Papa shot an angry look at her and said something, which again I couldn’t hear. And then he said, ‘I’m giving them the consent for surgery.’ He went off.

‘What’s going to happen?’ I asked Aunty V.

She shook her head and tried to smile.

‘Nothing to worry. The doctor has decided to go with surgery because the baby is in distress,’ she said, patting my arm.

‘What? How is that nothing to worry?’ I asked her, trying not to screech. The baby is in distress. What did that mean?

Aunty V shook her head. ‘Really, she and the baby will be fine.’ But her eyes looked worried.

Raghu came up beside me and I caught his hand, needing comfort. I didn’t care if Aunty V or Nani saw that.

Ma was wheeled to the operation theatre on the third floor. Ma’s face looked bloated and she was in obvious pain. We followed her until she was taken inside.

We waited outside in silence. I was still holding Raghu’s hand, near the door. Papa paced, rubbing his forehead every now and then. Nani and Aunty V sat on some plastic chairs.

‘I’m so scared,’ I whispered.

‘I’m scared too,’ he admitted. I was glad he wasn’t giving any platitudes about how it was all going to be fine.

Nani gave me a dirty look, and her eyes shifted to our clasped hands.

I glared back at her. My little brother or sister was in distress because of her. She had made Ma angry.

I was reminded of countless Hindi movies I’d seen where people waited outside the operation theatre, for a doctor to come and give them news. This was not like the night we had spent in the hospital a few months ago. Because things were different then. Now, something was imminent.

The doctor stepped out just when I felt I could not bear it any longer. She smiled warmly and said, ‘Congratulations! It’s a boy!’

We broke into cheers. Papa’s first question was ‘How’s Chitra?’

‘She’s fine. We couldn’t give her full anaesthesia so she’s awake. You can see her in some time,’ the doctor assured us. ‘It’s a good thing we did this right away.’

I asked, ‘And the baby? Is he fine?’

The doctor nodded. ‘The baby is fine. You can see him in a bit but we’ll keep him in the incubator tonight,’ she said.

The exhilaration I felt was so keen that I wanted to run around screaming with joy. All our worried faces now shone with happiness. Ma and the baby were both fine!

Some time later, a nurse called us. One by one, we were allowed to go up closer to the incubator in the nursery and see him.