Sorting Out Sid (38 page)

T
he view from the thirteenth floor was doing nothing to cheer Neha up.

She took a sip from her coffee, but barely registered the taste. She wasn’t going to allow herself the luxury of wallowing in self-pity. But she couldn’t deny that something was missing, now that Sid was gone. The feeling of emptiness surprised her as much as it annoyed her.

She had resolved a long time ago that she wouldn’t let herself get dependent on anyone, especially a man.

Well, she hadn’t been
dependent
on him, really. She had just got a little too used to him. Anyway, things were chugging along just fine now. Just that there was less fun, less laughter. He certainly had a way of making her laugh. Too bad that wasn’t enough. Life wasn’t all fun and games, after all.

It was better this way.

So why was he on her mind again? Neha closed her eyes, irritated. She had other, more important, practical things to think about.

And she hoped she had done the right thing
–
telling Kapil that if he wanted, he could come and see Kippy next week.

Neha looked at her phone again. She had sent Kapil a message yesterday morning, saying that if he happened to be in Delhi, he could spend some time with Kippy after day-care; perhaps next Wednesday if he wanted. Kapil had replied with a quick, ‘Ok, confirmed,’ before she could change her mind about this.

Neha supposed it was a good thing that Kapil was ready to make a trip to Delhi on such short notice just to spend an evening with Kippy. She did suspect that he probably would wangle a work trip for it. Anyway, she planned to use the next few days to prepare herself mentally for his visit. Not that she planned to see him. She would ask Julie to wait at the day-care with Kippy and go along with the two of them. That way Kippy would be comfortable too
–
after all, she had seen Kapil barely four times so far in her life and that too during the court sessions.

Neha expected Kapil to be suspicious and mystified with her sudden change of heart on the issue of visitation. But she decided she was willing to give this whole arrangement a shot for Kippy’s sake, if Kapil was truly prepared to make the effort. After all, bitterness and animosity between them didn’t mean that they couldn’t even attempt a new equation of trust for the sake of their child.

Except that Neha still didn’t trust him.

Why had he not put up more of a fight for Kippy’s custody? Neha had long suspected that Kapil was up to something. There was just too much history, too much baggage between them now. They both had been stubborn about the way they wanted things in the short period that they were married. Just the thought of some of their fights was enough to make her feel angry all over again. But that was the past, right? No point holding on to it. They had agreed to keep their communication
simple, functional and brief, and their policy of only texting had worked well to ensure less acrimony, of late.

Neha glanced at her phone yet again, and then mentally kicked herself for the vague sense of disappointment that there was no message from Sid. Not that she had expected it. She was done with expecting anything of Sid. He hadn’t messaged in the past two weeks. And he possibly never would again. Whatever, she told herself. More time to focus on the more important things in life.

She picked up the coffee cup from the ledge and put it to her lips only to realize it was already empty. Strange, she didn’t even know when she had finished it. She turned and went inside the house to get ready for work.

The old guard at the gate of the day-care gave Neha a toothless grin as she got out of her car. Neha smiled back and walked around to help Kippy out of the car seat. As soon as her feet hit the ground, Kippy shot off towards the gate, almost tripping in the process.

‘Easy, Kippy,’ Neha called. ‘What’s the hurry?’

Neha was glad that Kippy seemed to enjoy day-care. It was a warm, friendly little place that wasn’t as commercialized as some of the bigger and more popular chains of Gurgaon.

The day-care in-charge was Vasundhara and she stood near the main building, smiling and greeting the children as they walked in. She was a tall, sari-clad lady whom Neha liked for being both elegant and warm. Kippy ran straight to her and Vasundhara bent down to give her a hug. She then straightened up and smiled at Neha. ‘Hello, Neha, haven’t seen you in a while.’

‘I’m here every day, ma’am,’ Neha protested with a laugh. ‘Just that I’ve been rushing off from the gate to get to work. Right now, I wanted to check with you
–
what is the system here for someone else to come and pick Kippy up? Do I have to write an application or something?’

‘Well, if it’s just a one-time emergency thing, you can call me directly and let me know on the day. Otherwise, if it’s going to be a regular affair, it makes sense for you to get a separate pick-up card. Our policy is that anyone other than a parent has to have a card, or an authority letter from the parent.’

‘It’s just a one-time thing for now,’ Neha said quickly. ‘I’ll let you know.’

She waved bye to Kippy, but her daughter had already taken off with two other children, and didn’t notice Neha waving. Neha walked back to her car, walking a little slower than usual to avoid getting gravel into her high-heeled shoes. Time to head to work and start another regular day.

