Page 63 of 12 Years
‘I want to know.’
Payal let out a sigh before she spoke again. ‘He said, “I won’t stop you from having a career.” And that “I can wait for marriage if you’re not ready yet.”’
‘Wow.’
‘What wow, Saket?’
‘He’s keen.’
‘It doesn’t matter. Because I’m not.’
‘Okay, what happened then?’
‘Nothing, Mom brought us pani puri. We ate it and discussed the best pani-puri spots in Mumbai.’
‘You discussed pani-puri spots with him?’
‘I had to make some small talk.’
‘I don’t know why, but discussing pani-puri spots sounds a bit intimate.’
‘Intimate is what happened last night, in this house,’ she said, deliberately licking a bit of Nutella off her finger in a suggestive manner.
Payal finished her breakfast. She stood up, placed her plate in the kitchen sink and washed her hands.
‘And what did your and his parents say?’ I said.
‘They’re all mad. Ignore them.’
‘Still. Tell me.’
‘Nothing, they kept saying nonsense stuff like “what a brilliant, amazing idea this is,” and how “two best friends will become one family.”’
‘That’s nothing?’
‘They can keep dreaming. But nothing will happen. In fact, I figured out why my dad is so excited about Parimal.’
‘Why?’
‘Because Parimal is smart and hardworking and can help run Dad’s business later. Vansh, on the other hand, is a lazy idiot. He won’t know the difference between a cable and a shoelace. Anyway, my cab is here. Bye. See you tonight,’ she said, kissing me.
‘Parimal is smart, eh?’ I said as she entered the elevator.
‘It’s so cute,’ she said.
‘What is?’
‘When my hulk of a man in a sleeveless gym T-shirt gets jealous. Bye, cutie,’ she said, blowing a kiss as the lift door shut in my face.
A full week later, I was sitting on the window ledge and working when I heard the main door unlock. Payal entered the apartment and slammed the door shut.
‘I hate her,’ she said.
I looked up from my laptop. ‘Who?’ I said.
‘My mother.’
‘Now what?’
