I felt his breath on my face. He had Ralph Lauren’s Romance on, the same perfume he used to
wear when he came to bed with me.
‘Leave me, Neel,’ I said, even though I didn’t make any effort to extract myself from his grip.
He held my shoulders tighter.
‘I said leave me,’ I said, my voice breaking. I started to cry.
Radhika, what is with you and your tear taps?
‘Shh,’ he said, ‘enough now. It’s okay. I am here now. It’s all going to be fine.’
He placed his hand on the back of my head. He pushed my head forward until my forehead
rested on his chest. He didn’t try and kiss me. He just patted my head a couple of times. He brought
his mouth close to my ear and whispered, ‘I will be here, in this room. The pilot is waiting for my
instructions. You calm down. Go back and think. It’s a lot for you to take in. I will wait until you give
the go-ahead. Then we will do what we have to.’
I nodded.
I lifted my head.
‘I need to go. I really do,’ I said.
I raced down the hotel corridor, my mind racing a million times faster than my steps. At the function
room entrance, I found Debu.
‘Debu!’ I said, looking around to ensure nobody saw us. ‘What are you doing here?’
‘Baby, I tried calling you so many times. You don’t pick up.’
I couldn’t talk to him here. Anyone from my or Brijesh’s family could walk in anytime. I saw a
staff door near the function room. I pushed it open. Debu and I entered the kitchen area of the hotel.
‘You can’t land up here like this,’ I said.
‘I had no choice. I thought you would be at the sangeet practice. I didn’t see you there.’
A chef next to us fried a kilo of onions on full heat.
‘You went in?’ I said, aghast.
‘I pretended to be lost. Another guest in the hotel.’
‘Never do that again, okay?’
‘Sorry. We only have one more day, Radhika. I called to tell you I spoke to my parents.’
‘About what?’
‘About us. About everything we had. And the situation we are in now. I had a two-hour call.’
‘Debu, I am not exaggerating this. But my head is a big mess and might explode right now.’
My phone rang—my mother was calling.
‘I have to take this,’ I said. My mother shouted at me as soon as I picked up the call.
‘Are you mad? Where have you disappeared? Your cousins are looking for you all over the
hotel.’
‘I am here only,’ I said.
‘Where?’
‘In the toilet.’
‘Why are you taking so long? Is your stomach okay? Eat carefully, don’t get loose motions on
your wedding day. You need medicine?’