Episode THIR13EN

If you are new to this story, do not start here. Go to the Index and Introduction page.

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'I'd like to make an offer to you - to join our franchise as a player for one season'

Warney was shocked. This was beyond his dreams, and he didn't know how to react. 'Thank you,  sir. That's very flattering, but I'm not sure I'd be able to take it up.'

'Why?'

'Well, I'm well-settled in my job and quite happy. I'm not sure I'd want to take such a drastic step as turning pro cricketer.'

'OK. For starters, I know banking can't be a very exciting job. You have great talent as a cricketer, and I can see you really enjoy playing. If I was in your position, I'd jump at the opportunity to turn pro.'

'A few years ago, I might have. But at 25, after having attended IIT and IIM, and being settled into this job - I think it's too late.'

'It isn't too late. You can train for a few months, and will be on the squad this coming summer. If you do well, you could even make the national team before you turn 30. Imagine the possibilities!'

'Yeah, it is very exciting, but too risky'

'We're offering you $30,000 for one season. And if you do well, there are no limits really, for the future.'

'30,000... that equals about Rs 15 Lakh, right? That's only a little higher than what I'm earning currently. And much riskier.'

'It's NOT a risk, Mr Bhatia. It is more than you are earning now. In the worst case - if you don't do well, you could go back to your banking job. With your qualifications, it wouldn't be difficult. And no one would mind having an employee with IPL experience on their resume!'

Deep was stumped. This guy was making sense. But he didn't feel comfortable.

'What makes you sure that I will do well? I've never played anywhere near that level.'

'Wrong! The L&T - A team is as good as some of the Ranji state teams. You've done quite well against them today. I've seen you throughout the tournament - you have a lot of natural talent, and a good cricketing head. With proper coaching and facilities that we provide - I know you'll develop into a very good cricketer.  Trust me, I know my job.'

'I don't know, sir. I'll think about it. Can you give me time till next Sunday? I have to think all possible consequences, and also discuss with my family and all.'

'Sure. We could up our offer to about $50,000 for one season - with some conditions. I look forward to signing you next Sunday.'

Warney smiled, and they parted.

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Warney accepted the offer the following Sunday, after much deliberation and long discussions with Preeti, his parents, his good friends. All of them resisted the idea at first, but eventually accepted that there was little to lose, and a humongous potential upside. Shubh had made the decision easier by letting Warney know he could walk right back into his job if things didn't work out. That was, assuming Shubh was still around. Otherwise, Shubh would hire him wherever he was, and he was fairly sure ICICI's doors would also remain open. The contract was simple - 3 months rigorous training & coaching. And another 3 months of match-play. Warney's remuneration would vary between $30k and $50k - depending on how many matches he actually played, which in turn would depend on his performance. At the end of the season, the contract could be renewed if both parties so wished. Otherwise, he'd be released.

The biggest consequence - already - was winning over Preeti's dad. Over the past couple of months, Preeti and her mom had both been trying to convince him about the marriage proposal. Warney was intelligent, successful, from a respectable family, from the same community, and he and Preeti really loved and cared for each other. Everything that mattered was 'right'. He had almost relented, though he still wasn't too impressed by Warney's professional standing. The IPL offer had been the final straw. Now, he was convinced that his only daughter was going to be with someone truly special.

Warney and Preeti were going to Delhi a week later, and a meeting of both families was being arranged.

'Is the Hyatt impressive enough for your dad?'

'What for?'

'As a venue for the families to meet. Over dinner.'

'What for?'

'What for?! You know what for!'

'I don't.'

'Rishte ki baat karne.'

'Kaisa rishta?'

'Tumhara aur mera?!'

'I don't want an arranged marriage.'

'Arranged marriage? WTF? This is NOT an arranged marriage!'

'Looks like one. The families are meeting. No one has proposed to me.'

Now Warney understood what this was about. Ms. High Maintenance wanted him to do the proposal on-his-knees-with-a-ring and all.

'Ahh! You expect me to go on my knees and propose? Come on, that's unnecessarily dramatic.'

'I would call it romantic. It's neither dramatic nor unnecessary.'

'Fine, I'll do it.'

'No!'

'Now what?'

'If you announce it first, and do it like a punishment, it's not right. You need to surprise me. And it'd better be nice.'

'Hmmm. OK. Dinner at the Oberoi tomorrow?'

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They sat down at their table, at the hotel's famous Kandahar restaurant, and ordered drinks and starters. Soon, the waiter arrived with two glasses of Champagne and a chocolate cake. He placed the cake on the table. Preeti read it.

'Will you marry me?' 

'Yes.... Yes' (both options had small checkboxes next to them)

She smiled.

'Oh god! This is a tough choice!'

'I know. Tough to choose any one of those and let the other go.'

'It's more like a choice between the devil and the deep sea.'

'Well, the devil's right in front of you, and the deep sea right behind. Choose. Now!'

'Hmmm. The sea's murky and I don't know how to swim. The devil looks cute and has been nice to me. I think I'll go with the devil.'

'You won't regret it. You have the devil's word.... Also, the devil's reserved a room here for the night, should you choose him'

'Deep, are you nuts?'

'What? This is a special occasion. You wanted this.'

'I wanted a proposal, NOT a honeymoon. That's crazy. Please tell me you're kidding.'

'No, I'm not. I knew you'd protest, so I've already reserved it and the credit card's already been charged.'

'You're an idiot. What's the point? We're not gonna do anything we haven't done before.'

'We've never done it in 5-star luxury!'

'That's supposed to be AFTER the marriage, you moron. There's got to be something to look forward to.'

'Oh, there's plenty to look forward to later also. We're only getting started!'

'Bullshit.'

'I surprised you today, didn't I? Just wait and watch'

She knew he had a point, so she let it go with a smile. They were about to dig into the cake, when they were startled by some loud explosions.

Deep turned to look at the restaurant door, where a young chap wearing Jeans and a sweatshirt was walking in, with a big-ass gun in his hand. What the Frag?! This had to be some sort of a joke, and it was a rather distasteful one for a place like this.

In a moment, Deep realized it wasn't a joke. The man fired, and Preeti was hit in the neck. She fell to the floor, with her neck bleeding badly. In a few seconds, he could see bleeding from her mouth, and her eyes were open and had a glazed look. She was... dead.

Deep went numb. He couldn't fathom what was goin on. This was a nightmare, and all happening too quickly for him. He felt something tear through his side. He felt intense pain, but his mind was numb. He then felt another shot through his ribs, and one through his right arm. He fell to the floor. 

As he was losing consciousness, his mind started playing tricks on him. Everything around him changed. He was standing at an airport. Some distance away, he saw Preeti. She was wearing blue denim capris, a pale pink tee, and sneakers, with rimless glasses. She was reading some novel.

She looked up from the book, and their eyes met. She smiled, and and held out both arms inviting him. Deep started walking towards her.

Then, everything started shaking like there was an earthquake. All the people around them disappeared. There was just Preeti. His vision was blurred, but he could make out that she was still smiling, and holding out open arms. He started running faster. With every step, things were blurring more and more. And then, everything dissolved into darkness.

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(End)

Episode TWE12E

If you are new to this story, do not start here. Go to the Index and Introduction page.

