Close Call

"Hey sweetie", Mohan called out. Romance was in the air.

"Yes Darling?", she replied with a sensuous smile, looking into his eyes.

"You have such a smooth skin. I know you use Lux soap. Never thought Lux soap was so effective". Mohan was at his cheesy best.

"Oh Mohan", she smiled. Mohan blushed - blushed like never before. "This must be how heaven feels like", Mohan thought.

"Mohan my sweet baby, your chubby face is soo soo cute. I feel like giving you a pat on your cheeks", she said, caressing Mohan's cheeks.

"Oh Madhu I would love that", Mohan replied eagerly. She smiles and gives a soft pat on Mohan's cheeks.

"Wow that was good. So good. C'mon Madhu a little more harder this time", Mohan said.

"Oh my my you are really enjoying yourself, ain't you, you naughty naughty boy", she said with a teasing smile. She gives a bigger smile and a harder pat on the cheek.

"Harder baby harder, hit harder", Mohan cried out

WHAAAAACCCCKKKKK

"AAAAAAHHHHHHHH what the F...". Mohan woke up stunned, hands over his cheeks. 

"Where the hell did Madhuri Dixit go? And who the hell slapped me ???"

And there he was, our little Hero, standing on the bed with both arms crossed, eye brows curved.

"Why the hell did you hit me Kittu?". Mohan was still rubbing his face. He never knew his kid could slap so hard.

"You only told me to hit you no - hit baby hit?", Kittunni retorted.

"Oh man, he heard that? Sheesh", Mohan thought. "Right right", Mohan said, rubbing his eyes and coming back to reality. "Sorry my mistake". Mohan said with a sheepish grin.

"And why were you shouting? You won't let me sleep late atleast on a Saturday???", Kittunni was still angry.

"Sorry", Mohan replied automatically

Then came the thunderbolt

"And who is Madhu? Is she Amma's friend?", Kittunni asked with a doubtful tone curving his eyebrows more. 

"Oh crap, he heard that too!!!", Mohan thought, hitting his head. Looking up to the ceiling, he made a silent complaint - "Why Ayyappa why? Why did he have to hear that one? Do take care of your devotees once in a while. If not for me, atleast for the agarbathis I burn everyday. Those things have become costlier since the last Budget!!!"

"Hello hello, who is this Madhu I asked", Kittunni snapped breaking Mohan's conversation with Ayyappa Swami.

"Oh yeah Kittunni sorry again. Madhu is Madhav uncle, Karthik's father", Mohan blurted out the first thing that came into his mind.

"Really? You call Madhav uncle Madhu?". Kittunni didn't sound convinced.

"Yes that's right", Mohan replied with a grin. Yet Kittunni's expression did not change. Mohan decided to go for the kill. He held his Adams Apple with his thumb and index fingers. 

"Mother Promise!!!", Mohan cried out. Mother Promise was the ultimate test of faith between Kittu and his friends. It beats Harry Potter's Unbreakable Vow in consequence of breaking it. According to the Urban Legend, breaking Mother Promise meant a life long condemnation to Hell and beyond.

 

Kittunni kept scrutinising Mohan's face. Mohan kept looking back, tensed. "Did it work? Please Ayyappa let Mother Promise work", he thought

Finally Kittunni relented. "Why are you still sitting here? Go get your wife, its milk time", Kittunni cried out. For a second Mohan looked dazed. Happily he realised his Mother Promise worked. He could now become the dreaded and strict father once again.

"Oyee you are no longer a baby to drink your mother's milk. Shame on you", Mohan said.

"Chill bro chill. I asked for fridge milk, not Manju milk ok? I am still small enough to enter Kitchen no. You still don't know how to make a tea no. So call Manju", Kittu reasoned.

For once Mohan had to agree. "Ok you go get her. And stop calling her by her name"

"You go get her Acha. Unlike you, I have good toilet habits. I am going to do shu shu". 

As Kittunni walked away for his daily ablutions, Mohan realised how fast his Kittunni was growing up. It felt like just yesterday that Kittunni was born. His entry scene was so dramatic that it still gives Mohan the shivers even today.  According to the doctor, the placenta was ruptured and the resultant blood loss was almost fatal to Manjulla. It was as if Kittunni was so impatient to come out after 9 months of quarantine that he did a scissors cut on the placenta to make way.

As Kittunni grew, so did his pranks. Mohan still remembers the admission day "interview" for his play school. When asked for a self introduction, Kittunni gave one they will never forget.

"Hello there, I am Kittunni, Prince of my apartment, defender of secrets of C block 101. Fabulous secret powers would reveal to me that the day I cried my lungs out waking up the neighboring patients in Apollo hospital, I became Kittu, the most goodest boy in the Universe. Only 2 others share this secret - My Acha and my Amma. Together we protect the secret of C block 101 from the evil forces of B block 201"

So much for being a He-man fan I guess. For the unknown, B-201 was where Kittu's arch enemy Karthik stays.

Suddenly a shout comes out of the bathroom. 

"Acha stop dreaming and tell Amma to make my milk. My shu shu is over"