“Yes. It wasn’t possible to provide for everyone, if I didn’t work full time.”

“Don’t you feel bitter? At fate?”

“I don’t know. I probably don’t think much. Not as much as you,” she replied and realized that it was indeed true. Ever since she had rushed to the accident site, hugged her eight-year old brothers, and realized that their parents were dead, all her mind was occupied with was what to do next. “I have always been in a rush,” she continued, “To find a place to stay in, to find a job, to earn enough to pay their school fees, to make sure that they ate, to ensure that I myself don’t fall ill…”

He stared at her, his expressions a mixture of astonishment and admiration. Money makes a whole lot of difference. Loss of people would not make the life such a hardship if there was money. If after Amrit’s death, he had to worry even about how to provide for Meenal, how to pay enough to hire a caretaker, life would have been so much more miserable. He wasn’t even dependent on his job for his financial security. If Rupali hadn’t come, he had almost made up his mind to leave his job to take care of his daughter and to give her his full attention.

But then, was it the money that made Amrit so weak and dependent? Would she have been more of a fighter, if she hadn’t always had things easy? It was a weird thought.

Rupali grew conscious of his stare. “I am boring you,” she chuckled nervously.

“No!” he replied, “I want to know. How did you manage? What happened after their death?” His voice was eager.

She took a deep breath. It was the first time she would recall everything. She was scared of the exercise. Still, she went ahead. The first few days were hazy. But she remembered getting help from neighbors. She managed to get the little money that was lying in the bank. It wouldn’t last for long. Her father’s earnings were not a lot. She could not find any insurance papers either, which everyone asked her to look for. Probably there were none. She would have to earn. But before she could do anything about it, roof over their heads became uncertain. The landlord wanted a family in his house. A young orphaned girl with two children wasn’t an ideal tenant. Who knew what she would do in his house? He wanted her to vacate the house within a month. “You should live with your relatives,” he declared. The neighbors could not help this time. It was his house; he could decide whatever he wanted. They did offer her shelter for appearance sake, but it wasn’t sincere and it would not be a long-term solution.

Some friends, who were not form the city, and who were staying here for studies, came to her rescue. They found a room for her in their Paying Guest (PG) accommodation, where she stayed with Soumitra and Sugata, while looking for a job.  She had sold off every household article possible, except her newly acquired computer, before shifting. That got her some more cash. Some of other girls staying in the house were cooperative and they looked after the boys, while she was away on her job search. But others objected very soon. It was a women’s PG. So what if the boys were merely eight-years old. They couldn’t stay there for long. As soon as she got a job as a floor helper at a retail store, she moved out to her current accommodation. It belonged to the parents of one of her school friends. They took pity on her and charged nominal rent. Sometimes she could not manage to pay rent for months. They did not bother her. It wasn’t a great place. But they had a roof over their head. They made a cozy home out of it. Since then, it had always been the search for the next job that would pay better. When she joined the pharmacy a couple of months ago, she realized that she could earn more by taking night shifts. So, she volunteered to do all the night shifts. That also opened up the possibility of taking up another day-time job.

“Now that I think about it Dr. Khanna, I have been lucky. If one landlord or a few girls at a PG created troubles, many more friends came forward to help. My brothers were so young, but they never gave me any problems. They looked after themselves while I worked. And they take as much care of me today, as I do of them. So, I’m not bitter. Incomplete as it might be, I have a home and a family.”

“Incomplete? If you look at it from my perspective, between three children, you have been able to create a more functional and complete family than us; even with two adults at the helm!” He didn’t explain it. That their marriage was hitting the rocks even before Meenal was born. A child was supposed to solve their problems…

She suddenly felt tired of the gloominess. “What would you take to stop beating yourself up?” she asked with unusual sauciness to change the mood.

He laughed, not loudly, but genuinely, “Nothing. I am trying to learn.”

“Oh God!” she jumped as she noticed the time, “It’s already six. I need to go.”

He realized that it’d cut down on her sleep time. “Let me drop you. It will be faster.”

“No… That’s not required, Sir. And you have to stay with Meenal.”

“Meenal won’t mind a little outing either. Let’s go.”

—

When they reached her home, Meenal wouldn’t let her go. She cried until Rupali picked her up and took her inside with her.

Paritosh grew embarrassed. “This was a bad idea!”

“No Sir. There is no problem. She just likes to stay around. I can sleep, if you don’t mind waiting.”

“Like I have a choice! But I am not carrying her snacks and milk.”

“Sugata and Soumitra will be here in an hour. They can get whatever she needs.”

“Once they come, I will myself go out and get it. But you must sleep right away. Please go.”

—

“Dr. Khanna?” Sugata and Soumitra were surprised to find him at their house when they came back.

“Hi Soumitra, Sugata. Good that you are back. I need to step out…”

“Sugata,” Soumitra said dryly, “Can you check if any luggage tempo is available from the market. We need to load the washing machine…”

“What? No,” Paritosh interrupted, “That’s not needed Soumitra. Rupali and I have talked about it.”

“And she is fine with it?”

“Yes, she is.”

“Great!” Soumitra threw his bag on one of the cots and went out of the house.

Sugata looked about confused about what to do. “I… I am sorry, Dr. Khanna. He had a bad day. You said you had to step out.”

“Uh… Yeah,” despite the worry about Soumitra’s behavior, Meenal’s food must be there in time. “Rupali is sleeping. Meenal is with her and is refusing to come with me. I need to buy something for her. If you are around for a while…”

“Yeah. No problem. I will be here.”

“Thanks. I will be back in ten minutes.”

—

To be continued