The man grinned widely, yanked out his phone, and began to show Anu photos of his baby with large black dots smeared on its forehead and the left cheek. Those black dots were to protect the baby from people’s evil eyes, a tradition Anu had flouted with Vicky.

When the waiter showed no signs of finishing with the pictures, Anu felt Shwetha’s heeled foot kick hers. Note to self: Never ask a new parent for baby pictures; they won’t stop until you have seen all ten-thousand of them. ‘Anand, leave the phone here and get us beer. I will see the photos slowly,’ Anu volunteered.

‘That is all, madam. I will get you your beer.’ The man ran towards the kitchen stoving the phone into his pocket.

‘His gallery probably has more porn than baby pictures! Why would he leave the phone with you!’ Shwetha began to laugh.

‘I stopped the slide show, didn’t I? He could have just said his baby is doing well. Everyone has too many photos to share lately.’ Anu shuddered.

‘By the way, how come you are drinking today? Breaking your once a week rule?’ Shwetha asked when the beer was served. Anu drank two larges of something once a week and no more. Not for any health reasons but because she didn’t fancy sporting a large gut and perennial undereye bags.

‘Desperate times call for desperate drinks. The house has gone from bad to ugly. I got to clean it now.’

Shwetha nodded understandingly. ‘See, cleaning is easy. Dump everything into Vicky’s playroom. He anyway plays in the kitchen.’

Anu nodded. ‘Gosh, you are so smart! I can clean up in five minutes this way! What do I do with the dirty dishes?’

‘Until Sanju is back, eat outside or stay with your parents!’

‘Very smart. Let us drink to that.’

One mug led to two. The starters got repeated. Office gossips were shared. So much happened over a drink.

‘Don’t you need to go back to work?’ Anu asked Shwetha who was all too comfortable sitting cross-legged removing her heels. Usually, she ran after one beer.

‘Have taken the afternoon off. Let us order more beer.’ Shwetha beckoned the waiter. ‘What are your plans for the afternoon?’

‘Gilmore Girls on Netflix,’ Anu grinned. ‘You know, when Supriyaji asks us to thank the universe, I say a special thank you to Netflix and Prime. What would I do without their no-brainer funnies?’

Shwetha raised a toast. ‘To Netflix.’

‘What do we eat for the main course?’ Anu eyed the menu. ‘Paneer this and that. Biryani this and that. Naan, roti, this and that.’

‘Indian lunch menu is the one thing that doesn’t change worldwide. Order Maggi, Anu. And add Maggi at Jake’s to your thanksgiving list.’