######
Niranjan sat at his desk and clicked open the internet browser.
Let me look at the blog post which I had read before. It will help me to nail down the problem.
He went through the detailed post again and scribbled few important notes.
The blog post has the details but no mention of its practical implementation. I need to Google it down.
He typed the relevant keywords in Google and glanced at the search results. He clicked open a link which had the necessary information. He read patiently the details given in the web site.
Wow, it has a download application with program code in it. Let me check it out.
He downloaded the application, and clicked on it to see how it works. He was impressed with the way it was implemented. He reviewed the program code to know the details and decided to modify it to conform to his project.
######
Niranjan spent next two days in reviewing the sample code and integrating it inside his project. His approach was one step at a time, and it always yielded him with the results. On Wednesday evening he made sure everything was in place. Soon after, he shot an email to Frank mentioning his breakthrough in the technique, with copies sent to his team mates. Immediately he saw an email from Frank congratulating him.
Okay, Frank would like to have a demonstration of my work along with the team members. Let me prepare a presentation with the details of my work.
He was happy that he could accomplish what Frank wanted and was grateful to the blog post.
#####
Niranjan walked out of the General Electric on that evening in a happy mood and he enjoyed the night in the balcony of the Deer Creek Apartment along with Venkatesh. He couldn’t erase his feelings towards Jennifer and felt annoyed with the fact that he did not have any means to contact her. But he hoped that he will one day meet her.
######
Next day, Niranjan crossed his desk towards the meeting hall where Frank had arranged for his demonstration. He entered inside the hall and saw all the team members waiting for him.
“Hi, Good morning to everyone,” he said while he kept his laptop on the table.
“Good morning,” Frank said and smiled happily.
Niranjan connected the laptop to the projector, and stood with the straightened posture facing team members.
“I am glad to demonstrate you about my work related to the new technology we discussed in the previous meeting,” Niranjan said, and started his speech.
He patiently went through all the work he had done in the last three days and success he got out of it. He impressed his team members with his effective demonstration skills.
“Congratulations, you have done it within a short period time,” Daniel said after Niranjan completed his demonstration.
“Yes, he has done something unique which impressed me,” Harris commented.
“You are really good at programming,” Sing Ming complimented. She raised her spectacle while staring at Niranjan.
“It's really a good work and I had confidence in you. You are doing great work these days,” Frank said. He took his team members to a nearby Indian restaurant and they lunched together. All team members felt happy to have Niranjan in their team.
Chapter 9 Niranjan and Venkatesh
Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people - Eleanor Roosevelt
The winter cold pervaded outside with the wet ground everywhere because of downpour till the evening. People stepped out of their home for the Friday evening pleasure and drove their car out of the parking space. Jovial mood pervaded after hectic workweek with people speaking to each other loudly on the apartment premises.
Niranjan was more confident and was happy during the last workweek. He was satisfied with the way he worked in the previous week. He was appreciated by his colleagues and his manager for his contribution towards the project.
However, Niranjan was dejected after the work hours. There were two reasons for his woes. His friend and colleague would leave to India next week. Secondly, his heart was longing to meet Jennifer once more but he thought it was impossible. He waited for her call but was disappointed for the last two weeks as he did not get any call from her. His hopes of meeting Jennifer started diminishing slowly but he kept his hopes alive. He started feeling lonely in the new country.
Niranjan had a coffee with Venkatesh in the balcony of their first floor house, which was their favourite place after the work. The sweet fragrance of Lilac flowers bloom filled the atmosphere in the balcony.
Niranjan was silent for the past ten minutes and Venkatesh sensed something wrong with him. Niranjan gazed for a long time towards a car parked in the parking area.
“What makes you think so serious? Hope all is well at office,” Venkatesh said and sipped his coffee.
Niranjan stopped his gaze towards the parking area, and looked at Venkatesh. “Oh, well, nothing of that sort.”
“You are silent today. Is everything all right at work?” Venkatesh said with a soft voice.
Niranjan picked his coffee mug and said, “Um…., I am doing well at my work”. He gulped his coffee and stared back to Venkatesh.
“Okay, let me know if you have any problems. You know already that I would be leaving to India by next week,” Venkatesh said while he stared at Niranjan.
Niranjan paused for a moment, shifted his gaze towards Venkatesh again and said, “I don’t know. I think I am attracted to her”.
Venkatesh straightened his back and said, “Attracted to whom? I think she must be your colleague at the office?” His tone was anxious.
Niranjan smiled a bit and said, “No, not at all. It’s Jennifer”.
“Oh, I see. The girl you spoke to at the Market Fair Mall,” Venkatesh said. He smiled at Niranjan.
