Kumaresan did not look at any of them in the face. There were children too in the crowd. These were the same children who used to climb on to his shoulders and for whom he brought gifts whenever he visited from Tholur. They would run and play with him, these same children who now stood away from him, wide-eyed and hesitating. Saroja was relieved that none of his uncles were there that day.

Then appucchi spoke again. ‘Run away from here before your uncles return. They want to hack you to pieces. They are very upset that the boy whom they raised has done something like this. Your uncles had plans to build you a tiled house on the rock and get you married to a nice girl. Couldn’t you find a girl in our village, from within our caste? We can’t even face our people. You have shamed us all. If your uncles see you now, they will hack you to death. Hey, you! Give them something to eat if you want and send them on their way. If our boys ask, we will tell them that we were feeding some workers.’

After that, Saroja did not want to remain there for another minute. She pressed Kumaresan’s hand urgently, and he responded by getting up and walking out of appucchi’s veranda.

Ammayi said, ‘Please wait, my dear. Please eat a little food at least. You have come all the way in the sun.’

One of his uncle’s wives snapped, ‘Why don’t you go with your grandson and cook and clean for him? He has done such a terrible thing. He has forced us all to hang our heads in shame. Do you have to treat him like an esteemed guest?’ Kumaresan recognized the voice as it continued its tirade: ‘He has brought a woman from somewhere else as if there were no beautiful women in our caste. Who knows? Maybe she brought a lot of gold with her. Maybe he will sell it and build a palace on the rock. People will come and visit him in their cars.’ He could not understand how that voice could have lost all the tenderness it used to have. The voice did not relent; instead it gathered in force and venom. ‘Look at her, standing in her new sari. She’d probably cast her magic on everyone, this witch! Couldn’t she find a man in her own town?’

Contrary to her nature, Saroja broke into a loud sob. Kumaresan held her hand tightly in one of his and lifted the bicycle with the other. He was confused. Have I done everything wrong, he wondered.

EIGHT

It was during the time when Kumaresan hurt his hand that the budding intimacy between him and Saroja finally blossomed.

He had to be very careful while handling the soda bottles that had round glass marbles for stoppers. Even if a small crack formed on the surface of a bottle, it would explode. When he washed the bottles, he had to inspect each one carefully to make sure there were no cracks in it. Kumaresan really liked that task. After he soaked the bottles in a tub for half an hour, all the dirt and grime came off. He would use a bottlebrush to clean the insides and a flat brush to scrub the outside of the bottles. If he sprinkled a little bit of Bassia seed powder on them before washing them, they emerged from the tub sparkling like new. He cleaned all the bottles with great care, as if he was bathing his own children.