Page 46 of 12 Years
‘I overreacted. I’m sorry, really. I shouldn’t have cut you off. It was immature of me.’
I shrugged.
‘And sorry for leaving like that the next morning. That was rude. You’d put in so much effort in arranging that nice breakfast.’
‘You must’ve been processing a lot.’
‘I’ve told you about my upbringing, right? Even speaking to boys is a sin. All of this, it’s a complete no-no.’
‘I understand.’
‘Also, Akanksha said I’m making a big mistake. It’s my older-men crush thing. She said I’ll just end up getting used.’
‘So, you have a crush on me …’ I said.
She smiled. ‘You understand her point? Both of us might just be indulging in some weird fantasy,’ Payal said.
‘Like what?’
‘I’m this innocent twenty-one-year-old you get to do things with. It makes you feel young and helps you get over your divorce. You, on the other hand, are this mature, experienced man who’s giving me loads of attention and I’m drawn to it.’
‘Wow, you’ve really been thinking about this a lot.’
‘More like overthinking. Which I’m an expert at. Anyway, all of this may not be real, Saket.’
I responded after a few moments. ‘Maybe you’re right. Only time will tell. But so what? As long as we like spending time together, who cares?’
‘Is it that simple?’
‘Payal, don’t live your life to please others. I did that, and I regret it.’
We finished our dinner in silence after that.
‘Thanks for listening to me,’ Payal said.
We had come out of Leopold’s and were standing by the street.
‘Thanks for listening tome. Do you want to call your driver?’
Payal looked at me for one long second. ‘Or I can just send him back,’ she said. ‘If you want to hang out some more, that is.’
I looked at her for a few seconds. ‘Sure,’ I said.
She called her driver and asked him to go home.
‘What do you feel like doing?’ I said.
‘I don’t mind sitting on your window ledge and having green tea.’
I looked at her, taken aback.What was this woman?
‘I love sitting on that ledge. Can we do that, please?’ she said.
‘Green tea?’ I said.
Payal sat cross-legged on my window ledge, looking somewhat uncomfortable in the pantsuit.
‘Sure,’ she said, looking down at the street below. ‘Or actually wait, do you have some wine?’
