Leap of faith
"I am sorry I did not know" he said politely.
"Thats OK. Can I watch it online?" she asked politely
"Oh?" "Umm.. I think so... can you hang on a second?" he asked
"It may get disconnected as network is bad for Reliance" she said softly
"Dont worry we can talk later" he said smiling
She nodded as he hung up
"Trisha" the way he said her name seemed unusual... and... different... yes it was different
She pulled out her research and started penciling in notes.
She had all the moral and emotional support she could ever want or need, both from Aanu and Jayadev
But research was daunting
Everything was taking longer than expected. The advisors were exhausted too she noticed
She took more breaks and returned home frequently at 11 AM or 1 PM since it was only 16 kms from the Univ
Sometimes it took hours but she was happy to be home. She went to the restaurant directly and helped out with cleaning fish or wiping down tables before dinner.
The bar was now a dessert show case, that didnt get used much
Her mother not only was a fabulous cook she also made great desserts, authentic and delicious
Nowadays she spent the early breaks helping get dinner ready, cooking large quantities of rice, taking care of the first batch of frying
Thats what caused the oil splatter.
She was not a cook. Her mother was old fashioned and tradional and uneducated
Her father not wealthy had married her young and ran the restaurant as a philanthropic enterprise
Her mother wanted her married when she turned 19, threw a fit at 20, cried and sulked in Trisha's early 20s
She tried her best to domesticate Trisha
But Trisha was happy eating leftovers from the restaurant and burying herself in her books
She was not a genius student, she loved Chemistry, hence the Ph D enrollemnt
Well.. the main reason being she wanted to avoid the marriage topic. She thought it wasnt "modern" to be married at 20. Only hicks married at 20 she told her mother.
Her mother complained that "Bangalore is infecting Ullal"
Trisha was normal and wanted it all, no doubt.
She had set ideas about marriage, and her baamnu (husband).
She wanted to marry a "prince". "Someone that wont pester her to get a government job or railways job"
She could take her scooty to college and back (a scooty that was old and rusty and parked behind the restaurant now)
Sanchit and Aanu had a falling out, Sanchit disappeared
Then Aavsu (mother) passed away, restaurant slipped into financial decline (it was in decline already after the bar was shut down, but the regulars still showed up to eat Aavsu's food.)
They renamed it when the bar shut down and called it "Yeh & Yang" but the food was hardly "fusion". It was mainly Konkani with an occasional Thai or Chinese twist
Jayadev "fit" her baamnu profile. Her height, slim, thick curly hair and a sexy pout.
He was from Mysore, started coming in for the food at first, then Trisha and him met on the bus many times.
The relationship turned sexual during monsoons two years ago, when Jay's room mate went to Patna
She was sure now she loved him
Though they abstained from sex mostly, since she was guilty she was cheating and not telling her father.
She smiled feeling her silky messy locks
Maybe tomorrow after the movie we should make love again?
Her insides ached with hunger and longing.
He told her he watched a" bunch of "foriegn" videos".
"You are not supposed to tell me that" she would say while making out
"You are my everything" he said confidently
Her father would be thrilled if she married him.
They were the same caste, language, cuisine...
Whats not to like...
She looked at pictures on her phone of Jay... in the Univ, that nice fountain by the Siddeshwar temple.
Talking on the phone...
She scrolled through her picture folder looking at the passengers across the aisle, she bend down to look casually
There was a picture of a F&B kiosk at Cusine Craft and she saw Ashvin's picture on the kiosk wall talking about what a great industry franchising is.
She "looked" at him for the first time. The tall stature, the smooth neatly trimmed and combed sideways parted hair, almost no sideburns.
He was wearing a brown blazer, khakhis and a peach colored shirt
He appeared rich, and educated and "smooth" she thought.
He doesnt wear socks, how can he be "smooth"?
Which man wears a peach color shirt? Men wear blues and greys. She nodded. "manly in pink and peach" was too modern for her she decided.
She laughed out loud, like a silly girl.
She knew the restaurant need oxygen, and fast.
Another three months in the red, they would be ready to shutter it.
She had never worked so she had no money. Jayadev was also broke so he couldnt give her a dime.
Prakash Shanbag did not utter a word but Trisha knew he had placed immense trust in her secretly for turning things around.
If only she could wave a wand and change everything overnight like in the movies.
if not...
Her father would be so heartbroken... she couldnt even imagine it.
He even spent his afternoons bringing shine on the brass serving bowls.
He knew where everything was in the restaurant.
He treated it like it was a person.
He forced the cooks to adhere to her mother's recipes.
They were actually a couple new cooks who were good at Asian cooking
the lunch crowd appreciated them too.
But to her father it was a betrayal of the mother, so he wanted it all "be like it was before"
"If you want everything like before. then I shouldnt marry also" she would offer
"Dont be silly. He is a good boy" Prakash nodded.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
His apartment near Indira Nagar was built by Brigade, NOT by Narang Construction
It was not very big just 4 bedrooms and a bath for each
"Its good Mom" he smiled as they looked down the balcony, asnwering her "how was work today"
"You should sign up for 100s of franchising licenses a month, hire sales people, go aggressive and show your Dadu" she said passionately
"Unfortunately, we can do a license a month or less" he said quietly
"No new prospects?" she panicked
"there was one today.." he said, downed his Sprite and said "From Ullal" he said
"ULLAL SE? KAUN HAI?" she asked panicking
"If I say the name you might leap off the balcony, so lets go back in" he smiled flashing his perfect teeth
"Ashvin" she waved a perfectly manicured finger warning him
"Its some Shanbag" he said flatly
"RABBAAA" she gasped
"Mom, Shanbag is like Sharma or Gupta or Singh in Delhi" he dismissed her in a mocking tone.
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