A House for Happy Mothers: A Novel

by Amulya Malladi

  Priya smiled. “I’m going back to work as soon as I can. We’ve signed up the baby for day care at this place nearby from when she’s six months old.”

  “That’s what they all say, honey, but once the baby is here, it’s tough to go back to work. I’m a living, breathing example of that,” Nina said. “Oh, Karen, you have to meet my friend Priya. She just got laid off and is about to have a baby. I told her it was perfect timing.”

  Priya learned that Karen, a tall, slender blonde who had an authoritative voice, used to be a VP of marketing for Banana Republic. Once she had kids, she left work and had never felt better.

  “The chase and chaos of the morning is gone,” Karen said to Priya. “Just knowing that I don’t have to scramble to get the kids to school and myself to work is enough to get me out of bed. If I needed to do it all—seriously, I’d slit my wrists.”

  “You can always get a nanny,” Priya suggested.

  “Are you thinking of getting one?” Nina asked Priya.

  “Did someone say nanny?” asked another woman, another blonde, who looked a little like Reese Witherspoon. “Hi, I’m Sabrina.”

  Priya and she shook hands.

  “Are you having a baby?” Sabrina asked, looking pointedly at Priya’s stomach.

  “Well . . . we’re using a surrogate,” Priya said, feeling uncomfortable discussing this with a total stranger.

  “Like Sarah Jessica Parker,” Sabrina said. “Are you thinking of getting a nanny?”

  “No . . . well . . . ,” Priya said, and emptied her glass of champagne. “I first need to get my baby, and then I need to find a job, and then I think, yes, we’ll definitely think about a nanny.”

  “Just do it, but don’t go back to work,” Sabrina said. “I have a nanny and it’s the best. I also don’t work, which is just fabulous.”

  Sabrina, Priya found out later from Nina, had not always been a housewife. She used to be an executive, too, at an Internet company. But then she got pregnant, the market went bust, she got laid off, had a baby, and never went back to work. That was ten years ago. (Sabrina’s husband was a neurosurgeon who worked all the time, was never home, and clearly made tons of money.)

  “Is that cutie your husband?” Sabrina asked, pointing at Madhu.

  “Yes,” Priya said.

  “And he has a job, right? Pays well? Stay home. Enjoy. Have lunch with us,” Sabrina said. “Nina, Karen, Anne, and I have lunch every Thursday. We have the best time without the kids. Well, Anne brings her baby along. Anoushka is just four months old. But she brings her nanny as well so she doesn’t have the baby fussing at her all the time.”

  They all talked a mile a minute, former career women who had given it all up to become housewives—they couldn’t recommend it enough.

  Priya stole a moment next to Madhu while they ate, standing around the living room and dining area.

  “The sushi is OK,” Madhu said.

  “I think it’s pretty good,” Priya said, and leaned against him. “All these women are stay-at-home moms with nannies. Nina is the only one with no nanny, but that’s because her mom lives all but next door.”

  “And all these guys have seriously expensive cars,” Madhu said. “There’s a recession out there, and this one guy is talking about buying the brand-new BMW in Germany and having it shipped here. And then this other guy started talking about his new Tesla. You see, he knows Elon Musk very well, so he’s getting ahead of the waiting list.”

  “I’m so out of my league here,” Priya said. “These women had real careers, senior positions.”

  “Most of these guys own their companies like Jordan,” Madhu said. “I feel like everyone is more successful than I am. These guys, the desi guys from Columbus, everyone.”

  “You’re successful,” Priya said, standing up on her tiptoes to kiss him on his lips. “You have a good career. And you have me.”

  “And even though that does make up for a lot, I think my situation would improve considerably if we could leave this party sooner than later,” Madhu said.

  “I promised Krysta I’d wait for her.”

  By the time Krysta arrived, it was nearly two hours into the party, and Priya and Madhu were itching to leave.

  “I don’t like anyone,” Priya told Krysta while they sipped their wine and looked around at the well-dressed crowd.

  “You like me,” Krysta said.

