Birds of a Feather Completed G

Chapter 30: Faith

5580
102
2

The content of this story belongs strictly to the author, -Archi-. Any unwarranted use/copy of it is not encouraged and is strictly prohibited.

Chapter Thirty

Faith

- September 2013 -

Arnav watched smugly as the girl in front of him laughed whole-heartedly, clutching her stomach in ache. She was the same one he saw on the first day of college, the same one who had coldly refused to sit beside him and the same one his best friend, Ryan, said was out of his league.

“You are hilarious,” Myra said, taking deep breaths to calm herself down, though a wide grin was still plastered on her face.

Arnav beamed. Although they had more or less the same classes for over a year now, he didn’t have an occasion to talk to her until two weeks ago, when they were –by sheer dumb luck– assigned to work on a project together for one of their business management courses.

And that was all the push Arnav needed to make sure they sat together in every class, had lunch together every day and recently, to walk her back to her hostel every evening. The second year of his undergraduate studies just couldn’t get any better.

Ryan, of course, thought that Arnav had lost his marbles, for Myra didn’t seem even remotely interested in him. But Arnav knew that if she really didn’t care for him, then she wouldn’t have agreed to spend time with him away from campus on the pretext of “working on the assignment”.

Myra suddenly sobered up. “We should get going on this stupid project though… it’s due next week.”

Arnav rolled his eyes and slumped back on his chair. They were sitting in a café not far from her hostel.

“Do you not care if you fail?” Myra asked, more surprised than disappointed. “I never see you pay attention in any class.”

“What’s the point? I am not going to be doing this for life…”

“Why not?”

Arnav crossed his arms. “I’m going to be a chef.”

Myra stared at him for a whole minute before breaking down into a laughing fit once again. Perhaps like his father, she too had decided not to have faith in him even before he tried.

“You are joking, right?” she asked in between giggles.

“Nope.”

She finally caught on to the seriousness of his voice. “You want to cook for the rest of your life?!”

“Yes. I am pretty good at it actually.”

“But… but you can’t…” She struggled to find the right words. “You can’t just cook… I mean you need a job… ”

Arnav leaned forward. “Chefs work. And they get paid too.”

She was still quite skeptical. “So then why are you here? Why are you doing this?”

“My dad,” Arnav explained with a sigh. “He thinks being a chef is not good enough. He’d rather I sit in an office and spend the rest of my life ordering people around.”

“Sounds like a great life to me,” Myra muttered.

“Trust me, it’s not. I used to not see my father for more than an hour every day, because he was busy locked away in his company, trying to make history. Whether it was my first day of school or my first fight or my first test… it was always my mother and sisters who were there. My father never had time, and even if he could squeeze me into his schedule, it was only to tell me that I wasn’t working hard enough. So no, I don’t ever want to take up his reigns and make my kids suffer too.”

Myra’s face softened. “What business does your dad do?”

“Construction… nothing at all interesting.”

“He just wants the best for you,” she replied. “What’s interesting doesn’t always pay the bills.”

“So I have heard, but what’s the point of life if you don’t take risks?”

“Cooking is not a risk Arnav… it’s a hobby.”

“You are only saying that because you haven’t tasted my cooking.”

She smirked. “Is this the part where you invite me over and cook dinner for me?”

Arnav sheepishly rubbed the back of his head. “It’s that obvious, huh?”

“Yes, you’ve literally had a crush on me since first year.”

It wasn’t a question, but what caught Arnav off guard was not that she noticed his sly glances all along, but that his feelings made no difference to her at all.

“So then why did you ignore me?” he asked.

Myra raised her eyebrow. “What makes you think I like you back?”

“Ouch,” he said, dramatically holding his chest.

She just laughed in answer and went back to her notes. However, to Arnav this seemed to be the best time to get answers.

“So is that it? You won’t go out with me?”

Myra didn’t answer.

“Are you worried about your parents?” he pressed, watching her face carefully. “Will they not like you dating someone?”

She finally met his eyes at that. “Why do my parents need to know?”

Arnav chuckled. “So what’s the issue then?”

Myra simply looked at him, deep in thought.

“Suit yourself,” he muttered. If she wanted to continue being mysterious, then so be it. He had all the time in the world to pursue her.

“Fine,” Myra said suddenly. “One date, but only if you promise to work on this assignme–”

Arnav didn’t even wait for her to complete her sentence. “I promise!”

- June 2016 -

“You sure you’re allowed to be sitting here with me?” hissed Myra, while the Dean continued his monotonous speech.

It was the day of commencement, where after four treacherous years, Arnav was finally free of his “obligations” as his father’s son. He, along with Myra, were sitting with the rest of the graduating class in the assembly hall in black-coloured robes, while his family was seated a few rows behind, waiting excitedly for him to go on stage and receive his degree.

