I look up at her and she wipes my tears. I am so confused. Why is Dragon being so sweet? She should be gloating, isn’t this what she wanted? But instead she’s being so sweet. I look into her eyes, hoping to see the truth there; instead I see only pity and … and fear.

‘Sounds complicated—is it safe? All right … No, no, of course I trust you. Yup, around then sounds fine, should be there. I’m happy to make a donation. Thank you again,’ Sid says and hangs up.

I hold my breath; I don’t think I can sit at the same table with him. Thankfully, he doesn’t join us at the table. I start eating the parantha as Dragon sits next to me.

I am halfway through the parantha when I feel the need to puke again. I quickly rush to the toilet and throw up whatever little I’d eaten so far. I wash my mouth and start walking out of the bathroom when I feel a shooting cramp and puke all over my salwar.

I’ve been vomiting for the last half-hour now. Anything that has gone into my mouth—food, water, juice, a few sips of tea—has all come straight out. Even though I am lying on my bed, I feel very weak and faint and I’m very worried about the baby.

‘I think we need to take you to the doctor,’ Dragon says hesitantly. ‘This is not good, you’ll get dehydrated,’ she says without looking at me.

I wonder why she is not meeting my eye but I feel too weak to think for long. I nod in assent. So much puking cannot be normal, my morning sickness has never been this bad.

‘Max Medicare,’ I croak and try to get my handbag. I double over and puke again.

‘No, we have a good family doctor,’ Sid says coming into the room. He helps me rise.

I don’t want him to touch me but I feel too weak to protest. Dragon picks up my handbag and starts following us outside.

‘No Ma, you stay home,’ Sid says with finality and takes the bag from her. He helps me into the car. I can see that Dragon wants to argue but she doesn’t.

We are in a clinic in Kalkaji somewhere. Sid is pacing outside the clinic while I am sitting in the reception area. It’s been two hours since I got the intravenous drip.

I asked the nurse if I had food poisoning but she said it was a rather bad case of morning sickness. She said it could be ‘hyper-something’ but I can’t remember the term. The doctor—he hasn’t seen me yet—will decide if I need regular, daily medication for the nausea.