Niranjan sipped his coffee again and said, “Yeah, you are right”. He looked back to Venkatesh with his face filled with anxiety.
Venkatesh pondered for a moment and said, “I think you gave her your visiting card”.
“Yes, but I am disappointed. She has not called me yet,” Niranjan said with a saddened voice.
“Don’t worry and you still have time, and wait for another week,” Venkatesh said with confidence.
Niranjan gazed at the parking area again for a while, looked back to Venkatesh and said, “Okay, is there any way I can meet her once again?”
“Well, you better wait for her call,” Venkatesh suggested.
Niranjan became silent and fixed his eyes on the distant private road, and felt melancholic.
Venkatesh pondered for few moments and asked, “Did you notice her car when she drove outside the parking slot?”
Niranjan shifted his gaze towards Venkatesh and said, “Yes, it was pearl white Beetle”
“Well, I think it was facing you back when she pulled it out,” Venkatesh said with a confident tone.
“Yeah that’s right,” Niranja
n said. His eyes glowed while he looked at Venkatesh.
Venkatesh paused for few moments and said, “If you can remember the license plate number on the back of her Beetle, you can have hopes of contacting her”.
“Well how is it possible?’ Niranjan asked.
“Well, you can get the personal information of the owner of the car based on the license plate number,” Venkatesh replied.
Niranjan pondered for a few minutes and said, “Well, I think it was um…., started with ZR and had number 257 in the middle and ended with the letter D”. He smiled cheerily.
“Okay, if you are sure about it, then you can explore in Google,” Venkatesh suggested.
Niranjan chuckled and said, “Well, that’s great to know. But practically how is it possible?”
“You can get the owner information based on the license plate number of the car,” Venkatesh said.
Niranjan straightened his back and said, “Who will give me the owner details?”
“DMV and other private agencies will provide such information. You can check it out in the internet,” Venkatesh said.
“Okay, I will search in the internet to know more about the process,” Niranjan said. His voice was filled with cheerfulness.
“All right, best of luck in your search,” Venkatesh said. Later, they both walked inside the house and switched on the television to watch a movie.
Niranjan was happy to speak with Venkatesh and his mood got elevated once again. Later in the night, they visited the nearby Chinese restaurant to have their dinner.
######
The bright sunlight elevated Niranjan’s mood on Sunday. He helped Venkatesh in the housekeeping and décor. They decided to visit the Indian street at Edison City and planned to have lunch and shop for Indian food items. Many Indians stayed at Edison City and it had a business street with many Indian shops. It was usual practice for Venkatesh to visit Edison City often.
Niranjan spent few minutes on the internet before they drove to Edison. He checked emails and browsed through the news. Later, he searched Google to know more about getting the vehicle owner information. He typed the search key words and glanced at the search results. He opened the most relevant site among them. The web site listed the necessary steps to get the owner information based on the license plate number.
I need to visit the DMV first to get the Vehicle identity Number based on the license plate number. Then the car dealer should help me in getting the owner information based on the VIN number. I remember the dealer name on the plate; it was Volkswagen Audi dealer at Newton. Let me try my luck and hope for the best.
Friday noon, Niranjan visited DMV with his colleague Sing Ming and was happy to get VIN number of the Beetle. He was only one step before the final success and he decided to visit Newton on weekend to get the owner information.
#####
Niranjan helped Venkatesh in packing the items on Saturday till the evening. Venkatesh was leaving to India on Sunday night. They decided to have their dinner outside after they had finished luggage packing.
“We can go to the East Windsor Indian restaurant,” Venkatesh said.
“Okay. Do you mind taking me to Newton City after the lunch at East Windsor?” Niranjan asked.
“Well, I don’t mind. Why do you want to visit Newtown City?”
Niranjan paused for a moment and said, “I need to find out the owner information of the Beetle.”
Niranjan explained to him all the details he has collected from the internet and the DMV. He did mention that the dealer of the Beetle was from Newton, New Jersey.
Venkatesh listened to him carefully and said, “All right, and you get the driving direction before we go”.
“Okay.”
Niranjan hastened to get the directions from the Yahoo maps in the internet. He joined Venkatesh in the car to East Windsor and had their early dinner at the Indian restaurant. Niranjan was taken to the Newton Volkswagen dealer by Venkatesh. The dealer was first reluctant to their request but later yielded to them. Niranjan felt happy to get the contact information and found that the car was owned by Jennifer Coleman.
Sunday, Niranjan went to the airport to send Venkatesh off in a taxi. He felt lonely and depressed when Venkatesh walked inside to board the plane. However, Venkatesh suggested to him to take care of himself and assured him of his help.