  Priya grinned. “I mean all these people. They’re not my type. They’re not Madhu’s type, either.”

  “Honestly, I don’t think they’re Nina’s type, either,” Krysta said. “These people are acquaintances. Business connections. You and I are the poor friends they rely on at these shindigs to feel normal.”

  Krysta grabbed some food from the buffet table, and Priya walked with her, keeping her company.

  “If you wanna know the truth,” Krysta continued, “Nina hates being at home. I mean, look at her. With all that time on her hands, you’d think she’d hit the gym with a personal trainer.”

  They both looked at Nina. She used to be a slender woman, but age had caught up with her. She wasn’t fat, but no one was calling her fit, either. She was wearing a beautiful rose-colored silk cocktail dress that came to her knees, and though diamonds sparkled on her ears and fingers, her eyes were dull beneath the glitz.

  “Oh, she looks fine, and she’s too busy with the kids to go to the gym. She told me that you and I were lucky to have the time to go spinning twice a week.”

  Krysta finished chewing an inside-out crispy shrimp maki before speaking. “She isn’t happy. Since Jordan cheated on her, she hasn’t been the same. And now he has the big career and all that. It used to be the reverse. He was the struggling entrepreneur, and she was the bacon machine.”

  As the evening wore on and the food started to thin, the crowd thinned with it. By midnight, almost everyone had gone. Priya and Madhu had stayed at Nina’s insistence and were now sitting in the living room, the only guests left besides Krysta.

  Jordan brought tumblers of cognac for everyone except Priya, who was driving, and flopped on the couch next to his wife.

  They looked like a happy couple, the extramarital affair a distant, almost dreamed-up memory, Priya thought as she watched them hold hands.

  “It was good,” Nina said.

  “It was great,” Jordan said. “Nina throws the best parties; don’t you think?”

  “Absolutely,” Krysta said, and Priya and Madhu joined in with their consent.

  “As long as we cater,” Jordan added. “It’s easier on everyone’s stomach lining if she doesn’t attempt to cook.”

  “Jordan,” Nina said playfully, and threw a pillow at him.

  He laughed and put his arm around her and gave her a loud kiss on the mouth.

  They were both a bit tipsy.

  “Well, it’s getting late,” Krysta interjected. “Priya, do you think you could give me a ride home? I’ll leave my car here, Nina. I’ll pick it up tomorrow. I can stop by on my run in the morning.”

  “Maybe I’ll join you for a run,” Priya said. “What time do you leave?”

  “Around seven,” Krysta said.

  Nina sighed. “I envy you girls. You have so much time to do what you want. You can go to the gym, run, take cooking classes . . . and here I am stuck at home all the time with the kids.”

  “You’re not stuck,” Jordan said. “You enjoy it.”

  “I don’t enjoy it all the time, Jordan,” Nina said. “Once in a while I’d like the freedom to have a life, too—like all of you do. I feel trapped.”

  “You have freedom. The kids go to school and preschool. How busy can you be during the day? We have a cleaning lady who does the cleaning and the laundry. You hardly ever cook. We get our groceries delivered or I go to Whole Foods. What is it you do all day that takes your freedom away?” Jordan demanded, pulling away from Nina.

  Not looking so good anymore, Priya thought, looking at Madhu pointedly. It was time to leave.

  “You don
’t go to Whole Foods; I do. Between Rebecca’s lactose intolerance and Sasha’s allergies, I’m there picking up this and that every fucking day,” Nina said. “You’re too busy having a career. I’m at home.”

  “That’s your choice,” Jordan said. “You want a career, go get it.”

  “It’s not so easy. I’ve been out of the job market for eight years now, and there’s a recession out there if you haven’t noticed,” Nina said, her voice rising.

  “These were your choices. No one put a goddamn gun to your head,” Jordan said, and stood up.

  Madhu, Priya, and Krysta stood up at the same time as well.

  “Well, we should get going,” Madhu said.

  Jordan and Nina seemed to take deep breaths and looked at their guests.

  “Thank you so much for coming,” Nina said.

