One Indian Girl(97)

‘Sure, Philz Coffee at Menlo Park. 4 p.m.’



Philz Coffee





Menlo Park

I arrived five minutes early. Philz Coffee is located just outside the sprawling Facebook campus. I took a seat by the window, looking at the offices of a company that connected a billion and a half people around the world. I wore a blue-and-white checked dress, which seemed to reflect the Californian sunshine.

‘Hi,’ Brijesh said as he came up to my table. I stood up. We hugged cursorily.

‘Thanks for meeting me,’ I said, a little self-conscious.

‘No issues. Welcome to my city,’ he said. He wore a black hoodie and blue jeans. His shoulders seemed broader, as if he had bulked up. He wore a Facebook corporate ID badge around his neck.

‘Strange to see you like this, at work,’ I said.

‘Yeah, without any relatives. I see you and feel an aunt is going to pop in any minute,’ he said.

‘Totally. I am like, where are the buas and the masis?’ I said.

‘Yeah, I feel this urge to touch someone’s feet,’ he said.

Both of us laughed.

He went up to the counter and came back with two cappuccinos. I spoke after he sat down.

‘I can never apologize enough, but again, sorry,’ I said, ‘The one Indian girl whom you finally came down to marry created such a drama.’

He waved his hand.

‘You don’t need to anymore. I am mostly over it. Life goes on. I reflected in the past three months too. On why you did what you did, and said no to the wedding that morning.’

‘What did you infer?’

‘That frankly you, or for that matter, any girl, doesn’t need a man to define her. You need a man to support, inspire. . .understand you. Help you be the best person you can be, banker, mother, both, whatever. And until you find a man you trust enough to do that, why settle?’

I looked at Brijesh, admiring his wisdom.

‘You think so?’ I said.

‘I do. And you are not just one Indian girl. You are one special Indian girl.’

I smiled and gestured a thanks to him. He nodded.

‘I still blame myself. A lot. For making you look bad in front of your relatives.’

‘Don’t. I don’t even think about my relatives when I think about Goa, actually.’

‘That’s good. No regrets?’ I said.

‘Not really. Okay, just one regret.’

‘What?’

‘You remember that night at the police station?’

‘Oh yes. When we went to Anjuna? That inspector. Our parents rescuing us. Terrible.’

‘Yeah. And all that we did, the grass, driving without a licence—I would have never done all that without you.’

‘Well, I am bad company. That was a mad, crazy night.’

‘Yeah, so the thing is, I had begun to look forward to a mad, crazy life with you. That didn’t happen so, oh well. . .That’s the regret.’ He shrugged and smiled.

Our eyes met. I didn’t have a suitable response for him. I decided to change the topic instead.

‘Your shoulders. You look fitter,’ I said.

‘I joined a gym. Try to go every day.’

‘It’s showing.’

‘Thanks. You look relaxed too. Your face seems. . .clearer. More peaceful.’

‘So is my mind. A month of travel helps calm you down.’

‘Yeah, I’m sure. You look nice,’ he said.

I smiled. We sipped our coffee.

‘How is work?’ I said.

‘Good. But my business idea is taking shape. A service provider for developing Internet of Things or IoT apps. IoT is the next big thing. A company that helps make IoT apps has scope.’

‘Of course it does.’

‘Just that I need this formal business plan to raise money from VCs. It is a pain. They want financial models and projections and what not.’

‘I could help if you want,’ I said.

‘Really?’

‘It’s what I do on a daily basis,’ I said and smiled.

‘Oh yeah, of course.’

‘I will need to understand the business. And turn it into a spreadsheet full of numbers. I do it all the time.’

‘I will share the details with you. How long are you here for?’

‘I have five more days of vacation left. I could make a quick model in the next couple of days.’

‘You would? That would be amazing. Can we work on it over the weekend?’

‘No problem,’ I said.

We sipped our coffee in silence for a minute before he spoke again. ‘Also, if you are here this weekend, there’s an Arijit Singh concert.’

‘Oh cool. I like him,’ I said. He had simply informed me about the concert. I couldn’t assume he had asked me to go to it with him.

‘Yeah, so,’ he said and took another sip of his coffee. A sliver of foam stuck above his lips.

I pointed to his lip.

‘What?’ he said.

I opened the camera on my phone and turned it into selfie mode. I showed him his face and smiled.

‘Oh no,’ he said, embarrassed. He wiped his foam moustache with a tissue.

I gathered the courage to ask him a question.