Chapter 24: chapter 24

Chapter Twenty-FourYash reclined on his green couch nursing a beer and staring at his laptop. The team had come up with the worst possible advertising campaign ideas for the new perfume they were launching. Clearly this particular team couldn’t think outside of a celebrity endorsing it. Which made no sense with regards to this product. It was a mid-range fragrance and was going to retail out of every departmental store possible. On a growl of frustration, he shot off an email shooting down their proposal and telling them to do better. For their sakes, he hoped they did do better. Or heads would roll. He was just getting another beer from the kitchen when his phone pinged with an incoming message. He ignored it, figuring it was probably his mother. She hadn’t stopped trying to reach him since the day he’d walked out. He’d made sure his secretary transferred enough money to her to cover all her expenses and more and also had her check on her health at periodic intervals. For the moment, that was all he was capable of. Expecting more than that from him, was expecting too much. The doorbell rang and he opened it to get his Chinese take-out dinner. On days when everything felt like an effort, Chinese food made it all better. He was halfway through his Kung Pao chicken and Veg Fried Rice when he glanced at his phone and saw the gazillion messages crowding the screen. He groaned, knowing that he wouldn’t be able to finish his meal without first clearing the screen of unread messages and mails. Aakash had sent him a short, brusque message. The engagement is offHe stared at the phone. What the hell was his friend talking about? He typed out a cautious reply.Yours?A second later, the phone rang. “No,” his irate friend growled. “I send random people announcements about other random people’s engagements and breakups.” To say Yash was shocked would have been an understatement. Aakash and Shikha were the most compatible couple he’d ever met. Their goals, their views, their very existence aligned in a way that left everyone else questioning their own relationships.“Why?” he asked, finally. For the longest moment, Aakash didn’t respond. Yash got the impression he didn’t want to reply at all.And then he said, “She says she cheated on me.”Yash was truly shocked into silence. Shikha? Unfaithful? That was like saying a golden retriever was a feral pet. “I’m sure there is some mistake,” Yash said, finally, his mind still reeling from Aakash’s disclosure.  “Shikha must be making a mistake.” “I’m pretty sure people know when they have or haven’t cheated on someone, Yash,” Aakash said, a note of finality in his voice. Yash couldn’t find the words to respond. “I wouldn’t have cared as much if it hadn’t been for the person she cheated with.”Yash had a feeling he didn’t want to know and still, he asked, “Who is it?” “That bastard Karam, the bloody mechanic.”Karam owned a premier cars service station, Yash thought. Mechanic wasn’t exactly the way he’d describe his profession but he kept that thought to himself.“That bunch of useless, good for nothing, alcoholics have done nothing but ruin lives, their own and all the people they come in contact with.” Yash winced. Aakash had never had anything good to say about Vikram’s friends and this whole situation had destroyed any hope of their redemption in his eyes. “Do you know when?” When what? Oh, the cheating! “During the weekend of Vikram’s ceremony. We invite them into our home, to honour the memory of our dead brother, who they drove to his death and this…this is what they do.”Yash stayed silent, letting his friend rant and vent, his hurt and outrage ripping the scab off of Yash’s own. A flash of Maya’s face turned up to his as he leaned in to kiss her had his blood heating. He hadn’t been any better that weekend. What right did he have to judge anybody?“Either way, it’s done and dusted. I’m a free man again.” Aakash didn’t sound particularly enthused about his freedom, Yash thought privately. “Get ready.” Aakash’s voice sounded hollow and tinny like he’d put the phone on speaker. “I’m going to come pick you up. We’re going out.”“We are?” Yash did not have a good feeling about this. “We are,” Aakash said, grimly. “We’re going to paint this fucking city red.” Yash sighed. “Listen man…”“No. No. No.” A dull thump could be heard. Yash wondered if his friend had just punched the wall or something as dramatic. “I am not listening to anyone anymore. Get ready.”The phone was disconnected before Yash could say anything else. He rubbed a hand on his aching, tight forehead in a vain bid to ease the tension before heading to his bedroom to get ready.Â