Chapter 14
That Friday, at the posh Barclay hotel in the center of the city where Azores was prepping for an event, Ishita sat in the idyllic garden behind the property reserved for hotel guests. There was a small pond with lily pads hovering on top and benches strewn across haphazardly on the grass. As Mihika was handling most of the particulars for this relatively small event, Ishita had only meant to stop by to show her face to the client. But after incessant badgering by her Amma and polite but insistent follow ups from Subbu, Ishita had finally given this as the date for his 'on location' visit. Anyway, the sooner things were clear between them the better.
Subbu had arrived during his lunch break a short while ago and she walked around introducing him--as a family friend--to some of the folks she worked with regularly. Ishita pretended not to see the sly winks and nudges of her friends who like everyone else seemed impressed with how Subbu held and conducted himself. Ishita had to concede that he was definitely very polite. At least on the surface. He seemed to want to understand her day-to-day work and why she enjoyed it so much, clearly trying to be more acceptable about her passion. It was commendable but the fact that he was likely doing it grudgingly didn't reflect well. There was also the matter of his mother. Even if he came around to the idea, Ishita knew his mother wouldn't let him be okay with it. At any rate, all this was pointless. She had no intention of letting his expectations or efforts get past today.
After the tour they had settled into this quiet spot to talk. Ishita was nervous. Conveying bad news came easy to her in the context of work but with the added complexity of their family connection, she felt anxious.
"Ishita, thanks for showing me around. It's quite interesting what you do."
They were seated far apart on a bench facing the pond, Subbu betraying a nervousness that didn't suit him and Ishita trying to pretend she didn't notice.
When she only smiled in acknowledgement at the polite words he continued, "Actually the real reason I wanted to meet up was for us to get a chance to talk alone. As you know Amma and your mother are both very keen on...this. Our families know each other, we're from the same community, grew up with similar values. And I know we don't know each other very well but we...I think we would make sense. And with time we'd get to know each other right?"
Ishita gathered her thoughts for a moment before speaking. It was true she didn't like Subbu much, but even if she did the phrase 'we would make sense' would have still depressed her. Despite not being the most romantic person in the world, even she was looking for something more than 'sense' as a reason to get married to someone.
"Subbu, thank you for being straightforward, I really do appreciate it. And you seem like a great guy. Any girl would be lucky to have you as a partner. But... it's not what I'm looking for. In fact, I don't know what I'm looking for yet. Please understand this is not a reflection of what I think of you. It's just that I'm not in a space personally for marriage."
Not accepting defeat, Subbu continued in his efforts to persuade her that they could take the time to get to know each other ahead of the marriage. Ishita listened patiently while thinking about the appropriate response. She was struggling to explain her aversion to his traditional outlook so instead resorted to work excuses; that her business was in a delicate stage and required all her attention at the moment.
"I'm sorry Subbu. I just don't think it's the right thing for me."
Subbu finally just nodded in acknowledgement, saddened. But then a new light showed in his eyes. "It's okay Ishita. I can understand that you want to focus on your business. And I'm glad you were able to be open with me. Why don't we do this though...lets be friends."
Ishita hesitated, wondering if this was wise or even necessary.
"I'm not that bad am I? We could at least try to be friends?"
She smiled apologetically. "Of course."
The situation was bound to be awkward but he had handled it as well as anyone could have and Ishita was mildly impressed. Her only goal was to avoid souring the relationship between the two families and so felt a huge sense of relief at a clean resolution. This relief happened to reflect as a sincere happiness on her face. When Subbu got up to leave she joked, "Wish we could hire someone to break the bad news to our Ammas." They both chuckled.
Across the lawn, a pair of dark frowning eyes observed this scene.
Raman had come to the Barclay Lounge for a lunch meeting with a Mumbai client. On the way out he ran into Mihika in the lobby who upon being questioned said that Ishita was somewhere in the garden. Setting off to track her down, he tried to formulate some sort of apology for Wednesday. Their chat ended so abruptly leaving behind a disquiet that had derailed the rest of his week. And he was looking forward to clearing the air.
After walking around searching for a few minutes he jerked to a stop a little ways from the pond. Ishita was sitting on a bench in front of the water with a tall well-built man. Together they looked picture-perfect against the picturesque background. The scene had materialized before him without any warning and Raman scowled instinctively. But it was the look of happiness on her face that had stalled his step. The openness in her smile and now her laugh brought forth a sudden shadow of despair over him.
They had gotten up now and the man was leaning forward as if for a hug. Raman turned away sharply, feeling like an intruder, but then continued to watch from his peripheral vision. At the last second Lambu seemed to have decided against the hug, sidestepping as they said their goodbyes. Finally he walked off in the other direction and Ishita sat down looking pleased. Raman watched her for a moment, a dark fog descending over his heart.
After a few moments like this he walked a few steps back in the direction of the hotel, deciding he had too much work anyway and couldn't be dilly-dallying around in a garden. Then seconds later he was headed back towards the pond and neared the bench just as she got up.
Ishita's face lit up seeing Raman here unexpectedly.
"Oh! Hi!"
"Hi"
"Yahaan kaise?"
