SS - Ships in the Night

Eight a.m.

Vanhi Rathod stood by the counter at Gate 49 at San Francisco International airport, waiting for an upgrade. She felt tired and her eyes smarted. She didn’t even care what she looked like right now. All she wanted to do was to board the flight for Atlanta and fall asleep. Almost everyone had boarded when the ground attendant called her over. ‘Miss Rathod?’ 

‘Yes?’ she asked eagerly. 

‘Please give me your boarding pass. We are closing the flight, so you can take that last seat. I’m upgrading you.’ She handed over her pass. The ground attendant continued, ‘You’re in Seat 2A’, handing over her new boarding pass. ‘You’re all set! Anything else I can help you with?’ 

‘Thank you so much’, she said, hoisting her laptop bag on one shoulder, her handbag on the other, and grabbing her carry-on suitcase with one hand. She took her boarding pass and headed down the jetway to the huge Boeing 767 waiting at the end of it. She got on board and headed to her seat. There wasn’t enough space on the overhead bin, she thought, as she tried to hoist her laptop bag into it. 

Seat 2B put down the paper he’d been reading, uncoiled himself and stood up. She looked up at him from her five-foot-five to his six-feet four. Her eyes traveled up a long form, covered in a pair of hip-hugging jeans, a white shirt with rolled-up sleeves showing tanned arms, sculpted throat visible through the unbuttoned collar, clean-shaven square jaws, chiseled lips, a Roman nose and dark brown eyes that were smiling down at her, and a shock of floppy black hair to top it all off. Dimples! He had dimples, her mind registered. ‘Allow me,’ he said in a deep husky voice, as he took her laptop bag from her and neatly stowed it. He made some more space in the bin, and effortlessly hoisted her overnight case into the bin. He stepped back to allow her to get to her seat. 

‘Thank you,’ she smiled hesitantly at him, and stepped past, stowing her bag under the seat in front of her. She sat down, belted herself in, and rested her head against the back with a sigh. 

‘Long day?’ he asked, seating himself. 

She nodded, not really wanting to talk. She closed her eyes as the sound of the engines lulled her to sleep almost right away. It had been a long day yesterday, she thought. She should have been on the 3:30 pm out of San Francisco. Instead, the work had piled up. Urgent work. The software packages had to be released today, and without testing them, she couldn’t release them. As release engineer for one of the largest software companies in Silicon Valley, her responsibility was to package and test each and every version of the software on each and every hardware/software combination, before releasing it to the customer. The packaging had taken longer than she’d thought it would. They’d come up with a couple of new patches that needed to go into this version. So the 3:30 was rebooked for 7:30 ,and the 7:30 was rebooked for the 11:30. Ultimately, she’d ended booking into a hotel for the night and taking the 8:00 am. She’d finally reached the hotel at 1:00 am, and had to wake up at 5:00, so she could be at the airport by 6:30 in time to drop the rental car off and get on the 8:00 am. And now here she was, bone tired, sleep-deprived. All she wanted to do was sleep for the next 4 hours! She didn’t want a chatty neighbor. Sometime, during that hectic run through in her head, she fell asleep. 

The flight attendant came by and said, ‘Miss?’ 

2B looked at her and said, ‘I think she’s asleep!’ The attendant nodded and left. Time enough to wake her up for breakfast. 

He looked across at his sleeping neighbor. Her face was turned towards him, black wavy hair framing her face. Her glasses were falling off her long, slightly crooked nose, long lashes fanning out against the dark circles under her eyes and full voluptuous lips . She wasn’t fair, more like mocha, he thought. He knew she had dark eyes, he’d seen them - that was the first thing he’d noticed about her, the hair and the eyes. He looked down at her hand curled on the arm rest between them. Beautiful hands, with the nails cut short but manicured. She was dressed casually in jeans, sneakers and a golf-shirt with the logo of her company on it. He’d seen the logo on her bags too, he thought. He stopped himself. He’d been staring at a sleeping woman for the past five minutes! What was wrong with him? He shook out his paper and began reading it again. 

The plane rolled back from the gate, and they were taxiing to the runway. Soon, the throttles opened wide and they raced down the runway, picking up speed and then gently lifting to the skies. The no-smoking light went off with a bing! He hit the button to push his chair into a recline. For a moment he debated with himself, and then, hit the button on her chair too, so she was reclined as well. 

Some time later he felt a nudge on his shoulder. He looked down. She’d turned in her seat and her head was now against his shoulder. For some reason, he didn’t want to push it away. Her glasses were ready to fall off her nose, now. He gently took them off and hooked them into the seat pocket in front of her. He smiled and continued reading his paper. The flight attendant came by again to ask if he wanted something to drink. 

‘Black coffee, please,’ he said. 

‘Sure, and anything for her?’ she asked. 

‘I think she needs to sleep,’ he smiled at the face nestling into his shoulder. 

The attendant raised her eyebrows and left. Two minutes later she was back with his coffee. 

An hour later, he felt her stirring next to him. He looked down at her as she sleepily opened her eyes and stared at him. Straight into his eyes. 

For a moment, she didn’t know where she was. With a horrified gasp, she quickly sat up. ‘Oh my God! I’m so sorry,’ she said, her voice was deep, the accent Indian with a slight American twang to it. She’d often been told her accent was exotic. ‘You should’ve woken me up,’ she was so embarrassed! She ran her fingers through her hair and then looked around for her glasses. 

‘It’s okay,’ he said. ‘You looked like you needed the sleep,’ he smiled. 

She grabbed her glasses and her purse at the same time and stood up. ‘Excuse me,’ stepping over his feet and heading to the bathroom. She locked the door and looked at herself in the mirror. God! She looked a mess! she thought. What must he be thinking? She’d slept on a complete stranger’s shoulder! She brushed her hair, quickly rinsed her mouth and chewed on a gum to get the morning taste out of her mouth before spitting it out. Feeling much better, she looked at herself once more. She pulled out a lip gloss and applied some. Better, much better, she thought. 

She came back to her seat and saw a steaming cup of coffee sitting on the armrest with sugar and cream next to it. 

‘I thought you’d like some coffee,’ he said, when she’d belted herself in. 

She looked at the cup and up at him, raised her eyebrows. 

‘For you,’ he said. ‘I didn’t know if you liked cream or sugar so I asked for both.’ 

‘Thank you,’ she said a little shyly, reaching for the cup and adding both sugar and cream to it. 

‘Mehal,’ he said holding out a hand. ‘Mehal Kapoor’. 

She shook it, his grip was firm and strong, so was hers. He liked that. 

'Vanhi. Vanhi Rathod,’ she replied. ‘My friends call me Vanni,’ 

He raised an eyebrow, ‘Vanhi? what does it mean?’ 

‘Fire,’ she replied. ‘I know. I have no idea why my grandmother wanted me to have such a tongue-twister for a name,’ she explained. ‘But what does Mehal mean?’ 

‘Clouds, rain clouds. I rain on everyone’s parade,’ he chuckled, a deep chuckle that sent a few tingles down her spine. 

She laughed with him, a deep throated laugh that caused his heartbeat to quicken a just a little. 

‘So tell me, Vanni. Do you live in San Francisco? or Atlanta?’ 

‘Atlanta,’ she said, ‘and you?’ 

‘San Francisco,’ he replied. ‘So you’re in ‘Frisco on business?’ 

‘How did you know? Yeah, laptop, carryon - yes, I am a road warrior. I’ve started traveling to San Francisco every week now,’ she added. ‘What about you?’ 

‘I live there. Been there for the past ten years. I’m just going to Atlanta to meet up with some of the guys from my class for the long weekend,’ he explained. 

