Had Lavanya been there when it happened, I would have spoken to her about it, but I just couldn’t bring myself to introduce the topic. Work has been hectic (for both of us) these last weeks; there were decisions to take, and I couldn’t afford a meltdown.
Lavanya messaged on the group chat a few hours later:What?!
My phone started ringing almost immediately.
I told her everything – from the accusations he hurled to telling me Ranibagh belonged to the Rathores, and that’s how it would stay, and finally that,we are done here.’
She listened and cursed every now and then, all while initiating this LBD meeting and booking her flight from Delhi to Bengaluru.
Not once did Lavanya ask,Why didn’t you tell me? Komal did, but not my BFF. Of all the people in my life, she’s the one who believes in giving people space. Not because she doesn’t have the time or couldn’t be bothered, but because you need it.
It’s a different level of maturity; not everyone rises like that…
I turn to Komal to answer her question. ‘No, not formally. My parents are still trying to convince me.’
‘Was it four or five weeks ago you said that Vedveer was in Bengaluru? No word since?’ Lavanya asks. Her messy bun is beginning to better the name.
There were a few missed calls. I open my WhatsApp and slidemy phone to my friends.
VRS:Hi Aaditha, I would like to speak to you. Please let me know when is a good time to call.
This is from two weeks ago. There are two more.
VRS:I was out of line. I want to apologize.
VRS:Please pick up the phone, Aaditha.
‘Did you reply?’ Lavanya asks.
I shake my head.
‘Good girl!’ Komal comes back, slapping her palm on the table.
‘Why?’ Lavanya asks. She’s holding a fork up, like she’s looking to stab someone. ‘Why don’t you want to hear him out?’ She’s playing devil’s advocate.
‘He wants to apologize for his behaviour,’ I say. ‘Look at the messages: “I was out of line,” not “I was wrong about you. Wrong about what I said about you.”’ I shrug. ‘I am not interested in his sorry. It’s not my job to help him feel better about what he did.’
‘Yeah,’ Lavanya nods, ‘you are not his therapist or his parent to have to listen to the whys of his abhorrent behaviour.’
Lavanya puts down the fork and eyes the table, which resembles a taster’s spread at a local fair, full of platters and plates. She pushes the chilly cheese fries towards Raju, urging him to eat.
This evening, food isn’t disappearing from the plates as quickly as it normally does.
‘Why exactly are the Rathores leasing their palace?’ Raju asks.
I raise my brow in a question. Excuse me?
‘Then what?’ Raju’s nostrils flare. ‘You can’t marry a pauper.’
I’m laughing, not Lavanya.
‘Of all the things we need to worry about with this proposal, the Rathores having money or not isn’t one of them,’ she says.
‘What does Alia say?’ Komal asks.
‘She wants me to speak to Vedveer; she thinks someone should be the bigger person,’ I say, adding that Alia isn’t in the know about his visit here.
‘You guys should talk, and my feeling is you will eventually,’ Lavanya says, shifting in her seat and getting up to her full height, ‘but I think he should absolutely grovel.’
