Page 32 of 12 Years
‘You sound so mature and sensible for your age,’ I said. ‘And you’re a great listener.’
‘Thank you,’ she said and smiled.
We reached the point where we’d started our walk from. I checked the time: 11.30 p.m.
‘It’s late,’ I said. ‘But I still feel like spending more time with you.’
‘It’s not late for a Saturday night in Mumbai,’ Payal said softly.
‘How about some coffee?’
‘Sure,’ she said. ‘Where should we go?’
‘There are many cafés on Carter Road. But Saturday night means they’ll all be super crowded,’ I said.
‘Somewhere not too crowded, please,’ she said. ‘Somewhere we can sit in peace, and talk.’
‘I have a place in mind. We could go there, but only if you’re okay with it.’
‘Tell me.’
‘My place is not far from here. I have everything there—coffee, tea, wine. And it’s also not crowded.’
Payal stared at me for a second and then looked away, biting her lower lip, as if mulling over the idea.
‘We don’t have to,’ I said hurriedly when she didn’t respond. ‘Also, it’s a big mess. This wasn’t the plan. I mean, it was just—’
‘Okay,’ Payal interrupted me. ‘Let’s go to your place. Why not? It’ll be more relaxing than a busy, crowded café.’
‘This is so nice. And such a cute window,’ Payal said.
We stood in my living room. I switched on the table lamps, including the one next to the window ledge.
Payal walked up to the window, sat on the ledge and turned to me. ‘If I lived here, I’d always sit here,’ she said.
‘That’s exactly what I do,’ I said.
Leaving her looking out of the window, I went to the small kitchen next to the living room. ‘What do you want?’ I said loudly so Payal could hear me outside.
‘What do you have?’ she said, walking into the kitchen.
I opened a wooden cabinet and showed her its contents—there was black tea, green tea and coffee.
‘I also have some soft drinks and wine in the fridge,’ I said.
‘May I?’ she said, pointing to the fridge.
‘Of course,’ I said, laughing. ‘It’s not my private safe. Not that I have a private safe.’
She opened the fridge. It was filled with whey protein shakes, pre-workout drinks and about five dozen eggs.
‘Wow. You’re really hard-core,’ she said.
‘I try.’
She dug a little deeper into the fridge. ‘Is this regular white wine?’ she said, pulling out a bottle.
‘Yes, what else would it be?’
