Randhir stared ahead, watching the molten gold sky of the setting sun. The nip of late autumn was in the air, he could feel it on his exposed face and palms. The scenery before him was picture postcard perfect, quite unlike his own life. His trained eye scanned the skies at dusk until he spotted the Andromeda constellation, a blur between Pegasus and the point of Cassiopeia. The tapestry of his memories rolled once again, conjuring up long lost images of showing off the same constellations to a teenage girl who had then quizzed him about the Greek legend of Perseus and Andromeda.

Four years had gone by since another event which had changed everything. Randhir could not shake off the sight of his father's frantic expression when Anju became unresponsive following that fateful brain surgery. Neither his money nor his contacts could save the hapless woman's life. Everything was over within hours. Harsh had insisted on lighting Anju's pyre and performing all the rites. Afterward each day he would lock himself in his study for several hours. It was evident that he was overcome with grief. It took Anju's death for Renuka to snap out of her overconfidence. Overnight her husband became a recluse, drifting into a solitude which was to make him a workaholic once more. 

Whatever personal relationship there was between husband and wife had eroded like a rock weathered by the elements. Other than the couple nobody knew the real reason for their growing distance and naturally people assumed that the love triangle between Anju, Harsh and Renuka was central to the estrangement. Renuka tried to reconcile but Harsh did not want to associate with her anymore. She even considered a divorce on the grounds of irreconcilable differences  but changed her mind because of the children. And there was still no news about Sanyukta and Vishad. 

After Anju's funeral Renuka had insisted on Nicole and Randhir leaving for the US on schedule. For the next few months Randhir called Parth each day for news about Sanyukta but drew a blank each time. It was almost as if both Vishad and Sanyukta had disappeared into a mist. After a year he gave up hope and decided to give his best to make his relationship with Nicole work. 

Initially things were fine, even romantic. Both resumed their earlier lives. Randhir returned to managing his business and Nicole went to college to finish her degree in design. He tried hard to remain cheerful whenever she stayed in the apartment, cooking meals and even packing them for her to carry to her dorm. They watched old classic movies and took long walks together.

 They spent their birthdays and annual holidays together, flying off to exotic destinations like Jamaica, Hawaii and Brazil. Outwardly everything looked normal, but Nicole was perceptive enough to realise that something had changed since their visit to India. Randhir stubbornly refused to return home saying there was nothing over there for him. That would not seem unusual as the business was flourishing. However gradually he began devoting all his waking hours to work, leaving precious little for their relationship. 

She compensated by focusing on her portfolio and making new friends, spending more and more time with her girlfriends shopping and clubbing. She often wondered if Randhir had met somebody else and was two-timing her but there were no such signs, he was simply just engrossed in work, as her own father and brother vouched for. By the end of the third year they were seeing each other much lesser than they did earlier and Nicole asked herself if she was willing to spend the rest of her life with a man who was married to his job.

"Do you want to come to bed or not?" Randhir had almost forgotten the girl who had spent the last couple of hours in his apartment sleeping in his bed. He turned around to see her sitting up. She still had her tank top on. 

"I mean, whether we do it or not, I am still billing you, so if you want your money's worth, come and get it!" Just as she started to peel off her tank top Randhir stopped her.

"No, I am not in the mood for it anymore! There's money in my wallet on the bedside table. Take what you have to. Before you leave, if you are hungry there's a grilled chicken and bean salad in the fridge." Randhir was back to gazing the stars. 

"No thanks! I eat only vegan, it's healthier! Hey, there's a lot of dough in your purse, mind if I take fifty bucks extra?" The girl asked him.

"Sure, go ahead!" He replied.

"Are you sure you want me to go? I can stay on, in case you are in the mood for it in a few minutes!" The girl did not want to leave a disappointed client. It was a question of professional pride for her.

"I'll get in touch if I need you in the future!" Randhir told her as she prepared to leave.

"Anytime honey, a perfect girlfriend experience guaranteed!" She called after him as she waltzed out the door.

