Shape of the Sun

Closer

Ah. That combo of vindaloo and red wine really hit right. He couldn't hold back and had helped himself to more glasses of the latter. It was a mix of sweet and savory, greatly satisfying Rajkumar. He gave an uncharacteristic snort to convey his present mood, even as he sunk more into cottony comfort, back pressed towards the bed, a hand under his head.

It was a perfect picture of laziness. Or leisure, as he'd like to better term it.

And it was a picture that gave him an ample setting to muse about the journey to the fatherland. Literally. Rajkumar felt a certain kind of way now that he was expecting a child. Would he be a good father? And what type of parent would he be? Tough? Helicopter parent? Hands-off? No matter what he turned out to be, he definitely wasn't going to copy that crazy sister of his. She parented like there was a knife to her neck.

What a useless way to role model Choti, damn.

He was still scolding his sister severely in his heart when his ears picked up the sound of footsteps just outside the door, causing him to stop and ponder on what Manmeet Chatterjee might be up to. The lights were still on in the room and even though, Rajkumar understood that wasn't a guarantee that he was awake, he wondered why she couldn't just straight up walk in and check for herself. He didn't recall setting any sort of boundaries whatsoever.

But despite thinking it was silly in his head, when he heard her turn the door handle, his eyes closed off all on their own. Rajkumar couldn't believe how little time it took for him to develop a bad habit. He was becoming spoiled gradually. Usually, he'd have plainly called out to her and asked her if she needed anything from him. Rajkumar swore that this descent had everything to do with the woman herself.

Manmeet, at this time, had opened the door as gently as she thought was possible, and her eyes fell on the still figure on the bed. She tiptoed over to the side and sat down, nudging him. Rajkumar hadn't quite decided if to pretend just to have been asleep or drunk, because even though 5 glasses of red wine was a lot, it was actually not enough to make him drunk. It was one of the highlights of being best friends with someone like Veer Garewal, who drank like his life depended on it. At first, he'd been actually worried, but consistent exposure over time induced Rajkumar into chill numbness.

"Rajkumar, Raj don't fall asleep yet. Have you forgotten that you promised me to dance?" Manmeet said, trying to shake off his apparent stupor.

Her words had managed to confuse him before it was replaced with amusement. How funny. This woman actually wanted to fool him. He clearly remembered saying not to dance, and he was too young for Alzheimer's, he hoped. Tch. Rajkumar opted to act drunk. He was confident that he could pull it off, all his years with Anisha providing ample practice.

From Manmeet's perspective, Rajkumar struggled to open his eyes after her continuous prodding. He was peering up at her, his facial expression and actions sluggish, like it was difficult to remain focused on her face. And when he managed to speak, his speech was slurred.

"Wha...man...manmeet...huh?" His words were incoherent like Manmeet expected. She had watched him come out to take the whole bottle in, and it would have been strange if he was still sober. Manmeet repeated her words again.

"You promised me to dance, do you remember?"

"...me p-promise you?" he pointed a finger at him, and then at her.

"Yes, yes." Manmeet nodded, "You promised me that you would dance to any song that I played."

Rajkumar felt divided at this moment. Part of him wanted to tell her to look at him in the eyes and keep lying off the top of her head if she dared, and another part wanted to find out whatever tricks she had to play. He opted for the latter, too intrigued to allow this to pass him by. Rajkumar now laughed, in the most unhinged manner he thought looked realistic, while clumsily trying to sit himself up repeatedly but failing, until Manmeet couldn't watch anymore and helped him up by the arms.