Hi! This is a completely unedited one-shot that I've had languishing in my google drive for months, so I figured I might as well post it here. I was always hoping we'd get to see more of Anuj establishing a friendship with each of Anu's kids but I guess this is probably as close as we're going to get lol. I would love to hear anybody's thoughts/feedback! And of course, please pardon any mistakes or out-of-character moments -- I don't write consistently anymore so I'm always a little rusty. Thanks!
(this takes place about a week after the Bhumi Puja episode btw)
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“Anuj?”
Together, the group of well-dressed adults turns and Pakhi realizes that she might have made a mistake. Now that they’re facing her, Pakhi can see that one of them really is Anuj Kapadia, her mother’s friend and business partner, but another is....Pakhi’s Principal Ma’m. Also, every administrator that Pakhi has ever seen at school functions and a few others whose pictures Pakhi thinks she might have seen in the newspaper Baapuji still insists on reading every morning.
Oops. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean --” Pakhi tries to backtrack, hoping that it might be enough to avoid after-school punishment. As if things in her life haven’t been bad enough recently. If the look on Principal Ma’m’s face is evidence enough, however, she’s got quite a bit of “voluntarily” wiping down whiteboards in her future. How on earth is she going to explain any of this to her family?
“Ms. Shah, is this how this school has taught you to speak to elders? Particularly school trustees?”
Pakhi blinks. In all the recent ruckus, she’d… forgotten about that. Vaguely, she wonders why she hasn’t seen Anuj at her school before -- maybe he was sending someone in his place all these years he was in America? But then, how did he even become a trustee in the first place if he was so far away? And why?
“No Ma’m, not at all,” she says quickly, taking a few steps back to put some distance between herself and every adult in charge of her education. “I’m really sorry again, I didn’t mean to disrespect Anu--” Principal Ma’m’s glare intensifies, which Pakhi didn’t think was possible. “--I mean Mr. Kapadia! Ji! Sahab! Mr. Kapadia-ji-sahab. School trustee! CEO! Very respected, by everyone, I know. Example for everyone in Ahmedabad! He’s even met Obama!”
Pakhi tries very hard to not think about how Mr. Kapadia-ji-sahab and her Papa had, just last week, had to be separated at a public event where they had nearly come to blows. She tries even harder not to think about how earlier that day Anuj had asked if he could be her friend.
“I’m going to go now,” she finishes, turning around on her heels and hoping against hope that news of this misadventure won’t make its way back home. Things have already been so tense; Papa, Baa, and Toshu Bhai when he visits all on one side and Winter, Mummy, Bhabhi, and Baapuji on another. Pakhi can hear Kavya arguing with Papa sometimes, trying to convince him to “see the broader picture,” but even Pakhi knows by now that Papa in these types of moods can’t be convinced.
It’s times like this that Pakhi finds it most difficult to love her Papa. It’s not as easy as doing what Mummy says, and separating the terrible husband from the good father. Pakhi might not be the best daughter, but she loves her mother and to see Mummy insulted so horribly, so publicly, on what should have been the best and proudest day of her life is a pill so large and lumpy Pakhi doesn’t think she’ll ever be able to swallow. Her parents had divorced but still lived together as Pakhi’s parents -- before, Pakhi had thought she was lucky. Even last week she had told Anuj just that, begging him to not do anything that would split her parents apart. But now, she wonders if maybe she was wrong.
She sighs, kicking a clump of dirt a little as she trudges along, letting her mind wander this now well-worn mental path. For this to happen today, of all days too, when she was supposed to be spending her lunch break preparing for a test she’s now probably going to fail! Behind her, she hears Principal Ma’m begin to apologize, sorries nearly skipping off the tongue as she tries to convince Anuj that Miss Shah is normally such a polite girl, that she doesn’t know what got into her today, that --
“Pakhi wait!” Pakhi waits, turning back to face the group of adults. Anuj has broken away from the rest and is making his way down to Pakhi, smile wide on his face. So maybe he won’t complain to Mummy after all? Pakhi smiles faintly in response. Split away from the rest of the group it's easy to see how Anuj stands out; where all the other adults are decked out in what looks like their best, Anuj looks almost casual in just slacks and a shirt with his jacket folded casually over an arm. Pakhi almost snorts at the realization that she’s seen Anuj looking more formal when he visited their home to offer Mummy the business partnership -- there he was wearing not only a vest and jacket but a tie too.
“I really am sorry,” she says quietly when he’s gotten close enough to hear. “I didn’t mean to embarrass you in front of the other adults, I was just surprised to see you here!”
