Sameer had come along to help them move. The movers had done all the work. They had packed everything and now Sanju was instructing them where to offload everything. At first, Anu tried not to care what went where but then Sameer nudged her. ‘Anu, if you don’t tell them where to keep the stuff, you will end up moving the furniture around yourself.’

That had made Anu spring out of the sofa quickly. Sanju was about to move her dressing table and clothes boxes into the master bedroom and Anu made a decision on the spot. ‘Move all my stuff into the next room, please.’ She always had a room to herself being an only child and she missed that pleasure after marriage.

Sanju looked bewildered as if she was divorcing him. Anu smiled at him reassuringly. ‘Why share a room when we can have our own? Look, I am Ms Messy and you Mr Clean. Let us have the liberty to live how we want!’

Sanju nodded but he didn’t look too thrilled. ‘But Anu, we cannot keep any room unkempt. You have to keep your things tidy.’

‘Sanju, relax. If someone wants a tour of the house, we will tell them my room is haunted so we have locked it shut.’ She liked the idea of her own room. Maybe she could begin to draw or write. She hadn’t done either in her life, but she could start now, right?

Vicky seemed to be the happiest of all, riding his cycle at dangerous speeds all around the house. If Anu didn’t stop him, it was only a matter of time before he banged himself against a wall and wailed for an hour.

‘Vicky, come I will show you the garden outside. I saw a swing, I think.’ She was too tired to engage, but the kid needed to be stopped. When Vicky came bounding, Anu picked him up kissing his sweaty, reddened cheeks. Maybe it won’t be so bad after all …

Deciding on lunch at the restaurant inside the property, Anu walked silently behind Sanju and Sameer. Her mind was a mess with thoughts. Thoughts she could not even distinguish anymore. Vicky kept going off the path into the lawn eliciting polite reprimands from the gardeners. Sighing, Anu picked him up. It was not easy carrying him but then at least she wouldn’t have to worry about him running straight into a giant lawnmower.