Anu found a branch of her bank near Vicky’s school the next day. She could not find her account number but she knew they could pull up her records based on the name. Luckily, she could find photocopies of her PAN card and Aadhar by rummaging through a stash of papers Sanju had kept.

‘Can you please tell me where my auto-deduction is going?’ Anu asked the dapper-looking young man assigned to her.

He flashed her a strange look before asking. ‘This is your account, right?’

‘Of course. But only one of my accounts.’ Anu smiled indulgently. ‘So I can’t remember the details.’ Lying was an art and she had mastered it by practising it on her mom all her life.

‘It is not an auto-deduction, ma’am. It is by cheque and it is going to …’ He kept typing away. ‘Let me see. To your post office account.’

What was that? Dad was investing in stamps?

Probably her cluelessness showed on her face making the man continue, ‘To a yearly RD probably.’

Okay … at least not stamps. Still, it sounded too complex to her.

‘Can you stop that deduction? Just this once?’

‘It is not an auto-deduction, ma’am. If you don’t present the cheque, it won’t get debited.’ Now impatience had begun to show on the man’s face.

Cheque, he said? Suddenly Anu remembered signing one for her father the last time she was in Vijaynagar. Oh boy, he will present the cheque soon. I am doomed. She had assumed it was all going to be between her and the bank.

Despite the man ushering in the next person in line, Anu asked. ‘Look, I have already presented the cheque. Can you stop it?’

‘Give me the cheque number, please.’ The man was now visibly irritated. Did she see him roll his eyes at the pretty teller next to him?

‘Hmm … I don’t know. I don’t have it.’ Even as she said it, Anu suddenly had a brilliant thought. ‘I will withdraw all the money in my account. Now.’

The man knitted his brows. ‘Your cheque will bounce. You can be in trouble.’

Anu narrowed her eyes at him. ‘What kind of trouble? Like pushed-into-jail kind?’

‘Maybe not. Do as you wish.’ He was in a hurry to get rid of her now.

As Anu walked back home with a lakh-and-a-half in hand, she had never felt so fraudulent in her life.

That Friday was another dinner with Sanju and friends. Anu’s mother was quite miffed that she was giving them a miss even that weekend. Anu had to lie to her that it was a business meeting for Sanju and she had to be there.