  “It was a great party,” Priya said. She gave Nina a hug, and then Jordan.

  “Christ, that was a fucking disaster,” Madhu said when they got home.

  “I’m not staying at home,” Priya said, and started to take off her jewelry, putting her earrings and only pearl necklace neatly in the silk-lined suede boxes Madhu’s mother had given her.

  “You can do whatever you want,” Madhu said, and kissed her cheek.

  Priya slipped out of her black dress and put it back on its hanger, which was lying on their bed. She hung the dress back in the closet.

  “Madhu,” she said as she watched him undress.

  “What?” he asked, sitting down to remove his socks.

  “I want to go to India,” she said.

  Madhu looked at her and sighed.

  “No, hear me out. I want to go. I want to see Asha and the baby. I need to go,” Priya said. “I’ll talk to you every day. We’ll Skype.”

  “My parents will drive you up the wall,” Madhu said.

  “I won’t let them,” Priya said.

  Madhu shook his head and threw his socks in the clothes hamper. He pulled on a pair of gray flannel shorts and a white undershirt.

  “Priya, we’ll be without each other. Without support,” he said. “I don’t think I could handle it alone, talking to Asha and hearing her angry or off or whatever. I need you here.”

  “But that’s the point. If I’m there, I’ll know exactly what her mood is and why it’s like that. I can tell you and you’ll have peace of mind,” Priya said. “We’ll still be there for each other, just via Skype.”

  “For two months?”

  “Well, just a month and a half; you’ll be there the last two weeks,” Priya said.

  “And you’re sure about this?”

  Priya shook her head. “No. But I think I should do it.”

  “I don’t like it . . . but OK,” Madhu said as he lay on the bed, his arms stacked behind his head.

  “Just don’t have an affair with some Chanel-clad woman while I’m gone,” Priya said with a smile and lay down beside him in her underwear.

  “I’ll miss you,” Madhu said. “Just the thought of you gone makes me miss you.”

  “You travel so much. You won’t even notice,” Priya said. “It’ll be the same. You’ll just talk to me in India on the phone from Dallas or Phoenix or wherever you are instead of here.”

  “I do have a lot of travel lined up,” Madhu said. “And we do have great phone sex.”

  “See?” Priya said. “It’s going to be just fine. Trust me.”

  Transcript from message board www.surrogacyforyou.org

  UnoBaby: I’m struggling here. Work has become insane. My company laid off so many people that the workload is just too much. I don’t know if I can work like this after the baby. These ten-hour days are fine if it’s just DH and me, but once the baby is here I don’t know if I’ll want to do it. I want to be home, be with my baby. It’s been such an uphill battle having this baby—I feel like I’ll cheat myself if I work.

  Trying1Time: At least you have a job. I got laid off. And I’m honestly scared that I’ll never ever work again. I’m not sure I’m the stay-at-home kind, but God knows what I’ll become once the baby is here.

  Newbie1209: I think you should take a few months off and then make a decision. You’ll never know now how it’s going to feel to have your baby home.

  YummyMummy2008: I don’t mean to judge anyone. Everyone makes her choice here. But my advice is to work. If you like your work and it keeps you stimulated, please do work. I am a better mother working than I was not working. But I’m sure it’s different for everyone.

  Mommy8774: I love being a stay-at-home mom. It’s what I always wanted and now I have it. It’s perfect. I would not ever work and steal from my time as a mother.

  CantConceive1970: FWIW, I never worked. I finished university and got married. I wish I had worked, but now it’s too late and in any case I’m so busy schlepping the kids around here and there and taking care of the house, I don’t have the time to work. Hats off to the women who do both.

  NearlyMother: OMG! Working has kept me sane. After we lost the baby, I was going out of my mind and it was great to go to the office every day and just get my head screwed on right.

  LastHope77: I can’t quit even though I want to. My husband got laid off and our baby is due in December . . . so I have to work and if my DH doesn’t get a job then he will stay home with the baby and I’ll continue to work. I wish I could stay home and enjoy my baby. But with this recession, I don’t know if I’m going to have that option.

