Kavitha’s mother handed Anu a plate with a dozen pooris and chole. ‘I know Yashoda is not here. She would have made this for you otherwise.’ Anu felt suddenly sentimental. Everyone here cared to know so much about her! Then she wondered if she had some sort of a split personality. A loving one for here and another that elicited hatred from everyone at Verdant Green.

Pete had come to Bangalore as an IT consultant but had stayed on since his daughter wanted to spend a year in India after her divorce. He had now sent his daughter and his wife on a tour of North India and Bhutan for a month. He had invited Anu and Pooja over for lunch at his place that afternoon.

‘How do you work, cook, clean and care for the kids, Pete?’ Anu gasped walking into that ultra-tidy house. Pete seemed like a superhero to Anu.

‘Because I come from a land where there is no help. No cooks, no maids, no housekeepers unless you write out your paychecks to them.’

Anu shuddered. ‘God! That is precisely why I didn’t want to live in any western country.’ Then she grew thoughtful. ‘Then again, Verdant Green is no better for us. We are writing out our paychecks and more for the help we are getting!’ A sudden worry gnawed at her. She had to pay Rathnamma’s extra salary and the gardener’s wages from her savings. Did she have any savings by the way?

Sitting at the dining table, waiting for Pooja to join them, Anu looked around the immaculate minimalist house. ‘Pete, such neat spaces depress me.’

‘Then feel free to scatter things around,’ Pete shouted from the kitchen.

Anu laughed. ‘Very funny. How do you keep things this tidy?’

Pete brought out a steaming hot pot of soup to the table. ‘Hmm, let me think.’ Setting it on the table, he knitted his brows and narrowed his eyes as if thinking deeply. ‘Maybe by actually tidying up? Pick things up, put things away, throw things out. That sort of highly glamorous tasks.’

‘I wish the houses were self-maintaining.’ Anu bit into a nacho. The Table (without even the food on it yet!) looked inviting with matching cups, plates and serving bowls.

‘Soup and nachos with salsa for starters. And, make-your-own tacos for the main course, ma’am.’ Pete sat down facing Anu. ‘So how was the weekend?’ He asked.

Anu sighed. ‘Long story for another time. I always bother you with my woes.’

‘Please do bother me with your woes! They are highly entertaining, to say the least.’ Pete opened a beer for himself and Anu refused. Alcohol made her put on weight almost instantly.

Before Anu spoke, Pooja walked in, taking out the ear phones. Setting the phone on the table next to her, she let out a mild exclamation. ‘Oh! Mexican. Where did you order from?’