THE STEP-FATHER

2

"Hey, Lucy!", Uncle said in surprise as he tried to get collected. He was about to kiss my mom.

I didn't replied at all to him.

"Hey darling! You're looking gorgeous in this pink", he said and laughed. I was not able to understand what was so amusing in those words, so I did smile a fake one.

"Thanks. I know you love blue but its the best one I have, to look good, I think", I said in a serious tone.

"Nah. You are beautiful as you are darlin'", he got some of my dad's style of expressing the emotions. Or maybe he was trying to feel like my dad.

"ya thanks!", I said in a plain tone. "should we sit for dinner now?"

Uncle moved away his hands from mom's back as he was holding it from ere and forgot to remove it when I arrived.

"C'mon let's have some of everyone's favourite cuisines now", mom said and moved quickly to set the plates. She was trying hard to get comfortable before me.

We all made ourselves sit on the respective chairs. The aroma of the Chinese soup was attracting me like a magnet. I just love this damn thing!

"Ahha! Chicken is so good!", Uncle exclaimed somehow with his chicken filled mouth.

"where are you gonna sleep tonight? I guess there's no more room in our house other than mum's and mine", I don't know if I tried to make him feel that I wasn't happy at all by his presence or if I was trying to show him that I'm far more grown up now to take care of every little thing and their kissing scene wasn't anything difficult for me to catch.

"I'll manage down here on the sofa. Don't worry. You know, when I was living in India a few years back, I had to...........", I interrupted him in the middle.

"and you had to sleep on the floor and the mosquitoes were terrible and you hardly used to get one or two hours of sleep. Eh?", I said without parting my view from my plate.

"Oh, you did a bit research on me then!", he said and once again laughed at his own joke.

"Nope. Mum told this shit way more than a hundred times", I felt horrible at his laughter and my frustration gleamed in my words.

"Lucy! Language!", mom might have given a dreadful expression but I didn't moved my eyes even a bit from the plate.

                   *

We finished our food and I was lying on my bed, when the door creaked.

"Hey baby take the blanket. It's chilling", mom uttered in a soft tone and wrapped me with the blanket like a new born baby. Laying a goodnight kiss as usual on my forhead, she left the room by dimming the light.

'Dad was better than this guy, I bet ya mum', I thought though it was nearly impossible for me to tell this to her. I can't ruin her happiness that she found somehow in that person after a very long time. But, in my view, he's just a person who is not at all mild on my mind.

I looked out through the window. The sky was looking beautiful. Due to the fuse off, it was pitch black everywhere and the stars were clearly visible. Dad might be there amongst those as they say!, I thought to myself.

I was thinking this and that and then suddenly an obscure sound from downstairs distracted me from my philosophy.

I grabbed the knife that I keep hidden under my bed all the time and went out on soft foots. I hardly moved a feet when I heard my mom's whispering voice from the couch down below where Uncle was supposed to sleep tonight.

A shadow of both of them was falling on the wall of the corridor, which I could see. I paused there and tried to listen to their conversation.

"Don't make anymore sound. Lucy will wake up", Mom whispered. She was sitting over Uncle's pelvis as I could get from the shadow.

"ok am sorry darlin'. Come closer", the shadow of my mom got close to uncle's and their faces fused. Mom was excited and the vibration of her shadow due to deep breathing described it well.