Two is company but three is crowd Chapter 15

Summer 1995: July 04

The phone rang at Mishra household at 8 in the morning, four days before Ashmi’s departure. Ashmi sprinted to pick it. She had a hunch that it would be from Akhil. ‘Can we meet today? Just for today at 3 pm?’ he shot off the moment she said hello.

‘Where?’ she mumbled.

‘At Kaveri restaurant,’ he said. It was the hippiest restaurants in those days.

‘Okay,’ she said weakly.

‘How will I come, but? What am I going to say to ma? She won’t let me come all by myself,’ she was worried. It was getting out of control.

‘Please just once and I will never ask you for anything,’ he begged.

‘Stop now, it is irritating me. I will try,’ she didn’t know how to broach the subject to her mother. Akhil was filled with hope and anticipation of the first date.

‘Who called?’ senior Mrs Mishra enquired.

‘Nilofar, she is having a small get together at her home and is celebrating her birthday. She called to invite. Earlier they would hardly stay in Ranchi because in summer break her parents would go with the whole family to Patna, almost for a month, which is their native place, but this year the children rebelled and hence the party,’ she lied blatantly.

‘Children,’ senior Mrs Mishra said exasperatedly and half-heartedly agreed to her outing. On second thoughts she said, ‘Why do you go alone? Take Sumit with you, he can give you company.’ 

‘Yes,’ she said in a voice that was not even audible to her.

She prayed that Sumit would refuse to go on a date with her. The whole idea sounded ridiculous. Saying no would raise suspicions. Something, she could surely do without. She was very disappointed throughout the day and just fidgeted with her lunch. The anticipation was very strong. Sumit came home around 2.30 from the school. On his entry, he was informed of the plan.

‘No way, I can go with her. I have a test scheduled tomorrow,’ he said.

‘You can study in the evening,’ reasoned senior Mrs Mishra.

‘I am not going under any circumstance,’ he refused to budge.

 Throughout the day, Ashmi had prayed that he would refuse. She had entered into agreements with all deities to offer her prayers if her wish would come true.

‘I better be going,’ she said before he changed her mind.

 ‘What time would you be back?’ senior Mrs Mishra asked.

 ‘It will take me 2 hours to go and come and I will spend at least an hour there,’ she said.

‘Set the target for 5.30 pm,’ instructed senior Mrs Mishra.

‘Certainly,’ she said and moved out.

Ashmi left with a spring in her step. Fortunately, she found the rickshaw and when she had trudged in it for almost two kilometers, her reverie got broken by someone’s honking.

 Akhil was honking. He had been following her for quite some time. Quickly, she paid the rickshaw puller and disembarked to hop on Akhil’s bike (first time) and together they flew on it. In ten minutes flat they had reached the restaurant and both of them were pretty tense about how one should behave in a date. They were first timers. Akhil escorted Ashmi inside and chose a spot that would look secluded.

‘What would you like to have?’ he asked.

‘I’ll have Pepsi,’      she said.

‘ I’ll have a cold coffee,’ he said, then added to the waiter, ‘Make that two,’

‘Why two? I’ll have Pepsi,’ she said.

‘The second cold coffee is for Deepak,’ he answered sheepishly.

‘Will he be joining us?  I can’t believe you invited him, we are on a date, isn’t it.?’ she was at her wit’s end.

‘But he insisted to join us. What for? To give you moral support,’ she interrogated.

‘I don’t need any moral support,’ he grumbled visibly agitated.

‘Looks like, you need one,’ Ashmi said with sarcasm tingeing her voice.

‘The date had begun to turn sour. But, it hadn’t spoilt completely. It could be mended,’ thought Akhil. ‘What are we fighting at? It might be possible at Deepak wouldn’t come,’ he sounded hopeful.

‘Okay,’ Ashmi said shakily.

She wasn’t fully convinced. Why would he order cold coffees if he wasn’t suppose to come?

‘Fine,’ she said seething with anger.

The waiter hovered around with the order and Akhil got an opportunity to change the subject.

‘How did you manage to come? Did you tell truth to your mom?’ he said.

‘Can I come by saying the truth? I lied. And, I just have an hour to spare,’ she said.

‘You don’t worry I will drop you,’ he offered.

