Page 80 of 12 Years
‘Never … I’m warning you. Never approach Payal or our family again,’ Anand said, his finger pointed towards the main door, showing me the exit.
Om, om, I heard the machine behind me as I left.
‘I feel so trapped,’ Payal said, looking out at the sunset.
We sat in the café of the Oberoi Hotel at Nariman Point, near her office. She had finished work early and come to see me for half an hour before going back home. Ever since that crazy day at her house, things had changed dramatically. Payal’s mother had moved into her Parel apartment. Yashodha Jain now dropped Payal off at work every morning and then picked her up in the evening. On top of that, Payal also had to spend the entire weekend at her parents’ place in Ghatkopar. All of this made it impossible for her to come to my place or for me to go to hers. Even for this brief meeting, Payal had slipped out of office and walked over to the Oberoi before her mother came to pick her up.
‘Beer?’ I said.
‘Mom will smell it instantly,’ she said, shaking her head.
We sat across from each other in silence. That fateful day had hit us like an earthquake, turning our lives upside down.
‘My window ledge misses you,’ I said.
‘That’sourledge,’ Payal said. ‘You have no idea how much I miss the Bandra apartment. I wanted to sneak out of work one day and come over.’
‘No, don’t. Let’s not take any more chances. If your parents find out, it’s over for us.’
‘I miss you, Saket,’ Payal said, holding my hand.
‘I miss you too. How long does your mom plan to play the warden and guard you? She can’t do this forever.’
‘Presumably until they get me married. Which they now want to do at turbo speed.’
‘Are you serious?’
‘Yes.’
‘With that Parimal?’
‘Yeah. They’re in love with him.’
‘Payal, we can’t just sit around. We must do something.’
‘Like what?’
‘I must meet them again. To convince them that I’m not some pervert.’
‘How? They won’t even let you into the building, forget the house. Security won’t allow it.’
‘Then somewhere outside? Tell me a place they visit frequently. I’ll pretend to run into them. Where do they go the most?’
‘Jain temples.’
‘I could bump into them there.’
‘They’ll know it’s a plan. Why else would you be at a Jain temple?’
‘Any other temples they visit?’
Payal thought for a second before she spoke again. ‘They go to Siddhivinayak once a month.’
‘Okay, that’s a famous temple. It’s plausible for me to run into them there.’
‘It’s crowded.’
‘I’ll figure that out. But Payal, can you also come to the temple with them that day, please?’
