Amidst Our Erred Stars

09

"100 rupay ke toh maine abhi khaye bhi nahi the!" I complained, trying to break free from his hold, "Haath chodhein, we can get a plate of papdi with the balance."
(We didn't even eat the 100 rupees worth yet!)(let go of my hand, we can get a plate of papdi with the change.)

"You need to get an MRI scan instead." He replied, haww, how could- "Dimaag se hili hui lagti ho."
(seems like you have a problem in your brain.)

"And you know what you need? Some manners. Some classes on how to talk to people. Some-"

"The list is long, isn't it?" He asked, interrupting me.

"Very long!"

"Good, Keep it to yourself." He replied, wrapping an arm around my neck before he pulled out his phone, "Smile." He said before clicking a bunch of pictures.

I held his hand, making sure the ring that looked more like a show-off was captured in the picture, "Get done with it quickly, I can't smile anymore." I mumbled after two pictures.

"Fine, just one more," he insisted, snapping another photo before finally lowering his phone. "There, all done. I'll drop you back to your bakery."

I nodded, relieved to be done with the impromptu photoshoot. We walked back to where his car was parked.

As we approached the car, Sahaj made a move to open the door for me, before he could, I opened the door myself. Rolling my eyes at his sudden presence of chivalry, I climbed into the passenger seat and waited for him to join me.

Once inside the car, Sahaj wasted no time in starting the engine and pulling out onto the street.

I'm going to order a proper meal after he leaves me alone. The second time he wasted my time and didn't even bother to get me breakfast. Asshole.

"Where did we meet?" I asked, remembering the fake story we were supposed to make.

"At your bakery?" He suggested.

"Hmm okay, when?"

"A year and a half ago, then 3 months after meeting each other you opened up about your fake sob story and I helped you find out everything about your parents," He replied, "a few more months later we started seeing each other and things were on and off for a while,"

"Hmm okay, I can remember all this." I nodded, "When's your birthday?" I asked.

"July 11." He replied, "Yours is September 28, I remember."

"How old are you?" I asked, realising I never asked for his age even when I gave him my identification documents for the marriage registration.

"32."

What?

"You're old?" I couldn't help but blurt out the first thought that came to my mind, "Oh God, Why the fuck didn't you tell me?"

"Tell you how? Hey Stranger, I'm 32 years old before you claimed I was the father of your child?" He asked.

"I cannot believe this." I shook my head, "I thought you were younger!" I assumed he was somewhere in his late 20s, not early thirties.

"Oh no, I'm so sorry for not roaming around with my age written on my forehead." He glanced at me in annoyance before focusing on the road again.

"You're so old," I whispered again, I'm going to marry an oldie. A guy who has lived seven more years than I have. He probably still has a telephone in his house.

Sahaj let out an exasperated sigh, his annoyance palpable. "Are you a minor? No. Stop acting like I am going to groom you," he retorted, his tone tinged with irritation.