‘It’s okay, Kaavs. I’ve sorted it out. There are no cops around. We can all leave now.’
She nodded, squeezing Neel’s hand.
Afterwards, everyone made their way back to her parents’ house. Her aunt had arranged for a catering service to provide a vegetarian buffet lunch, as was the custom.
‘So, Neel …’ Shona sat on the garden chair next to her.
Kaavi blushed.
‘Your kids are going to be gorgeous. You’re a supermodel and him … damn he’s gorgeous,’ Shona continued.
Kaavi laughed.
‘It’s good to hear you laugh,’ Shona smiled.
‘Thank you for always being there for me,’ she replied.
‘We’re family. That’s what we do,’ Shona said kindly.
‘How does it feel to be married?’
Shona laughed.
‘It’s only been a week. Your cousin is so annoying at times, especially because he is so level-headed, but I love him so I guess I’m stuck with him,’ she joked.
Kaavi thought about the divorce papers back in Rally.
‘Hey. You’ll figure it out,’ Shona said when she saw Kaavi’s grim expression.
Kaavi smiled half-heartedly. Shona sat with her for a little while until everyone was preparing to leave.
‘I can’t stay with you here tonight, Mom. I hope you understand,’ Kaavi said when she found her mother inside the house.
Her mother nodded.
‘Of course I understand. I just don’t know what to do with myself,’ she responded.
‘I know what we could do first,’ Kaavi replied. She took her mother’s hand in hers and led her upstairs.
She pushed open the door to her father’s study. He called it that. It wasn’t.
She spotted the monitor on the desk.
‘Smash it,’ she said.
Kaavi let go of her mother’s hand and ventured further into the room.
She looked around. This is where her father would sit every night to watch what they’d been doing when he wasn’t home.
Her gaze followed the power supply cord. She pulled it out of the socket.
‘I expected that to feel better. I used to fantasise about doing that when I was a child,’ she said.
Kaavi turned to look at her mother. Neel was leaning against the doorway. He looked at her through sympathetic eyes.
‘You’re ready to go?’ she asked him.
‘Only when you are,’ he replied.