They sat there chatting easily, through breakfast and afterwards. He was being drawn into her lively chatter. She could talk non-stop about a hundred different things. And her voice, he could just keep listening to her all day, he thought. What?! What the heck? How can I listen to a girl all day? But there’s something about her.. he was thinking.. looking at her luscious lips... as she licked them while expounding her theories on the changing markets in the US. He just wanted to...they were so kissable, he thought. Yikes! he barely knew her.. and he wanted to kiss her? He’d never been attracted to a woman this fast in his life - it wasn’t even like she was the most beautiful girl on earth. But there was something earthy and sensuous about her that was drawing him in. 

She stopped speaking and stared at him. He’s stopped listening to her, she thought. Oh my God! I am blabbering on, must be boring him. 

‘I’m sorry,’ she said. ‘I must be boring you.’ 

‘What?’ he was surprised. ‘No, no. You’re not boring me,’ he assured her. ‘It’s rare to meet an Indian girl with such strong interests in so many different things.’ 

She looked at him suspiciously. His lips were twitching. ‘Are you making fun of me?’ she asked. 

‘No!’ he exclaimed. ‘I’m not!’ before smiling and flashing those deep dimples. 

She laughed along with him. 

‘Mr. Kapoor - you’re very funny, ha ha ha!’ she said. 

‘Mr. Kapoor?’ he raised an eyebrow. ‘I called you Vanni, so can’t you call me Mehal?’ 

‘Okay, Mehal,’ she pursed her lips. His eyes narrowed. Does she know what she’s doing? That’s an invitation to .. he stopped himself! 

It was around 2:30 in the afternoon, Atlanta time, when the throbbing of the engines changed rhythm. 

‘Ladies and Gentlemen,’ the PA system announced. ‘We’re making our initial approach into the Atlanta area. The captain has turned the seat belt sign on..’ The announcement droned on. 

Vanni looked out the window in excitement. She always felt like this. Coming home. A smile curved her lips unconsciously. He looked at her face, seeing the glow on it. Her hair was a little tousled again giving her a little bit of a wild look. He loved it.. Loved it?! Goodness, Mehal! What’s going on with you? He thought. 

Soon the plane made its final approach and touched down at Atlanta’s Hartfield International Airport. 

Vanni sighed. This was one of the best flights she’d had, she thought, thanks to Mehal. Once the plane parked at the gate, he got up and first pulled her things out of the overhead bin, before reaching in for his garment bag and laptop bag. He motioned for her to precede him into the aisle. 

‘Thanks,’ she muttered. What the hell? He’s just going to go away and she’d never see him again? They walked into the hall together and he shortened his long strides to accommodate her shorter ones. They got on the train together still chatting companionably till they reached Terminal T. 

As they came off the escalators she started moving towards the taxi stand. 

‘Hey, Vanni,’ he said. 

‘Yeah?’ 

He reached into his back pocket and pulled out his wallet. Taking out his card, he pulled out a pen and wrote something on the back, before holding it out to her. ‘I’d like to keep in touch.’ 

She looked at the card and smiled. Suddenly feeling shy, she took the card and said, ‘thanks!’ Ball is in your court, girl, she thought. 

‘Don’t be a stranger,’ he said. She nodded. 

***** 

Monday was a mad dash for Vanni. Flying out of Atlanta at six in the morning was no fun, she thought, as she yawned in her seat. Well, she did have something to look forward to, she thought, smiling to herself. 

It was seven in the evening on Tuesday, before she was able to leave her work, and get to her hotel room. Dropping her bag on the bed, she sat down and looked through the room service menu, before picking up the phone and ordering a burger for dinner. She pulled out Mehal’s number and called it. He was supposed to be back Monday evening, so he should have been back yesterday. The phone was ringing, ringing.. and then it went to voicemail. She hung up. What would she say? Then she gathered up her courage and called again. When the voicemail picked up, she said, ‘Hi Mehal. It’s Vanni. We met on the flight on Saturday. I’m back in San Fran and just wanted to say Hi. I’m staying at the Doubletree and my room number is 505. Hope to talk to you soon. Bye.’ She hung up. Switching on her laptop she got to work. 

About fifteen minutes later, her room phone rang. 

‘Hello?’ 

‘Ms. Rathod?’ the voice was high pitched. 

She frowned. ‘Yes?’ 

‘I’m calling from room service. Ma’am, what kind of topping do you want for your pizza?’ 

‘Pizza? I ordered a burger!’ she said. ‘There must be some mistake.’ 

‘Room 505, right?’ 

‘Yes,’ she said impatiently. 

‘Well ma’am, the order says pizza, so what kind of topping would you like?’ 

Just then there was a knock at the door. 

‘Hold on,’ she said going to the door and opening it. A waiter stood there with a tray balanced on his shoulder. 

‘Your dinner, ma’am. Where should I put it?’ 

She stared at him and then gestured him to come inside. She pointed to the coffee table and said, ‘Please, just put it there.’ He put down the tray and she said, ‘Listen, do me a favour, talk to the person on the phone, there seems to be some sort of miscommunication.’ 

‘Sure,’ he said, and picked up the phone. He listened for a second, said ‘ah ha, yes... sure....’ and held out the phone to her. ‘He wants to speak to you.’ 

She took the phone to hear a familiar chuckle. ‘Vanni,’ he was laughing. ‘Didn’t you recognize my voice?’ 

‘Mehal!’ she felt a twist in her stomach and an unreasonable joy in her heart. ‘You ....’ before spluttering with laughter too. ‘Hold on,’ she said. 

She signed the receipt and closed the door behind the waiter. She picked up the tray of food, and settled on the bed with it. She picked up the phone and said, ‘Mehal, what the heck were you doing?’ 

‘Did you get your dinner?’ his voice was suddenly lower, huskier. 

‘Yes, I did,’ she opened the can of diet Coke and poured it into the glass of ice. 

‘What did you get?’ 

‘Burger, coleslaw, fries and a diet coke.’ 

‘How American have you become? Diet Coke with fries and burger?’ 

She giggled, ‘I know. Sad, isn’t it?’ 

‘Listen, we can’t have you eating this kind of crappy stuff every day, okay?’ 

She raised her eyebrows at the ‘we’, he sounded almost possessive! ‘What do you suggest we do?’ 

‘Have dinner with me tomorrow night,’ his voice was completely serious. 

She thought for a minute. ‘Okay,’ she agreed. 

‘I’ll pick you up at the hotel, seven-ish?’ 

‘Sure,’ she said. 

They talked for a bit before she hung up. She had finished her dinner, because all of a sudden she wasn’t hungry anymore. 

The next day, she couldn’t settle down to work. Her mind kept drifting to Mehal. She was a bit worried. She hated to let her personal life interfere in her professional life, but for the first time, she was unable to focus. She slammed down her pen in frustration. Mehal was not good for her. Dinner tonight was fine, but after this, she was going to pace herself, she decided. 

That evening, she was ready by six-forty-five waiting in her room anxiously chewing on her finger nails. What the hell was wrong with her? 

Mehal waited in the lounge till the clock showed five-to-seven. He walked over to the front desk and said, ‘Could you call Ms.Rathod, please and let her know her guest is here?’ 

‘Sure,’ said the clerk. ‘What was the name again?’ 

‘Rathod. R-A-T-H-O-D.’ 

The clerk dialed, listened and said, ‘Yes, there is a gentleman for you downstairs.... Yes.... I’ll tell him.’ She put down the phone, ‘she said she’d be right down.’ 