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Preeti wrote about Deep in her diary that night: '...He seems like the answer to my prayers - someone who understands and appreciates me the way I am. We sit and talk about everything, and I look forward to sharing my dreams and fantasies and ideals with him some day... hope it arrives soon'

The next day was awkward. On the surface, it was just another day at work. But both of them knew they'd be meeting at the beach in the evening, and this could be a turning point in their relationship. It was hard to focus on work, and at 6 pm - much earlier than the usual - they both left office.

Preeti sat down near the waves' edge. Deep sat down, 3 feet away from her - as usual. General chit-chat followed for a few minutes, and then an awkward silence.

'We bulb again', remarked Deep, staring into the distance. Preeti shrugged. She'd accepted that it might take weeks, if not months, for Deep to make an open move, and she'd just have to be patient.

'But I don't like it ... and you don't like it ... so...' He stepped closer to her, and the next moment they were sitting together, with his arm around her shoulders. The moment seemed to last forever. Deep was awkward, because he'd never been in a position anything like this in the past. Preeti couldn't believe what had just happened, and wanted to pinch herself to ensure she wasn't dreaming.

They talked a bit - about how nice this felt and how it should've happened much earlier. Then, they just settled quietly to soak in the moment. The sun was setting on the horizon, creating various  flared shades of yellow and red in the sky and on the water. A few catamarans were visible in the distance - and added to the 'stillness' the moment. Everything just felt perfect. It can't be described here - you could only understand if you were there.

Deep took his arm off her shoulder, and started to rummage through his laptop back-pack. Preeti didn't know what had happened, and wished they could just go back a few minutes - to the moment his arm was around her.

Deep pulled out a gigantic card, and gave it to her. It was titled '101 reasons why I love you', and some two dozen were listed on the cover - such as 'you make me smile', 'no matter how much time I spend with you, it's not enough'. Preeti was overwhelmed, and started to read the whole 101 reasons. Deep settled behind her, such that she was virtually in his lap, and put both his arms around her. This moment, also, seemed to last forever.

She finished reading the card a few minutes later, and was almost in tears. No one had ever held her like that before, and she'd never received a card like this. She'd thought she'd grown out of all this, but now she felt 16-years-old all over again. 'Deep, I don't know what to say.'

He just took her left hand in his, pulled it up to his face, and kissed it. She gave him a peck on the cheek. And then, they kissed - for the first time, blissfully unaware of the world around them, and for nearly a whole minute. Then they kissed again. And again...

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Over the next couple of months, Deep and Preeti were inseparable. They were together in office all day, and together on weekends - watching movies and plays, meeting friends at pubs, discs, coffee shops, shopping, and sometimes doing the endless office work. They made no effort to cover up, and within two months everyone in the office knew they were together - including their boss Shubh, and his boss as well.

Deep told his parents about Preeti, and they were happy for him. They reserved final judgment till they'd met her and her family in person, but it seemed very unlikely that they'd create any problems for this couple. 

It was a different story at Preeti's house. While her mom was thrilled and fully supportive, her dad wasn't too impressed with Deep's profile. Not that he had anything against Deep personally, nor did he think Deep wasn't successful and respectable. But, he thought his daughter deserved better than a colleague. While he'd encouraged Preeti to attend good colleges and take up a serious job, he believed she'd eventually have to compromise her career for her family. And to maintain the same lifestyle, social status etc. - she'd have to marry someone more successful than herself. His most preferred profile would be some guy working in the West - with a Masters' degree from Harvard or suchlike. Within India, he'd have liked to see his daughter married to an Investment Banker or a McKinsey consultant - preferably one with a degree from IIM-A, and a salary at least 50% higher than her own. Deep seemed 'nice', but 'not quite good enough'. If Preeti put her foot down, he wouldn't oppose the marriage too much. But Preeti wanted to completely win him over before getting married. Her dad had been the most important man in her life thus far, and she wanted him to be 'happy', and not 'just playing along'.

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ICICI Bank - Orange Team was in the Final of the Corporate Twenty20 Championship of Mumbai. Larsen & Toubro A - their opponents - had been the best team in the tournament by some margin. All 11 of their players were young, and most of them had played at the State-level or higher. ICICI-Orange were one of 3 teams that could stake equal claim to being 'second best', and they had barely scraped through to the Final. Their campaign was marked by small contributions from all players, and match-winning performances by 1-2 individuals each time. Warney was one of the four guys who had won multiple matches for ICICI-Orange with their individual brilliance.

Warney had acquired a reputation during the course of the tournament - as 'the destructive number 3, who often hits the first ball he faces for 6'. His achievements included a record 16-ball 50, which he bettered with another 11-ball effort in a later game. The latter (54) came in a match where one of the openers fell for 0, and the other had scored 2 off 4 balls, while Warney and 'extras' demolished the target of 62 in under 4 overs!

While Warney was quite proud of the reputation he'd acquired as a fearsome top-order batsman, he was unhappy with his bowling record. He'd always considered leg-spin his 'primary' skill on a cricket field, and most of his life he'd played on teams as a quality leg-spinner who 'could hit a few with the bat later in the innings'. He found the current situation quite ironical. It wasn't really his fault, though. TV had educated opponents about pacing a 20-over innings, and  spinners didn't really have much of a chance. And, Warney was an 'old-school' kind of spinner, whose game wasn't cut out for a total of 4 overs, typically in two short spells of 2 overs each, to batsmen who made no effort to understand what he was serving up, and were going to swing hard anyway.

L&T won the toss, and ICICI-Orange were batting first. The first wicket fell on the 5th ball with 4 on the board. Warney walked in, for possibly the most significant innings he'd ever played. There was no first-ball 6 this time. L&T were aware of the threats he posed, and bowled a very disciplined length which didn't allow him to free his arms. Warney, for his part, curbed his natural aggressive game, and batted with great concentration. By the time he was out caught in the 14th over, he'd scored 35 runs off 42 balls, with only two boundaries and one 6. The team's score read 75/5 off 13.4. Upon his return, some of his team-mates complimented him on his determined effort, and he could sense others had been disappointed by his inability to force the pace.

Preeti seemed happy, but this was largely because her understanding of the game was limited. She thought he'd done quite well to survive as long as he did, and score twice as many as the next-highest individual score. Warney explained to her that while he had done well to survive, he hadn't been able to do much more for the team. His performance had helped them put up a respectable score, but they'd need about 50 more to win. And as the star batsman, he should've been the man to get those runs. In that sense, he'd failed the team.

The innings folded up for 108 in the 19th over. The 2nd innings began well with ICICI-Orange making some early breakthroughs. Warney came on to bowl in the 9th over, and bowled his quota in one unbroken spell - which was possibly his best in the whole tournament. For the first time in the tournament, he'd got a long spell (as long as T20 allows, anyway!) - and a chance to bowl at proper batsmen who respected the stuff he bowled at them. He finished with figures of 4-0-13-2. It wasn't enough, though. L&T batted carefully till the 15th over, making sure they didn't lose too many wickets too quickly, and a late surge allowed them to wrap up the much with 15 balls and 4 wickets in hand.

