Page 98 of 12 Years
I looked at her. She looked away. ‘Are you breaking up with me?’ I said.
Payal stood up. ‘I need to go. Mom will be waiting.’
‘At least have the guts to answer me.’
‘I told you. This isn’t working. It’s not meant to be.’
‘So, youarebreaking up with me.’
‘I’m sorry, Saket. It’s not me breaking up with you or you breaking up with me. Sometimes, things just don’t work out.’
It felt like a huge heavy rock had just dropped on my head.
‘Sorry, I have to go. Mom’s given me two missed calls already,’ Payal said.
‘But …’ I started. However, no words came out.
We walked out of the meeting room, me following her.
‘Also, Saket, a request,’ she said, turning as we reached the elevator.
‘What?’
‘Don’t contact me. Don’t reach out. Don’t think of me. I’m also trying to do the same. It’s hard. Let’s not make it harder,’ she said.
How do you not think of the person you love the most in the world? The elevator dinged. She looked at me and came forward to give me a hug. Before I realized what was happening, she waved a silent goodbye and disappeared into the lift.
As soon as the lift doors closed, I fell to my knees. I cried, I don’t know for how long.
Mr Agrawal tapped my shoulder. ‘Are you okay, young man? What’s the problem?’ he said.
‘I’m not a young man,’ I said, ‘and that’s the problem.’
‘You know what I love? Spam messages on my phone,’ I said.
A few people in the audience giggled.
‘No, seriously, I do. They just make me feel less lonely. I may not have a girlfriend anymore, but at least someone wants to teach me how to make two crores a month by trading in stocks. Someone out there cares. I actually send a thank-you to all of them. Plots in Lonavala that’ll double in price in three years? Thank you, sir, for sharing this amazing scheme with me.’
The audience laughed.
‘Anyway, yes, so I have a life update. Turns out, I don’t have a girlfriend anymore. She broke up with me.’
The audience went ‘aww’ and ‘oh no’.
‘Any guesses why she broke up with me?’ I said to the entire audience.
‘You cheated on her,’ someone screamed.
‘No,’ I said. ‘I didn’t cheat on her, bro.’
‘Shecheated on you,’ another audience member said.
‘No, she didn’t,’ I said.
‘That’s whatyouthink,’ the same person said.
‘Fuck you,’ I said. The audience laughed—partly at me using a curse word and partly because I’d replied in an upset voice. Except, I hadn’t made up that upset voice for the sakeof the set. I was genuinely upset. Comics aren’t supposed to take offence. We offend so many people, after all. However, that day, I’ve no idea what triggered me. Because I didn’t stop there.
