Little Girl's Wild Side

Bangalore.

Sindhu's lips spread into a wide grin as soon as they entered the city. The city was bustling with life and Sindhu drove through it with ease. It was as if she knew each nook and cranny of the city. She went in and out of all sorts of small and big roads avoiding traffic like a pro.

Gautham reached out and pulled on her cheeks and said in a playful voice, "Can you stop grinning for a second??? I mean I get it you love the city. But if you keep on grinning like this, your jaws are going to start hurting."

Sindhu sent him a glare and rubbed on her cheeks and to add to the dramatic effect she even let out, "Ouch!! That hurts!!" While pouting at Gautham.

"Dramebaaz!! (Overdramatic)", Gautham said and simply dismissed her antics.

Sindhu finally stopped the car after an hour of driving in front of a huge gate. Gautham figured they were on the outskirts of the city somewhere. The property itself seemed extravagantly large in size. The security guard took a peek at Sindhu and hurriedly opened the gate and gave her a wide grin.

"How are you doing uncle??? How is Rahul doing??" Sindhu bellowed at the guard.

"I am fine. Rahul is off to college this year." The guard replied with a prideful grin and a respectable bow.

Then Sindhu drove through a path covered both sides with trees. But it did not look like the typically well-kept garden like it usually is in private properties. It actually looked wild and unkempt. It almost looked like a dense forest. But the path itself was well laid and very well kept.

After a couple of minutes of driving, a house came to view. As far as size goes, it was large. But it did not have an intimidatingly flashy look. Rather it looked homely. It did not scream the luxury of a mansion, rather it conveyed the comfort of a home.

In front of the house was a circular cleared space with grass that was prime and proper. And there was a fountain in its center.

Sindhu parked the car in front of the door. Sindhu did not even bother to take out the keys, she bounced out of the car and started climbing the stairs to the house two steps at a time. But before she could step inside the house, two golden retrievers pounced on her and toppled her. The Retrievers started licking on Sindhu enthusiastically. Sindhu happily nuzzled on then and asked, "Hey Luzy. Hey Brad. How have you guys been??" She started playing with them forgetting everything else and Gautham just stood there behind her without knowing what to do. That was until they heard a deep rumbling voice from inside the house accompanied with the sound of footsteps.

"You forgot all about this old man the minute you saw those brats." the voice grumbled while a middle-aged man came into view.

He was tall and very fit for his age. He had salt and pepper hair and slight stubble. He was playfully glaring at Sindhu with an aggrieved expression.

As soon as Sindhu heard the voice, she bounced on her feet and ran towards the old and pounced on the guy. Sindhu circled her arms around his necks and buried her face in his chest. The other person circled one of his arms around her and patted on the back of her head with the other hand in an affectionate manner.

Sindhu felt overwhelmed at that moment. She did not realize how much she missed John until this very moment when she was buried on his arms. And her emotions were dripping down her eyes as tears.

"Hey... are you not happy to see this old guy?? Look at you bawling your eyes out like a kid just at the sight of me. I don't look that scary, do I??" John asked playfully as soon as he felt Sindhu tearing up.

Sindhu stayed in his embrace for a couple of minutes more. After that, she pulled out of the hug, forcefully wiped her tears and glared at John with an adorable pout and asked, "Who is bawling?? Who is acting like a kid?? You're getting old John. You should check your eyes."

John let out a chuckle and reached out and wiped away the tears that were still stubbornly falling. He then gently brought Sindhu into a hug and asked in a gentle voice, "How have you been kid???"

Sindhu held on to him tightly and said, "I missed you soo much." instead of answering his question.

Gautham was pleasantly surprised by how close these two seemed in spite of their age difference. But more than that John seemed familiar. He couldn't place where he had seen him exactly though. And from what he heard, John is Steve's dad. But he could not see any resemblance between the two.

John looked up at Gautham and gave him a glare. But Gautham just smiled back. Gautham knew too well what that glare was. It was a glare of an overprotective father. So he did not feel offended. Instead, Gautham pressed his hands together in a form of Namaste with a slight bow to show his greeting and respect.

John's expression softened slightly. Like every other old person, he did not like arrogant brats. So the first impression of Gautham was rather positive since he saw Gautham knew how to show respect. Even though John was not a typical elder or traditional, he liked people who are polite and respectful. Once he gets to know a person, he will be pretty easy going but until then, he likes to pretend like typical elder- strict and stubborn.

