She interrupts me with a shake of her head. ‘Don’t start becoming that annoying person who finds answers in long bike rides.’
I chuckled though there’s a chance I might become just that. ‘Fine, I won’t... it’s just that we can’t afford to make a mistakenow.’
I put my arm around her and she slips easily on to me. I tell her, ‘This is it. This is our last chance. Even if you forget the number of lives that will be affected because we decide to do something, it’s probably the biggest decision.’
She looks at me, her eyes wide as if searching for confirmation, and says, ‘So it’s okay to be unsure, right?’
‘It’s the most natural thing in the world.’
‘Do you want to drink some more?’ I ask her.
Beaming widely, she says, ‘What else is there to do?’
We get a few more drinks and half-stumble, half-walk through the more notorious parts of Bangla Road where neon signs advertise cabaret shows and more risqué performances.
‘Don’t lie that you don’t want to go to one of them and get a lap dance or something,’ she nudges me.
‘We will keep that for the hotel room,’ I reply.
We walk away from there and towards a club where a band plays energetically on a small stage. Amruta, too drunk and never one to shy away from the dance floor, pulls me into the rhythm. I fake-resist, then give in. Together, we lose ourselves in the music, the vibe and the rum that courses through our veins.
Tired and sweaty, a little later, we wander off to a side street and wolf down two shawarmas. Then we buy two huge bottles of water and wait for the alcohol to pass through our systems. We follow the others to the beach where the sound of the wavesoffers a stark contrast to the pulsating, drunk, manic, sexual energy of Bangla Road. We sit down and nurse our bottles of water.
‘Why are you so into our kind of love story?’ Amruta asks, resting her head on my shoulder. ‘When you can’t be with Aanchal?’
‘Ship of Theseus. I have changed. Some other guy fell in love with her, not me. I don’t remember that Daksh.’
13.
Aanchal Madan
The soft, powdery sand of the beach cushions my feet as I make my way towards the barbecue hosted by the resort. It’s our last night here. Saket gives me that smitten look he often has, his eyes lighting up as he glances my way. Every time I open Reddit threads about people choosing their partners, there’s one piece of advice that stands out. Always be with someone who loves you more than you love them. By that logic, and sound logic from people having been in successful marriages, I should get married to Saket without a second thought.
‘It’s awesome, isn’t it?’ he asks.
I nod.
‘I distinctly feel like the third wheel,’ complains Vanita. ‘But it’s your fault. This was a friends’ trip and you were a last-minute addition.’
Saket chuckles. ‘I can go back to the room and order room service if you want.’
‘Please do that,’ says Vanita. ‘I would like Aanchal all tomyself.’
‘I am enough for both of you,’ I add.
‘That’s the beginning of every threesome porn,’ says Vanita. ‘And that’s disgusting. I’m saying that to myself, of course, for making that connection. I’m a to-be-mother, I should do better.’
‘And you will be the best mother of all time,’ I tell Vanita, stating the obvious. ‘Supermom. Everyone’s going to look at you and go, like, how does she do this?’
I can almost imagine her quitting her job and being the mother of mothers; starting a mothers’ cult and an Instagram account to tell people how to raise their children.
As we get there, the sun’s going down and it casts a golden glow over the set-up that can be categorically defined as Instagram-worthy. We had seen pictures of this on the hotel website, but the photographer should be fired with immediate effect because this is way more beautiful than his clicks. With string lights twinkling above rustic wooden tables laden with food and torches lighting each table, this is as pretty as it gets. To top it off, I can hear the gentle lapping of the waves against the shore.
Saket makes a beeline for the drinks counter and gets us sparkling coconut water.
‘I like this butler service,’ says Vanita. ‘I think you should sign up for life right now. What better place?’
I roll my eyes. ‘I’m not sixteen that I will cave into peer pressure. We will take our time.’
