“Mamma…. Mamma…” Rupali was surprised by the faint tugging at her kurta. She turned around to find a little girl, about four years old, standing behind her in the aisle of the supermarket.

“I’m sorry,” a tall, handsome man in his thirties rushed towards them and pulled the girl away. He looked flustered.

“It’s okay,” Rupali replied, though feeling awkward by the way the girl had addressed her as ‘Mamma’. The man must be her father.

“Mamma… Mamma….” the girl repeated again. She was unusually unexpressive for her age. Her father made to turn away without explaining anything, when they were spotted by Meher.

“Good morning, Dr. Khanna,” she greeted the man.

“Meher,” he acknowledged her although he looked like he wanted to run away that very moment.

“Good to see you here. This is my friend, Rupali. Rupali Banerjee. Rupali. This is Dr. Paritosh Khanna. Our HOD…”

“Mamma…. Mamma…” the girl tentatively held out a hand towards Rupali, making her flush as badly as Paritosh.

Meher was surprised and looked questioningly at him. Now, he was forced to explain, “There is a TV show she watches. Children’s show. She identifies the mother of one of the kids on the show as Mamma. Your friend, Ms. Banerjee, looks similar to that actress.” Then he turned to Rupali and explained, “She is autistic. Please don’t mind. Have a good day.”

He walked away without waiting for them to react.

“Well… that was awkward,” said Rupali with a nervous smile.

“Yes but… This was extra ordinary, Rupali. Meenal, that’s Dr. Khanna’s daughter, can’t bear any strangers around. I am surprised he brought her for grocery shopping. But with you…”

“She just happened to find likeness in the face.” Rupali acted more nonchalant than she felt. The girl calling her ‘Mamma’ had touched something deep inside her.

“And that could be a boon. Didn’t you want a daytime job, Rupali?”

“So?”

“Dr. Khanna really needs someone to take care of Meenal. Her caretaker of last three years left recently. He has been through hell since then. He even has to take her to the classes with him, while he teaches. Thankfully he is teaching only one course this semester. But…”

“What about her mother?”

“She is dead.”

“Ohh!”

“I don’t know what his opinion would be, but I can propose it to him, if you want.”

Babysitting couldn’t possibly pay as much as she needed. But that girl… “I think it is worth the try,” she mumbled.

“I must warn you about something though.”

“What is it?”

“He isn’t the best employer. His students as well as the department’s staff are on a high alert when he is around. I can sympathize. Life has not been easy on him. But still… I must warn you.”

“We’ll see if the job works out at all.”

“Yeah. Good idea. I will let you know.”

They finished paying for their groceries and came out of the supermarket.

—

“This job is difficult. Why do you think you can do it?” Paritosh asked her. He had almost raised this objection when Meher had told him about the possibility of Rupali becoming Meenal’s caretaker. The earlier caretaker had come before Meenal’s problems were evident and diagnosed.  After she left, Paritosh didn’t think another nanny would be enough. He would have to employ a trained psychologist, or probably leave her in some care centre for the day. But then he decided to talk to Rupali once. If Meenal identifying her as her favorite character was not a one-time aberration, it might just work.

“I have taken care of my twin brothers since they were eight-years old, Sir. I am patient with children.” She looked at Meenal who was playing with play-dough sitting at some distance from them, unaware of her presence.

“They were normal children.”

“You, of all the people, should not be talking about normal and abnormal, Dr. Khanna. She is just different…”

“It doesn’t matter what the experts on Internet say, Ms. Banerjee, or what I say, this is what the world says about her. Even her mother… Anyway. Point is, it is more difficult than handling other children.”

Something drew Meenal’s attention towards them at that very moment.

“Mamma… Mamma…” she said in the same tone as earlier. She didn’t make any attempts to move though. Rupali smiled at her and stretched her hand towards her, indicating her to come closer. Paritosh looked on impassively, as Meenal got up and walked towards Rupali. She touched her outstretched hand once, but did not hold it. Rupali smiled and pulled her hands away.

“Mamma… Mamma…” Meenal rocked herself while standing there. Rupali made to hold her, when Paritosh stopped her, “Don’t hug her. She doesn’t like that.”

“Okay,” Rupali suppressed her irritation at Paritosh’ tone and just stretched her hands once again towards Meenal. This time she held it.

“She will help me, Sir,” Rupali looked at Paritosh and said, “If you would give me a chance.”

He let out a quick sigh and said, “Fine. When can you start?”

“From today, if you want.”

“I am here on weekends. You can come from Monday.”

“Sure Sir.” Rupali’s felt like a burden was taken off her. Something told her that the little girl needed her. If her father hadn’t agreed… But now the practical side of the arrangement started nagging her. “Sir… Just one thing…”

“What is it?”

“Salary?”

“How much do you expect?”

“This is the first time I am taking up such a job. If you could tell me how much were you paying her earlier caretaker…”

“Ten thousands a month.”

Rupali gulped. She was expecting much less. And that’s why was apprehensive about taking up the job. If she could push him up a bit further, she would be able to meet her target salary.

“Sir. I don’t mind putting in extra hours, or working on weekends. But I need fifteen…”

Paritosh frowned and Rupali fidgeted. He must be thinking of her as an opportunist. Taking advantage of the fact that his autistic daughter had taken to her. But what could she do? She had to be…

“If you are indeed able to take care of her, I will pay you fifteen. But you have to prove yourself. To her, not to me.”

“Yes Sir. I will do my best, Sir.”

“Fine. Monday. At nine in the morning.”

—

To be continued