Page 95 of Made in Mumbai

“Did you beat him up?” Kumar bhai was matter-of-fact. Gautam smirked — “Just this morning.”

“Do we want to go again?”

“No. He understood.”

“How did this happen? You have been cursing her all these years!”

Gautam smiled, shaking his head, his eyes fixated on the skyline far away.

“Even I don’t know. But she is not as I had built her up in my head. You remember that morning, how she spoke to us? The things she said. In the beginning I thought she was right in being angry, I had lied to her all day. But then, as time passed, I began to think of her as this bratty, entitled rich girl who couldn’t handle that she had spent a day with a cleaner like me.” Gautam threw his head back. “But she is… you sat with her all day today. You think there is anything bratty or entitled in her?”

Kumar bhai laughed, putting his feet up on the bed and getting comfortable. “You know, she said sorry to me.”

“I am not surprised. She… she makes you laugh, she makes you angry, she makes you frustrated sometimes. But then one smile, one comment from her and you will thank all the gods above that she is with you.”

Kumar bhai was silent. Gautam turned to him and raised his brows — “What?”

“What are you doing with her, Yaara?” He addressed him with that old, familiar moniker that always came out in mellower moments. “She is pregnant, looking at you like you are her hero. Tune kya waade kiya hai use?”

“Ek bhi nahi. She doesn’t want anything right now. Neither do I. Her landlord threw her out, so she is staying here, fought with me to pay rent,” he chuckled. “And I want her here. She has nobody. I can help her right now, keep her happy, safe, healthy…”

“And after her child is born? Then what?”

“We will see then.”

“Will you be a father?”

Gautam’s whole body seized up. His heartbeat drummed in his ears.

“See? Even the word makes you go into a fit. What are you doing with her? Giving her hope like this…”

“She doesn’t want hope. She doesn’t want anything. We are just…” he searched for the right words.

“Just what?”

“Just… seeing where it goes.”

“That’s ok if she was alone. She is not.”

Gautam clamped up. He had no answer. He had given it a thought, of course he had. But Maya wasn’t ready to talk about the future with him, and that had been his shield to hide behind. Yes, one day they would address this. But that one day wasn’t today. They were just getting to know each other again, discovering the joys of being with each other. This was enough for now. It had to be.

“Anyway,” Kumar bhai sighed, “I came here for a reason.”

“You didn’t come for Diwali?”

He shook his head, lying back on the bed’s headrest and pushing the pillows up to support his back. He wasn’t as young now, his aches and pains visible in the way he groaned every time he hit a flat surface. At 53, he looked fit, but three decades on the road had taken a toll on him.

“Your mother,” he started.

“What about her?” Gautam clipped.

“She has been calling me, every few days. She is ill, says she wants to meet you. Keeps asking your address, your phone number…”

“Do not give it.”

“I have not. I just wanted to come and tell you this in person. I didn’t know how you would react on the phone.”

“What’s to react? I would have said no. End of discussion.”

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