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  The other two couples arrive together. Ravi and Shailu have a large store right in the centre of Pondicherry and both of them run it together, stocking all Auroville products. They have recently relocated from Delhi. They have one child who goes to the same school as Ankita’s children. The third couple does not have children. Piyali is a surgeon at JIPMER in Pondicherry and her husband Shibu is a well-known photographer. They all seem like fascinating people.

  All the children have formed their own group and are busy in Tanya’s tree house, leaving the adults free to talk on their own.

  We talk about various cities and about how Pondicherry is as a place and Shailu says, ‘I think moving here from polluted Delhi was one of the best moves we made in our life. Here we are raising our children in a safe, happy, and serene environment. The school is fantastic too. What more could we want?’

  Akash looks at me and winks as he sips his drink and I smile back.

  The party is a great success and everyone praises the food, wanting to know where we ordered it from. Akash tells them proudly that I cooked it without outside help. He tells them about The Magic Saucepan and my plans of exploring the option of relocating to Pondicherry.

  ‘Oh, you can count me as a regular client! This is really awesome!’ says Ankita. Mark too says he has a few friends who would love to place orders, as do the other two couples.

  ‘In fact, you should set up a restaurant here, Nisha. It will do really well,’ says Ankita.

  Long after the guests have left, Ankita’s words keep lingering in my mind. I discuss it with Akash who thinks thinks it is a brilliant idea.

  We decide to explore the school the very next day itself and make an appointment to see it that evening. The American lady, Mrs Lewis, is very welcoming. She shows us around the whole school and explains its philosophy and the values they stand for. She firmly believes that children should not be taught by the rote learning method of learning by repitition, and believes that children remember best when they learn by doing. She explains the hands-on approach they adopt and the very low student–teacher ratio they have. I am in total sync with the philosophy of the school. It is exactly what I have in mind for my own children. She says they are very picky about the students they take in, simply because it is different from the other schools, and unless the ideology of the parents matches with that of the school, the child will be a misfit. Like everyone else, she has presumed that Akash and I are husband and wife.

  The school is indeed perfect.

  ‘So…?’ asks Akash as we drive back to his house.

  ‘So….’ I repeat and smile.

  ‘Shift here na baba. Look, everything is falling into place perfectly,’ he says.

  ‘Akash, right now you are on leave from work. You will join back and things will be different then. Living together is really different from having me here on a holiday,’ I say.

  ‘Hey! How much more should I beg you? I know what it involves, Nisha. Remember, I was practically living in your house in Mumbai? I am not new to all this. And I am not a kid. I do know what I am doing. You are really insulting my intelligence and maturity now. Do what you want,’ he says angrily and keeps quiet.

  I feel terrible to have made him angry, especially after he has done so much for me. There is nothing keeping me from shifting to Pondicherry except my pigheadedness of being independent. But as much as I love him, I truly do not want to depend on Akash. An idea slowly brews in my mind.

  ‘Sorry baba. Look, after what I have been through, I do not ever want to depend on anyone again. Understand please. And give me a few weeks to think about it,’ I say.

  ‘Okay, Nisha. Take your time. I have waited nine years to tell you how I feel about you. A few more weeks or even months will not make much of a difference,’ he says resignedly.

  Our holiday soon comes to an end and Tanya does not want to go back.

  ‘Mummy, put me in a school here. Please, Mummy. I don’t want to go back to Mumbai,’ says Tanya.

  Akash looks at me as though to say, ‘I told you so.’ But I turn away and do not face him.

  As I bid goodbye to Akash at the airport, I know that I have to make a decision one way or the other.

  Either I can decide that I will continue living in Mumbai and continue running The Magic Saucepan on my own, by hiring a live-in maid or some other alternate arrangement, or I can relocate to Pondicherry and chase a bigger dream.

  After the magic of Pondicherry, Mumbai really feels dull and drab in comparison. After having met all those couples there, especially the one which relocated from Delhi, I am very inclined towards moving base. Akash is there ready to give his whole life for me. What really am I holding on to in Mumbai?

