Aditya entered his penthouse apartment at 18:45. His wife Sneha greeted him at the door.
He raised an eyebrow in appreciation and whistled softly. She smiled.
"Aren't you overdressed for a dinner with your uncle and his family?" he asked.
"Oh come on...please get ready soon..." she said.
"Hey beautiful, there's more urgent stuff to take care of," he said, pulling her to him. He slipped off his shoes and clothes. "It's late in the evening..." his voice almost like that of Eric Clapton.
"Aditya..."
"She's wondering what clothes to wear..." he continued, slipping off her dress. Their living room stood above every other apartment in that area. "Turn around, love..."
He finished the song in the bathroom.
"We'll be late," Sneha said in the lift, "Chittappan likes his dinner at half past seven."
"We won't be late," he smiled.
He drove slowly to the hotel. She spoke about her day in office. He asked questions. He contributed details about his day.
Meanwhile, he thought about a day five years back, in their first poky apartment, about six months after their wedding, the first visit of her father's younger brother and his family.
He was in the kitchen. Beef curry was ready much earlier. Rice too. Kunjamma then told him that Chittappan had chapathi at night, and that he did not have beef then. He cooked a chicken curry. Made chapathi too, with ghee. When a dozen were ready, Kunjamma entered the kitchen again and told him Chittappan liked his chapathi 'sukha'. He made half a dozen of those. It was ready by 19:30. Kunjamma had told him that too.
"Not bad, I say, not bad at all," Chittappan said, his mouth full. "Sneha is one lucky girl." He laughed mirthlessly.
Sneha returned from office at 20:15. She apologized to her uncle and family for being late. They shushed her.
"You have to work hard, my girl," Chittappan said. "At your age, that's most important. It's a sin to sit at home jobless."
"It's important to have kids too, that too at the right time," Kunjamma said.
"Oh yes," Chittappan agreed, "you should think of it, Sneha. He's free, after all. But, you should first get out of this small apartment."
"My company is looking for a better one for us," Sneha said.
"Aditya, you are lucky," Chittappan guffawed, "her salary will pay for that too."
Sneha had brought ice-cream. They drooled over that.
"Finally, something classy to eat," Chittappan said.
Chittappan and Kunjamma took the bedroom. Sneha and her dear cousin took the floor cushions in the small middle room with the TV. Aditya lay on a floor mat in the smaller front room with the fridge.
Sneha and her cousin whispered till late. With two closed doors in between, they must have thought Aditya was out of earshot.
"Is he searching for some job?" her cousin asked.
"I don't know. He's still fixated with his research," Sneha replied.
"Thank God you have a great job. What would you have done otherwise?"
Much later, the cousin asked, "Does he still sing Wonderful Tonight?"
"Oh God, don't remind me of that song," Sneha groaned. After a long silence, "Now, even that's not there."
"Given his situation that's normal, I guess," the cousin said.
"At least once in a while..."
"It can be very emasculating."
They got to the hotel at 20:25. Chittappan, Kunjamma, their daughter and son-in-law were waiting in the lobby.
"How are your rooms?" Aditya asked the cousin's husband.
"Very good," the young man replied.
"Chittappan has dinner at 7:30," Kunjamma complained.
"Dinner reservation was available only for 8:30," Aditya said.
The food was good. Aditya talked mostly to the cousin's husband.
"How is the job scene...after the lockdown and such?" Aditya asked.
"Quite bad actually," the young chap said, "I got my pink slip last month. That's how this trip happened."
"He's looking for a job here," Sneha added.
"And, your wife..." Aditya looked at the cousin.
"Oh, her job is safe, for now. She's in HR. I was in technical."
"Quite emasculating..." Aditya said.
"Pardon?" the young man stuttered.
"Oh, nothing." Aditya ignored the ladies' stares.
There was silence for a while.
"Could you help him find a job?" Sneha asked.
Aditya did not reply.
"While he looks for a job, they could stay with us," Sneha said. "Three bedrooms are empty, after all."
"Sure," Aditya said. "You can leave with them."
He gestured to maître d'.
"Could you please tell the band to play Clapton's 'Wonderful Tonight'?" he told the man.
"Of course, sir. Can I get you anything else, sir?"
"The best ice-cream, please."