It was a day of celebration for all of them as well, only Arnav was dreading going home. He was confident his mother was throwing him a surprise party for the occasion. He would have to pretend to be happy while patiently waiting for the crowd to disappear so that he may speak to his father about the pre-planned ‘MBA’.

“Arnav!” Myra called, tapping his knee for attention.

Arnav blinked, snapping out his reverie. He had pulled some strings to make sure he was seated beside Myra instead of alphabetically like everyone else. Although it was unnecessary, he knew that there was no way he could survive the three-hour ceremony without distractions.

“Relax,” he replied coolly. “I managed it with the secretary. No one will notice.”

Myra didn’t believe him. “But your parents are here!”

“And so are yours.”

“Won’t… won’t they be upset?”

Arnav watched her perfect face, deciding on how best to answer. Although she had shown much reluctance during the initial days of their easy friendship back in second year, Myra quickly grew accustomed to his unending attention. As promised, Arnav had indeed cooked a meal for them and took her out on a picnic one sunny afternoon after their assignment was complete. And since that day, they had become practically inseparable.

It was a perfect college romance, until of course, the inevitable happened and their final year drew to a close. Having secured a job as a public relations specialist in a telecommunications company, Myra was excited for the next phase of her life. Arnav, however, was nowhere close to share that happiness. While he knew what he wanted to pursue next, he wasn’t sure how flexible his father had become over the years.

The only thing he was sure of, however, was that their relationship was not over. Even though Myra herself had suggested calling it quits, for she was required to travel frequently to Mumbai for her new position, Arnav just couldn’t get himself to agree. She had become his biggest comfort in the last three years, how could he not have her when he was about to enter the most uncertain period of his life?

“I frankly don’t care,” Arnav finally said in answer to her question. In the background, the Dean ended his speech and applause broke out across the room. “I love you and they can’t change that.”

Myra slipped her hand into his. “I know Arnav, but they are your parents–”

“You will be my wife someday Myra,” he interrupted, seriously. “They will have to accept that sooner than later. But since you are so worried about this secrecy thing, then fine, I will introduce you after the ceremony and get it over with–”

Myra’s eyes widened. “What?!”

“Yeah, it doesn’t matter to me–”

“Please don’t–”

“Why not? Why are you so scared about meeting them anyway? I think they will like you very much–”

She groaned. “You are the only heir to your father’s empire Arnav, of course, they wouldn’t like me… my parents are strictly middle class.”

“Mine were too,” Arnav reminded. He had lost count of the number of times they had this conversation; Myra’s modest background seemed to be her biggest insecurity.

“Please Arnav,” she murmured with imploring eyes. “This is not the time. I… I don’t want them misunderstanding our relationship. I want everything to be just right the first time I meet them, okay?”

He didn’t understand what was not right in the present situation. “But–”

“Please?”

Arnav couldn’t say no. Her panicked eyes and quivering lips wouldn’t let him. So after the ceremony was over, he diligently made his way to his family while Myra went off to hers, and graciously accepted their animated congratulations.

When they all finally made it home however, a good two hours later thanks to Satya’s endless requests for photos, Arnav was very surprised to see the driveway devoid of cars and the house as empty as they left it. He looked blankly at his mother.

“What?” Satya asked.

“No huge party for this wonderful and joyous occasion?”

Satya pressed her lips. “Don’t get me started Chote.”

Lavanya giggled. “Maa is scared you and Papa are going to have a wrestling match today.”

“Don’t be so dramatic Lavu,” Anjali chided, sitting down beside Satya and patting her reassuringly.

Arnav, however, had eyes only for his mother. “Is that true? You canceled plans because of me?”

“I have no clue what goes on in that mind of yours anymore Chote,” Satya muttered disappointedly. “I stopped trying to understand. Either way anything I say won’t make a difference to you.”

Arnav sat down near his mother’s feet, feeling very guilty. It was common knowledge that Satya loved gatherings, and to see her not celebrate such an important occasion –well, for her anyway– caused him much unease. Whatever his differences were, they were with his father; he had no intention of dragging his mother into it.

“I am sorry Maa,” he mumbled, clasping her hands. “Please don’t say you don’t make a difference–”

“So will you listen to what I say then?” she asked. “Will you promise not to fight with Shankar today?”

Arnav didn’t have a chance to answer, for his father arrived just then, a plan already in mind.

“So Chote,” he said gravely, sitting down across from them. “Your mother and I have decided to give you a year.”

Arnav didn’t follow. “A-a year?”

“Yes, it’s clear that your interest in business has in no way increased in the last four years like I had hoped. You still seem very set on being a chef, so we felt instead of arguing about this further, you can have a year to prove yourself.”

He couldn’t believe his ears. Not only had his father dropped the idea of an MBA, but he also was giving him a chance to explore his options?! Had the sun risen from the west today?

