"Kids be careful, don't run!" Randhir cautioned.

"Pebbles, K2, hold on, no need to rush!" Sanyukta called out anxiously as she tried to keep pace with the uber excited kids. 

Hetal was unruffled. She kept pace with Randhir who carried Megami in his arms and tried to follow a harrowed Sanyukta.

"Abby, don't worry, they'll be fine." Hetal winked at Randhir who smiled back.

"These two don't get out much, I can sense that!" Randhir said softly.

"It is normal for Abby to be stressed. I try to get her to unwind, but all she does is work. If she gets herself a boyfriend maybe she'll learn to relax." Hetal had known Abby long enough to know her lifestyle well.

"She is content at being a single mother, I guess!" Randhir's eyes remained glued to Sanyukta and the children.

"Hey, I am a single mother too! I don't let that limit my daughter's life or mine. I make sure to socialise and at the same time ensure that Virushka spends time with my ex-husband and his parents, as much as she does with my parents and siblings. Strangely Abby has isolated herself from relatives without realising how much K2 is missing out!" Hetal outlined Sanyukta's reality in her few words. 

Randhir chose not to respond. It was not prudent for him to discuss Sanyukta's personal life with Hetal.

"Why can't I go on this ride? And why is Pebbles allowed?" K2 whined.

"That's because this ride has a height restriction, and she is a few inches taller than you!" Sanyukta explained.

"No worries, even Pebbles will not take this ride then! Come Abby, let's take them to the other rides!" Hetal tried to sort things out.

"No! Why should she miss out on her ride? Hetal, K2 needs to learn to deal with such situations. You guys go ahead!" Sanyukta encouraged Hetal to let Pebbles have her way.

"Yes, but the carriage has place for one more. Why don't you hop on, Abby? I am sure Randhir can manage both Megami and K2!" Hetal suggested.

"Actually, I'll manage both Megami and K2. You take Randhir along!" As soon as Sanyukta suggested this Pebbles whopped with joy and dragged Randhir by the arm. Before he could protest he found himself buying tickets for the ride and Pebbles slipped into the carriage between Hetal and him. 

Sanyukta quickly turned around with Megami in her arm and K2's  little palm in hers. She did not want the others to see how K2's face fell. She offered to take him on the toy train.

"This toy train is for babies!" K2 was miffed at having to settle for a ride meant for toddlers.

"Come on, we'll have fun, let's all ride in this bright yellow carriage!" Sanyukta tried to cheer him up. He relented finally seeing Megami smile happily when the train began moving.

"This is nothing special for her, she rides in a car all the time!" K2 reminded Sanyukta.

"Yes, but she is taking a ride with the two of us for the first time!" She responded.

"Abby, do you think Coach and Hetal Aunty will marry?" K2 asked suddenly and Sanyukta was taken aback.

"God, K2! What is this about? I don't know, and if they want to marry, then it is their business, not ours. We should not talk about others, that is called gossip!" Sanyukta explained. 

"Oh ok! But Pebbles and other girls gossip all the time!" K2 was not in the mood to retreat.

"Let them! Come on, the others are waiting for us!" She indicated. 

Right enough, the others were waiting for them at the exit. They continued to explore the fair, ate some snacks and clicked pictures. Pebbles and K2 enjoyed themselves thoroughly while Megami was content at being carried around by Randhir. Ironically Megami became the balancing factor as she helped maintain the distance between Hetal and Randhir. Sanyukta's face remained expressionless, she spoke only when spoken to. 

"The kids had so much fun! We should do this more often!" Hetal remarked, as Randhir dropped Pebbles and her off in his car.

"Sure, why not, as long as Abby is fine with it!" Randhir replied.

Megami was fast asleep by the time they reached the apartment. Neither of the adults spoke. K2, sensing the distance between them, thanked Randhir and said goodnight. In a few minutes Sanyukta was tucking K2 into bed.

"Abby, why do people go on a date?" K2 asked his mother who quickly glanced over at Megami who was fast asleep in her baby cot.

"When people like spending time with each other or want to get into a relationship they may start dating!" Abby was used to fielding questions by her son.

"So you went on dates with Daddy? And you fell in love and then got married?" K2 was sleepy yet curious enough.

"Something like that. Now go off to sleep!" Sanyukta sighed. How could she tell him the truth? He would never understand the circumstances.

"But if you married him why are we not friends with Daddy's family? Pebbles spends her vacations with both her grandparents!" Their isolation was inexplicable to K2.

"Your Daddy and I were from different backgrounds." Sanyukta stopped abruptly.

"You mean we are not posh people so they don't like us?" K2's words pierced Sanyukta like a blade of cold steel. She had never discussed the class divide that separated her from Vishad' s family but her son had been perceptive enough to guess it correctly.

"K2, you should go to sleep now. It is really late, and you have school tomorrow!" Sanyukta switched off the lights and slid into bed next to her son, pretending to fall asleep. She did not want him to know how disturbed she was. Her mind was finding it hard to process so many inputs. This was the time her doubt about Vishad's death had been confirmed. It was also the day when the possibility of Hetal and Randhir drawing close had become obvious, followed by her son making educated guesses about her personal life. 

