Sipping and dining in silence for some time, Anu watched the giant TV playing Big Boss while Sameer answered messages on Whatsapp. They were like family. They could just comfortably eat and watch TV if they didn’t have anything to say.

The next morning, as Anu got dressed leisurely, life seemed pleasantly unhurried; as it used to be before motherhood. Vicky was getting pampered by his grandparents and Anu had only to take care of herself. Usually, the mornings at home were always a blur. Wake Vicky up, get Vicky ready, feed Vicky, hurry Vicky in the toilet. After that Anu had to get dressed in the one-and-a-half minutes left. So today felt like an ultimate luxury. Brushing her hair till it shined, Anu admired herself, and then considered staying back at her parents for a few days. There were only two more days of school and then it was the Dasara/ Dussehra holidays for ten days. Sanju was coming back only by the end of the holidays.

Anu thought of her life back home. Except for the rushed morning, the rest of the day was nice and easy. If she had to be out in the evenings, Radha babysat but only till eight. Radha cooked too, but she was as bad as Anu.

If she stayed here, her life would be one jolly good ride but she would have to report to her mother on a half-hourly basis if she went out after seven. She would get fantastic food but she would also put on at least two kgs. More than anything, Vicky would be taken care of round the clock and that was nowhere but here. Until you become a mother, you don’t realise the value of freedom; especially the freedom to do forbidden things like watch trashy movies and talk on the phone non-stop.

Anu weighed the two options and the staying back won hands-down. The major motivator being both Radha and the maid being absent.

Anu shouted from the room, ‘Amma, I will stay here for a week. I will stop at home and pick up a few things.’

Her mom shouted back, ‘Good you came to your senses. Come eat breakfast.’ The joy behind her mother’s semi-rude words was unmistakable. Her parents acted as though Anu was doing them a favour when she hoisted Vicky on them!

Anu’s mother decided that Vicky was skipping school that day to accompany her to some social event she was attending. Anu’s parents had a function to attend to almost every day—wedding, death ceremony, naming ceremony. If, God forbid there was nothing scheduled, they would host a lunch with Satyanarayan Pooja themselves. Attending religious events was their main profession lately. Her father was a well-known chartered accountant who was as enthusiastic about social gatherings as he was about taxes.