Half Girlfriend

whispered to Shailesh, making up whatever I could on the spot.
‘This late?’ he said, surprised. I shrugged and excused inyself to
step aside.
‘Sir? You there?’The man was back.
‘Yes, yes. I am.’
‘She’s definitely not Caucasian white. She isn’t black either. She
could be Indian. Or I don’t know, she’s quite light-coloured, so maybe
Spanish or mixed-race. Sorry, I can’t...’
I interrupted him.
‘Thanks. That’s enough. I'm coming down. Can you hold a place
for one? I'm Madhav’
Maad-what?'
‘Just put me down as M. I’m coming.’
‘You better be here soon. The acts end at midnight.’
Shailesh stood right in front of me.
‘All okay with your ticket?’ he said.
‘Yeah. It's fine,' I said and paused before I spoke again. ‘Shailesh, I
need to get out,’
‘Wha...?’
‘Exactly,’ I said, ‘That’s where I need to go.’
‘Where?’
‘I need to get some fresh air.’
'Have you seen the snow outside? Where are you going?'
He pointed to his balcony. Blobs of snow covered the ledge.
Outside his apartment, a steady stream of snowflakes shot down from
the night sky.
‘I have a jacket,’ I said.
Shailesh looked bewildered by my sudden desire for a night stroll.
‘Madhav, what do I tell the guests?’ he said.
‘They will barely notice,’ I said and left.