Gamble Gambit
Saturday morning at 10:07 AM Her phone beeped with the CitiBank text "Rs. 49,200 credited to Account."
The Bank was open until 2 PM but when she saw it, it was after. After she returned from the movies with the boys. Too late to follow up now
But not too late to wonder...😃
The only inflows into her Account was bonuses or stock sale proceeds from her DMAT Account
She grossed Rs. 2 lakhs a month netted Rs.1.2 lakhs
Hyundai loan Rs. 22,000
Toyota Corolla loan: Rs. 14,500
Periappa nurse salary Rs. 40,000 (including occasional cab fare)
Credit Card Bills :Rs. 10,000
Shravu Tennis Lessons Rs. 5,000
Student loan: Rs. 10,000
Petrol for car: Rs. 2,000-3,000
TOTAL Rs.104,500
On average she drove 60-75 kms a day from work to D II, though it was only 24 kms one way, she often had to stop pick up stuff Amma wanted her to, or go to the temple, or go to Akka's
Between raises bonuses and stock sale she usually had a good buffer in there of Rs. 2-4 lakhs at any point in time
But between wedding shopping and Paris and Hyundai down payment she was completely wiped out.
She sold some TTK Prestige and JK Lakshmi Cement shares two weeks ago but didn't think the DMAT Account would take this long...
She sold Essar Steel and one other... which one was it... before Paris and for the longest time her
DMAT Account said "Pending" on the "Credit to Citibank Account 4321 5678 XXX
Did that get credited eventually?
She was going to owe a boat load in taxes in 2016 for sure, stock gains were punitively taxed
She was not only a F in love, she was an F in Personal Finance. Amma would have a seizure if she knew what shape II's finances were. 😕She smiled at her phone screen
The best way to save on taxes was buy a house and pay interest on a home loan, but if its not self occupied that cant happen, if she "rents" it to Amma Appa then she can add it to her income and get a deduction for the interest
COMPLICATED!!😲
she checked her DMAT App it wouldn't load on the phone.. she let out a frustrated moan. She was slacking big time in managing her equity portfolio. It must be worth atleast Rs. 20 lakhs, if she didn't manage it well, she needed to get a "Fund Manager" ASAP
If there was any possibility she was going to apply for a home loan or make a real estate purchase in the next couple years, then she needed that money to GROW
And QUIT selling stock... arbitrarily
She reminded herself to check Monday...
She had stopped reading the HT Real Estate supplement for a while now, her favorite weekend hobby would be calling up property dealers checking on asking price of two bedroom flats in distant sectors of Rohini or Dwaraka . or Sector 110 in Gurgaon basically in no man's land... a builder/independent floor was available for Rs. 20-40 lakhs 2 BHK 1000 sq ft-ish
She couldn't afford to buy a flat walking distance from any Metro station
She was close to "broke"
She would LOVE to, so she can take the Metro from work and go see Amma Appa
But aint happening
Unnoticed he watched her restless pacing, she sat down to calculate and then got up and walked...
looked through the sheaf of strewn newspapers on the swing for the Real Estate section and then stopped when she saw it.
Leaning back on the rail looking out
"cant make up your mind?" he asked
She turned startled
"Excuse me?"
He shook his head and stood by her
"do u ever wonder how much this house cost when it was new?" she asked smiling beguilingly
"u could ask..." he said "then and now he'll tell you"
"Arey nahi... HT has a " weekly posh real estate price per sq ft box on the front page" she chuckled
He shrugged
"IN-SA-NE ROI" she chuckled, "Investing in property guarantees great returns" "Especially in a city like Delhi"
He looked at her side ways not sure where she was headed he feared she was going off to BUY A HOUSE NOW?
GOOD GRIEF!!! NO!
He rested his elbow on the rail and face on his palm and paid full attention
"Buying in rohini Dwarka or Gurgaon, Gurgaon seems to be penetrating well into Haryana"
she giggled... "Do u wonder how much farther Gurgaon will go"
"No I don't" he said really suspicious
"Tum aise cheezen kyon nahi sochte?" she asked teasingly
"Because I dont live and breathe to infuriate my spouse" he wanted to say
"main sochti hoon jab raat ko Metro band ho jaata hai to trains kidhar jaati hain, if everyone abandoned a town what would it look like"
"Weird hoon na?" she asked for confirmation
"More like a provocateur"
"KYON? Tumhe to aaj subah se kuch kaha bhi nahi" she was offended "I havent provoked you one bit, but you seem upset" she said deeply hurt
He didn't smile
"Tum gussa ho?" she asked nervously
"why would you think that?" he asked trying to understand HOW she was beginning to figure him out.
