Dan is still in Bangalore, but returns on Saturday. Each day he calls at 5 am his time, 7 pm our time to say goodnight to Mia and Evie and to read ‘Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone’ to Masan for 15 minutes for her nightly reading log. Even though he is physically and mentally exhausted, he has never missed a reading. While in Bangalore, he gets up very early each morning to life manage before he goes into the office where he works until 8 pm. Contrary to what his first phone calls lead me to believe, he has been able to get a ton of things accomplished: He opened a bank account (almost $8,000 is required to open one), took care of his visa stuff, purchased mattresses for the house, bought white bedding, plates, bowls and mugs, and turned on the water, electricity, and gas for the villa.

Today at 10 pm Bangalore time, noon our time, Dan called me from the hotel. He told me the following anecdote, which I think sums up my dedicated, selfless husband and his experiences in Bangalore thus far: He took an Uber from his office to a FabIndia (home goods) store, which was an hour’s drive, so to translate, that’s equivalent to a half mile away since the traffic really is that horrendous, to pick up some remaining mugs that the store hadn’t had in stock when he went the day before. On the way there his phone ran out of juice. Once he got to the store, the Uber driver told him that he couldn’t take him back to the hotel because it was too far. So now Dan is stuck an hour way from where he needs to be without a phone or a way to get back. And he begins to feel a bit of panic. So he bribes the driver, “I will give you a thousand rupees to take me back.” “No problem, Sir.” 1,000 rupees is a bit less than $15, but an exorbitant amount to pay for a ride, even an hour away.

Dan makes it safely back to the hotel and the front desk person takes one look at him and walks around the desk to give him a hug, and tells him that he looks exhausted and should get some rest. The porter comes to help him with his box of mugs and proceeds to drop it. Several mugs crack as the box hits the marble floor, but Dan tells the guy that it’s no problem.