In the time we've known him he's grown from a dark-eyed sprite of a child peddling his toy car up and down his parents' driveway, five houses up from ours, to a 20-year-old obedient son, solicitous about his parents, and ever willing to help by doing chores around the house. His university studies now over until the next semester, he has a summer job, but on his days off there he is, in the company of his father, following orders.

We can count on a wide smile and greeting from him whenever we see him, and a neighbourly 'catch-up' conversation. On our way to our daily ramble in the woods, there they were, father and son, working on putting together a new flower bed at the front of the house. Mohindar directs and Imran renders his opinion, then commences to do the assigned work. Their smiles and greetings were as anticipated, with the added information that they had locked themselves out of the house.

Every door of the house was firmly, securely and resolutely locked off from entry. They had no keys with them, no cellphone, nothing. So my husband went back to our house to get our cellphone for their use. To telephone Rajinder, to inform her that her men were unable to get into their house, and could she please return home and rescue them?

No, they said, thanking us, they didn't need anything else. They weren't interested in going over to our house. It was a nice enough day, they didn't mind staying outside, and they could continue the work they were doing. It was a nice enough day, but threatening to rain at any moment and since they couldn't enter the garage either, we offered to give them our garage door key, but no, that wouldn't be necessary, they said.

By the time we returned from our walk, surely an hour later, and not ourselves having to make use of the rainjackets we and our little dogs wore, they were still outside. They weren't certain they had got through to Rajinder, because it seemed the batteries in our cellphone (which we rarely use) had gone dead. My husband went around to look at the side door of the garage, and said he'd be right back as soon as we washed our little dogs' muddy feet, and he would have, he assured them, no trouble opening the door, since it didn't have a dead-bolt.

Just as he ambled over a few minutes later, Rajinder came walking up the street from the bus stop.