This final episode was conceived by and written in collaboration with Susmita Ramani!

While Sangeetha makes pancakes for dinner, she thinks about the missing ruby from her necklace, and knows that Mummy must have been the one to lose it.

The rubies were intact last Sunday when Mummy came over for a brief visit (waiting until after Anil had left for work, as she had not really warmed to him). While they talked, Mummy had noticed Sangeetha's ruby necklace in its box (open on her jewelry shelf), and complimented it. Impulsively, Sangeetha had insisted that Mummy take the necklace and keep it or at least borrow it for as long as she'd like to. But Mummy had returned the necklace on Thursday (Thanksgiving morning), when she'd popped in for a minute, saying, "I'll just slip your necklace back into its box and then you can wear it on Saturday like you like to."

Mummy must not have noticed the ruby's absence (or she would definitely have said so). Sangeetha decides to take the necklace to a jeweler soon and have it fixed with a similarly-sized ruby - and not mention it to Mummy, as there was no point in making Mummy feel bad about it.

She and Anil eat pancakes while she wonders if Mummy might be getting old.

"Sarasangi right?" Anil asks out of the blue.

Sangeetha snaps out of it and realizes music is playing, as it always is. She should be impressed by his ability to notice the notes of sarasangi, but she is distracted.

She listens for a moment. "Padma," she says.

"Padma? A ragam, or a friend of yours? Never heard of it. A rare one?" Anil replies, dousing another pancake in syrup.

Sangeetha drops a raspberry into her mouth and nods. Padma ragam. Padma raga. It's also the word for ruby.

***

Mummy had not noticed that a ruby had been missing; Mummy's eyesight wasn't as sharp as it once had been.

However, it had been sharp enough to see what those kids were up to, and they had certainly underestimated her. Last Monday, while Lisa engaged Mummy in conversation, Mickey stole Mummy's purse - and in broad daylight! But Mummy had surprised Mickey and Lisa by chasing them. Finally, when they slowed down, Mummy hid so that they thought they had lost her, and thus, they led Mummy to their poster-encrusted excuse for an apartment.

At that point, Mummy knew that Sangeetha would have advised phoning a police officer. Instead, Mummy had waited until the kids left and then broken in through a window and gotten her purse back - but then, hearing someone unlocking the door, had hoisted herself out the same window (at which point, the ruby fell out).

The second time Mummy saw those awful kids, she had been out walking, and was surprised to see them playing basketball with - of all people! - Sangeetha's boyfriend, Anil. Lisa and Mickey were behaving horribly and aggressively, shouting. Then Mummy saw, unmistakably, that Lisa grabbed Anil's shirt and pulled him down, injuring him.

Mummy was boiling mad. She went and got herself a cup of tea and took many deep breaths to center herself. When she reached Mickey and Lisa's place, she knocked, and no one was home, so she let herself back in through the window.

She rummaged through all of their things, not being particularly careful about it, and found out their identities.

Loud rock music started playing and got closer.

Then Mickey opened the door, and heavy metal from his phone blared into the room. his eyes bugged out to see Mummy. He did not shut the door, but stood, motionless, in the threshold.

Mummy spoke first. "You, Mickey, and that girl, Lisa, are both just kids. But your behavior has been very bad. First, you stole my purse."

Mickey hung his head.

Mummy continued. "Then, a little while ago, I saw what you and Lisa just did to Anil, who is my daughter's boyfriend. Now, I know who you both are, and where you live. I could easily go find a police officer. I won't. However, I also won't totally let this go. So I have one question. What would your parents say?"

This got through to Mickey, who started blubbering like a baby about how he just wanted to perform and get a gig instead of Anil.

"What?" asked Mummy. "He's not a musician!" Then she realized who was their real target.

"I'll make you a deal - you clean up, stop all this nonsense, and I'll help you with your music "gig" okay?"

Mickey nodded, wiping his eyes.

"It's okay," Mummy said soothingly. "But, look, just go home quietly, okay? Go see your parents, and make better choices."

"Yes, Ma'am," Mickey said. Without another word, he grabbed his guitar and left.

***

Mickey called Lisa, let her know he was returning to his parents' house and going back to school (because that was the condition of his living at home). He suggested that Lisa do the same - and, after thinking it over for a while, Lisa and the dirty-haired boy (her younger brother Jimmy) went back home, and also returned to school. He decided to study music. She went into music production. But Mummy helped them out, too, by asking Sangeetha to offer them weekly studio time in return for guitar lessons for Anil.

Though Anil never knew what Mummy had done to avenge and help him, things took a positive turn for them after that. Mummy was increasingly warm to him, and by the time he proposed to Sangeetha six months later, they were basically friends.

A short while after that, Sangeetha got a recording contract.

As for Ram, Mummy also gave him some sound advice. At one point when he and Malini were again starting to quarrel over Shruti's ability to withstand kutcheris, Mummy took Ram aside and said, "Son, defer to Malini when it comes to what a five-year-old is capable of doing," This got through to Ram somehow, and Mummy smiled to realize how quickly her confidence and influence had grown, and how far she had come as a person. After that, Malini never missed another concert.

Isaiah, it turned out, was a detective who had been following Anil and Jon after a tip from Mummy. He and Jon became friends, and gradually, Isaiah also became friends with Anil.

At Sangeetha's album recording, Ram sang one track with her. On the others, Shruti sang background vocals, and everyone, including Ram, Malini, and Mummy, felt so proud. Lisa helped produce the album, and Mickey played guitar.

Anil sat back and closed his eyes, and let the music wash over him before it was recorded for posterity.

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