35
Three years ago
My father came home at midnight. I had waited for hours. I didn’t have time, I had to
talk to him tonight. He refused dinner with a wave of his hand and sat on the living room
sofa to take off his shoes.
‘Dad?’ I said, my voice low, I wore shorts and a white T-shirt. The T-shirt had a tiny
hole at the shoulder.
‘What?’ he turned to me. “Is this what you wear at home?’
‘These are my nightclothes,’ I said.
‘You don’t have proper nightclothes?’
I changed the topic. ‘Dad, I want to talk about something.’
‘What?’
‘I like a girl.’
‘Obviously, you have time to waste,’ he said.
‘It’s not like that. She is a nice girl. An IIT professor’s daughter.’
‘Oh, so now we know what you did at IIT.’
‘I’ve graduated. I have a job. I’m preparing for MBA. What’s the problem?’
‘I don’t have a problem. You wanted to talk,’ he said, not looking at me.
‘The girl’s father is taking her abroad. They’ll get her engaged to someone else.’
‘Oh, so her father doesn’t approve of it.’
‘No.’
‘Why?’
I looked at the floor. ‘We had some issues with him, me and my friends.’
‘What issues? Disciplinary issues?’