Warney hand't been able to win the big match for his team, but he received the man-of-the-series award for 'several breathtaking innings at the top of the order for ICICI-Orange throughout the tournament, and useful contributions with the ball, helping his team to finish as the first runners' up'.

While he celebrated the trophy with Preeti and a few close friends, a dark, middle-aged man in a suit walked up to him, and asked to have a word in private. He looked serious, and Warney obliged.

'Hello, Mr. Bhatia. I'm Milind Damle. I'm a talent scout for the Mumbai Indians IPL franchise.'

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Concludes here

Episode E11VEN

If you are new to this story, do not start here. Go to the Index and Introduction page.

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'So... Warney...', began Preeti in a mischievous tone. When she started with 'Warney', it was a sure sign she was about to pull his leg.

'How was your date with the dream-girl yesterday?'

Warney gave an awkward smile, and paused for effect. 'Imagine all the stereotypes... Doon boarding school snob, fast Bombay girl, young working girl who doesn't wanna get married, and the college hottie who knows the effect she has on all the guys around her and treats them like worms'. He paused again for effect. 'Roll all those up into one person. That's who I met! How do you think it went?'

'Was she hot?'

'Yea-ah?!'

'So that's all that matters, right? When are you getting married.'

'P! You know me better than that.'

'You said so yourself!'

'I was kidding. Do I look or sound like I'm in a mood for jokes right now?'

'Ok. What happened?', she was serious now.

'It was... intriguing! We spoke quite freely about everything. We didn't get bored. But I'm not sure I liked her.'

'But this was your first meeting. Give it some time.'

'P, I really don't wanna talk about this now. I know its a hopeless case, and I'm still in a bit of shock since yesterday.'

'Ok. Beach in evening?'

'Hmmm... OK!'

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'So... what was the problem?'

'Well, she was a bit rude and very cold. She spoke like a page-3 snob. Basically, if I'd come across someone like that elsewhere, I'd conclude "not my type" within 5 minutes, and that'd be the end of that.'

'Hmmm... You don't sound convincing. I can still sense hope.'

'Well, yeah. I had a picture in my head - the ideal girl for me. This one seemd to fit all those criteria. But it just didn't work, so I'm quite shaken.'

'What is this "ideal profile"? Tell me!'

'Well, it's preferably Punjabi, though that's negotiable. Someone from an upper-middle, service class family like mine - so that we share common values. Someone who's intelligent and well-educated - from good colleges. You know - someone I can discuss anything with, who'd sustain my interest and earn my respect. Also, someone with a similar lifestyle - similar interests, and same plans and priorities for our life together! And, of course, HAWT!'

'Phew! That's some list.'

'She seemed to fit all of it.' Pause. Deep breath. 'So do you! But then you've already got Arjun.'

Preeti couldn't quite believe what she'd just heard. Was Deep finally making a move? This was surely an expression of interest. Kritika was right.

'Not any more.'

'Yeah, maybe. But you're not over him. Anyway, you're a friend. I wish you had a younger sister.'

'Preeti Khanna. Single and unavailable', she announced to the world at large. She paused. 'But for you, Deepesh Bhatia, the truth is this - single and available.'

Now, Warney was confused. Was she suggesting she was available to him, or just telling him - as a friend - that she was open to a new relationship in general. He wasn't going to take any chances.

'What - exactly - do you mean?'

'Oh god', she thought, 'this guy is slow.' 

A moment later: 'No, he can't be this slow. He never is. He's just playing dumb, coz he doesn't have the guts to make an open move. Is he expecting me to serve it to him on a platter? Dude, get a pair!'

'I'm just saying - I think I'm over Arjun now. Or almost there. And I'd like to take another shot at a relationship - and hope it goes "happily ever after" this time. I'm telling you, coz I trust you. For the rest of the world, it is still Preeti Khanna - single and unavailable. I don't want any random joker trying his luck.'

Warney was having a tough time keeping up with this. He was clearly being given a special place. She was openly telling him she was not available for just anyone, but available for the right person - and maybe she thought he was a 'right person'. Why couldn't she just say it straight? Damn these women!

Preeti's phone rang. It was Kritika, and she had to leave. So they left.

Back home, Warney continued thinking about the dicsussion with Preeti. She had given him leading signs - probably as much as she could without actually proposing a relationship. And this just a day after he met Prabha-with-a-vee, whom he had declared 'dream girl'. Was she really interested? He didn't know for sure.

After a few hours, several beers, and having run out of friends willing to humor his ponderings, Warney took a decision. 'She did say she was ready for a relationship. I am interested. Let me ask her. And then - que sera sera!'

He was by now too drunk to call, or even write something sensible. Besides, if she didn't say yes - it'd be very very awkward. But, he felt brave enough to do something at least. So he sent her a song by email.

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Preeti logged into GMail, and saw an email from Deepesh Bhatia. This was strange - they exchanged a lot of office email, but he rarely sent her anything on GMail. And all Deep's emails always had an appropriate subject. This was blank.

She opened it. The only thing there, was an mp3 attachment. She played it.

"Zaara naazar uthake dekho
Baithe hai hum yahi
Bekhabar mujhse kyon ho?
Itne boore bhi hum nahin

Zamane ki baaton mein uljho na
Hai yeh aasaan janana
Khud se jo agar tum poocho
Hai hum tumhare ke nahi
Teri aankhon ka jaadu
Poori duniya pe hai
Duniya ki iss bheed main
Sabse peeche hum khade"... (for those interested, listen here. Read complete lyrics here)

The song ended. She remained frozen for a minute. Then she smiled, as a solitary tear rolled down her cheek.

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'Hi, Deep.'

He looked up at her. He had a million questions popping up, and a dozen different scenarios playing out in his head, yet he managed to feign nonchalance. 'Hi.'

'You have something to say?' She was standing beside his desk, and staring at him. Fortunately, no one else was in yet.

Warney didn't want a scene here, and he knew it was one of the possibilities, so he tried to defuse the situation. He pretended not to understand, and just stared blankly at her for a minute.

'No, nothing particular to say, as such. Why?'

'About the song you sent me last night. You have something to say.'

'No. I was drunk, and I just though of you. You and Arjun, and all that. Just wanted to say I'm there for you, as your best friend.'

'Bullshit', thought Preeti. She knew better than to believe this. She continued to stand there, staring at him, thinking what to say next.

'I want to tell you a story.' 

Deep lowered his laptop screen, and turned to face her.

'In school, when I was in class 8, there was a boy in my class. He had a crush on me. I knew it. Hell, the whole school and the whole neighborhood knew it. I liked him too. We became friends. We often walked back together from school, and he'd offer to carry my bag. I used to take Brandy (her dog) out for a walk every evening around 6. While all the other boys continued playing cricket or whatever, he was somehow always heading back home around that time, and would join me and Brandy. One time, I was out with my friends for a movie - and he came to my house and took Brandy out for her walk all by himself.

For three years, I kept waiting for him to say he liked me. I wanted to go beyond this whole "running into each other" to meet, and to go out for movies and coffee and parties with him. But he never had the guts to say anything. At the end of class 10, his father got transferred and he left Delhi. And then it ended, without even ever beginning, really.'

