Night had fallen when Sujoy reached the hotel near the airport. Apu Kaka was expecting him around ten. At the hotel lobby, a table for two by the window was unoccupied; Sujoy sat down and asked for a cup of chamomile.
An elderly couple, probably in their seventies, sat diagonally opposite him. They were being served wine – champagne for her, red for him. They smiled and raised a toast. It seemed like a special occasion, they were dressed for it. The lady wore a rich beige silk with tiny mauve leaves, the man was in a charcoal kurta under a sleeveless waistcoat. Sujoy was staring at them when the lady’s eye caught his. He was about to turn away, embarrassed, but she smiled at him. In her gentle voice, she said, ‘I am so sorry to disturb you but could I possibly request you to take a picture of us? It’s our fiftieth anniversary, you see.’
Sujoy stood up at once, ‘Of course.’
She handed him her phone and he clicked two images of them smiling, holding glasses.
Sujoy handed her phone back and said, ‘Many congratulations. Have a wonderful evening.’
‘Thank you so much, young man,’ the man said, shaking Sujoy’s hand.
Meanwhile, Apu Kaka had arrived and stood a few feet away, observing them.
‘Oh, I hadn’t realized…’ Sujoy said.
‘No. No rush at all. Please finish your tea.’
Sujoy had finished his tea. He asked for the bill and settled it. He dragged Apu Kaka’s suitcase through the glass doors and asked the valet to fetch his car.
‘You needn’t have bothered, Sujoy. A hotel car could easily have dropped me off.’
‘I wanted to come.’
The car arrived, they got in and drove out. At the gate, Sujoy slowed down and looked out, for the old beggar woman. She wasn’t there. Perhaps it was too late, or the nights were getting cold outside; but where would she go? Surely, this pavement was her home.
‘Apu Kaka, I am sorry if my words were hurtful yesterday. I can’t even say they were not intended to be. The truth is that I am dealing with all this very poorly. I have to try harder, think through things.’
‘No, Sujoy. Please don’t apologize. It is I who should be apologizing, for so many things. Above all, for keeping this distance for so many years. That was wrong, there can be no excuse for it. Anyway, I am glad that I came down and got to see both of you. I must thank you for that, as in a way, you pushed me to. I was thinking how sometimes we just lack the moral spine to face up to a situation and use every possible barrier, geographical in my case, as a shield. And then it just gets worse, beyond resolution or repair. Anyway, our time here is so short.’
They had reached the airport. Sujoy parked by the kerb of the drop-off lane. The halt would need to be brief. He got out, fetched the suitcase from the boot and said, ‘Apu Kaka, one last thing. Please ignore what I said – about visiting your family and speaking to them. It was said in the heat of the moment; obviously you don’t need to worry about that. It will never happen.’
Apu Kaka smiled sadly, ‘You know what, Sujoy? Now, I would like you to come up and meet Anne and Sara, I really would. Do you think there is any chance…?’
‘I don’t know, Apu Kaka. I don’t know.’
They had to part now. Apu Kaka took a tentative step, Sujoy responded; they hugged.
‘Goodbye then, Sujoy. Stay well.’
With that, he turned and strode towards the airport gates. Before he entered, Apu Kaka looked back to wave at Sujoy, but Sujoy had driven off.
Sujoy couldn’t think of driving back to his dark, empty apartment. He went to his brother’s place instead.
Ronojoy seemed surprised, but relieved, to see him. Sujoy said, ‘I dropped Apu Kaka off. It was all okay. Listen, Dada, can I see the box you received from the Ashram?’
Ronojoy took a moment to register this, then walked back to his room and fetched the trunk. He had put the books away. Sujoy sat down with it and took out the shawl and the saree.
Ronojoy said, ‘Sujoy, maybe you would want to be alone. I will be in my room, if you need me.’
‘Thank you, Dada.’
Much later at night, as Ronojoy turned to his bedside table for a sip of water, he noticed a ray of light from under the door. The drawing room light was on. He got out of bed and opened the door, the room was empty but the trunk lay open. He walked up to it. Ma’s saree wasn’t there; the rest was neatly in place. Ronojoy walked briskly across to the guest bedroom and tried the door handle. It wasn’t locked. Inside, the room was dark but in the faint light which trickled in from outside, he saw Sujoy sleeping. He could hear the sound of his heavy breathing. Ronojoy shut the door and went back to bed. For the first time in many days, he drifted off to sleep.