‘And if anyone sees me pillion riding with you, what am I going to answer?’ she asked him.

‘Just say that I spotted you on the road and offered a ride that you accepted since it was getting late and you wished to reach home on time,’ he suggested a plan.

‘It sounds like a plan,’ she said while fidgeting with the straw of the soft drink bottle.

‘Have a sip,’ he said.

‘It’s too cold,’ she grumbled.

‘They serve soft drinks cold,’ he said. ‘I know, you are nervous,’

‘Me, no, in a way, yes,’ she said. He wasn’t listening rather thinking the next move. He had just spotted Deepak getting in the restaurant.

‘I think Deepak is there,’ Ashmi gestured towards him. ‘See, he is there and now you don’t need to be scared of me,’ she taunted but immediately began to cringe at her spoken words.

 Akhil looked hurt. His girlfriend had turned in a nag and they say you need marriage to make a woman turn in a nag. No one told even going out on dates can make them one and to top it his best friend had insisted to be there on their date, he thought inwardly.

‘Hi! We are sitting here,’ he motioned with the wave of his hand.

 Deepak joined them and began sipping on the cold coffee that was lying waiting for him.

‘Nice,’ he exclaimed.

‘What?’ Akhil asked.

‘Coffee, what else?’ he said.

‘Hi Ashmi!’ he greeted her.

‘Good God you saw her, Deepak,’ Akhil said, the mood had soured.

‘I entered thirsty and there was this drink lying before me. That’s the reason I greeted you late. God, the weather is so muggy, it used to be so better when we were children,’ he complained.

‘How is the date going along?’ he asked both of them.

Ashmi protested. Akhil insisted.

‘Then with a wave of hand,’ he gestured towards the waiter who appeared immediately and he ordered a big platter of vegetable kebabs.

‘They make nice kebabs here,’ he explained because Ashmi had switched off.

 She had thought that people going on dates make promises, don’t sing songs (Bollywood style) but hold hands look at each other in eyes and spend time happily. Here, nothing such happened. She even had bought a card before entering for Akhil, so that he too could remember the day. At the moment card was lying uncared in her purse.

‘What happened? You two are so quiet,’ Deepak asked.

‘How did you come Ashmi?’ he wanted to lighten the heavy mood lingering in the restaurant.

 ‘She came with me,’ Akhil answered for her.

The waiter brought the platter and the conversation somehow managed to flow albeit jerkily.

‘When is your dad coming?’ they asked her.

‘Dad might come this Sunday,’ she said.

‘Your mother doesn’t enquire about your whereabouts?’ she asked Akhil.

‘When I am in Ranchi, my mother can’t find me the whole day,’ he said.

‘By which train are you going to Delhi?’ Akhil wanted to know.

‘Purushottam,’ she said.

‘ When?’

‘8 July’

‘ Good. I will get my ticket done in the same train,’ he said.

‘No. you will not,’ she was adamant.

‘Why? We can talk,’ he said.

‘That’s precisely why I don’t want it. I’ll be with friends and I don’t want they should know about this,’ she insisted.

‘About what?’ he enquired.

‘ About you,’ she made clear.

‘But, what’s there to know about me,’ he was still not sure what she wanted to say.

‘That I have a boyfriend,’ she spoke.

‘So you acknowledge that he is your boy friend,’ Deepak said almost choking on the large bite of paneer chilly.

This calls for a celebration.

’Let’s all sign here,’ Ashmi proposed.

‘Where?’ they asked.

‘On this napkin?’ she said

‘And what?’ they wanted to know.

‘Our names, so that we remember the day for ever,’ she sighed.

They signed it. The waiter got the bill and promptly Akhil pulled out two crisp notes of hundred, which meant a generous tip of twenty.

 Ashmi pulled out her wallet to pay her share. ‘No, need,’ he said dismissively.

‘Give me the bill. I’ll save it as memory,’ she said.

And with this memory Ashmi  ambled towards her almirah and pulled out a silver coloured box and from it sprang a bill that was almost in tatters. The bill amount read Rs. 180 only. Till today, Ashmi had saved it. Just below the bill was an egg-white coloured napkin that had turned yellowish. It had something written on it.

Akhil Shrivastava

Ashmi Mishra

Deepak Pandey

July 4, 1995