Nose rings & umbrellas
Saturday 7 ish
He scored a pot white, Tanmay's cue ball was potted...they played a game of billiards
Tanmay cursed... the men were in the large rec room of the house Tanmay Batra owned a bunch of BPOs in Gurgaon,
went to NWestern and was extremely aggressive and ambitious... they had a 10 year old Nandan... Samyukta was pregnant for the second time...
He stood by Samyukta through Ranjan's scandal he was empathetic to Bhallas in general
He considered R&B as a brother he never had, they got along great though Tanmay was around 5 years older, him and Sam the same age...
R&B dressed in blue jeans and a fine shirt, full sleeves, folded one third... in watered down blue with almost finger thick stripes
in dark blue, extremely attractive... clean shaven... and combed for a change
Sam had stood guard outside the bathroom until he came out CLEAN
"Do u like the weather" Tanmay began gently
"Meh" R&B shrugged
Tanmay knew he spoke VERY LITTLE, spoke a lot with close friends, lucky for him he was close
He opened up slowly and didnt trust anyone... not because of some dark deep seated insecurity but in general he was just extremely close to his Mom
Savita's passing affected him the most
The girls were always close to Ranjan, maybe easier to forgive?
He didnt know
"Back at work?" Tanmay continued
"i am working on the go" R&B responded cleverly
Tanmay smiled
"I understand"
"So what did u think about the coconut fiber thing?
R&B looked bored...
"Data automation?"
"Looks interesting... u know in storage u had to buy lots of drives and short stroke them? its like a tiering software technology with intelligence"
Tanmay watched as R&B described... deep in thought.. totally knowledgable..."you mix loads the software doesnt get overwhelmed" "Pretty interesting"
"I sent the proposal to the French Dude" well see
He rubbed the cue end vigorously... Tanmay's eyes scanned his face... he wondered what he thought about his Dad and his life
"Thought about reopening Gurgaon"
"NO WAY" R&B said grinning... I am going back after the AGM at that place... he slanted his head to refer to Excelsior
"U are still saving ur Dad u know" Tanmay teased
"I am here because Sam and Manny wrung my neck, your wife is a pain in the ass Tan" R&B fumed...
"I know... LOVE HER" tanmay laughed
Help brought drinks
It was small intimate event of less than 75 people...
It was Manny's idea she spoke with Tanmay and had it arranged, the driver had gone to get her from the airport...
"Did u invest a lot in renewable energy sources recebntly?" Tanmay asked
"Oh ya a company thats building a two piston cylinder, kinda doubles the fuel efficiency" "Forget the name"
Tanmay knew he was sharp as a tack, intelligent and MOODY
"What about women?" Tanmay asked grinning
R&B spit the drink out a bit laughed out loud... his dimples clear and clean like deep canyons... perfect set of teeth
"None"
"Is Sam not setting you up?"
"Are u hoping to get back together with Marliese?"
"I miss the sex" R&B said...
"I DO TOO" Tanmay said
The men laughed offering support to each other...
"There is this young IIM grad I hired to manage the Fidelity Capital Account... do u want to meet her?
"IIM?" he asked...
He recalled reading up the profile of a Ms Ishita Iyer... when the whole "package" was officially sent from KMPG
"Know of someone?" Tanmay asked
R&B sipped... as Mihir walked in, hugged the two men... and reached for a cue
Tanmay stopped him bodily
They joked
"OK back to IIM what about IIM?" Tanmay asked
"They are buying some transaction processing automation deal" not saying "dad" not saying Dad's company or anything
"Dad?" Tanmay asked confused
R&B just looked blankly... he wouldnt nod
Tanmay quickly changed expression "Go on"
"Tall and spunky with a nose ring" he said... let his thoughts wander to the scene by the Monet
~~
Sam walked in dressed almost like a bride in designer duds...
"Mihir did u notice?"
"Haan dekha na, u are wearing some never before worn Manish Malhotra" Mihir joked
She slapped him " Genius... R&B did u notice? HE SHAVED..."
"OMG! HOW DID I MISS THAT?" Mihir laughed heartily
R&b rolled his eyes and shook his head... "Tch tch" "some women dig the stubble"
"I HATE IT" Sam compalained
Tanmay "Chhod yaar usko zyaada chhedegi to Paris chala jaayega"
Ab ke shaadi karake bhejoongi"
R&B looked up at her it was his turn to play "Who did u have in mind?' he asked
"ARE U READY? SACH MEIN?" she waddled off with her huge belly to hug him
"WHO is it? Our neighbors Sachdevs..."
He looked bored...
They heard voices outside as people started arriving...
"Koi hai tere mann mein?"
"U watch too many movies"he sniggered...
"U are 30 kab karega shaadi?" Its MY job now, jab ke Mom" Sam stopped immediately mid sentence
Mihir and Tanmay looked akward
"HE HAS TO GET MARRIED" stern
"He has a French girlfriend Sam give it up" Tanmay warned
"uske saath break up ho gaya na"
"I asked him if he wanted to meet Akshata u know the Fidelity Capital new hire"
Sam looked surprised "Kitna pyaara naam hai" "Just for a name like that I will say yes... there is something about the way the name sounds... "shatha" u know...
R&B looked on inscrutably
Someone called out to Sam she left
"You think he could do it again?"R&B asked casually
"do u know if he did it the first time?" Tanmay asked quietly
R&B shrugged... walked over to the window
Mihir walked up to him the game was abandoned... for now...
"U need to move on dude" Mihir said
"Not while I am living here" "U know living IN THE HOUSE"
"Move out" Tanmay offered "Yahan aa ja yaar"
People walked into the rec room greeting, there was a huge tent set up outside... and food was catered... Sam's in laws were there too.
He sauntered out... there were floweres intertwined with lights everywhere, on the hedges on the archway design ... roses everywhere... Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata played softly in the audio system... it was a cool breezy night... Delhi's glitterati arrived in their Ferraris and BMWs...
Hands in his pockets he walked lazily... he saw guests arrive as he talked to his Thai partner on the phone... he didnt care for blue tooth, never used em...
THERE SHE WAS... was it her... yep it was... WALKING IN WITH HER PARENTS☺️... in a dark silk saree... with gold motifs all over...whatever she wore in her ears, bobbed.. like umbrellas... he knew she wore kohl in her eyes... from 15 feet away... her blouse a scrap of gold on that skinny slender body... ... confident... feisty... just as she appeared in the conference room...
He stopped for a second... the parents and daughter looked on curiously as if waiting to spot a familiar face...searching...
He waited and watched...and their eyes met for the 8th time...☺️
Edited by Nisha0604 - 9 years ago
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