Anu suddenly felt too lonely once her parents left. Sanju was trying to get the TV to work and Vicky was busy drawing in the new book with the new set of crayons he had just got from his grandparents. Anu sat next to him on the floor and started colouring the borders.

‘Mumma! You are not colouring inside the line. Kavitha ma’am will not be happy with you.’ Vicky said all too gravely. That hit Anu—Vicky’s school! They had not talked much about it.

‘Sanju, we have to send Vicky to school. Have to get his TC and get him admitted some place.’

Sanju nodded. ‘Can you ask around tomorrow? I can ask Dave but he has no kids.’ Sanju added after a pause. ‘Can you also call some Internet provider and get us broadband? And a cable connection for the TV?’

These were precisely the things Anu had dreaded. Sanju would be busy at work and she would have to run around to get things done. She missed her old apartment that had everything they wanted and needed. If your life is mostly good, why change it? It is like throwing out a perfectly good pair of old jeans for a new but ill-fitting one.

Anu, all ready for a jog, looked around the property deciding which path to take. In a bid to belong to that fancy place, she had clothed herself in her best pair of tracks. She had dressed Vicky too in his good track pants and a pullover. Even if she thought so herself, Vicky looked beyond cute. It was eight-thirty in the morning and Sanju had left for work. Thanks to her mother storing breakfast in the fridge, Anu hadn’t gorged on Maggi.

Anu was not really in the mood to even walk, let alone jog but she had to get out of the house. She had things to do and a maid to find.

As if by a miracle when she had just about crossed her street, a woman in her fifties clad in a saree appeared before her. ‘Are you the new ones who have moved in?’ The woman asked brusquely in Kannada.

Who was she? Anu sized her up quickly. Her saree was quite nice and bright, the blouse was a perfect match, and she dangled a designer handbag. But she was certainly not a resident, Anu knew, but she decided to be careful. What if she was the poor relative of a resident? She smiled. ‘We just moved in. How about you? Are you from here?’

‘I work here. I thought you may need a maid.’

‘Oh, I do!’ Anu instantly regretted the over-enthusiasm in her voice. That showed her desperation.

‘I have seen your house. I used to work there.’ The woman was all business. ‘I work with my daughter. We can cook and clean for you.’

Really? Do wishes really come true this way? ‘Okay. When can you start?’