“Say something,” Lavanya hissed, nudging his shoulder from behind.

Arnav swallowed, unable to find his words. “I… I can do whatever I want?”

“Yes,” Shankar answered, patiently. “A year to try your luck elsewhere. But let me make this absolutely clear, by next summer, if you don’t find success in whatever it is that you choose, if your mother and I don’t seem convinced that your career is going anywhere, you will take up a job in the company and start being trained as CEO – agreed?”

Arnav didn’t know what to say. A year seemed like an awfully short time all of a sudden.

Satya gently stroked his head. “It’s a compromise Chote,” she murmured. “I don’t want to hear you say how miserable you are one more time. Please, please just agree.”

Oh. So it was his mother’s pleading that had worked. And probably his sisters’ too. But Arnav wasn’t complaining. Although his career as a chef was going to take much, much longer than a year, he would take the deal anyway. Maybe if they saw how serious he was, they would agree to give him more time.

So all he said was, “Okay.”

- December 2017 -

Arnav absentmindedly drummed his fingers on the table, trying to be patient while Myra finished checking her emails. There were just five days left until Christmas, which meant the entire city was bustling with festivities. Even the small coffee shop they were seated inside, coincidently the same one they were at when he asked her out for their first ever date four years ago, had been decorated with lights and wreaths. A small Christmas tree stood magnificently beside the window.

“Almost done?” Arnav asked.

It had been more than two weeks since he saw her last. Having been promoted to the position of a manager, Myra was now even busier than before. Frequently traveling between Mumbai and Bangalore –where her parents were currently situated in– she had barely any time for him, save for small mercies like this.

“Almost,” she replied, not looking up from her phone.

Arnav sighed, watching his girlfriend closely and noticing for the first time how subtly she had changed in the last two years. While in college she had always kept her hair down in perfect curls, she now styled it straight and pulled back into a tight ponytail. She wore a two-piece suit instead of her usual chiffon dresses and perhaps the biggest change of all, was the absence of a smile on her rather perfect face.

Nothing amused her anymore, least of all, Arnav’s jokes, which once upon a time was what drew her to him. It was obvious that she was moving on from the carefree girl he once fell in love with.

“Okay done,” Myra said, tucking her phone away and pulling her cup of coffee –now cold– towards her.

Arnav smiled. No matter how much she had changed, their relationship hadn’t. Even with the hectic schedules and family dramas, she still made time for him. Even today, she had driven straight from the airport to accompany him on a shopping trip.

It was tradition for the Raizadas to exchange gifts on Christmas day when the entire extended family gathered together for a celebration. Arnav often left his shopping to the last minute, knowing very well that Lavanya would help him pick everything on time anyway. He was yet to be wrong. It became almost a ritual for the two of them to buy gifts for their family together.

This year, however, there was just one more addition. Arnav felt it was only right if Myra also took part in the trip. Although her official meeting with his parents was still due –for things at his home were too tense for him to discuss marriage– in his mind, she was a big part of the family, nonetheless.

So smiling fondly at her, Arnav asked, “How are you?”

Myra rolled her eyes. “How do I look?”

He reached for her hand on the table. It was usual for her to be in a sour mood after traveling.

“I missed you,” he said genuinely.

Myra relaxed. “Me too. This whole back and forth is getting very tiresome.”

“So quit… find a job here in Delhi.”

“You know I can’t do that.”

“Why not?”

“Be practical Arnav,” she said, pulling back her hand. “I need the job. I don’t have a millionaire father.”

Arnav grimaced.

“Sorry,” she mumbled, averting her eyes.

“Maybe now you’ll get why I am insisting on making my own path,” he replied. “I don’t want to be stuck doing something I don’t like.”

Myra shrugged. “It’s not a bad job. But wait, does this mean you are still planning on continuing cooking school?! I thought you wanted to quit?”

He did. But what other options were there?

More than a year had elapsed since Arnav agreed to Shankar’s compromise, and yet, he was nowhere close to proving himself right, or his father, wrong. As planned, he had enrolled himself in one of the city’s best culinary schools, signing up for a two-year diploma course. He had hoped that after a year into the program he would get a clear idea of his capability and have an answer ready for his father.

Unfortunately, that did not happen.

Although he still very much enjoyed the culinary arts, Arnav disliked the beginner courses he was being taught. He had to throw away all of his instincts and adhere to the guidelines set by his teachers who cared more about how he held a spatula than how well he could manage a kitchen. It was becoming quite evident that this diploma was a mere stamp of approval that he wouldn’t poison anyone, rather than actual proof of his skill.

Of course, Arnav knew that mastering the techniques was important; after all, any other school in the world would insist on the same. But the problem was time. He needed to do something quick, something that would yield good results for his father’s patience was running dangerously thin nowadays.

