Chapter 9 – Job search

Nancy also completed her project and returned home for a brief while before planning her trip to Mumbai for a job hunt. Mano had a chance to visit her hometown and he visited her home. He met her parents and her younger sister as Nancy handled the introductions. He liked her mom and younger sister instantly. He carried no grudge against her dad too as this visit happened nearly six months after Nancy’s mail. So Mano behaved normally with her dad too. Mano realized that the other three of them looked like a family as far as looks went. They were all on the bulkier side with dark complexion. Only Nancy had a slim build with a very fair complexion. As if reading his mind, Nancy told him how her grandma used to pull her leg that she was not really born to her mother but was obtained in a barter deal for exchange of some food grains. This meet was also full of joy with Mano carrying a huge bag of fruits and sweets back home.

*****

The new baby turned out to be a boy and Mano and Priya named him Hari as per her wish. A dozen new baby dresses were couriered by Nancy and Mano was overwhelmed. More importantly, the dresses were so carefully selected so as to be soft and caring for the baby’s soft skin. Priya always preferred Nancy’s dresses for her new born.

Alongwith the dresses, Nancy had also sent a hand written letter to Priya, her anni. In that letter, she had covered the unpleasant incidents that happened in her childhood and why she considered her fortunate to have a brother like Mano and anni like Priya. Mano decided not to show this letter to Priya. She had just delivered a baby and this is not the time to expose her to such unpleasant things.

He also called Nancy and told her how upset he was upset about the timing of this letter since Priya had just delivered. Such unpleasant details should not be shared with a new mother, Mano thought. Nancy apologised for her mistake.

****

Nancy visited Chennai once to see the baby before moving to Mumbai in Priya’s parents house.  She was accompanied by Shreya who decided to stay in Chennai to do her job hunt. Mano dropped both the girls at their respective places after their visit. Nancy was the last to be dropped and he enquired about her stay arrangements in Mumbai. She had an uncle with whom she would stay till she found herself a job. He checked her about the financial position and she said she had taken enough money to last for two months. He insisted and thrust some money on her hand. As expected, she protested. He asked if he could not have this small pleasure of doing this little thing for his sister. She protested that he had done already enough. He did not think so and finally his wish prevailed. She accepted the money from him. He wished her well.

________to be continued_________________

Chapter 10 – First job

Nancy had just moved to Mumbai in search of her fist job. It was not easy for her initially as she had to stay in a small apartment with her uncle, aunt and their fifteen year old son. Her aunt welcomed Nancy as her own daughter but then she had a poky nose and was always curious to know what Nancy was doing. Her uncle was always sweet with her. To her surprise, Nancy also realized that her uncle and her mom once had a liking towards each other initially. The family was against it due to some reasons and her mom went a step further by marrying a person from another religion.

Nancy had hardly any privacy in her uncle’s house. The Aunt was increasingly poking her nose on everything and Nancy felt constrained and struggled to find her space in that house. Once a while, she could speak to her mother or brother, which came as a huge relief to her.

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Within one and a half months after she moved to Mumbai, she found herself a good job that her mom and brother was proud of. A month later, she also moved to a paying guest accommodation. Her brother visited Mumbai once and they met up. She was happy seeing him and savoured every moment she could spend with him as much as Mano did. They could barely manage dinner outside in a small restaurant and he volunteered to drop her home. They traveled together in Mumbai train, a thing Mano was not used to before especially since he feared Mumbai crowd. But he liked this journey as he was accompanied by his favourite sister. She told him about the problems she had been facing in the PG accommodation. The aunt’s daughter who is in tenth standard was supposed to stay in the same room as Nancy, as per their arrangement. Nancy started noticing that money was missing frequently from her purse. Once, she caught the little girl taking money and warned her. But, it continued and later she had to tell the girl’s mother. The aunt scolded her daughter badly and Nancy did not like the scenes that followed. The mood in the house was terrible after that. Mano listened to her patiently but could not say much. Finally her station came and they both got down. They both felt the pain of leaving. For her, it was more because of the hell she had to return to. Mano instinctively held her hand for few moments and said “don’t worry. Everything will be fine”. She looked at him and said “Thanks anna”.

She sent a mail later that she could not have asked for a better brother in her life. He replied saying the feeling was mutual.

*******

On 22nd of Jan, 2004, Mano called her up when she had just reached office. They both greeted each other. Nancy said “I was about to call you anna. Thanks for remembering this day”. Mano said “I would never forget this day till I have the ability to think”. They both chatted a little longer about how closer they had become and how fortunate they both were to meet each other in life. He sent her an sms later in the evening that read “sleep well on the day you gifted me a sister”. She replied with an sms that read “Thanks for being so sweet. Love u lots mad bro”.

________to be continued _____________