pool and whirlpool at the apartment complex. She said she
wanted to very much, but she had not brought her
swimming suit with her clothing from home. On a little bit
of persuasion, she agreed that we go to a shopping mall on
the way and buy one of her size.
We walked into the Ladies section of Sears and started
browsing at the different swimming suits hanging from the
rack. She picked a few. I looked around and finding no one
even bothered, I went into the closet with her as she tried
them on. We drew the curtain and she started disrobing.
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Huddled so close to her in such a place made it thrilling.
After trying out several, we finally picked one that was a
flowery two-piece kind. She looked most gorgeous in them.
I could see the excitement on her face as she saw me
admiring her in that bikini. After charging it at the cashiers,
we came back to the car with the package.
As we got out of the car at the Apartment Complex and
started going toward our apartment, I saw her jumping and
playing hopscotch at the pavement on the way. I was so
happy and excited to see her doing that. I was certain she
could not have done that, where she lived in Bombay.
At the apartment we changed, picked up a couple of towels,
a couple of glasses and chilled bottle of champagne heading
toward the poolside. We were shifting between swimming
pool and the hot tub whirlpool, back and forth. She would
sit across from me in the whirlpool resting her feet on my
lap as I slowly rubbed my palm under her feet giving a foot
massage.
Once suddenly, as if out of a reverie, she asked me if we
could have very personal email addresses with password to
exchange private messages, even after she returned to India.
I was quite surprised and pleased. I responded with ‘Of
course’.
When I came back from work on Monday, I found the
apartment cleaned and well organized. My desk with all
those letters and papers strewn around, was now well and
properly stacked. Seema’s letter and my response was
neatly kept together in my writing pad. She might have read
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them, I thought. I had nothing to hide from her. It was nice
to have a woman at home who cared.
Next few days rolled off with very little outside activities. I
would come home from work and take her to my Health
Club. There we would do our aerobics and work out a good
sweat. We rented bicycles and went cycling through some
wooded trails around the neighborhood. She had got quite
familiar with my kitchen. Together we would get a fairly
decent dinner ready.
She had her booking made on a direct British Airways flight
from Raleigh to Gatwick for Sunday morning. After a few
hours of stopover she had to take another British Airways
flight from Heathrow to Bombay.
We spent the last day taking it very slowly and easy. We
just wanted to spend the day basking in the warmth of each
other’s company and unbridled passion. So we did. We
went jogging in the morning. Then played a few sets of
tennis. Having worked out a good sweat and appetite, later
we soaked in the pool with chilled beer, barbecue and jazz
music playing softly. That was enough for us to come back
to bed for a siesta in satin sheets.
All great things have to come to an end. This one had to
too. We had known that from the beginning. But when the
time came for it to happen, it was painful. I would be lying
if I told you that it was not. I could see that on her face as
well.
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We were putting off talking about what was going to be
next in our lives with each other. Do we just part and never
look back? Or do we give up other commitments in our
lives to live together? Neither alternative seemed pleasing
or practical. Neither of us wanted to make any demands on
the other. Nor bind ourselves with promises or
commitments, which we could not have kept. Yet we
wanted to stay together longer and longer. It was too
emotional to be put in words.
Finally we did agree on some things. We would not demand
anything from each other by way of giving up any other
relationships or commitments. Wherever we are and in
whatever condition, we would accept each other, staying in
touch. There was no name or label to our relationship.
Neither of us needs to give apologies or explanations to any
one. We would under all circumstances meet at least once
in a year on this day to celebrate the anniversary of our new
lives.
I was pulling her luggage on its roller with one hand and
holding her hand with the other. She checked in at the
counter.
Before going through the gate, she turned and came back
running. We clung to each other as tight as we could. As the
sound system started blaring ‘last and final call for
boarding’, we slowly and reluctantly released each other.
After a few minutes, all I could see was a shiny aluminum
blurb slowly vanishing up into the skies. My Dream had put
on wings. And it flew away into the clouds.
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CHAPTER 8
The previous week had just flown past like a dream. I still
could not believe it had really happened. The whole of
Monday was taken by meetings and phone calls.
