"What happened?" - Darren asked as soon as he arrived - "Did he agree or not?"
"He agreed," - Baljeet said - "But with one condition."
"What kind of condition?"
"That this will be his last service and..."
"And?"
"And that from now on, instead of this restaurant, we'll move into one of the huts located further inside the property."
"Huts?" - Babu asked.
"Cabins," - Baljeet explained - "Here at the motel, instead of regular hotel rooms, there are proper independent hut-like structures."
"Huts?"
"Yeah — just in name. They're called huts, but they have all the amenities inside."
"Then what's the problem?"
"None at all."
Just then, the waiter arrived.
With his last service.
The next round of drinks continued in one of those huts inside the motel.
"Yaar Baljeet," - Darren said in a very affectionate tone - "You don't drink — how do you live, man?"
"You don't need to drink to live."
"Of course drinking isn't necessary," - Babu took a sip and added - "But to really live, you do need a high."
"A high?"
"Like this," - Darren lifted his glass in the air and said - "Or..."
"Or the high of friendship! Of love!"
"Love?"
"Man, listen — intoxication doesn't only come from alcohol. It comes from companionship, from love too."
"I don't have any such high," - Baljeet said.
"Liar."
"Nonsense" — Baljeet gave a sheepish grin.
"Interesting!" - Darren immediately picked up on that and encouraged him - "Come on, tell us, man."
"Tell what?"
"What is it that gives you your high in life — besides this golden water?"
Baljeet quietly looked at Darren, then at Babu.
Babu looked into his eyes and as if gave a silent nod.
Baljeet took a deep breath and began to speak.
"Like I said before, I'm not from Delhi," - he said.
"Yeah, you told us" - Darren stretched his legs onto the divan and asked - "You're from Punjab, right?"
"I'm from a city called Nawanshahr in Punjab. I came here looking for a livelihood."
"Nice" - Darren said - "Like I'm from Gujarat."
"And I'm from U.P."
"Nomads in search of food."
"Travelers."
"Nomads" - Darren offered the English translation and said - "People want to shake the world, but they don't want to move themselves."
"Anyway, I moved — out of compulsion — but I moved," - Baljeet said, reflecting on the past - "When I came to Delhi in search of work, a whole new story started."
"How?"
"It's a long story... but suffice it to say that after a long streak of failures, when I couldn't land a decent job, I had no choice but to start driving a taxi to make ends meet."
"Are you educated?" - Darren asked.
"I did my M.Com." - Baljeet replied hesitantly - "Thinking that such a high level of education would steer my shaky life to stability."
"So you're quite educated, a degree holder," - Darren said right away - "Let this night pass, come meet me at my office."
"Here, take my card," - Darren pulled out a visiting card from his wallet and handed it to Baljeet - "Don't forget to call before coming."
"I'll remember."
"Great!" - Darren seemed impressed and asked - "Then what happened next?"
"Next was that all my efforts to escape that phase of poverty failed, completely failed, but still God showed some mercy."
"What kind?"
"I met Sweety, who lives two blocks ahead of the place I stay here in Delhi."
"Hmm... so this is your high in life." The driver nodded in agreement.
"Did you marry her?" - Babu asked.
"Not yet," - the driver replied.
"Why?" - This time, Darren asked.
"I'm waiting."
"For what?"
"For a respectable job, so I can go to her father and talk about our relationship."
"And is the girl willing?"
"Yes."
"Man! If she's ready and you're ready — then what's the delay?" - Babu said - "Jobs come and go, just get this done first."
The driver nodded gently, agreeing.
"And don't worry about the job," - Darren refilled his empty glass and said - "Consider it done."
"Thank you," - the driver said with a heartfelt smile.
"Nice... very nice," - Babu also refilled his glass.
The driver glanced at his wristwatch.
At 1:30 AM, their little tavern was still in full swing.