'Nice story. Are you trying to make a point?'

'Yeah. If a guy likes me, and even if I like him, he will have to say it. No matter how much I'd ever want to start a relationship with some guy, I'm high-maintenance. And these are my terms and conditions.'

'Hmmm.'  Then, he was silent.

'I'm asking you one last time. Do you have anything to say?'

He thought about it for a few seconds. 'Beach... tomorrow evening?'

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Continues here

Deep's story

Index:

Episode 1NE

Episode 2WO

Episode THR3E

Episode 4OUR

Episode 5IVE

Episode 6IX

Episode SE7EN

Episode EI8HT

Episode 9I9E

Episode 10-EN
Episode E11VEN
Episode TWE12E
Episode THIR13EN

About the story:

This story has the same basic idea as YashRaj's 'Rab ne...' - For every ordinary jodi, there is an extraordinary love story! Cheesy, I know, and not the kind of stuff I usually put up on this blog. But I really wanted to do this - it's different, it's ambitious, it's personal, and I'm quite happy with the result...thus far.

It gives me great joy becuase it is almost real - just about everything that happened here has happened to people I know. It's not any one person's, or any single couple's story. I've taken interesting experiences and stories that various people have shared with me over the years, and woven them all together into one story. There is a little bit of fiction, but only very little, for continuity's sake. I hope you enjoy reading it, and hope you will let me know what you think of it in any case. Also - if you've had any memorable, interesting experiences that you'd like to share with the world - you know whom to contact ;)

One of my favorite authors is Erich Segal. His 'Love Story' is, till date, the only book I've read in one sitting. Even though he revealed in the first para that Jenny was going to die, I cried when she did at the end! I'm not suggesting that this is even a patch on his work, or that I have even a fraction of the ability and skill he does, but I'd like to mention that Segal's 'Love Story' is the inspiration for this work - in terms of the storyline, as well as the style.

   

Genesis:

This started off as a simple idea for one post, inspired in part by something my flatmate once wrote. I had an idea, and e1 was the product. By the time I finished writing e1, I felt people would want to know what happened next, and e2 was in order. So, I came up with some more ideas, and thought I'd write a full story spanning about 6 episodes.

Once I got down to writing, recalling various stories I'd heard from various people and also some experiences of my own that I wanted to share, and writing at great length as I usually do, the story just exploded. For instance, 5,6,7,8 - were supposed to be ONE episode in the original plan - I just had too much to write!

After 8, I had some more ideas for the rest of the story - but I was, for a while, unable to tie them together into one engaging story. At one time, my 'plan' was for about 17+ episodes, and I was fairly convinced every reader would lose interest. But, after a long break, I finally managed to clear things up in my own head. This story should be complete in 13 episodes - and at least 2 of the last 3 should be quite engaging.

Some people wanted 'sex and violence' - the full-blown commercial masala! It doesn't really fit in this genre. But I just might surprise you all a bit :)

Final word:

Please, PLEASE give feedback through comments. I am writing this largely for my own pleasure, and will write the whole story even if nobody likes it. But if you do like it - do let me know. I might just get inspired to develop this into a book, or a script. Or at least write more stories here.

Episode 10-EN

If you are new to this story, do not start here. Go to the Index and Introduction page.

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Warney reached Mahesh Lunch Home 10 minutes before the agreed time of 1 pm. He got an sms from Prabha-with-a-vee, informing him that she will be about 45 min late, and would have to leave soon coz she had 'a million small jobs to be done today'. Warney was a little annoyed, as he wanted to spend some quality time, and - if things went well - he would suggest going to the Coffee shop at the Marriott (which was adjacent to Mahesh) for some dessert. The sizzling brownies at the Marriott Coffee Shop are awesome, and the ambience is much more suitable for a date, than the restaurant where they'd agreed to have lunch. Mahesh was a 'functional' venue for testing waters, and Marriott a 'warmer' venue for taking things further, if they wanted. But Warney's well-thought-out plans had just been trashed, and he had to wait in the blazing sun for nearly an hour.

He messaged her back, asking her if she even had enough time for lunch in a very mildly rude manner. He'd really wanted to go way futher, and to suggest calling it off if she had any issues, but decided to play nice, for now. It didn't work. He got a long sms, which read - 'You know what, I can see you're losing patience. Let me tell you that the fact that I'm doing this is a big deal for me. Keep that in mind before you  pass any snide remarks. As for when I'll leave - we'll see during lunch. Now, if you don't mind - I can't sms any more coz I have to get ready to make it for the lunch.'

Warney had indeed lost some of his patience, and he thought that was legitimate. But he'd been trying hard to keep his cool and NOT sound nasty on the sms, so he felt the reaction was overboard and unwarranted. He tried to defuse the situation, by sending another sms that she'd read between the lines when there was nothing there. He was just asking her an honest question, and trying to be practical rather than sarcastic. And he ended it with 'see you soon.'

Prabha-with-a-vee arrived half an hour later. Warney thought he recognized her as she drove in, but did not go to receive her, staying on the phone with a friend instead. A minute later, he could see an incoming call from her, and bid adieu to his friend. He walked over to the restaurant. She was indeed hawt, though she did not look exactly like her pics. Perhaps it was because she was all smiles and joie-de-vivre in the pics. She definitely did NOT look very happy to be here right now. They shook hands and sat down, diagonally across rather than facing each other, which Warney found a little weird.  He tried to break the ice - 'OK, I'm not sure how I managed to piss you off even before you got here.' It was meant to be funny, and he hoped it'd be a conversation starter. All he got was a cold shrug and a look-away. And in that moment warney realized he had a long climb uphill , if this meeting was to be a success.

'Water - regular or mineral, sir?, queried the waiter.

Warney thought for a second. He always ordered mineral water in cheap restaurants, but trusted reputed ones like Mahesh to serve safe, purified water, and believed the expense on mineral water at such places was unnecessary.

'Regular's fine.'

'Excuse me - I'll have mineral water', said the girl across the table, to the waiter. Usually, in such situations with friends, Warney realized they always discussed the water-choice among themselves. This woman hadn't bothered with him, and spoken to the waiter directly, ordering water separately for herself. Not good.

'Damn, 0-3 down already, and it hasn't been even 5 minutes. Doesn't look like I'm gonna win with this girl - she's bowling hostile bouncers. Time to play de-fense.' And Warney decided that he was going to play the rest of this meeting out like Rahul Dravid - blocking or leaving, unless he was served something on a platter. It didn't matter how many he scored during the next two hours. But he HAD to remain unbeaten at the end of it.

The rest of the meeting was intriguing. There were long silences, but they weren't awkward as both sides were being haughty and absolutely indifferent to each other. There was also a lot of conversation - but it wasn't particularly pleasant. Neither of them smiled. They disagreed on just about everything, but didn't bother arguing because neither seemed to care about the other's opinion! However, the truly intriguing part was this - they discussed a wide variety of subjects, including some fairly serious and personal ones, like their relationships with their parents, their friends circles and who really mattered, their attitude to marriage, attituide to work and jobs, travel and lifestyle preferences - including food, and even their past romantic relationships. They could talk about anything, and be completely honest - which doesn't usually happen when people meet for the first time. There was no comfort level here, no liking or interest, little respect shown for the person across the table, and no effort to maintain a cordial or friendly atmosphere. Yet, they were discussing things that one usually discusses only with someone very, very close.