Yes, everything was just fine. Life was back to being completely normal now and it was going to stay that way. Suppressing the faint sense of depression this thought brought in its wake, Neha got into the car, adjusted her large sunglasses over her eyes and drove to work, her face impassive.

By the time evening rolled around, Neha was exhausted. Three back-to-back client meetings had drained her. She checked her watch as she walked towards the car. She would be a little late picking Kippy up today, thanks to that last extended meeting. Oh well, never mind. Kippy and she would go out for dinner tonight, just the two of them
–
no outsiders. It had been so long since they had enjoyed an evening out alone.

As Neha got into the car, she felt a certain sense of anticipation. Something about this morning had made her feel a little uneasy and restless through the day. It was a small thing, but it mattered to her. She was used to giving Kippy a hug and kiss goodbye every time she dropped her off. But this morning Kippy hadn’t even looked back as she waved. It was silly to let it bother her, she knew, but still. Anyway, Neha was so looking forward to seeing Kippy now.

By the time she reached the day-care it was 6.45 p.m. She got out and smiled at the old guard. He gave her his usual, toothless grin, but it then faded and was replaced by a look of confusion.

‘Bitiya ko toh le gaye na? Aapne Madam ko bola tha ki koi aayenge.’

Neha smiled and said, ‘Nahin, bhaiya, woh toh agle hafte ki baat ho rahi thi.’

The guard looked unconvinced. He peered at his register and said, ‘Nahin, Madam, dekhiye, koi saab aaye thay aur Vasundhara madam se miley thay…’

Neha’s heart skipped a beat. She looked around at the main building and saw that all the lights were off. Everyone seemed to have left. This couldn’t be. Neha fumbled for her phone, hands trembling as she dialled Vasundhara’s cellphone.

‘Hello?’

‘Vasundhara, there’s some confusion. I got a little late and the guard tells me someone came to pick Kippy up.’ Neha couldn’t keep the panic out of her voice as the words came tumbling out. ‘What does he mean?’

‘Calm down, Neha. It was your husband. You said someone else would come and pick her up. He was there dot on time at 6 p.m.’

The blood drained from Neha’s face. ‘Kapil?’

‘Yes. I also told him it was surprising we hadn’t ever seen him before. In fact, I even insisted on seeing his identification.’

Oh God. Neha’s voice came out in a choked whisper, ‘But you told me that everyone else but me would have to have a pick-up card
–
you said it was policy.’

‘Anyone but a
parent
has to have the pick-up card. Your husband’s name was in our records and he showed me his driver’s licence.’ Vasundhara’s voice changed to one of concern. ‘Is something wrong, Neha?’

Neha didn’t know what to say. At the time when she first registered Kippy over a year ago, she had not told Vasundhara of her impending divorce. Neha hadn’t wanted to get into any extra paperwork, concerned that she might be asked for some sort of ‘Letter of Consent’ from Kapil. And, anyway, Kapil did not even live in the same city and never seemed to bother about Kippy. Neha had later felt that she could have been more open with Vasundhara, but at the time it had been easier to just avoid mentioning the divorce. And afterwards it seemed irrelevant to clarify.

It all made sense to her now. The whole thing had been an act for him. His agenda was nothing but revenge. He had probably known he could never win the custody battle, and so this had been his plan all along.

The one thing that would hurt her most
–
taking Kippy away from right under her nose.

The minute he managed to extract information from her about the day-care, details of which she had included in a message to him yesterday, Kapil had leapt into action and done
what he had been waiting to do for months. How was she to explain to Vasundhara what was going on?

Only in the plainest terms.

‘Vasundhara…’ Neha took a deep breath. Her knees felt weak and her voice broke as she said, ‘I think Kippy’s been kidnapped.’

‘Hey, Neha, just getting into the house now,’ Aditi said into her cellphone, balancing her purse on her knee as she turned the key in the door. ‘What’s…’

‘Aditi!’

Aditi froze immediately at Neha’s tearful voice. She had never heard her friend like this.

‘Kippy’s gone…’

‘What?’

‘It’s Kapil.’ Neha practically spat out his name. ‘I told him he could meet her next week and where her day-care is. He managed to get her from them today. My fault for not telling them about our separation.’ Neha paused and took a shuddering breath and Aditi thought she sounded as if she might actually break down.

‘I’ll call Krish.’ Aditi swung into action. ‘He must be leaving from office now. Have you called the cops?’

‘Not yet. I’m still figuring out what to do. I tried calling Kapil, but of course his phone is unreachable.’ She gave a bark of a laugh. ‘As if I could just reason with him to give her back!’