Daddy’s Girl
Her first word was ‘Dada’ and that should serve as a clear indicator of who the center of attraction really was. The hubby was a delighted, hands-on father. He’d always wanted a girl. So he took great pride in his new found designation. Right from the massages to nappy changes, feeding to burping, he had aced it all. I couldn’t help but feel a wee bit emotional that I’d managed to train him so well.
A father daughter relationship is something else. I know I had a beautiful one and so it was only natural that Princess T and the hubby would share the same. They soon were a team against the lone Gabbar in the family. Not only was I over ruled, but was later blackmailed with hugs and kisses to mellow down. But I was a tough cookie; I managed to hold my ground nine out of ten times. OK, who am I kidding? Both of them won hands down every time. I was losing my touch and my villainous rank.
And then one day the scales tipped over and all hell broke loose. It was a day that changed history, that day in the park. A tiny boy seemed to be besotted by our daughter. The daughter was enjoying male attention from someone her own size. I had the ‘awwwwwww cho chweet’ look written all over my face. The husband had pulled out his imaginary AK 47!
Why does he need to be so close to her?
Huh?
See what he is doing? He is holding her hand!!!
Ya, ……… so cute na?
You call that cute? How dare he hold my daughter’s hand?
Errr… you do realize she is just 3 and so is he. They really can’t elope and get married.
Like I didn’t know that! And just for the record I wouldn’t let that happen.
So saying he stomped out and went and parked himself on a bench. The boy’s maid came to fetch him and soon we were on our way too. Not a word was spoken in the car, as the princess had fallen asleep.
A lot of water has flown under the bridge since, but hubby dearest I reckon, is still walking in the same park. A boy calls up for the now 10 year old Miss and you can see the never ending arrows flying like we did in Ramanand Sagar’s Ramayan. The girl found the Jonas Brothers cute and daddy dearest bought her a Taylor Swift poster for the singular wall space she had. He has given her strict instructions that whenever she decides to date (if he lets that happen that is), he will come along in his leather pants. Yes, you read that right! He has already announced that he is a part of her dowry and the boy has to be a ‘ghar jamai’.
Not so long ago this same man had an enviable list of women he dated. That they were someone’s daughters back then did not matter. Funny, how the tables turn when you become a parent. Everything is seen in 35mm film with stereophonic sound (Yes, we are still in the Sholay era). I swear he’d build a tower if he could afford the space in Mumbai and yell Rapunzel……. Rapunzel in a very male voice.
Dads I guess are like that. Mine used to wait below my best friend’s home till I was ready to be picked. So I do get where he is coming from. Though there are times when out of sheer jealousy I ask why don’t I get the same treatment? What if someone whisked me away one day? Shouldn’t he have a backup plan in place, just in case? He lovingly looks at me and means every word when he says, “I ain’t that lucky now, am I?”
Vinita Bahl Crasto is a mother to a divalicious 10 year old. A freelance writer, she loves to be referred to as the Domestic Goddess. Read her at http://blogwatig.blogspot.in