Ma, like Mumtaz, draped an orange saree, a sheet of marigolds, for her last kitty party for couples. She wanted to mimic the one superhit song for the Bollywood theme. So she dressed exactly like Mumtaz, while father remained father. In the opening of the song, Shammi Kapoor dances in concentric circles all around Mumtaz, his accordion strung to his shoulder, while she twists. Even that night father refused to play the hero. He couldn’t even pretend to live her fantasy, and I see it slipping past her every day. She just wanted someone to twirl with and sing — Aaj kal tere mere pyar ke charche hai zabaan par and everyone knows and everyone has heard — except everyone knows and everyone has heard, the sound of his loud slap on her at the party, after his ice cubes melted in whisky. After she refused to be called some other actress. After she finds a way to drive back home, bruised but humming:

Humne toh pyar mai aisa kaam kar liya,
pyar ki raah mein apna naam kar liya
and everyone knows and everyone has heard.