I
When Wolfgang arrives in Mumbai, the first thing he becomes aware of is the stifling humidity that seeps into his clothes and makes itself at home under the layers of clothing he wears. Rajan warned him it would be humid, but there’s Berlin humid —a warm day with a high chance of summer rain— and Mumbai humid —a thick, heavy blanket that made him wish for the rain afterwards. Then Kala kindly informed him that while there was a greater than zero chance of rain, it was impossible to know by the humidity alone so late during the rainy season.
After going through customs —as Lorenz Volk, since Nomi was still working around a solution that would allow him to stop being a fugitive—, Rajan picks up a call and after a short conversation that ends in a curt see you then, he guides them through one of the exits where a tinted-window, black car waits for them.
Kala sighs as she sees the man in the driver’s seat.
“Seriously, Rajan? I thought the bodyguards would be gone by now.” She sounds exasperated, as if this was only the beginning of an excruciating ride home.
“Kala, my love, you know as well as I that it’s just a small precaution.”
Wolfgang frowns then, “I thought the threats were not a big deal anymore.”
“They were the reason I went to Paris originally. I was supposed to lie low, not commit crimes under several jurisdictions.” Wolfgang rolls his eyes at that. “We did! Especially in Napoli–”
Sneaking an arm around Rajan’s waist, Kala plants a kiss on his cheek and then, loud enough to be heard by anyone eavesdropping, says, “ah, my husband, just because some things were kinky, it doesn’t mean they were illegal.”
Wolfgang laughs then, suppressing the warm feeling that is becoming more and more at home whenever Rajan or Kala speak teasingly. Although he insists the feelings from Rajan come from Kala’s growing adoration, he knows that a part of him likes Rajan. In another life, maybe he’d connect with Rajan outside of Kala’s sphere of influence; in another place, he would even grab his hand and flirt a little.
Instead, the three of them get into the car and let the driver-slash-bodyguard take them home —Vikram, if Wolfgang recalled correctly from Kala’s intense disdain. Once there, the man insists on accompanying them upstairs and won’t hear rhyme or reason until Rajan says, “Vikram, your help is appreciated but thankfully, no longer needed.”
“What?”
“As I said, we will not be needing the security detail anymore.”
“But your father—”
“My father will have to talk to me about it personally then.”
“What about Mrs. Rasal? Who will be available for her?”
Without fully understanding why, Wolfgang steps in. “I’ll be.”
“You will?” Kala asked, visiting, not out loud.
“I just want to get this dude out of our backs,” he replies in the same fashion.
Vikram gives him a once over, as if deciding whether or not he should be trusted, but then he probably senses that Wolfgang means business and backs off.
In the elevator, Kala sighs and says, “Well, now we’re going to have to keep up the charade.”
Grabbing her hand, Wolfgang reassured her, “so, I’ll get to spend more time with you, what’s the big deal?”
“I don’t need a bodyguard!”
“Remember what happened at the temple the last time you went?” Rajan asks in a gentle voice.
“Yeah, we wouldn’t want any of that to happen again,” Wolfgang agrees. The elevator pings when they get to Kala and Rajan’s apartment. Kala leaves the elevator first and both men follow her into the living room. “Kala, it’ll be fine. I promise.”
With a tired sigh, she throws herself on the sofa and says, “it better be.”
Wolfgang has a feeling it will not go that way.
II
It was a cool morning in the apartment, the sky in that pretty shade of blue-ish gray that meant dawn was around the corner and Wolfgang once again woke up in the feverish embrace of Kala and Rajan’s naked bodies. Wolfgang is still getting used to the neverending Mumbai warmth that seems to wrap around him like a cloak and every other day, as long as it isn’t raining, he’ll go directly from the bed to the pool on their second floor.
He is taking another lap when he hears Kala’s voice from downstairs talking to someone. A few seconds later, Rajan appears at the door, so sudden that for a moment he wondered if Rajan could visit next to him as well. But that was a stupid thought that left him feeling like he’d never truly connect to him because he wasn’t Kala, he didn’t catch Rajan’s attention hard enough to be flirted with for months as Kala did.
It made him feel out of place, a stinging reminder that he was nothing but a fun stop in the middle of their perfect marriage.
“Wolfgang, you need to get dressed. Now.”
“Why?” he got out of the pool, sitting on the towel he left at the border of the pool for this exact purpose. Sometimes, Wolfgang would wait until Kala or Rajan woke up drinking in the delicious morning sun by the poolside. He might still tan if he kept at it. One week in and not much more has happened in that department yet.
“Daya is coming. Come on. At least, put on some shorts.”
