part0011

“I’m going to murder Meher,” Anu Harinandan announced to the people exiting Mumbai’s domestic airport. Unfortunately, no one paid any attention to her. Mumbai’s crowd was used to people talking to themselves in the middle of the arrivals lounge.

She checked the time on her phone again. It was six thirty pm. Shashi’s flight landed at six and thirty minutes was more than enough for her to collect her luggage and exit the freaking terminal. But, knowing kunju like she did, Anu was certain Shashi had made friends with the passengers around her and was probably exchanging life stories with them all.

Anu pressed call on the screen and Shashi picked up before the first ring. “Anu! I’m here.”

“You’re late, kunju ,” Anu snapped. “My shift begins at eleven pm and I don’t want to be marked for late attendance. So get out now.”

“Oh!” Shashi sounded a little breathless. “Sorry. I was talking to this lovely aunty in the seat next to me and then she couldn’t find her bags so I thought I’d…”

“I know. You wanted to help her find her bags.” Anu sighed and sipped from her third espresso of the evening.

Being a doctor meant she knew the harmful effects of drinking caffeine in crazy quantities. But, being a doctor meant the only way to survive was to drink coffee and tea to sustain the crazy shifts of her residency. While maintaining her edge as a caring doctor and remembering the thousand instructions and information in each patient’s charts.

The coffee provided instant buzz, unlike the milky chai she was forced to drink at the hospital. Her brain went on high alert and her mood improved immediately.

Anu looked over at all the passengers exiting the arrival area and immediately spotted her best friend. Shashi wore a demure, lemon-yellow, cotton kurta and slimfit jeans with a cute embroidered jacket. In stark contrast to Anu’s own ordinary tee shirt, cotton pants and jutti outfit.

Shashi was of average height but her face was smiling so much it actually rivaled the huge lights of the airport. She jumped when she saw Anu and waved madly at her, her hair swinging with the movement.

Anu managed to keep the wince out of her face at the open joy in Shashi’s voice. It was so loud and unfettered, she was instantly embarrassed. She wasn’t used to public displays of emotion and hadn’t been in so long, years maybe. Her studious, cautious family had never encouraged such physical things as hugs and kisses.

Nevertheless, her feet flew over the tiled floor of the arrival area and she reached Shashi before Shashi could maneuver her baggage trolley more than two feet.

Anu hugged Shashi tight and Shashi’s arms came around her just as tightly. Unexpected tears spurted in Anu’s eyes and she blinked rapidly. They stood that way for long moments while other passengers moved past them, avoiding the baggage trolley and the two hugging women.

“Me? What happened to your hair? ” Shashi touched Anu’s smartly cut pixie hair. It hung in uneven ends over her face and emphasized her high cheekbones and widow’s peak forehead. “When did you cut this?”

Anu shrugged, smiled sheepishly. “Day before yesterday.” She touched a strand close to her cheek. “I decided it was time for a change. Just like you.”

Anu chuckled and shook her head. “You’re the only person on earth who’d say that first instead of telling me how much you missed me. Idiot.”

Shashi reached out and hugged her, tight and hard. “Of course, I miss you. I miss you two all the time. It was so boring and lonely in Vizag without you.”

“And how many office WhatsApp groups are you a part of?” Anu steered the baggage trolley over the tiles and to the waiting taxi stands.

Since Anu could see Shashi was a little hurt by that careless remark, she gave her a shoulder squeeze. “I miss you too. It’s not the same without you,” she confessed. “Avi and Meher are so disgustingly in love when we all meet. They sometimes do these couple things and I’m left all alone. Now you’re here so I have someone to hang out with.”

“Meher told me, you haven’t met her in two months. You don’t have time for us, Anu,” Shashi said quietly.

Anu sighed. “I knew she wouldn’t be able to keep that to herself. I told her! We were short-staffed for the summer holidays and I was the only single doctor, so I felt it was my responsibility to take on extra shifts so the patients wouldn’t suffer.”

Anu flagged a passing rickshaw. “And what? You know how it is with busy doctors and their busier schedules. It got to be too much work and no fun. Next time, I’m not dating a medico.”

Anu smiled. “It doesn’t matter if I like someone, Shashi. He has to like me back too.” She nudged Shashi’s shoulder. “No?”