During the course, Warney also found some answers.

Prabha-with-a-vee hated the way her parents had spelt her name. It should've been Pravaah - which meant 'to flow, like a river' - but on a numerologist's recommendation, her parents had gone with the weird spelling.

Marriage was the last thing on Pravha's mind. But her parents thought the 'right time' had almost arrived, and decided to reach out to prospects. They had been assisted by her younger sister, who felt Pravha was 'ready'. And Pravha thought her sister was a little more mature, and trusted her judgment more than her own, despite being older.

She was NOT pleased that her phone number had been given to Warney. 

Warney was truly perplexed. This girl was clearly not the type to give in to any kind of pressure. She clearly didn't really want to be here, and wasn't interested in pursuing this. But, for some reason unknown to him, she was here. And now that she was here, one'd expect her to behave nicely. She wasn't doing that. But he was also certain that she was NOT here to try and put him down, and didn't mean to be rude - she actually wanted to give this a chance, because, at some level, she trusted the judgment of the people who'd put her here. Her cold manner had ensured the meeting could officially be declared a disaster, but Warney didn't think it was deliberate. What was she really trying to do and why? He just didn't get it. At all. And he genuinely believed she didn't really know either.

Warney called for the bill. 'Let's go dutch... for the food, at least.' Warney had had a fair amount of vodka to keep his head during the course of the lunch, and it accounted for about half the total bill. He thought about insisting on paying the whole thing. He always did that the first time he met any girl. Second and later meetings would only happen if both people were interested, and then it'd be fair to go dutch. This was his considered view, and standard operating principle. But in this case, it would be akin to reaching wide outside off-stump to a swinging delivery. He felt it was quite likely that his suggestion to pay the whole bill would be dismissed with some rude statement, resulting in him feeling hurt and looking silly. He wasn't going to let that happen. Also, she'd been clear that she wasn't willing to split the bill for the drinks that only he'd had. While it was fair, and he would've suggested it himself when it came down to the calculation, the manner in which it was said put him off - and not for the first time in the last 2 hours.

'You're goin to Bandra, right? Are you goin to cross Carter road, or go somewhere near it?', asked Warney. He didn't own a vehicle, because it wasn't a very practical option in Mumbai. She drove a Hyundai Getz, and had remarked earlier that she 'would never travel by the local trains. I'm spolit!'

'Yeah, I can drop you.'

Midway through the drive:

'Where on Carter road?'

'You know the CCD there?'

'Yeah. Meeting friends?'

'College seniors.'

These were the only words spoken in a 15-minute drive. When CCD emerged, she stopped to the left. Warney got out and said 'Thank you.'

And they went their own separate ways. 'What a remarkably cold end - to a remarkably frosty and intriguing meeting', thought Warney to himself. It would take him a while to figure out what happened and what to make of it.

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(Continues here)

Episode 9I9E

If you are new to this story, do not start here. Go to the Index and Introduction page.

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Preeti unlocked the door and walked in. Her flatmate, Kritika, a.k.a. K, was sitting on the carpet with scissors in hand, and a top she'd recently purchased. Kritika liked to re-design the designer clothes she bought.

'Hi'

Kritika looked up at her, then turned her gaze back to the task at hand, as she spoke. 'Your hair looks frizzled. What did you and your boyfriend do today?'

'Arjun is not my boyfriend anymore.... He called and generally talked about how things are in Chicago. And the call wasn't hair-raising - that just happened cos I was at the beach.'

'I wasn't talking about Arjun. He's history. So, you and Deep had a nice, romantic walk along the beach?'

'KAY! Deep and I are NOT an item. He's not my boyfriend, just a colleague I'm friendly with.'

'Bullshit.'

'Oh, come on. We just happen to spend a lot of time together in office, and he's a nice guy. So, sometimes we go out too. But there's nothing of the romantic sort. Please!'

'You told me he was interested in you. You said it was visible several times. And I can see you like him too. So, don't give me the friends nonsense. I know you, baby.'

'I like him, but as a friend. And yes - sometimes I thought he was showing interest, but he really isn't that kind of guy. He was probably just being nice, not trying anything. I mean, it's been six months and he hasn't tried anything. So, I know there's nothing there.'

'Bullshit.'

'Aah! Ok, whatever.'

'Did Arjun call when you were with Deep?'

'Yeah... and for some reason, I think Deep wasn't comfortable. He suddenly went all quiet and seemed far away. And we left the beach a few minutes after the call. We'd not even been there for half an hour, I think.'

'Your boyfriend was jealous!'

'Oh, come on! He knows about Arjun, and I don't think he has any such feelings for me. It'd been a long day at work, and I left him alone for 10 minutes or so, so he probably got irritated. Or maybe he was just tired. Jealous? No. That just isn't like Deep'

K put away her design experiment, and looked straight at Preeti. She looked serious.

'Baby, admit it. You know he's interested. You can see he's jealous of Arjun. He's there for you all the time. Obviously, he has feelings...

He's probably not said anything because you work in the same office, and it'd be awkward if you declined his interest. And there's also the Arjun factor.'

'I don't know, K. I really don't think he's interested. It's been six months. If he really was interested, something would've happened by now.'

'He's probably just shy. Based on what all you've told me, I think he's just waiting for a sign from you. And it's not like he doesn't have time.'

'DON'T mess my head up with shit like that. There's already Arjun to deal with, and Deep's not the type who'd try anything. For me, he's a good friend. And I'd like to keep it that way. Don't complicate it.'

'Baby, tell me something - how often do you talk to me about Arjun?'

'I don't know.  About once a week. I'm trying to get over it.'

'How often do you talk about Deep?'

'I don't know. Every other day. But I work with him, and he's there with me in office all the time.'

'You talk about Deep EVERYDAY. And it's not the same way you talk about others in the office.'

'Yeah, so? He's my best friend in office and I see him everyday. So what?'

'Face the reality, baby. You both like each other. He's just waiting for you to get over Arjun and give him a chance. And you like him too - you talk about him all the time, and I can see it.'

Preeti was silent.

'Think about it, baby. You two clearly like each other. If he isn't trying anything, give him a sign that you're interested. You guys will be a lot happier.'

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'Hullo, mum'

'Deep, mera pyara beta! Kaisa hai?'

'Theek hoon.'

'Khana kha liya?'

'Haan, ji.'

Regular mother-son talk follows.

'Acha, listen. Ek rishta aaya hai. Papa and I like the girl. Good family. You want to meet her?'

'MOM! We've talked about this. I'm not ready for marriage right now.'

'But why? You're old enough, and settled in your job and everything. And this is a very nice match.'

'Settled?! I've not even finished one year, and I'm not sure if I even will! My boss is killing me with work, and I virtually live in the office. I have no time for family right now.'

'Beta, your job is always going to be like this. There comes a time when one needs to settle down. And this is a very good rishta. Don't throw it away. Just meet her once.'

'Who is she? What's so good about her?'

'It's an Army family. Father is a Colonel. We've spoken to them - they're very nice, impressive people. It's a family just like ours.'

