Bindu stiffened her back. "No Mangat! How can I forget the sufferings I bore while living with you? You can not understand the feelings of a wife when her husband overlooks her and sees pleasure in another woman. Everything has finished now. I have no more feelings for you."

Mangat begged his ex-wife one more time. "I have come here with a hope, Bindu. Please reconsider your decision."

Bindu strongly replied. "I think we should not discuss this anymore. Even if I forgive your wrongs, I will never consider living with you again. Now, get out!"

Mangat wanted to say something, but didn't speak. He had never had a woman put him in his place like that. He made his way out of Bindu's door and out of her life.

The next morning Bindu got up early. She had an early flight to New York with the company owner and his secretary. Mr. Edwards was a disciplined man. He sent a car to her home, so they would be sure to leave on time. It was going to be a long flight.

When their flight finally reached JFK airport in New York City the sun was shining brightly. A little girl, who was accompanied by a servant of Mr. Edwards, met them. He was surprised to see his daughter at the airport. She came running to him and leapt up to him. He easily took her joyfully up into his arms and hugged and kissed her.

Mr. Edwards asked his daughter. "Julia, why have you come to the airport?"

The servant spoke up. "Sir, Julia insisted on seeing you at the airport."

Mr. Edwards smiled and said. "Honey, I would have come to home soon."

Julia, in her sweetest voice, told him. "No Daddy! The last time when you went out to go to your office, you didn't come home. You went to the airport and flew far away. You've been gone so long."

Mr. Edwards, hugged and kissed little Julia again and sat her down. "Ok honey, then let's go home together."

Looking towards Bindu, Mr. Edwards said. "Miss Bindu, you must be very tired after such a long journey. You can take the rest the day off and come to the office tomorrow."

The company limo and its driver also waiting for Mr. Edwards. He told his servant. "Mr. Brown, will you please take the company limo and see that Ms. Bindu gets safely to her apartment and my secretary gets home. I will see you at home later."

Mr. Edwards then had the company driver take him and his daughter home in his personal car. Mr. Brown and Julia had brought Mr. Edwards' personal car to the airport.

Meanwhile, Mr. Brown picked up their luggage from baggage claim and led Bindu to the company limo. He dropped Mr. Edwards' secretary at home and took a very nervous Bindu to her apartment.

The size of the stretched Lincoln was overwhelming to her at first. The young woman from a small village in India had never seen such a large car, and, after dropping the secretary off, she and Mr. Brown were the only passengers.

As they drove to Bindu's as yet unseen apartment, she asked Mr. Brown about Mr. Edwards and his family. "Mr. Edwards daughter seems very nice. The love between them is good to see. What is her name again, please?"

Mr. Brown freely answered her questions. "Mr. Edwards loves Julia very much. In fact she is his only close family since his wife past away a few years ago. His parents have retired and had moved to Florida. Now he is living just for Julia."

Bindu continued. "Oh, that is very sad. I didn't know about this earlier. How did his wife die?"

"Mrs. Edwards had breast cancer. Mr. Edwards took her everywhere for treatment. They went to surgeons, doctors, clinics, churches, temples, faith healers, anyplace that offered a ray of hope. It was so sad." Mr. Brown bowed his head and softly added. "Who can resist the will of God."

Bindu, taking a deep breath, added. "May God rest her soul."

A few minutes later they arrived at Bindu's new apartment. To her pleasant surprise, Mr. Brown carried her luggage as they rode the elevator up to her 10th floor apartment. "Good luck at your new job, Ms. Bindu. I am sure you will do well working here in New York. I must go now. Mr. Edwards is expecting me. Oh, do you know where the company offices are?"

"No, Sir. I have never been here before. Would you please tell me how to find them?"

Mr. Brown laughed and walked to the nearest window. He held out his hand to the shy girl who joined him to peer out the window. With a bit of a laugh, Mr. Brown said. "The offices are right there." He indicated a large building directly across the street from Bindu's apartment.

Bindu giggled and said. "Thank you, Mr. Brown. I think I will be able to find my way to work tomorrow morning." Mr. Brown then bowed at the waist, told the girl good-bye, and left her alone in her apartment.

Mr. Brown swapped cars with the company driver. The limo stayed in the office garage, and Mr. Brown too Mr. Edwards' personal car and went to meet Mr. Edwards at his home. Mr. Brown was not only a company driver, but his main job was as a servant at the Edwards' home.