With an endeared eye-roll, he walks to the nearest folding chair and puts on his briefs.
“Is that better?” Wolfgang teases.
“You know it’s not,” Rajan’s eyes follow the water down his belly, down the trail of dark blonde hair that disappears under the shorts. “If Kala’s little sister wasn’t downstairs, this would be a very different conversation.”
“Oh yeah?” Wolfgang comes closer to Rajan then, and Rajan lets him, until they’re only inches apart. “What would you be saying?”
“I have a feeling my mouth would be busy,” Rajan replies in a vaguely strained tone.
“Oh, would it?” Wolfgang’s smirk is audible, the tension between them thick enough that they don’t hear the steps coming closer to the pool until Kala and Daya are there.
“Kala, why is your new bodyguard half naked in the pool? And why is your husband with him?”
Wolfgang’s stomach sinks. Every time he’s referred to as bodyguard makes him recoil. It feels disgustingly similar to being a gun for hire for someone else back in Berlin.
He turns to face Kala with an apologetic look, then turns around to pick up his towel and walk into the house, but Rajan stops him grabbing his arm.
Daya’s eyes seem to go bigger at that. She turns to her sister with a question on her face, clearly expecting some answer to this.
“Daya, you have to promise not to tell anyone,” she says.
“I don’t understand, what am I not telling anyone?”
Visiting next to Kala, Wolfgang says to her only, “it’s okay, Kala. You don’t have to say anything.”
“But I have to. I have to tell her something,” she replies in similar fashion. She turns to them and says out loud, her chin up as if bracing for a blow. “We are dating Wolfgang. Both of us.”
Dating might not be the right term for it, but he’ll take it. Rajan’s defiant pose tells him he’s bracing for impact.
To her credit, Kala’s younger sister only raises an eyebrow in silence.
“Daya, come on, say something,” Kala urges when the silence becomes too much.
“Life’s so unfair. I came here wanting to steal your foreign bodyguard and now I have to go tell Kavya I failed,” Daya replies in fast Hindi. Then lowering her voice she adds, “I can’t believe you’ve got two men at your beck and call.”
“Daya!” Kala blushes, lowering her eyes. “It’s not like that.”
Wolfgang, feeling like he’s eavesdropping, towels his hair and throws it over his shoulder. Then as he leaves, he says in Hindi something he would never say in German: “see you later, darlings.”
Daya’s shocked eyes are enough to make him smile all the way to his room.
III
Wolfgang’s tired enough of pretending to be a bodyguard that he visits Nomi one late afternoon and asks her to help him go to Germany. It’s a little past dawn for him, but sleep has been a slippery thing the last few days.
“Did something happen with Kala?”, she asks, visiting next to him where he’s sitting on the edge of the pool.
Kala and Rajan fell asleep hours ago and when Wolfgang couldn’t stop tossing and turning, he went to sit in the only place in the house he could stand to be in, dipping his feet into the pool.
“Can’t someone just be tired of being a fugitive?” he asks with a raised eyebrow. Nomi herself was a fugitive not long ago. “I want to go home.”
“I thought you had no home to go back to,” she says sarcastically. Her computer boots incredibly fast and asks her for a password she types quickly, then she opens the files on Lorenz Volk, the fake identity he used to get into India. She types switching between workspaces at a pace too swift to follow. “I can get you on a flight tonight, but have you considered talking to them?”
Instead of replying, Wolfgang shrugs. “I can come back and talk to them then.”
“I don’t think you’re gonna have to wait ‘till then,” she says, looking over Wolfgang’s shoulder.
He turns back and sees Kala standing by the door with a frown. Wolfgang glances at Nomi, but she’s gone already, leaving him alone to talk to Kala.
“If you’re unhappy, you should’ve said so, Wolfgang,” she starts.
He’s not unhappy, he’s just tired of pretending. He’s never been a good liar. So he tells her the truth.
“I miss Felix. I’m tired of the bodyguard title. I wish I knew where we’re going with this. There. I’ve said it all.”
“Wolfgang—”
“It’s not on you, Kala. You have your life here. Rajan has his life here. It’s not fair that I ruin that for you both.”
“You’re not ruining anything,” says Rajan, surprising them both.
Rajan walks to the side of the pool and sits next to Wolfgang. Following his lead, Kala does the same by sitting on his other side.
“You’re right, we haven’t exactly discussed the future but we have time, don’t we?” asks Rajan.
“I don’t know how much longer I can keep up this bodyguard bullshit.” A confession, softly spoken as if saying it louder would make it worse by wanting something to himself. He’s not worth all the trouble he can bring to their lives.