‘Thanks,’ he said and moved back to the seating area. He caught a glimpse of himself in the glass wall. The tan suit was perfectly moulded to his body, the white open neck of the shirt showing off his throat, his long legs were encased in tan, narrow trousers ending in a pair of Battistoni leather wingtip Balmorals. A steel Officina del Tempo watch was all the accessory he had on. He raked a hand through his hair, and turned around to look at the elevators. But someone else was getting on it. He turned back to the glass again, and realized the elevators were reflected in it. The elevators came down again and he turned around to look at them. 

She stepped out of the elevator and he felt a little lost watching her come off it. She had a floral sundress on. Thin spaghetti straps held up top, while the clingy skirt swished just below her knees as she walked. The dress was a deep turquoise, with splotches of white and dark blue. Her feet ended in a pair of black high heeled open-toed pumps. Her hair was loose and he could just glimpse the silver and turquoise Native American earrings dangling from her ears. A dark blue jacked was slung over one arm, while she clutched a purse with the other. 

‘Hey,’ he walked over to her. 

‘Hey,’ she smiled back. 

‘Shall we go?’ he offered her an arm. She laughed and hooked her hand through his. 

‘Yes, we shall,’ grandly. 

He glanced down at her feet. ‘Nice shoes,’ he said. 

‘So’s yours,’ right back at him! 

They walked out to the balmy summer evening air. He led her to his car, unlocking it and holding open the passenger seat for her. 

Okay, she thought, a Corvette 427 convertible in black. Not bad, not bad at all. 

‘So, what would you like to eat?’ he asked her. 

‘Anything, as long as its not Sushi,’ she said. 

‘You don’t like sushi?’ he gunned the engine. ‘Have you tried it?’ 

‘Yes, I have,’ she said firmly. ‘I just don’t like the texture.’ 

‘Have you tried carpaccio?’ 

‘What’s that?’ 

He smiled. ‘Well, today you get to try carpaccio,’ he said. 

She looked at him suspiciously. ‘Seriously, Mehal. What is carpaccio?’ 

‘You’ll see,’ he said mysteriously. 

‘As long as it’s something I can eat,’ she said. 

‘It is. It will be,’ he said, moving the car into the 101 traffic that was a little lighter now. He took off the highway and drove through some inner streets, finally stopping in front of a red canopied sidewalk. She looked around her - it didn’t seem that great a location to her, but whatever, she didn’t really know San Francisco that well, she thought. Once again, he helped her out of the car - these low slung sports cars are a bitch to get out of, she thought. Handing over the keys to the valet, he led her into the restaurant. 

A motherly looking woman came out, ‘Mehal, my boy,’ she kissed him on both cheeks. ‘Como estai?’ 

‘I’m good,’ he replied, smiling. 

‘And you bring-a lady with you this time-a?’ she said, the sing-song lilt of her Italian more than pleasant to the ears. 

‘Yes, this is Vanni. Vanni, this is Mamma Rosa,’ he introduced them. Vanni nodded uncertainly. 

‘Vieni e seguimi,’ she led the way into the restaurant. 

Vanni raised her eyebrows at Mehal - what did she say. 

‘Come, follow me,’ he replied. 

They followed Mamma into a large dining space. The walls were rich with the colors of autumn. The ceiling was vaulted and beamed with old wood, scones on the walls throwing light around the room. Even though it was a weekday, the room was almost full. Mamma seated them at a cosy corner table, a candle on it casting a warm glow on their face. 

‘And what will you have today?’ she asked in Italian. 

‘The prix fixe menu, please,’ he replied in the same language. Vanni tried hard to understand the conversation. 

‘Prego,’ said Mamma. She handed him them both menu cards and said, ‘take your time.’ 

Vanni looked at the menu and gasped at the price on the bottom. ‘Mehal!’ she hissed. 

He up at her, question in his eyes. 

‘This is so expensive,’ she hissed as low as she could. 

He looked at her, puzzled, then said, ‘Vanni. I asked you out to dinner. So can you please stop looking at the prices?’ 

‘Mehal, I’m on an expense account, but that doesn’t mean I get to spend so much on a meal,’ she whispered. 

He put his menu down and looked at her seriously. ‘Vanni. Let’s get one thing straight. I asked you out. You said yes. So if I ask someone out to dinner, I don’t expect them to pay for it.’ His tone and face were utterly serious. 

She lowered her eyes and said, ‘Ok. I’m sorry, Mehal.’ 

He looked at her for a moment and then said, ‘It’s okay. Did you find what you wanted?’ 

She looked at the menu, shaking her head. ‘I’ve never tried anything like this. Why don’t you choose for me?’ 

He smiled. ‘I already know what you are getting for appetizer. Now let’s see, do you prefer meat, fish or shellfish?’ 

‘Shell fish, please,’ she said. 

The sommelier came by along with Mamma, and Mehal said, ‘We’re doing the prix fixe menu today, so can you please pair the wines with it?’ 

‘Sure,’ the sommelier was most accommodating. ‘What are you having?’ 

‘Well, the lady will have the carpaccio, followed by the red beet risotto, the seared scallops and the panacotta. I will have the carpaccio as well, maccheroni alla chitarra, the walu and for dessert I’ll have the chocolate mousse.’ 

‘Grazie,’ said mamma taking the menus from them. 

A little later a waiter came by with two spoonfuls of something and placed it in front of both of them. 

‘Compliments of the chef,’ he said and left. 

‘Amuse bouche,’ said Mehal. ‘Something to amuse yourself with while the food is getting prepared.’ 

‘What is this place, Mehal?’ she couldn’t help asking. 

‘One of San Francisco’s best kept secrets. Only people who really love Italian food come here. As you can see, lots of people do. This is as close to authentic Italian as you can get outside of Italy.’ 

She was impressed. Who wouldn’t be? Her dinner date.. well, it was beginning to feel like a date.. had picked her up in a Corvette and brought her to an obviously expensive Italian restaurant. So he had money, she thought. But does he have to flaunt it? I mean, I’m not like a society girl that has to have the best things in life to be impressed with. 

He saw the far away look in her eyes, besides the candlelight was reflecting off her glasses. He didn’t like that. 

‘Take off your glasses,’ he said impulsively. 

‘What?’ 

‘Your glasses,’ he gestured towards them. 

‘I’m blind as a bat without them,’ she said, taking them off. 

He noticed the slightly unfocused look in her almond shaped eyes and a smile crept to his lips. ‘Much better.’ 

‘What is better?’ she asked. 

‘I can see your eyes now,’ his smile deepened. 

‘But I can’t see anything clearly, except you,’ she exclaimed. 

‘Oh, so you can see without them!’ That’s all I want you to see, he thought. 

‘Ugh!! you’re so infuriating.’ 

He chuckled deeply. ‘And its so easy to infuriate you,’ he grinned. ‘So tell me, Vanni.’ Topic change. ‘How much of San Francisco have you seen?’ 

‘Not much,’ she said. ‘I’m here only during the week, I go back on weekends, so I don’t get to go sight seeing, cause I’m working all hours during the week.’ 

‘Would they allow you to stay back a weekend?’ he asked. 

‘I think so,’ she said. ‘Why?’ 

‘Well, I was thinking. I’m more or less a San Fran native. So if you want to go sight seeing on a weekend I could show you around.’ 

‘But, don’t you have other things you would rather do, I mean friends or a girl friend?’ she was fishing. 

‘No girl friend,’ he answered firmly. ‘Sure I have friends. But,’ he paused wondering how to put this without offending her. I want to show you San Fran because I want to get to know you better? 

‘But?’ 

‘Hey - I’m a native. I wouldn’t be doing my hospitality duties if I didn’t show a visitor around,’ he improvised. 

