by DICE Media
‘What is this formality? You don’t have to come anywhere for me. What’s the point of this if it’s just going to annoy both of us?’ Dhruv was equally caustic.
They were both talking, but the problem was that neither was listening. They even argued about how many eggs they wanted scrambled. That’s when Kavya realized that Dhruv was getting so irritated because he was hungry. He had been looking forward to this and had barely eaten the whole day. Once Kavya was clear about that, she knew what she had to do—wait for Dhruv to eat. Her tone became friendlier and gentler.
‘What formality, Momo? Chill. We came here because you wanted to. And we’re here now.’
The waiter got the food, placed it in front of them without a word and left, which was a good thing because Dhruv did not need any more riling up.
‘Yeah.’ Dhruv’s volume dropped a few notches. ‘Let’s just not talk right now. Let me enjoy my scrambled eggs in peace.’ He did not want the fight to escalate any more. He sullenly tore a piece of bread, stuffed some egg into it, put it into his mouth and began chewing. As soon as his tongue embraced the flavour and the aroma caressed his nose, he felt better. Before he knew it, he had polished off the whole plate.
Kavya smiled. It was at times like these that she knew she loved to be with Dhruv. They had developed a comfortable bond. Once she had had her fill of watching Dhruv savour his meal, Kavya took a tissue and began sketching—an old habit.
The cafe was old and the building that housed it was rickety. However, the character of the place was unmistakable in its walls, furniture and crockery. The ambience contained so much history that once Kavya began sketching, she was fully absorbed. Sitting there was like travelling back in time. There were so many picturesque frames in the cafe to capture. Kavya couldn’t help but sketch and take back a piece of this quaint cafe.
The cafe was empty by the time Dhruv finished eating. It was closing time. The waiter was waiting for Dhruv to finish. As soon as he put the last bite in his mouth, before he even got a chance to chew, the waiter walked up to them and placed the bill on the table.
Dhruv reached into his pocket for his wallet, but Kavya grabbed the bill. ‘It’s on me!’
Dhruv couldn’t help but smile. ‘Why? Because you’re feeling bad for me and my dinner plans?’
Kavya looked up at him while trying to find her wallet in her bag and gave him a small smile. It was true, but it did not really matter, no apologies were needed. It was all good, it was all forgiven—Dhruv had already forgotten about it. That was what was so amazing about the love they shared. They were tethered to each other so intimately that they never lost sight of the other and their love. They could be angry, annoyed or sad, but never in their hearts did they think ill or less of each other.
Dhruv broke out into his mischievous grin, the one that Kavya adored. ‘In that case, can you please add caramel custard to the bill as well?’
The waiter said matter-of-factly, ‘Not available’, picked up the money and the bill and walked away. Now that Dhruv wasn’t hungry, he found it funny. Both of them burst out laughing.
As they walked out, Dhruv took Kavya’s hand in his and they walked in silence. Their eyes met for a brief moment and both of them broke into genuine, beaming smiles. It had been over two years since they had begun dating, but the romance hadn’t died. And that was the most heartening, and the most comforting, thought for both of them.
Young love might have its charm—it is exciting, exhilarating and intoxicating, but it doesn’t hold a candle to old, knowing, comforting love. As Dhruv and Kavya strolled down the old streets of Mumbai, their young love too aged a bit.
4
‘Taxi!’ Dhruv shouted for the nth time as another one passed them by without stopping. They had been looking for a cab for over twenty minutes and both of them were losing patience. They were unable to book cabs on their phones as those were running at exorbitant surge prices.
Suddenly, and much to their surprise, they saw a cab go ahead and then stop for them. They were so glad that they ran to it, opened the door, and jumped in.
‘Finally!’
They thanked the driver for stopping.
‘Sorry, I didn’t see you there.’
A courteous and polite cab driver!
‘Please take us to Powai,’ Dhruv said.
‘Why? Aren’t we going to Bandra?’
The driver was about to start the engine, but stopped after Kavya’s question.
‘What? Why?’
‘It’s Taboo night at Shifa’s! Don’t tell me you forgot!’
