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"How come you forget me when you go out of town?" Jayadev asked in his young boy voice.
"I dont forget you. I have been busy" she said primly
"I came everyday to see Aanu" he said sadly
"Shooo shweet" she cooed
"And?"
"What else can I say?" she giggled
"You know, the obvious" he sounded like a lil kid waiting for candy
"Well.. I got something for you that you might like" she said sweetly
"Just come home soon" he urged
"Iwill... I will" "Gosh I missed you so much" she smiled looking out fondly
"Next time you go out of town, I am going with you" he insisted
"Who will take care of my Dad?" she asked worried
"Who will take care of you?" he asked
"Awww..." "Thank you" she nodded with gratitude
"I met so many people. I dont even know where to begin" she said sadly
"Why do you want to do the franchise thing?" he was upset
"How can we let the restaurant decline?"
"We can help your father out"
"But he insists, I must go back to studying"
"Umm.. well.. that you should" he was confused now
"Then?"
"Umm.. we can think of something" he said, in a clueless voice
"You know we went from a local Konkan fish fry restaurant/bar called "Shanbag Seafood Restaurant & Bar" to "Ying & Yang" 10 years ago." she exhaled
He went quiet...
"We can somehow manage Trishu" he cooed
"Oh well when you say my name like "that"" she giggled
"I missed you" he said
"I missed you too. I had the night light on by the bed as usual. I was so afraid to sleep by myself in the hotel room in Hyderabad" she said in a nervous tone
"I know you feel lonely.Thats why I said I must go with you" he was protective
"I am happy you didnt. Aanu likes you to visit" she smiled
"Lets go watch a movie tomorrow?" he asked
"I will go wherevr you want me to" she promised
Hung up, curled up and slept
She woke around 9 PM, and bought the really bad food and ate half
She stared out the window trying not to steal glances at the happy family across trying to enjoy the grand tiffin carrier meal
After her mother had passed she had cooked for her and her Aanu
It didnt taste the same or feel the same.
Her friend in college Smita Shenoy was also her best friend. She was also on a never ending micro biology Ph D track much like Trisha
She invited Trisha over to Bangalore frequently. Trisha was too worried about Mr Shanbag to leave him alone for too long.
Her father was very protective and waited at the bus stop at night when she took the last bus home from the Univ.
He carried a flashlight and an old nylon hunter in his hand.
She would always smile teasing "You think you are strong enough to swing that?" she would ask
"I am the father I have magic powers" he would promise
The restaurant was approximately 10 kms from home. Property overlooking the sea was scarce and expensive
They took a bus or rickshaw after shutting down.
Trisha and her younger brother Paresh's school was next door to the restaurant. They would show up after class and stay until they closed up for the night.
They were renting closer then, so they would walk the 3 kms home.
Sanchit the older brother, was estranged now. He never really cared for the way Prakash Shanbag ran his business, and wanted the place to charge more, fleece the tourists and get rich quick fast
Mr Shanbag was a closet humanitarian under the garb of a restaureteur.
The food was great and prices low
The liqor idea was Sanchit's, Mr Prakash had a tough time dealing with the kind of crowd the restaurant attracted in the evenings.
Sanchit was over 15 years older than Trisha and the most worldly wise of all Shanbags
Liqor sales was easy money on one hand but a bunch of bribes and free liqor had to be handed out to cops and municipality inspectors.
The liqor also caused many a brawls at night.
Yeh & Yang did not sell any liqor.
Her phone rang around 9:30 PM
"Trisha?" the deep voice enquired
Nobody called her by her full name.
She was surprised. The voice was deep and soft.
"Yes?" she said softly
"Ms Shanbag?" the voice said now, the rattling of the train muffling the human voices
"Mr Narang?" she said
"Yes its Ashvin" he said
"I found your name and contact in your request for Franchise info" he clarified
"OK" she said
"We are actually having a two day workshop for people wanting to know more about franchising. It starts Monday" he said
"Oh" she leaned back disappointed
"Where are you now?" he asked
"I am going home to Ullal" she said
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