"Hi Champ! Why are you sitting alone? Where is Pebbles?" To K2 it may have appeared as if Randhir had materialised out of nowhere but that was not the case. Randhir, who was there for a very good reason,  was quick to observe his son sitting quietly by himself, unlike on other days when he would be engrossed in play with Pebbles. 

"Hello Coach! Pebbles and her Mom went to Ahmedabad yesterday, for rakhi!" K2 answered. The listlessness in the boy's voice touched Randhir. He set his bag aside and sat down beside K2.

"Is that so?" Randhir often stopped by on his way from work to check on the progress on the refurbishment on his new apartment. He always took care to pick the time carefully, when Sanyukta was busy attending to her patients. He did not want her to notice his growing presence around K2. 

"Guess you are missing your girlfriend then!" Randhir would have loved to ruffle K2's hair but he just sat there patiently waiting for his son to take the initiative to bond with him.

"Her cousins live there. She goes to Ahmedabad every year with her Mom for the rakhi holiday. But this year she did not want to go." K2 said rather matter-of-factly.

"And why did she not want to go?" Randhir's eye was quick to spot the fidget spinner in K2's hand. He made a phone call in order to reschedule a meeting. It was more important to spend quality time with his son when the boy was feeling low.

"She said she wanted to be here so she could play with me. But I aked her to go." K2 gave the spinner a gentle twirl. 

"So, you are sad because she chose to go?" Randhir deftly caught the spinner as it slipped out of K2' s hand.

"No, I don't miss her that much. I know she will have lots of fun with her cousins!" K2 avoided looking at Randhir. 

"Hey Champ, just like Pebbles goes over to Ahmedabad to visit her family why don't you come to Goa? Do you know that is your hometown?" Randhir knew Sanyukta had steered clear of Goa after her kidnapping debacle so K2 could not possibly have been there. But he deserved to know his roots. 

"Abby says we cannot take a holiday because she has to look after her patients! And if Dadu and you live in Mumbai then who lives in your house in Goa?" K2's eyes spoke far more than his words did. Unlike most  children who had uncles, aunts and grandparents to pamper them K2 did not have many to call his own. Harsh did visit them whenever he could but it was not the same as being an indivisible part of an extended family. Little wonder then that the mere mention of a family holiday in Goa had appealed to him! 

"Yes, I know that Abby has to work hard so she can take care of you. And that the Shekhawats are currently based either in Mumbai or the US! But Abby and you can join Megami and her Mom to visit our home in Goa. Do you know that we have a huge house with a swimming pool, lawn and a garden too?" Randhir could not wait to welcome his son into his family home but he could not possibly share the thought with the boy, at least not yet.

"Yes, Dadu told me about the Goa house. But Abby does not want to go,  I think it is because we lost my Dad in Goa!" K2 stopped spinning the device in his palm. His words hit Randhir like a cold shower. So Sanyukta had told K2 about Vishad having gone missing. It was rather ironic that K2 thought Vishad was his father, though it was natural for both mother and son to assume that. Neither of them knew who K2's actual father was and Randhir could not reveal it to them. They remained silent for a few moments.

"Coach, my and and you were cousins. Can you tell me what he was like?" K2 asked, hope budding in his eyes. It was obvious that he was seeking answers to a number of hitherto unanswered questions. Randhir's memories of Vishad and his rift with him came flooding back. He was in a fix, he could neither tell K2 the truth about Vishad nor could he disappoint the boy by refusing to share facts.

"His Dad and mine were brothers. After his parents died Vishad moved in with us. We went to the same school, played the same sport and ate at the same table. When we grew up he moved to our Mumbai office while I wnr to the US." Randhir tried to keep things as neutral as was possible. There was no point in giving K2 any hint of the bitterness in the past.

"Was he a nice guy?" K2 did not know why he found Randhir trustworthy enough to voice his doubts but instinct led him to ask away.

The simplest of questions posed by innocent children are often the most difficult to respond to. Would Vishad have been a good father to K2? Randhir had never given it a thought. He knew he had to weigh every word he spoke. K2 believed that Vishad was his father, no matter how much Randhir disliked the thought.

"All I can say is that he cared about you and would have protected you!" Randhir's conscience would not let him deny the truth that Vishad had helped Sanyukta escape to safety when he found out that she was pregnant with Randhir's child. Unlike in a novel the antagonist in this story had actually helped save Sanyukta's and K2's lives.

"Will he come back for us?" Once again K2 looked at Randhir hopefully. 

"Suketu, I am not sure about that but I promise you this! You won't have to wait too long for your father's love. Come on, cheer up! Let us get you home now, it is getting dark. We cannot let the bugs bite us!" Randhir held his hand and led him to the elevator.

K2's nanny offered to make Randhir a cup of tea but he declined. Instead he took out a jar of hummus and a pack of pita chips from his bag and gave K2 a taste of the  snack.

"I like this. Abby always makes it for me. She will make some for you too, you don't have to buy it in the store then!" K2 sounded rather cheerful now. 

"I know Abby makes it. She made it for breakfast once many years ago when we were in Goa!" Nour could hardly handle the spice in Indian food and would stockpile on French and Middle Eastern groceries. Randhir had acquired a taste for meze during the time spent with her and even though the relationship with her was over his preference for the cuisine lingered on. He wondered how Sanyukta had gotten to know about his favourite foods. He smiled to himself as he recalled how as a teenager she had taken the effort to learn how to prepare them for his sake. Cooking for the one she was besotted with was a typical chick-lit cliché. And it completely out of character for a wild child who was once nicknamed Mowgli!