Anuj’s smile softens, and Pakhi feels her anxiety begin to properly recede in response. “Nothing to apologize for, sweetheart! Friends should call each other by name, and that’s what we are.” He pauses, and to Pakhi’s surprise, it’s Anuj now who looks a little uncertain. “Aren’t we?” Pakhi feels her forehead wrinkle a little: does friendship with someone like her really mean that much to Mr. Anuj Kapadia-ji-sahab?
Still, she nods. “Of course we are! Except --” Pakhi bites her lip.
“Except?” Anuj’s lips, which had begun to turn up at her reassurance, turn right back down again.
“Exceeeppppt,” Pakhi drags out, “you have to be the one to tell Principal Ma’m. She won’t believe me if I try! And you have to explain to Mummy why I’m stuck cleaning the whiteboards after school.” She rolls her eyes. “I don’t even know what everyone at home will say when it gets back to them that I’m being punished for disrespecting school trustee Anuj Kapadia...”
Well, Papa will probably be pleased, but that’s the opposite of what Pakhi wants. She might not be able to stand up to Papa like Samar does, but she can at least make sure Papa knows she disagrees with what he did.
Pakhi doesn’t even realize that Anuj was stiff until he relaxes again, the line of his shoulders softening as he begins to laugh. His jacket slips off his arm when he throws his head back, the sound of his laughter attracting strange looks from the people around them, so Pakhi has to be quick to grab it before it lands on the ground. The tag shows as she drapes it over her own arm, and Pakhi realizes that this Prada jacket probably costs more than her entire wardrobe ever will. She passes it back, worried that her grimy fingers might damage the fabric if she touches it too long.
“Oh good!” he exclaims finally, “I thought maybe after everything.....” Pakhi looks away with a grimace, and hears Anuj hum in what feels like understanding. “The less said about that the better, I agree. Are you on your lunch break, or do you have to get back to class?”
“Lunch break,” Pakhi replies, following dutifully as he starts walking back to the group of adults and trying not to be aware of how the minutes she’d set aside to cram are slowly dwindling. “Have you had yours yet?”
“We’ll probably get something from the canteen after the tour--” he breaks off at Pakhi’s grimace. “Not good?”
“Could be better,” Pakhi tries. “They’ll probably get something else for you?” She finds it hard to believe that Principal Ma’m would serve Anuj Kapadia-ji-sahab the same limp pasta noodles and watery sauce everyone else is stuck with on Italian day.
Anuj sighs. “Whatever it is, it won’t be as good as your mom’s. What did she send you?”
“Aloo Paratha! Didn’t she give you any?” It always makes Baa frown, but Mummy has been diligently packing two extra lunches to take with her since she got back from her trip to Mumbai. Pakhi had thought at least one of the lunches had been for Anuj, but maybe--
“I didn’t go into the office today! Actually, that reminds me I should check in to see how Anupama’s meetings went, there were a few I had to leave her to handle by herself while I was stuck here.” His face falls, and Pakhi has to fight to smother a laugh at his disappointment. “Did I really miss aloo paratha day?”
“Better that than burger day,” Pakhi offers as consolation. Anuj’s face only falls further.
“I missed that last week when I was in Calcutta.”
Pakhi snorts, slipping off her backpack. She remembers hearing Mummy mention recently that aloo parathas were Anuj’s favorite, anyway. “Here,” she says, passing him her bag as she pulls out her lunchbox. Mummy packed her two parathas, but she can definitely make do with one until after school -- and her friends might have some snacks to pass around if she’s really that hungry later on. She rolls the paratha into a baton and shoves it into the hand not holding her things, swinging her half-open backpack over her shoulder once more. Anuj’s hand clenches around his bounty unconsciously. “Your lunch, friend!”
“Miss Shah?” Oh, it looks like Pakhi and Anuj have reached within earshot of the other adults, who are all now looking at them like aliens beamed down from another planet. “Mr. Kapadia,” Principal Ma’m stammers, “I really don’t know what to--”
“Anupama Joshi and I are business partners,” Anuj cuts her off, voice firm but kind. His gaze slips down to the paratha roll in his right hand, softening even further. “And it is my good fortune to be able to count the very kind Miss Shah as my friend.”
He really is very nice, Pakhi thinks to herself with some satisfaction, a good friend for someone as nice as Mummy, even if they won’t call each other that in public yet. And Pakhi too now, she supposes.
“Oh.” Pakhi doesn’t know if she’s ever seen Principal Ma’m at such a loss for words. “I....see?”
Pakhi, knowing her role in this interaction, smiles and nods from her place at his side. Then, seeing his jacket slipping off his arm again, she sighs, grabbing it to fold over her own. The rest of the men here might be wearing proper suits while walking around in this heat, but if Anuj doesn’t want to then Pakhi doesn’t see why he should. “You finish your paratha first,” she offers when Anuj tries to take back the jacket with the hand holding his food. “I can hold it.”