‘What! That’s today?’ Dhruv realized that there was more to the day.
‘No.’ He protested. ‘I’m not going! I just want to go home and watch the new episode of Game of Thrones! I downloaded it and haven’t even seen a single scene. You know how difficult that is for me? I even bought popcorn!’
Dhruv was pushing with all his might to not go. This was not how he had planned the rest of the evening.
‘We can watch that tomorrow too, no, Dhruv?’
‘No, someone will ruin the episode for me with a spoiler. It’s a party, someone will surely talk about it. Let’s not go. And wait, don’t you want to watch the episode? Or have you already seen that too, like you already ate today?’
‘Shut up, Dhruv, stop being so difficult. We decided five days ago that we’d go for Shifa’s Taboo night. And I am also wearing my new earrings. You’re the one who keeps saying that I ignore my friends for us.’
‘Kavya, my head does not work like that. I don’t maintain a calendar. And who keeps a party on a Monday night anyway?’
‘You know it’s her thing, Dhruv. We missed the last four Taboo nights. Let’s not miss this one. We’ll leave early?’ Kavya tried her best to convince him.
‘That never happens. No one in the history of parties has ever said “we’ll leave early” and then actually done that. Don’t just say it because you want to go.’
The cab driver, who was watching them argue, waited a while to let them make up their minds. He was already regretting stopping for them. Holding his head in his hands, he cursed his luck. All he wanted to do was to earn some money, go home, eat and sleep. He had enough problems of his own and didn’t have time for all this bickering.
‘If all you want to do is fight, then please get out of my cab.’
Dhruv and Kavya got out of the cab, slammed the doors shut and started squabbling. Again. One moment they had felt intense, immense love, and the next moment they were fighting in the middle of a road. It was like they were continuously being tossed from one end of a tennis court to another, with the cab driver sitting outside, his head moving from Kavya to Dhruv and back.
‘Can’t you just go alone? Do I have to come?’
‘Really, Dhruv? Are you really asking me to go alone? Did I not come to eat with you at this place?’
‘Wait. That’s why you came? Because you wanted me to go to Shifa’s party?’
The driver had had enough. He blew the horn asking both of them to move away from the cab. Once they did, he sped away.
‘You’re really being an idiot, Dhruv. I can’t believe you’re asking me to go alone. Have some shame!’
‘Shame? Don’t talk to me like my mother, Kavya. Why would you say “Did I not come to eat with you?” Is this an exchange offer?’
Kavya couldn’t believe that Dhruv was thinking these things, let alone saying them. Did he think so little of her?
Her reply was cold. ‘To make you realize that I’d happily do anything for you and that I expect you to do the same for me.’
Dhruv knew she was right and that he was being difficult. When Kavya talked about happily doing things for him, he couldn’t hit back. He softened immediately. ‘Arre, don’t say emotional stuff like this. It just messes with my head and I keep changing my mind.’
This did nothing to calm Kavya down. She looked away and didn’t say anything. When the silence got too much, too awkward for Dhruv, he asked, ‘So
. . . like . . . what? Can you go alone?’
Kavya wanted to shout at him and curse him. It took every ounce of her strength to not do that. He seemed to be testing her repeatedly and she knew there was no point continuing the conversation. She took a deep breath and walked away.
Dhruv stood rooted to the spot. He knew she was right. But he also knew that he did not want to go. What a rollercoaster this day was turning out to be!
5
Loud music, chaos, laughs and shrieks. They could hear the party from outside Shifa’s apartment block. It was exactly what Dhruv was not in the mood for, everything that he was dreading!
After their fight, neither had said a word throughout the forty-five-minute ride to Shifa’s place. After they got off the cab, Dhruv wanted to run home, but he stuck around. He might have dragged his feet every step of the way, but he never stopped following Kavya. No matter how much he did not want to go, he’d never leave her alone.
