ArHi |SS : Shades of Blue Chapter 2 Pg14/Note Pg 23

Khushi Gupta was a great believer of romance and in the possibility of being swept off your feet. She was counting down to the day her fairy tale would begin. One day it would surely happen, she had great faith in the universe.

Unfortunately, she would have to wait a little longer for that dream to come true, because her date was running late once again. What she should have said was; he had in plain words stood her up again. She had seen it coming since he had rescheduled six times in the past week. Shrugging inwardly she decided it was his loss, because she was a treasure any man would be lucky to have found.

There were far greater things stored in her destiny. Her soul-mate was out there waiting for her; she could feel it in her bones. Now, all she had to do was meet him or crash into him. She preferred the first since crashing into someone was not her style.

Placing her cup of vanilla latte on the table, she looked outside the tall window. From where she had been seated, she had the view of the busy streets of upper-east-side, Manhattan. A view she never got tired of seeing early in the morning. Sometimes, she would purposefully sit in this same corner and just observe people walking by the coffee shop. It was surprising what you could learn about people by just watching them. It was almost addictive because in a way you felt you had an advantage over people, you could suddenly uncover the smallest of secrets without even intending to.

Finishing off her second cup of vanilla latte, she placed a bill on the table and began to pick up her belongings off the circular table. Stepping out on the curb, she felt the breeze whistled through the knot of her bun, suddenly making her wish she'd left her hair open. It was a bright and sunny day, the perfect time to walk to her apartment complex instead of hailing a cab, which she resorted to often. She was busy person, except, she really wasn't; as a book store owner most of her days were spent within the confines of bookshelves'.

She co-owned a book store with her friend; Neha Sharma. They had rented out the space at its cheapest around Greenwich Village, Union square. Eventually the property value started to increase, which was a tremendous relief for them.

Who would have thought after doing her honors in professional writing and literature, she would have ended up as a book store owner? She certainly didn't. She saw herself more as a best-selling author or maybe a food critic?

Three years ago, she had moved to New York from Mumbai. The big shift had brought on a lot of change, but she still missed her great big family especially her parents. Ultimately, it had been her decision to move away after Yash Malik broke her heart putting an end to her one-sided love for him. The move to New York definitely helped in healing some of that pain. She came to the city looking for a fresh start and eventually she did forget Yash. It hadn't been easy, but with her first job as a librarian down at the Bloomingdale Library and settling into life as a New Yorker, she had easily been able to put him at the back of her mind.

Mister-I-don't-love-you became Mister-Who?

Her parents were residents of New York, but they had moved back after their two daughters had been born. It was her mother who had requested they go back to India, because she wanted her daughters to grow up in their own country. Khushi being the eldest of the two Gupta kids had one younger sister; Payal. She was in her last year of residency and already engaged to Akash Malhotra.

It was hard to leave behind her family but it had been something that was needed at that time. Plus, she visited them often, so the empty space in her heart always refilled.

Her pace relaxed when she saw a blue sparrow cross her path with its subtle chirping.

Taking a ninety-degree turn towards the left on the eastern sidewalk of Central Park West, she smiled when her apartment building came into view. It was just a few blocks away from here, which was a relief for her. She wasn't much of a walker, she preferred sitting or lying--anything except walking.

"Hey...lady with the dream catcher earrings! '' Someone called out.

Stepping on to the pavement of her building, Khushi didn't bother to look in the direction of the husky voice. The first rule to not getting robbed on busy streets was to avoid eye contact with any random stranger. (Something her mother had ingrained into her.) This was a tried and partly successful method most of the times. Unluckily, this was one of those unsuccessful times, when she should have looked up.

"What the hell?"She screamed when something small hit the middle of her head exploding into liquid within seconds. Water balloon? Who was partaking in such childish acts at this time of the day?

Looking up she found no one in hindsight. It seemed a little odd since the balloon filled with water couldn't have just sprouted from thin air. She knew all the residents and all the children of those residents; they wouldn't do this to her. She concluded, it must be the new neighbor, everyone had been gossiping about in the small building expanse. The best thing about living in a small building was everyone knew everyone, which meant you rarely missed anything important.

Grow up! She mouthed to herself as if she were saying it to him. Whoever him' was!

Maddeningly, she strode into the building and rushed up the staircase not having the patience to wait for the elevator today. The elevator that always down for service every other day. Her hair was partially wet along with her blouse, but largely the books she had taken out to read were also damp. Who better than her knew what happened to starchy pages after they became wet; the crusty ripple was always an unpleasant sight.

"Listen, I am sorry...''

