She said ‘hello’ as she usually did, before she settled down in her usual soft chair. As I settled down in my chair, pen and paper in my hands, sh... looked up at me with a quick smile and then started talking. And I knew she would keep talking about her life and her friends for at least half an hour, so I settled in, trying to keep one ear focused on what she was saying, but my mind too full with spinning thoughts about my day to put in a real effort. Just speaking about everyday things seemed. It is a moment or two before I am aware of a tugging sensation just below my belly. I glance down to see the sweater unravelling rapidly at the hem. Following the string with my gaze as it forms a taut line to the horizon, thrumming slightly in the wind. My sweater is disappearing before my eyes… I am alarmed to feel the cold air on my bare belly, but can only watch, dumfounded, as all of my careful stitches are unmade, and the woven pictures become a meaningless multicolored string being. I’m going to visit an old friend who owns a resort hotel on a remote island where no one can find me.”“Dad, what’s going on?”“You can stay at the house over Christmas break. In fact I’d appreciate it if you kept an eye on the place. Hopefully you can have a nice Christmas at your mother’s.”“Dad, what happened?”“It’s embarrassing is what it is. It’s Marisa. I kicked her ass out.”“Kicked her out? Why?”“Because she’s a cheating slut, that’s why. I caught her in bed with your sister. And they were. She told me that Depak and his wife and Rakesh and Isha had come round to her mum and dad’s while she was there. I had forgotten about them until she reminded me about the Bengal Dynasty.“I told Isha about us,” she told me. “I thought I would get it over with before the gossip did the rounds.”I laughed.“I think it will spur her on to leave Rakesh.”“You’ve started a family trend then?”Sunita laughed. “Actually we had a bit of a gossip about you?”“Oh!”Sunita explained that she had told her about.