One Indian Girl(24)

‘12.30,’ I said.

‘What?’ he said, and opened his eyes wide. ‘You were in office until now?’

‘Yeah. What to do? My first big deal. You know what Jonathan told me?’

‘What?’

‘Radhika, you are a real asset to the group.’

‘Why not? They seem to be dumping all their work on you.’

‘Nothing like that. They stayed late too. Many little things one has to be careful about in the documentation. It took me a while.’

‘Did you eat dinner?’

‘No, baby,’ I said.

‘What?’ Debu sat up in bed.

‘I didn’t get the time.’

‘This is terrible. Wait.’

He got off the bed, walked up to the open kitchen in the living room and took out a tray of eggs from the fridge.

‘I’ll make you some bhurji,’ he said, ‘have it with bread.’

‘Go to sleep. I will have some cereal.’

‘Have something hot.’

‘I will have my hot boyfriend then. Come here.’

I pulled him by his T-shirt and kissed him.

‘Sorry I was late. Let me make it up to you,’ I said.

He pushed me away.

‘Wait, eggs first.’

He got busy whipping the eggs. He cut onions and tomatoes and placed a saucepan on the stove. Ten minutes later he served me my dinner.

‘Try,’ he said.

I took a bite.

‘How is it?’ he said.

‘Yum. Thank you.’

‘Welcome.’

‘Debu, listen.’

‘What?’

‘I love you.’

‘I love you too. Just don’t get to see you much.’

‘Sorry, baby.’

‘Let’s move in together. That way I will see you at least.’

I became silent.

‘I will share the rent. Don’t worry.’

‘Not that, silly. But that’s a live-in. That means we are in a serious relationship.’

‘Aren’t we?’ Debu said.

I smiled at him.

‘Keep the place clean, okay?’ I said.





10


One year later


‘I will think about marriage later, mom. I am still new at my job. Let me focus on that. Please,’ I said.

I ran down the subway steps to the Wall Street station platform. The Friday evening rush hour made it difficult for me to hear her.

‘What?’ I said, as the sound of an arriving train drowned her words.

‘Job is not that important,’ she said. I could hear sounds of her making tea in her kitchen. It was 8.30 in the evening for me, 6 in the morning for her. Jonathan had made me do a presentation twice, giving me a dirty look when he noticed some inadvertent typos.

‘It is important. I am in the most challenging group in the firm. Everyone here thinks I am one of the best,’ I said.

‘What about everyone here thinking why isn’t Mr Mehta’s second daughter getting married? Is something wrong with her?’

‘Really, mom? You think something is wrong with me?’

I stepped into the number 3 train. The doors shut. I had just three stops to Chambers Street in Tribeca, a five-minute subway ride. Somehow, speaking to mom made it seem much longer.

‘It’s been a year since you have been abroad. Your sister married two years ago. Let us at least start looking. It takes a while, you know.’

‘Aditi didi wanted to get married. I don’t.’

‘You don’t?’

‘Not yet. Look at my life. I just finished work. It’s 8.30 at night here.’

‘What kind of a job is this? Making girls stay so late.’

‘Can you stop criticizing every aspect of my life? I am not ready to get married or even look at any options.’

Well, I didn’t need more options. My option had messaged me thrice as he waited for me for dinner.

‘So what do you want?’ mom said.

‘Many other things. I want to do well at work. I want to be promoted this year, get a good bonus. I want to travel. Enjoy New York. Come home and visit all of you.’

‘Is there a boy?’ she said.

My heart skipped a beat. My mother’s sixth sense had sprung up.

‘No. Not really,’ I said. I guess telling her about my live-in status with a guy for the past one year would be too much to share at one go.

‘Meaning?’

‘I have friends. Like this guy, Debashish. He is also from SRCC.’

‘Debashish who?’ she said, her voice curious.

‘Debashish Sen. Senior in college. Didn’t know him then. Works in Manhattan at an ad agency.’

‘Bengali?’ she said, a tinge of disgust in her tone.

‘Yeah. Why?’

‘Nothing. They are smelly, no? They eat a lot of fish.’

‘What nonsense!’

‘Anyway. I hope he is just a friend.’

I had an urge to tell her that we had contraceptives on our grocery list.

‘Yes. I hardly get time. But I have met him.’

‘Met him?’

‘In groups, nothing more,’ I said hurriedly.