Abhay woke with a jolt and opened his eyes to blazing sunlight. He sat up in bed and snatched up the alarm clock, staring in disbelief – 11.30 a.m. Oh teri, lag gayi! The alarm was supposed to ring at eight. He had to see Naina at nine-thirty. He cursed the alarm clock, looked at Rani lying next to him. Junior looked tempted to get senior and go for another round, but he really needed to go. He broke all speed records dragging on his clothes, which were in a heap on the floor. Then he stopped, sat on the bed, and lit up one of his cigarettes. What the hell! There was no point hurrying. If he skipped a shave, skipped breakfast, and roared nonstop to the hospital, he would still be nearly three hours late. So why not be four hours late? He had a leisurely wash and shave, followed by breakfast. Another hour later, whistling happily, he bounced some cash from the chhamiya fund on the side table for Rani who was still asleep, and slipped out. He zipped through the empty roads with his sirens roaring as if he had to reach some crime scene.
