"Mom," I pleaded, "you need to get out of this house. You spend all your time at work or in this house and I think that you are wasting your life. You...are still young enough to go out and enjoy yourself. And I don't want you to be one of those parents that dies of depression and boredom after their k**s move out." But I'm not attractive. No man could ever find me attractive anymore," she confessed. This was something I had worried about. After my father left she had gained weight and stopped. "Do it!"There was a brief interlude while Melinda was sent off to get theDoctor's bag out of her car. Evidently Lakshmi still made house callsalthough for some reason I did not find this information to beparticularly reassuring or comforting.She opened the bag and peered in at the contents. "I believe that wecan make a start." She turned towards Annika. "You know what needsdoing?"My wife and nodded. She then bent over me and began to fondle myprick. She worked gently but firmly and soon. .I smiled and looked at her, assuring her that her apologies are accepted.I look down and smile again and start talking to my client when it struck me I saw a familiar face and I looked there again…Just behind this girl whom I had spoken animatedly to I saw a woman sitting and laughing ..Oh my god …. There she was ,the woman I missed out the other day from the gifts gallery and god heard my prayers that I found her…But wait a minute ..I think she was married as I saw mangalsutra and sindoor on. I felt like such a looser as I had the girl of my dreams right in front of me and she was running away with an uneducated beast who was from a rural back ground- why not me even my great grandfather was an educated man who was working for the British but girls in their early 20’s look only for style no maturity and future, honesty holds no good.We reached back home, watched an English film and went off to sleep. I was upset for the first time and felt true pity for her in my heart and had made.