As she walked to the elevator she bumped into the neighbour's hired help who recognized her.

"Hi Lena, fancy bumping into you here!" She said cheerfully.

"I work here, but never saw you here before!" Lena's eyes narrowed. The girl lived in her neighbourhood and everyone knew how she made her ends meet.

"Oh, work brought me here too!" The girl waved a thumb indicating the apartment she had just exited.

On their way down they made no more conversation but Lena had discovered something new today. She made a mental note of it.

In a few hours, Harsh Shekhawat's phone rang as he was getting out of his bed in the morning. It was Vidushi.

"Dad, this is not going to be pleasant but I think you should know it anyway. Nicole called about Randhir. She thought she'd surprise him in his apartment today but was in for a shock when the neighbour's maid who met her in the landing told her that he'd been holed up with a hooker that afternoon!" Vidushi unwittingly caressed her baby bump.

"No, there was no confusion at all, the woman recognised the girl, they are from the same church. Nicole took a walk outside before she could summon the courage to enter the apartment. He was alone but she saw traces of the girl's presence. There were a couple of long strands of hair on the pillow. She did not confront him but decided to investigate. There was no trace of a condom or its wrapper anywhere. That leaves the possibility of unsafe sex. Nicole did not stay long and called me as soon as she got out of his apartment! No, Parth does not know yet, I asked Nicole to keep this to herself! Just the three of us know about it. What should we do?" Vidushi sounded genuinely worried. 

"'If he needs a prostitute's services even when he is in a steady relationship it means things are not the same between Nicole and him. I am not surprised, Vidushi, that boy has a lot weighing his mind down. I think we should call him home before he does anything worse!" Harsh sighed. He wished he had been dreaming rather than believe that his firstborn was dealing with a girlfriend issue. This could mean trouble, it was an emerging pattern . No, he could not take a chance, he did not want his son to wade through a stream of broken relationships.

Harsh guessed correctly that Randhir would be in his apartment at that time, preparing to go to sleep. He dialed his son's number.

"Hi Dad, how are you? I am the same, too! Is everything ok?" Randhir tried to focus. It did not help that he'd downed a few drinks after Nicole had left. He knew she suspected something. She did not mention it but it was obvious from her body language. He had maintained a dignified silence and she left within an hour after a cursory goodnight. Their relationship would never be the same again. Strangely it made no difference to him now.

"Randhir, my son! I need you to come over to Bombay urgently, we cannot figure our way around this brand extension. Vidushi is due anytime and I cannot expect Parth to leave her side and stay around in the office! I spoke to Nicole's Dad, he is fine with it, they'll manage without you! I have booked you on the next available flight tomorrow, so pack already!" Harsh came to the point.

"But Dad..." Harsh did not let his son finish.

"No Randhir, you know I would not ask if it was not important. Come over, you are also about to become an uncle. Stop short changing your family emotionally!" Harsh hung up and within a couple of minutes Randhir received his boarding pass by email.

He did not know which choice was worse. To stay in the US where his loneliness was making him depressed or to go back to the country where he may have to confront the reality that the one he was hoping to get news of for the previous four years had slipped out of reach.

You are about to become an uncle, his father's words echoed in his head. A new life was about to be welcomed in his family. It called for a celebration. Obviously he had known that Parth and Vidushi were expecting to have their baby soon, but it had become real only after his father reminded him that he had a responsibility to live up to, both as a son and as a would-be uncle.

Within the next fourteen hours Randhir was en route to Mumbai, his bag filled with hastily bought gifts for the baby as well as for the would-be parents. He also remembered to pick up a designer handbag for his mother and a rare single malt whisky for his father. The dark clouds which had been looming large on his horizon were already dispersing. After a long time he was looking forward to going home. He enjoyed his warm business class meal, watched a Bollywood movie and worked a little on his laptop before going off to sleep. When he finally woke up the crew were already preparing for arrival in the Maximum City.