Anu swallowed the low-fat vegetarian food—tofu, millets, and lots of salads, the women were all very health conscious—with great difficulty. Why eat at all if one had to eat this! The conversation then moved to where their kids were going to do their undergrads; one to the USA to pursue pre-med courses, another to Germany to pursue a major in economics, yet another to Hong Kong to join the UC Berkeley Dual Degree Program. They were all talking about at least a two-crore rupee expense to get a three-year degree. Anu wondered if those kids were better off taking that money from their parents and attending KLE as she did. In between, the women did politely try to include Anu in their conversation but she felt as out of place as a vegan at a steakhouse.

As Anu walked back home, she glanced around at the driveways. Mercedes, Audi, BMW—any luxury car you could think of, you could spot it there. Where the drapes were open, she could peek inside to spot furniture worthy of admiration more than comfort. And, of course, the perfect gardens. Anu’s gardener waved to her zipping by on his brand new motorbike that cost more than her old Santro. When Anu reached home, Vicky was asleep. Anu thanked Rathnamma with a five-hundred rupee note. The woman grumbled, ‘You were gone for two hours and you are giving me only five hundred.’

Anu plonked herself on the ground and looked around her mansion. She wanted to cry! Their unremarkable furniture made that grand house look miserable! Nothing about her was enough to live there. She checked her phone to see if Sanju had texted. He usually did at that hour. Anu thought of texting him but that seemed more energy-sapping than the lunch she had just had.

Her mind reeled back to that morning. Sanju had asked her to leave! What could she text him now? Beg him to let her stay? Yell at him for what he had said? Send something meaningless and neutral? She would have opted for the last if not for the hurt that was still too raw—Sanju had asked her to leave him and the house.

By the time Vicky woke up, after a good two hours, Anu had made up her mind. She pulled out her large suitcase and started packing her clothes. Then she took another smaller one and packed Vicky’s clothes and toys. She sauntered into the kitchen and picked up two vessels and a cooker. Two plates and two cups. Her coffee and Maggi were taken care of with those. Then she called Radha. She was not sure if what she was doing was right or wrong but it seemed natural.

Vicky was jumping all around assuming they were leaving on holiday. ‘Where are we going, Mumma? I want to go to Wonder Land. And then Zoo. And then—’