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"Sanjeev, I have to go to London early next week", Zeba said to me, as she went about preparing breakfast for me. "Contest?", I said while I tried to configure my new Blackberry. "Yea! It's a show in the National Portrait Gallery, you wanna come?" she knew my usual reply, I was so busy setting up my stock broking firm, that I did not even have time to shave at times. I looked like a sadhu these days, she did not care about it and in fact liked my bearded look, her grandfather had such a long beard and she loved playing with it as a child.
"Get me chocolates!", I said. "Motu! You can't resist chocolates can't you?" chocolates were my weakness. I had lost thirty kilos and was quite fit now, yet I can't resist eating chocolates. It reminded me of my childhood.
"Ciao! I am heading out, I'll pick you up at 5, we need to buy groceries" I said, as I finished my breakfast hurriedly. "Imran, is coming home today, can't we buy groceries tomorrow, just pick up onions and tomatoes from somewhere for today".
Imran was her cousin and her best friend and soon to turn business partner. Imran was the kind of guy who cared for nothing in life, except for his sister and his passion for vintage cars. He was a chemical engineer from IIT Madras, but he gave up his job with a large weapons manufacturing company after about an year and then he became a professional good-for-nothing.
That night, I came home around 7 and I found Zeba and Imran so engrossed in some deep discussion, that they barely noticed me entering the house. I made tea for myself and went to my room. We slept together, yet we had separate rooms, in case we needed space, actually not we but me. I have a phobia of people, at times I have to be alone and cut-off.
She knocked on my door after a couple of hours and asked me to come out for dinner. Imran had left, "Imran left?", I said as I sat down for dinner. "Yes, he met this new guy and you know how he is..."
"Yea, he should settle down now, what happened to that IT guy, he was absolutely in love with him." "He dumped him, Imran thought he was too much like you and he hates the fact you had no time for yourself." "What about time for my wife? Does he not hate I have no time for you!"
"Sanjeev! eat your food" I knew when this was her sign to me, it meant if I did not shut up, she'll beat the living daylights out of me!