Khushi heard him say just as she lodged her key into the keyhole. Furious, she swirled around ready to give him a piece of her mind. But before she could do just that, a pair of curious eyes reeled her in and left her hanging when they became alight with mirth. He was slyly grinning as if she had just become part of some inside joke.

"Don't you have any manners? What kind of a full grown man throws water balloons at civilian's mid-day? This is a building for civilized people.'' And, what kind of a man wears a hat backwards? She thought eying the baseball hat, he wore backwards.

He was different. Yes, a little messy, but still handsome. And, those dimples; when he smiled her heart practically did somersaults. His next words completely derailed her thoughts.

"Okay, teacher, relax. I called out to you, but you didn't listen. You were apparently busy day dreaming?'' He said explaining his side of the story.

"I was not--Excuse me did you just call me a teacher?''

"Fine, Professor?''

"I am still in my early twenties'', Khushi gritted through her teeth.

"I didn't know there was a certain age limit you had to achieve in order to be a Professor?" Watching her intently, he spoke with an afterthought. "It's good to know for future reference though.''

Khushi rolled her eyes and turned back towards her apartment door. No amount of good looks could win over a good personality. He might have the looks, but he was a complete jerk. "What is your problem?''

"Exactly! What is my problem?"He replied nonchalantly as if he had all the time in the world to figure out this conundrum.

Unlocking the door, Khushi stepped inside. "Just stop throwing those stupid balloons and we won't have a problem. Otherwise, I might have to report to you the board.''

"Please, professor, don't do that. I will get kicked out then.'' .

They stared at each other with equal levels of dismay and annoyance.

"You know what? Go to hell!''

It was rare for her to get angry at people, especially at strangers. But this one specimen had managed to not only infuriate her, but arouse her also. No matter how much she wanted to deny it; he had a way about him. He was one of those guys who could very easily slip into your thoughts and leave them a tangled mess. Damn him to hell!

----------------------------------------------------

Arnav Singh Raizada was in hell alright even though he preferred to be somewhere else. Some place cooler and with a generous view. Somewhere he could just exist without having to think of the consequences. He preferred isolation, actually thrived upon it. Well, he had it now, he thought with a frown, staring down at his hands with curiosity. The move from Brooklyn had finally sealed the deal on his relationship with his father. There was no going back now. Whatever hope there had been was now gone. His father would always look at him as the traitor, and never exchange the love and affection he often craved from his presence. But, it was okay, he had his art--he was a freelance artist for the past four years now.

Inside the brick walled and long soaring casement, sat a large working table which held clusters of different paints, oils, brushes, palettes, canvasses carving tools, and a bucket filled with water balloons.

Running his hand over the paint brush, he settled on the wooden stool opposite to the new painting he was working on for a year now. It was a landscape. He had dreams about it sometimes as if someone was drowning, but he didn't know who? The obscure memory often left him restless at times, but he didn't share this with anyone not even his sister. There were many secrets hidden in the folds of his artwork, knowing very well there was no other place where he could hide them.

Padding barefoot into the marble tiled kitchen, he snatched a mug off the wooden drying rack and poured himself a cup of black coffee. He needed a strong dose of caffeine to help wash away the aftertaste of the encounter he'd had with his new neighbor.

So, the Professor lived opposite to him.

When he had heard around that she was a librarian-- he'd expected her to be older, mellow, and with white hair, but instead she was in her early twenties, stylish and built like a sin. The sexy, sober eyes of her were as bewitching as a full moon, and that sexily flawed mouth of hers was made to tempt; just like Eve had tempted Adam into the life of sin.

Shuddering, he drowned a gulp of his coffee and shook his head. No. He was going to stay away from her no matter what. She was clearly a danger to his sanity. He had only seen her four hours ago and her flimsy scent was still lingering in his senses. Despite the clash of words, he found her very charming and innocent. There was a beguiling innocence in those eyes.

The doorbell came as a great escape from his overly-provocative thoughts. Thank you god, he whispered, pulling open the door to his apartment. There stood his elder sister with a bag of groceries. "Aaloo.'' He called out and then leaned in for a hug.

"Don't you Aaloo me! '' Anjali pushed him away and stepped inside dropping the groceries on the floor. When she turned around in exasperation, her chestnut brown hair flew wildly sticking to her face. "Did you speak to Shyam? ''

"Anjali...''

"Tell me what you said to Shyam?''

Closing the door, he tactfully leaned against the wall. "I said to him that if I see him anywhere in close proximity to you, I will break his bones and feed him to the animals at the Zoo. ''

"Arnav" '' Anjali shook her head and took a swig of his stale coffee sitting on the kitchen counter. " How many times do I have to tell you to not interfere? '' Making a face, she struggled to swallow the bitter tasting liquid. "How do you drink this crap? Anyway, Shyam is my problem, not yours, I will deal with him. What I mean is, I have dealt with him, and he won't bother me anymore. Please get this through that thick-skull of yours. I don't need my little brother threatening my ex-boyfriend.''

