I had come to her office for a photo shoot and promotion campaign meeting - the meeting was over around half past eleven at night and I was driving out of the parking lot when I saw her, she was sitting inside her car in the driver's seat and cursing out loud, "Damn damn damn! Damn it!"

"Need any help?" I popped my head out of my window. She looked up.

"Steering jammed. Only a mechanic can help"

"Well, hop on, I will drop you home - leave the car here and call a mechanic tomorrow?"

"Sounds good." She smiled.

She then hopped on to the seat next to me. "Fly now! I have to cook tonight!"

"Why so?" I asked curious, "Date waiting at home?"

"Bai on leave" she replied promptly, "And I am super hungry"

"Well, then let's dine outside" I tried my luck.

"No, no it's fine. I like cooking, it's therapeutic for me"

"Well then I have to go hungry tonight" I tried making a puppy face.

"Why so?"

"Well, I told my staff I would be meeting a friend for dinner today, so dinners not made. And the meeting got extended so had to cancel dinner plans. AND I hate dining alone."

"So what you're not at home, don't your family members eat? There must be food made for them?"

"My sister Aaliyah is in her ninth month of pregnancy, so daadi is staying with her at my brother-in-laws. So no one is at home right now."

"Oh. In that case let's do dinner together?" She smiled.

"Great! What do you want to eat? You like Thai? I know this place ---"

"Aah too tired to get out of my comfort zone tonight, I have a better idea - come home!"

"At this hour? No way! Your family will think I am mad!" I replied.

"There is no one at home." She replied quietly. I was surprised. From what I remembered, she had a bunch of people at home - mom, dad, and also a little sister if I wasn't wrong - and they all stayed in Mumbai.

"Where are they then?" I enquired casually.

"Bulbul is settled in Delhi."

"And parents?" The look that question got on her face, made me clench my fist. Suddenly her face shrunk and there was a thin film of water in her eyes. Wrong question Abhi, I thought to myself.

"They were going to Pune, my bua (aunt) stays there. The car toppled off Khandala highway. It's been a year and half now"

I gently held her palm, which was placed on the seat handle. "I am so sorry Pragya"

"Don't worry about it. You're coming right?"

"Where else will I get home-made food at this hour?" I tried to smile, and she returned the smile.

We reached her house around 1am. It was an independent house in a narrow residential lane in Chembur. After reaching home, Pragya went inside to freshen up and I started exploring the room. There were lots of photos of her family members framed on the walls, but in the centre there was a giant family photo framed. It was a photo of a very fair and slightly obese lady sitting on a couch with a very pretty girl with a childish face and sparkly eyes sitting at her feet clutching her knees. Pragya was hugging her mom from behind her, half sitting on the right arm-rest of the couch and to her left was standing a man with salt pepper hair and a thin frame. He wore glasses and had greyish receding hairline. If one looked carefully, he slightly resembled Pragya somewhere. But the younger sister had gone after their mother. As I stood there seeing their ones lived happy family photo, Pragya came back.

"What do you want to eat rockstar?"

And to this date, I don't know what came over me, but before even thinking I spoke out, "Aloo Paranthas"

We exchanged an embarrassed look after realizing that we both remembered the point of reference. But she didn't comment about it.

"Aloo parantha it is then. By the way, how is your daadi doing otherwise?"

I felt a slightly touched seeing she still remembered how I had once told her that I loved to gorge on daadi's handmade aloo paranthas all those years back.

"She is fine, just the arthritis gets bad sometimes, but otherwise she is healthy."

"What is your sister doing in Delhi?" I asked. I was curious, as to why she chose to move to Delhi, when they both just had each other left now.

"Bulbul's boyfriend is a Delhi based businessman. So after our parent's incident, he insisted that she moved to Delhi, for he could then take better care of hers."

"Don't you miss her?" I asked.

"I do, but she is better off there - you know my job, I keep hopping around cities - when I use to be away after the incident, Bulbul would be all alone at home and get very depressed. At least with her boyfriend around, she has a support system and she is very happy. In fact it was only yesterday that I was asking her and Purab to tie the knot - we haven't celebrated in ages." She smiled looking at Bulbul's photo on the wall adoringly.

