Saroja did not feel like leaving Virichipalayam. It took her a long time to thoroughly clean that one room where Kumaresan’s shop would soon be housed. It was bigger than the room he had occupied back in Tholur. Once she put things away neatly and managed to sweep the floor and set everything in order, she realized that the room was large enough to accommodate not only the shop but also, possibly, their living quarters. All their belongings and the stove wouldn’t take up more than a corner. There were some shelves too—wooden planks mounted on the wall. All this was more than enough for them to make a home right there. The concrete on the floor had eroded in a few places, leaving small pits here and there. But that could be taken care of with a little cement. Saroja continued chatting with the women, her neighbours, as she cleaned.

It was a while before Kumaresan returned, and soon after three empty water tanks arrived in a bullock cart. Moving them into the shop proved to be a rather difficult task. Once they were in, it looked like most of the room had been occupied. Though he told her that he needed to get everything ready in a week so that he could begin delivering soda bottles, it looked like he was only talking to himself. He was very happy that she had cleaned and readied the room. Saroja wondered if she should make use of that moment and ask him right away if they could move to this town. But she did not want to ruin his current state of happiness, so she refrained.

Once they finished eating lunch, he insisted that they leave right away. He wanted to get back home in time to leave for the coming-of-age ceremony at Chellakka’s house. Saroja was immediately unsettled. She feared that if she attended the ceremony, some adversity would strike—something that could drain away all the happiness she had gathered today. But she didn’t think he would listen to her now. His goal was to make his relatives accept his marriage and receive them as a couple. All his actions were now geared towards that end. His love for her had not wavered even after all that had happened. He believed that his relatives would undergo a magical change of heart and embrace the young couple. But she was sceptical. To her, it didn’t look as though his people would ever come around. But he had to realize that himself.