“Mr. Kapadia,” Principal Ma’m gasps, eyes now locked on the food Anuj is clutching like a sword, “if you were hungry you should have mentioned so! We have a catered lunch available in the staff room, we can break now for lunch and then continue with the tour when you have finished!”
Anuj shrugs. “It’s no matter, Ma’m. I know Anupama used to teach here so I’m sure you all know better than I how excellent she is in the kitchen. Eating her cooking doesn’t really require that someone be hungry in advance.”
Principal Ma’m nods, still looking a little stunned. “Of...of course.”
“In fact,” Anuj continues, gaze cutting to Pakhi for just a moment before sliding back to the others, “if Miss Shah isn’t too busy would it be possible for her to lead me on the rest of today’s tour? I always try to talk to some of the students on my visits, and I’m sure after spending so many years here she knows the lay of the land as well as many of you!”
Pakhi’s eyes widen, almost as much as everyone else’s. If Principal Ma’m agrees then--please say yes, please say yes, please say yes--
“Of..of course Mr. Kapadia! Whatever you think is best! I will excuse Ms. Shah from the rest of her classes, and she can make up any work she misses at her leisure.”
It takes everything in Pakhi to suppress a whoop. Anuj can’t possibly know what he’s done for her, but if this extra time is what gets her to pass the upcoming test then Pakhi will learn how to make aloo paratha herself to send him whenever he wants. This time, when she turns away, she feels light as air.
“Now,” Anuj says under his breath as they walk, “did I manage to buy you some more time to study for that Math test of yours, or are we celebrating its completion?”
Pakhi stares. “Does Mummy tell you everything?”
“She worries about you is all,” Anuj laughs, “and she talks when she worries! She told me yesterday that she doesn’t think you’ve prepared enough, apparently.”
“Because I haven’t,” Pakhi admits ruefully. “It’s hard to find time to study when the house feels like a battlefield.” She pastes on a smile before Anuj can respond. “But you bought me almost a full day’s more worth of time, so thank you! Is there any particular part of the school that you want to see?”
Anuj snorts. “I’m good. If there’s anything you or your friends want to be changed then let me know and I’ll pass it on.”
Pakhi’s eyes brighten. “Anything?”
“Is the canteen food actually bad, or just not as good as Anupama’s cooking? Keep in mind that when I was your age my canteen once gave me a bun for pav bhaji with an entire left corner covered in mold.”
“You sound like an old man,” Pakhi rolls her eyes, and carelessly lets her mouth run. “My Papa says the same thing.”
She turns, catching herself only after the sentence leaves her mouth -- “Sorry, sorry, I didn’t mean--” Pakhi drifts off, not sure how to finish. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she resents Papa for being so embarrassing to love nowadays.
Anuj narrows his eyes. “You know,” he says after a moment, “it’s times like this that you really do seem like your mother’s daughter.” He stifles what even Pakhi can tell is a wicked grin. “I’m not going to melt if you mention Vanraj’s name.”
Pakhi pursues her lips, partially defensive on her Papa’s behalf but equally in part to keep her from laughing: Anuj raises his hand in surrender. “I know, I know, you love your dad. It’s a good thing, I guess.”
She hums, not sure what else to say. Her love and anger are constantly writhing in the pit of her stomach, and every time she thinks that one has won out over the other Papa will do something that tips the scales in the other direction.
Beside her, Anuj sighs, slowing his pace as he seems to grow more thoughtful. “I’m sorry, Pakhi, I didn’t mean to be glib.” Pakhi nods around the lump in her throat that seems to have become her best friend since the family caught Kavya and Papa at the hotel. “From what I’ve heard, your father loves you and your siblings very much,” Anuj offers, “and that’s no small thing.”
“Mummy always says I shouldn’t let Papa being a bad husband change how I feel about him as a father.”
Now it’s Anuj’s turn to hum. “Your Mummy.....” he doesn’t finish the sentence, and minutes pass by as they exit the school and enter the parking lot. Even from this distance, Anuj’s red car stands out.
“I’m sorry, by the way.”
Pakhi can’t think of anything he’s done to be apologizing -- she’s the one who’s been overstepping all this time. When she looks at Anuj he’s staring straight ahead, jaw slightly clenched. “For what?”
“I wish you hadn’t had to see your father and me fighting like that. I don’t know if I’m sorry to have done it, but I’m sorry you saw it.”
Pakhi’s eyes widen, and despite herself she feels her eyes filling with tears that she quickly tries to blink away. Adults in her experience almost never apologize -- Papa least of all. “You don’t have to apologize,” she says finally. “I felt so silly afterwards, when I thought about how I had just told you that Papa was a good man just for him to....”
