‘Rajkumari.’ I hear Reema; she is behind me somewhere.
I need my phone but realize that it is with Reema. I turn around to face her and use my right hand to signal telephone.
‘Phone!’ she exclaims and darts in the direction of the hall.
When I turn, I’m face to face with Vedveer. I hadn’t realized,but I’d been walking on my toes to accommodate the length of the skirt, perhaps. I sway slightly to my right, trying to balance as I let myself down. Vedveer reaches out to steady me, and I instinctively take a step back.
‘Aaditha,’ he says softly, attempting a smile. The mid-morning light catches his eyes, only for a moment.
I feel the corners of my lips betray me before I clamp down on them and turn to the direction of what I think is the antechamber. It has to be one of these doors.
I want to say,I thought we were done, but I am not going to give him the satisfaction of knowing that those words singed.
As I open the door, I notice Vedveer’s gaze has dropped to my hand. At first, I think his eyes are on the armlet, but I realize his gaze is on my fingers. I lift my ring-free hand and wave a dismissive goodbye at him.
You and Kairi Gaur can waltz into the sunset for all I care!
I hope he knows he has lost me as a friend – and anything more we possibly could have been.
Amma is stretched out on a recliner sofa in the antechamber; her feet are bare, and her hands are toying with her phone. She is alone in the room.
Where is Reema? I need my phone.
‘Reema,’ I call, knowing fully well she is not around. As if on cue, the main door opens, and Reema, who is wearing a frazzled expression, stumbles into the light. She is clutching my phone.
‘Where was it?’ I ask.
‘It was on the tray,’ she says.
‘What tray?’
‘Jalebi tray!’
I laugh out loud even as I wonder what a tray of juicy jalebisis doing in a room full of pinched waistlines.
I sit down and click on WhatsApp.
Me:Ran into VRS, trying to talk. Duh!
Lavanya is online but takes a minute to start typing.
Lovey:Why are you only messaging now? Worried sick!I was about to call Neela Aunty and check if you guys are ok.
Lovey:Reaction?
Me:Icy. I waved my ringless fingers at him!More later.
I put my phone down and twirl for Amma, who is wearing an uncertain expression. It’s the colour of the dupatta, she says, before dialling Alia.
I remove the third dupatta of the morning with a frustrated sigh that I hope echoes across these grounds and beyond. I’m annoyed, but I’m also feeling alive suddenly.
Reema picks up a peach dupatta with flap-happy birds in French knots and brings it to me.
Alia, who is nudged awake by her ringtone, says, ‘Try that.’ She is pointing at the fabric Reema is holding up.
‘I’ve tried three shades of “sunset blush” in two hours,’ I say.
‘One more won’t hurt then,’ my sister comes back. She’s sitting up on her king-sized bed, her body wrapped in a quilt. ‘This is for the evening, yeah?’
