‘Wow! Congratulations, Kee! I’m so proud of you, my bae. You work at the best company, and with the best people. And now you have a six-figure salary and a job profile to be envious of! The drink’s on the house today. You can’t imagine how happy I am!’ Zayn does a little celebratory jig.

‘Thank you, Zee! You’re the first person to know this, because you’re family. You know that, right?’ I ask with a huge smile on my face.

‘Oh, yes! But think of me now. I’m still doing odd jobs to pay my bills, and I have no idea if I’ll ever become a sound producer. The last gig I did was that high school play, and then that funeral service on the church grounds. God knows when, and if, I’ll ever be Richie Rich.’ He laughs out loud.

‘You own your time, Zayn. My time is owned by my company. You have a family to go back to. I have nothing to look forward to when I retire. What will I do with truckloads of money when I will just die alone? You’re far richer than I am, trust me.’ I frown.

‘You’re being too pessimistic, missy. Why don’t you date? Why don’t you find a nice guy for yourself? You can always start your own family. What’s stopping you? Should I sign you up on Bumble?’ he offers like always.

‘I have Luna.’ I smile.

‘Oh, just shut up! You got a cat for yourself on that dumbhead Emma’s suggestion when I told you to get a dog. Dogs are man’s best friend. Didn’t they teach you that in school? Luna just doesn’t look like a friendly cat in any of the pictures you’ve shown me. She looks like a stupid soft toy.’

‘Cats are low maintenance, Zee. I can’t really invest in a relationship with a dog!’

‘You’ve got to invest in at least one meaningful relationship in your life. You can’t keep running away from it, Kee.’

‘Let’s save this discussion for another day! I’ve got to rush back home. There’s a new app launching in India tomorrow and I want to sign up as a beta tester. I’ll tell you why some other day, Zee. Bye!’

‘I just hope it isn’t another one of Emma’s stupid ideas. I really think you shouldn’t interact with her much. But wait, is it a dating app?’ he asks, his eyes twinkling.