She felt a little twinge of disappointment, but pushed it down. ‘Well, my tickets are booked for the next week, but the weekend after, will work for me.’ 

‘Sounds good.’ 

Their food arrived just then, and she stared at the thin slice of something on her plate. ‘What’s this?’ 

‘Salmon Carpaccio,’ he said, taking a small bite of it. ‘Try it.’ She took a tiny piece of the salmon on her fork and put it in her mouth. Next minutes she was closing her eyes in ecstasy. 

‘Oh my God,’ she exclaimed although softly. ‘This is soooo good.’ 

He watched her eat, his pleasure in the food increasing ten-fold just watching her enjoying her food. They ate slowly, enjoying the food and the wine served in smaller than usual wine glasses, because each wine accompanied a different course. She tried everything from his plate as well as hers, as did he. They talked about everything under the sun, not noticing how late it was getting. It was almost eleven o’clock when they finally left the restaurant. 

‘So,’ said Mehal, helping her on with her jacket. ‘Did you enjoy your first time eating carpaccio?’ 

‘I loved it!’ she exclaimed excitedly. ‘See what you’ve done? Now I want to have carpaccio all the time!’ 

He laughed at her childlike excitement over food! There was an air of innocence about her that he really liked. 

They drew up at her hotel and he stopped the car. She looked at him and said, ‘Thanks, Mehal. I had a great time tonight.’ 

‘Me, too,’ he said very quietly. He reached out a hand, and picked up her left hand, gently kissing the knuckles. She felt his lips warm and soft against her hand. ‘Good night.’ 

‘Good night,’ she responded, suddenly feeling very shy, before climbing out of his car and heading into the hotel. 

**** 

The next day she was busy working in her room in the evening, when the hotel phone rang. 

‘Hello?’ 

‘Vanni?’ he asked. 

‘Mehal,’ she said. ‘How are you?’ 

‘I’m good. Have you eaten today?’ 

She chuckled, ‘what? you’re my mom now? You’re gonna make sure I eat every day?’ 

He stayed quiet at the question. He did want to make sure she ate properly everyday. But he wan’t going to tell her that. ‘Vanni, can I ask you something?’ he said instead. 

‘Sure.’ 

‘How come I don’t have your phone number?’ he said. He closed his eyes and wondered what she might be thinking, but hey, they’d already connected as friends. He had the right to ask her that much. 

‘Oh, I’m sorry, Mehal,’ she exclaimed. ‘It’s .’ she gave him an Atlanta area number. ‘I’m really sorry about that.’ 

‘It’s no problem,’ he said. They chatted for a bit, before he hung up. 

She had a sudden thought and pulled out his card. She’d used the number at the back of his card to call him, what was written on the front? She still didn’t know where he worked or what he did. She flipped the card over. 

Mehal Kapoor, CEO, MK Corp. Ltd. She frowned. That didn’t tell her much. What the heck was MK Corp. She Googled it and was surprised to find more than a few matching entries. She hit the link to the home website and found that it was a portal. MK Corp. actually had a number of business in which they were invested. Primarily software systems. Ugh! She thought. Now do I have to call legal and find out if my NDA applies or not? What kind of software systems? she wondered. The home page information was very sketchy and she frowned. Hmmm... this was strange. From what she could make out, these were not regular business applications. In fact, the references were to mostly real-time systems. Real time systems covered a lot of ground. They didn’t have a list of customer names either, something most software companies regularly put on their pages as references. 

Thinking a moment, she typed in ‘Mehal Kapoor’ in the search bar. Her eyes widened at the number of hits. She clicked on Images. Several hundreds of images were returned. She looked at the ones of him, seeing him at various ceremonies, parties, with gorgeous women on his arm. There was one of him at the Beverley Hilton, dressed in black, sitting on a chair, feet apart, elbows resting on his knees, hands clasped together, head turned to the person sitting next to him, completely engrossed in what he was saying. His hair was a little shorter but there was no denying it was the same Mehal Kapoor. She stared at the picture for a while and then clicked the close button. 

So Mr.Mehal Kapoor was well-known in his circles! She thought about him for a while, allowing herself to smile. 

That weekend he called her in Atlanta. They talked a long time. All night, with her phone on a charger, so that they could continue the conversation. 

The next week, he took her out to dinner again. That Friday, he came to the airport to see her off. 

The weekend after that, she had decided to stay back in San Francisco for her promised sight seeing. They hadn’t met for dinner, but they’d talked on the phone a couple of times. He was taking her sight seeing on Saturday. 

Saturday morning she was up bright and early. She was meeting him downtown and then, as he’d promised, they’d be sight seeing. She reached Market Street at the corner of Well Fargo at exactly nine o’clock and stood there looking around for him. 

He walked up the street, having parked his car on a side street. He saw her before she saw him. This time she was dressed in a pair of denim culottes, a geometric printed short-sleeved shirt, a leather jacket thrown around her shoulders and a pair of sneakers. He’d told her they’d be walking. To his surprise, he noticed the camera bag slung around her neck. 

‘Vanni,’ he called when he was close enough for her to hear. She turned around and looked at him. He was surprised. No glasses! 

She looked at him and her brain did a little spin. Jeans, v-necked white long sleeved tee, sneakers and a pair of sunglasses hiding his eyes, the faintest shadow on his jaws meant he hadn’t shaved. The five o’clock shadow suited him. She also hadn’t known how toned his body was, looking at the sculpted ridges and valleys of his chest and abs and back and arms clearly visible through the tee. 

He looked down at her, and then noticed it. Green eyes. She was wearing green lenses and for some reason, they looked amazing against her brown skin. 

‘Hi!’ she said, obviously excited for this day to begin. 

‘Come on,’ he said, ‘my car is parked on a side street. Let’s go get it. Have you decided what you want to see?’ 

‘The crookedest street in the world,’ she said. 

He groaned. ‘Oh my God! Are you going to be such a tourist?’ 

‘But of course, what did you think? My first time around San Francisco and I won’t get to see that?’ 

He grinned at that, ‘Okay, okay,’ he said, throwing up his hands in surrender. ‘It’s your day, to do with as you want. What else?’ stopping by a blue Subaru Impreza. She looked puzzled at the car. 

‘What happened to your Corvette?’ she said. 

‘That is for impressing chicks,’ he replied. ‘This is for getting around. Get in,’ he held open the door for her. She slid into the car, and he got into driver’s seat. ‘Were you impressed?’ he asked, before putting the car in gear. 

‘Nah! Corvette is so ... so ...passe, so cliched’ she said. ‘Now a Subaru.. That’s what I call a real car.’ He loved how she used her hands to emphasize her words. She gestured a lot and he was... liking it ... a lot. 

He laughed at her and then said, ‘I had a feeling you might want to do things which would be difficult to do in a Corvette. Besides, parking that car is a little painful. So a smaller, more agile car was called for. And here we are.’ 

She smiled, as they headed towards Lombard Street. She was suitably impressed when it was finally their turn to roll down perhaps the best recognized street block in the world. She’d seen it in countless films and now to be going down the same street, was such a surreal feeling. 

He focused on the driving, it needed all his attention, but when they got to the bottom, he stole a glance at her face and she was glowing! There was no other word for it. He let her out of the car, so she could take a few pictures before they left again. 

‘What next?’ 

‘Golden Gate, Pier 39, Alcatraz, Fisherman’s Wharf, China Town, Botanical Gardens, Nob Hill...’ she was ticking them off one by one on her fingers. 

‘Whoa! Hold on, hold on, miss Tourist’ he said. ‘We’ll do Golden Gate tomorrow, I promise. But today, let’s show you my city, my way. To see San Francisco really, you have to walk.’ 

