"Glad you could make it Tanya! What shall I order for you?" Randhir rose courteously to welcome his guest in the trendy upper crust café. Tanya, who was dressed in a simple floral print dress, looked slimmer than he could recall. Her makeup was understated, a big deviation from how it used to be. She looked ill at ease, albeit with a flicker of hope in her tired eyes.

"Hi Randhir, it has been a while! Yes, I'd like some coffee please!" She set her handbag aside while Randhir ordered some coffee and a basket of cheese rolls to go along.

Her smile did not quite reach her eyes in response to him but she sat down before him nevertheless. Tanya, a loyal insider of the Shekhawat Group, had quit her job abruptly over four years ago, almost the same time as the disappearance of Sanyukta and Vishad. She had refused to explain why she was leaving, stating that her reason was rather personal. 

Harsh made sure she was adequately compensated, after all, she had been an asset for as long as she had worked for him. She had been the only one who could influence his errant nephew Vishad. Harsh attributed Tanya's departure to her inability to cope with the tragic turn of events in her personal life. Her lover had unexpectedly turned his back on her to marry Sanyukta before vanishing into thin air soon afterwards! Harsh was sympathetic and had even helped Tanya find another job commensurate to the one she had held in his organisation.

"These are nice, and quite light!" Tanya remarked, nibbling on a roll. 

"They are called Pão de queijo in Portuguese, they are a Brazilian speciality. The chef of this café is Goan but has worked in São Paulo for a few years. Nicole loves Brazilian cuisine, she's the one who introduced me to these little cheese delights" Randhir ordered for a refill of the snack.

"How's Nicole? I was just wondering, I heard that you have been in India for nearly six months!" Tanya was not sure why she asked him that, he was not obliged to reveal any details about his personal life.

"You heard right, Tanya. Nicole and I,  we have taken a sabbatical, she said she needs time to rethink our relationship. Meanwhile Parth is in the US, managing in my absence while I am holding the fort here!" Randhir waited for the server to refill their coffee.

"You did not say why you wanted to see me, I was curious!" Tanya came to the point.

"Yes, there was a matter I had to discuss with you. You see, I bumped into Sanyukta recently. You know that both Vishad and her had been missing for over four years. And she was not alone, she had her son along. She noticed me but left before I could initiate a conversation. Do you know anything about this?" Randhir scanned Tanya's face to read her expression.

"No Randhir, I have no clue or information about Vishad or her!" Tanya looked straight back into Randhir's eyes.

"Tanya, I'm sure you understand what I am hinting at. Vishad has a stake in our business and also in the property jointly held by the family. If Sanyukta has a son it means Vishad has a legal heir. We need to ask the lawyers to redraft the relevant papers so that Sanyukta and her son are given their rightful share. It is important to trace both Vishad and Sanyukta for the procedure. I could not think of anyone other than you. Do you really not know Vishad' s whereabouts?" Randhir asked earnestly. 

"Honestly, Randhir, I have no clue where Vishad is. Maybe if you tracked Sanyukta down she will be able to reveal the details!" Tanya's expression had changed. The mask was off now, and her resentment was obvious. He was not helping her cause by bringing up the subject of the family of her ex-boyfriend.

"Tanya, we would not be discussing this issue if Vishad' s wife and son were not involved! Randhir reminded her as gently as he could.

"How can you be so sure you saw her with Vishad's child? Do you have any proof?" Tanya's tone was sharp.

"She has been married to Vishad for the past four and a half years. Her son is four years old. Legally he will be treated as Vishad's son no matter what!" Randhir's face was calm as his eyes continued to scan Tanya's face.

"Unless proven otherwise! Maybe there is something I have to tell you, Randhir. And no, it is not about me knowing where to find Vishad or Sanyukta! But in any case it is a long tale!" Tanya took a generous swig of coffee to calm her nerves.

"Tanya, I have all the time. Why don't you start telling me everything you know?" Randhir was all ears.

Abby checked her phone anxiously. It was practically her lifeline. She could not believe she had dropped it somewhere on the concourse of the Academy when she walked to the dais with Suketu. No matter how hard she had tried not to react in Randhir's presence, her agitation had caused her to become so careless that she did not even notice when her phone went missing. She had hotfooted it out of the venue just like Cinderella leaving the ball at the stroke of midnight. Only, while Cinderella had left behind a glass slipper, Abby lost her phone instead. 

Even after she realised that her phone was missing she had dared not go back inside to try and locate it, she could not afford to bump into Randhir again. Her escape had been providential, as much as was the fact that her phone had been identified and delivered to her address by one of the Academy's employees. Abby had breathed a huge sigh of relief.  She could barely organise her professional life without her phone, nor could she explain to Hetal why she had insisted on leaving  the Academy so soon after the prize distribution.

"Thank God they have stopped the work for a while. I had never imagined we would have to share the floor with neighbours. Hope the folks who are moving in are a decent lot! Akka, why don't you take a quick nap while the crew next door are on a break? I will try to put K2 off to sleep!" Abby walked into her room with her sleepy boy in her arms and shut the door behind her. She put K2 down on the bed and eased herself next to him. Their power nap was a usual affair when she did not have any patients to deal with in the afternoon.

"Abby, I want to sleep!" K2 tugged at her collar firmly until she unbuttoned her blouse and offered her drowsy child the naptime treat that he liked to indulge in, although she was careful enough to keep this knowledge from people. It was hard for anyone to understand why a four year old needed the comfort of his mother's breast when he was sleepy. It was a private matter between her son and herself, it was not anybody's else's' business to know why. 

Mother and child may have slept for a couple of hours when the ringing of the doorbell startled Abby. She wondered who it could be at this time. It was raining heavily outside and she was not expecting any visitors.

The doorbell rang again and by the time Abby managed to button up her blouse and emerge from her room Akka had already answered the door.

All Abby could do was to stand before her visitor with a stunned expression on her face. Vidushi stood before her with a wide smile on her lips and a cute little baby girl in her arms.

"I am not a ghost, my dear! Won't you ask me in?" Vidushi practically invited herself in. 

Abby came back to her senses quickly. Her mind raced to think of an explanation.

"Hello Vidushi! Please come in, and make yourself comfortable!" Abby smiled benevolently as the baby girl in Vidushi 's arms reacted to her presence by gurgling and reaching out toward her.

"Meet my daughter Megami! Baby, this your aunt! Won't you say hello to her?" Vidushi settled down and placed her child next to her.

"So, shall I call you Sanyukta or Aboli, or simply Abby? Sit down, my dear, we have a long conversation ahead of us!" Vidushi kicked off her shoes and sank her tired feet gratefully into the cushioned seat of the sofa while she let her daughter crawl onto the living room rug. 

"I am sorry to have barged into your home uninvited, but it will be really wonderful to have a cup of ginger tea and something to eat, if you don't mind. I am totally famished!" Vidushi declared.

"Of course, I'll rustle up something quickly. It will be ready by the time the tea is made!" Abby swung into action, assisted by her governess.

"By the way, I am not alone. Add two more cups of water to the saucepan, they will be here anytime!" Vidushi declared and Abby's heart skipped a beat.