Hello, Mr. Major General (1)

Chapter 149 - The 18th Birthday

Shehnaaz  stopped in her tracks. She turned, a radiant smile plastered on her face. “Yes, Professor Sen? Is there something else?”

Kartik was still seated on the sofa, his head propped upon a hand. He looked at her, quiet and still.
Shehnaaz did not say anything. She waited patiently for him to speak.

The enormous living room was quiet. The white curtains hung like frozen waterfalls from the massive French windows.

A grandfather’s clock stood in one corner of the room. It appeared to be an antique, but the pendulum was still swinging. Every once in a while, a quiet clack sounded from
it, which only served to emphasize the silent stillness of the room.

The maid and the housekeeper had vanished.

The two remaining occupants of the room regarded each other silently. They could have been separated by an entire continent.

Kartik  pressed his lips together and looked away. He said nonchalantly: “I promised you I’d give you a present for your 18th birthday. You have three choices for your birthday celebration: the ballroom at the Capitol Building, the White House Rose Garden, or a cruise in Caribbean international waters. Think about it, and tell me what you’ve chosen
tomorrow. There isn’t much time, I have to start making the preparations.”

Shehnaaz smiled. Her eyes flickered uncertainly. “You’re too kind, Professor Sen. That promise was just a joke, don’t take it seriously. It makes no sense for you to throw a birthday party for me. I’ll just share a cake with family and friends, and blow out a candle. That’s all I need, really.”
Her 18th birthday was important to her, but what was more important was who she spent it with.

She did not even need a cake and candles if Sidharth could come over to America and celebrate her birthday with her. All she wanted was for him to stand before her and wish her “Happy Birthday”—that would be the perfect 18th
birthday for her, her coming-of-age ceremony.

Kartik saw Shehnaaz’s thoughts had drifted elsewhere.

He clenched his fists; blue veins appeared on the backs of his hands, as striking on his fair skin as the cracked ice pattern on the finest porcelain.

“You can think of it as a joke, but I, for one, never go back on my word.” Kartik stood up. “You don’t have to decline my offer just to be polite. Don’t think too much about it—I’ve always thrown birthday parties for all my students. If you don’t believe me, ask around.”

Shehnaaz snapped out of her reverie. She thought about it carefully.

She had once heard from a graduate student that the professors in grad school celebrated their students’ birthdays, but most of the time the “celebrations” had consisted only of dinner at a restaurant and a karaoke session. She had never heard of a birthday party as  extravagant as the ones Kartik had just proposed.

On the other hand, she had to keep in mind that Kartik was leagues above all the other professors.

“Whatever you choose, I’ll need some time to make the necessary preparations. You should make a decision soon.”

Kartik turned and walked over to the spiral staircase, leaving Shehnaaz with a view of his slender, lonely back.

Shehnaaz bit her lip. She knew that she had angered Kartik.

She thought about it again, and concluded that with his immense wealth, the three choices he had presented her were probably just as ordinary as choosing between a movie, a restaurant dinner, or a karaoke session to him.

“…The cruise ship in Caribbean international waters—would that be a lot of trouble for you?” Shehnaaz asked sheepishly.

She had a very specific reason for choosing that.