9. Goregaon ka Shah Rukh Khan (Goregaon's Shah Rukh Khan)

•°•

"Don't respond." I shook my head.

Mom frowned at me. "So I just ignore the messages? What if they call?"

I swallowed.

"Give the phone to me," Dad commanded, holding out his hand for her phone. Mom leaned forward to give it. "I'll call Reshma and tell her to not poke her nose in the matters that don't concern her." He said and dialed the number.

Mom gasped. "What? Don't do that-"

Dad held up his hand to silence her. "She is my sister. I know how to handle her." He said and left the living room.

Mom stared after him in annoyance. "He does things like these and then I've to clean after him. Do you have any idea of the taunts I'll have to hear for the rest of the year now?" She shook her head at us.

The three of us narrowly escaped. While I love my family, I don't love the drama and the politics they play within the circle. It's crazy how invested people are in the life of others that changes nothing significant in their own. Like, mind your own goddamn business. Is it that hard to understand?

Closing the door of my room, I made my way inside.

It's been so long since I laid on my bed with a woman in my mind that's not fictional. I can't believe it either. Never had I thought a woman will drive me so crazy that I'll compare her with all those that had once made me wish they were real. But to be honest, Priya is a lot better than all those women I've read in fiction. That's because she is real. And while the reality is oftentimes disappointing, if it's as beautiful as Priya, then I can get through life with ease.

I can't wait for Tuesday to come. Can it arrive already? It's already tough to function as a regular me with nothing usual left in me. I feel like a new man every day. How can I not? I'm a man with a woman now. My woman.

Oh my God.

I clasped my hands on my face, holding back the urge to laugh. Getting up, I strode to the mirror and sat down on the stool. My reflection no longer seemed pitiful. I grinned like a fool. "Congrats, Dude. Even if late, you hit a jackpot." I chuckled. My phone rang catching my attention. I stood up excitedly, assuming it was Priya calling me. Well, my hope shattered quite disappointedly when I saw Vikram's name flashing on the screen.

Just as I answered, he burst like a full-fledged lawyer, asking me all sorts of questions. I sighed, waiting for him to stop so I could start.

"Why aren't you saying anything? I'm asking you how did the dinner go? Was it an episode of Big Boss or a copy of Sooraj Barjatya film?"

I rolled my eyes. He can be so dramatic sometimes. "It was like the usual dinner with guests. I took Priya out on a stroll and we had a good time."

"Oh," he whispered sounding relieved. "What's next then? Probation period?"

I frowned. "No. Actually, we're going on a vacation this Tuesday to Mussoorie."

"With her family?"

"Yup." I laid back on the bed, my left arm folded beneath my head.

"That's good progress." Vikram hummed. "Anyway, you said the walk was good? Why? Did you feel any chemistry with her?"

I snorted. "Why else would I want to marry her, dumbass? For sure I feel something for her is the reason why I'm so firm on my decision of marrying her. And to answer your previous question, yes, the walk was amazing. The best stroll of my life!"

"Really?" My friend quizzed. "How so? What did you two do?"

"Well, nothing but a walk. But it was amazing. She was amazing. Her dupatta was amazing." I chuckled remembering how it had reminded her of me every time she forgot I was walking with her. That dupatta of her is my favorite now.

"Her dupatta?"

"Yeah," I smiled.

"Why? What's special about a dupatta?"

I shrugged. "It's just-" I halted abruptly, not wanting to tell him. I was surprised at my own possessiveness. For some reason, I didn't want anyone to know about it. The moment was special for me. "It's just is." I finished.

"Fine. Don't tell me." He grunted. "Pervert."

I laughed. "I'm not falling for that anymore." In the beginning months of our friendship, I realised Vikram has a way of making people admit the things they don't want to disclose. He makes them think they've made him misunderstand their reason for not sharing and they quickly jump to explain their side to prove their innocence. It's awe-inspiring how well he does that and how the other person doesn't even understand the trap they're falling into.

He scoffed audibly. "Alright. I'm hanging up now. Good night."

I hummed, tossing the phone aside after he hung up.