"Will you wait a bit? Abby will be home soon!" K2 asked Randhir as they played with the spinner. Randhir shared with him some cool spinning tips.

"Not today, Champ, I have to meet someone at his office. But we'll meet regularly now, I am moving next door to you sooner than you expect." Randhir bid K2 goodbye and exchanged a few words with his nanny before leaving. He had a pact with her, she was to avoid telling Sanyukta about his visits to her home in exchange for teaching her how to use her phone optimally.

K2 kept thinking about Randhir' s words. He knew his mother was not comfortable talking about the past, she usually skirted around his father's  topic. Even if he was barely five years old K2 knew enough to avoid the subject but he always wondered what it would be like to have a regular family. Pebbles did not miss that even though her mother was a single parent like Sanyukta, because her maternal grandparents, aunt and uncle doted on Pebbles. 

"Abby, why does the Great Prince of the Forest not live with Bambi and his mother?" K2 had asked this question earlier and as usual his Mom had a ready response. 

"Because they are a modern family, just like Pebbles and ours, where Moms manage the home and their kids. Bambi, finish your dinner now, it is getting late. We should sleep!" Sanyukta had learnt to deflect the subject by distracting K2. Like most kids being brought up by single mothers K2 craved a father's love, and she was painfully aware of this  but her excuse today was really lame, even her kindergartner could see through it.

"Abby, tomorrow is a holiday. We don't have to get up early." Sanyukta had no patients to attend to because of the festive occasion, and her son knew that.

Nevertheless both of them drifted off to sleep and a tired Sanyukta switched off the alarm for the morning. She looked forward to catch up on her much needed sleep. She did not know how long she had been sleeping but she woke up with a start when she heard a familiar voice calling out to her!

"Rise and shine, shower time!" Sanyukta could hardly believe her eyes. Vidushi stood at her bedroom door clutching Megami in one arm and a huge bag in another. Both were dressed in their traditional best. Obviously Nanny had answered the door and let them in. K2 was already awake and looked excited to see his aunt and cousin. The moment he saw them he knew this year's rakhi holiday was going to play out very differently. 

"Vidushi? You look gorgeous! Why did you not say you were coming over?" Sanyukta wondered if Randhir and Harsh were right behind her.

"What's to say? This is Megami' s and Suketu' s first Rakhi together!" Vidushi declared in no uncertain terms, directing Sanyukta towards the bathroom.

"Come on, mother and son! Shower and change, chop chop! Do you want to receive Dad and Randhir in this state?" She grinned wickedly.

"Vidushi, you could have warned me!" Sanyukta sounded a bit agitated. It was an auspicious festival today and she had overslept when she was supposed to have risen and bathed early.

"What, and give you something to worry about all night? All of us know how hard you work, my dear! Anyway, your home looks very presentable and you have an hour before those two get here. I decided to crash here early to buy you enough time. And don't worry about having breakfast made, I have ordered it, and it is on the way!" Vidushi made herself comfortable even as Sanyukta rushed K2 into the bathroom. 

"Sorry, but I took the liberty to pick up something ethnic for Suketu and you!" Vidushi reminded her, leaving her no scope to argue. Vidushi smiled, she could never reveal that actually Randhir had asked her to pick out the clothes and warned her not to reveal to Sanyukta that he had paid for the shopping. 

  It was the children's first rakhi. Although it was unconventional to move houses on this day Randhir had decided to go ahead, his interiors were done and the home was ready to occupy. 

"No Griha Pravesh rituals until this house becomes a legitimate home of my son!" Randhir had declared to his father and Vidushi. They had stood by him in the matter. Randhir could not possibly adopt Suketu until Vishad had been declared untraceable legally. That was still a couple of years away.

There would be neither a havan nor a priest. They would perform a token puja as a family and move in. Sanyukta had not been told, Vidushi was supposed to break it to her as gently as was possible. 

"Keep it understated, or she will not wear it!" He had cautioned Vidushi. Paying heed to his advice Vidushi chose a classic Jodhpuri bandhgala and breeches for K2 in his size and opted for a lightly embroidered peach crepe anarkali suit for Sanyukta. 

Within half an hour both mother and son were showered and dressed.  Their new clothes fit as if they had been tailored for them, Vidushi was too seasoned a shopper to go wrong on sizes and fits. 

"You look beautiful, Sanyukta! You should dress up more often!" Vidushi said as she helped fix Sanyukta's hair. Sanyukta did not respond. It was hard to explain her limbo state, she was married but without a husband. Dressing up meant drawing unwarranted attention. Unlike Pebbles' mother she was not comfortable with the idea. The doorbell rang and Sanyukta wondered if it was the two men. 

"No, it is not them, I think the breakfast is here. Why don't you wrap up here while I answer the door?" Vidushi grabbed her wallet and went outside while K2 played with Megami who looked cute in her bright pink lehenga choli.

Sanyukta quietly took out a little jewellery box from her cupboard. Fortunately she had remembered to buy a pair of delicate gold jhumkas as Megami's first birthday gift. K2 could give her those as a rakhi present instead. It was his first rakhi too. Maybe Sanyukta could not match the Shekhawats in their gift giving prowess but her son deserved to give his cousin something traditional and appropriate!