'Ma! I'm not marrying her dad or her family. What's the girl all about?'

'She's studied at Welham's boarding school. Then college in Bangalore. She's an MBA, and doing some marketing job. Like yours, but not IIM type. We read her profile, and I'm sure you'll like her. Smart ladki hai.'

'Does she have a name?'

'Pravha Nehra.'

'What?'

'Pravha. It's like Prabha, with a V, for victory.'

'What kind of a name is that?'

'What does it matter? Anyway, she's in Bombay only. We'll send you the profile in a few minutes. Take a look, and talk to her once.'

'I'll think about it. Send me the profile. But I'm not promising anything. I'm really not keen on this, and if I have even the slightest doubt, I'm not meeting her.'

'I'm sure you'll like the profile. Anyway, at least meet her once. We've spoken to the parents. It won't look nice.'

'PLEASE don't speak to any parents again. This is my life, and it's a huge decision. I don't want any pressure.'

'Of course. We're not going to force you to marry anyone. But at least meet her once.'

'OK, I'll think about it. Send me the profile.'

'OK'

'And PLEASE do not talk to any more parents and promise anything without asking me first.'

'OK, baba.'

The phone call went on for another 10 minutes with mom. 40 minutes in all. Deep then spoke to dad and Chhoti. He was done with them in 10 minutes.

Chhoti said she was going to forward the profile immediately after the call. Surprisingly, even she liked the girl and seemed to think this was a good idea. Now, Warney was curious.

He opened the email, and his jaw dropped. Prabha-with-a-Vee was Hawt-with-an-O! He read through the 'profile'. It was interesting. The girl was smart, and seemed to be quite fun-loving too. He looked her up on orkut. A different pic, but equally hot. This profile was far less formal, and a lot more fun, though there was a very unfriendly, almost intimidating 'about me' there. But that was understandable, given orkut is infested with 'frandship'-seeking despos.

They seemed to have the same interests in books, movies, everything... she was even a Formula 1 fan! Brilliant! Music interests - 'Anything that gets me moving'. Perfect!  Cuisines - 'Oriental. Do ice-creams count as cuisine ;)' Warney was almost in love.

He fired up 'Kundli-Lite for Windows', and entered their birth details. (He was an absolute sucker for astrology). The match scored 33/36 - which was insane! Warney wondered if he'd really found his life partner. His life seemed to have changed in half an hour.

He picked up the phone, and called her. She sounded a bit cold, but quite frank and candid. She didn't really sound like the woman of his dreams, but impressive enough. They decided to meet for lunch the next day, at the Mahesh Lunch Home, Juhu.

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Continued here

Episode ei8ht

If you are new to this story, do not start here. Go to the Index and Introduction page.

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'Listen', Warney was assuming charge. 'I'm sure Muthu, and maybe even some others, will try to hit on you in there. Junta are drunk, and you are more popular than you think.'

'Really?', Preeti had been a little reluctant to get back to the party when she was in this kind of blue mood, but Warney had been adamant. But she was already feeling better, and was getting back to her usual sharp, perky self. 'You think I don't know how "popular" I am around here?! I have grown up being "popular" everywhere. I can handle it.'

'I'm sure you can. But at this time, you don't need any of that shit.'

Preeti was silent. He'd made his point.

'We go in there, you stay with me. We'll dance together. I'll make sure no one tries anything silly.' He paused. 'Don't misunderstand me. I'm not trying to be your boyfriend, even if it looks that way to others. I'm just being a friend, and I'm looking out for you.'

Preeti was touched by the consideration the geek was showing, way out of character. 'I know, Deep. In case you haven't realized yet, I trust you. But are you cool with people thinking we're a pair? We won't be able to keep it up very long.' And then you might look silly, she didn't say.

'I don't care right now. You're my friend, and this is what's needed.'

'Besides, I think I'll quite enjoy having everyone jealous of me for once', he added with a big grin a few seconds later.

They went in and danced together, deliberately keeping away from everyone they knew. They looked good together. He started off with some Bhangra, and she matched his moves. Then she led with some salsa-jive-type stuff, and Warney kept up with some improvisations. Soon, they were encircled by people applauding and cheering. They really looked damn good together...

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'Deep, Preeti - both of you please come to my cubicle.' Shubh looked serious, and impatient as usual. Our "couple" had no idea what this was about - they weren't working together on anything, and weren't aware of recent leads. Whatever it was, it was serious and was probably going to mean a lot of pressure for the next few days.

'There's a conference in Singapore - Consumer Banking in Emerging Markets. It's going to be attended by all the big guns from the world over. KVK has been invited to deliver a talk. Since he's going, we all also need to send some good entries for the conference, and hope that 1-2 from ICICI Bank get selected. I want you two to work on one entry.'

Warney and Preeti were taken by surprise, and neither knew what to say when Shubh looked at them.

'Any ideas? Come on!'

Warney spoke after thinking for a minute. 'Shubh, we've recently conducted that survey and I've also done some face-to-face interviews with customers. The big finding was - they don't trust private banks. Even though we offer better products, professional service, higher interest rates, multiple-channel access though high-end technology - they don't trust us with their life savings. They keep some amount with us, which they can easily access through debit cards etc., or to cover their loan repayments, but not the life-savings.'

'So you're saying that's a big challange in developing markets - educating customers and changing their mindset. Interesting.'

'In fact - we could even mention other products. Coca-Cola has had problems in India. People say deodorants cause cancer, shampoo damages hair... but we've adopted cellphones faster than anyone else. So, basically, people don't trust Western concepts. We need to create something new to win here.'

'Excellent! But do one thing - start with this background of how people here don't trust Western concepts. Then talk about the challenges this translates into - for Banks.'

'Right, makes sense.'

'One issue', Preeti spoke for the first time druing the exchange. 'You'e talking only about India. Wouldn't it be better if we could talk about something more general - so that it's relevant to the entire developing world.'

'India is almost half the developing world', Shubh cut her, 'and everyone wants to enter India, if they aren't already here. Others have come, but not been very successful. So, we can talk about India only, and that's enough.'

Preeti didn't look convinced. Shubh thought for a moment, then added. 'Do one more thing. Do some research on other developing markets. Look for anecdotes or publications that talk about similar phenomena there. If we can prove that what's happening in India - broadly - is what's happening in other developing markets also, that solves the problem. Then we can have a detailed discussion about our Indian experiences, and assume that it's relevant everywhere.'

'OK'

'One more thing', Shubh was almost done, and this would be some general gyan.

'This doesn't mean you guys don't have to do your regular work. Business can't be de-prioritized. So, make the extra time for this research. Stay late, or work weekends... whatever. You're young, and this is a good opportunity for you to expand your knowledge.'

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'How do you wanna do this?', Preeti asked Warney, as she always did.

'Jaan le lega yeh humari. I did the survey, so I'll start building some material from there. You can start the desk research on other markets. Tumhara hi idea tha. Ab karo!'

'Come on, karna hi hai to theek se karte hain.'

'OK. Today's Tuesday. Let's work on this whenever we can till Friday, and review on Saturday, aaram se.'

'Done.'