As expected, Shankar had used Arnav’s situation in the last six months to reiterate that the whole profession of a chef was flawed, and that Arnav was simply wasting his time trying to pursue it. And no matter what Arnav said, Shankar did not give up badgering him. Despite his mother’s relentless trials to keep peace, Arnav was having an argument almost once every day with his father over the fate of his life.

“I am not going to stop trying just because this didn’t work out Myra,” Arnav said, trying not to remember his father’s disappointed face from that morning. “I will figure something out…”

Myra groaned. “And if you don’t?”

“Then we’ll see… right now, all I care is that it’s new years and you are finally home. Can’t we forget about all this and spend these few days happily, just like old times?”

He could tell she wanted to argue, but perhaps in light of the holidays, decided against it. Finishing her coffee, she asked nonchalantly, “So have you decided on a new year’s plan then?”

“What’s there to decide? You know Dev and the gang make plans every year.”

Myra’s eyes flashed.

“What?” Arnav asked, not sure why this was a matter of annoyance.

“I don’t want to spend New Year’s with your cousins,” she answered quite coolly.

A line appeared on Arnav’s forehead. “But we spend every New Year with them, it’s tradition–”

“Well traditions can change,” Myra snapped. “I don’t have the energy to put up with your cousins this time around.”

“What do you mean? You literally haven’t seen them since last New Year.”

She shrugged. “My friends at work are planning a trip to Goa. They are also booking a resort–”

“But Myra,” he interrupted. “We can’t just ditch my family–”

“It’s your cousins, not your parents. And since they are so cool, I am sure they will understand.”

“But–”

“And before you start sulking,” Myra continued drily. “Let me just say that I work very hard throughout the year for these two weeks of vacation, so it’s very unfair of you asking me to waste my precious time over these silly sentiments.”

Arnav bit his lip, feeling guilty because she was right; her time was precious

“They are going to be very upset,” he finally muttered, relenting.

A dazzling smile lit up her face. “I love you.”

He snorted. “I’m sure you do.”

“Oh come on, don’t be such a cry baby,” she said. “Just wait until you see the resort, you will thank me then!”

“Hmm.”

She batted her eyelids. “Are you going to be mad at me forever? I said I’m sorry na?”

Arnav felt his resentment ebb away. Anger, especially at her, was not his forte.

As if on the cue, Lavanya arrived for their shopping trip. “Hey,” she greeted, sitting down at the table.

Myra’s smile hardened. “Hi Lavanya,” she said, almost too politely.

“Aren’t you going to congratulate her?” Arnav interrupted. “She’s engaged now!”

“That’s right, my apologies,” Myra answered, unperturbed. “Congratulations.”

Lavanya simply smiled. “Thank you. So should we get going then? We have lot of shopping to finish.”

Arnav nodded and stood up. “Please tell me you already have ideas? I am done thinking for the day thanks to our wonderful Papa.”

“Yes yes,” Lavanya answered, shaking her head. “I have it under control like every year.”

Arnav grinned and looked at Myra, who was –surprisingly– still seated. “Let’s go?” he asked her.

“Erm, actually you guys go ahead,” Myra replied. “I have some work to catch up on.”

Arnav’s face fell. “What do you mean? Didn’t we decide that we would buy everyone gifts together th–”

“I’m sorry Arnav, but I can’t. I just got an email from my boss–”

“But you said–”

“Besides, you have Lavanya right? You don’t need me.”

Arnav frowned. “Myra, you know this is important to me–”

She gave him a pointed look. “We’ll talk later, okay? You guys have fun.”

He had no choice but to drop the matter. There was no way they could have a real conversation with a lingering audience. Lavanya already appeared quite awkward, looking between the both of them unsure of what to do.

“Fine, but please call me when you get home,” he told her seriously.

Myra nodded.

Then giving her a peck on the cheek, Arnav left the coffee shop with his sister in tow.

“So what’s wrong in paradise?” Lavanya asked, as soon as they were out of earshot.

Arnav, who had been expecting her question, had his answer ready. “She’s just tired.”

Lavanya snorted. “Don’t you think you give her ‘the benefit of doubt’ too much?”

“Lavu please, I know you think you have her figured out, but you don’t.”

“I don’t think I have her figured out and that’s my problem. You talk about her all day every day, but I have never met her in person no more than five times! Do you think that’s normal?”

“Yes,” Arnav retorted, glaring at her. “You guys scare her. Every time it’s me pushing her to meet you guys, but none of you ever bothered to be friends with her. You really can’t blame her for wanting space!”

“Nice to see that my own brother doesn’t understand me,” Lavanya snapped. “But since you are accusing me of not welcoming her into the family, then fine, I will make sure she won’t be left alone even for a second on New Year’s–”

“Err about that,” Arnav interrupted guiltily. “We won’t be coming…”

Lavanya stopped mid-step. “What?”