  PART IV:

  THIRD TRIMESTER

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  Asha wanted to cry as soon as she hung up. She set the mobile phone on the floor beside her bed and buried her face in her hands.

  The mother was coming to India. For nearly two months. She was going to visit Happy Mothers and hover around her.

  Now Asha wished her parents were like Keertana’s parents, who didn’t want anything to do with her. It would be better for everyone if she had never met the mother or father.

  It had been a difficult few days. Just the day before, Manoj had a big bruise on his elbow.

  “How did you get that?” Asha asked.

  Manoj shrugged but didn’t say anything.

  Pratap sighed. “He got into a fight with an older boy.”

  “The other boy was being stupid,” Manoj said. “He said that we have a leap year every four years so he grows older slower than all of us. He’s born on the twenty-eighth of February.”

  “And you got into a fight because of this?” Asha asked.

  “It’s not true. We need leap years to keep our calendar in alignment with the earth’s revolutions around the sun,” Manoj said. “Everyone knows this.”

  Later, when Manoj was playing with Mohini and out of earshot, Pratap told Asha that this was not the first time Manoj had gotten into a fight at school.

  “He’s bored, his teachers are saying,” Pratap said. “He’s picking fights, and they’re calling him names because they think he shows off his smartness. I was worried, but you know, Asha, all boys go through things like this. I think it’ll be fine.”

  “No, not if we don’t do anything. We have to find him a better school with children like him,” Asha said.

  For days, her mind had been wholly occupied with Manoj’s problems, and now the mother wanted to come and bother her. Asha wiped her tears. If she wants to come, let her come. What’s it to me? Asha told herself. She can sit here and watch television with us all day if she likes.

  As Asha walked into the TV room and saw all the women with their pregnant bellies sitting and chatting, watching television, she felt claustrophobic. She needed to get away, just for a while. The rules were, they couldn’t go out alone. They could go in groups, out to a movie or something like that once in a while—but Nursamma had to organize it. Asha would have to talk to someone about it.

  Since Asha had come to Happy Mothers, they had gone out as a group only once, to the park in the center of the city. They had packed food and water with them for a picnic. But it was early on, and As
ha had spent the entire time missing her children, whom she had come to the park with several times in the past.

  Would this time ever evoke one happy memory? she wondered. Or would she forever look back at it as a black mark in her life?

  The baby kicked suddenly, and she regretted her thoughts immediately. A baby would come out of this dark time, and if a baby came out of it, how could the time be dark?

  “Keertana,” Asha said, sitting down next to her on one of the coconut charpoys where the women sat to watch television. “Could you convince Nursamma that we should go for a movie?”

  Asha didn’t want to ask because the last time at the park had been at her insistence, too.

  “That’s a good idea. I want to see Raju Maharaja,” Keertana said. “The songs they showed on Chitralahari on TV are so mast, fun.”

  “And Mohan Babu and Ramya Krishnan are in the movie,” Gangamma said. “She’s still so pretty, even though she’s now doing mother roles.”

  “Mohan Babu, Shmohan Babu. He’s an old man,” Chitra said. “Let’s see Evaraina Epudaina. It’s with Varun Sandesh.”

  Keertana shrugged. “I really don’t care what we see as long as we get out of here. I’ll talk to Nursamma.”

  “Wonder how it’ll look with all of us pregnant, fifteen pregnant women, all sitting in the same row.” Ragini laughed. “I hope I can see the movie before anything happens.”

  Ragini was due in two weeks, and since this was the third time she was doing this, it could happen at any time. The more babies a woman had, the sooner the babies came. Doctor Swati had given her strict orders to rest and relax.

  Asha liked Ragini. She was a strong woman who, like Keertana, didn’t think of surrogacy as an emotional experience at all. She just wanted to get enough money to marry off her daughters and be done with it. Her husband was not much use. He spent all the money he made as a construction worker on toddy. In the early years of their marriage, Ragini told Asha, she had tried to change him, but now she didn’t even try.