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Warney and Preeti went through all their material and prepared a document to share with Shubh on Monday. It was 4:30 in the evening. They decided to head off to Mocha at Juhu for some well-deserved coffee.

'I want to go the beach', said Preeti just as they were nearing Mocha.

'Ok. Let's do that, then.'

They went up to the edge of the waves and sat down. Warney thought about sitting next to Preeti. He'd done that in Goa, and they were close enough now. But somehow, it felt too "forward", and he settled down about 3 feet away from her. This was perfectly symbolic for the state of their relationship - two of them were together at the beach on a saturday evening with no one around, but sitting 3 feet apart.

Warney's phone rang. It was Charu, his little-sis.

'Hello'

'Bhaiya, Dr. Grewal and his wife were here for lunch. They've just left. Mom and dad were talking about you and their elder daughter.'

'What? What do you mean talking about "me and her"?'

'Shaadi!'

'Are they out of their minds? I'm not ready for marriage yet. I'm working crazy hours, and my boss is still trying to kill me and might succeed. Why'd they want to ruin an innocent girl's life?'

'Stop kidding. They're seriously considering this rishta. If you want out, better prepare your reasons. I think they'll talk to you at night.'

'But that girl's a doctor. And I'm a young banker, which means a slave. We can't live together. Our lives will have totally different directions. And I've only met that girl once - when I was in class 11. What makes them think we can be happy together?'

'I agree. In my opinion, the misfortune of marrying you shouldn't befall ANY woman. But I'm warning you. Be prepared, and be careful.'

'Ok, thanks chhoti'

Preeti had heard most of that, and had an amused look on her face. 'So, Warney's gettin married?'

'No freakin way! I'm just a kid. I'm sure chhoti's kidding.'

'Yeah yeah! Denial!'

'Screw that. I don't even wanna talk about it. So, do you have any siblings?'

'Nope. I'm the apple of my parents' eyes! Spoilt silly.'

'Yeah right. You're one of the most mature and level-headed women I know.'

'Sweety, how many women DO you know? 4? 6?'

'That's mean!'

'Sorry. Well, yeah - I'm a weird combination of spoilt brat and tough-girl. I guess that happens when your parents dote on you, but give you enough independence to learn your lessons outside. College really toughened me up.'

Her phone rang. It wasn't a "saved" number.

'Hello?'.... 'Hiiiiiieeeee!!!'

Preeti turned to Warney and whispered 'Arjun'. Then she got up and walked away, happily chatting away on the phone...

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Continued here

Episode se7en

If you are new to this story, do not start here. Go to the Index and Introduction page.

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Preeti had met Arjun at IIM, Bangalore. They were in the same class, but didn't interact in term 1. Preeti, for understandable reasons, was very popular on campus and had made a large group of friends. Arjun was a serious, studious guy who spoke to few, and was invisble to Preeti.

But Term 2 was an eye-opener for Preeti. Nearly all her 'friends' turned out to be competitive, two-faced pricks with no qualms about putting anyone down for personal gain. All this became apparent after term-1 grades were declared and summer placements took place. They didn't invite her to study groups, didn't give her 'meaty' parts of projects on the important courses, and sucked up to professors in class as well as outside. She landed a 'Day zero' summer placement, but people gave credit to her 'looks and personality', rather than her competence. When confronted, they were rude and callous. She realized that none of them took her seriously as an academic/professional peer, and considered her just a pretty-face who was fun to hang out with. Not amused by any of this, Preeti lost most of her 'friends', even having open fights with a few.

Having learnt her lesson, she started keeping to herself, and only a few friends she really trusted. Her best friend now was Vineet. And a good friend of Vineet's was Arjun. Over the course of the first-year, the 3 of them became inseparable.

In the second year, Preeti was elected to the Placement Committee (placecom). Her life was hell - classes, assignments and placecom work kept her seriously busy for 12-14 hours a day. Hunger and hygiene took up another two hours or so. She slept for an average of 5-6 hours daily, and it was affecting her health badly. The only support mechanisms she had - were her helpful neighbor Vijaylakshmi, and her two friends - Vineet and Arjun. They'd help her with her coursework, remind her to call her parents every few days, get her snacks when she needed, and also force her to take a break and get some sleep every now and then. On the rare occasions she did not have any deadline zooming past, the three of them would just meet in one room, talk about random fun stuff, and get drunk (if Preeti didn't have deadlines to meet the next morning). Vineet was chirpy and childish, and Preeti and he chatted a lot. Arjun was always there, but took the back-seat most of the time. He was the one Preeti turned to when she had something serious to discuss.

In the 5th term, the placecom fell out with the rest of the batch over some allegations. As is typical on such campuses, placecom's methods were a closely guarded secret, and many people were suspicious of them. Everyone knows that placecom has a lot of power, no one knows for sure how 'fairly' they use it, but usually placecom is given the benefit of the doubt because they deliver big promises. 

However, this time some equally-credible people who'd been in the 'war room' team (carefully selected by placecom to assist them during those 3 all-important days), had disagreements with the placecom during the junior batch's summer placements, and had made claims about 'witnessing unfair practices'. This had the whole batch up in arms. It was too late in the year to change the placecom, but lots of questions were being asked in loud voices and nasty tones.

Preeti, under a lot of stress, turned to her two pillars of strength. But one was crumbling. Vineet told Preeti he trusted her, and was going to be her friend no matter what happened, but he also asked her questions about the working of the placecom. He felt, as a close friend, Preeti owed him the answers. Preeti tried to reason with him - their friendship and her placecom role were two different things. She assured him that all allegations were false, and she was a part of placecom because she really believed they'd always done the right thing. She begged him to trust her, and not abuse their friendship to glean information he was not supposed to have. She felt torn between responsibilities as a friend, and a member of placecom. But Vineet didn't let up, and their relationship became strained.

Arjun, on the other had, showed blind faith in her. He had questions too - about the others on placecom. But when it came to Preeti, he just accepted that she would never be part of any wrongdoing, and also respected her decision to not discuss 'placecom matters' with friends she would otherwise trust with her life. That meant a lot to Preeti. Over the year, their relationship became much stronger and deeper than ordinary friendship.

Term 5 ended. Just one term was left now, with only half the normal number of classes to attend, grades not being counted towards final placements, and the entire placecom burden off Preeti (her group had placed all the juniors for the summer, and now the juniors were going to handle her own batch's placements). To celebrate, she, Arjun, Vineet and a couple of others decided to go to Goa for a long weekend.

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'We'd been driving around town the whole morning - drinking beer, buying random little mementoes, eating seafood, and evaluating all the hot firang chicks stutting their stuff. Then we came to this beach in the afternoon, ran around playing some childish games, went on a banana boat ride - and enjoyed ourselves so much we could burst with joy. At sunset, everyone else had gone off somewhere. I was reading some book with my iPod plugged in. I put the book down when the light faded, and I saw Arjun sitting next to me, watching me. I don't know how long he'd been just sitting there - just watching me. He took my hand, and didn't say anything. I didn't say anything either. It was perfect - no words were necessary. Then we kissed.'

Warney was listening. He heard, understood and 'recorded' everything in his head. But he wasn't thinking. It was all just too much for him to handle.

