‘Change this furniture soon, madam. The last owner had some really good stuff.’ Said Rathnamma inspecting the house with a slight frown. ‘Nobody has this type of stuff in this complex.’

Anu wondered why she was not even offended by that remark. ‘No. We can’t afford to change anything now. All our money is going towards the rent.’ She refrained from adding, ‘and your salary.’ She was sure Rathnamma too refrained from adding, ‘Then why are you here?’

Sanju almost squealed in surprise. Very unlike him to display emotions. ‘This is neat, Anu! You found someone to clean the house.’

The delight on Sanju’s face was worth what Rathnamma was charging. ‘Well, the woman charges a bomb but she is good.’

‘How much?’ Sanju asked with a bit of panic. When Anu explained the various rates, he fell silent. When he spoke, his voice was low, like it was coming from a cave. ‘Anu, I will cook in the evening and do the dishes. Hire her only for cleaning the house.’

Anu was dumbstruck. Was he for real? When had he ever cooked or cleaned? She almost blurted how she had anticipated this dreadful life even before they moved here. She wanted to add how she knew Sanju would not be able to bear such fancy bills. But she stopped herself. There was no point arguing. She had to lie to him. (White lie - dictionary meaning - a harmless lie that saves someone from hurt. Real meaning - a harmless lie that quickly comes back to bite you in the ass.)

‘Let me negotiate with her. I am sure she was just bandying the numbers and did not really mean it.’

‘Not a rupee more than ten thousand, Anu.’

Yes, sir. Thought Anu, all the while quickly calculating how much she had in her account. She had to pay the extra eight thousand herself or she could become the Rathnamma of the house.

All the boxes unboxed and the items put away, Anu felt a weight lifted off her chest. Her wallet felt lighter too after coughing up thousand-five-hundred rupees towards Rathnamma’s charges for unboxing. But it was worth the money spent. Now she had the onerous task of finding Vicky a school. The sweet smiling receptionist had handed her a list of four schools, eight tennis coaching centres, two each for archery and shooting arenas. Anu picked a school closest to home. She was visiting them at three that afternoon.