Page 72 of 12 Years
‘Please do. I’ll come along,’ Payal said. ‘Anyway, when are you coming back?’
‘In another week. I leave Goa after my show today and fly to Kochi. Then I go to Jaipur, then Siliguri and, finally, back to Mumbai.’
‘Okay, what date is your return flight?’
‘Let me check … I land back in Mumbai on 11 November.’
‘Oh, that’s a Sunday. Let’s meet my parents that day.’
‘Really? That day itself?’
‘Yes, I don’t want to delay things. I’ll tell them you’ll come home for half an hour. We’ll keep it casual, just a cup of tea.’
‘What if they poison my tea?’
‘No, they won’t do that.’
‘You sure?’
‘We’re Jains. We don’t believe in killing life. We don’t even kill insects or pests.’
‘Reassuring,’ I said.
‘Okay, one more time. Let’s discuss the plan for tomorrow,’ Payal said.
‘We’ve discussed it a million times already,’ I said as I packed my bags in my Siliguri hotel room. All the Reliable Polymers shows were done, and I was finally going back to Mumbai the next morning.
‘Just once more. You land at 11 a.m., right? Then you come straight to my home in Ghatkopar? Or will you go to Bandra, keep your stuff, get ready and then come?’
‘I thought we agreed that I’d go to Bandra first? You want me to come straight to your house?’
‘Maybe. I just thought you could come directly,’ Payal said in a playful voice.
‘Why? I’ll reach your place a little after noon then. You told me your parents won’t even be back home until 1.30 p.m. What’s that temple with the long name you said they go to on Sundays?’
‘Babu Amichand Panalal Adishwarji Jain Temple in Walkeshwar. And yes, they’ll only be home after 1.30 p.m.’
‘Okay, so then why should I come to your place earlier?’ I said, zipping up my suitcase.
‘Are you dumb? “Why should I come earlier?” Seriously, bro. Does a girl have to spell it out for you?’
It took me a few seconds to figure out what Payal was talking about. ‘Oh,’ I said. ‘Oh, okay. I get it now.’
‘You do? Or should I send you an email explaining it in detail?’
I laughed. ‘Baby, but how? At your parents’ house?’
‘I have my own room. And I’ll be home alone. Vansh is in Bangkok with his friends, partying as usual.’
‘What about the house help?’
‘On Sundays, the help gets a day off.’
‘Aha,’ I said. ‘Now you’re talking. Oh, I’ve missed that. So much …’
‘That’s all that you’ve missed, I know.’
‘Hey, that’s not true. You only—’