Lately, I've realised I'm far happier than I was a few weeks ago. Initially, my decision to get married was purely out of desperation. While most people seek solitude, I eagerly waited for a companion. The thought of someone being there for me, through all seasons, on all days of the year, in every moment of my life makes me nothing less than excited.

A few years into my pubescence and I started to blame my parents for feeling so lonely and left out. Bhai got the most attention because he needed it, Meghna got it because she is a girl, and I, the youngest, the brightest, was left on my own to figure out his life. It's not that they completely abandoned me. I would never think of them as those parents who never came to my classmates' PTM or Sports Day. My parents attended every important function of mine. But the memories just never solely belonged to me.

I remember one such day.

- ten years ago-

It was the annual sports day. We only had one before every Christmas since our school was more study-oriented. I was nervous as well as excited. That afternoon, competitions for students to take part in along with their parents were scheduled from two to five. There was a three-legged race, obstacle race, musical chairs, and several other competitions lined up. I had been anticipating my parents' arrival since that morning.

It was probably around two fifteen I saw my parents entering the school grounds. I was seated along with my classmates, wearing my house color shirt. We had four houses, the green; Sky Riders, yellow; Sea Explorers, Red; Storm Thunders, and Orange; Woody Warriors. I belonged to the Sky Riders. My dad was so proud of me for making it into the green house since that included most scholars and toppers.

Dad had waved at me the moment he spotted me. I had immediately flung myself in his arms, hyped up because now I had my parents along with me. Although I pitied the kids whose parents couldn't make it to school on such occasions, I never wanted to be one of them. I would have been depressed if I had to sit on the bleachers just staring at the other kids enjoying themselves with their parents.

The competitions started with the three-legged race. I participated with my mother. We didn't win but we had fun in abundance. Just thinking about the memories makes me nostalgic.

The competition lasted for another hour before we had a short break.

"What?" Mom exclaimed in worry. "Yeah, please wait for me. I'll be there in fifteen!" She thrust the phone into her purse and rushed back to where I was seated along with Dad.

"What happened, Arpita?" Dad questioned with a frown.

"Avinash has a campus interview in half-hour. He thinks he is having a panic attack." She grabbed her bag and scarf. "I'm sorry, Adi, maybe next year." She kissed my forehead and left hurriedly.

I watched her go, then looked at my Dad who smiled down at me. I smiled back. At least he was there with me for the rest of the games.

Dad and I participated in the obstacle race next.

Before the results could come out, Dad's phone rang and he excused himself. When he came back, it was to grab his jacket. "I'm sorry, Adi, your Di's scooty isn't starting for some reason. I've to go and pick her up from the tuition. Maybe next year." He ruffled my hair and left.

I sighed and looked down at my lap.

"Uh, Adi? Where did your parents go?" Miss had asked when she entered the tent with the writing board in her hands.

"They had some work," I answered weakly.

She pursed her lips. "That's disappointing. You were shortlisted in both the races for finals. Well, I'll have to cross your name now." She mumbled and looked down at the pad. "Darling, you can go and sit over there since you're not participating anymore." She said to me before leaving.

I looked in the direction she had pointed at. It was the bleachers.

In the end, I was one of those kids who had to stare at the other kids enjoying themselves with their parents.

•

Hence why I would never say they didn't try. As parents, they did their best for me. But I knew, and they knew, I wasn't their priority.

I know my decision to get married so early is frowned upon by my parents and not just them, but everyone in my family circle. Because normal people of my age run away at the thought of getting married. Like my brother. No one wants to get tied down by such huge responsibility so early in adulthood.

I just don't want to be alone anymore.

I want someone to think of me the moment they wake up and the moment they fall asleep.

I don't think it's wrong to want to become someone's priority. I want to know what it feels like to come home to a person that solely belongs to me. To have someone wait for me, to have someone to watch Netflix with me until midnight, to have someone be there, just be there for me.

I grabbed my phone from the side and unlocked it. Her number was on top of the call logs list. I contemplated calling her. Then blamed it on my curiosity to see if she made it home (even though I already know she did since Dad had called her uncle but we're not addressing the minor details here) and pressed the call button.

