ONE NIGHT (13 page)

‘C’mon, you get good money. Significantly more than the eight grand

you made as a journalist trainee,’ I said.

‘Yes,’ Vroom said as he took a big hundred-and-twenty-rupees sip. ‘We

get paid well, fifteen thousand a month. Fuck, that is almost twelve dollars a

day. Wow I make as much a day as a US burger boy makes in two hours. Not

bad for my college degree. Not bad at all. Fucking nearly double of what I

made as a journalist anyway.’ He pushed his empty glass and it slid to the

other end of the table.

Everyone was silent for a minute. Vroom on his temper trip is

unbearable.

‘Stop being so depressed. Let’s dance,’ Esha said and tugged at Vroom’s

hand.

‘No,’ Vroom said.

‘Come for one song,’ Esha said and stood up from her stool.

‘Okay, but if anyone teases you, I’m not getting into a fight,’ Vroom

said.

‘Don’t worry, no one will. There are prettier girls here,’ Esha said.

‘I don’t think so. Anyway, let’s go,’ Vroom said as they went tot eh

dance floor. The song playing was
Sharara Sharara
, one of Esha’s favorites.

Priyanka and I watched them dance from our seats.

‘Want to go for a walk now?’ Priyanka said after a few minutes.

‘Sure,’ I said. We held hands and walked out of 32nd Milestone. The

bouncer at the door stamped our palms so that we could re-enter the disco.

We headed to the parking lot, as the music was softer there. My ears never

felt so nice.

‘It’s so calm here,’ Priyanka said. ‘I don’t like it when Vroom gets all

worked up. The boy needs to control his temper. Top much unchecked

aggression going on there.’

‘He’s young and confused. Don’t worry, life will slap him into shape. I

think he regrets moving to Connexions sometimes. Besides, he had not taken

his dad and mom’s separation so well. It shows now and then.’

‘Still, he should get a grip on himself. Get a steady girlfriend maybe,

that will help him relax.’

‘I think he likes Esha,’ I said.

‘I don’t know if Esha is interested. She’s quite focused on her modeling

trip.’

We reached our Qualis. I opened the door to take out a pack of

cigarettes.

‘No smoking near me,’ she said and grabbed the pack from me.

‘See, maybe it is not such a good idea to have a steady girlfriend,’ I

said.

‘Really? So Mr Shyam is having second thoughts?’ she said, tilting her

head.

‘No,’ I said, and opened the Qualis again. I took out a bottle.

‘What’s that?’ she asked.

‘Some Bacardi we keep handy. It’s three hundred bucks for a drink

inside, the cost of this whole bottle.

‘Cool. You guys are smart,’ Priyanka said and pulled at my cheek. Then

she took a sip from the bottle.

‘Careful. There’s no need to get drunk just because it’s free.’

‘Trust me. There is a need when you a have a psycho parent.’

‘What happened now?’

‘Nothing. I don’t want to talk about her today. Let’s do a shot.’ The

bottle’s lid acted as one cup, and I broke the top of a cigarette packet for the

other. We poured Bacardi into both and warmth traveled down from my lips

to my insides as we tossed down our first shot.

‘I’m sorry about the Bakshi comment I made inside,’ she said.

‘It’s alright. Doesn’t matter,’ I said, and wondered if we should do shot

number two now or later.

‘I can be a bitch sometimes. But I do make it up to you. I’m a loving

person, no?’ she said, high from mixing her drinks.

‘You’re just fine,’ I said and looked at her moist eyes. Her nose

puckered up a bit and I could have looked at it forever.

‘So, she said.

‘So what?’ I said, still hypnotized by her nose.

‘Why are you looking at me like that?’ she said and smiled.

‘Like what?’

‘The come-hither look. I see mischief in your eyes, mister,’ she said

playfully, grabbing both my hands.

‘There is no mischief—that’s just your imagination,’ I said.

‘We’ll see,’ she said and came up close. We hugged as she kissed me on

my neck.

‘Listen,’ she said.

‘What?’ I mumbled.

‘When was the last time we made love?’

‘Oh, don’t even ask. It’s really pathetic—over a month ago.’

It was true. The only place we made love was my house when it was

empty. However, recently my mom had started staying more at home because

of the cold. She had even given up her favorite past time of meeting relatives.

‘Have you ever made love in confined spaces?’

‘What?’ I said loudly, right into her ear.

‘Ouch!’ she said, rubbing her ear. ‘Hello? You heard me right?’

‘What are you talking about?’

‘Well, we have the time, soft music and a desolate spot.’

‘So?’

‘So, step into the Qualis, my friend,’ she said and opened the door. I

climbed into the backseat and she followed me.

Our Qualis was parked right behind the disco, and we could hear the

music of we were quiet. The song changed to
Mahi Ve
from the movie

Kaante
.

‘I love this song,’ she said and sat astride my lap, facing me.

‘It’s a pole dancer song. You know that?’ I said.

‘yes. But I like the lyrics. Their love is true, but fate has something else

in store.’

‘I never focus on the lyrics.’

‘You just notice the scantily clad girls in the video,’ she said and ran her

fingers through my hair.

I stayed silent.

‘So, you didn’t answer my question—have you made love in confined

spaces?’ she said.

‘Priyanka, are you crazy or are you drunk?’

