Care & Cannoli
"Its not the question of abandoning my parents I know how they can drive anyone up the wall" Tan muttered gruffly
R&B was driving to a meeting at Claridges, it was Tuesday, 4 days since Sam had showed up.
"Huh" he grunted
"Tu usko keh main Wed nite aa raha hoon, ask her to get her butt back home dude" Tan was not happy
"Did she change her number?" he asked bluntly
He liked Tan, he was like an older brother during R&B's rebel days.
He wud listen to Tan even when he wouldnt, to Savvy
"I get it man" Tan sighed at R&B's anger
"Call her" R&B said shortly
"I wud if she f**king answered her phone dude" Tan lit up
"Wrap up and return soon?" R&B was outraged
"Tu jaanta hai na kitni ziddi hai? Nandu ne aaj apna pre class science catch up workshop miss kiya" Tan said angrily
"Well, dont blame it on her, one, he is what? 14? Two ur Mom was home wasnt she?" he said coldly
"I gotta go man" Tan hung up bitterly
R&B sighed audibly threw his phone on the passenger seat and sped towards Aurangazeb Rd
His phone beeped
"Tujhe ek favor poochhon?" Sam texted
This drama was getting overboard, he didnt care to play mediator in this
He cared for Sam enough to not bear to see her be so miserable
He didnt care for Tan's mother mrs Batra to worry about how Tan felt about all of it
He dialed Ranjan
"Haan jee?" there was surprise in his voice
"Are u around at 3 this afternoon?" he asked gruffly
"Jaroor" Ranjan said delighted
"Can I get an hour?" he asked
Ranjan nodded forgetting to answer
"Yes? No?" R&B pressed
"Yes" Ranjan said breathlessly
"Thanks" R&B said respectfully
"Workshop da panga haiga?" Ranjan asked sadly
"No... its about... no its not about work" he said
He went through the motions of his meeting, grabbed a sandwich at lunch and ate alone facing the pool
He assessed his own marriage
He imagined living without II for a week or a month or 6 in Delhi
The waiter brought him his second lager
"I am good" R&b nodded smiling
Sam was not even close... not even... in emotional volatility compared to II
He wondered what the heck was going on
Manya was being moody and secretive, unable to wrap her mind around her own wedding being so soon
She didnt speak kannada, the parents were traditional simple folks. Didnt have a clue why son picked a wealthy punjabi divorcee that had a Ph D
Delhi's most prominent families
There was no connection
They were old world
They did pilgrimages and fastings
Much like II's parents
Mrs Iyer was a teacher, Mrs Rao was a stay at home lady
Manya appeared visibly jittery at the thought of spending a week in Worli
He arrived at Spectrum at 2:30
Took the elevator to 7th accidentally
Her cube was empty
Realized she was now on 18th
Walked over to the elevator island, took one to the 18th
Walked out to a different looking KMPG
Posh, quiet, classy decor, piped music
Unlike 7th
He paused by what looked like a reception desk
Asked for her, he was shown
He walked over to find her scrolling through employee compliance training
He placed the box of canoli on the side
She turned startled
Her headset falling off her ear
"Neeya?" she asked
"Not happy?" he muttered
She turned red, which meant.. she was!
"whats in there? I hope its not a leftover turkey on rye (bread)" she waved a finger
"On wheat" he said his eyes twinkling
"U drove all the way to give ME this?" she asked in awe, reaching for the box, making a face
She was easy to please
No de beers, valentino or Hermes
She was passionate and possessive, and loved sugar
Her eyes lit up
"Oh wow" she whispered twice and bit in
He leaned on her desk arms across his chest
"So whats the bad news?" she said sadly
He grunted
"There is something I bet" she sulked
He pushed a flaky crumb off her cheek
"Nothing" he shrugged
They had still not made love since he had returned.
Since the miscarriage
He tucked his hands into his pockets and watched her eat
When she was done she looked up at him, she was wearing a luscious pink A line kurta and white chudidar, like a ethereal princess
"kahan se laaye?" she asked softly
"I had a 10 o clock at claridges" he said quietly
"U are juggling two jobs now?" she teased, for Argent and Excelsior
"Considering the way Argent's going might have to get a job at Excelsior he twitched his lips
Watched her expression change to one of shock
"How come u never told me" she got off her chair "Umm... I can help" she began
He was joking about going under, but enjoyed her sincere benevolence
"Umm.. I wud need a lot more than $50k II" he said with a poker face
"Oh? aur kitna chahiye?" she asked worried
"Between $15-17M" he said under his breath
She clamped her hand on her mouth
"Umm... uh... umm... have u spoken with Athim for a line of credit?" she asked naively
"From his bank I mean" she corrected herself
"We shud be able to work something out" he nodded
"Dont waste money no" she said staring at the 4 other canolis in the box
"I wont" he nodded sincerely
"I dont have anything to give u. Do u want to go to 5th? for coffee? or do u want the machine coffee yaha?" she offered
"I will take a rain check" he said softly
And watched with satisfaction as glorious color washed over her
"Bus coffee or something (like food)" she said primly, arms across her chest, tapping her toes
"Or something..." he smiled and left her
Passing by an approaching Puneet Narang but not pausing
Went up to the 20th to Ranjan...
Ranjan was overjoyed, he had ordered a bunch of snacks and coffee..
"its about Sam" he said hesitantly.
ranjan looked frightened
"She needs to get off her soap box" he said confiding in his Dad for the first time in 8ish years
He began telling Ranjan about how Sam and Tan need to talk and how Sam needs to address her crisis
"Sahi gall haigi, sahi gall haigi" Ranjan was overwhelmed, he blindly supported his son's POV
He was getting a chance to get close to him, he wasnt going to blow it, was he...
He wud describe how it all happened to Sam later
She will forgive him... he was sure
"
Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi 2