"Its like Ive done something wrong but in your quiet way u wont tell me" she said agitated
"What could it be?" he asked
"I shudnt have asked the kids to come over?" she asked
AND MAYBE YOU START PAYING FOR FOOD II he thought
"Umm... plus u know... last night" she blushed, waving her hands
"We had Lasya" he defended himself, lying in the process
"Oh?" Umm... ya sorry" "My bad" she shook her head sad,(expecting to be made love to)
"oh ya... I am sorry" it confirmed that he was upset though... HE RARELY began to "just sleep"
And then?" he asked
"Aaj subah se" "Jahan main hoon wahan tum nahi ho" she said and stopped
"U didn't like ur taco stuffing I ordered?" she made a bad joke
He wasn't amused
"Not amused?" she asked startled
"II" he wanted to wring her neck
"Mujhe ek ghar dhoondne mein madad karogey?" she asked earnestly
f**kING FANTASTIC!! so SHE WAS GOING DOWN THAT PATH!!!
the real estate section laying on top of the stack was a clue, and HE was beginning to GET her now
"Are u packed?" he asked patiently
They stared at each other for the longest time...
"will you come visit?"(If I move out) she asked goading him NEVER ever backing down
"Uve made up your mind then?"he bit out not being kind about the words
He was on the edge of sanity, here he was trying to skewer her for turning her Account red, and there she was planning another capital expenditure in the immediate or distant future?
"MERE LIYE nahi" she said shocked "MAIN chali jaaoon kya?" (shud I be leaving?")
She looked mystified and bewildered
"u wanted me to come visit didn't you?" he reminded her
"I was teasing" she said
"I NEED HELP looking BAS" she explained "Umm.. baaqi"
"Of course!"
Something told him she hadn't called the bank or checked WHO made the deposit.
He had no idea how much she made what she spent it on. He wanted to envelop her in his protective hold.
It was really getting impossible for him not to reveal what he did last nite/this morning. She was not making it easy
Her Appa Amma were unaware of most of her dealings, he doubted if Vandita even knew
"Do u gamble?" he asked with a straight face
She laughed throwing her head back revealing the soft long neck...
"KYON?' she asked
"You should... you love living on the edge" he mocked
"Main?""Nahi to" she said shocked, "I always look both ways before I cross, I always get a annual phyiscal.
I offered to go on the pill (inaudibly), never cut my hair short, always wear a bra. Dont have any tattoos... dont swing both ways,
brush my teeth at night, dont eat raw fish/sushi, dont pick up strangers at bars, (giggle)
"BUTTT... I know what u mean...being enrolled in B Com and CPA at the same time, getting that MS from Georgia Tech
despite having a decent job. Wanting to work in IT despite being an Accountant. she smacked her forehead "What was I thinking, nahi?"
"Drive home from work sometimes at 2 AM,...(conspiratorially) speeding occasionally... and maybe " she tapered off
"And possibly the biggest..returning" she said deeply and stopped... (money I owe to a certain stranger, and end up married to him)
She gulped, guilty, bending down, staring at the lawn first "Haan Kabhi kabhi... kuch cheezon mein jua zaroor khelti hoon shaayad main" she said doleful
ROULETTE IS STILL SPINNING... I HAVE WAGERED EVERYTHING I'VE EVER OWNED
IT BETTER NOT STOP, COZ IF IT STOPS I'LL KNOW IF I WON
AND I DONT WANT TO KNOW
They exchanged a long intense look...
He heard the kids in the lounge... "Chithi TURN on the sprinkler"... they held HUGE inflated water toys
she turned and smiled, "Iru da" "I mean wait, love" she admonished Nandu
"Chithappa PLEEEZ" shravu yelled
"Do u know how to?"
"Nahi" she said
"Lets go I can show u" he said
"Not in the front yard its too sunny, u can play in the back yard" she said "is Dad working?" she asked herself, running through 1st floor, finding the office empty and locked, tapped on the master bedroom door and no body answered
the boys were downstairs, she walked with him to a wall console in the backyard, he showed her how... he held her hand and practiced turning it off and on... she turned it on, the boys ran to the center, she SHUT IT
fighting his grip
"You constantly look for excitement dont you?" he asked cryptically
"Usme galat kya hai? she asked turning back
He pinned her on the wall and extracted a long passionate kiss
Shravu:GA-ROSEEE GA ROSEEE Uncle R YOU KISSED A GIRL!!! U KISSED A GIRL (he clamped a hand on his mouth and and jumped up soaking himself)
they stood at the edge of the patio looking at the boys, she eye signaled Shravu to pull R&B in... she whispered something in nandu's ears
"BOYS" "Kuch to plan kar rahe hongey nahi?" she said smugly😈
He turned to her and chuckled sardonically. Shravu and Nandu filled out lil plastic beach buckets,
and sprayed the water at each other, chasing...
Edited by Nisha0604 - 9 years ago
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