Instead, he ran his mind over the description of Neha’s life that he had just heard. ‘Well, she really sounds like something.’
‘Ya,’ said Aditi, ‘well, she has her own way of dealing with things and manages to stay genuinely sorted.’ She added in a penetrating manner, ‘It’s not like an act that some people put on.’
He refused to rise to the bait. ‘That’s true … so, what’s for dinner?’
‘Sid!’
‘What?’
‘Are you going to talk to me now?’
‘What the hell have we been doing so far?’
‘You know…’
‘Know what?’
‘Stop pretending that there’s no problem with you – are you and Mandira having trouble?’
‘No!’
‘Sid?’
‘What?’ He hardly ever let his irritation show to anyone, especially Aditi, but he was definitely feeling a little snappy now. Why couldn’t they just leave him alone? He saw how taken aback Aditi was with how loud he’d been. ‘Arrey, yaar, it’s just that my HR head was also probing and I ended up telling her that Mandira and I have been arguing of late, and…’
‘Wait,’ Aditi interjected, looking annoyed, ‘you mean you’re comfortable talking to your HR head about things you don’t even tell your supposedly best friend?’
‘Listen…’ Sid took a deep breath – Aditi had completely missed the point … they all did. ‘This is getting ridiculous! First Mandira gets upset because she thinks I told Sunny about my promotion before telling her. Now, you’re getting upset because I told Meenakshi something before you – what’s with you people? Don’t you get it?’
Apparently, she didn’t. She squealed, ‘You’re getting a promotion and didn’t tell me!’
‘Oh God!’ He jumped up. ‘You’re all crazy!’
‘Sit down,’ she snapped at him. He involuntarily dropped back into the sofa and glared at her. She was smiling now. ‘That last one was just a joke, you joker.’
He wasn’t so sure and eyed her for a few seconds, but decided it would be nicer to believe her. He was breathingheavily and he knew his ears were red … his face felt all hot and flushed. He tried to calm himself down and think of something nice.
After a moment, Aditi ventured, ‘So you’ve been arguing of late.’
‘Listen … Ms Jasoosy Pants … I don’t want to talk about it … to anyone. All couples have arguments. You’re telling me that you and Krish don’t have arguments?’
‘Yes, but…’
‘Oh you do? Then you know what? I think your marriage is falling apart, your whole world is falling apart, and the sky is falling on your head!’
They stared at each other for what felt like an eternity to him, but there was no way that he was going to back down now. For once, he wasn’t going to let a woman push him around. She had to be made to understand that this was no longer acceptable. She couldn’t just…
Was that a tear forming in her left eye? It was.
Phat gayi!
When she spoke again, gazing at him through her now wet eyes, her voice was trembling. ‘Sid? I thought after all these years you would trust me enough to tell me what’s going on with you. Isn’t that what friends are for?’
Sigh! Double phat gayi!
Tears – the most blatant, visible weapon of emotional blackmail that a woman could ever employ. Mandira had stopped with her tears many months back, or had it perhaps already been a couple of years? In her case, she seemed too angry and bitter to cry any more. That had suited him just fine because that was one thing to which he had never managed to be fully immune.
Involuntarily, he closed his eyes and said softly, ‘Don’t cry, Adu.’
She sniffled. He half-opened one eye. She seemed to be gathering herself.
‘Listen,’ he said, ‘it’s just that I don’t want to talk about it, okay? Things haven’t been that great of late, but it’s probably just a phase we’re going through, and…’
‘How long, Sid? How long is this “phase” going to last? It’s been this way with you guys forever!
‘Ya,’ said Aditi, ‘well, she has her own way of dealing with things and manages to stay genuinely sorted.’ She added in a penetrating manner, ‘It’s not like an act that some people put on.’
He refused to rise to the bait. ‘That’s true … so, what’s for dinner?’
‘Sid!’
‘What?’
‘Are you going to talk to me now?’
‘What the hell have we been doing so far?’
‘You know…’
‘Know what?’
‘Stop pretending that there’s no problem with you – are you and Mandira having trouble?’
‘No!’
‘Sid?’
‘What?’ He hardly ever let his irritation show to anyone, especially Aditi, but he was definitely feeling a little snappy now. Why couldn’t they just leave him alone? He saw how taken aback Aditi was with how loud he’d been. ‘Arrey, yaar, it’s just that my HR head was also probing and I ended up telling her that Mandira and I have been arguing of late, and…’
‘Wait,’ Aditi interjected, looking annoyed, ‘you mean you’re comfortable talking to your HR head about things you don’t even tell your supposedly best friend?’
‘Listen…’ Sid took a deep breath – Aditi had completely missed the point … they all did. ‘This is getting ridiculous! First Mandira gets upset because she thinks I told Sunny about my promotion before telling her. Now, you’re getting upset because I told Meenakshi something before you – what’s with you people? Don’t you get it?’
Apparently, she didn’t. She squealed, ‘You’re getting a promotion and didn’t tell me!’
‘Oh God!’ He jumped up. ‘You’re all crazy!’
‘Sit down,’ she snapped at him. He involuntarily dropped back into the sofa and glared at her. She was smiling now. ‘That last one was just a joke, you joker.’
He wasn’t so sure and eyed her for a few seconds, but decided it would be nicer to believe her. He was breathingheavily and he knew his ears were red … his face felt all hot and flushed. He tried to calm himself down and think of something nice.
After a moment, Aditi ventured, ‘So you’ve been arguing of late.’
‘Listen … Ms Jasoosy Pants … I don’t want to talk about it … to anyone. All couples have arguments. You’re telling me that you and Krish don’t have arguments?’
‘Yes, but…’
‘Oh you do? Then you know what? I think your marriage is falling apart, your whole world is falling apart, and the sky is falling on your head!’
They stared at each other for what felt like an eternity to him, but there was no way that he was going to back down now. For once, he wasn’t going to let a woman push him around. She had to be made to understand that this was no longer acceptable. She couldn’t just…
Was that a tear forming in her left eye? It was.
Phat gayi!
When she spoke again, gazing at him through her now wet eyes, her voice was trembling. ‘Sid? I thought after all these years you would trust me enough to tell me what’s going on with you. Isn’t that what friends are for?’
Sigh! Double phat gayi!
Tears – the most blatant, visible weapon of emotional blackmail that a woman could ever employ. Mandira had stopped with her tears many months back, or had it perhaps already been a couple of years? In her case, she seemed too angry and bitter to cry any more. That had suited him just fine because that was one thing to which he had never managed to be fully immune.
Involuntarily, he closed his eyes and said softly, ‘Don’t cry, Adu.’
She sniffled. He half-opened one eye. She seemed to be gathering herself.
‘Listen,’ he said, ‘it’s just that I don’t want to talk about it, okay? Things haven’t been that great of late, but it’s probably just a phase we’re going through, and…’
‘How long, Sid? How long is this “phase” going to last? It’s been this way with you guys forever!
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