Interpreter of Maladies

I think Mr. Kapasi was just was taken aback as I was at the lack of familial ties within the Das family.  He made the perfect comparison in say that "Mr. and Mrs. Das behaved like an older brother and sister, not parents" (Lahiri).  Jhumpa Lahiri's short story Interpreter of Maladies is a family conversion condensed into nine pages.  I was more surprised at Mrs. Das' disconnection with the children than her husband's.  Mothers almost always have an unexplainable tie with their offspring, but she acted like it was too much to ask to act like she loved her or even just to take her daughter to the bathroom!  Mr. Kapasi and Mrs. Das are both in a loveless marriage and crave attention of which they are deprived by their spouse.  That's why they cling so quickly to each other.  He likes that she's interested in him, and she is enchanted at the notion that he might be able to help rid her of the burden of the knowledge of her past.  Mrs. Das made a mistake though; she forgot that, in both physical and spiritual healing, the method of remedy is not always easy or painless.  She expected Kapasi to give her a quick-fix answer or advice as to what she should do regarding her past affair.  I found it very symbolic that his number blew out of Mrs. Das' purse when she reached in for a brush for her son.  In that moment, she no longer had any reason for contacting him on their return home.  He had already helped to heal her.  In the moment that she showed genuine love and nurture to her children, she didn't have any use for his interpreting skills anymore.