Crush - KarEena

Chapter 1

"Nice place you've got here, I like it."

Ignoring the sarcastic remark, Karishma dumped the pot of boiled groundnuts into a colander that had never seen the inside of a store. After the hot water had drained through, she set the colander in the centre of the table, grabbed a roll of paper towels, and offered her guest another beer, she dragged the chair across the table from Santosh Sharma, and said,

"Dig in."

Santosh ripped a paper towel from the roll and spread it over her lap. Karishma was on her third nut before Santosh got around to selecting one. They peeled and ate in silence, Santosh was careful not to get her white Micheal Kors watch gifted by her husband dirty, whereas Karishma slurped carelessly and licked her fingers, fully aware that her sloppy table manners annoyed her friend.

After some time, Santosh remarked, "Pretty good."

"Yup" Karishma shrugged

"Locally sourced?"

"Yup, straight from the farmer. The seller gives me a discount."

"Decent of him." Santosh nodded in acknowledgement

"Not at all. We made a deal."

"What's your end of it?"

"To stay away from his sister." Karishma shrugged

Karishma grinned across at Santosh, knowing that her friend was trying to decide whether or not she was telling the truth. She is very good at telling shitty stories, and even her best friend couldn't always distinguish her truth from her fiction.

She tore a paper towel from the roll and wiped her hands and mouth, "Is that all you can think of to talk about, Santu? You drove all the way down here for this?"

Santosh avoided looking at her

"Let me help you clean up." She offered

"Leave it. Bring your beer."

A dirty table wasn't going to make much difference to the condition of Karishma's house which barely qualified as such. It was a three-room shack that looked like it would succumb to any Gulf breeze above five knots. The roof leaked when it rained. The air conditioner was a window unit that was so insufficient that Karishma rarely bothered turning it on. She rented the place by the week and paid in advance. So far, she'd written the slum lord sixty-one checks.

The screen door squeaked on its corroded hinges as they moved through it onto the rear deck. Nothing fancy--the plank surface was rough, wide enough only to accommodate two metal lawn chairs of vintage fifties style. Salt air had eaten through numerous coats of paint, the last being a sickly pea green. Santosh looked doubtfully at the rusty seat of the chair.

"It won't bite," Karishma said and continued "might stain your formals, but I promise that the view will be worth a dry-cleaning bill."

Santosh sat down gingerly, and in a few minutes, Karishma's promise was fulfilled. The western horizon was painted with vivid colours ranging from blood red to brilliant orange.

"Something, isn't it?" Karishma sighed and continued, "Now tell me who's crazy."

"I never thought you were crazy, Karu" Santosh weakly sighed and continued, "just a little nutty for leaving it all and moving down here, not even nutty. Irresponsible, maybe."

Karishma smiled nonchalantly

Noticing, Santosh said, "Go ahead and get pissed. I don't care. You need to hear it."