Sarina had worked her magic on Mummy without even trying. I wondered if it was a bad idea to have Sarina eat lunch with us. What would she think of Mummy serving Girishji and Pappa first?

“I’ll ask her,” I said, praying Sarina would decline the invitation.

No one heard my prayers.

On Sunday, Sarina came to our house at eleven-thirty sharp. I ran from the bedroom to open the door, but when I got there Mummy had already opened it. “Come in, come in,” Mummy said, her voice and the tinkling of her gold bangles singing out in unison. She gave Sarina a smile as wide as the open door.

After introducing Sarina to my family I wished I hadn’t invited her. Our apartment was so small that there was no place to go. We had no galleries to sit in and watch the ocean and feel the breeze. Our bedroom windows with their iron bars looked more like jail windows, and there was absolutely no view except of the pigeons and their mess on the windowsills. The two of us sat on Vivek’s bed.

While Sarina and I talked, everyone else stayed out of the bedroom, and an hour later Mummy came and asked us if we were ready to eat.

“You two and Mohini can eat with Pappa and Girishji.”

I started to say something, but stopped, catching my surprise before it escaped through my mouth. That day Mummy served us, and I felt like a stranger in my own home.

After lunch we all sat together in the living room. With so many people around, I thought that Sarina would feel uncomfortable, but she didn’t seem to be. At first she was a little shy, but when Mohini asked her about her trip to America she started talking. My family listened to Sarina. Pappa and Girishji didn’t yawn, Mummy focused her eyes on Sarina, and Chiraj and Vivek sat still.

Like the Binaca toothpaste advertised on the radio, this was my new, improved family, leaving nothing but a clean, sparkling taste behind, I thought.

After Sarina’s visit Mummy let me go to Sarina’s house as often as I wanted. Sarina came over too, but I preferred going there. Mummy definitely treated Sarina differently than she treated my other friends.

When Yamini or Janki stopped by to borrow a book or notes, Mummy would keep on with her work. They were not important to her. Once, I came back from Yamini’s house and told Mummy about Yamini’s two older brothers, and that was it. I was never allowed to go to her house again. Yamini and Janki invited me a few times after that, but I made excuses. Then they started making plans without me.