Putting a hand on his thigh, Kala says, “you’re allowed to want things, Wolfgang.”
“And this bodyguard thing is bullshit anyway. You just said it. We’ll figure something out,” Rajan adds, leaning his head on Wolfgang’s shoulder, taking his hand in a more romantic way than anything they ever did before. Wolfgang is not one for romantic gestures, but in that moment, with both of his lovers close, he realizes that he’ll be whatever they need him to be.
“Kala, darling, where are you? Your doorman let me in to bring you—”
“Can we get a fucking break?” asks Wolfgang, looking up at the sky.
Kala quickly gets to her feet but Rajan doesn’t move. “Rajan?”
“Of anyone we know, your father is the only one who would understand.”
The steps that take him up to the pool are cautious, as if scared he might walk in on Kala and Rajan, but eventually he appears around the corner with a big tray of treats. Wolfgang and Rajan both turn at the same time, Rajan still holding his hand.
Sanyam takes a look at Kala, then at the men sitting by the side of the pool and says, “oh, you’re all dressed. That’s a relief.”
Kala looks between them and then looks back at her father.
“Dad?”
“I thought that since you’re too busy to visit your father and mother at their home, it would be nice to drop by with breakfast for you one time.”
Wolfgang smiles to himself, tucking his chin in, then shaking his head. Of course. If anyone could figure it out and be cool about it, it would be her father. Nevermind, what they have is still a nebulous thing.
Rajan stands up then, extending his hand to Wolfgang to help him up. He turns to Sanyam with a question on his face. “You knew?”
“Contrary to popular belief, I do keep up with the news,” he teases. “You reminded me of a report someone did on Kolkata. If it’s happening there, why wouldn’t it happen in Mumbai?”
Rajan chuckles while Kala still looks dumbfounded. “Dad, who have you told?”
“No one, of course. This is your marriage. But you should know that your sister suspects something. She was mooning over your bodyguard here and then one day she stopped mentioning him altogether.”
Kala looks like she wants to laugh or cry, but instead, she settles for disbelief. “At least, she hasn’t told anyone either.”
Sanyam raises his eyebrow but all he says is, “I’ve made laddu and soan papdi. Let’s eat.”
IV
After his arrival to Mumbai, Wolfgang quickly realizes that he is a Bollywood fan.
They’re watching a movie when it happens again. Not a discovery, but the near miss of having their relationship made public before they’re ready. If they’ll ever be ready. Wolfgang is not even sure if he’s ready to admit they’re in a relationship because it’s too complicated to define with words.
He’s sitting on the couch next to Rajan, Kala sitting across them, her legs extended on top of them, and Shahrukh Khan is singing his lungs out when there’s a knock on the door.
Kala stands up to get it and Wolfgang moves to sit farther from Rajan, missing the contact almost immediately. Kala comes back with a man that makes Rajan tense as he comes in.
Wolfgang decides he doesn’t like the man.
“Ajay, what are you doing here?”
The man looks around the room as if looking for threats, Wolfgang would recognize that glance anywhere. He’d become intimately familiar with it since he was a child.
“I heard you were back in Mumbai and I couldn’t resist paying a visit to my old friend and his beautiful wife.”
He introduces himself as Ajay Kapoor and shakes Wolfgang’s hand with a sweaty hand of his own, asking if he’s the famous bodyguard people are talking about.
“People are talking about?” Kala asks with an edge to her voice. “What are they saying?”
“Not much,” he replies, “I just heard he’s a mysterious man. Didn’t expect to see him watching— is that Dilwale? I love Kajol in that movie.”
The man stays until the movie ends, chatting Kala up with the charm of a snake oil salesman. Wolfgang spends the rest of the movie glancing between Ajay and Kala, deciding if the man is dangerous or not.
Before he leaves —while Kala leaves for the bathroom—, he turns to Rajan and says, “I don’t know what they’re talking about. Your marriage seems fine to me.”
“What do you mean, Ajay?”
“I’m just saying, people have wild theories about your need for a bodyguard.”
Rajan looks like he wants to reply with something, but a moment before he does so, Wolfgang says, “I think you should leave.”
Ajay looks him up and down, evaluating, but Wolfgang stands his ground, as he usually does. The man doesn’t say anything else before walking by himself to the door.
“What was that about?” asks Wolfgang.
Rajan puts a hand over his mouth, smoothing his beard down, then he replies, “I think he knows I’m helping in an investigation on his dealings with a foreign company.”
“Do you think he knows about us?”
“He doesn’t have to. He can make up something if he wants and there are people who will believe him.”
Taking his hand, he asks again, “do you think he’ll say anything?”