The call rang for a short while before she answered.

"Aditya,"

"Hi," I started feebly. "Did you reach home yet?"

"Yeah, an hour ago."

Right.

"Good to know." I sat straight, resting my back against the headboard with my right leg pulled up. "Did you enjoy the dinner tonight?"

"Yeah, the food was delicious." She answered softly.

And the walk? Our talk? Our moments?

"Hmm," I responded pathetically. "My mom is a great cook."

"I realised that."

What else? I'm running out of things to continue the conversation.

"Ah, right, when I came home, Bhai told me everyone's thinking of getting us engaged by the end of this month. That'll be in two weeks. Did you know that?"

"Yeah, Mami told me in the car."

My brows shot up in surprise. "And you've no problem?"

"I don't. Do you?"

"Nope," I answered rather too quickly. Way to make your desperation so obvious, Adi. Bravo. "I find the time adequate. We'll get to know each other more during this vacation anyway."

"Yeah," she mumbled.

We fell silent. I just wanted something more interesting and less awkward questions to pop up so I can keep the conversation going. Considering she wasn't even trying, I didn't know whether she wanted to talk but was shy or if she was just waiting for me to hang up. The latter made me sad.

"If that's all...." She trailed.

So she wants to hang up.

"Yeah, good night."

"Good night." She wished and hung up.

I stared at the phone screen gloomily. Conversations with her are never meaningless. They always have a purpose, a reason, and thus, an end. Maybe someday they won't be so planned and structured anymore. Maybe someday she'll seek me out to tell me about her day, share silly things and shift to a completely new topic in the middle of the ongoing one.

To distract myself from her thoughts, I pulled the laptop on my lap and turned it on. I need a week off and since there are no current projects on the shelf for me, I'm confident that HR will approve my request. I quickly typed in the leave request and scheduled the mail to be sent tomorrow morning during working hours. Putting the laptop back on the table, I turned off the lights and went to sleep.

Tweety was unnecessarily loud the next morning.

So was my mom.

Women.

"Get up, Adi! It's already six-thirty!" Mom knocked on my door. With the force she was using, I'm surprised she hasn't ripped open the door yet.

Tweet sat on the top of my headboard, chirping so loud she may as well get a job in the emergency services. I flicked my hand at her and she fluttered roughly, slapping me with her wings before landing on my back. I slapped her away from there only to have the tiny monster sit on the back of my head.

"What is your damn problem!?" I groaned.

"Excuse me!? What's that tone, Adi!?" Mom chastised from outside. "I'm waking you up because you're late! You should be thanking me!"

Tweety pecked at my scalp with her beak, as though joining forces with Mom. I grunted and sat up straight. Tweety flew to sit on the edge of the bed. "I hate you!" I snarled at the thing.

She turned her miniature head and began grooming her feathers.

Tossing the comforter off my feet, I stormed inside the bathroom to get ready for the day. By the time I had showered and worn fresh office clothes, my room was empty and the bed was a mess. I quickly fixed it before standing in front of the full-length mirror to comb my hair. After shoving the laptop in my bag and my phone into my pocket, I left the room for breakfast. Mom quickly served me the moment I sat down.

"Finish all your office work today itself. No one's bringing work to vacation." Dad reminded everyone.

We three nodded in response.

My phone vibrated in my pocket. Fishing it out, I was startled to see Priya's name flash on the screen. With a slight clear of the throat, I swallowed the food in my mouth and drank a mouthful of water before answering her call.

"Hey,"

"Aditya," she greeted. "Good Morning."

"Morning."

"Preeti told me this morning you want to take me out for lunch?"

I froze. "I- I did?"

"Oh, you didn't tell me last night. But okay. Should I pick you up from your office this afternoon?"

"Ain't I taking you out for lunch?" I frowned.

"Yeah, you can choose the restaurant. But I know you travel by bus. It'll be hectic for you. And your locality has some nice restaurants. I've been there for a few meetings."

"Yeah, that works," I answered. "Thanks. For accepting my offer." Which I never made, but I'm not complaining.

