The Wedding Tamasha

CHAPTER SIX
Shweta called Raj's apartment superintendent on Tuesday morning
and reported a leaky tap. It was the first step in her ploy to enter Raj’s
house—her house—without a key.
Shweta was sure her plan to get the superintendent to use his spare
set of keys would work. It seemed like the only opportunity she'd get to
look for her passport at Raj’s house without his knowledge.
Since Shweta didn’t have a car and she didn’t know how to drive, it
fell on Max’s shoulders to find an excuse to borrow Julie’s pickup and
drive her to Rivendell Way, her old apartment, that morning.
‘What if this doesn’t work?’ Shipra looked concerned, as they
stood outside Shipra’s door waiting for the superintendent to turn up.
Three hours later there was still no sign of the superintendent.
Shweta and Shipra waited until lunch hour and then just as the girls
decided to call it quits to break for lunch, heavy footsteps sounded in the
hallway.
The superintendent, a short, stocky guy with a tool belt hung low
on his hip, swaggered towards them and nodded in greeting. ‘What’s the
problem with 101?’
Shweta gushed at him. ‘Hi! I’m from 101. I’m sorry I came out to
talk to my neighbour and got locked out. There’s a leak in the bathroom.’
‘Did you make the complaint?’
Shweta smiled effusively. ‘Yes, sir. And this is my neighbour, from
102,’ she said, pointing to Shipra.
Shipra smiled at him and nodded in agreement.
‘No problem.’ The superintendent pulled the huge ring attached to
his belt and found the spare key to the apartment. Turning the key into
the lock, he opened the door and stepped in purposefully. ‘Which way?’
The girls entered right after him, Shipra leading the way for the
superintendent.
Shweta paused at the doorway and looked around with nostalgia.
More than three weeks had passed since she’d left this house. The