‘Okay,’ she said. 

They found a spot to park at the Marina and then walked along the pavements, heading to the Palace of Fine arts. Houses lined the residential streets, cypresses and Joshua pines lined the sidewalk. Many of the houses had little gardens in front, with tons of flowers blooming. 

‘Oh my God! look at the roses!’ she exclaimed looking at one particularly large blossoming rose bush. ‘Do you think they smell as good?’ 

He bent down to smell the rose, and before he knew it, she had raised her camera and clicked a picture. It was a closeup, but he didn’t know that. 

‘Hey, no taking pics of me. Take pics of my city,’ he scolded. 

She laughed at him, ‘Too late. The deed is done!’ 

He shook his head at her, then noticed her squinting as they walked along. ‘What’s wrong?’ he asked. 

‘Nothing. I forgot to bring a pair of sunglasses. The sun is hurting my eyes,’ she said. 

‘Let’s get you a pair,’ he said. He headed down a couple of streets and came to a store-lined one. He stopped outside a store that advertised designer shades. They walked into the cool interior of the store. There were designer glasses from all over the world. They walked around looking and trying on several pairs. She came to a stop in front of the Oakleys section and looked at the choices. Automatically, her hand went towards a pair of wrap-around glasses, which she took down carefully. She put them on and turned to him. He had to smile. They looked perfect on her. ‘This is it,’ he nodded. Belatedly he remembered to ask her, ‘do you like them?’ 

‘I love them,’ she smiled. 

‘Let’s get it,’ he said, plucking them out of her hands, and heading to the counter. 

‘Wait,’ she said. 

‘What? You like them, let’s get them.’ 

‘Lemme see,’ she took the glasses from him and looked at the tag. He put his hands on his hips. Two hundred and fifty dollars! she thought, for a pair of sunglasses! She started heading back to the rack. His hand on her wrist stopped her. 

‘Vanni, let’s get it,’ he repeated. 

‘Too expensive,’ she hissed. 

He plucked them out of her hand again and said, ‘Look at it like this. You pay two hundred and fifty dollars today. These come with lifetime warranties. They also come with replaceable parts. So no matter where in the world you are, if something happens to it, they’ll fix it or replace it. It’s a bargain at that price. So you pay a little extra upfront, but it will last you for a long time. How about that?’ 

She thought over what he’d said. In a strange way, it made sense. She nodded. ‘Okay, let’s get it.’ 

They got the glasses and she put them on. They headed over to the Palace of Fine Arts. They walked around the buildings and the gardens, talking, taking pictures, and generally enjoying their day. They came out of the gardens and started down the sidewalk. She was walking on the outside busy talking about something, when his ears picked up a roar. He turned around to see a black Camaro careening full speed down the road. The woman at the wheel was trying to control it, a panicked expression on her face. She came around the curve and instead of staying on the road, the two right tires jumped onto the sidewalk. He grabbed Vanni and pulled her out of the way, seconds before the Camaro went past where she’d been standing. It screeched to a halt a few feet from them in a cloud of dust. 

He wrapped her in his arms, he could feel her shaking against him. ‘Vanni, you okay? Did she hit you?’ She shook her head but he could feel her still trembling. 

She pulled back and said, ‘Oh my god! what happened? She nearly killed me.’ 

People were running towards the car, the lady in the driver’s seat was almost hysterical. They joined the group around the car. 

‘Lady, what happened?’ he asked the driver. 

‘Is she okay?’ the driver said, tears streaming down her face. 

‘Yes, she’s fine, but what happened to you?’ 

‘I don’t know, I couldn’t control the steering,’ she sobbed. A policeman came up just then, and the crowd soon dispersed. 

Vanni was still shaking. He looked around for a bench and guided her to it. ‘Sit!’ he said, before walking to a nearby stall and buying a bottle of water. He gave it to her and she drank it, while he sat down beside her, his arm around her shoulders. After a little while, she stopped shaking and looked at him with gratefully. 

‘Feel better?’ he asked. She nodded. ‘Good,’ he said, and softly kissed her forehead. 

She stilled. Where had that come from? She didn’t know but it definitely felt good. His lips and his stubble, both felt good. She was glad that the shades hid her eyes from him. 

‘I’m glad you’re okay,’ he murmured. Do you want to go back, or do you want to continue?’ he asked. 

‘I’d like to continue,’ she said. They headed downhill towards the Marina where he’d parked his car. They passed by four-storied townhouses and one of them was for sale, and it was open-house today. ‘A million dollars?!’ she squeaked. ‘Really? For this?’ 

‘Do you want to see inside? Check out what a million dollar home looks like?’ he smiled at her. 

‘Sure, why not?’ 

He loved this about her, he thought. This unending childlike enthusiasm for anything and everything! She was so joyous, so bright! They strolled into the house and he whispered, ‘let’s pretend we’re a married couple and we’re gonna buy it.’ 

She giggled and said, ‘Lead on, McDuff. I’m with you.’ 

They wandered around the first floor before taking the stairs to the second floor. Each and every room was beautifully appointed. The footprint of the house was barely a thousand square feet, but each square foot had been decorated with care. She was actually falling in love with this house, she thought, going through the study and the guest rooms. The fourth floor was the master suite and they entered the bedroom. A California king size bed dominated the room. It was done in earthy tones and rich mahogany, with bright splashes of accent colors. A cozy fireplace sat between the bedroom and the bathroom. She walked into the bathroom and stopped. The large Jacuzzi took up a majority of the space. A shower stall for two was in one corner. And in the wall between the bathroom and the bedroom was the fire place. 

He came up behind her and said, ‘You think the shower stall is big enough for both of us?’ before he could stop himself. He closed his eyes, wondering what she was going to reply to that. 

She stilled completely and then swallowed. The mental images she got from the question burned her cheeks. She cleared her throat and then side-stepped him to get out of the bathroom that suddenly seemed too small. Hurrying out of the bedroom, she turned left and then gasped. The terrace was in front of her. 

The floor was flagstones, surrounded by pots of roses. A table and two chairs stood one side and the bay lay in all its glory in front of her. She could see the Golden Gate bridge to her left and the Marina out in front. 

‘This is gorgeous!’ she said, taking out her camera to take some more pictures. He stood in the doorway and smiled at her. He heard a footstep behind him and turned around. 

The real estate agent was standing there, a tall man in his mid-thirties, handsome, blonde, brown-eyed and tanned. 

‘Hi!’ he extended a hand to Mehal, who shook it. ‘Are you liking what you’re seeing?’ he asked. Vanni spun around, still with a smile on her face. ‘I gather your wife likes it’ he said. 

Mehal looked at her with a twinkle in his eyes. ‘I think she does,’ he said. Vanni’s eyes widened behind her sunglasses. 

‘So, what do you think? Oh, by the way, I’m Robert, Robert Read. I’m the real-estate agent.’ 

Mehal nodded. ‘Kapoor, Mehal Kapoor,’ he responded. ‘I don’t know what to think, I mean, Vanni, my wife,’ he waved a hand in her general direction, ‘she likes it, but then we have to think it over. It’s quite an investment. A million dollars.’ 

‘Well, you have to see the location, Mr. Kapoor, right on the Marina,’ the agent began his hard sell. 

‘Darling,’ she came over, and hooked an arm through Mehal’s. ‘Can we discuss this first?’ 

‘I thought you liked it, darling,’ he emphasized the endearment. 

‘Oh, I do, but, can we just see a few more before we make the decision?’ 

The agent knew better than to get in-between a ‘husband-wife’ discussion. He stayed quiet watching their dynamics. 

