I didn’t know what to do next. Should I look shy? Should I giggle? Should I give him a hug?
Like an idiot, I shook hands with him while he adjusted his black-rimmed spectacles with his left
hand. Unlike how he’d looked in the Skype calls of the past few weeks, he was thinner, his white
kurta and blue jeans hanging a bit on him. His neatly combed side-parted hair made him look like
those schoolboys whom teachers first ask to become prefects. I smelled strong aftershave.
I was in the lobby. The boy’s side had arrived. They crowded around the special check-in
desk. The hotel staff brought in trays filled with glasses of coconut water.
‘I made them get the coconut water. It wasn’t part of the package,’ Suraj told me. He was
trying hard to compensate for the rooms’ disaster. He gave me a printout of the week’s plan. I glanced
at it.
Radhika weds Brijesh: Itinerary for the weekDay 1: Arrival, check-ins, briefing, relax in resort
Day 2: Goa Darshan Tour for elders and children (11 a.m.-6 p.m.)