  Most of the decisions in my life have been made on an impulse. But after my marriage fiasco with Samir, I want to be very sure of what I truly want. It takes me a month to decide. I know what to do.

  I call up Akash first and tell him of my decision.

  ‘Oh Nisha, you’ve made me the happiest man on earth,’ he says.

  But I explain clearly that I have a few conditions that need to be met before I move there for good. The first is that I do not want to get married and he cannot hound me on that. The second is that I want to buy my own place in Pondicherry. I want to sell my flat in Mumbai and am very sure that it will fetch a decent sum. The housing in Pondicherry is one-fourth the cost of that in Mumbai. Even after I invest in a place in Pondicherry, I will still have a huge sum left with me.

  Akash happily agrees to both conditions and says that he has an even better idea. He says we can jointly buy the house he is currently living in. The owner’s adult children are all in France and the owners themselves, a very old couple, lead a quiet life in a small town called Cuddalore. They have moved out as the property was too big for them. He says he will speak to them and we can negotiate and strike a deal.

  He says that he can come over and help me wind up things in Mumbai. I tell him that we will contact a few brokers and I will move only after I have sold the property here, as it will be easier to coordinate showing the potential buyers the place when I am there.

  Once I have decided to move, I have to make another visit to Pondicherry to complete the formalities of admission in the school. Tanya will have a written test, and Mrs Lewis assures me that it is merely an administrative formality. We visit Pondicherry again for a week, and Tanya is most happy to miss her school in Mumbai and go on an unexpected holiday again.

  It takes us four more months to sort out all the paperwork and finally sell the property in Mumbai.

  As the kids and I bid a farewell to Mumbai city, I cannot help but think that the pieces of my life are finally coming together like a perfect jigsaw puzzle.

  Akash is once again there at Chennai airport to greet me. This time, the joy is truly manifold, much more than the last time, because now there is no going back.

  Tanya sings at the top of her voice in the car ‘We are all going on a summer holiday…’

  ‘And this summer holiday is going to last a lifetime now, Tanya,’ I say and smile.

  As we drive along the East Coast Road, Akash says to me, ‘You know what, Nisha? We really have a unique love story. Maybe someone should write a book on it!’

  Epilogue

  Akash and Nisha managed to buy the house which Akash was living in, and together they started a restaurant called ‘The Soul Garden’. It is doing really well, so much so that Akash is planning to quit his job at HUL and help Nisha full-time. Both have decided not to get married and like to shock people by telling them that they are living in sin. Who says a marriage is needed for a lasting relationship?

  Chetana is increasingly discontent in her marriage. Monotony and boredom has set in and she finds no joy in life. Her husband keeps busy with his job, hardly making time for her. But she is staying put in the marriage because she knows no other way out, and is growing bitter each day.

  Samir and Maya are planning to get married soon. Samir has filed for d
ivorce by mutual consent, and the court decision should soon come through.

  Akash’s parents have accepted Nisha and the kids just as warmly as Akash had predicted they would. Nisha is very happy about it. They keep asking Akash when he plans to get married, and that is something that even Akash does not know.

  Mrs Kotwal, Mrs B’s sister, is in touch with Nisha, and they have invited her for a holiday to Coorg. She plans to visit with Akash and the kids soon.

  The couples from the party meet Akash and Nisha often. They always have a great time, and Nisha seems to have finally found so many good friends, something that she had always missed having earlier.

  Tanya has settled well in her new school and she absolutely loves the house, as does Nisha. Rohit will soon give his sister company at the same school.

  Acknowledgements

  When a book is written so many are involved in so many different ways that to name each one would take another book by itself!

  My father, K.V.J. Kamath, would have been so proud of me. I truly believe it is he who left me the gift of writing. I owe what I am to him. He lives on inside me. This one is also for you, Daddy.

