She let out a loud snort that had people turning around to look at us.
“First of all, there is no choice to make. Nobody in their right mind would pick that creep for anything.”
But you did, I wanted to remind her. Eight years ago, you picked him over me.
“And secondly, Maj. Deora, ours is a purely business arrangement. My personal life has nothing to do with you.”
“You made a fool of me under my own roof once, princess. I won’t let it happen again.”
“Oh, trust me, nobody canmakea fool out of you. You’re doing that all on your own,” she said with vicious sweetness, before she turned to cheer the players who rode onto the field.
Soon, it was halftime, and time for the spectators to go out onto the turf for divot stomping. It was as much a practical idea to stomp the broken turf back into place as it was a way for spectators to socialise with each other. As I watched Meher stomp carefully across the turf to where Isha and Diya sat in the Trikhera box, I remembered the way she’d stomp all the way to me to give me a quick kiss behind the stables during halftime. Well, those days were long gone now. I made my way to the bar and greeted some old acquaintances warmly, wondering how many of these men had sold their souls to the devil.
There had to be an easier way to do this, I thought, frowning at the bottle of bourbon the bartender held up to me for approval.
“Stop scowling at the bourbon like it killed your puppy,” murmured Meher, sliding her arm into mine.
“I was just thinking about something,” I replied, rearranging my face.
She studied me quietly for a few seconds and then led me aside to an empty corner in the large wrap-around verandah of the club.
“Lay it on me,” she said quietly. “You helped me when Sanjay was messing with me. And I’d like to return the favour.”
“I don’t want to involve any civilians unless I have no choice, Meher.”
“Umm, in case you didn’t notice, you’re a civilian now, Retd. Maj. Deora,” she pointed out.
“It’s classified information, Meher. Need to know only. And everyone who knows about it is in danger of being hurt.”
“So don’t give me the details. Just tell me what’s worrying you,” she insisted.
I exhaled sharply and tried to find a way to phrase my problem as vaguely as possible because the one thing that hadn’t changed about Meher in eight years was her persistence.
“Fine. I need to find someone in our circle who’s suddenly come into a lot of money.”
“Is that all? My mother can tell you that. She can predict people’s worth down to the last penny. And one of her favorite pastimes is wondering how certain people suddenly afford things that they never could before. If someone who couldn’t afford a second car is suddenly flaunting a Rolex, my mother is the one person who would have noticed the change.”
“Can you sound her out without making her suspicious?”
Meher’s face fell, and she shook her head.
“We’re currently not on speaking terms. You’ll have to sound her out yourself. Here she comes,” she said, walking away hurriedly.
I turned around to find her mother bearing down upon us. She looked sad as Meher fled without so much as a backward glance at her.
“She’s still mad at me,” Shalini Aunty mused.
“Why?” I asked politely, just to make small talk, but it backfired.
“Because of you,” replied Aunty mournfully.
“What did I do?” I asked in surprise.
“Actually, no. It’s because I failed her as a mother. I didn’t stand by her eight years ago, and I allowed her to be bullied out of society. Maybe if I had stood by her, my Meher would be happily settled today, and she’d be giving me real grandbabies instead of furry ones.”
I immediately wanted to know more about the furry grandbabies. Was Meher a dog person or a cat person? But right now, I had to pump Shalini Aunty for financial gossip. Meher’s pets could wait.
I made small talk about some of our common acquaintances for a bit, and then brought the talk around to one of the local landowners on whose land the army had busted a tunnel.