‘Yes, of course, we can, darling,’ Mehal was continuing. ‘But we’ve seen so many already, and I knew as soon as you walked in here you wanted this place.’ She tried to glare at him, but he had a smirk on his face, like he knew he had her where he wanted her. She dug her nails into his rock-hard forearm and he had to say, ‘well, Robert. I have to listen to what the wife says. We’ll be in touch,’ he picked up one of the cards lying on the dresser. They quickly made their way downstairs, and out onto the road, before bursting into laughter. 

‘That was so much fun,’ she said. He nodded. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d enjoyed a day so much. There was still the rest of the afternoon left. 

‘Lunch,’ he said, leading her back to his car. The rest of the day passed with more sightseeing and it was late evening before they headed back to her hotel. 

He stopped the car in the portico and said, ‘did you enjoy yourself?’ 

She smiled at him and said, ‘thanks, Mehal. I had such a great time.’ 

‘Good. Be ready at eight tomorrow, we have a long drive,’ he said. 

‘A long drive? Where?’ 

‘Surprise,’ he said. ‘But we’ll definitely see the Golden Gate bridge. I know you want to do that.’ 

She looked at him, the question in her eyes, and on the tip of her tongue. Why are you doing all this with me, Mehal? Why are you spending so much time and energy on me? 

He was asking himself the same thing and not finding any good answers to it. 

‘Good night, Mehal,’ she said, ‘and thank you once again.’ 

‘Good night, Vanni,’ he replied, before starting the car. 

**** 

He walked into his bedroom in the huge penthouse that he lived in. One wall opened out to the Bay. He loved the view. But today, he wasn’t seeing much of it. On the way back, his mother had called. She wanted to talk to him tonight. He sighed. He knew exactly what she wanted, he thought. Marriage. Somehow that thought was unpalatable to him now as it was a few months ago. If possible, it was even more unpalatable to him now. He sat down and turned on his macbook, after texting his mom that he was going to be online in a few. 

He logged in and waited. His mother came online after a few minutes. 

‘Mehal, my son, how are you?’ she asked him. 

‘I’m good, Mom,’ he said. ‘How’s everybody?’ 

‘Everybody is fine. Mehal, you know why I called, right?’ 

‘Yes, Mom. And I keep telling you. I am not getting married.’ 

‘Mehal,’ she said quietly. ‘You’re thirty-two now. This is the right time for you to get married. Yesterday, we got a proposal. This girl is also in the US. She is working there. It would be an easy matter for you to connect with her. The family is good. She’s pretty nice looking. Educated and smart. What’s the harm in at least taking a look?’ 

‘Mom, I told you, I’m not interested,’ he said. These conversations always exhausted him. 

‘Mehal,’ he could see his father now. ‘Son, we need to know. Is there someone in your life? Someone that you like and would prefer to marry?’ 

He stared at them. Vanni’s face flashed in front of his eyes. ‘No, dad,’ he said slowly. Was there? Was Vanni that one person? ‘There’s nothing like that,’ he affirmed. 

‘Then at least take a look. You don’t have to commit to anything, not right now. But take a look at the photo I’ve emailed you, and then come to a decision.’ 

‘Dad,’ he said shaking his head. It was so senseless. This constant hammering at him to settle down. He was settled. He ran a multi-million dollar enterprise. He had homes in three cities across two countries, for crying out loud! ‘Dad, I’ll look at it, I promise,’ anything to get them off his back. 

*** 

Back in her room, Vanni lay on her bed thinking about her day and the day ahead. There was something about Mehal that drew her to him. In her head, she could hear his husky voice say, ‘You think the shower stall is big enough for both of us?’. She closed her eyes. Yes, the shower stall was big enough for them both, she thought. 

Sometime later she fell asleep. Her phone buzzed, but she had kept it on the dresser so she missed the call. 

The next morning, she dressed for the day in her usual jeans and flowered top and sneakers. He’d said they’d be outside all day. A good slathering of sun-block was required. Then some Shalimar and she was ready to go. She picked up the Oakleys and went down to the lobby. She was just walking out when she saw the familiar Corvette draw up. He leaned across and opened the door. 

‘Good morning, beautiful,’ he said, the endearment easily slipping from his lips. He didn’t know what made him say that.  

Her eyes opened wide and she looked at him. ‘Good morning, handsome,’ she replied. She closed the door and he took off, shifting smoothly through the gears. ‘Where are we going?’ she asked. The convertible’s top was down and she quickly tied her hair into a ponytail before it became too unruly. It was still quite early and there was practically no traffic. 

He smiled at her and said, ‘Wait for it.’ 

She settled down in her seat and watched him drive instead. The car wound along the 101, before hitting Van Nuys and then they were crossing the Golden Gate Bridge. She sat up in excitement, quickly taking out her camera to take pictures. She’d downloaded the images from yesterday and the closeup she’d taken of Mehal was a beautiful picture. He didn’t know it but she had an eye for a good shot. 

Once across the bridge, he turned off into the Golden Gate Park and parked the car. He’d been quiet on the drive down, his conversation with his parents still troubling him, his eyes hidden behind his shades. He helped her out of the car, and followed her as she went around clicking pictures excitedly. There were a few people already there, and she asked a couple if they could take a few pictures of her. They smilingly obliged as she ran back to him. 

‘Vanni, what?’ he asked. 

‘Pictures, Mehal,’ she said. She stood close to him, and his arm came around her naturally. He felt her back stiffen, but didn’t let go. She carefully put her arm around his waist, as their impromptu photographers clicked a few more pics for them. She took the camera from them, thanking them profusely before turning to look at him. 

He walked across to her, and slowly took her glasses off, while taking his own shades off. She stood there, uncertain as to where this was going. He was very serious, his eyes searching hers, before he lowered his head and kissed her. Full on the lips. 

For her moment, her eyes stayed open, and then drifted shut. Her fingers clung to his shirt, as his arms came around her, pulling her closer. She breathed him in, his cologne mixing with her perfume to create a unique scent all their own. His fingers traveled over her back, finding her spine and gently pressing down it. Her arms slid up the open neck of his collar, gliding on the smooth column of his throat. 

His lips were rubbing lightly over her parted ones, before he settled for her upper lip, lightly pulling on it, and then moving to her lower one. She took his upper lip between hers and gently sucked on it. 

A wolf-whistle drew them apart. Her eyes flew open, her hands resting on his heart that was racing as fast as hers was. His eyes were still closed as he rested his forehead against hers, his deep breathing telling her he was just as affected by the kiss as she was. 

They drew apart slowly, he kept ahold of her hand, leading her back to the car and helping her in. He got in and they drove off towards Napa Valley. The long winding roads through the vineyards are some of the most romantic drives in the country. The Corvette lovingly hugged every curve. He didn’t push it, just kept to the speed limit. They didn’t talk at all, till they came to a vineyard and he pulled into it. 

‘Where are we?’ she asked, looking around. There was a picturesque little covered bridge over a little stream. Fountains played in the ponds on either side of it. A rustic wooden structure stood in front of them. It was quiet here. Very quiet. It was also one of the most exclusive vineyards in Napa, and they never offered any tours. He led her inside, holding her hand in his. 

High wooden beams covered the ceiling and oak pillars held up the interior. It was an exclusive restaurant owned by a popular chef. He used the local wines for most of his dishes. He came out of a room in the rear and greeted Mehal. Vanni was surprised to see a celebrity chef in person. 

‘Mehal, good to see you again,’ he said. 

‘Jerry, good to see you, too,’ they shook hands. ‘This is Vanni. Vanni this is Jerry Leone.’ 

‘I know who he is,’ she said, awestruck to be shaking hands with him. 

