One Day At A Time

Epilogue Two

"Will you show us that banana kick again?" Her voice was almost shrill in excitement.

"I will, but only because Shaaru asked." Neel chuckled, watching her grin and pouring juice into the glasses for Siddharth and Gayatri. "Now, do you want to check with Khushi Maasi about the cupcakes, as Emma suggested?"

Her eyes widened, and her tongue sneaked out. "Oops! I had forgotten all about it!" She ran towards the door but stopped on an afterthought. "Are you better at football than my Di, Neel Da?"

"You tell me."

"She's in our junior school team!" Shaarvi said proudly as if that explained why her sister should be better at play than him.

"So am I." He shrugged. "Now go!"

****

The heat of the day was surprisingly intense for this time of year, and Payal got off the bed to push open the two large awning windows in the bedroom wider to drag in some cool air from the garden into the room.

"We had already discussed with Khush and Arnav about sending Neel to the UK for his A levels." Payal turned from the window and walked towards the bed to occupy her place next to Khushi and Anjali. "But we weren't expecting an opportunity for us to relocate to London before that."

Readjusting her head on Anjali's lap, Khushi watched Payal's face break into a big smile. The three of them had always talked about living together someday. So when Akash and Payal broke the news of their moving to London a few months ago, it had been a dream come true.

Anjali's fingers in Khushi's hair halted. "Rub it in, daayan!" She snapped. "I am seeing you both after two bloody years while you have been seeing each other daily for the last six months! God, I won't be putting on weight anymore, Pi. I will burn all of it in envy just thinking of you together!"

Khushi laughed and lifted her eyes upwards to stare at Anjali's chin. "Why don't you leave your Nikku darling with his daddy to handle the business and move here with the kids, Anj? Sidhharth is ten and will soon be ready for his A levels, and Gayatri is just three years behind him. So you have a valid reason to—" She giggled when she felt Anjali's fingers curl around her neck. "— Arey, I am not joking! I am serious!"

"Shut up, Khush!" Anjali's fingers let go of Khushi's neck and returned to running slow massaging circles through her hair. "I miss you guys. It's unfair. Once I go back, that world will swallow me up. It's hard to stay in touch regularly— with my job, the perennially absent husband and my jungli kids." She grimaced and glanced at Payal. "I feel like I am a single parent sometimes!"

Khushi smiled. "Well, you just told us he took over the reins of the company last year. Give him time to find his bearings, and it will all return to how it was before."

Anjali nodded half-heartedly and glanced at Payal. "How are you settling in, Pi? Has Neel adjusted to the new school and environment?"

"Fairly well, all thanks to the Chauhans. We were practically living in this house for the first month after we moved here." She glanced at Khushi. "It is smooth because Khush is here, period." She smiled and then glanced at Anjali. "But Neel has gone quiet. He still misses his friends. He has been in Singapore all thirteen years of his life. It's a bit hard on him. It's worse because now, at his age, he feels as if the world is conspiring against him to make him unhappy."

"Oh, bless him." Anjali smiled. "And we aren't very far from that number, are we, Khush?"

"Yes, we definitely aren't." Khushi sighed. "I feel like—"