Cafe Coffee Day
A lot can happen over coffee
Arnav Singh Raizada was stuck in traffic, much to his irritation.
He cursed his luck. His sister had been calling him from past hour and he was stuck in traffic. There had been road damage, blocking all the way throughout Navi Mumbai. He had come to that area to look at the flat he had been intending to purchase for himself. After finalizing the flat, he decided to go and pay a visit to his sister, as it had been considerably long, as he did not meet her. He had informed her that he would meet her at dinner. However, it was not his day.
He shook his head, honking the horns every now and then. His hands itched to call her back and cancel the dinner. He did try it but stopped as he heard the disappointed tone. He didn't want to deal with his crazy sister in his bad mood and so typed a message to his Jeeju, informing that he would take God knew how long, and activated the silent mood. He didn't want to attend any calls.
It had been a month since he reached India due to work. His office was relatively close to the area. And he liked being around the satellite township. He turned off the ignition and got down the car with annoyance. He walked up to the end of the road and saw men working there, and went to the uniformed cop over there, "How long it takes to clear the traffic?"
"Two more hours"
He sighed, locking his front locks, "is there any other way to reach the city?"
After getting a negative answer, he made his way toward the car and decided to walk around the area. He noticed a coffee day around the corner and went in, and took a seat at the corner from where he could see his car. He ordered a drink for himself and leaned onto the seat, relaxing his muscles. The area was clouded and he could see most of the people left the vehicles and having their evening coffee, deciding against on waiting in the vehicles.
He closed his eyes, letting the soft music sink in his system. He had been working hard and needed a break. At 30, he was content in his life. Loving parents back in LA, and a happily married sister who settled down in India, he was more than happy with the goings. He was planning to stay back for a year at the maximum. He wanted to enjoy life in India and there were things that needed his attention in the branch office here. Once he went back to LA, he would take up the business and would force his father to rest. The old guy had been working very hard from past 40 years.
"Excuse me,"
He heard a voice and opened his eyes to see a girl standing in front of him. She was not a waitress, he understood, as she had no uniform. And she had a bag hung loosely on her shoulder. A student...
"Can I have a seat please?" she asked, looking around the caf, showing him that it was the only table available. He nodded, sitting properly, and watched her as she placed the bag on the table, "thank you."
He thanked the waiter and sipped into his coffee, checking his mails, while the girl glued her eyes on the laptop screen. He thought his sister would pat her head if she saw the girl in front of him. Though he was a work alcoholic, he never did his work in caf like this.
"I can't finish it right now, NK" the girl spoke, frustrated, into the mobile, balancing it with her shoulder as she typed furiously, "tell him that I am stuck in traffic and will be able to send the mail only after reaching home."
He shook his head, wondering when he would reach home and have a long lecture from his sister. She would kill him telling that he wasn't giving time to her. He was used to it. The coffee didn't taste good enough for him, but he had no other option. He couldn't do much about it. He watched the vehicles that were blocked the road with their giant appearance.
"Then tell him that I will not send him the mail," he heard the girl shout now, "I don't care whether that Shyam is our senior, NK. When I said I can't mail it to him right now, then I can't. Why can't he understand a small thing?"
He smiled, looking at her. She was hell of a teenager, he could see clearly. The girl was irritated with the person with whom she was speaking, and he tried to hide his smile from him, but she caught him just in time, her frown deepening as she glared at him.
"You know how I hated him, right. I don't know how you will convince him, but help me in this, NK. I will make La go on a date with you."
Arnav could feel his eyes popping out wide as she bribed the man with her puppy face. She pointed her finger to him, asking him to mind his business. That made him smile even wider. He was enjoying her antics.
"Oh hi, Shyam" she spoke, her voice turned into honey, "I am really sorry. I am stuck in traffic, and I don't have net access with me." He raised his brow at her as he saw the photon connected to the laptop. A spoiled teenager, he thought while grinning at her, to which she just glared at him, "not a problem, Shyam. I will manage to reach home in a while. I will mail you as soon as I reach, okay."
He pulled the laptop, knowing that she couldn't shout at him while she was in the call, and looked at her work. He didn't know what he had expected, but not what he saw in it. He knew about the work displayed on it, and he understood the girl's profession. She was not a teenager. If he was right now, she would be around 20 or 21.