"Sure. Bye." She said and hung up.

"You're taking her out on a date?" Meghna asked with a smile.

"Sounds like it," I said looking down at my plate.

"Why? We're going on a vacation tomorrow. You'll get to spend time with her then. What's the point in meeting today?" Mom interjected.

"But there will be family around then. And they want to get married, Arpita. They want to spend their life together. It's not rocket science that they'll try to get to know each other as much as they can before that happens." Dad explained from my side.

Mom sighed in what sounded like a disappointment.

"Now what?" I asked, exhausted of her attitude.

"Did you not see how she ignored me the whole night yesterday? I asked her to sit beside me but she didn't speak a word to me." Mom complained.

"Then you could have said something." Meghna rolled her eyes.

"She wants to get married to my son. She needs to make efforts to impress me." Mom pursed her lips sounding disgruntled.

"Mom, you already know she is not much of a talker." I pointed out.

"Alright! But the way she talked back to me when I asked whether Avi helped her? I mean, in a way, he did help her. What's so bad about admitting it? She sounded so prideful." Mom snorted.

"Because I did not help her, Mom." Bhai finally looked up from his files, regarding mom with a pinched expression. "She used my knowledge and I got paid for it. In bulks. I still own two percent share in her company. That means I still get a little bit of profit that she makes without my 'help'," he air quoted the last word. "She said what she said because it's the truth." He focused back on the files.

"Thik hai! Mein hi buri hoon! (Fine! I'm wrong!)" Mom got up with her plate and strode off to the kitchen.

I looked at Dad with a deadpanned face. He waved his hand in dismissal, gesturing for me to not pay attention to her. I shook my head and resumed my breakfast.

My trip to the office was suffocating. The bus was crowded to the point I had to fight to even find enough space to place my feet. The bus driver had suddenly pressed the brakes and my chest slammed into the back of the woman that was standing in front of me. She turned over her shoulder to shoot me the deadliest glare I've ever seen. "I'm sorry," I whispered, backing away and knocking into the protruding belly of the man standing behind. He shot me an annoying look. I turned and stood straight facing the window, holding my laptop bag close to my chest. When my stop came, I rushed down the stairs and took a loud breath of relief.

God, that was exhausting.

On my way to the office building, I dialled Preeti's number. I was going to call her on the bus during the travel but that was a huge No when I saw how full it was.

"Hey!"

"You- You told Priya I want to take her out for lunch?"

"You don't?"

I blanked out for a second. "I- I do but-"

"Then say thank you!"

"What?" I frowned, forcing a smile at one of my colleagues who met my eyes.

"Say thank you to me!" She demanded.

"Thank you," I mumbled.

"You're welcome! Have fun on your lunch date. A tip you'll find useful. Seafood makes her nauseous. In meat, she only enjoys chicken. That too fried, while watching a game of basketball over a beer."

"She watches basketball!?" I asked, astonished.

"You've no idea how crazy she is for the game!" Preeti giggled. "You'll see a completely different side of Priya Mathur if you sit down to watch a game of Basketball with her."

I smiled, thankful for having a source to know so many little details about my future wife.

"And what else?"

"And she absolutely detests public places. So movie theaters, amusement parks, zoos are a big no!"

"But I love amusement parks," I whispered under my breath.

"Oh and, she likes classy restaurants. The spacious ones have properly dressed staff, where people follow etiquettes and all that jazz. So don't take her to some lame Pav Bhaji stall."

I snorted. "Shut up. Pav Bhaji is love. And I know I can't take her to some stall for our second date. I'm not that dumb."

"Good for you!" She chuckled. "Now I've my French classes. I'll talk to you later! Bye."

"Bye." With that, I hung up and went on to my day.

It was noon, a half-hour before the lunch break and I was still in my office, finishing the last bits of the pending project report.

Hearing the knock, I called the person inside.

"Hey!" Pari peeked in.

"What is it?" I asked with a smile.

"The updated color palette," she handed over her iPad to me.

I stole a glance. "Did you show them to Karan?"

"He isn't at the office. He told me to take your approval."

