Chapter 33

I looked at Agam who was still sitting with a glass in hand pondering over the golden liquid. He had paid the bill and was smiling at the waitress. I wondered what they were talking about because the lady blushed soon after and left.

"I can drop you home." I was totally oblivious to the presence of my fake date.

"No thanks...aa.." I turned to him trying to recall his name.

"You haven't bothered to ask me my name." He replied casually.

My cheeks reddened with embarrassment. "I am sorry...I am just anti-social." He rolled his eyes at me, not believing my excuse.

"Abhilasha Bhayani," I told him my name after making him privy to my devious plans.

"Very well then. Raj Arora."

"Pleased to meet you." And I flashed him one of my most artificial smiles, reserved for awkward instances like these.

"So, can I drop you home or...?" He was hesitant while asking. However, I found it sweet.

"Thanks but I have that grown-up man to be escorted." I paused for a few seconds, "Maybe next time."

"Sure." He beamed. "I need to go back to my friends."

"Yeah...sure." I went to Agam. He was consumed by fatigue and his eyes were drooping.

"Let's go," I told him.

"You fixed a date?" He was sober enough to remember our last conversation. I did not indulge him. He swayed while getting up. This man would need assistance to walk. I held him by the crook of his arm and asked him to hold me for support. The stubborn man refused to agree. I was left with no option but to hold him tightly lest he fell on his face and broke his nose.

"Hey...watcha...don't take advantage of the situation." He shouted.

"Don't create a scene unnecessarily." I reprimanded him in a stiff voice.

"Ookkayyy."

We walked slowly yet I had a difficult time holding his heavyweight on my body. It probably took us hours to reach the parking lot. I had no idea where he had parked his car and that was not of any help anyways. I called for a cab and meanwhile instructed him to lean on a wall.

"Where do you stay?"

"I thought you knew." He whined.

"Why should I know where you live?" I countered.

"Ouch! That hurts." He remarked after I hit him on his head to knock some sense.

"It ought to. Please help me with your address," I was on the verge of losing my temper but I remained calm and pestered him for details. His soft snores narrated altogether another story.

How could he sleep while standing? But then most Mumbaikars did and had learnt it over time. I had seen many people doing the same in the locals.

"How can I help this man and myself?" I talked to myself loudly hoping for my brain to figure out something quickly. I was helplessly trying to hold Agam from falling. This seemed like divine providence.

Raj came to my rescue in his white car. Except I didn't see him as the knight in shining armour. He had a small car, nothing fancy about the model. Agam owned a much better car... Did I just compare the cars of these two men? That was indeed very shallow of me.

"I can drop you?" Raj stated.

"I will manage," I said confidently. "I have booked a cab for us."

"Let me help." He said smiling at me. He shifted Agam's weight from the wall to him and offered to see us till we sat in the cab. We were strangers. I would have loved to take up the offer but I was paranoid about the idea of trusting someone in the first or second meeting. I was taught to be cautious from a young age and the years of schooling by my mom remained etched to date.

.

"Where does your colleague stay? And you?" He asked gazing at me. It was valid and a perfect question but I had no answer. I only knew that Agam stayed at Mahalaxmi. I was sure he would be of help once we were in that area. I looked at him admiringly. He was sleeping peacefully.

He cleared his throat to draw my attention to him. "You are concerned for him," He remarked.

"I feel responsible for him." I hesitated before speaking again. Not the right choice of words. "What I meant was I cannot leave him in this inebriated state..."

Raj interrupted, "You will take him home?" He asked with worry etched in his voice.

"Yes. The cab will be here any moment." We were silent after a while with Agam's snoring giving us company.

This situation was so awkward. I was being helped by a total stranger to help a drunk. Had my mother seen me in a situation like this she would have gagged me to death.

"Penny for your thoughts?" Raj broke the awkward silence and my awkward chain of thoughts.

"Nothing." I continued. "I find it so weird and so out of my character. Whatever I did today, everything is so out of my character. Some weeks back I wouldn't have had the courage to do something like this, perhaps not even think about it."

A smile played on his lips while listening to me but I could see he was peeved. "What did you do today that was out of your character?

"This whole thing...talking to you...helping this drunk friend... it's an endless list but these two gain prominence."

Before he could make an intelligent comeback, I noticed the cab and waved to its driver. Raj helped me deposit the grown-up man into the taxi. He carefully made him sit while I was watchful of his head not getting hurt in the process. Agam opened his eyes briefly but had them shut very soon. He was fighting a battle with fatigue that he had no chance of winning. Before I sat, I thanked Raj and waved him goodbye. He shrugged. The driver started soon, leaving me with the sleeping form of the man beside me for company.

Agam's limp body leaned on me and for strange reasons, I didn't feel uncomfortable. I stared at his sleeping form, concentrating on his face. I did so unabashedly because I was well aware that he would not wake up to chastise me. I could not stop myself from ogling.

This must be the craziest story ever, meeting a guy on a train, sharing the seat, lying about yourself and then finding him as an immediate senior in your new office. I promised God that henceforth I would never lie to anyone I met on the train. I was tired and my guilt-ridden thoughts were not helping me to fight my eyes from closing.

Agam shifted uncomfortably and that stirred up my mind and body on an alert mode. I looked out to find we had reached Bandra. We should soon be on the sea link and Mahalaxmi wasn't too far altogether and I still had no clue where to drop him. I debated my options and finally decided it was better to call Bini and ask her. But when did I ever take down her number?

I was a pain because of my anti-social habits. I still had the option of calling Prashant. He had noted down everyone's numbers on day one. He was too sincere to pry and ask unnecessary questions about why I needed Bini's number. I picked up my phone and dialled but his phone was engaged. Patience is a virtue that is tested to a full extent on your worst days.