'That wasn't so long back. So, what happened.'

'Well, we were together for a few months. But Arjun wasn't cut out for the rat race. He wanted to do something more meaningful. He's gone to the US for his PhD. We decided it was best for us to part.' 

'But, he'll be back, right?'

'Deep. He'll be back after 5 years at least. We couldn't wait that long.'

'Why not? I mean, you two were in love and happy with each other, right? That's not easy to find. And if your parents and all are OK, you can wait...'

'No. First of all, we are from different communities. The parents would NOT be OK with it. And we've just been together for a few months. That couldn't keep us together for 5 years.'

'Not 5. I have friends who've finished their PhDs in 3'

'It's not that, Deep. 3 is very rare, and he'd also have to find a job. It would realistically take at least 4 years, more likely 5. My parents wouldn't wait that long. Not for a guy they don't like in the first place.'

'How do you know? They might like him. I'm sure they'd care how you feel.'

'No. The community thing was going to be difficult anyway. And with him away for 5 years, there's no chance. They WILL get me married to someone else. And honestly, even if they were OK, we weren't sure our relationship would survive 5 years of separation. Lots of things change in 5 years. People change in 5 years.'

'I can't believe you guys just let it go so easily.'

'Easily? Does THIS look easily to you, moron?'

'You can cry. But the fact is - you guys didn't really take your chances. You just gave up without trying.'

'It hurts. If we'd tried, it would've hurt even more. We just decided to keep the happy memories, and move on.'

Warney called for the bill, a bottle of water, and some tissue paper. Preeti was confused.

'What's all that for?'

'For you. We are going back to the party. And I don't want anyone to think I made you cry!'

'No, I'm not going back there now.'

'Yes, you are. I'm not leaving you like this. You'll just go back to your room, keep thinking about Arjun, and will just depress yourself. I'm not going to let that happen. Ab muh dho aur chalo.'

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(Continued here)

Episode 6ix

If you are new to this story, do not start here. Go to the Index and Introduction page.

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They arrived in Goa on Friday morning, exhausted from the long bus journey. Nobody had managed a good night's sleep, and this was after four tough days at work. There wasn't going to be much respite, as they had to attend 'talks' from senior management post-lunch. The talks ended at 8pm, and after dinner, the five RCLG newbies decided to head to the girls' room (it was bigger than the boys', even though it was for 2 people rather than 3). For a few hours, they bitched savagely about their bosses and the Bank in general, downing more than one bottle of vodka in the process. They also played some card games for an hour. All through the evening, Muthu kept hitting on Preeti. Warney noticed every single time, and also noticed that Preeti gracefully ignored him every time. He was a little annoyed with Muthu, but thanks to the vodka and the generally cheerful atmosphere, it didn't bother him much.

Back in their own room at 1 am, Muthu and Neil made a few lewd jokes about Muthu's 'luhhvv'  for Preeti. Muthu declared that he was gonna flirt a LOT with Preeti at the party on Sat evening. Warney heard all that, but didn't comment. He looked forward to watching this, and was curious to see how Preeti would react when Muthu got in her face. Though he didn't admit it to himself, he really hoped she'd brush him aside ruthlessly, and discourage him from trying again. She was better than this. He was the first to fall asleep.

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'Lets hit the floor, people', announced Neil, and all five of them did. For a bit, they were all dancing as a group, with no one dancing with anyone in particular. Then Muthu asked Preeti for her hand. She danced with him for two songs. Then he started getting close to her, and held her by her waist for a bit. She was visibly uncomfortable, and Warney was boiling. When the song ended, she somehow managed to get away from him and rejoined the group. Muthu backed off for a few minutes. Then, he started turning towards her, and tried dancing with her as if the other three weren't around. Preeti seemed undecided about how she felt. She didn't make any effort to get away from him, but clearly wasn't dancing 'with him'. She looked like she was enjoying herself, aware of Muthu, but not quite with him. Everyone had had 4-5 drinks by then, and Warney was sure she'd give in soon. He was disappointed. He had hoped she'd give Muthu an ice-cold shoulder, but she wasn't doing anything like that. She seemed to be enjoying the attention, and playing just a little hard-to-get. Warney knew how Muthu's mind was working, and was very unhappy about the way Preeti was behaving. 

The music stopped for a few seconds. 'I'm hungry. I want some dessert.', said Preeti, sounding like a 10-year-old.

'I'm sweet, baby. Have me!', came the flirt-attack from Muthu. He made it sound funny, so that it didn't seem offensive or too forward. But Warney knew he wasn't just kidding. Now, Preeti's discomfort became more visible, and Warney felt reassured. She wasn't totally loose or easy after all.

Muthu went to refill his glass with another Bacardi. This was the time.

'It's really warm and stuffy in here. I'm stepping out for a bit.' Warney turned to Preeti, and asked only her, 'You wanna come along?'

'Yeah, sure.' And they got out, without bothering about Neil and Rags. Right now, Warney didn't care what they made of it.

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'Thanks', said Preeti.

'What for?'

'You know what for. Thanks.'

Warney thought for a second, and realized there was no point in feigning ignorance.

'That was over the top, man. I dunno about you, but I was getting irritated for half an hour.', he paused, 'I mean, I assumed you weren't interested...'

'Deep! I'm not that stupid. I knew what he was doing, and FYI - I was NOT interested. But I deal with this all the time. I was just trying not to react and he didn't deserve any more attention. I thought he would back off after some time, when he saw I wasn't interested. But it's true after all - you guys simply DON'T take hints.'

'Don't generalize. That guy's scum. I mean - he's normal, and most guys are like that. But still, you can't generalize to all guys like that. I took the hint and got you out.'

'Yeah, you're a sweetheart. Thanks'

She smiled. He blushed, and gazed into the distance.

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'Can we sit down for a bit? I'm tired, and I want a beer.' Deep wasn't really asking, he was informing her. They sat down just beyond the line the waves had made, facing the sea, and about 3 feet apart. Deep was too shy to sit right next to her. He ordered a beer for himself. She didn't want anything.

No words were spoken for some time. After downing half the bottle, Warney noticed that Preeti was sobbing quietly. He had no idea why she'd started crying, and no idea what the appropriate reaction was. Sitting close to her, beer in hand, all he could think was 'WTF?!', and was distinctly uncomfortable.

'Preeti?'

Nothing. An uncomfortable minute. Still nothing.

'What happened? Talk to me.'

Still nothing. She was crying now. His awkward questions weren't drawing any words from her. Only more tears, and the crying was getting louder. He felt like a deer staring into the headlights of a massive speeding truck 5 yards away.

After two minutes of total cluelessness, he decided to take a step. He moved right next to her, and put an arm around her. She buried her head in his shoulder, and cried freely. He didn't understand it, but somehow this felt a lot better. A couple of minutes passed. She seemed to be regaining her grip over herself.

'What happened? Talk to me.'

Nothing, again. 'Preeti, I won't tell anyone. But you can't be like this. What's bothering you? Tell me!'

'I know! If I didn't trust you, I wouldn't have broken down in front of you. Dumbass!'

She paused for a bit. 'One year back, on this very day, I was right here. With Arjun'

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(Continued here)