She unbuttoned the top few buttons of my shirt. ‘Both, Okay mister, the

thing about confined spaces is that you have to cooperate. Now move your

hands out of the way,’ she said.

We were quiet, apart from our breathing.

She confirmed that the windows were shut and ordered me to remove

my shirt. She took off her kurti first, and then slowly unhooked her bra.

‘be careful with your clothes, we’ll need to find them quickly

afterwards,’ she said.

‘Are you mad…’ I gasped even as I raised my arms so she could pull my

shirt over my head. She moved to keep my shirt aside and her foot landed on

my left baby toe.

‘Ouch!’ I screamed.

‘Oops, sorry,’ she said in a naughty-apologetic tone. As she moved her

foot away, her head hit the roof.

‘Ouch,’ she said. ‘Sorry, this isn’t as elegant as in the
Titanic movie
.’

‘It’s alright. Clumsy sex is better than choreographed sex. And certainly

better than no sex,’ I said as I pulled her close.

‘By the way, do you have a condom?’ she said.

‘Yes sir. We live in constant hope,’ I said as I pulled out my wallet.

We laughed as she embraced me. She started kissing me on my face. I

kissed her shoulders. In a few moments, I forgot I was in the company Qualis.

Twenty minutes later we collapsed in each other’s arms on the

backseat.

‘Amazing. That is simply amazing, Ms Priyanka.’

‘My pleasure, Sir,’ she said and winked at me. ‘Can we lie here and talk

for a while?’

‘Sure,’ I said, reaching for my clothes.

She cuddled me again after we had dressed.

‘Do you love me?’ she asked. Her voice was serious.

‘More than anybody else on this planet, and that includes me,’ I said,

caressing her hair.

‘You think I’m a caring person?’ she said. Her voice told me she was

close to tears.

‘Why do you keep asking me that?’ I said.

‘My mother was looking at our family album today. She stopped at a

picture of me when I was three years old: I’m sitting on a tricycle and my

mother is pushing me. She saw that picture, and you know what she said?’

‘What?’

‘She said I was so cute when I was three.’

‘You’re cute now,’ I said pressed her nose like a button.

‘And she said I was solving and caring then and that I wasn’t so loving

anymore. She said she always wondered what had made me so heartless…’

Priyanka said and burst into tears.

I held her tight and felt her body shake. I thought hard about what I

could say. Guys can never figure out what to say in such emotional moments

and always end up saying something stupid.

‘Your mother is crazy…’

‘Don’t say anything about my mother. I love her. Can you just listen to

me for five minutes?’ Priyanka said.

‘Of course. Sorry…’ I said as her sobs grew louder. I swore to myself to

stay quiet for the next five minutes. I started counting my breath to pass the

time. Sixteen a minute is my average; eighty breaths would mean I had

listened to her for five minutes.

‘We weren’t always like this. My mom and I were best friends. Until

class eight I think. Then as I became older, she became crazier,’ she said.

I wondered if I should point out that she had just told me not to call her

mum crazy. However, I had promised myself I would keep quiet.

‘She had different rules for me and my brother. And that began to

bother me. She would comment on everything I wore, everywhere I went,

whereas my brother…she would never say anything to him. I tried to explain it

to her, but she just became more irritating, and by the time I reached

college, I couldn’t wait to get away from her.’

‘Uh-uh,’ I said, calculating that almost half my time must have passed.

My leg was cramping. When sex is over, confined spaces are a pain.

‘All through college I ignored her and did what I wanted. In fact, this

whole don’t-care phase was born out of that. But at one level, I felt so guilty.

I tried again to connect with her after college. But she had a problem with

everything—my thinking, my friends, my boyfriend.’

The last word caught my attention. I had to speak, even though only

fifty-seven breaths had passed.

‘Sorry, but did you say boyfriend?’

‘Well yeah. She knows I’m with you. And she had this thing about me

finding someone settled.’

Settled
? The words rewound and repeated itself in my head several

times.
What does that mean anyway
? Just someone rich, or someone who

gets predictable cash flows at the end of every month. Except parents do not

say it that way because then it really sounds like they’re trading their

daughter to the highest bidder. But in some ways, they are. They do not give

a damn about love or feelings or crap like that. ‘Show me the money and keep

our daughter for the rest of your life.’ That is the arrangement in an arranged

marriage.

‘What are you thinking about?’ she said.

‘I’m a loser according to your mom, isn’t it?’ I said.

‘That is not what I said.’

‘Don’t you bring up Bakshi and my promotion every time we have a

conversation/’ I said, moving away.

‘Why do you get so defensive? Anyway, if Bakshi doesn’t promote you,

you can look for another job.’

‘I’m tired of job hunting. There is nothing good out there. And I’m tired

of rejections. Moreover, what is the point of joining another call center? I’ll

just have to start as a junior agent all over again—without you, without my

friends. And let me tell you this, I may not be team leader, but I am happy I

am content. You realize that? And tell your drama queen mom to come say it

to my face that I am a loser. And she can send you off with whichever fucking

settled annuity income earner she likes. I am what I am...’ I said, my face

beetroot-red.

‘Shyam, please can you try and understand?’

‘Understand what? Your mother? No, I can’t. And you can’t either, but I

suspect deep down you might agree with her. Like, what am I doing with this

loser,’ I said.

‘Stop talking nonsense,’ Priyanka shouted. ‘I just made love to you for

god’s sake. And stop using that loser word; she said and broke into tears