Fitting Out

Chapter 4 - What Happens in Mumbai..

I reach the chorus of his pretentious-pop-song caller tune before he picks up.

"Hey."

I call out, like a cat waiting for the human to leave the trash can alone so it can scavenge for food, fully prepared to launch into a stream of apology that he'd probably talk over anyway.

"Um.. Navya?"

Huh. No funny, impersonal pet names this time. No sarcastic quips. The softness of his voice almost makes me feel guilty about the last two weeks.

"Yeah, um, how's everything? Your job search going well?"

On our last day of college, i.e., after our last paper after celebrating with friends, Aarav volunteered to drop me back home - a first time for everything, I guess. He had his brand new car, which I assumed he wanted to show off, so I agreed, figuring I could at least use the ride. But midway, he suddenly veered off the road to stop before the KFC outlet where we had our first date (as far as ninth graders could dare to call one), and asked me about my future plans. To be fair, I'd been delaying talking about the 'future', acting as if I would jinx it forever if I spoke about it. Which was only partly true, because if I had told anyone about my out-of-city internship offer, my family and friends would go bonkers and make me self-sabotage. Probably. So that's when he told me he was letting go of the campus job offer he had (which was in Bangalore) to find one 'near my family and you', a plan I then proceeded to systematically demolish.

Right now, however, that seemed to put some strength back into his voice. "Yes!" he snaps, brightly, "I found a job. . in Mumbai. It's right beside the beach, a five-minute walk from your place."

"Sounds great, except that I'm not actually there."

"Right. Yeah. I know. That sucks. What have you been up to?" A shuffling noise begins in the background, a cue for me to either latch onto his lack of attention and launch into a detailed report of events, or that the call was going to end abruptly soon.

Either way, judging that the awkward part was probably over and any regrettable pleading unnecessary, I plough on to tell him about my various adventures in the city, which have been far and few. I am pretty sure his social life is booming at the moment, going by the incessant group creations on WhatsApp every week (each titled with the location and time of the place to go, and a pinned 'DON'T BE LATE' by our designated stickler, Tania).

"So how was Vedika's party? Olivia mentioned seeing you there the other day."

The shuffling fades, as if he was planning his escape by walking over layers of crumpled paper and stopped dead at the sign of a predator lurking nearby. Taking a not-quiet deep breath, he manages to hiccup, "Oh.. so you heard."

Heard what? I vaguely wonder.

"I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to. I don't know what to say. I hate that you had to find out like this. Please tell Liv I feel terrible too."

Huh, that's strange.

My deadline is pretty much out the window at this point anyway, so I let curiosity get the better of me. What would he do that involved Olivia? Having spoken to her just ten minutes ago, I'm pretty sure she doesn't know what's up either. Given the similarities between these two, it's a shame they don't get along much, really. Both ardent fans of long-term planning, expert level beating-round-the-bush, and creating sticky-matchy schedules for them and those around them - I have had a stupidly comprehensive role fixed in both their lives since forever.

I don't even have to respond because Aarav's now gone into his hyper-focus tattle mode.

"I wasn't doing well, after college I mean. Couldn't find anybody to take me in. I regretted everything, including letting you go off to someplace you'd never been." Point-to-be-noted, Pune is like a three-hour ride away. Hardly a distance you'd call life-changing. Dramatics is another domain my best friend and my boyfriend can fight unto death. "And I swear I didn't feel like myself but she.. she came onto me, Navi!" Wait a minute.. who did what? "And I thought, I thought who was I to say no to her on her birthday? Which was stupid, it-was-stupendously-stupid-I-pro-mise. But I would never do something to hurt you in any way. I swear, Navi. And it was just a one-time thing, but I will give you your space.. because I respect it, and I have been respecting it this last month since you left.. and then this happened. I was just lonely, and I'm so sorry."

"You cheated on me with Vedika?!" His childhood crush, of course.

"Wait.. you didn't know? I thought you were being sarcastic when you asked me about the party!"

"How would I know about this? I wasn't being sarcastic!"

"You always sound sarcastic!"

"What the- wait a minute, and you're actually blaming me leaving for what you did? Do you have any sense of responsibility?"

"No! I would never! I swear I just wanted to give you the space you wanted."

"So you gave me space and her a nice birthday present?" A thought crosses my mind. "Does Ved know about this? Is that why he keeps ignoring Liv?"

"Listen Navi, you have to understand.." and I click the phone shut. I've heard enough.

And I've always hated being called Navi.