And Anu was afraid she’d find it too. The secret that she could never really tell anyone. The one that haunted her even now. After all, Shashi had been there with Anu for most of the time the night of their school farewell, ten years ago. She’d even come to the temple grounds with Avi and Meher…

“I really am so happy you’re here, kunju ,” Anu said gently. “So are Meher and Avi. I called Meher just last night to fix the menu for your welcome to Mumbai dinner.”

Anu chuckled. “Yes, Avi is cooking. Now, let’s get an auto before the traffic reaches peak hour.”

Shashi gave her a droll look. “Podi ! I am not from a village, that I don’t know that. I just meant, we don’t have to go by auto.”

Shashi gave her a sheepish smile. “Appa called Arjun and he’s coming to pick us up. He texted me that he’ll be here in ten minutes.”

Anu opened her mouth but Shashi shut her down. “No, I don’t want to listen to it.”

“I know exactly what you’re going to say and I don’t want to hear it right now.”

“This Arjun’s seems like a really decent guy,” Anu said. “Are you sure you know what you’re doing?”

Shashi stuck her chin out, stubbornly. A pose that her cousin Charlie was born with. And one that they all knew very well. It meant the cousins were not going to listen to reason or their friends. They were going to get themselves in trouble.

“He is a really decent guy,” Shashi admitted a minute later. “And that’s exactly why I’m doing what I’m doing. Now, here he comes.” She waved at a tall, good-looking man with extremely serious eyes and a cute goatee.

“So, listen. Arjun doesn’t know you know about the engagement being fake and we are going to keep it that way, okay?”

But Shashi had already gone forward and given a surprised Arjun a quick hug. Which he didn’t return. He looked like Anu. Blank and confused.

“Hi, Arjun. It’s so sweet of you to come pick us up,” Shashi said. “This is my best friend, Anu Harinandan. She’s a doctor at Seven Hills Hospital and my flatmate.”

“Hey, Arjun. It’s so nice to meet you.” She extended a hand and waited for Arjun to take it.

He did after a second’s pause. Shashi managed to slide her hand into the gap and take his arm.

Anu noticed the tiny diamond ring glittering on Shashi’s finger, like a small star.

“This is my fiancé, Arjun Seshadri,” Shashi said happily. “And he looks way better than Thalaiva Arjun, no?”

Arjun gave her a startled glance and Anu mentally groaned. Oh, Shashi! You idiot , she thought.

He gently extricated himself from Shashi’s hold by grasping the baggage trolley. “This is all the luggage you have?” He indicated the two big suitcases and carryon bag that Shashi had come with.

“Yes. I have decided to go shopping for all new outfits this weekend.”

“Okay. Let’s go?” He suggested to the two ladies. “I’m double parked and they’ll tow the car if we don’t go back in five minutes.”

“Sure.” Shashi’s excitement dimmed the slightest bit. “I don’t want your car to be towed.”

Arjun didn’t acknowledge her response, turning the trolley wheels and leading them away from the arrivals lounge.

Anu smiled too, even though she was inwardly upset. Sure, the man was only playing the part of adoring fiancé. But it wouldn’t kill him to be nice, would it? Shashi deserved at least that much.

Arjun walked ahead with the trolley to the temporary visitor parking while Shashi and Anu followed behind.

“See, how tall he is?” Shashi whispered, as she watched Arjun expertly maneuver the trolley. “Amma is very impressed with that.”

Anu pursed her lips, slid her arm through Shashi’s and they ran to keep up with Arjun. They reached the car park and spied Arjun standing next to a hybrid hatchback, in the last row. The car retailed in seven figures from TV ads Anu had seen for it.

So, the fake fiancé was well-off and eco-conscious. Anu gave him points for the latter.

By the time they made their way over, Arjun had finished stashing the bags in the boot of the car. He was just shutting the back door when Shashi opened the passenger door.

“I’ll sit in the front,” Shashi said. “I want to see everything first.”

Shashi immediately let go of the handle, stunned hurt crossing her expressive face.

“I meant,” he said awkwardly. “You should sit with your best friend at the back. She’s come all the way here to pick you up. Right?” He even gave Shashi a smile that upped his cuteness quotient.

But Anu watched his eyes behind the rimless glasses and they were cold. To the point of ice. He just did not want Shashi sitting next to him.

“That’s right, kunju ,” Anu said brightly, pulling her toward the back. “You can enjoy the chauffeur experience from the back. Plus, think of the neck pain you’ll avoid turning back to talk to me every five seconds.”