"I don't understand why you allow him to follow you around. It is pretty creepy.''

Anjali nodded with a frown. She knew Arnav was right. "I told him to stay away, but you know he lost his mother and he needed some known faces in his life. I dated the man for three years, I can't just turn a blind-eye to his pain.''

"Even though you found him in bed with another woman? What are you made of, steel? ''

"All I know is I can't stoop to his level. He was my friend way before he became much more.''

"You're some friend than, I probably would have gotten even. Slow, torturous murder?''

"But then I would have to hire a lawyer for you, and I don't have that kind of money. I am broke until my next paycheck." Laughing, she turned away from him. "Anyway, I told him to stop calling me and stop showing up at my apartment. I think we ended things in an amicable way, which is better than being bitter for the rest of our lives."

Anjali Singh Raizada was a neat little package decked in her business attire with a ruby red blazer as the spunky twist to her boring old outfit. With 2 years of a difference between the siblings, she was unlike Arnav. Where he was a whim's type of guy with his introvert nature, she was someone who liked to be in control of her surroundings. Except, she fell weak when it came to the matters of the heart, who didn't? Regrettably, she offered her heart to a man, who was not ready to handle that big of a commitment. The next day after professing her love to him, she found him cheating on her. It was big-blow for her, but she got over it. Doughnuts and ice cream became her saviors in that rough time.

"You brought gifts?'' Arnav inquired, looking down at the plastic bags from Duane Reade.

"Haniya called me and told me to get you the basics considering your fridge would be empty.'' Dragging open the stainless-steel door, Anjali cocked her head to the side. "There's nothing in here! Were you planning to starve to death?"

"No, I knew my big sister would come to my rescue.'' Arnav walked inside the small kitchen space and grabbed his coffee mug off the counter. "Will you be staying for lunch?''

Anjali contemplated for a second, and eventually accepted the invitation. "But, do it quickly, my supervisor hates it when I take a long lunch."

Yes, lunch was an incentive, but there was more she needed to do. She wanted to help him settle in even though it had only been a week since he shifted here. Knowing her brother as well she did, he would never unpack unless someone nagged at him.

"Italian?'' Arnav asked lifting the phone from the receiver. "Better yet, let's go with Chinese. I need some uplifting fortunes.''

"While you order food, I am going to start unpacking these boxes. ''

It was as if a click went off in his mind, and he grinned turning around cautiously. "You didn't come here to yell at me, you wanted to see if I was settled in!''

The muscles around Anjali's mouth began to twitch. "Fine. You caught me. Is it so bad that I want to help you clean up this place? ''

"Now who is interfering?'' Arnav taunted jovially, taking a seat on one of the counter stools. "You know what--be my guest.''

Anjali marched over and stripped off his baseball hat, hitting him on the head with it. "Shut-up and order the food! I am hungry and I have to get back to work soon.''

Arnav hid his grin this time as he punched in the numbers for the nearest take-out place. Once he was done placing the order, he watched his sister do manual labor while he sat there telling her where everything went. He would have offered to help, but she was only going to refuse him, so he didn't ask unless it was something really heavy.

Later, when they sat down on the carpet for lunch, with the piping hot cardboard boxes propped open before them, Anjali turned to ask. "Did you talk to dad? ''

"I tried calling him, but he wouldn't pick up. I already paid the bills, and made sure everything is set for this month at least. Anjali, he's never going to come around. He doesn't even acknowledge my presence."

"He's still our father."

"That should be enough, but it's not. I mean I still love him and care for him. But his cold attitude makes me think, he is better off without me." Arnav murmured biting into his sweet and sour chicken. "He stopped being my father when mom left us. I don't even remember her now."

Anjali swirled her chopsticks inside white box, and frowned. "What's that noise?" She heard loud beats of Drake's song pumping loudly outside the apartment.

Arnav tried to listen to the noise and shook his head. "It must be the librarian."

"Librarians listen to rap? I though their style was more country."

"Twenty year old librarians surely do." Smilingly, he remembered the dream catcher earrings that danced wildly with her facial expressions. "She is a fire-cracker."

Anjali noticed the grin on her brother's face. "It seems you know her personally?"

"We had a short but lovely meet and greet today after she became a target of one of my moods."

"Which mood would that be?"

"The frustrated one! I threw a water balloon at her." Arnav answered to satisfy Anjali's curiosity. "She wasn't pleased."

"But, you are?"