Chapter 10 Niranjan Speaks with Jennifer
If you do not change direction, you may end up where you are heading - Lao Tzu
The Sound of a cake mixer along with the buzzing noise of a refrigerator disturbed the otherwise calm ambience of the kitchen at Coleman’s private home. Jennifer kept herself busy in the kitchen, doing housekeeping work while Catherine was busy preparing the food. They both chatted while they were engaged in doing their work. Catherine started washing the utensils in the sink after filling the pan with the batter. She was preparing the pancakes. She felt relieved a little after completing a portion of the work.
"I’ll go to the outlet at Edison today. I need to shop for the kitchen items," said Catherine.
"Okay, when will you come back?" asked Jennifer.
"As early as possible. You stay home till I return," Catherine said with a stern voice.
‘All right.’
Catherine finished her remaining work and walked out of the kitchen. She got ready to go to Edison.
‘All right honey, I will come back in the evening,’ Catherine said. She walked towards the main door.
Jennifer went upstairs to her bed room and relaxed for a while. She grabbed the book she had been reading for the last few days, and flipped over a few pages of the book. Moments later, her cell phone started vibrating. She saw an unknown number and decided to answer the call out of eagerness. She inserted the bookmark, and grabbed the phone.
‘Hello, Jennifer here,’ she said. Her tone was filled with anxiousness.
‘Hello Jennifer, I’m Niranjan,” Niranjan said, and his voice was filled with curiosity to hear from Jennifer.
Jennifer became silent for few moments while she tried to identify the person over the phone.
He must be the person who met me at the Market Fair Mall. I never gave him my contact details. Let me be harsh with him.
‘I’m sorry; you have dialled the wrong number,’ Jennifer said, with a sharp tone while she reclined on the couch.
“Am I speaking to Jennifer Coleman?” Niranjan asked, with a frightened voice.
“Yes, you are,” Jennifer said. She picked up a pencil on the nearby table and played with her fingers.
“Hello Jennifer, we have met in the Market Fair Mall on Friday evening. Do you remember?” Niranjan asked in a persuasive tone.
I don’t understand what he wants from me.
She sat straight and said, “Yes, I do remember. You said you work for General Electric.”
“Yes, you are absolutely right,” Niranjan said. He was delighted to know that Jennifer has recognized him.
“What is the reason for your call,” Jennifer asked with a critical tone.
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Niranjan paused for few minutes before he said, “I wanted to speak with you for few minutes. Well, how are you?”
“I am doing well,” Jennifer said calmly. She twirled the pencil in-between her fingers.
"I was expecting a call from you for the last few days, and I hope you have my visiting card with you," Niranjan said with weariness in his voice.
"Yes, I do have. I did not find any reason to call you," Jennifer said with a stern voice.
"Okay, that's fine. How do you spend your weekends?" Niranjan asked.
"Well, I work or go outside with my friend," Jennifer said while she pricked her thumb with the pencil.
"Okay, you know my friend and colleague Venkatesh had left to India, and I am alone in this country. I find weekends very hard to spend without a companion," Niranjan said with glum voice. He paused for few minutes and said, “Do you mind spending weekend with me for few hours?” He asked enthusiastically.
“Why would you like to meet me?” Jennifer asked while she placed the pencil back on the table.
"Well, it would make us to understand each other still better," Niranjan said.
“Okay, why are you offering me your friendship?” Jennifer asked while she straightened her posture.
“Since I am lonely here, I thought you can help me in knowing this beautiful country better. We can roam around the country and see the places together,” Niranjan said with an ardent tone.
I think he is interested to roam around with a friend. He sounds very confident, and I don’t think there is harm in meeting him outside.
“Okay, are you put up at Princeton?” Jennifer asked. She tried to be non-reactive to his desire.
“Yes, you are right, and do you mind spending few minutes with me at Princeton University and Nassau Street?” Niranjan asked with much anxiousness.
“Well, I am not sure about it, and I will let you know,” Jennifer said while she stood up from the couch.
“All right, please don’t disappoint me. I am looking forward to meeting you,” Niranjan said earnestly.
Jennifer walked towards the door and pondered for a moment before she asked, “By the way, who gave you my number?” Her voice was filled with surprise.
“Well, I struggled a lot to get your number. I will tell you about it when we meet,” Niranjan said with mysterious voice.
“All right, bye,” Jennifer said. Jennifer disconnected the phone and sat back on the couch again.
He seems to be friendly in his behaviour. I think he is intelligent enough as he works for GE as a techie. He must be good at his work since he is more confident. He may not be a bad guy and in need of a friend. Let me wait for a week and see about his next plans.