  A big thank you to my readers who write in and send me so much love. You share a part of your life with me and it never fails to amaze me or move me, no matter how many mails I get. You write to say how much I inspire you, without realizing what a big role you play in making me want to keep writing. A sincere and heartfelt thank you from the bottom of my heart.

  My two wonderful children—Atul and Purvi—who make endless cups of tea and give endless back massages when their mummy is writing, who are so proud of my work, and who think I am the coolest mother in the world. I love you both, you light up my life. My husband, Satish—who is always there for me, supportive and understanding. He is my pillar of strength and I am truly fortunate to have found him. He was the first reader of this book and was involved at each and every stage.

  Mayank Mittal—who read each chapter as soon as it was written. Thank you for making those countless phone calls to me to make me laugh and pep me up when I am sad. And thank you for being there for me always.

  K.Ramesh—who patiently read my entire book (even though it was not of his genre specialization at all), and encouraged me a lot. He is a real gentleman and I am grateful for his help.

  Shabina, my soul sister, for the countless mails we have exchanged on everything under the sun. I am so lucky to have her as one of my closest friends and she thinks she is lucky to have me.

  Rathipriya, one of my closest friends, whom I truly admire and love. She reciprocates, and when we are together, it truly feels like nothing else matters.

  Durjoy Datta, for pushing me to work so hard, motivating me, and being so sweet and honest.

  Priya Kamath, my mother, for believing in this story when I first narrated it to her and who patiently listens to anything that I explain. It is from her that I inherit my sense of humour.

  Suman, who thinks I am brilliant. But I am her ‘fooly’ and she is mine.

  My editor, Milee Ashwarya, who is so responsive and friendly, and also the whole team at Random House.

  All my other friends too who think so much of me and who I am in regular touch with, you know who you are!

  And lastly, Lostris, who keeps me slim, happy, and content, and showers me with such unconditional love, it is hard not to love her back. She teaches me a new thing every single day. I don’t think having fur and four legs disqualifies you from being mentioned in the acknowledgment pages of a book!

  Something More

  ‘Music is love in search of a word,’ said French novelist and performer Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette.

  She sure hit the nail right on the head when she said that.

  Since this is a very unusual love story, and since music always adds magic to love, all the chapter names are names of songs.

  You might have heard some, you might not have heard others. But hopefully, it might lead you to something you might love. Whenever two or more artists have sung the same song, I have mentioned the version I like.

  Grateful acknowledgement to the artists who add magic to our lives with their music:

  Waiting for Saturday Night: Dr Feelgood

  Luck Be a Lady: Frank Sinatra

  Twist of Fate: Olivia Newton-John

  All Nightmare Long: Metallica

  Some You Win, Some You Lose: Jimmy Ellis

  The Unnamed Feeling: Metallica

  Happily Unhappy: Toni Braxton

  Like a Hurricane: Neil Young

  Slave to Love: Bryan Ferry

  The Sound of Silence: Simon and Garfunkel

  It Must Have Been Love: Roxette

  With a Little Help from My Friends: The Beatles

  I Can’t Make You Love Me: George Michael

  Leaving on a Jet Plane: John Denver

  Alone in a Crowd: Insense

  Every Rose Has Its Thorn: Poison

  November Rain: Guns N’ Roses

  Brand New Start: Paul Weller

  Something’s Happening: Herman’s Hermits

  Straight to Nowhere: A band from Sweden with songs like ‘Nearly’

  Trust in Me: Etta James

  My Friend of Misery: Metallica

  Lean on Me: Bill Withers

  Speak Softly Love: Andy Williams

  To Live Is to Die: Metallica

  Thorn Within: Metallica

  Nothing Else Matters: Metallica

  A Note on the Author

  Preeti Shenoy is an author and an artist, with two national bestsellers. Her interests are as multifarious and diverse as her several academic degrees, which include an internationally recognized qualification from UK in portraiture. She loves yoga, travelling, nature, creating stuff, photography, blogging, and basketball. She lives in Bangalore, India, with her husband, two children, and a hyperactive Doberman.

  To know more, go to preetishenoy.com