‘I . . .’
‘Everyone’s drunk. No one minds. At least it’s better than your brother. So much for being in love with me,’ says Vanita.
I don’t remember noticing Gaurav. My eyes have only been on Daksh.
Vanita explains. ‘He was kissing Tejal, it looked as if he was going to eat up her entire mouth! Aditya’s friends were pretty impressed he could pull her in.’
I would rather have my retinas burnt off than see Gaurav being intimate with a girl. ‘That’s what Daksh was doing, setting him up with that girl.’
She nudges me. ‘He still loves you.’
‘He likes playing the lover boy. And this is a wedding. The perfect place to play that role.’
She wraps her arm around me, letting me know she gets it. ‘We are all twisted in our own ways. Guess we are looking for people who can accept us with that twistedness.’
‘And you have found that person.’
She heaves a sigh and hugs me tightly.
‘My parents are going to be after my life now that you’re married,’ I complain sadly. ‘It’s all going to be your fault. When everyone around was getting married, I kept telling them I will get married when Vanita does, and then you stabbed me in the back. If you had held out, I could have said, “See! Even she’s not married.”’
She rubs my hand. ‘You will find someone. Who knows, you might just find someone in the US. Though I expect you to come back here, okay? Don’t become a US citizen or something. Do aSwades,earn some money and come back.’
‘That’s the plan. Will be there for a few years,’ I say. ‘Also, Maa–Papa won’t be able to put pressure to get married.’
‘Good plan.’
‘My body is now itching to dance again.’
I make her get up. She clasps my hand. ‘I’m glad you’re here.’
9.
Aanchal Madan
As the cab pulls up to the front of the Atlantis, Daksh and Gaurav are ready and waiting. I piece together what must have happened. Daksh would have asked Gaurav to go to his room, but an inebriated Gaurav would have insisted on coming to meet Maa–Papa. And so he’s here, eyes rolling, slightly swaying, smiling stupidly. Gaurav rushes to open the door while Daksh heads to the trunk of the cab.
When I hug Maa–Papa, it doesn’t feel like I have been away for just a few hours. Gaurav’s hug lasts longer. He spends less time at home and more at his office and his own flat. Since last year, when Gaurav bought his own two-bedroom apartment near his office, he keeps asking them—and me—to move in with him. I keep telling him that our parents will not move out of the house I paid for. I am the elder kid, after all. But that’s only part of the reason. The other reason is that Daksh lives in the same building as Gaurav and I didn’t want to bump into him. Worse still, I didn’t want my parents to get more reasons to like him. Like right now, he has touched their feet, asked them about their flight, his voice rich with empathy, told them not to worry about their luggage, already has the key to their room and has chai waiting in the room.
So needy.
‘I am so happy to see you here, beta,’ says Maa, cradling Daksh’s face with a gentle touch, as if he’s a precious piece of her own flesh and blood. ‘I will see you in the morning?’
‘Aunty, you have my number. If you need anything, just let me know,’ he answers, as if he’s not a wedding crasher but a wedding planner. ‘And you know I never miss breakfast. Who knows who I might meet there?’
Maa–Papa laugh at this often-recounted joke. I hate it when they do that. Treat Daksh as one of us.
‘We are also here only,’ I remind Maa, hooking my arm into hers and walking away from Daksh and Papa.
Gaurav interlocks his arm with Maa from the other side.
As we walk towards the room, I overhear Daksh and Papa talking animatedly about the weather, the last test match between Pakistan and India, and how petrol prices have risen again since they last spoke. Papa talks to Daksh more often than Gaurav. Papa believes Gaurav would be in the wilderness, lost and struggling, without Daksh’s guidance. Blah. If Daksh is so good at taking care of Gaurav, why isn’t he whisking him away from Maa–Papa who have literally shrunk at the stench of vodka coming from Gaurav and frowned at his wasted, unsteady steps?
Daksh leaves us at the room door wishing all of us good night. Gaurav turns away from us and pulls Daksh into a long embrace. I think Daksh gets a kick out of my family loving him more than they love me.
‘I will see you in the room,’ Daksh tells Gaurav and walks away.
‘Drink only as much as you can handle!’ Papa scolds Gaurav.
