Page 77 of 12 Years
‘You said nothing had happened. Only hugs,’ Yashodha said.
‘I lied to you. Sorry.’
‘You lied? And that’s all you’re sorry about?’ Yashodha turned to her husband. ‘Are you going to say anything at all?’
Payal’s father cleared his throat to speak. ‘I don’t have to say anything. I’ve already messaged who I had to.’
‘Who?’ Yashodha said.
‘My friend Patil. Senior police inspector at the Ghatkopar police station. He’s sending some men.’
I felt the earth move under me.
Om, om.
‘Police,’ Payal said, throwing up her hands in exasperation. ‘What? Why would you call the police?’
‘Who the hell does he think he is?’ Anand shouted. He turned to me and spoke in a menacing tone, ‘Whoever you are, I’ll make sure you rot in jail.’
Jail? Dude, what the hell was going on?I was supposed to have tea, talk and then leave.Serve me tea, dhokla and khandvi. Not cops.Okay, I had to speak now.
‘Hello, Uncle, I’m Saket,’ I said, standing up. I turned to Payal’s mother, ‘Hello, Aunty, nice to meet you.’
‘You sit,’ Anand shouted. ‘Just sit in your place until Patil’s men arrive. Good thing we got an SMS notification from the guardhouse. We turned around and came back. Didn’t even go to the temple today.’
That explained it. It was the damn tablet with the guard. Fuck the security systems of these modern buildings, I tell you.
‘Uncle, but …’ I said, wondering if I should make a dash for the exit while I still could.
‘Sit,’ he said in a firm voice.
‘Sit down, Saket,’ Payal said calmly.
I sank back into the sofa, which looked like it could swallow small children. Considering how messed up the situation was, it was ironic how comfortable the seating they had provided me was.
Payal broke down in tears. ‘This is why I never share anything with you guys. Because you won’t listen, and will overreact. Can’t we just talk?’ she said, wiping her tears.
I wanted to get up and give her a hug. However, I wasn’t sure if Anand had a Ghatkopar-friendly gun he could shoot me with.
‘Uncle, please,’ I said. ‘She’s crying. Please, just listen to us. For five minutes. And can we please turn off this Om-Om machine for a while?’
‘Why?’ Anand shouted. ‘It creates good vibrations in my house. Unlike you, who’s brought in all the bad vibrations.’
‘It’s just distracting. Fine, we can leave it on.’
Om … Om…
‘I’ve never been more humiliated in my life,’ Anand said.
Dude, that line applied to me.
‘I understand, Uncle,’ I said. ‘I’m sorry. Payal and I met after a long time. We got carried away.’
‘That’s not getting carried away. That’s depravity,’ Anand said.
‘It’s not what you think,’ I said.
‘We don’t have to think. We saw how you’re using and exploiting our daughter,’ Yashodha said.
