***
When Raj and Lucky reached the house, there was an old Hispanic man slumped against the porch railing, a half-empty bottle of bourbon in his hand. He was passed out and snoring loudly, but his presence made Lucky nervous. He didn't think the home's owner knew that Vijay had two roommates in his basement apartment, and Lucky didn't want to him to find out. Raj and Lucky snuck around to the basement door quietly, and they stayed inside the apartment the rest of the day.
That evening, when Vijay returned from work, Lucky made tea and they all sat down to talk. "So what happened?" Vijay asked Raj.
"They hired me," Raj replied.
"Very nice! You didn't even struggle that much to get a job. We should celebrate!" Vijay said.
"After my first paycheck," Raj replied. Vijay went to the kitchen to grab some Parle-G biscuit packets, and noticed that they were running out of them. He handed a pack to Raj and one to Lucky. "We should go to the grocery tonight. Otherwise we won't have anything to eat for next week," Vijay said, ripping open the wrapper.
"Okay. Where do we go for it?" Lucky asked.
"Apna Bazar, which is close to Lefferts Boulevard. It's only fifteen minutes from here," Vijay answered.
"But I don't have any money," Raj said, pausing before shoving a biscuit in his mouth.
"Don't worry. I'll pay for it now. You guys can pay me after you receive your first checks," Vijay said.
"Thanks, Vijay!" Lucky replied.
"Today, when we were coming back, we saw a drunk person on the porch," Raj mentioned.
"Oh, that's our owner, Hector Hernandez. He's always drunk, but he's a very kind person. Who else would allow us to stay here for four hundred dollar?which includes all utilities and internet service?" Vijay remarked.
"Does he know that we are staying here?" Lucky asked.
"No. But don't worry. I'm sure he can't tell the difference between you, me, and Raj. He's so drunk all the time that he probably wouldn't even be able to count up to three," Vijay laughed. "We just need to make sure that we pay the rent on time so that he can keep buying his alcohol and stay drunk."
"There is no one in his family?" Raj asked, almost sounding sad.
"No. At least I haven't seen anyone. I think everyone left him," Vijay explained. "The best thing is that we didn't even sign any agreement, so we can leave this place anytime. We just need to give him thirty-days notice."
After finishing their tea and biscuits, they left the house to go grocery shopping. It wasn't very cold outside, so they decided to walk, and after about fifteen minutes they reached Apna Bazar. The shop was full of Indians, and Vijay grabbed one of the carts.
"Raj, you are the chef of the house, so you should take the lead. My job is to push the cart," Vijay said. Raj nodded in agreement. He started down the produce aisle and picked out a few green vegetables. Lucky was extremely price conscious, since the dollar to rupee conversion scared him. Every time Raj picked up another tomato or pepper, Lucky would look at the price and raise his eyebrows as he kept a running total in his head.
Vijay knew Lucky's background and understood the reasons for his behavior. On one occasion, stricken with what Vijay referred to as "dollarphobia," Lucky had tried to bargain with the owner of the shop until Vijay had grabbed his friend in embarrassment and asked him to keep quiet, explaining that people in America didn't bargain like they did in India. Finally, Vijay, Lucky, and Raj approached the checkout counter with a bag of rice, a bag of wheat flour, garlic, ginger, coriander, tomato, onions, an economy package of chicken, and some Indian spices. Vijay counted out his money and handed it to the cashier, grabbing some soda and chips when Lucky wasn't looking and adding it to their purchase. Vijay knew Lucky wouldn't approve of spending money on unnecessary items.
They had more than ten plastic bags of groceries, but they didn't want to waste money on a cab, so they walked the fifteen blocks back to the apartment. When they got home, Vijay opened the soda bottle and poured a cup for everyone.
"When did you buy that?" Lucky asked.
"Oh! It was free for shopping so much," Vijay answered.
"Thank God! We cannot afford to spend money on this junk food," Lucky said. Raj smiled at Vijay, a ring of foam around his mouth from the fizzy soda.
"We got jobs today, but you look happier than both of us," Raj remarked to Vijay.
"Well, today my professor asked me to be his teaching assistant. So I may not have to do that stupid off-campus job much longer," Vijay explained.
"Congrats!" Lucky and Raj shouted in unison.
Vijay turned on his laptop and the apartment filled with the sound of Bollywood music. "So, who has a girlfriend here? Raise your hands," Vijay asked. Nobody put any hands in the air.
"What! Really? What is wrong with us?" Raj said.
"Nothing. We just have lot of responsibilities. So we do not have time for all this stupid nonsense," Lucky replied.
"Hmm?then what's with Anna?" Raj asked.
"Anna?" Lucky replied, trying to sound innocent. "Nothing. She is Vijay's friend."
"What? I'm not the one who was dancing with her at the party. I'm pretty sure that was you," Vijay said.
"That is because she is your friend. I could not say no to her," Lucky tried to explain.
"Hmm, so how is she?" Raj asked Lucky.
"Oh! White, blonde, and very hot!" Lucky's high-pitched voice betrayed the calm, nonchalant attitude he was trying to convey. "She is very naughty also," Lucky said, unable to stop himself once he started talking about her.
"What do you mean?" Raj asked.
"No?no?nothing," Lucky replied, regretting that he couldn't keep his mouth shut about Anna. Raj and Vijay were sure that he was hiding something, so they tackled him and tickled him forcefully until he couldn't stand the pain any longer.
"Okay, okay!" Lucky gasped, sitting up and holding his sides, his face beet red. He took a few breaths. "When I asked her why you are dancing with me, you are white and so beautiful, and I am so dark, do you know what did she say?" Lucky said.
"What?" Vijay replied as he picked up his cup and took another gulp of soda.
"She said it is because she loves dark chocolate in her mouth, and she knows that I have one," Lucky said.
Vijay choked and soda shot from his nose, spraying all over the floor. Raj erupted in uncontrollable laughter, not sure which was funnier - Vijay's Coca-Cola snot or the idea of Lucky's dark chocolate.
Vijay wiped his nose with the sleeve of his shirt and got up to get a rag from the kitchen. "I think we should stop this discussion right here. I work with her, man!" Vijay said, but he could not stop laughing.
"What about you, Raj? You are elder to us. You have nice looks. You must have had girlfriends," Lucky asked.
"I was working hard to make enough money to come here, so I didn't have much time for girlfriends," Raj answered.
"Does that mean we're all virgins?" Vijay asked tentatively.
"It seems that Lucky may not be a virgin much longer," Raj laughed.
"Oh! No. I want to study. And besides, I cannot do all that stuff without marriage," Lucky answered.
"Yeah, we'll see," Raj said as he walked to the kitchen to start preparing dinner.
While Raj was organizing everything in their little kitchen, Vijay and Lucky sat on the floor in the common area and spread out newspapers. Raj handed them some onions, tomatoes, and garlic, and as they began chopping and dicing, the conversation flowed smoothly from Indian movies to Bollywood actresses to Indian politics. There was an advantage to their small room with no walls: They could speak to each other from one corner of the room to the other. There was no way anyone could hide, and the forced, close proximity made for a quick bond between the three men. It also soothed their homesickness, as they began to become each other's second family.