Shashi gave her a grateful smile, the hurt disappearing from her face. “You’re so right. That’s the advantage of being so smart, Dr. Anu.”

Anu laughed and they got in, Arjun started the car. He nodded at Anu in the rearview mirror.

Anu and Shashi belted up. Shashi looked out the window eagerly, as the car started and mellow classical Indian music filled the car in monster surround. Shashi almost jumped out of her seat at the decibel level.

“No, it’s fine.” Shashi said generously. “It’s beautiful. What instrument is this?”

“Ustad Amjad Ali?” Anu enquired, as the music reduced to a bearable level. It was still moving and fast-paced, just more audible.

Anu actually was. She loved the dreaminess and progression of chords and ragas on the little-known instrument. And her dream was to attend a mehfil of Ustad Amjad Ali Khan’s music session. Not that he gave public concerts anymore. But she wasn’t going to share that information with the asshole who’d just been mean to her best friend.

“He’s alright.” Anu shrugged. She turned pointedly to talk to Shashi and asked her, “How’s Amma, Appa? What’s their anxiety level right now knowing that their precious daughter is out in the big bad world?”

“Oh, thanks for reminding me, Anu.” Shashi pulled her phone out and punched in speed dial seven. “I have to call them and let them know Arjun’s picked us up. Otherwise Amma will get hyper for no reason.”

They’d inched their way out of the car park while Shashi talked to her parents in a mixture of Tamil and English, giving them a running commentary about the parking lot, the two bookstores inside the airport and the kindly aunty she’d met on the flight. Anu listened indulgently to Shashi’s chatter while she checked social media.

After Shashi finished with her call, she checked her notifications and held her phone up. “Look, the new Faces post is up.”

Anu rolled her eyes and looked at the post. It was a monochrome Polaroid shot of a flower seller where the flowers were in black and white and the seller was in color. Her faded gold nose ring glinted off the camera screen as did the even white of her crooked teeth against the nut brown of her complexion. The caption read – Vallimma, Pookaari of Thellasherry .

“I don’t understand everyone’s fascination with this account,” Anu said. “It’s just a post of a flower seller. What’s so special about it?”

Shashi sighed. Loudly. “This post is so empathetic and the picture just leaps out of the screen, doesn’t it? It’s why Faces of India has millions of followers.”

Anu still didn’t get it. “Most of those followers are bots. And these posts are about perfectly ordinary people doing ordinary things.”

Shashi nodded agreement. “Exactly. They are windows into people’s lives from everywhere in India.”

Anu looked at the monochrome black and white shot with an accent color. The account had sprung up three years ago and had a massive online following, bots and all.

“You don’t like Faces of India, Anu?” Arjun asked, in an attempt to join the conversation. “Their work is so brilliant.”

Arjun shrugged, as he kept the car in second gear, barely edging over thirty kilometers, even though the highway was relatively empty for this time of day. “I think so. No one person can travel all over the country and interview these people, edit the pictures, write the copy and schedule one post per day, can they?”

Anu shrugged. “I still don’t get it. If this Faces of India account were to post about Liam Hemsworth I’d follow them.”

They laughed uproariously while Arjun gave them a droll glance in the mirror.

Shashi tapped Arjun on the shoulder, leaning forward so the seatbelt stretched with her. “Listen, can you get onto the fast lane? Anu has to go to work soon and we might be late.”

“We’ll get there in time. Traffic is bad right now and I’m not taking any chances with you two,” Arjun answered.

Shashi and Anu exchanged a look and then Shashi sat back in her seat, silent. She looked out the window and watched fellow cars, autos and a bullock cart overtake them, a pensive expression on her face.

Anu glared at the back of Arjun’s head and held Shashi’s hand tightly.

If she ever got this arrogant, stupid man alone she was going to give him a piece of her mind. And more.

Anu had been to Meher and Avi’s place a handful of times over the years. They lived in a quiet, affluent area called Powai, where most of the yuppie IT crowd lived. The mall here had a Victorian façade while housing the latest brands, and the cafes were all exotic Asian or European.

True to his word, Arjun actually did manage to bring them back at a decent hour despite peak-time traffic, while driving the car as sedately as an old paati . He drove through winding lanes, forested with trees forming an overhead canopy to give the illusion of greenery.