“It’s too early to tell.” He reclines on the sofa, his shirt riding up exposing a line of his midriff. Wolfgang wants to make him forget about this encounter already. “I’m sorry he came to interrupt our movie.”
“Come on. Let’s go to the pool. I have a better idea on how to spend the rest of your day off.”
V
“No, no, no, this is a terrible, terrible idea.” Kala says.
“Is it? I thought the weekly family dinners could not get worse than my dad announcing his candidature.”
“Besides, with Felix here, I can just say he’s my boyfriend and no one will bat an eyelash,” Wolfgang suggests, content in the knowledge his best friend came to spend the holidays with him.
“Now, that’s a terrible idea. How are we going to explain the three of us, if it comes up?” Rajan adds, with his hands on his hips and a soft smile that he shouldn’t be allowed to have.
“We will not be explaining the three of us tonight,” Kala’s mild panic flows through their bond and Wolfgang tries to send his own feelings of calm and mild entertainment to no avail.
There’s a light knock on the door that doesn’t let them finish their conversation. Rajan goes to get it while Kala paces around the living room. Wolfgang visits next to her, taking her hands and she stills.
“It’ll be alright. I’ll behave.”
Vehemently, she says, “You haven’t met Rajan’s father.”
“It doesn’t matter. If anything, that’s even better. He has no idea who I am.”
“This is a terrible idea,” she repeats out loud, no longer sharing with Wolfgang.
Felix decides to come to the living room then, just before Kala’s family makes it there as well.
“What’s the matter, Wolfie?”
“Kala’s worried about Rajan’s father.”
“Why?”
He doesn’t get to respond when Kala’s mother, father and sister come in, closely followed by Rajan’s parents. Introductions are made, hands are shaken and guests are ushered to the outdoor dining room.
Just as Wolfgang is sitting down, Rajan’s father —Manendra, he recalls— asks, “I’m sorry, are bodyguards invited? I left mine in the car.”
Daya and Sanyam immediately turn to Kala, while everyone else turns to Wolfgang, who has just sat down next to Kala’s place.
“Father, Wolfgang and Felix are my guests,” Rajan replies, sensing the tension in the room.
“I thought this was our weekly family dinner, that’s all,” his tone is upbeat, but with an undercurrent of contempt Wolfgang remembers from his dead uncle.
“Well, father—”
“I’m here on business actually,” interrupts Wolfgang before he outs them to a less than friendly crowd. “Looking to acquire property to invest in India. I heard Rajan here say that you’re quite the businessman.”
“I see,” says Manendra, taking his place at the head of the table. “Why didn’t Rajan say so before? I could’ve put you in contact with a good lawyer already.”
The tension leaves the room as soon as it comes, and Kala’s family sits down where they usually do.
Felix, by his side as always, whispers as he sits down, “nice save.”
+ I
After dinner, Manendra invites Wolfgang to his home, insisting that it’s no problem to introduce him to his lawyer friends, until he ends up agreeing to drop by someday. Rajan’s mother, though, stays behind while Manendra talks to Rajan about the company on his way to the door.
“Do you need something, Mrs. Rasal?”
“I can see why they keep you around,” she says, with a small smile.
“I’m sorry?”
“You know what I mean, son. Manendra can never know, though. He will either kill you or Rajan and I cannot lose my son to something as stupid as Manendra’s ego.”
Wolfgang glances in Rajan’s direction, seeing him smile at his father at all the right moments. He feels sick at the idea of anyone daring to come after him. If anyone did, he’d kill them with his bare hands.
Kala visited next to him, feeling Wolfgang’s anger bubble under the surface. “I heard that too. Don’t do anything to tip him off.”
“If he even dares—” he starts.
“I know,” Kala replies. “And you won’t be alone. That’s one of the loves of my life we’re talking about.”
Wolfgang smiled at Rajan’s mother. “I’ll take good care of them.”
“I know you will,” and with that, she left to her husband’s side and said her goodbyes to the rest of Kala’s family on the way.
When everyone leaves and only Rajan and Kala remain —Felix having left to sleep in what used to be Wolfgang’s room hours before— Wolfgang tells Rajan what his mother said.
“My mother is too good for a man like my father.”
“Your mother is approaching holy status by now,” jokes Kala.
“So that’s it? Everyone knows about us now?” asks Wolfgang.
“Oh no, Auntie still doesn’t know, and if she did, we’d never know peace.”
Rajan laughs and shakes his head. He takes one of Kala’s hands and one of Wolfgang’s, walking them to their shared bedroom. “Let’s go to bed, my loves.”
And so, they do, forgetting about everything that’s not them.