"What…" the girl raised her voice but controlled, "no need, Shyam. I don't want you to wait for me. I mean, I will give you a call as soon as I reach there. Listen, my battery is low. I will talk to you later, bye." He saw her pulling back the laptop as she hissed under her breath, "what the hell are you doing, mister?"
"You need to finalize the layers first," he said to her smiling and saw her shocking expression,"and it will be easy. You are not thorough with the software, are you?"
"It's none of your business," she warned him, making him chuckle, "I have no time to talk to you. I need to complete it or else I will be booked with that idiot the whole day. Arg…! I hate him."
"I can help you," he offered, "it's a win – win situation, miss. Let me help you in this. I will not be bored till the traffic clears, and you will not be stuck with him."
She considered the options before her for a while and nodded at last, pushing the laptop to him, "are you an architect?"
"You are smart," he agreed with her, listened to her groan at him.
"If I have an option, I would have never accepted your help."
He nodded at her, "I guessed it. By the way, where do you live?" the question escaped even before he acknowledged it, "I mean, it is 9 pm and you still here. So…" he tried to cover but failed. He knew that she understand his intensions and shook his head, "it's natural to have curiosity for a man to know about girls." He defended himself.
"But it is not natural for a man in India to ask it directly to a girl he met 10 minutes ago,"she hissed back, shocking him, "don't be too shock about it. Anyone can guess by your assent."
"Okay," he said, letting the comment pass as he focused on the task on hand, while she ordered drink for herself.
One hour passed by and he pushed the laptop to her side, "it's done," he said, looking outside to see vehicles still packed at the same position.
"Thank you so much for the help," she said while squeezing and he smirked at her.
"It's not a good idea, you know," he pointed out, "to roam on roads late at night."
She rolled her eyes, "you will not give up now, will you?" he shook his head, winking at her as she smiled, "I live here. 15 minutes walk from the caf."
"What the…! Why the hell you are here then?"
"Shyam stays two flats away from mine, and I hate him for his interest on me. With my parents being out in the city for the night, you can't expect me to go and have his company around, do you?"
"And sharing this information with a stranger isn't good idea. Don't you think so?" he asked her, standing from the seat, and signaled her to which she stood, picking up the laptop. He paid the bill and walked out of the caf with her. "Now, do you think it is a good idea of me walking with you to your flat?"
"Of course it is a bad idea," she said with a smile, "this way please."
He laughed and they stared walking. It would take him 30 minutes to come back and the traffic would not clear by the time. He liked the girl, and wanted to spend time with her. At the same time, he didn't want her to roam around the city late at night. "How is this area?"he asked, wanting to speak to her, "is it okay for me to shift my base here?"
She nodded, "though I pity those people who happened to stay where you stay."
"Ah… that hurts," Arnav whined and heard her giggle. "By the way, do you want to learn the software?"
"Are you flirting with me right now?" she demanded and he nodded, shocking her, and stepped back as she pointed her finger to him like an angry kitten, "don't think you are too smart, mister. I hate people like you."
"Thank you," Arnav beamed at her.
She walked ahead and he followed her, without irritating her much. He stopped as she reached the apartments and smiled. It was the same apartments where he bought his new flat. He ran to her in three strides and smirked at her, "you will be the first person to have pity on yourself, miss."
She rolled her eyes, "whatever. Thanks for helping me with the work, and thanks for walking with me. Now, good bye..."
He nodded, "thanks for letting me know where you live, and yeah, good bye."
"By the way," she said, turning back to him and extended her hand, "I am Khushi."
He was about to hold her hand when she took it back and he smiled, "I am Arnav."
He watched her walk up to the gate and turned around only to be called by her, "we hadn't introduced ourselves in a friendly way and with you being shifted to here, so I have a proposition for you. It's a win – win situation."
He looked at her and smiled, "and may I know what it is?"
"I will help you adjusting yourself in this area, and you teach me the software. What say…? It will help you know your surroundings, and me getting rid of my fan."
He thought about it for a while before saying, "Meet me in the cafe, at same table. 6 pm tomorrow?"
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So, how is it...? Crap, isn't it...
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