“He’s insecure,” Anuj offers with a shrug. “Most men like him would be, though of course he has no reason or right to be insecure in the first place.” He sighs. “I shouldn’t have lost control of my temper like that. I hate to think that I made things worse for your mom back--.”
“--No,” Pakhi interrupts, “you didn’t.” She thinks back to all the other times Papa has yelled at Mummy, looming over her and saying such horrible vile things that it keeps Pakhi up at night. Winter and Baapuji have always tried to stand up for Mummy, but what Anuj did was different. Mummy herself, afterwards, was different. Whatever it was, Pakhi thinks, it was good. She knows that much. “You didn’t,” she repeats.
She feels Anuj’s gaze shift towards her, but can’t bring herself to look back. “You were the one who said earlier that your house felt like a battlefield.”
“My parents are divorced,” Pakhi replies, eyes firmly locked on the pavement. “It’s not the first time.”
They reach the car, but instead of unlocking the door Anuj leans against the front and takes a bite so large from his paratha roll that he seems to have finished a quarter in one go. A whole minute goes by as he chews, but the silence isn’t really awkward. Just a little heavy.
“Are you happy?”
Pakhi swallows. That’s the big question, isn’t it? She could pretend to be stupid, but she knows why he’s asking. “Would I be happier if I couldn’t see Mummy every day?” Out of the corner of her eye, she sees Anuj take another giant bite.
“I love them both,” she says quietly, more to herself than her companion. “I want them both.” She takes a breath. “But I don’t think that’s possible anymore.” It’s the first time she’s admitted as much out loud.
They both let the silence last, the wind rustle through the hair as Anuj finishes his food and Pakhi mulls over the reality of her breaking family. Thankfully her Nani only lives three streets away, and the dance studio isn’t so far either.
“Life is hard,” Anuj says finally, wiping away the grease on his finges with his pocket square. It’s not much of an answer, but Pakhi feels a little less stupid for knowing that the great Anuj Kapadia can’t figure out a solution either.
“Harder than Geometry,” Pakhi replies, gathering herself up and deciding that she’s done with this subject. Time to move on to the next depressing topic affecting her life. “But only a little.”
Anuj’s head snaps so quickly to Pakhi that even her young neck twinges a little in sympathy. But he does seem diverted, so mission accomplished. “Is that what you’re so worked up about? Geometry?”
“It’s hard,” Pakhi retorts, flushing a little in her own defensiveness. Toshu Bhai apparently wasn’t very good at it either, and the less said about Winter’s academics, the better. Papa has been too busy sulking, and she can’t ask Baapuji or Baa or Mummy for homework help. Her friends can’t come over when things are so tense at home, but the adults won’t give Pakhi permission to stay too long at her friends’ either. What was she supposed to do?
“It’s fun,” Anuj insists, a light enteing his eyes, like he’s been inspired by something. “Here here,” he straightens up and unlocks his car, opening the side door for Pakhi before scurrying to the drivers seat. “Let me buy you lunch in exchange for your second paratha,” he says, “and I’ll throw in a tutoring session too! Guaranteed passing mark tomorrow and a meal of your choice, all for just two of your Mummy’s parathas....”
Now, Pakhi might not have an MBA like Papa and Toshu Bhai, but she’s her Baa’s grandaughter: she knows how to bargain. “Mr. Anuj Kapadia-ji-sahib,” she begins, ignoring Anuj’s groan, “my Mummy is an excellent cook.”
“I know,” Anuj retorts, “you’ll notice that I’m funding her restaurant.”
Pakhi ignores this as well, though in her head she acknowledges that it is an excellent point. “One could argue, in fact, that my Mummy’s parathas are a better meal than anything served in any restaurant in Ahmedabad.”
“If only she could hear you now....”
Pakhi raises an eyebrow, trying to put on her best Kavya impression. “Do you want the paratha? Or would you rather go telling tales to Mummy?”
Anuj raises an eyebrow in turn and Pakhi winces. Maybe that was a little much...
Just as she’s about to apologize, though, Anuj surprises Pakhi again by smiling, a little glint in his eye.
“What are your terms, Miss Shah?” He leans forward, and suddenly Pakhi feels just a bit like the thousands of others who have tried to crack a deal with buisnessman Anuj Kapadia.
Hmm. Pakhi didn’t really think this far ahead. Still: “Ice cream?”
Anuj laughs, full-heartedly like he did before when Pakhi confirmed that they were friends. It makes her smile in turn. He turns on the car. “I know a really good place to get milkshakes, will that do?”
Pakhi fishes out her lunch box. She thinks she’s going to like being friends with Anuj.
“Deal!”
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thank you for reading! please let me know what you think in the comments :)
Ishaani
Cricket
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