“She wants to relax… enjoy her time off… you know how stressed she is with work.”

Lavanya stared at him, speechless.

“It’s just this year,” Arnav said trying to sound reassuring.

She wasn’t though. Turning on her heels, she stalked off in the opposite direction.

“Lavu,” he called, easily catching up to her. “Please just try and understand! It’s been a rough year, with my courses and Myra’s job… maybe alone time is what we need right now.”

Lavanya’s tone was stoic. “Sure, whatever makes you happy.”

“Just get it off your chest,” he said, knowing that she was struggling to bury the rant making its way out of her.

“It’s nothing, I was just wondering if I’ll have to start making appointments to see you?”

“You are just overreacting, I am shopping with you, aren’t I?”

“Oh hello,” Lavanya fumed. “I am doing a favour for you, okay? Good luck trying to find Bhagi’s favourite book in this holiday chaos!”

Arnav sighed. “I don’t want to argue with you Lavu, but don’t you think you judged Myra too quickly? You said so yourself that you have met her barely five times–”

“I don’t care whether you see it or not Arnav,” Lavanya said bluntly. “The truth is you have been with her for four years and Myra is yet to understand who you are. It’s always her time, her worries, her plans and her happiness… what’s next? She wants you to quit everything and become her PA?”

“Look, you are just not used to sharing me–”

“For heaven’s sake, I am not jealous! I don’t understand how you don’t see that she is walking all over you!”

“Of course you’d feel like that as my sister–”

Lavanya gritted her teeth. “You spend every new year with us Arnav, it’s our thing, how can you just forget that and agree to what she wants?!”

“It’s called sacrifice! And I’m sorry to say you understand none of it! She has been promoted to a manager, that’s a big responsibility! And if I am not going to understand that, then who will? Isn’t that the whole point of love? Even if the rest of the world doesn’t have faith in her, I am supposed to, and I do!”

“And when it’s your turn? When it’s time for you to have big responsibilities, will she understand? Will she have faith in you?”

“Yes!”

“Then you clearly don’t know who you fell in love with–”

“Enough Lavu! I am done with this conversation. I don’t know what else will make you realize that I love her! This isn’t some college fling anymore; I am serious about her. You need to stop finding faults in Myra and just accept that she’s a permanent part of my life now. That’s the biggest favour you can do for me!”

And without waiting for a reply, Arnav strode back to his car, leaving a wide-eyed Lavanya still frozen on the street.

- January 2018 -

Arnav woke up to bright sun rays filtering through the open window, the light feeling all wrong on his face. It was barely a month into the new year, and already, his whole life had turned around.

Worried of his father’s increasingly unstable blood pressure and the constant warnings from the doctors, his mother had granted him a penthouse in the heart of the city. It was less of a gift and more of a warning to keep far from Shankar as much as possible. Satya was foolishly hoping that distance was the solution to the issue.

It wasn’t.

Except, Arnav didn’t see the point of telling his mother that. He had longed to stay independently for years now; it was actually a blessing in many ways that his mother had given him permission to do so without any fuss. And perhaps if he was indeed far from his father’s prying eyes, Shankar may actually feel less obliged to force the company on Arnav’s unwilling shoulders.

“Good morning,” Arnav murmured, walking into his living room with a yawn.

Myra was already dressed for work. “Good morning,” she mumbled, her eyes glued to her phone.

Arnav flopped down on the armchair, his eyes raking the handsome apartment. His mother had exquisite taste, no doubt, but for some reason he felt there was something missing. It wasn’t the same as his room back home.

“It’s beautiful,” came Myra’s voice.

Arnav blinked, catching her eyes. She was –unexpectedly– watching him instead of checking her emails.

“Don’t you like it?” she asked.

“It doesn’t matter. Until my father comes around, this is where I will have to stay.”

“Don’t pretend to be so miserable. Do you even have any idea how much this apartment is worth?”

He didn’t. And he didn’t want to find out either. What he wouldn’t give to get a loan instead of this apartment? If only he had the power to convince his parents.

“What is it Arnav?” Myra asked impatiently. “I thought this was what you always wanted.”

“No,” he interjected.

If truth be told, this was what she always wanted. A flat for just the two of them in the center of the city, where they could sip their morning coffees gazing at the capital's skyline.

Of course, Arnav knew what was so appealing about the image right away. Perhaps that’s why he started fantasizing about it too. Only, he had dreamed that the apartment would be his choice, an investment he would make for his kids. It seemed all wrong coming from his mother (he still wasn’t sure how on board his father was with this idea).

Living on your own terms didn’t mean much if the terms were being mandated by someone else.

“Okay fine,” Myra said exasperated. “Then tell me what you want? Because frankly I am tired of seeing you sulking like this. Even in Goa you wouldn’t talk to any of my friends–”

“I want my own restaurant Myra,” he interrupted pointedly.

