His pause makes me anxious. Finally, he speaks, ‘I talked toDaksh.’
‘You did what?’
He catches my gaze. I can feel he’s thinking how he should say whatever’s on his mind.
‘I wanted to know where he was at,’ he says softly. ‘I mean, I was cool with whatever. But I needed some clarity.’
My heart beats with nervousness. ‘And what clarity did youget?’
His face grows soft, suddenly younger by a decade. ‘Just that this is real. What we have is not some last-ditch attempt.’
I feel caught, but I try my best not to show it. ‘You think it’s a last-ditch attempt?’
‘No. It’s an attempt. But one that’s thought out,’ he says and reaches for my hand. ‘I’m sure about this. Talking to Daksh helped. He told me about what you guys talked about.’ His hands are rough and firm. I like them. He continues, ‘Thank you, Aanchal. You won’t be disappointed.’
‘You’re making it sound like a business deal.’
‘We will be happy,’ he says, his smile reaching his eyes.
‘I’m sure we will.’
We both turn to watch the fire dancers. Both of whom are breathing fire into the night sky, illuminating the evening.
14.
Daksh Dey
Amruta dashes back to our room to make sure we haven’t left anything behind, I lean against the cool marble counter of the hotel reception. This is the second time she’s doing it.
‘Here are the keys,’ I say and drop the extra hotel room keys we have accumulated over the past four days here.
‘Are you going back to India?’ the woman at the front desk asks me as she taps on her keyboard.
‘We are off to Koh Samui from here and then back to India.’
‘Great choice. You stayed with us for just four days? Short trip,’ she remarks.
I nod. ‘We have kids back in India.’
She’s now too occupied to answer. I flip open to the page I had reached in my book. The wife had just murdered the husband and enlisted the help of her friends to dispose of the body. They are googling. Rookie mistake. When I look up, I see Aanchal approaching, her movements a bit sluggish, her eyes bloodshot.
‘The last shots are always the worst,’ I greet her as she nears, a faint smile playing on my lips.
‘Drinking is the worst. It’s all Saket’s fault.’
‘Of course, of course,’ I chuckle. ‘How’s he?’
‘Probably playing volleyball. Who knows. At this moment, I hate him,’ she grins weakly.
Her eyes flit to the bills accumulating on the countertop.
‘Checking out already?’
‘Flying to Koh Samui. And then back home. Got to get back to the grind.’
She nods. ‘Grind doesn’t mean Gaurav, right? He told me you’re quitting.’
‘We are calling it a soft transition. Tejal’s doing a good job.’ Ispot her frowning. ‘I guess you don’t like her, do you?’