I sighed. "God, if I knew anything about colors, I would have been in his place."

"He also asked me to change the fonts and use glassy effect-"

"Pari, I'm running late for another personal commitment. Do one thing, mail it to Karan. The deadline is not close by any means so take your time. There's no hurry." I smiled up at her, turning off my computer and laptop.

"You're going out?"

"Yeah," I sighed nervously. "Do I look good enough?"

"Do you even have to ask?" She smiled softly. "But your shirt will appreciate some attention." Her eyes dropped low to my waist.

I looked down and realised it was half untucked. "Thanks," I fixed it quickly.

"A date?"

I chuckled. "Yeah."

She nodded. "You look happy."

I grinned at Pari, grabbing my phone and shoving it in my pocket. "Tell me something new. C'mon now, I've to lock my office." I grabbed the keys and ushered the woman out. We headed to different elevators. Mine opened first. Just as I was about to step inside, Pari stopped me.

"Mind if I grab my bag and come along until the ground floor? I was thinking of checking out this new cafe that's opened near our office." She requested.

"Sure, be quick." I nodded at her.

I let the elevator pass twice before it opened revealing her. We passed a smile at each other while I stepped in. She pressed for the ground floor on the panel.

My phone chimed with a notification.

Priya: I'm here. In front of your office building.

I texted her back saying I'll be down in five. Propelling the phone back into my pocket, Pari and I exited the elevator when it opened on the ground floor.

"Ah, there's she!" Pari pointed out when we walked out of the revolving doors.

My gait slowed down as I took her in from head to toe. She wore a baby pink fitted shirt and white wide-legged trousers. Her hair was tied in a high ponytail, sleeves rolled up until her elbow and she looked extra tall than her usual height because of the high heels.

"Who's that?" I heard a whisper come from my right. A bunch of men walked past me as they stared at her.

She looked up from her phone and spotted me. I watched as she removed her glasses before raising the same hand to wave at me. I waved back with a smile.

"I'll see you later," Pari said to me before walking off.

I made my way towards Priya.

"Abey uss bande ki ladki dekh. Langoor ke muh mein angoor. (Dude, look at that man's woman. Grapes in the hands of a monkey!)" I heard two men snicker behind my back. My steps halted abruptly.

I looked at them with a poker face. The men walked off briskly without another glance our way.

"What happened?" Priya asked just as I reached her. She glanced at the men who had made the comment before looking back at me.

"Nothing," I mumbled and opened the car door, getting inside the black Audi.

"Have you picked a restaurant?" She asked while buckling up. "Type it in the GPS."

I wanted to tell her to choose one herself. I'm afraid of meeting someone from my office and having another face-off with rude comments. People in my office building aren't that friendly. I couldn't break out of my shell to join their outings so they've made it a mission to treat me as an outcast.

"Aditya?" She probed gently.

I quickly typed in the name of the restaurant I had once seen from the bus during my trip back home. From the looks of it, the place seemed to be of her type.

She turned the car around and followed the directions of the GPS. Fifteen minutes later, she was parking the car in the parking lot of the Italian restaurant I had randomly selected for us. When I checked the name on Google, thankfully it needed no pre-booking if it's not the weekend.

We ran into my boss and his friend group the moment we entered the restaurant. Great. Just what I needed to make my day better. To tell you, my boss is absolutely in love with me. And his way of showing that is screaming, throwing files at me, and giving me deadlines that are impossible to achieve. He is relocating to a new branch next year so I'm just counting days now.

"Aditya!" The man smiled at me. "What a surprise! I never knew you could afford to eat at a place like this. We would have invited you to the last team dinner."

I smiled tightly at him. "Good afternoon, sir."

"And who's this beautiful lady? Feels like I've seen you somewhere." He smiled at her ludicrously. Bitch is married. I curled my hand in a fist. "Don't tell me you're searching for a new job, Aditya? This is a highly inappropriate place for an interview!" He laughed boisterously. His friends joined.

