The Last Love Letter

Chapter 29

Subah was in her office in Jor Bagh when she received a call from Rohit. She looked at the clock. It was 4 in the afternoon. Rohit had not called her for the last few days, and it would be impolite not to talk to him now.
‘Hi, Rohit.’

‘Hi, Subah. How are you? I thought I should call and say hi.’

‘So nice of you, Rohit.’

‘Are you still busy?’

‘I am, unfortunately. But that’s not likely to change for some time, so please go ahead.’

‘Okay, well, I was thinking about dinner tomorrow. Whatever time suits you.’

Subah thought about it for a while, and a plan began to emerge in her mind. She could go on a final date with Rohit. Tell him clearly that she couldn’t see their relationship progress beyond friendship. ‘Sure, where?’

‘Let’s meet in Vasant Kunj this time. You live there, right?’

‘Yes.’

‘That will save you time, as you will not have to travel too far.’

‘How very thoughtful!’

‘Does 8 sound okay to you?’

‘8 is great.’

‘I’ll send you the details about the place.’

‘Sure, bye, and see you.’

‘Bye.’

Subah got back to work without any further thought. Prerna and Aparna, the two people she had hired with Mr Samir’s money, were efficient but untrained, fresh from college, and needed guidance. Initially, most of Subah’s time was consumed in explaining the fundamentals of her NGO’s work. But slowly, over the past few weeks, the two of them had taken a lot of pressure off her. Finally, as the dates of her Mumbai exhibition approached, she had had more time to focus on her paintings.
She received a message from Rohit the next day. The place was called Zantos, and she googled it to find the address. It was barely a few hundred metres from her home, and she wondered why she had never noticed the place. Maybe it was new.

In the evening, she left for home at 6, her usual time. After a cup of tea that Bala had prepared, she decided to get dressed. Rohit had asked for her address and said he would pick her up at 8. He was treating it like a real date, just like last time, and she felt the pressure to dress appropriately—not go the full distance, but at least look like she had made an effort. She expected him to be overdressed, so she surely couldn’t underdress.

She confided in Bala.

‘Subah, just be plain and simple. I think he’ll get the message in the first instant, and from that moment on, he will keep himself in check.’

‘Okay.’

‘To be frank, you should not have said yes.’

‘I said yes because he is Akash’s best friend.’

‘And why do you have to be so nice to Akash?’

For that, she didn’t have an answer. It was a good question. She had no reason to be nice to Akash or, through him, his friend. She dressed in her usual salwar kameez, put up her hair in a tight ponytail, and decided to wait in the living room, reading a book.

The doorbell rang at exactly 8. She opened the door, smiled and walked alongside Rohit to the car, which was parked just a few feet away. The two of them got into the backseat, as there was a driver. It was a Mercedes, and she wasn’t sure if Rohit owned one or had hired it just for today to impress her. Either way, it didn’t matter.

Zantos didn’t have a signboard. A man stood at the gate she’d thought was to someone’s house whenever she’d passed it. It was clear from the moment they got inside that it wasn’t.

The restaurant had three interconnected rooms, and the two of them were escorted to a table in a quiet corner. The man who escorted them removed the ‘Reserved’ sign from the table and eased their chairs in as they sat. The decor was understated, the lighting perfect, and somewhere in the distance, she heard the sound of a water fountain that blended quite strangely with the slow music.

‘You look lovely, Subah.’

‘A complete lie.’

He laughed an easy laugh, as if he had practised it. It was the moment of reckoning. Was she imagining things? Rohit might have meant only to be nice to her, just to see if their interests matched and they could become really close over a period of time, like lovers. Well, if he was trying to see if they were compatible, she could easily prove to him they weren’t—surely that would be easier and less painful than her original plan. She waited for him to make the first move.

‘So, do you like watching movies?’

‘Do you?’ she asked, stalling.

‘I love movies.’

‘I don’t watch movies at all,’ she lied. ‘I hate them.’

The waiter appeared and showed them the menu. Rohit said, after a brief pause while both browsed the list, ‘Would you like crabs? These people make very good crabs that come fresh from Mumbai every day.’

‘No, thank you, I don’t like crabs. But you go ahead, please.’

‘No problem, let’s have something else. What do you like?’

Now she had to say something. She suggested a couple of vegetarian dishes, saying she didn’t have any appetite for non-vegetarian today, and he smiled and asked the waiter to bring the same dishes for both of them. He suggested a wine to go with it, and she nodded.

The rest of the evening was uneventful. She hardly spoke, and maintained a neutral expression, neither laughing nor commenting on whatever he was saying. Finally, when they’d finished dessert, he asked the question she was dreading, ‘You don’t like me, do you?’

‘I’m sorry. You are wonderful, really wonderful, but…’

‘But what?’

‘Like I said, I am sorry. I like you a lot, Rohit, but I don’t want a romantic relationship with you or anyone else.’

‘Does this have to do with your past experience?’

‘Please…’ She got up to leave.

‘Please stay.’

It was strange, but Subah thought she might end up crying. It wasn’t something she was prepared to do, not in front of Rohit, not in front of anyone in the world. She was an independent woman, and she was strong. She could make decisions and do whatever she pleased. Like now.

Subah walked out of the restaurant unescorted, Rohit’s voice fading in the background.
Once outside, she stopped and decided to wait.

Rohit emerged a few seconds later and smiled in relief on seeing her. He called for the car as they waited.

‘I’m sorry.’ That was all she could say as she got out of the car at her apartment. They hadn’t exchanged a single word during the short drive.

Rohit raised his hand and said, ‘Goodbye, Subah.’

For that flash of a second, as she met his eyes, both knew it was over. They were two stars once again, with their own identities and their own brightness and pathways. She turned and walked towards her apartment building.