It wasn’t news to her, of course. In fact she was the first one he told as soon as he got the idea, just a day after Christmas when he ran into his friend from boarding school, Raghav. Having completed a degree in hotel management, Raghav was planning to take over a failing restaurant not too far from the city’s core and revamp it. What he needed for it was a loan, and unfortunately without a co-signer, there was no bank who was willing to offer it.

Since that day, Arnav was entirely captivated by the idea. He had been struggling for so many months now about how to prove himself, that he couldn’t believe the answer was so simple. Running a restaurant was exactly what his father needed to be convinced that Arnav’s future wasn’t so bleak after all and what he needed to satisfy his own passion for cooking. It was one of those rare win-win situations.

The problem, however, was that Arnav too didn’t have the funds like Raghav. No bank would give him a loan without a guaranteer and he didn’t want to use his father’s influence. That’s where all his plans came to a standstill.

“I know you think this is the solution to all your problems,” Myra said with a sigh. “But you need to be practical.”

“I am! But like always, you assume it’s a waste of time. You and my dad should get together some time, you will get along swimmingly.”

“Ha ha. All I am saying is, please appreciate what you have. It’s not every day that you get rid of your parents and have such a nice house to stay in!”

“Then you stay here,” Arnav muttered.

Myra stared at him. “Y-you… you don’t mean that?”

“No I do,” Arnav continued, talking more to himself than her. “Everything that is mine is yours. If you think this is a blessing, then fine, stay here and you appreciate it instead. I’d rather figure out how get an investor for that restaurant… Raghav already has someone lined up. May be if I can find one too, we can combine our funds to buy the place after all.”

“Arnav!”

He finally met her eyes. “Huh?”

“Are you asking me to move in with you?”

The question caught him completely off guard. Why was she looking at him as if he had given her the biggest gift ever?

“Well, are you?” she asked, this time annoyance flickering in her eyes.

Arnav didn’t understand what the big deal was. “Yes Myra, you can stay here. How many times do I have to say that you and I are one and the same?”

Myra rolled her eyes, and went back to her emails muttering, “You know what, forget it.”

All thoughts of the restaurant vanished, as Arnav realized a second too late how cold he must have appeared. Of coursemoving in together was important to her like any other girl, no wonder she appeared so charmed by the penthouse.

“Myra,” he called gently.

She didn’t look up.

“Listen to me,” Arnav said, sitting beside her and wrapping his arm around her shoulders. “I’m sorry, okay? This restaurant thing is important to me.”

Myra shrugged, but didn’t answer.

“Move in with me.”

“You don’t mean that–”

“I do,” he answered, honestly. “It’s just a formality for me, but if it means so much to you, then let’s do it.”

“You do know I travel a lot–”

“We have been together for four years, I know you inside out. Stay with me when you are in the city, at least that way I don’t need to keep searching for new places to meet at.”

Myra grinned, relenting. “I want half of the closet.”

Arnav chuckled. “Take all of it.”

Before she could make the rest of her demands, however, they were interrupted by the arrival of Lata, who had been relieved of her duties in the Raizada mansion to help Arnav at the penthouse, all on his mother’s behest of course. The maid stared a second too long at Myra before disappearing into the kitchen to fetch them coffee.

“I’ll get going,” Myra said, standing up and collecting her things.

Arnav nodded and waited for her to leave before going to the kitchen.

“How are you Lata?” he asked lightly.

She handed him a cup of steaming coffee. “All good Baba… sorry I was late this morning–”

“No worries. Just make sure my mother doesn’t hear about this.”

Lata didn’t follow. “W-what?”

“Maa doesn’t need to know what goes on here,” he said quietly, but the authority was unmistakeable in his voice. “You have been with us for a long time Lata, and I value everything you have done for me. I know you’ll understand what I am trying to say.”

Lata gulped and nodded her head.

“Thank you.”

Giving her a reassuring smile, Arnav returned to the living room, when his phone buzzed with a new message from Lavanya. It hadn’t even taken twenty-four hours for him to reconcile with his sister after their argument that day outside the coffee shop. Neither of them was good at holding a grudge.

The message read:

Don’t freak out, but Akash can invest in your restaurant! Please don’t do any melodrama and accept the money! You can pay him back with interest, whenever you want. We are coming over right now to talk about it <3

Arnav read the words at least four times before the meaning truly sunk in. He couldn’t believe there were still some people left who had faith in him.

- September 2018 -

“Arnav, calm down–”

“How the hell do you expect me to calm down with these numbers?!”

“Well shouting at me now won’t help–”

“That’s right, I should have shouted months ago!”

Raghav shook his head, exhausted from the argument.