He smiled kindly at her and said, ‘Vanni, welcome to my place.’ 

‘Thank you,’ she replied graciously. 

‘Mehal, breakfast is on the patio, if you care to make your way there. I’ll bring it out to you.’ 

‘Thanks, Jerry,’ he replied. They headed out to the patio where a table had been set out with chairs around it. 

They sat down and a waiter brought them a tray of coffee. Mehal poured two cups, added sugar and cream for hers and handed it to her. She was surprised he remembered! But his quietness was getting to her, as well as the completely unexpected kiss. 

‘Mehal, what’s going on?’ she asked. 

‘Not now, Vanni,’ he said. ‘We’ll talk later.’ 

She sat back unsatisfied with his answer, but what could she do? She hadn’t yet seen this serious side of him and it troubled her. 

Soon Jerry came out with platters of food. Fresh baked croissants, fried eggs, bacon, roasted potatoes and fruit. He joined them as they chatted pleasantly about food, Napa and wines in general. She watched Mehal talking, seeing in him the entrepreneur that he was. There was a command to his presence that she hadn’t realized before. She was enjoying seeing him like this, she thought. Today he was in khaki cargo pants, and an olive green shirt, with the usual sneakers and aviators and the steel watch. 

But what the heck was that kiss all about? She turned her face up o the sun, closing her eyes and basking in it. Here, up in the hills, the breeze was a little cooler and the sun helped warm her up. Unknown to her, Mehal had his eyes on her. He watched her for a second, and then reached for her camera, focusing on her profile, her hair shining in the sunlight, her full lips slightly parted, her long neck exposed, and clicked. He looked at the image. It was beautiful. 

‘Done?’ he asked her. She came back to earth. 

‘Yeah,’ she said. 

‘Okay. We should be leaving.’ 

‘The basket is in your car,’ said Jerry. 

‘Thanks, man,’ he said. 

They walked out to the car park and got in the car. Soon they were winding up more hills and vineyards the valleys looking for all the world like they were in Italy. It was about two in the afternoon, when she said, ‘Mehal? Are we stopping for lunch anywhere? I’m kinda hungry.’ 

‘We can stop anytime you want,’ he repllied. ‘I’ll find a spot.’ He drove on looking for the perfect spot and soon found it. It was a grassy overhang, hidden from the road by a row of bushes. A tall cypress stood in one corner and they made their way towards it. He carried the basket that Jerry had given him, while she took the sleeping bag that he’d put in the car earlier that day. They laid the sleeping bag down, and placed the basket on it. Sitting on the ground, under the cypress, they had a simple meal of antipasto, salad and bread. There was some fruit for dessert as well as a bottle of wine. They talked desultorily, clearly avoiding the topic that was foremost in both their minds - the Kiss! 

Finally, Vanni could take it no longer. ‘Mehal,’ she said. 

‘Hmm?’ he asked. He was lying down with his head in her lap, and he was comfortable and drowsy. 

‘Mehal, what’s going on?’ she asked. 

His eyes flew open. ‘What’s going on with what, Vanni?’ he asked. 

‘You’ve been very quiet today, and then there was ... that.. at the Golden Gate,’ she said, trying hard not to blush like a teenager. 

He went quiet and then sat up. He took her hands in both of his, and said, ‘Vanni, I’ve known you for just under a month now. And I don’t know what it is about you. But I love spending time with you. You ... ‘ he stopped searching for the words. He tried again, ‘I honestly don’t know where this is going, or if its going anywhere or not, but, for now, I am .. I do want to spend more time with you.’ He looked straight into her eyes as he said this. 

She didn’t avoid his eyes. She wasn’t coy like any other Indian woman. He liked this about her. She knew what she wanted and she went for it. ‘I like spending time with you too, Mehal. I really enjoyed yesterday and today too...’ She stopped. He hadn’t answered her question about the kiss. 

He saw that in her eyes and said, ‘I wanted to. Just at that moment, I wanted to kiss you, like I do right now,’ he added. He put out an arm and pulled her close, lips meeting naturally with each other. 

It was late when he finally dropped her off at the hotel. For once he sat in the car, looking at her with a smile on his face. His right hand reached out and held both of hers. She smiled back at him, content with the way things were between them. He leaned over and brushed her lips with his. ‘Good night, beautiful,’ he whispered against her lips. 

‘Good night, handsome,’ she whispered back. 

*** 

She walked into her room and belatedly remembered that she’d turned off her cell phone the entire day. She turned it back on and was surprised to see at least three calls from her mother! It could wait, she thought. She sent a text to her mother and headed to the bathroom. A quick shower later, she sat in her robe, and logged in. Her mother was also on Skype. 

‘Vanni, how are you?’ her mother said. 

‘Morning, ma. I’m fine. How’re you guys?’ 

‘We’re fine, beta. What happened? Why didn’t you return my calls?’ 

‘I was .... ‘ she stopped herself. ‘I had the phone on silent so I didn’t get your calls, ma. I turned it on just now, and saw how many calls you’d made. What’s going on?’ 

‘Vanni dear, we know how you like your freedom and your independence. But darling, it’s high time you settled down. You’re twenty-eight, almost twenty-nine. It’s time to start thinking of having a family!’ 

‘Ma, not again!’ Ugh! She hated these conversations! ‘How many times do I have to tell you that I am not interested? I have my career and ‘ 

‘And your career is going to look after you when you grow old?’ her mother came back with infallible logic. ‘Vanni, listen to me. There is a wonderful boy that we have found. The family lives in Mumbai, but he lives in the States. They are a very good family and he is also a good boy. At least talk to him or meet with him, and see how it goes,’ her mother said. ‘Where is the harm in that? You can always say no if you don’t want to.’ 

Mehal’s deep eyes flashed into her mind. 

‘Or is there someone else, Vanni? Let us know, and then we can proceed from there.’ 

‘No, ma,’ she said. What can I say? I’ve met this guy three weeks ago, and all of a sudden he is becoming the center of my universe? She swallowed. ‘There’s nothing like that.’ I’m dammed if I do and I’m dammed if I don’t, she thought. 

‘In that case, Vanni, at least look at the photo we sent you and then make up your mind.’ 

‘Okay, Ma,’ anything to get her off her back! 

**** 

At his home, Mehal called his mother. 

‘Mom,’ he began, crossing his fingers before telling the lie, ‘I saw the picture and no, I.. she’s not my type.’ 

‘What is your type, son?’ his mother was really exasperated. 

‘I don’t know, mom, but when I do, I’ll let you know,’ he finished before hanging up. My type he thought, a small smile playing on his mouth - feisty, cuddly, sexy, honest, smart, can carry on a conversation, worries about stupid things, and talks nineteen to the dozen, he thought. That’s my type, mom. 

*** 

The next day, Vanni called up her mother. 

‘Ma,’ she began, crossing her fingers before telling the lie, ‘I saw the picture and no, I... he’s not my type.’ 

‘Type? now you have a type for a man?’ her mother was more than annoyed. 

‘I don’t know, ma. But well, I don’t think that’s the man I want to spend the rest of my life with.’ 

**** 

Two days later, having just finished a long conversation with Vanni on the phone, he sat down to check his emails. Out of curiosity, he clicked on the email from his dad with the girl’s picture. The file was an attachment. He downloaded it and clicked open. For a moment, his mouth fell open. She was wearing a saree - she wore sarees? he thought - and it was obviously a picture taken at a party. Her hair was curled and hanging to one side. A wide smile - how well he knew that smile and that mouth, he thought - curved across her face. She still had her glasses on. How he hated those glasses, he thought, smiling at the picture. A deep laugh rumbled out of his throat. 