Bindu was left to unpack and explore her new home. She had been used to having only one room. Much of her life she had shared a room with family members and later, her friend Manju. Now she had a entire apartment to herself. Though it was small by American standards, the furnished apartment was huge to Bindu. She had a good sized kitchen with all the utensils she'd need, a separate bedroom, and a living room. Even a TV had been furnished by her company. Her bathroom was nearly as large as the room she had shared with her younger sister. Bindu thought to herself. 'I think I will like living in New York.'

It didn't take much time for her to get involved with the staff in the New York office. In a week or so, Bindu was liked by everyone in the office for her politeness and devotion to her work. She had been appointed the leader of a group of co-workers responsible for a special project. As the deadline for her project neared, she worked late into the evening to complete it. When Mr. Edwards saw the project team was a little behind schedule and Bindu's dedication to her work, he asked if she would like to come to his house that night so that they could complete the project on time.

Bindu agreed, and Mr. Edwards sent Mr. Brown to pick her up after work. She was astounded when she saw Mr. Edwards home. It was a huge two story stone house. It sat on several acres of well tended lawn that was dotted with oak and maple trees. The long curved drive was lined with perfectly trimmed shrubs. It wasn't until several days later that she saw the large and beautifully kept flower garden behind the house.

For the next several evenings, Mr. Brown picked her up after work and returned her to her apartment later that night. Bindu worked with Mr. Edwards in his home office. She felt privileged just to be in such a beautiful home.

One evening Mr. Edwards had been detained in a meeting at his office and wouldn't be home until much later. Bindu took a taxi and went to Mr. Edwards' house somewhat earlier than usual. When she arrived, Julia was fussing with the servant. She did not want to eat dinner without her father. Bindu, who had begun working when she was disturbed by the noise. She came out of the office investigate the disturbance.

Mr. Brown apologized to Bindu for the interruption. "I'm sorry Miss Bindu. Julia is having a fit. She doesn't want to eat without her father. She can sure be stubborn when she wants to be."

"Let me speak with her." Bindu replied. She had always been good with son. Mr. Brown nodded approval and Bindu approached her boss son'.

"No dear." Bindu cooed to the son. "Good son never cause trouble for anyone. Please, eat your dinner."

"No! I won't eat until Daddy comes home." The girl pouted.

"Do you want to please your daddy?" "Yes." Julia nodded.

"Then please accept my request. Your daddy has some work to finish at the office. He might come home late, but he will be coming home tonight. So eat your dinner. You have to get ready for bed soon. You have to get up early to go to the tution. Your daddy will be happy to see you have eaten and in bed when he comes in."

"You talk funny." The girl cocked her head as she spoke.

"Julia!" Mr. Brown admonished the young son.

Bindu looked at the servant. "It is alright, sir. To Julia, I probably do talk funny."

She then addressed Julia, "I do talk differently than most others people here in New York. Not funny, just different from everyone else. Well, maybe just a little bit funny." Bindu smiled broadly at the son.

Julia wrinkled up her nose then grinned at Bindu.

"I will eat dinner too, if you will eat with me." Bindu suggested.

"Ok. I don't like eating by my self. I like to have someone to talk to while I eat." Julia had been calmed and began eating her dinner.

"Ok dear, as you wish." Bindu smiled at the little girl as the servant brought Bindu's dinner. Bindu and Julia chatted as they ate.

Bindu answered Julia's many questions about her accent and where she had come from. The servant brought the globe from Julia's room to the dinning room. Bindu pointed out the area in India where her home village was located.

Because of business meetings, Mr. Edwards, frequently got home from his office late at night. Julia was beginning to warm to Bindu and liked to have dinner with her.

A few days later, Mr. Edwards suggested that Bindu might like to stay at his home until the project was complete. He took Bindu's hands in his and looked into her hazel eyes. "This is a big old house. We have several spare bedrooms, and you would not have to travel to and from your apartment or report to the office. Your job will be here in my home office. Julia would like to have you here," he hesitated briefly, smiled, then continued, "...and so would I."

Bindu accepted the offer. Mr. Brown took her to retrieve the things she would need from her apartment. Julia enjoyed Bindu's company and Bindu would sometimes help the son with her tutionwork.