Arnav, however, was nowhere close to fatigue. Only six months had passed since they opened their restaurant –a combined investment with each holding a fifty percent share– and far from making profit, they weren’t even breaking even.

All of Arnav’s training in business management, of course, told him not to panic for anything new required time to settle. Their numbers were preliminary, so there was no reason to think that their restaurant was going southside. And yet, he couldn’t help but fear that something was amiss.

After Akash’s – now his brother-in-law’s – generous funding, it had taken them three months to painstakingly renovate the run-down restaurant they bought into a quirky bistro. Having more experience (and interest) in cooking than his partner, Arnav automatically became in charge of the menu, chefs and the kitchen while Raghav handled the advertising, staff and finances.

They were novices, no doubt. Just in the first month itself, they had to rework their entire menu to reduce the long wait times customers were complaining about, to accommodate the chefs’ abilities –most of them being fresh out of culinary school and willing to work for a lower salary– and most importantly, to increase the ratings they were receiving from food critics.

It was bitter work, not that Arnav was complaining. He hadn’t even noticed when and how six months flew by, until today when he sat down with Raghav to discuss their figures. Although Akash had been kind enough to not ask too many updates, Arnav knew he owed him a progress report.

And it was then that he realized how foolish he was to neglect everything else. It was a rookie mistake; if his father had been present, he was sure to have hit him on the head for being so naïve. Although Raghav was working hard to make sure they stayed afloat, it was evident that he wasn’t good at managing the bills. He lacked the ability to prioritize and tended to deal with a crisis when it showed, rather than being proactive and planning for it beforehand.

It was very ironic.

Arnav had been lectured more than a million times about not planning for the future, and yet, here he was, getting frustrated that his partner failed to do the same.

“Look man,” Raghav finally said. “I don’t know what you are expecting, but this is just the beginning… you and I are the new kids on the block. It will take time for this place to start booming and until then we have to be patient.”

“That’s not the point! I know things are slow, but that doesn’t mean we can chill alright! Why do we have so many wait staff working overtime? If we aren’t getting customers, just rotate their shifts–”

“That was a mistake, Puru wanted a day off so I scheduled Sheila instead, but then Puru showed up–”

“Don’t you even hear yourself?!”

Raghav looked at the floor in answer.

“We can’t afford such mistakes! What the hell are we going to tell the investor–”

“Oh come on, he is your brother-in-law–”

Arnav held up his hand, his patience done for the day. “You know what Raghav, forget it. I will handle the scheduling from now. Can you at least take care of the website?”

“Don’t give me that Arnav!”

“Give you what exactly?”

“Don’t give me shade about not doing my work properly,” Raghav retorted with a scowl. “It’s not just your money on the line, it’s mine too. We knew this was going to be hard, so screaming at each other won’t help!”

“I’m screaming because we are already a month behind on the bills. If the vegetable guy starts asking for his payment next week, we won’t have an answer. If any one of the chefs gets offered a better pay elsewhere, we are screwed. If the–”

Raghav had enough. “I know all the ‘if’s’ Arnav, I am not blind! All I am saying is why don’t you concentrate on the kitchen and I will work out the rest? Even your chefs aren’t really in line! We told them clearly not to be so liberal with some of the dishes and what happened?!”

“That wasn’t their fault, the head chef–”

“Who you hired!”

Arnav felt like pulling out his hair. “Fine. Have it your way Raghav! I will get the kitchen in control by next month and you can get the sales up. Maybe then we can stop fighting like two school children!”

“You do that!”

Arnav stormed out without another glance. He had barely made it home when his phone rang with his mother’s incoming call.

“Yes Maa?” he answered taking a deep breath.

“How are you Chote? You didn’t come home last weekend?”

He gritted his teeth. He had been working last Saturday, covering for Raghav who needed a day off. “Is something wrong?” he asked, ignoring her question.

Satya sighed. “Fine, don’t tell me. Things are just the same here… Shankar’s BP is still very high, there is some stress at work–”

“Tell me something new,” he muttered.

“You can show a little more concern! Anjali was telling me that the economy is slow–”

“How would Di know?”

“Shyam told her of course. Apparently, the sales are pretty low, and if it goes on like this for a few more days, then there is a high risk of some big company buying us out. It’s not a secret that Shankar is getting old and that he doesn’t really have a successor–”

“Maa, please–”

Satya dropped her pretense as she jumped straight to the point of her phone call. “I’m worried Chote! For how long are you going to keep running from this? What’s the difference between running a restaurant and running a company? Why are you throwing away all this for some silly take-out–”

Arnav couldn’t listen anymore. “You know Maa, I didn’t really expect you and Papa to have faith in me, but you guys can at the very least respect what I do–”

“I know that Chote, but when circumstances are like this–”

“I don’t care! I am just done listening to this Maa! I am finally doing something I’m good at and unlike what you and Papa say, I do make money out of it! So please just stop trying to guilt trip me!”

