Page 132 of 12 Years

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We walked in, and she began browsing the perfume racks.

‘Saket, come here for a second,’ she said, calling me from across the aisle.

I walked up to her and she held both her wrists up towards my face.

‘What?’ I looked at her, confused.

‘Tell me which one is better?’

Tell me why you are doing this to me? Making me smell your scent, mixed with perfume. It’ll take me weeks, months—maybe even years—to get over it.

I held her wrists lightly, one at a time, bringing them close to my nose and inhaling.

‘This one, the right wrist,’ I said.

‘Okay, so that’s Gucci’s Guilty,’ she said.

‘No, wait,’ I said, and did another round of sniffing.

Did I do it because I wanted to hold her hand again?

‘Maybe the left one,’ I said, still holding her wrists.

‘That’s Obsession,’ she said.

I dropped her wrists instantly. ‘What?’

‘The perfume. It’s called Obsession, by Calvin Klein.’

‘Oh.’

‘So, tell me, which one should I take? Guilty or Obsession?’

I am guilty of obsession.

‘Take both,’ I said. ‘They smell nice on you.’

She looked at me and smiled. She asked the cashier to pack both the perfumes.

We walked back to the lounge. She returned to her original seat, and I was about to go back to mine when she said, ‘Bring your bag and sit here.’

‘But aren’t you working?’ I said.

‘No, not anymore.’

Nodding, I moved to the couch adjacent to her.

Her phone rang just then. ‘It’s Parimal,’ she said, checking the caller ID. ‘Video call.’

‘Oh, okay,’ I said, standing up to leave.

‘You don’t have to go. I’ll just sit sideways, so you’re out of the frame.’

Were we doing something wrong? I couldn’t say.

She wore her AirPods and answered the call. I couldn’t see or hear Parimal.

‘Still no flight updates. It keeps showing delayed,’ Payal told Parimal.

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