I waited for five long minutes before dialling again. I wished I had taken Sujoy's number. It would however have sounded very clingy. I could imagine Bini cringing and Agam shooting daggers at me with his eyes.

The faint ringing of a mobile phone made me sit up and look for it. On finding no trace of it, I asked the taxi driver to check his phone.

"Bhaiyaji," I politely spoke, with the utmost respect, "your phone is ringing." The scowl I saw in the mirror made me shudder. That is when I realized my folly of being politically incorrect. He was no 'bhaiyaji' and attributing anyone and everyone to be someone from Bihar and UP was an offence in this city. The localites preferred to be addressed as 'bhau'. Bhaiyaji was a term reserved for the illiterate and hardworking Biharis and UPites who migrated to Mumbai in search of livelihood.

"I am sorry, I didn't mean to offend you." I rendered a quick apology.

Quick on queue, he informed me we were reaching Mahalakshmi in 5 minutes. The phone continued to ring and this time I was sure it was Agam's. I tried putting my hands in his pockets and managed to pry my fingers carefully into the back pocket of his jeans. He shifted his position in sleep. I tried one last time and managed to retrieve it.

"Hello", I squeaked.

"Who's this?" The concern of the man was evident in his voice.

"Umm..." What should I say? "Hi, I am Abhilasha,"

"Hi, Abhilasha, this is Sujoy." A surge of relief passed through me.

"Can I talk to Agam?"

"Ummm..he is sleeping. I mean I am in a cab with him and dropping him home. I don't know where he stays except that it is Mahalakshmi. It would be great if you could help me with the address." I let it all out in a breath giving no chance to Sujoy to question me.

"Wake him up." He suggested.

"He is sloshed." I pronounced.

He took in gulps of air before speaking again, "Where are you?"

I had no clue. I asked the cab driver about the detail.

"We will be reaching the racecourse in two minutes." He announced.

Sujoy heard that. "Listen, you are quite close to home. Tell him to drive you to Tulip Apartments."

"Okay." I nodded in confirmation.

"I will be down at the gate to help you."

"Thank you."

The cab driver stopped right at the Tulip Apartments. I looked out of the window and was in awe of the apartment building before me. The guy lived in a very fancy place. I requested the driver to park inside the premises but he refused citing unnecessary security hassles. Sujoy was quick and came around for help. I nudged Agam to wake up but the combination of whiskey and fatigue had a deadly effect.

"What on earth possessed him to drink so much on a weekday night?' Sujoy started with his interrogation instead of helping me.

"He will be the better person to answer you in detail about his actions."

"Where are you guys coming from?" He enquired after taking a look at me. Before he could assume we were out as a couple, I stopped his thoughts right on the track.

"We went to watch a play," Sujoy lifted his eyes to show his amusement.

"Not together. We kind of have a common friend who had an opening night and surprisingly enough we went to the same place for dinner. He joined us, where everyone started having too much fun drinking and I suppose he got carried away." He nodded despite not believing a single word I had uttered.

"Should I help you take him home? He is in no condition to walk."

" If it's not too much trouble can you help me till the reception? I will then take help from the security.

"Okay." I acquiesced.

Sujoy and Agam must be making pot full of money to be able to rent an apartment in such a swanky society. While I kept on taking in the surrounding, Sujoy could not keep quiet and insisted I answer all his questions about the evening.

"Which common friend do you two have?" He was suspicious.

"Shash," I said. "I mean Shaaket...

"Bannerjee," and he completed it for me.

"Yes."

"How in the hell did he land up here and how do you know him? He continued his tirade.

"We were in the same class in college." And that made Sujoy see why Agam and I bumped into each other.

The security guard held the door for us while we walked into the lift. He was supposed to be helping Agam and I needed to leave for home. For the first time in the evening the thought of home had my stomach in a pit. I had forgotten to inform Jivy bua about my night out. She would be sick worried waiting. But why hadn't she called. I wanted to ask Sujoy to let me go; he punched in numbers and the elevator started ascending quickly. The doors opened at the fortieth floor directly into their apartment. It was a penthouse. These guys were either filthy rich or filthy opulent.

I had to stop myself from judging their expensive lifestyle because I had a difficult time concentrating on Agam and carrying his weight. We dropped him to the nearest couch and that was not even in their living room. My eyes itched to roam, learn more and find out how their house was designed but I had to behave.

"Coffee?" Sujoy asked me.

"No thanks. I need to run home."

"Where do you stay?"

"Duncan Road."

"Shoot." And he cursed under his breath. "Let me drop you home."

"No, its fine. I will manage." Though I had no clue how.

"It's too late. Have you looked at the time?"

I had no opportunity to do that, however, I was well aware it was quite late into the night.

"It's one in the morning." He continued.

"Holy crap," I spoke in disbelief. It was way beyond my curfew time and I had still not called bua to inform her about my whereabouts. I panicked and Sujoy noticed it immediately on my face.

"Relax, let me take you home. It's not a big deal."

I nodded in relief and did not argue for once.

"Can you hold for a second? I will get my car keys."

I rested my head in my hands feeling worried sick about the situation at hand. I searched my phone for any missed calls from bua. This would not go down well for any of us going ahead. Sujoy was back but had changed quickly into comfortable track pants from the pyjama set he was wearing.

"Come this way." And he guided me into their parking lot.

He sped his car on the empty roads, while I mumbled prayers under my breath to every superior being to save me from the wrath at home. Sujoy guessed my situation and kept assuring me of reaching fast. That we did, but when the time came to get out and go home, my legs were made of lead and I could not walk anticipating the worst possible scene at home. Sujoy bade me farewell quickly and left not bothering to check whether I made it home.