"Purab?"

"Yeah, Bulbul's boyfriend - Purab Khanna"

"Delhi based business man Purab Khanna? Owner of Khanna Enterprises?" I asked disbelievingly.

"Umm, yes" she replied a little surprised.

"You're not going to believe this chashmish, he is my best-ESST friend since childhood. Such a small world nah? FYI he is a very nice guy and your sister will be very happy with him. But I will break all his bones, when I meet him next time! He is planning to get married and still hasn't told me about Bulbul!" I finished excited. She laughed at that, aah those rare moments of bliss..and then went back to making aloo paranthas.

I followed her to the kitchen and sat myself on the slab as she cooked.

"So, you're trying to get your younger sister married, what about your wedding?"

"Bulbul is my responsibility and also my first priority Abhi. I will first settle her and then think about myself." She said softly.

I looked at her tenderly and much to my embarrassment, she caught me. I hurriedly made the mood light. "And anyways, now that boyfriend no.2 has done a bunk and you have chased away no.3 yourself, you will have to wait unless no.4 turns up isn't it, unless of course no.1 interests you." I winked.

"Shut up Abhi!" and she playfully slapped my arm.

"Oh, and why has boyfriend no.2 done a bunk again?"

"Here aloo paranthas ready!"

"Oh"

As we sat down for dinner finally around half past two, I didn't let the topic die so soon.

"Ey chashmish, was boyfriend no. 2 gay? That's why you broke up? No bed time activities huh? Aah that's why you're always changing his topic" I teased lightly.

"Very funny rockstar! Nothing like that. Viren was amazing in bed" she blushed.

I still get goosebumps reliving that moment in my mind, it felt like the air was sucked out of my lungs and I was trying hard to gulp it back without success. Why did it shock, choke, pain me I wondered. She was in a relationship with him, sex was bound to happen - nothing that I didn't expect - but why did the open revelation shake me so bad? I tried to smile at her remark, but I am not sure how convincing that was.

"If Viren was so good, why did you leave him?" I tried to sound light, and I think I even succeeded to a certain measure, for Pragya didn't seem to doubt me.

"It was a pleasant journey mostly, no ups and downs - I thought I loved him. But then he proposed to me for marriage - and I had cold feet, I started to think over our relation again - did I really love him? I wasn't too sure - so when I saw the engagement ring hidden in his pocket, I flipped and in panic and broke up with him. Later I realized, I was right, I never loved him, I was just habituated of him."

Her explanation soothed me as much as her sex life with Viren infuriated me.

"So chashmish, you never felt the real love that gives you butterflies have you? Not these compatible feelings" I smirked.

"I had once. For a very short while." She seemed very hustled about her revelation. She glanced at me once very quickly and then changed the topic.

"Hey you didn't tell me you liked the aloo paranthas or not?"

I stared at her quietly for a moment, as memories and guilt both rushed through me, and a tiny question popped in my head, "even after all these years?"

"They are very good Pragya, you can give daadi a tough competition." I replied at last.

After dinner, we sat for a bit and spoke about general life and work, then we decided to call it a night because it was mid-week and we both had work next morning. While leaving her house, I turned to thank her, but she spoke first.

"Thanks for having dinner with me at home Abhi. It's been long since I had company for dinner at home" she whispered quietly and looked down, hiding the tears forming in the rim of her eyes.

"Thank-you for reminding me of daadi's aloo paranthas." Then what I did came to me so naturally that even Pragya didn't doubt my intention - I bent down slowly and kissed her softly on her forehead.

"Goodnight Prags" I whispered softly and she smiled.

And then I left. I wished she knew what feelings evoked in me, when I get reminded of daadi's aloo parantha - a cold evening in Delhi, where a chirpy girl was explaining to me that her love for me was like daadi's aloo parantha and not like the chefs special risotto at Benjamin's.

***

After that night at Pragya's we had befriended each other again. It was nice to have Pragya back - true she had changed a little as we grew apart for five years, but still it was a nice feeling having her by my side, as company, as my friend. For now I was happy.