Page 29 of The Escape

“Mr. Krish, Mrs. Trisha, your transfer boat is ready for the city.”

Krish glanced towards the jetty before turning towards Trisha and held out his hand. “Come on.”

Trisha placed her fingers in his, and together they walked towards the water, ready to spend the rest of the day exactly as they had planned.

Just the two of them.

****************

Late Afternoon

Although the couples had made separate plans for the day, Ayaan and Meher decided to join Raghav and Siya for a late lunch after returning from their snorkelling session. Raghav and Siya had just come back from their spa session, and the four of them settled around the table for a leisurely meal.

Within minutes, however, it became clear that the lunch belonged to the women. Siya and Meher were totally absorbed in comparing their experiences, enthusiastically discussing everything from their respective spa sessions to the little things they had enjoyed along the way. Every topic led to another, and neither seemed interested in letting the conversation end.

Across the table, Ayaan and Raghav exchanged amused glances. They had imagined a relaxed lunch with their wives. Instead, they had somehow managed to give them the perfect opportunity to catch up, leaving the brothers with little choice but to sit back and listen.

At one point, Ayaan leaned slightly towards Raghav.

“Do you think they even remember we’re here?”

Raghav glanced at their wives, then back at him.

“I don’t think so.”

Both men laughed, settling back in their chairs and accepting that, for the moment, they were little more than very well-fed spectators.

By the time they finished lunch, the four of them decided it was time to call home. With all the children staying at RK Estate under the watchful eyes of their grandparents, they wanted to check on the family for once without immediately asking about the kids. They settled around the coffee table, placed the iPad where all four of them could fit comfortably into the frame and called Kailash Shergill.

It took a few seconds before the call connected.

“Hello, my children.”

Raghav’s eyebrows immediately rose when Kailash’s face appeared on the screen. He was standing outside their villa in RK Estate with a watering can in one hand, tending to the plants along the edge of the garden.

“Baba, what are you doing?” Raghav asked, clearly surprised. “Why are you watering the plants?”

Kailash looked at him through the screen as though Raghav had just asked the most ridiculous question imaginable.

“What do you mean, why? You know how much I love my plants.”

Ayaan immediately laughed.

“Oh, we know. Thanks to you, there is probably more greenery at Shergill Mansion than anywhere else in Mumbai.”

Kailash burst out laughing.

“You two can keep making fun of me. One day, when you’re old, you’ll understand why I spend so much time with my plants.”

“Papa, don’t listen to them,” Meher protested, laughing as she leaned closer to the iPad. Then her expression shifted. “But seriously, why are you doing this yourself? You already have enough to manage there. There are so many children in the house, and you’re still taking care of the garden. You should be resting.”

“I am resting,” Kailash insisted.

He lifted the watering can slightly.

“This is how I rest.”

That earned another round of laughter from the four of them.