Page 172 of 12 Years
‘It’s normal. Why?’
‘Normal? We don’t talk heart-to-heart. We hardly do anything physical anymore. There is no connection between us. You have your factory. I have my career.’
‘Both of which are doing well.’
‘Yes. But what about us? Don’t you want more out of this relationship?’
‘More? Like what?’ Parimal looked genuinely confused.
‘You tell me.’
‘A child? You’re going to meet Dr Aditi …’
‘No, Parimal. You and me. What do you want between us?’
Parimal shrugged and continued to drive in silence. We had reached the entrance of our building when he spoke up: ‘You know, VAT is called GST in India.’
‘What happened?’ I said to the airline staff manning the Emirates Lounge reception at the Dubai airport.
‘Unprecedented rainfall in Dubai, ma’am. A lot of flights have been delayed or stand cancelled. Please be patient. We’re doing our best.’
I nodded and walked into the lounge. It was unusually crowded, but I managed to find a quiet area and sat down to get some work done. I was in the middle of writing an email when I sensed someone come and stand in front of me.
‘Payal?’ a man’s voice said. That voice. I knew that voice.
I looked up from my laptop.
‘Saket?’ I said, standing up in a daze.
‘And that’s the night I ran into you, Saket. At the Emirates Lounge,’ Payal said. She took a sip of her ginger and spice tea and looked around. Every table in L’ETO Caffe was now occupied.
‘I remember that night,’ I said. I put down my cup and smiled.
‘What?’
‘Your marriage had problems even then?’
‘Yes.’
‘You never mentioned it. I recall buying those shirts with you. It made me think that you and Parimal are one team. Like one unit.’
Payal smirked and shook her head. ‘For the record, he hated the shirts,’ she said.
‘How can you hate plain white and blue shirts?’
‘He found them too expensive.’
‘Doesn’t he make good money in the factory?’
‘He does. But more than making and spending money, he likes saving it. Getting value. He said he could’ve gotten similar shirts in India at a cheaper price.’
‘To each their own. What happened after that?’ I said.
‘I still hoped my marriage would survive. I tried to make it work for three more years after that. Ultimately, though, it didn’t.’
‘Who initiated the divorce?’
‘I did,’ Payal said. ‘Parimal thought there wasn’t even a real problem. That it was all just me, overreacting to things.’