Finally, they reached a huge gated compound with two outward facing cameras. As if by magic, the gates opened for his car. He pulled out a badge from the dashboard and stuck it on the rearview mirror.

“Security’s the best in this society,” Arjun said. “You girls are going to be very safe here. But if you’re going to Ola or Uber it home, please call ahead so the car information is logged with the team.”

Arjun looked at her in the rearview mirror. “Because the world’s a monstrous place and the society values the lives of its residents. Just remember to call ahead with the information.”

Shashi frowned. “I have to take the local bus from the HiTech stop. How far is it from here?”

“That’s about thirty minutes walking distance straight from here.” Arjun maneuvered the car through the underground park, and parked at a precisely marked spot with his name on it.

Anu had a brilliant idea. “Arjun could drop you at the bus stop, couldn’t he? You two have the same office timings, right?”

Shashi’s eyes widened at the innocent question. She tried to telegraph her displeasure to Anu but Anu shrugged. The jerk was here and he was epically rude. Shashi might as well get a free ride from him while they were still ‘engaged.’

Arjun pressed a button and the boot of his car opened smoothly. “I’ll help you get your stuff to the flat. After that I have a lot of work to catch up on.”

“Okay,” Shashi said, smiling gamely. “That’s fine. You can meet Avi and Meher for dinner.”

Arjun paused in the act of unloading the suitcases. “I’m not sure I can make it for dinner. This guy Dalton wants a situation report that’s going to take hours to frame.”

Anu mentally cursed the man. “Are you worried you won’t be able to stand our questions, Arjun?”

Arjun grinned, an unexpectedly cute gesture in a man so serious. “Oh, please. My friends are worse.”

Shashi took her bag from Arjun. “Then come, na?” she asked quietly. “Amma wants to have a video call at ten pm. It would be nice if you were there for it. Along with everyone else.” She squeezed his hand for a second and Anu caught the flinch Arjun couldn’t control.

And Anu thought for the third time in as many hours, Shashi, you idiot ! What the hell are you doing with a man who doesn’t want you?

The three of them walked to the building lift in silence, punctuated by Arjun showing them the way. Take one left, two rights before you come to Indradhanush, the building that Meher and Avi lived in and where Shashi and Anu had also rented a flat. Arjun lived in Indraprastha.

They stepped onto the lift and the attendant smiled widely at Arjun. “Arjun saab, kaise hoji?”

Arjun spoke in perfect, accentless Hindi. “I’m fine, Ramesh. How is your daughter? Is she back in school yet?”

The attendant nodded eagerly. He rattled off an impressive list of achievements about his daughter, Priya. Finally, the attendant smiled at the two women and asked Arjun, “Are they your relatives?”

Anu’s estimation of Arjun went up the slightest bit because he smiled at Shashi and said, “I’m going to marry her. She’s come to work in Mumbai.”

Shashi gave Ramesh her cute, bubbly smile and said in her thick Tamil accent, “Hello, Ramesh. Kaise ho? Mujhe thoda Hindi aata hai.”

Ramesh beamed. He spoke too fast for even Anu to understand what he said but Shashi laughed and nodded and made fast friends with the elevator attendant. Arjun looked in quiet bemusement at Shashi trying to communicate in a language she wasn’t entirely comfortable with.

Anu knew exactly what he was thinking: What the hell am I doing with her?

The lift doors opened at the nineteenth floor and Ramesh helped Arjun bring up Shashi’s suitcases. Shashi hugged the man and passed a fifty-rupee note to him, another gesture that Arjun noted with surprise. Shashi was quite generous like that, Anu could have told him.

Anu rang the bell next to the nameplate reading Avi & Meher’s Chalet , Charlie’s gift.

The door opened and a tall, bearded man in a colorful lungi and a broad smile opened his arms wide to Shashi. “Me three, kunju !”

Anu could only watch while the world receded, sound receded as Shashi screamed, she actually screamed and threw herself in the man’s arms. Going up on her toes to hang around his neck, while he hugged her back just as tight.

Arjun stuck his hands in his pockets, struck dumb just like Anu, but for different reasons.

Shashi dropped down to the floor and sniffed happily. “Are you staying, Charlie?”

Charlie Thomas nodded, smiling indulgently. But his eyes were on Anu’s as he answered simply, “Yes, I’m staying.”