Arrangement - Part Three

A party of swallows perched on the balcony railing created such a racket that Arun sat up on his bed before quite waking up.  He rubbed his eyes and scratched through his ruffled hair before jumping off the bed.  He had a hectic day ahead of him with three appointments spread throughout time and space.  He could already see himself sitting in the backseat of his parents’ Nissan, the driver honking his way through one traffic jam after another.

The first meeting was over lunch in a Mughlai restaurant in the heart of the city.  He walked into a darkened restaurant with soft candle lights throwing flickering shadows onto the miniature artwork on the walls.  Scanning the room with squinted eyes, he matched a face from his portfolio sitting under a miniature painting of Jodha bai, the beautiful wife of Akbar, the great Mughal king.  The girl, a complete contrast to the miniature painting, sat with a straight back, her elbows casually resting on the table as her thumb scrolled on the miniature screen of her smart phone.  Her smartly tailored business suit boasted stiff, square shoulders as its dark gray camouflaged in the dimly lit restaurant.  Arun approached her table, and she looked up with sharp eyes through her dark rimmed, trendy glasses.

Obligatory introductions completed, they stumbled through the awkward questions they already knew answers to through their respective resumes.  As aromatic smoke of their sizzling kababs tingled their noses and brought water their eyes, their conversation had turned into dreams and aspiration.  Arun had become quite charmed with this young, well-spoken, direct girl and was eager to get to know her more.  He began to become secretly ecstatic about cancelling all the other “appointments”.

The girl further impressed him by passionately talking about her career goals, her ambitions, further delving into her need to be part of Corporate America.  As a woman she claimed her career aspirations were stunted even as part of a multi-national corporation, and she needed to be in the West.  Arun listened, nodding at intervals as slowly his smile began to curve into a frown as he realized that she was not looking for a husband, just a vehicle to fulfill her ambition.  She didn’t seem to care about him or his dreams, only his place of residence.

They skipped dessert as she had to rush back to a very important meeting.  Shaking a very professional handshake, they parted ways with a quick, “will be in touch.”

 

to be continued...