Dick was glad to see the three of them coming home together. It was Sunday evening. Danny had made a few heart-rendering telephone calls to Serene and gone to her mother’s place to persuade her to come back. A few hours later, they trooped through the door with the baby half asleep in Serene’s arms. A silent, solemn trio. Dick was the only one exuberant with happiness. He yelped and pranced around their feet as they went about their business. And they were busy, indeed.

Dick did not know why they were so busy on a Sunday night. Until bedtime. That was when he realized that the family arrangement had changed. The baby slept with Serene in the master bedroom. Danny was sleeping in the baby’s room. And Dick… well Dick could choose which room he wanted to sleep in.

The next morning, Danny left for work early. So, instead of the foursome knocking on the door of her mother’s home, there were only three of them. At the end of the day, Serene came to pick Dick and the baby. They arrived home to find Danny already home and in the kitchen. Surprise! The peace offerings which he contrived for their dinners did not go unnoticed. Serene tucked into them indignantly and grudgingly. She ate quietly and purposefully, as if each morsel of food held hidden meanings and subtle messages. But the man’s efforts were not unappreciated. Even though they ate separately.

The weeks breezed by quietly. Nobody spoke about the video tape. Nobody spoke about the photograph. Nobody spoke much.

The baby was, of course, oblivious to the household climate. The stupid brat made as much noise as usual. It was having a whale of a time because Danny was home to play with it so much earlier. In the past, Danny was usually engrossed with homework after dinner. Now, he was full of devotion. From the corner of her eyes, Serene watched the play re-enacted night after night. It was her turn to monopolise the newspapers. Somehow, the newspapers were the sceptres of power in modern homes. Whoever wielded them called the shots. And Serene watched her husband from behind the newspapers.

The weeks breezed by quickly, with the baby flying from one parent to the other in its baby walker every night. If the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach, then surely the way to a woman’s heart is through her baby. How long could a woman stay angry at a man who cuddled with her baby every night? Dick could feel the cold winds thawing.

H