Judy Lobo, 37, is celebrating Christmas for her daughter’s sake. But it’s not been easy. Like when she went shopping for a soft toy and a card for 10-year-old Jessica. As she noticed the brightly-lit shops, decorations and happy families around, she remembered Francis, her husband of 14 years.

“I remembered how we used to shop for Christmas together. He would decorate the whole house and send cards to all our relatives,” says Judy.

On July 11, Judy had tried persuading Francis, 48, to skip work: he had viral fever and a bad cold. But Francis told her he had to attend a meeting with an important client at office — Datamatrix, an overseas recruiting firm in Colaba, where he had been working for 28 years.

“That evening, my wife and I had just returned from Bandra. Judy met us on the way and said ‘Thank God, you people are safe. I was just lighting candles for all of you and praying that you come home safe’,” says Dominic D’Souza, Judy’s neighbour and their former parish counsellor. “Everyone in the building returned home safe, except her husband.” On his way home in IC Colony, Borivali, Francis was caught in the blast on a train near Khar station. He died instantly.

A homemaker, Judy says she was “completely dependent” on Francis, particularly because she would often fall ill. And he would always be there to take care of her. Also, she’s diabetic and insulin-dependent.

“I used to tell him ‘I will die before you’. I have always been in bed, needing medication for the past 14 years. Now I have to take good care of myself for my daughter’s sake. I am only worried about her future,” says Judy. Immediately after Francis’s death, Judy says she “just wanted to die”. But she picked herself up with support from sister Jecinta Tauro and neighbours. Judy recalls Francis used to dote on daughter Jessica: “She was his jaan.” Their neighbour, Wilfred Pereira, says: “He would always spend quality time with her. Even after returning tired from work, he would take her to the park.”

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