‘Never mind, hello aunty,’ I said as Chitra aunty came next to us.
‘Krish,’ Ananya said. ‘Colleague.’
‘Really, what kind of colleague?’ Chitra aunty asked bossily.
‘I have to go,’ I said and lifted my plates. ‘We need these before dinner.’
Ananya called me late at night, after I had eaten in the new steel plates.
‘All OK?’ I said.
‘Sort of,’ Ananya said. ‘She is going to tell my mother. They have this rivalry
anyway. Guruji accepted her but not my mother.’
‘And then?’
‘Nothing, I’ll tell my mother she is exaggerating. Am I mad enough to smooch
someone in Ratna Stores?’ she said.
‘You are,’ I laughed.
‘Yes, but only you know that.’
‘I don’t want to ruin what I’ve built with your dad,’ I said.
‘It’s mom you have to worry about now. Manju and Dad are OK.’
‘How?’
‘I don’t know. I told her you are coming over for dinner tomorrow.’
‘Why?’
‘The stated reason is to thank you for helping dad. We can tell her about our
visit to Ratna Stores before Chitra aunty. Of course, we’ll skip a few bits.’
‘You shouldn’t have kissed me there. Why did you do it?’
‘Because I couldn’t help it, you are irresistible sometimes,’ Ananya said.
My heart stopped for a second at Ananya’s response. Alright Mrs
Swaminathan, if your daughter can’t resist me, there is no way you can either.
nora
(Nora)
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