"I had a client lunch at the restaurant." He glanced away towards the water, unable to look into her eyes. He could feel the happiness emanating from her and he didn't want to know any more about it considering what he'd seen earlier.
"Accha. How did you come across me?"
He looked back in annoyance. "Why, were you trying to hide? You are out in an open area."
Ishita's mood tamped down at his brusque tone. "No, I was just asking."
"I ran into Mihika, she told me you were out here."
"Oh." She sighed. Couldn't he have just said so instead of all that attitude.
Raman tried and failed to shrug off his uninvited bad mood. "She didn't tell me that you were out here with someone."
Ishita looked puzzled for a second before remembering Subbu. Raman must have seen them talking. "Oh yeah I was just saying goodbye to someone."
Raman waited for more information but none came. Instead she just looked back puzzled, trying to understand why he was behaving so oddly.
He coughed roughly. "Oh. Who was it?"
Though she couldn't figure out Raman's deal, Ishita felt self conscious about the whole thing and decided to stay away from the embarrassing details of who Subbu was. No need to get into all that now.
"Just a friend."
Irritation bubbled inside him at these words. Was she being deliberately opaque? In trying to tamp down the bad mood, he changed the subject.
"Is the order all set for the invitations?"
"Not yet, actually..." but she was cut off.
"What do you mean not yet? Isn't that why I hired you...to stay on top of this? Or am I just wasting my money."
Raman's heart plummeted the second the last word exited his mouth. The following moment of silence between them was filled with the noisy slapping of ducks bathing in the water. Ishita stared, hurt and anger reflecting in her confused eyes. Her fingers dropped the edge of the chunni she'd been playing with. She stepped up towards him, voice now edged.
"Actually...Mr. Bhalla...if you'd let me finish...the shopkeeper had a family emergency and had to go to his village for a few days."
Her return to formality pricked sharply.
"As soon as he's back, I'll be sure to submit the order. And rest assured that I know what I'm doing. Now if you don't mind, I have to go." And without a goodbye Ishita stormed off towards the hotel.
Raman stayed standing where he was. Emotional control was never his strong point but normally he knew what he was feeling. Anger, usually at the forefront, was buried now under agitation, indignation and gloom. All of it churning inside him mysteriously. But heaviest of all was disappointment, which mirrored what he had seen in her eyes. Disappointment in himself. A sharp pang of guilt rang through his heart. Thoroughly frustrated, he looked across the water to find a brown duck glaring at him judgmentally.
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Ishita drove home in a tiff. That Ravan Kumar! He had snapped at her for no reason whatsoever. And to question her work...that was the height of it! It was some talent he had. Managing to drive off a good mood in a matter of seconds.
Raman arrived back at the office shortly after, ignoring his staff's greetings and Mihir's smile on the way. Shutting himself in his cabin he sat down feeling miserable, and confused about feeling miserable. He had lashed out at her because of an unaccountable irritation. Worse was that he'd questioned her professionalism. He knew enough about Ishita to realize how much that would have stung. Whatever good impression he had managed to make recently must have dissolved in a few seconds. Rolling around a paperweight morosely, he tried to think.
Back in her apartment Ishita paced in the living room. She was angry at herself for getting angry. Why couldn't she be her normal self with him? It's not like she hadn't dealt with rudeness before, from vendors, from clients. Had it been anyone else, she would have taken the harsh words in stride and responded diplomatically. Instead she'd felt...hurt. And even let down in some way. While ruminating on her strange reaction, the phone rang. It was him. The call went to voicemail as she stared down at the screen, standing in the middle of the hall.
Raman Kumar Bhalla
1 missed call
He must be calling to curse out the shopkeeper now. The phone rang again. She let it.
Raman Kumar Bhalla
2 missed calls
Ishita tentatively reconsidered. Two calls? Okay maybe he had swallowed his enormous ego and was actually calling to apologize.
Raman kept calling on the other side. Of course she would be stubborn. But so was he.
Raman Kumar Bhalla
4 missed calls
Aiyoo...this man was annoying even in capitulation. She calmed down a bit, wondering if it was time to yield. He did seem to be regretting what happened. Maybe he had a bad meeting or was stressed about something at home. Should she answer...allow him to explain at least? But soon after the fifth missed call ended, a text came through instead.
Seriously?
Anger flared up again. He could have picked any other word in the world, even a gaali, and it wouldn't have infuriated her more. The sarcasm and entitlement that seemed to be inherent in this word set her off.
"Paithyam...you would think I was the one at fault here for not taking The Great Raman Kumar Bhalla's call. Raavan Kumar is the exact right name for him. Seriously? Seriously!"
Then, suddenly smiling, she fiddled on her phone for a second before the next call came through. "Yeh teek hai." Again the call went to voicemail.
Raavan Kumar Bhalla
6 missed calls
She giggled impishly. "Let him feel bad, I don't care." Then she put her phone down with finality to go make dinner. He had spoiled her mood enough for today.
Raman paced in his cabin; feeling newly energized. Even excited. This Madrassan was being difficult on purpose. He imagined her whispering insults under her breath at the phone; the image making him laugh. It was time to ratchet it up to the next level.
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