Gautham looked down only to find Brad and Luzy giving him the same look as John. Gautham couldn't help but laugh at the resemblance in expression between the owner and the pets.

Sindhu pulled away from John when she heard Gautham's laughter. It seemed as if she had remembered Gautham for the first since they came here.

"Oh, sorry. John this is Gautham. And Gautham this is John. He is Steve's dad." Sindhu introduced each other.

Gautham looked up at John awkwardly. John was still giving him the stare down.

"You know, you kinda look familiar." Gautham's voice trailed uncertainly. His brows frowned in confusion.

"I am John Moraes. ", John said with a smirk.

Gautham face froze in shock and recognition. No wonder he looked familiar. His face gets splashed in all sorts of Business magazines. He was one of the richest people in the country. Gautham would have probably recognized him if he had paid more attention to him but then again with Sindhu in front of him, very few things really came into his trail of vision. Knowing who he is, Gautham felt slightly intimidated.

But once out of shock, a thought struck him. "How do you even get to know Sindhu???" Gautham asked confused.

John expression turned slightly awkward remembering his and Sindhu's first meeting. How he got drunk off his ass like a stupid teenager and let a little girl haul his sorry ass to her home in the middle of the night. John cleared his throat and said in a righteous voice, "We met at a club."

That's when Gautham remembered his conversation with Steve, "Oh yea! Steve told me about it." Gautham exclaimed remembering.

"That brat!", John scolded Steve.

Gautham gave an amused look at John's embarrassment. It was funny to watch an old man look embarrassed.

Right then Sindhu holler from the kitchen saying lunch was ready.

The dining hall was huge as you would expect. But the furniture was antiques and lights were practical. There was no fancy chandelier. The whole house screamed 'HOME' rather than a fancy mansion of a rich guy. And Gautham liked it.

Lunch was lively with Sindhu talking for the most parts. She was mostly complaining about the whole process of marriage and how she wished she could just get married out of a Register office and then about some work stuffs.

John had to go to the office after lunch for some urgent work.

Sindhu and Gautham went to their respective room. They were adjacent rooms.

Gautham's room was spacious and like every other place, the interiors were antiques. There were a king size bed and a couch. There was actually a lot of moving space.

Gautham thought of getting some sleep. But after tossing and turning for half an hour, he gave up. He went out. He wanted to know what Sindhu was up to. so he knocked on her doors. But there was no reply. He tried opening the door and it was not locked. So he stepped in calling out to her.

Sindhu's room was quite similar to his own but it was personalized. She had some painting and photos all over the house. And of course, the couch was slightly bigger and looked more comfortable than the one in his room.

One side of the room had glass sliding doors which opened up to a balcony. And the sliding doors were open so Gautham went there and found Sindhu sitting there on a swing chair with headphones on. No wonder she did not hear his knock.

The chair was actually quite big for her. Or rather she was too small. And it was oval in shape and looked like a huge basket. It had cushions both under and behind her. It was hung from a stand attached to it. Sindhu was sitting there hugging her knees wearing a loose pant and an oversized t-shirt.

The climate was nice. It was well in the afternoon so the sun was not too bright and since they were surrounded by trees, the breeze was pleasant. And from where she was sitting she will be able to see the sunset in an hour or so.

Gautham went and stood in front of Sindhu.

Sindhu was slightly startled at first but then asked, "Couldn't sleep??"

Gautham nodded. Gautham then looked around. The balcony was spacious. There were a few potted plants on one corner. But that's about it.

"What are you looking for??" Sindhu enquired.

Gautham did not reply. But instead, he ushered her to get up from the swing. He dragged her by her hands and sat down in her place. And then he made her sit on his laps sideways. He hugged her by her waists and held her in place.

Whatever physical contact they had so far, it was always comfortable. Never intimate. That's why Sindhu slightly stifled at first. But Gautham did not let go of her. Instead, he leaned back and pulled Sindhu closer to him. In the end, Sindhu decided to go with the flow. So she snuggled and laid against on his chest comfortably. Gautham laid his hand on top of her head in a protective manner and gave her a light kiss on her temple.

They both stayed there like silently that until sunset.