16. Rose and Thorn - Sandhya

“Good to see you sir” greeted Jaya politely.

“Same here madam” replied Murthy.

“I didn’t know that you were coming here Mr. Baskar. Otherwise, I would have asked the kids to give you the front seats” said Jaya. Her nervousness again showed in her voice.

“We are good here” said Baskar and turned his attention towards the centre stage. Subha was talking to a little boy. Maybe she is giving him a pep talk guessed Baskar. His face softened automatically.

Meanwhile, Murthy continued to chat with Jaya.

“It should be very hard to run a home with so many kids. How many kids are staying here now?” asked Murthy.

“There are around 200 kids. But nothing is hard as long as we have kind-hearted people around us” replied Jaya.

“Yes, I could see the volunteers working hard. Nowadays, we have many golden hearted youngsters“ said Murthy giving a sharp gaze at his son.

Baskar is not an idiot. He could understand what his dad is implying. Since his mind was elsewhere, he didn’t respond immediately.

Meanwhile, Jaya replied to Murthy.

“You are correct Mr. Murthy. I am really pleased with the help we get from these young kids. This home is nothing without them. I know the amount of trouble they put themselves in just for helping me and this home”

Jaya’s voice had a saddened tone.

“I don’t know about others, but I have met Subha and I couldn’t help but accept to what you say. Working extra time to help a friend and a home sounds like a fantasy to me. On this note, I should apologize to you for the way my son treated you” said Murthy.

Both Jaya and Baskar were surprised by Murthy’s apology. Even before Baskar could react, Jaya spoke for him.

“No Mr. Murthy you are mistaken there. Whatever your son did was not illegal. He was within his legal limits to ask us to vacate. Just because we see the home