‘She didn’t get her justice. I want to say “hey, he’s dead, that’s justice”. But the reality is none of us endured what she did. No one but her and her mother know what they went through. I won’t pressure her.’
‘But you can’t wait forever,’ his sister sighed.
‘That’s the thing, Nats. I can. I can wait forever…’
‘I know. And that’s what I’m worrying about.’
here were no blogs and self-help books on what to do when a parent you hate dies. Kaavi had spent some time searching, but no such luck. She always thought she would rejoice or throw a party when her father died, yet that was the complete opposite of how she felt now that it had happened. She felt lost. Still angry but heartbroken. She couldn’t understand why she would feel heartbroken over the monster dying. She switched off the TV and was going to the kitchen when the doorbell rang. She groaned. It had better not be Sen. He’d already called her umpteen times today to check if she was okay. Neel hadn’t called once.
She opened the door, ready to give Sen a tongue lashing, when she came face to face with Neel. He brushed past her.
‘Please tell me you’ve got something greasy to eat.’
She looked at him quizzically. ‘Aren’t you at The Grand Meyer? Don’t they have room service?’
‘Yeah, but it’s all tiny gourmet nonsense. I’d kill for a proper burger.’
‘I’ve got nothing,’ she said, stepping aside. ‘You know me. Mybody’s been trained to survive on crackers.’
Neel groaned. ‘It’s 8pm in Rally and every place is closed. What kind of town is this?’
‘A community town. People here actually eat home-cooked meals … at home,’ she said, grinning.
‘Then we’d never survive with our cooking skills.’
‘Hey,’ she shot back, heading to the kitchen, ‘I once made mutton curry.’
‘No, babe. You once thought you made mutton curry.’
‘I thought it was pretty good.’
‘Then why didn’t you finish it?’
‘I wasn’t very hungry that day.’
‘Convenient,’ he muttered.
‘So now what? Where are we going to find burgers? What’s the nearest town where there’ll be somewhere open at this time of night?’ he asked.
‘That would be Durban, Neel.’
He blinked and then nodded slowly.
‘Are we seriously going to drive all the way to Durban for greasy burgers?’
‘Yes, Kaavi. Haven’t you heard? I’m starving.’
‘Oh, Neel. So dramatic.’
‘I am starving. Come on, let’s get burgers in Durban.’
‘Where exactly do you plan on finding burgers?’
‘Any drive-thru’s fine.’
She stared at him. ‘You want to drive an hour for a drive-thru?’
He stepped closer. ‘Kaavi, you’re in your comfy pants. I know there’s no way you’re dressing up and going to sit in some restaurant. Let’s do the drive-thru. Plus, the drive gives us an hour to talk.’
