house. Consider it as a pivotal reason for hindrance of our privacy or his aspiration to stay closer to our daughter but it was absolutely his insistence against a help.
Ria is still a breast fed baby. My doctor advised me to give her milk till she is six months old and start a top feed later. Every day before going to office, I squeeze five bottles of milk for her which Adrian feeds during the day till I reach home.
Ten days ago Ria had her vaccination. She had fever and kept crying the night which I came to know from Adrian only the next day. He looked after Ria the complete night singing lullabies and taking a strolls in our lawn, balcony. Sometimes I wonder can any father be a better dad than Adrian to his child.
God! I wish to get rid of my handicap as early as possible. I cannot make my husband struggle more. But will he be able to manage the baby independently for four days when I'm admitted in the hospital, is my primal concern. Unfortunately these days I sleep like a log because of over burdened stress and work. Adrian doesn't know about the weighing tasks in the company and the expansion projects. I do not want to trouble him with more encumbrances. He already has his platter full.
Our company is expanding. Today Sunrise industries has spread its market in consumables and communication too. We have launched a new network site Sun Ultra. The salient features being life time free incoming, fastest WiFi available in the country, expanded user interface even to the remote villages.
I had sequenced share holders meets regarding the Sun Ultra expansion in overseas market. One of the important clients from China was ready to offer us a considerable profit margin in the country at a reasonable price and I'm very excited to note about the statistics, we will be the leaders of communication industry in the country. I wanted to share the gleeful news with my husband at the earliest and ask the driver to drive faster.
The smile on my lips doesn't seem to stop. It is my biggest victory after taking over the business. I could have messaged Adrian but I wanted to see the reaction on his face after I share the euphoric information. With stirring happiness and a brightest smile I open the entrance of the house. Intrinsically Adrian and our little princess greet me at the entrance with smiling faces but today seems to be different.
Nevertheless I am late to home and Adrian might be in princess's bedroom getting her to sleep. I know he would give a half an hour lecture to me showing the time in his wrist watch but I am certain when I share the latest press release of our company his happiness would reach no bounds.
As I climb the stairs, the house felt unusually quiet not that I could hear anything but my intuition says something was not right. In fidgety steps I reach our bedroom. If Adrian is not at the sitting room with the baby, he would surely be in our bedroom which has a balcony attached taking strolls with our princess. I make a self talk to my unease state and quickly open the door of the bedroom in a hopeful grin.
The room was empty and my restlessness escalates. I throw my heels neurotic in the walkway, scuttle to the adjacent bedroom which is our child's bedroom and what I saw gave me a shake of entity. My hands shiver in panic as I quickly rush to our crying baby who had one of her legs hooked in between the metal rods of the crib in the most painful position. I gingerly remove her soft little leg between the metal beams which was already swollen and red because of the ache she might have suffered for I do not know how long.
As soon as she sees me Ria restrains her cries to soft whimpers. She circles her little hands around my neck and dips her tiny head to my sternum trying to latch her lips to my chest for want of milk. Oh my baby! I am so sorry. That must be so painful to you I clear her tear stained cheeks and gently massage her leg moving my lips in an attempt to talk to her.
My husband was seen unconscious fallen on the floor with his hand twisted back uncomfortably and his forehead wounded, bleeding with an injury after hitting one of the legs of the baby carrier. "Adrian" I call him with no sound coming from my throat. I shake him trying to bring him to consciousness but to no result.
Darting to the washroom I quickly pick a mug of water and splash it on his face. After repeated attempts he finally opens his eyes looking at me disoriented.
I help him to get up with our daughter in my arms. As I move forward my leg comes in contact with an old collage album of Adrian. Joining the pieces together I come to understand everything.
Amaira you are the bitch in my life even after your death.
After he settles on the bed I put our baby in his lap and rush to the washroom to get the first aid kit. When I come back I see Adrian stroking the swollen leg of our baby. "Did she injure herself?" He asks me broken. I nod and restrict my tears which were about to give up. Going dauntless I move closer to him to treat his wound with my expressions inscrutable.
After I paste a plaster on his forehead
I walk out of the room and the tears restricted all the while fall out in streams. I bring out my phone from my pocket and message the doctor about my queries and the condition of my husband's health. Within a couple of minutes I get an answer to all my worries.
I am fighter since the age of twelve when I lost my speech and hearing to an accident and this is one such battle I am determined to win at any cost.
Giving myself a pep talk I walk inside the bedroom with a glass of water and medicines to my husband projecting a smile. Our princess pats on my chest with her little fists, her way of disseminating her hunger to me. I put her in my lap and open the first two buttons of my shirt before pulling my bra up. No sooner do I do that she latches her lips to my breast. While feeding our baby I treat my husband.
Adrian rests his head on my lap. "I saw the pictures in the album that was resting in the bottom rack of the walk-in closet. What is my college album doing in Ria's bedroom?" He asks me curious. I shut my hands to fists to arrest the bellow. "Our closet was in a repair a few months ago and I forgot to place the album back in its rack." I write my words on my palm pulling out a pen from my pant pocket and show it to him. He nods in understanding, pulls my head down to his with his hand at the back of my neck and kisses my forehead.
While I stroke his hairs feeding our baby he asks me the one question I dread the most.
"Who is the girl in my college album? We were too close to each other." He tells me in a discomposure slightly twirling and adjusting his head in my lap. "Do you know her?"