Sorting Out Sid by Yashodra Lal Page B

and some “Neha” character now know about our problems?’
    ‘No, no,’ Sid interjected swiftly. ‘I mean, hardly anything, really. You know I don’t talk about these things with other people.’
    Mandira was silent for a while and then got up abruptly from the table. ‘You know what, Sid? You can go ahead and fuck around with your little girlfriends and their psychos—’
    ‘Psychics,’ Sid corrected automatically, smarting from her use of the F-word. Didn’t sound good coming from Queen Mandu-Darling’s regal lips.
    ‘Whatever!’ she snapped as she picked up her plate. ‘Let me make one thing very clear … You don’t tell me what to do. I don’t have to listen to anything you say. So just drop all this mumbo-jumbo crap with me.’ She turned around and walked off towards the kitchen. Sid took his last spoonful and watched her with a feeling of growing malevolence, trying to control the urge to hurl his plate at the back of her head.
    ‘Aur wo pyaar sirf aur sirf tum hi de sakte ho,’ Mandira’s mother had said. Only he could give her that love.
    Sid leaned his tired, buzzing head against the steering wheel for a while. Where could he possibly go now? He had to admit – he could only think of Vikas and Sunny.
    He called Vikas’s number, but it just kept ringing. He checked to see if he had Sunny’s number saved. Yes, he did. So he called her. She answered after just two rings with a warm, ‘Hi, Sid, how are you?’
    ‘Good, GOOD … actually, I am thinking of coming over but I can’t reach Vikas … is he home?’
    ‘Sid, he is spending the night at the farmhouse. He’s got an important presentation tomorrow and said he needed peace and quiet … he certainly doesn’t get it at home, Rohan and Ishan bouncing all over the place.’ Sunny laughed lightly.
    ‘Oh, okay, at the farm, huh?’ Sid felt an involuntary twinge of nostalgia as he thought about the old days – partying at the luxurious cottage-home in Sainik Farms. Ah yes …Vikas had mentioned that his parents were spending a few months inthe States. But there went his plan for going over. Now what was he going to do?
    ‘Yes, he’s been using the farmhouse a lot these last few weeks, I think it’s working well for him.’
    ‘Oh, good. I guess I’ll see you guys another time, Sunny.’
    ‘Bye, Sid.’
    He was still staring at his phone when a message popped up. It was Mandira.
    Heading out for an office party. It’s a farewell, can’t miss it. Get home quick. Mum and Dad waiting .
    He stared at his phone blankly for a long time. Then he felt a sense of seething resentment. This was ridiculous. Why the hell did she think it was okay to go out when her parents were in town, and why should he be the one babysitting them?
    The Hyundai revved up, startling Sid. She was back in the car already? Clearly she still hadn’t noticed him. What was her rush today? She would have barely had time to say two words to her parents. What was with these bloody office parties anyway?
    Several thoughts flashed through his head simultaneously, and whirled around in an obstinate manner despite his effort to force them out. He shut his eyes tight and leaned his head against the steering wheel again. He did not want to think about this. But there it was – not just Cynthia’s prophecy, but what she had said about three being a crowd – how long could he ignore it?
    Finally, Sid snapped his head up with an air of steely resolve. He watched through narrowed eyes as Mandira sped off. He decided it was time to take action – to be the man! It was his very own moment of resolution. The moment would have possibly been a lot more poignant had he not accidentallyhit the horn and startled himself. He took a deep breath to compose himself.
    And then he started the car.
    Mandira had a head start on him, but Sid knew he had a good chance of finding her since the traffic signal some distance away from their gate was likely to slow her down. Sure enough, he soon