Page 53 of 12 Years
The crowd burst into wild laughter and applause.
‘I can’t believe you used that who’s-your-daddy bit again,’ Payal said, throwing a cushion at me. ‘I only asked you to say it to me that one time. And I was very drunk then.’
We were lying in bed in my flat. For all practical purposes, it had become Payal’s home as well. She stayed five nights a week at my place and spent the weekend either at her Parel apartment or with her parents in Ghatkopar.
‘I’m sorry, baby,’ I said, laughing. ‘It’s a stupid joke, but it always works. When I say “Who’s your chachu?” in a low, husky voice, there are always laughs.’
‘Seriously, mister. Stop using your girlfriend for material.’
‘Real-life sources always lead to better writing,’ I said, kissing her. ‘But baby, tell me something.’
‘What?’
‘Who’s your tauji?’ I said in a soft, seductive voice.
‘Eww. Seriously, double, triple eww. Yuck. Stop it.’
I laughed as she started slamming me with one of the pretty ethnic cushions she’d bought from Anokhi. Payal had redone the furnishings in the house. The bedspread, the cushions and the curtains in the bedroom now matched. She’d also decorated the window ledge, adding a string of fairy lights on the wall and some extra cushions for comfort. When a woman comes into a man’s life, rather, when the right woman comes into a man’s life, everything improves.
I snatched the cushion from her hands and threw it aside. I held her face and brought it closer to mine. ‘I love you,’ I whispered in her ear.
‘You’re very bad,’ she said.
‘I know,’ I said. ‘But then, who’s your dadaji?’
‘Stop it, Saket Khurana.’
‘You did ask me to say who’s your daddy. How is this any different? Just because it’s in Hindi?’
‘I was drunk. And super turned on. And we don’t discuss things we said or did in bed when we were drunk and turned on.’
‘Oh, really? Why not?’
‘Okay, then let’s talk about the time when you asked me to put my finger in—’
‘Stop!’ I said.
‘See,’ she said, laughing.
I looked at her with affection. She blushed. Did she love me just as much as I loved her?
‘What are you thinking?’ I said.
‘We’re out of Harpic,’ she said.
‘What? Now that’s a romantic line that’s never been said in bed before.’
She burst out laughing. ‘No, really, we do need Harpic. Can you add that to the shopping list?’
‘Baby, I was in such a romantic mood.’
‘This is real romance. When you discuss the most mundane thing ever, and yet, it still feels special.’
‘But, Harpic?’
She leaned forward and kissed me. ‘I love you, Saket, so much.’
‘I love you too.’