After her mother's death she had tried to steer clear of her past, trying to turn over a leaf, carving a new identity for herself and for her son so that the ghosts of the bygone left them undisturbed. Randhir discovering them had tipped the equilibrium.

She could sense from her son's cute snores that he had finally fallen asleep. Unable to sleep she rose, checked on Megami and then gently opened a locked shutter, extracting a bottle of rum. She brought a chilled can of cola and made herself a drink, taking a generous swig. It was her secret. Nobody knew that she sought comfort in the bottle when she felt particularly depressed, and when her loneliness got the better of her.

She was about to pour herself another drink when K2 stirred.

"Abby!" He called sleepily. Sanyukta knew what he wanted and after a moment of agonizing slid besides him, offering her son the solace of her breast. A few moments passed before she felt a presence in the room. For a while she thought she was imagining things, but soon it became evident that someone had entered the room softly. She did not have to guess who it was, she hastily covered her bare breast causing K2 to aim a kick on her belly.

"Don't nurse him when you are drunk. What's wrong with you?" Randhir's tone was hushed yet urgent. 

"This does not concern you. How dare you barge in like this! I should have known, you placed that baby monitor so you could stalk us!" Sanyukta could feel her bile rise. 

"The only reason for placing that monitor is to watch over my niece, who sleeps here because you are a mother yourself. But if you need alcohol to calm your nerves, how can you be trusted to look after two young kids, and a puppy at that?" Randhir regretted the words as soon as they left his lips.

"Why not, am I not born into the working class? That's what women of my background are meant for, to serve others! Like any other nanny, nurse or whore!" Sanyukta had never had a confrontation with Randhir. She did not know where the conversation would lead but she was beyond caring.

Suddenly she felt her mouth clamped and within seconds she was physically whisked through the interconnecting door leading into Randhir's apartment. She realised he had carried her into his bedroom.

"Now scream all you want here!" Randhir sounded exasperated. 

"Why not, considering the stupid drunk motormouth of a woman that I am! What else can I do but scream? I am not good enough to be related to "posh" people like you, not even good enough to socialise with, like Hetal!" She wanted to yell at him, to try and make him understand how she was feeling.

"So that's what this is about! You are jealous of Hetal! Who stopped you from seeking out a healthy relationship with a decent guy? But no, you chose to enter into a sham marriage with someone who once drugged and nearly raped you, just to prove your point. Someone who could have been the worst possible father to K2!" Randhir matched her intensity.

"So what, why do you care? You think it is easy for girls like me to find trustworthy guys who won't take advantage of them? No Sir, I fell in love once, with a guy who knew fully well about my feelings, yet agreed to marry someone else. Because I was not good enough for him or for his mother! And every other guy who has approached me since either wants to get into my pants or wants to keep off when they realise I come with the baggage of a fatherless son! But why am I even telling you this! You never cared, even now all you want is to use K2 and me to get close to Hetal. Let me tell you the truth, you don't need us! She is much too eager to come to you with eager arms and open legs!" Sanyukta was hyperventilating now.

"Shut up, you crazy girl! You think I need help to get women to sleep with me? Is that why you think I followed you here?" Randhir's fingers tightened their grip over her arms as a reflection of his emotions.

"Stop playing games with me, Randhir! I don't give a damn about your intentions. I had an uncomplicated life bringing up my son until you decided to show up at our doorstep! Everything has been going downhill ever since!" She tried to slip out of his grip when he suddenly flung her onto his bed.

"Your son? Don't you dare continue to pretend! You knew all along who his father is, didn't you? And you tried to claim that he was fathered by Vishad? How could you stoop that low!" Randhir's eyes were spitting fire now.

"Vishad was, and shall always be Suketu's father! He was there for him, he made sure my unborn child escaped unhurt from the clutches of those criminals. And where were you then? Probably giving multiple orgasms to you American girlfriend! Don't you dare claim paternity! I was just another woman whom you had underneath yourself the night Vishad drugged you!" She tried to squirm out of the bed.

"The only reason you don't want to acknowledge that K2 is my son is because you are afraid of the label of illegitimacy! I understand that, but to have deliberately kept from me the truth about his existence was not the noblest decision. I could not believe what you had done! Why Mowgli, why did you do this to us? If only you had told me the truth at the time!" Randhir had never sounded emotional before.

"Please stop this Randhir! This ranting will not get us anywhere. We have no choice but to maintain status quo ante. You mother already hates me, I don't want her to add K2 to her list of undesirables, I won't be able to handle that! Please just leave us alone! You can have Hetal or Nicole or any other woman you desire! Just walk away from us, forget the past and move on!" Sanyukta pleaded.

"What if I don't do any of that and just follow my instinct instead?" He asked her, looking deeply into her eyes.

"What the hell does that mean?" Sanyukta was agitated. She did not like the sign. Being in bed with Randhir was not a good idea.

"This!" He lowered himself over her body and hungrily closed his mouth over hers, savouring the experience and forcing her to respond.