"I'm Priya Mathur." She introduced herself curtly. "Owner and CEO of Jalsa. And I'm on a date with Mr. Shrivastava here. This is our personal time, so if you could excuse us, we would like to make the most of it." She smiled up at him, her eyes cold and uninterested.

My boss faltered in his words. "Oh?" He looked at me, a flicker of impress crossing his eyes. "Yeah, sure, please," he turned and stretched his hand out.

Priya walked off first, her heels clicking firmly onto the ground. I followed her instantly after bowing my head at the undeserving man.

I pulled the chair for her and she sat down. "Thanks," she murmured. I nodded and took my seat. "Who was he?"

"My boss."

She looked upset. "Is he the same towards all employees or just you?"

"Just the male employees that don't laugh at his jokes or buy gifts for him on his anniversaries."

She clenched her jaw. "So unprofessional. How will employees grow in such a toxic environment? Have you never thought of launching a complaint against him?"

"That works in dramas and movies. In real life, you get fired or are demoted." I stated.

"As an owner of a successful company, and I don't mean to brag, but if someone comes to me with such a complaint, I'll-"

"So what? I reach out to Bill Gates? Or the branch head who'll rather attend million-dollar meetings than hear an insignificant employee complain about his competent department manager? It's not easy for us who work on the low level of the hierarchy to knock on the door of higher-ups like you and justify our side."

"You can try-"

"And risk my job?" I snapped. "Easy for you to say. You're not in my place."

She blinked uncomfortably and looked down at the table.

"Are you ready for the order?" The waiter walked up to us with two copies of the menu cards.

I grimaced reading Italian. The English translation was of no help.

"Should I order for you?" She suggested.

"No." I rejected. "Bring me number twenty-four." I handed the menu book back to the man.

He noted the dish and wrote it on his notepad. "And you, Ma'am?"

"Risotto Alla Milanese," she answered.

He nodded and walked off.

We sat in silence until we were served. While she got what she wanted to eat, I was served some stew, clam soup, and a salad. My lips twisted at the sight of the clams and I looked up at her. Her brows were scrunched together as she eyed the bowl. She rubbed her nose subtly.

"Seafood makes her nauseous."

I sighed.

This day is just ruining itself for me. Or maybe it's just my fate that enjoys fucking me.

We began to eat.

I tried while she scrolled through something on her phone and finished everything on her plate.

"Can I have it packed?" I requested the waiter while pointing at my leftover.

"Sure, sir."

The bill sure punched a big dent in my bank account. She insisted on splitting the bill but my Boss' comment rang back in my head and I didn't let her. I can afford to eat in such restaurants as well. I'm not broke.

"I'll take a cab," I said to her when we left the restaurant.

"Why? I can drop you off."

"You don't need to. Lunchtime is over. You should head back to your office. Bye." I said and descended the stairs, walking towards the bus stop nearby. There's no way I can hire a cab for a fifteen minutes drive.

I caught a bus before it could drive off and sat on the available next to a middle-aged woman. My phone vibrated with a text message so I fished it out.

Priya: Thank you for the lunch.
I enjoyed it.

I sighed and pressed the power button.

I did not enjoy the lunch. Never did I think there will come a time when I'll say something like this. But since the comment made by those two men, the day was just over for me. Then my boss came in to pour some more oil into the fire. And then her justifying how easy it is to stand up for oneself if you just try. The food was horrible too. The conclusion is, that this day could not get any worse.

I was shoved ahead as the bus stopped abruptly.

"Tyre puncture ho gaya. (Tyre is punctured.)" The driver announced.

Spoke too soon.

I reached the office late. My boss didn't hold himself back when he spotted me entering my office. I was scolded right in front of the juniors and interns.

"I've seen women lacking professionalism after they get married. You're a man yet you can give tough competition to them." He scoffed out a chuckle and left.

Avoiding all the stares pinned on me, I entered the office and closed the door.

At the end of the day, I was completely frazzled.

"What is this?" Mom opened the bag of food and grimaced. "Is it a fish?"

"Clams," I answered, walking to my room and slamming the door close. I fell face-first on my bed, my arms spread and legs hanging off the bed end. I fell asleep in my office clothes, with my earphones still plugged in and my laptop bag sling over my shoulder.