They entered the elevator, still silent. Their eyes met briefly for a second, but both of them quickly looked away. This was getting too much for Dhruv to take. He desperately wanted to put up one more argument, use his last straw of resistance before they entered Shifa’s home. So the moment Kavya reached for the doorbell, Dhruv broke his silence. ‘Listen, Kavvu, there’s still time. Think about it, we can still get out of here.’
Kavya paused midway. With her hand still in the air, she turned and gave Dhruv a cold stare.
‘Fuck you.’ She spoke through clenched teeth. She didn’t shout at him. That would have been okay. What made these two words sound like an ultimatum was the coldness and calmness with which they had been spoken. Dhruv understood that it meant the end of their argument, but he decided to be grumpy anyway.
Soon the door was flung open by a girl with a pixie haircut. She was wearing an elegant, salmon-coloured off-shoulder top and a little black skirt. Kavya’s face stretched into a huge smile as soon as she saw her friend. They screamed each other’s name excitedly.
‘Shifaaaaa!’
‘Kavyaaa!’
They had once been roommates and best friends in college. But now they didn’t meet as often as they would have liked to. But whenever they did, it was like they were back in college, in that same messy room they had called home for three years.
They hugged while Dhruv waited awkwardly. Dhruv was a little taken aback by how quickly Kavya’s mood had changed. Soon Adi, Shifa’s boyfriend, came and greeted him.
‘Hey, Dhruv is also here!’ he announced with a wide grin. ‘So good to see you, man. You’re never here. Such a nice, pleasant surprise!’
Dhruv refused to smile but thanked him as he shook his hand and entered the house. ‘Nice house!’ he complimented Shifa and Adi. Then he headed straight to the couch and sat all by himself.
Being the social person that she was, Kavya started mingling with everyone. Someone had come up with a brilliant idea of putting a karaoke machine in the midst of some very drunk people. Every now and then there would come a burst of bad singing that would make Dhruv cringe. Some of his favourite songs were being ruined forever. The fact that he was sober made it more torturous.
Someone offered Dhruv a joint and then some beer, both of which he politely refused. He was going to stick to his tonic water that day. How the hell were people getting so drunk and high on a Monday? They were all going to repent this the next morning, he thought grumpily.
There was a time when Dhruv could have done the same—stayed up late and gone to office with a hangover. He was younger and had just started working. But that seemed like decades ago. The present-day Dhruv only drank on weekends and special days, that too extremely cautiously.
As he sat by himself, he watched people talk, eat, drink and enjoy themselves. Instinctively, he looked around for Kavya. He noticed her talking to someone in a red T-shirt. She seemed to be highly amused by him and was laughing uncontrollably at his jokes.
Dhruv’s mind was immediately on high alert. As he watched them laugh and smile, insecurity raised its ugly head. What are they talking about? Why does she look so happy? Who is he?
After a few minutes, the same guy came and sat beside Dhruv and began talking to him. Dhruv realized that he was drunk and babbling away. The only thing he did manage to catch was his name: Rahul.
Dhruv decided that he too would chill out, loosen up and stop being so rigid. He sat more comfortably on the sofa and grabbed a beer. That was when he noticed Kavya looking worriedly towards Rahul and him. She looked tense for some reason.
Then Adi came into the room and his eyes fell on Rahul and Dhruv. He found a way to shoo Rahul away and began talking to Dhruv. For a while, Dhruv was distracted and forgot about Kavya. For a while, he genuinely relaxed and chatted without a care in the world. Then his thoughts automatically turned towards Kavya and he looked around for her. He couldn’t spot her. His eyes darted around the room, but she was nowhere to be seen.
He excused himself and decided to look in the adjoining rooms. As soon as he opened the door to the first room, he heard the soundtrack of Game of Thrones and saw five people huddled in front of a laptop. ‘Get out!’
Dhruv did not need to be told twice. He slammed the door behind him. He was determined to not let any spoilers ruin his experience of the series.
When he entered the second room, he was taken aback. A guy and girl, drunk beyond words, were trying to put their clothes back on. ‘Shit! Sorry!’ Dhruv was embarrassed and quickly shut the door.
