‘I saw the documents on the desktop.’ After a long pause, he adds, ‘You have my blessing, Bhaiya.’
‘Fuck your blessing.’
He laughs softly. ‘Can’t believe I will be your saala.’
‘You have been my saala,’ I remind him.
‘Marry her quickly, don’t want her living in my house any more,’ says Gaurav. ‘Did you ask Rabbani?’
‘She will be pissed, but yes, I will tell her.’
‘Pissed is an understatement,’ corrects Gaurav.
Rabbani has been attacking me and complaining to Baba about Aanchal ever since she moved into the building. Every time I have tried to bring it up with her, she quickly turns away from me, marches into her room and slams the door shut. She squarely blames Aanchal for what happened between Amruta and me. We haven’t had a conversation in weeks and it fucking breaks my heart.
‘Rabbani came to me with a game she wanted me to test,’ says Gaurav. ‘It was pretty good... I mean... for a beginner.’
‘She came to you? Why didn’t you tell me this before?’
‘She had asked me not to.’
I glare at him. ‘What did she say?’
‘Something to the effect that you are an innocent lamb, and Didi is the hairy, disgusting butcher with a sharp blade. That she will cut out your heart and leave you writhing to die.’
‘Don’t exaggerate. Tell me the exact words.’
‘Can’t call Didi a two-paise whore,’ says Gaurav.
I lean back into the seat and take a deep breath. And then I say, ‘She will come around. She’s a kid.’
‘Are you sure?’
‘What do you mean I’m sure? Of course, I’m sure.’
‘She’s not your little girl any more. Dada is no longer the best, and no longer amazing. Definitely not after you decided to start seeing Didi.’
‘I can’t let a thirteen-year-old dictate my dating choices.’
‘It’s hardly a dating choice, Bhaiya,’ prods Gaurav. ‘It’s a life choice and she has a right to have an opinion about it.’
‘She can have an opinion, but she can’t have veto power.’
‘And she’s right, to be honest,’ he says with a shrug. ‘You just upended her life by leaving Amruta. And Didi... she’s a handful. And the two of you... are kind of extreme with each other.’
‘Good to receive advice from two kids,’ I say and get out of the car.
Gaurav stays in the car while I go to fetch us rajma chawal and kadhi chawal. A handful of people recognize him, but none of them approach to get a picture with him. These days Gaurav is of no social value to anyone.
The food tastes just as good as it ever did, although the number of people around has skyrocketed since our last visit here. We eat until we are completely stuffed.
‘If Rabbani shares something with you, you come to me immediately, okay?’
Gaurav nods and says, ‘Of course, it will be much easier to get to you if I’m using a better phone.’
As per the instructions of the rehab clinic, he’s using a phone with a screen smaller than my thumb. No Internet, no messaging. But both Tejal and him, they think he’s ready. They think coming back to gaming and social media is a part of his healing process.
‘Are you sure?’ I ask him.