The incessant ringing of my phone woke me up.

"Aditya,"

I sat ramrod straight in an instant.

"Yeah?" My voice came out deep and groggy.

"I've mailed you the train tickets. The train leaves at nine am tomorrow morning." She informed me.

"Oh, okay," I mumbled.

"Yeah, and, uhm, every AC compartment approves four bookings."

"Uh huh," I frowned.

"Just letting you know beforehand." She murmured.

"Okay."

"Alright. Bye."

"Bye." We both hung up.

I quickly got off the bed to let my father know about it.

"I already know?" Dad answered. "Mahesh Ji called me an hour ago."

"Oh," I blinked. "Okay," I said and returned to my room.

Why did she call me to tell me the same thing?

I shrugged and focused on packing my bags for the week.

The next morning, Mom was no less than a hostel warden. She was determined to make sure we were out of the house by eight am. "Sab le liya na? (Did everyone pack the necessary?)" She asked. We nodded in response. "Yeh charger kiska hai phir? (Whose charger is this then?)" She questioned plucking out the charger from the switchboard on the wall beside the television.

"That's mine!" Meghna scurried forward to take it. "Thank God! I thought I had packed it. Uff!" She walked back to her bag and stuffed it in.

"This is why I tell you to recheck everything twice!" Mom chastised.

"Mummy, chalo na, yar!" (Mummy, let's go, yar!)" I said, frustrated. Bhai was already in the car, with his belongings stuffed in and waiting for us to come.

Mom finally complied.

The train station was surprisingly not that crowded. We located our train in a resting state on platform number five. Bhai and I helped mom and dad carry our bags while Meghna followed us while video graphing herself. Such a waste of space. Her face should be put on as a warning on the packets of condoms.

Mom, Dad, and Meghna were sharing a compartment. The last occupant was a stranger and wasn't here yet. The Upadhyay couple were sharing a compartment with their kids. I checked my compartment and realised it was Bhai, I, and the Mathur sisters.

"I made sure you two share the compartment!" Preeti entered past me, surprising the fuck out of me. She sat on the seat and looked up, sending me a wink. "I was going to put us three girls in the compartment and you, but then I realized it'll make you uncomfortable. So I replaced Meghna with your brother."

"So nice of you," I said sarcastically and entered.

Bhai came in a minute later.

"Where's she?" I asked Preeti.

"She said she is buying water bottles and some snacks." Preeti looked out of the window. "She should be coming back though. The train will start soon."

I glanced at my wristwatch. "It's already nine."

"I'll go-" Bhai began to get up.

"I'll go and check." I cut him off and stepped out of the compartment. Just as I reached the doors, the train blared the first horn. Removing my phone from my pocket, I called her. She answered on the first ring. "Where are you?"

"I'm- I'm trying to come but I think I lost my change!"

"What!?"

"I bought three water bottles of twenty rupees-"

I slapped my forehead. "Just come, Priya!"

"No! It's not just two or three rupees. I lost seventy-five rupees!"

"And if you don't come already, you'll lose the train as well!" I snapped.

"Ah! I found it!" She said sounding triumphed.

The train gave out the final horn.

"Now come!"

She hung up and I shoved the phone into my pocket.

"Where is she?" Preeti came out to check.

"She isn't- there she is!" I spotted her making her way through the sea of people. "Come!" I beckoned her holding out my hand.

Priya began to run but the backpack was slowing her down.

The train started to move.

I descended the stairs until the end, my hand stretched out for her.

Before the train could pick up the speed, she grabbed my hand and heaved herself inside. We were sandwiched between the two walls of the narrow entrance. "For seventy-five rupees?" I breathed out, my chest rising and sinking rapidly.

She looked up, her hands on my shoulders. "For seventy-five rupees." She nodded.

I stared at her in amazement before we both burst out laughing.

That's right, ladies and gentlemen, Priya Mathur can laugh. And let me tell you, it was the most beautiful sight I've ever witnessed. Especially with her in my arms.

A long chapter because I updated late.

Excited for the vacation!?

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