Anu was thirty years old. She had been married for six years and was the mother of a four-year-old. She quite enjoyed being married to her childhood friend Sanju and being a mother to Vicky. She equally loved the breaks she got from being a wife and mother, thanks to Sanju's travel and her parents' free babysitting services. Anu was a kindergarten teacher in the same school that her son went to. She loved her job too. The principal, who was her mother's childhood friend, compensated for Anu's underpay with less work.

Anu was born, brought up, and married into an old, predominantly Kannada suburb of Bangalore, called Vijaynagar. She could have lived in New York, London, Sydney, or even some remote African country because suitable grooms from Vijaynagar were all over the globe. But she loved living in Vijaynagar. Its middle-class living and easy-thinking mode suited her fine. Too much of anything— wealth, intelligence or success—made Anu uncomfortable. Those who possessed too much of these things failed to understand someone like her whose twin missions in life were to stay happy and not work too hard.

That morning, Anu had an issue that had put a bit of a dampener on her spirits. To discuss that matter, she had taken a day-off from school to eat breakfast with her best friend, Shwetha.

'Sanju was acting totally weird yesterday.' Anu took a sip of her coffee. Sanju, a techie like everyone else in Bangalore, was currently in California on a short-term assignment. 'How so?' frowned Shwetha, with her glasses all steamed up from coffee.

'For starters, he hadn't shaved in two days.' Anu dipped a crisply fried Vada into a bowl of hot Sambar, pushing the plate of Idlis towards Shwetha.

'Oh, that is very worrisome.' Shwetha nodded, pushing the Idlis out of the way. 'Why steam the batter into an Idli, when you can fry it into a Vada?'

'Because Idli takes the guilt out of eating Vada. Now stay with me. See, we had a video call last night and Sanju said the house was filthy. He also said I eat too much junk food.'
Anu shoved more Vada into her mouth.

Shwetha pursed her lips. 'Though it is true, I can't imagine Sanju saying something like that to you. That is very shocking.'

'Hey, my house is untidy, not filthy. If you see pee-stains on the bed, it is filthy. If you see underwear on the bed, it is just untidy.' Anu shrugged. 'Coming back to Sanju, something is wrong if he said such ruthless words. Is he having an affair?' She asked Shwetha the question that had gnawed at her all night.

Shwetha disagreed immediately. 'Sanju thinks you are way above his league. Misconception, but that is what he thinks. So, he won't cheat on you.' She added as an afterthought. 'Also, if a man is having an affair, he is nicer to the wife.'

Anu nodded. 'True. And, he would shave too. Sanju is not the cheating type. Is he dying of some disease, then?' Worry had now crept into Anu's voice.

'Hmm. Hypothetically, what do you prefer? Him cheating on you or dying of a disease?' Shwetha asked curiously. 'Dying.' Anu was confident of her answer. Well, only momentarily. 'No ... I don't want him dead. If he is cheating on me, I can always make him grovel for my mercy.' 'Which is worse than death for him. Now, how was he with Vicky? Also, why didn't you ask him?' Shwetha got into an investigative mode.

'Vicky was asleep when he called. And of course, I asked him. You know Sanju. Mr Opaque. He said it was just work.' Anu beckoned to the waiter for the bill.

'That is a lie. Sanju belongs to a creed that gets energized by work.' Shwetha dismissed it immediately.

'I know, right? Good that you agree with me. I will have to nag an answer out of him.' Anu drained the last sip of her coffee, paid the bill, and got up to leave. 'I have to go now. First to the library, then to pick up Vicky from school.' 'I got to run too. Keep me posted. But don't get your knickers in a bunch. Worry doesn't suit you.'