Destined

The Café

Priya was furious at her sister. She had to take a day off from college to manage the bakery. Sara said that she had an emergency at her workplace and begged her to manage the bakery for the day. Priya knew very well what the emergency was. Sara had been wanting to go on a date with a guy she'd met on a dating app and he'd finally asked her out. Sara and her ex-husband, Jatin had divorced two years ago due to compatibility issues. Their son, Aarav lived with his father as Sara didn't want his custody. Safe to say, she didn't want to take up the responsibilities of a child. Although Priya was furious at her decision of not wanting Aarav's custody, there was nothing she could do. Aarav and Jatin had moved to Bangalore right after the divorce. Jatin dropped by occasionally with Aarav but Sara always stayed over at her friend's when Aarav came over. 'Not one decent marriage in this family. It's like we're cursed', was what Priya always thought. That was the reason why she'd been putting off the marriage topic every time her mother brought it up. That and her an arse of her ex-boyfriend, Neeraj.

'Baked with Love' cafe was partly owned by Meera Sood and partly by Mahendra Sood. Both parties had decided to pay for the expenses of the cafe every alternate month. Although Priya did pay her part of the expense, Mahendra Sood always ended up paying late, making her cover the penalties caused by late payment solely because he refused to pay a penny more. Money was a sore subject for Priya. It had led to too many arguments between her and her father. Money was tight in the Sood household, as Priya had to pay for daily expenses as well as Sandy's college fees. Priya had spoken to the bank manager about it but he was of no help. She even as far as reasoning with her father but he wasn't one to budge.

Ram Kapoor had an unhealthy obsession with food. Especially bakery goods. He was on his way to meet a business client to finalise the cost of their upcoming project. He'd suddenly had a craving for red velvet cheesecake, so he made a pit stop to the bakery. The bakery was a quaint, homely place. He'd been there a couple of times and was acquaintances with the manager, Sarangi. He knew he had to control his sugar intake but all reasoning went out of the window wherever food was concerned. Besides, the pills he took ensured his physical well-being. At least, that's what he thought. He had a cure for every possible disease in his medicine box, which he carried in his coat pocket at all times. He popped an antacid and a couple of vitamin supplements in his mouth as a precautionary measure and stepped on the brakes. He put on his sunglasses and made his way to the café.

Ram entered the café, expecting to find Sarangi at the counter but instead, there was another woman and she looked very unapproachable with a permanent scowl etched on her face. She did resemble Sara a bit though. Perhaps, they were sisters or cousins, he thought. He took off his sunglasses, approached her at the counter and asked, "Is Ms. Sarangi on leave?" Priya looked up to see a man in his mid-thirties looking at her. She sized him up wondering how he knew her sister. She raised her eyebrows and instead asked, "Do you know her?" He replied, "Not personally. I'm a regular here. I didn't see her today at her usual place, so I was just curious. Do you know her personally?" Priya's scowl deepened further and she replied, "Not that it's any of your business, but she's my sister. I'm taking over for her today. She had an emergency." To Ram, it didn't seem like Priya and Sara were sisters. Sara had always been polite and sweet, even on a bad day. But Priya was a whole other story. She seemed highly irritated for some reason. Priya scanned the man in front of her properly. He was dressed in a three-piece navy blue suit with a white shirt tucked in and the first two buttons opened. His hair was neatly styled with a few curls at the ends and the sunglasses hanging in his suit pocket. A watch fastened at his wrist which Priya automatically assumed to be an expensive one. He'd put on bronze-gold shoes which she thought were odd-looking as they didn't match with his outfit at all. But what Priya found most alluring were his eyes. They were the colour of the ocean with hints of grey and green in them. He did look handsome, there was no doubt about it. But she knew better than to make an opinion on people based on their looks. Or even dwell on them. Ram caught her staring and raised an eyebrow. She ignored his questioning glare and instead asked for his order.

"What would you like to order?" Priya asked him in a very monotone voice. Ram browsed through the menu and ordered a red velvet cheesecake and a latte. He forwarded his credit card to her for payment and she swiped it on the card machine. She handed over the credit card back to him and gave the order in the kitchen at the back of the café. Ram thanked her and briefly glanced at her. She was in her early thirties and wore a dull yellow kurta with a red printed scarf around her neck. A name tag was attached to her kurta which read 'Sarangi'. Ram was a bit confused when he saw the name tag but then realised she was filling in for her sister. Her waist-length hair was tied in a pony at the base of her neck. She was wearing a small pendant chain around her neck. A digital watch fastened on her left wrist and a hair tie on her right. But what remained constant were the worry lines on her forehead. Priya caught him staring and Ram averted his eyes. The LED lights on the ceiling suddenly seemed very interesting to him. He didn't mean to openly ogle at her. He was just curious about people in general. She snapped her fingers in front of his face and handed him the bill and the payment receipt.

Ram grabbed the receipt and took a seat at the nearest table. He gulped the glass of water kept before him. He took out his phone and dropped a text to Brinda, confirming he would be at her place for dinner tonight. Brinda was hosting a small get-together at her place and she'd invited Kunal and Vikrant as well. The five friends had made a pact in college to get together on the fourth of every month, and it was a tradition they still adhered to. Kunal was last year's host and it was Brinda's turn to host this year. She sent him a thumbs up emoticon.

After a good fifteen minutes, he heard the café door open and looked up to see a couple in their mid-thirties walking hand-in-hand as they approached the counter. He looked at them and saw Priya contort her face in disgust but was quick to mask it. He approached her to enquire about his order when he heard the woman speak. "Pri Di, I've been looking for you. Actually-" The guy interrupted her saying, "We'd gone to Meera Aunty's place to look for you and she told us you'd be at the cafe. Maitri and I are hosting our fourth anniversary party this weekend and we're expecting to see you there. Here's your invitation." He handed her a fancy envelope. Although the request seemed polite, his body language was anything but. His arms were crossed and he has a smug smile on his face. His wife was a whole different story. She seemed uncomfortable and restless with the entire situation. Anybody could cut the tension in the air with a knife. Ram was about to interrupt them to enquire about his order when Priya spoke up, "What point are you trying to prove by doing this Neeraj? You both know I won't come so why bother with the formal invitation? Or are you just trying to rub it in my face? Sorry Neeraj, that doesn't work anymore. And it won't look nice if your 'ex-girlfriend' makes an appearance to your anniversary party. So, why don't you take your wife aka my sister and go enjoy your little party. I'll make sure Maa and Sara Di come. And oh, sending my best wishes as always." Priya seemed extremely satisfied with her reply. Neeraj was about to retaliate when Maitri chided him and dragged him out of the café. Ram was extremely horrified by the interaction. Maitri had gotten married to her sister's ex-boyfriend? Ram mentally gagged when he realised that. Who in their right mind would do something like that?

Priya waved her hands in front of Ram and brought him out of his thoughts. She told him, "It'd take another ten minutes for your order. I'm extremely sorry, we're sort of understaffed at the moment, so it's gonna take a while." She paused for a moment as if contemplating something and continued, "And I'm really sorry for my outburst earlier. It wasn't fair to take out my misplaced anger on you." Ram was taken aback by her politeness. He wasn't expecting an apology from her. He forwarded his hand and said, "It's alright. It's all in the past. I'm Ram. And I'm guessing you're Pri?" Priya forwarded her hand, laughing. "It's Priya. Priya Sood." They shook hands. Perhaps this was the beginning of a new friendship. Or something more.