"She's interesting. "

Recognizing the glazed look in Arnav's eyes, Anjali smiled. "You like her?"

"No, I said, she is interesting. How does that translate to me liking her?"

"It's all the same little brother." Anjali teased diving into her food.

----------------------------------------------------

"Yes, ma, I got it. Now I am going to hang up, because I don't care if Sunny from two streets over or Sunny Deol himself gets married. I am not ready to settle down yet." Khushi argued with her mother, the phone sandwiched between her shoulder and left cheek. Her hands were busy holding the spatula that was now turning over her omelet. "Seriously ma, I haven't even had breakfast yet. Can we talk about this later? I need some energy in my system, before I deal with you. Plus I have to get to work today, I skipped yesterday. You know we are starting the construction soon."

"What do you mean deal with me? You are speaking to your mother, not some random stranger off the street." Her mother screamed, her screeching voice echoing through the phone speaker. Of all the words she could have heard, she chose to focus on a little slip up by her daughter. "Well, I am thinking to speak to Mrs Sharma about you."

"Just stop trying to set me up with random guys. I can find one on my own. Thank you very much. " Khushi groaned loudly. "Ma I am going to hang up now. I love you. Say hi to baba and Payal for me. Take care of yourself. Bye!" Shuddering, she threw the phone on the chair, and went back to her half-burned omelet. Looking at the clock, she realized there was no time to make another one; she would have to make do with this. If she went in late today, Neha would have her head on a silver platter.

Picking up a fork, she stabbed into the omelet, not once but repeatedly and eventually threw it away. Her mother's cribbing words, biting the back of her mind. The only question anyone ever asked her now was; when are you are getting married? Was she carrying around some kind of sign that said she wanted to get married? It was all because of Payal and her decision to get engaged.

Throwing the frying pan in the sink, she stood up and left for her room.

Scrambling through her closet, she pick out an emerald green cotton dress and immediately tugged it on. Taking a hair clip, she wound up her hair and bundled it. Some perfume and she was ready to go. Her cell phone vibrated at her bedside. Right on time, Khushi thought, turning on the speakerphone.

"Where are you? If you don't come down in five minutes, I am leaving without you." Lavanya blasted over the phone.

"You wouldn't!" Khushi challenged, slipping into her flats, with her jean jacket and purse in hand. "If you wish to know the juicy details of my date, you will wait."

"Fine, but hurry. I have an audit to get to."

Locking her front door Khushi turned around stopping just for a second, because she felt as if she forgot something. Right then, the door opposite to her opened.

Khushi gasped, when she saw the same man from yesterday yawing and rubbing his eyes. Thankfully he was dressed in sweatpants and a t-shirt, you never knew with men like him they could show up half-naked. "You live here? Right next to me?" She shrieked.

"Good morning Professor." Arnav greeted with a mocking tone, bending down to retrieve his newspaper. "You look quiet fresh today. This color suits you."

"Why am I being punished like this? Why?" Khushi whispered to herself.

Despite her intention to keep her voice low, Arnav heard her. He chuckled and leaned against the door. " Don't worry there is a 0% chance of it raining water balloons today. You won't need an umbrella."

What was it with this day? Everything was turning out to be wrong. First her mother's constant nagging, now this shock-- she wondered what was in store for her next. But, certainly, this was not the time to get into an argument; she had an investor from the bank coming into the book store today. "You know what...I don't have time for your nonsense. I will leave first."

She didn't just leave, she ran down the stairs mortified, instead of waiting for the elevator.

----------------------------------------------------

Closing the door with a grin plastered on his lips, Arnav strode towards the kitchen. He threw the bundle of newspaper on the counter and began to set-up the coffee timer.

It was barely 8 am.

Turning back he went through his reminders for today on his Iphone. He had meeting with the art gallery for some new pieces he had completed and he needed to call into work for the new project he'd been assigned. Along with being a painter, he was also a part-time carpenter. While his artwork did sell well, sometimes he didn't pick up the paint brush for months. In those months his other work came as a distraction and the projects he took on were small requiring a few months work.

The timer went off on the coffee machine, and simultaneously his cell phone vibrated.

With his attention divided between two tasks, he cradled the cellphone in between his shoulder and right ear, while pouring the coffee with his other hand. "Hey Anjali! Before you ask, I am not coming to pick you up from work. I have million little things to do starting with visiting the art gallery. I will just meet you and Haniya for dinner.''

Breathless, Anjali spoke. "Arnav dad fainted. I went to visit him in the morning before work and he was lying unconscious on the floor. I took him to the ER at Kings County Hospital. They had to pump his stomach due to an overdose of alcohol. Please come visit him. "

''I am sorry, I can't." He hung up before his sister had the chance to say anything else.