He picked up the phone and dialed her number. 

Vanni was busy compiling a piece of code. This was the best time to get long processes to run, all was quiet with the servers. The buzzing of the phone interrupted her thought. She looked at the picture on the caller Id - Mehal? this late? again? 

She picked up the phone and could hear him laughing at the other end. ‘Mehal? What’s up?’ 

‘Vanni, have you received an email from your parents?’ 

She looked at the phone astonished that he should be asking this question. ‘What?’ 

‘Yeah. Have your parents emailed you?’ 

She clicked on her inbox. ‘Yeah,’ she said. 

‘Open it.’ 

This was the email with the guy’s pic, she thought. What was Mehal talking about? She clicked on the mail, and then clicked on the attachment. Mehal smiled up at her. It was a close up, his hair was wet and he was looking straight at the camera. She swallowed. 

‘Oh my God!’ she said. ‘Oh my God! Omigod!!’ 

‘Stop, Vanni,’ he said. ‘I know, I just opened the email from my parents too.’ 

For a moment they both sat silently looking at each other’s photo. 

‘Mehal?’ 

‘Hmm?’ 

‘What did you tell your parents?’ 

‘I told them no,’ he said. 

‘Oh!’ 

‘Listen, beautiful, I hadn’t even seen your photo at the time,’ he protested. Then said, ‘and what did you tell them?’ 

‘I said no, too’. 

A smile broke across his face once again. ‘Why?’ 

‘Cause he’s not my type,’ she said, understanding what he was asking, but circumventing it nevertheless. 

‘Vanni, we need to meet, tomorrow,’ he said. 

‘But I fly back tomorrow,’ she protested. 

‘Cancel it,’ very firmly. ‘We need to talk.’ 

‘Okay, but my hotel room..’ 

‘I have a guest room, you can stay here,’ his voice was husky when he said that. The thought of her sharing his very private space was unsettling to him, but exciting too. 

‘Alright,’ she said. 

‘I’ll pick you up, what time do you get out?’ 

‘Around five in the evening.’ 

‘Fine. Pack your bags, and I’ll be picking you up from work, k?’ 

She nodded, ‘OK’. 

**** 

The next day, she waited at for him in the lobby of her offices. He pulled up in the Corvette a little late, and she walked over to him. He took her case and her laptop bag, stowing them on the back seat, completely oblivious to the stares they were receiving from her colleagues. 

They drove into downtown to one of the skyscrapers. He parked in an underground parking lot and they headed into the elevators. 

‘Mehal,’ she said. ‘Do you have a washing machine?’ 

‘A what now?’ 

‘A washing machine. I need to launder my clothes.’ 

He pulled her into his arms, and said, ‘Are you always this practical?’ 

‘Yes, of course,’ she replied, ‘someone has to be.’ 

He smiled and gave her a quick kiss as the elevator ground to a stop. They walked down a short corridor. There were only six apartments on the top floor, his was one of the corner ones. He unlocked the door and motioned her in. 

She gasped at the view from his living room. It was a stupendous view, the bay, Alacatraz and Golden Gate, all lay in front of her. 

‘Do you like it?’ he asked, waiting for her to say yes. 

‘I love it!’ she exclaimed. 

‘Come on, I’ll show you the guest bedroom, and then you can get your laundry started. Although why you can just buy another set of clothes, I don’t know,’ he grumbled, sounding suddenly like a husband. 

She looked at his retreating back in surprise and followed him to the guest bedroom. Once she’d started the laundry, she went looking for him, and found him sitting in the glassed in balcony a drink in hand, having changed out of his formals into more casual wear. He looked up when she came in, and said, ‘what do you want to drink?’ 

‘Nothing,’ she said, she was a bit nervous, because surely now, they would have THE TALK! She sat down next to him. 

He was quiet for a while and then said, ‘It’s strange, huh? You and I met on a flight that you weren’t supposed to be on. And we clicked. Then our parents decided that we should get married. I didn’t tell you because this pressure has been on me for the last God alone knows how many years. When they sent your photo I didn’t even look at it, and said no outright.’ He held her eyes with his while he talked. ‘Had I known...’ 

She waited with bated breath to hear what he had to say. He put down the glass, looked straight into her eyes and said, ‘Had I known it was you they wanted to set me up with, I would have said yes.’ She swallowed nervously, it was her turn. She met his gaze as she said two little words, ‘me too.’ They looked at each other for a long moment, each trying to digest what this meant for them. ‘We have to tell the parents,’ he said finally. 

She looked at him and smiled, and then it turned wicked. ‘Tonight?’ 

He read the impish look in her eyes and grinned, ‘Yep. Tonight. But first,’ he reached out and put an arm around her waist, ‘come here,’ he whispered, before yanking her onto his lap and burying his lips on hers. 

She sat in the guest bedroom, logged into Skype waiting for her parents to come online. He sat in the living room, waiting for his parents to come online. 

‘Ma, papa’ she said, when her parents finally came online. ‘Ma, we have to talk.’ 

‘What’s up, son?’ asked Mrs.Kapoor. ‘Talk about what?’ 

‘I haven’t been completely honest with you, mom, dad’ he replied. 

‘What about?’ said Mrs. Rathod. 

‘There is someone in my life, ma,’ she said. 

Mrs.Kapoor’s eyes widened.‘There is? Who is she? Where did you meet her?’ 

‘She’s actually in the guest room right now, talking to her parents,’ he said. 

‘I’m actually at his place right now, he’s in the other room, talking to his parents as well,’ she said. 

‘Well, we want to see him then, go get him and come,’ said Mrs. Rathod. She heard a knock on the door on her daughter’s side, and then Vanni turned to face whoever it was. 

‘Can you come to the living room?’ they heard a male voice say. 

‘Sure,’ said Vanni. From the motion they could make out that she had picked up her laptop and was following this unknown male into another room. 

Mrs Kapoor watched as her son came back into view. She could see the side of a woman next to him. She seemed to be doing something, and then the camera moved. They could see her now, sitting next to their son. Their mouths fell open. Wasn’t this...? 

Mr and Mrs Rathod too had their mouths open, while the children watched their faces with big grins. 

‘Mom, Dad, this is Vahni Rathod, Vanni,’ he introduced her to his parents. Vanni raised her folded palms in a namastey. Then they turned to her laptop. ‘Ma, Papa, this is Mehal Kapoor,’ she said. He did namaste to her parents too. 

For a moment there was silence and then sounds erupted from both laptops. 

The two of them watched in glee as the parent tried to talk to them and then Mehal held up his hands. ‘Uncle, Aunty,’ he addressed the Rathods, ‘do I have permission to ask your daughter to marry me?’ 

They nodded. There wasn’t much they could do anyway. 

‘Mom, Dad, I know we should be doing this in India, and we’ll have the wedding there, I promise. But, now I have to do this.’ 

He got up and went down on one knee in front of Vanni and both their parents. ‘Vanni Rathod, will you marry me? That is, if I am your type?’ he asked. 

She smiled at him, tears filling her eyes, suddenly feeling very emotional. 

‘Yes, I will,’ she said. He held out a hand to her, and she put her hand in it. He pulled out a ring from his pocket, a cluster of diamonds, interspersed with blue sapphires and green emeralds and slid it onto her finger. He got up and turned the two laptops to face each other. 

‘I think you’ll should get to know one another, talk to each other,’ he said, before turning to Vanni and hauling her into his arms for a long kiss. Her knee knocked against the laptops and the cameras faced back towards them. They were so lost in themselves, they completely missed the horror-struck look on their parents faces as they watched their children kiss each other in a very grown up way! 

******