Sea Mist

Chapter 7

As Khushi walked back home in her usual route from college, a strange feeling enveloped her. It suddenly hit her that she missed riding on the bike with Arnav. This past week he had been coming back late in the nights, helping Rashmi meet lawyers in the litigation case. He was also leaving early for the work at the construction site, as the materials required had finally arrived. It was her fault for getting attached to those stupid bike rides, she thought to herself.

She stepped into the house and walked toward Mrs. Rai's room; after a knock, she entered it to see a man seated on a chair next to the bed. He stood up and walked toward her.

"Hi there!" he said affably, "you must be Khushi – we have been talking about you all this time."

Khushi looked at him curiously and turned toward Mrs. Rai.

"Oh, I am sorry – I should have introduced myself," he grinned, "My name is Manav – Arnav's junior in college, best friend and partner in crime."

When Khushi looked surprised, he said, "I mean in business." He grinned.

Manav was a lean, good looking man of average height. His glasses made him look intellectual and it was obvious from his clothes that he was he was fashion conscious. With his clean-shaven face and neatly combed hair, he looked completely different from his friend.

"Khushi, can you please show Manav to Arnav's room?" Mrs. Rai asked Khushi, "they will be sharing the room."

"Sure aunty."

"Go ahead and take some rest Manav," Mrs. Rai suggested, "Arnav should be here by dinner time."

As Khushi led Manav to the room Manav said, "Aunty has been telling me you are working in the college as counsellor. It must be interesting."

Khushi realized that his curiosity was natural and she sensed a comfortable vibe coming from him. "Well, this is the first time I am working as counsellor but I am really enjoying it. I would like to continue working in this field going forward.

"That's fantastic!" Manav exclaimed, "the field of psychology is quite fascination. If I wasn't in the technology field, I might have tried a hand at it myself." Manav was unable to stifle a yawn. "Sorry."

"You must be so tired after your journey," Khushi said quickly, "there is hot water in case you would like to take a shower. I will get dinner ready as soon as possible so you can go to bed soon."

"Thanks Khushi -- a shower is exactly what I need," he said, "and don't hurry up on my account. I can wait for dinner. I am not that hungry."

A little later, as Khushi stood in the kitchen making rotis, she heard Manav's voice. "Something smells really good."

"It is nothing much really," she said, "I didn't know you were coming."

"Well, even Arnav doesn't know," he smiled, "I wanted to surprise him. So where is this guy? Looks like the construction project is keeping him on his toes."

If he only knew that it was a woman – a good looking one at that -- who was keeping Arnav on his toes, Khushi thought to herself.

"So, do you also work with Mr. Raizada?" She asked him curiously.

"Mr. Raizada?" Manav looked a little perplexed. "Oh, you mean Arnav's dad." He laughed. "It is so like Arnav not to talk about his personal life. He doesn't like to gossip or speculate like normal people do."

Manav's remarks were beginning to make Khushi even more curious than she already was.

"Arnav and I are into business together -- almost six years now," he explained, "Right after my graduation, I went to the US to do my Masters. A year after that Arnav came to do his MBA. After he completed it we started a company together -- we are into creating gaming software – AR, VR – that kind of stuff."