What the hell is happening at this party? Dhruv thought to himself. He decided to go to the kitchen and check if Kavya was trying to sneak in a late bite. But secretly he just wanted to find something to eat for himself because nothing comforted him like food. It was like a small break from the world—a temporary relief, a brief respite from the weight on his chest.
He entered the kitchen to find a man with really long dreadlocks, stoned out of his mind, chomping on a burger like his life depended on it. Had Dhruv not known that he was stoned, he’d have thought the man had not eaten in days.
His spirits immediately lifted at the thought of more food. He smiled at the guy. ‘Hey, is there more?’
The guy stopped eating for a second and looked at his burger. ‘No, I don’t think so.’ He then took the burger that he had more mutilated than eaten and offered it to Dhruv. ‘This is the last one. Have it, bro.’
Dhruv felt his insides churn just looking at the burger, but he backed out. ‘No, bro, you look really hungry. You have it. It’s okay.’
By now, Dhruv was done with this looking-for-Kavya business. He did not want to open any more doors and witness things that made him want to gouge his eyes out. He took out his mobile phone to call her when he saw a Facebook notification from her. Kavya had posted a meme on his wall.
In a moment, all the load that was weighing him down and suffocating him was lifted. A sudden rush of happiness and love took over him and he couldn’t help laughing. He was reminded of all the good times he’d had with her. All the happy memories that his bad mood had repressed came back to him. The cloud of doubt and anger was lifted.
He called her up, laughing. ‘Where are you?’
‘Balcony.’
In a jiffy, he was off to be with her.
As he went past the hall, he saw two people arguing about what to sing next for the karaoke.
Dhruv stopped. ‘What about “Sing” by Travis?’ It was one of Kavya’s favourites and Dhruv wanted it to be playing when he saw her in the balcony after their tiff. It was one of those several small gestures that they made for each other.
As the song started playing, Dhruv saw Kavya’s silhouette moving to the music in the balcony. She had his back towards him, which allowed him to use the oldest trick in the book. He tapped her on one shoulder and then darted to the opposite side. Expecting Dhruv to be right there, she turned and spoke excitedly. ‘They’re playing my favourite song!’
Though he intended to hide behind her for longer, simply to bug he
r a little more, he could not help himself. He wrapped his arms around her.
‘You are so cute, Kavya.’
She laughed as they moved to the music together.
Once the music died down, Dhruv remembered why he had been looking for her. He pulled out his mobile phone and showed her the meme she had posted.
‘What is all this, Kavvu?’
She pulled a mock-sad expression. ‘What’s wrong with that? We’re not friends any more, right? Clearly, mutton cutlets are more important to you than me. You have been angry for so long now.’
‘That’s not true, love. You know that.’ He ran his fingers through her hair. Then, trying to sound sexy, he said, ‘You know I have eyes only for you . . .’ His hands ran all over Kavya. She laughed and pushed him away as he tried to hold on to her.
‘What was that guy in the red T-shirt telling you?’ she asked.
‘Nothing, yaar. I think he was stoned. Every two minutes he kept saying, “I’m Rahul . . . Hi, I’m Rahul . . . My name is Rahul . . .”’
Kavya heaved a sigh of relief. ‘Thank God! I thought he was giving you Game of Thrones spoilers!’
‘Wait, what? Is that what he was telling you?’
‘Yeah, it’s so irritating. I made it clear to him to stay away from you. And then I saw him talking to you and I thought he would tell you about the whole episode and ruin your mood. That meme was to cheer you up.’
‘That’s really, really messed up. How do such people even exist?’ Dhruv understood the enormity of what could have happened.
‘Chill na, Momo. I’m just glad it was me he gave the spoilers to and not you. I know how much it would have killed your mood.’
Just then, the five people who had been watching Game of Thrones in the other room came out to the balcony. They stood near Kavya and Dhruv, talking excitedly about the new episode. ‘What a mad episode, yaar! I can’t believe that . . .’
Before he could hear anything else, Dhruv covered his ears and ran inside, babbling to himself. Kavya ran behind him, giggling uncontrollably. The universe was clearly conspiring against Dhruv!