Page 21 of 12 Years

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‘No, please, no. Not “sir”. And definitely not “uncle”. Saket is okay.’

‘Okay … Saket,’ she said, grinning. ‘Wish me luck. I have to present this next Thursday.’ She shut her laptop and put everything back inside her tote bag.

‘You’ll rock it,’ I said. I knew she would.

We finished our coffees and came out of the restaurant. She called her driver, who arrived in a BMW.

‘It’s my dad’s, in case you’re composing,’ she said.

‘Composing what?’

‘More papa-ki-pari jokes?’

I laughed. She was funny. Also smart, thoughtful and beautiful.How and who was I to resist this?

Before leaving, Payal gave me a quick side-hug. Girls have different categories of hugs. If they don’t know you, there are no goodbye hugs at all. If they somewhat know you, you get a side hug. If they know you well, you get a proper full-frontal-embrace hug.

Okay, so I was now in the somewhat-know-you category.

‘Aarrghhh!’ I screamed, doing a bicep curl with twenty-kilo dumbbells while on a call with Kushal. I had him on my AirPods.

‘Are you okay, Saket? I thought I gave you good news,’ Kushal said.

‘Yeah, sorry. In the gym.’

I kept the dumbbells back in the rack and sat down on a bench.

‘I can call later. Just wanted to give you the good news.’

‘Eighty per cent of my savings are gone. Still, it’s good news. Fine.’

‘She didn’t budge. But at least she signed the papers. It didn’t go to trial. You’re a free man.’

‘I’m officially divorced now?’

‘Yes. The judge will sign the order later this week.’

‘Fine.’

‘And also …’ Kushal paused.

‘What?’

‘Our pending legal fees,’ he said in a sheepish voice.

‘Sure. Take whatever you want. The remaining twenty per cent?’

‘No, Saket, only what is due. I’ll send you an invoice. Take care.’

I ended the call. Then I walked back to the rack and picked up two thirty-kilo dumbbells.

‘Too much,’ one of the trainers at the gym said when he saw me struggling to do bicep curls with the massive weight.

‘What?’ I said, keeping the dumbbells down and turning to him.

‘That’s too much weight. You can get hurt.’

But what if I’m already hurt?

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