Sorting Out Sid by Yashodra Lal Page A

it tonight when Mandira hadn’t even bothered to come home from work on time. After all, they were her parents – he had only acquired them through marriage. Sure, he had been close to them. In fact, sometimes Sid felt closer to them than to his own parents. But for now, he couldn’t help but feel resentful about having to be the one to bear the brunt of their advice.
    Usse pyaar ki zaroorat hai. Hah! They had always overindulged her as a kid, their ‘Mandu darling’, believing that she deserved to be treated like a little queen. Everything madam ever did was always right; she was never to blame. No wonder she turned out so opinionated, believing it was always someone else’s fault. Mandira was simply unable to accept things that didn’t go exactly the way she wanted. Anyway, hemay not have treated her like a queen, but he didn’t think that he had been short on providing her with love – or had he?
    He felt annoyed that she was involving her parents in their problems. Mandira had told them that they were no longer on talking terms because Sid was too selfish to have a child, and that she was now getting too old and would end up being childless forever. The more he thought about it, the more convinced he became that having a kid would just add to their troubles. Sid remembered how completely berserk Aditi had been during her pregnancy as well as after her delivery. He also knew that not only did he not have Krish’s ability to handle half-crazed women, his relationship with Mandira was nowhere as strong as the one between Krish and Aditi. So having a baby right now would be disastrous. But what was the point of worrying her parents with all this? They were old, and hardly in the best of health, like his own. Sid realized that his concern about their health bothered him more than the fact that he had been made the villain of the piece. Sid could take being the villain, he was used to being made to feel like that.
    He had tried to shut his ears when Mummy was coaching him on what a woman really wanted from a man in terms of love, care and attention. He was mortally afraid that Mummy might eventually work her way into elaborating on the best sexual positions for impregnation. So he had escaped midway through her impassioned speech, citing an emergency.
    ‘Kya emergency hai, beta Sid?’ Mummy had called out to his retreating back.
    ‘Maggi khatam ho gayi hai, Mummy … I’ll be right back.’ It was all he could think of on the spur of the moment. Sid had almost run out of the house, clutching his car keys.
    He now sat in the parked car, unsure of what to do and where to go. Then he noticed a car pulling into their second parking space a few spots ahead. At least Mandira was home now. Good, she could keep her parents company.
    He wondered where he could escape to tonight. He didn’t really feel like being with anyone. He tapped the steering wheel, weighing his options. His mind flitted back to the issue he had been trying to put out of his head the entire last week.
    ‘Fix it, or end it, or else DIE!’ In his head, Cynthia’s proclamation had taken on the dramatic feel of a witch’s prophesy and he imagined her pale figure looming above his head, mournfully reminding him that the end was near.
    Sid had always known that Mandira wouldn’t even consider Cynthia’s suggestion about visiting her. He had tried to bring it up during dinner the same night after his visit to Cynthia. He didn’t give her too many details – he just said that he met someone interesting who had done a reading for him and that Mandira should go for it too.
    ‘What exactly did she tell you?’ Mandira had asked sharply.
    ‘I can’t really tell you that.’
    ‘What bullshit is this, Sid?’
    ‘I’m serious,’ he insisted. ‘She was really good. I think there really is something to this…’
    ‘Who told you about this woman in the first place?’ Mandira demanded.
    ‘Er … Aditi and her friend … Neha.’
    ‘And “Aaadu”