And without waiting for her reply, he hung up the phone, wishing that Myra was home. Unlike his mother and Raghav, she would have understood his position in less than a heartbeat.

- March 2019 -

“It’s over man.”

Arnav buried his face in his hands, feeling all the exhaustion in the world seeping through to him. Not even a year had passed since the opening of his restaurant and his partner was already asking for its closure. When had things become so adverse?

“I know you won’t like what I’m saying–”

“I just don’t get why,” he interrupted. “Why do you want to sell? The numbers are fine, we are getting better every day, how can you just pull out now?”

Raghav sighed. They had been talking for over an hour now in their little office at the very back of their restaurant, going around in circles without reaching a consensus.

“Be reasonable Arnav, our numbers are not getting better–”

“They aren’t getting worse either–”

“So should we wait until they do?” Raghav retorted. “We are getting a good price for it now, better to sell it off–”

“First of all, why would you even agree to discuss with the buyer without informing me?” Arnav growled. “Have you forgotten that I still own fifty percent of this restaurant?!”

“For the last time, we met for drinks, that’s it! I didn’t agree to anything, I am simply telling you the deal he offered!”

“You want me to sell Raghav, say it like it is!”

Raghav pursed his lips.

“This is exactly your problem,” Arnav continued furiously. “You don’t want to take any risks. The minute you realize you aren’t getting the profits you had hoped for, you just want to abandon everything!”

“I did take a risk Arnav! I took a risk trusting you, I took a risk investing money into this place and I took a risk waiting this long for the restaurant to pick up. Now, I neither have the patience nor luxury to wait!”

“So what’s your plan then? Sell this place and do what exactly? You don’t really have another job waiting for you!”

Raghav shrugged. “I actually do. I got offered a manager position at the Marriott hotel.”

Arnav couldn’t believe his ears. “Are you freaking kidding me?!”

“No,” he answered, without much regret. “I made an investment and it didn’t work out. The smart thing now is to get rid of it and move on. You need to know when it’s over man, you need to be practical.”

Arnav laughed without humour. “W-o-w…. And when it was you dreaming about opening a restaurant without a single penny in your pocket, you didn’t hear me saying ‘be practical’!”

“This is not personal–”

“It is personal Raghav! It’s bloody personal! I have given everything to this restaurant! There wasn’t a single day I took off in the past year, I did everything I could to make sure this place is running no matter what and you casually walk in here telling me it’s better to sell only because you got some stupid offer?!”

“Oh please Arnav! It’s not my fault that you didn’t plan your life better, don’t pin your desperation on me!”

“This is not desperation–”

“Yes, it is! And if you are so hell bent on holding on to this, then fine, buy me out!”

“What?”

“Yeah, buy my shares and become the sole owner of this place. You’ll be free to do whatever you want then!”

“And if I don’t?” Arnav challenged.

Raghav crossed his arms. “Then we can go to court and settle it legally, at which point the assets will be evaluated and you will practically be selling anyway.”

It was an impossible situation.

If it was his money on the line, his funds that he had invested into the venture, maybe then Arnav would have considered going to court and finding a better settlement. But it wasn’t. It was Akash’s money and even if his sister had convinced him not to interfere much in the restaurant, Arnav knew it was wrong to misuse his brother-in-law’s silence.

He just couldn’t risk dragging this out and getting a lower price for the restaurant as a result, when it would inevitably be up for sale.

“You can take some more time if you need to think about it,” Raghav said after a few minutes.

Arnav stared desolately at the floor.

“Look, I don’t like doing this anymore than you do,” Raghav muttered sympathetically. “But I don’t see a better solution. No matter what you say, the truth is we aren’t keeping up with the competition. Just in the last two weeks, two new restaurants opened up here… so it’s only a matter of time before we start losing money. It’s better to sell while we can.”

Arnav tried one last time. “But how do you know that we won’t get better?”

“Because it’s practical. We don’t have the funds to renovate yet again, we’ve already had to change the menu so many times, that’s enough for me to understand that this is it.”

Arnav didn’t reply.

It was a lost case, both of them knew it. And that’s probably why Raghav didn’t offer any more explanations and left him alone.

Arnav stood up and stared out through the small window overlooking the kitchen. He had spent many evenings in the congested office long after his staff had retired home, pouring over files, looking for some change in their sales, trying to find a pattern or a sign that everything was under control, that good news was just around the corner. Everyone had lost faith that the restaurant would ever come up, but he believed that they could pull through.

But not anymore.

It was the end, just as his father had warned him all those years ago.

Everything has a price Chote. You need to come to terms with what you are willing to pay before arguing with us about what glorious life you want to lead.

Despite trying so hard, Arnav hadn’t been able to afford the price of his dreams.

____________________________________________