When I came home there was another letter from Seema in
response to mine. They insisted that I come down to Seattle
first and then start looking for a job from there. They were
quite tired of my delaying tactics. It was now or never.
They wanted to know my decision before the end of the
month, before they approach an attorney. That was enough
aggravation for me to take a few things and throw on the
wall. I kept the letter in rest of the pile. I will think about it
later.
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The workweek was very hectic as the day approached for
finalization of the project. I wanted keep myself totally
drowned in work so I don’t have to think about my personal
life’s two contrary forces pulling me in different directions.
As I came to work on Tuesday morning, I got a call from
Don Wilsner ‘s secretary. Don wanted me for a one on one
meeting. When your boss calls you for a meeting suddenly
like this, it is either a good or bad news. I had no
foreboding, as to what this one was going to be.
We started off by commenting on the weather and how
badly the Dallas Cowboys had done in Monday Night
Football. Having cleared this routine, I was impatient to get
down to the real purpose of this encounter.
I felt like yelling at him, “Spill it out Don. How are you
going to call firing me? ‘Strategic Restructuring?
?? or
‘Corporate Policy Redefinition’ or some other nonsense
straight from Harvard Business School? Everybody knows
how to cover his own bottom before taking care of
Corporate Bottom Line. I am sure you have done yours too.
All this applies only to menials like me. Whatever you call
it, Firing is a Firing. Shoot!”
However I kept quiet, letting him broach the subject. After
all it was on his behest that we were having this meeting.
He flicked a few imaginary specks of dust from his coat
lapel. Then he slowly pulled out his spectacles and even
more slowly pulled out a white handkerchief from his
trouser pocket. Then with great care started polishing the
glasses. All this was a sure sign of dark clouds coming
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down with thunder and downpour, a proverbial ‘calm
before the storm’. Then he started to speak.
The upper management had told him that the Company was
acquiring a new power plant near Bombay, India. With that
there would be a need for somebody to organize their data-
processing division there. He could think of nobody that he
could trust more than me, at this distance. He wanted to
know if I would consider taking that job. I would be
stationed in Raleigh. I would still be reporting to him. That
entailed frequent travelling between Raleigh and Bombay.
It also meant I would have to move from Dallas to here. He
said I could take as much time as I needed to think it over
and also to consult with Seema.
I was quite taken aback and overwhelmed. It was such an
anti-climax to what I had marshaled all my defenses for. I
shook his hands, thanked him with a big grin and came back
to my seat. It was too much too quick for me to digest.
A week later, I got a call from a Northern Electronics in
Seattle. Their management team was scouring for a new
Manager to head their Research and Development division.
Research Triangle Park near here was a hub of hi-tech
industry. There were several candidates from there that they
were interested in interviewing. Instead of flying them all to
Seattle, their panel had planned an Interviewing Center in
Raleigh for candidates in and around this area, They had
heard about me and wanted to know if I would be interested
in that position.
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Within the next 5 days their panel arrived in Raleigh and we
had a daylong interview at the Hilton. Theirs was a
company in existence for about 5 years and the current head
of the R&D division was due to retire in a couple of
months. They had some very ambitious expansion plans
with fresh finances being pumped into the company from
abroad. I would be located in Seattle with some light travel
nationally and internationally.
After the interview was over, I thought I had done pretty
well for myself. They promised to review all the candidates
and let me know of their choice in the middle of the
following week. This seemed like a pretty good chance for
me to put my family life back together.
I took my flight to Dallas that weekend. Since Seema was
still in Seattle, I took the airport Shuttle Service to get home
from the airport. There was a big pile of mail on the floor,
dropped through the mail slot. I collected them all into a
plastic trash bag. I would sort them out later into good, bad,
junk and super-junk categories.
I tapped on the telephone answering machine to retrieve
messages.
I was surprised to hear a voice calling himself Sanjay. He
had called from Portland, Oregon, the day I had left for
Raleigh. He was pleading with Seema to come and meet
him at Seattle. It seemed to me from his talk that he had
been calling and talking to Seema for several months now.
But this time she had forgotten to erase the message.
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Then there was still my unretrieved message informing that
I had escaped being killed in that fatal air-crash.
I took my flight from Dallas to Raleigh on Sunday as usual.
There was the Wall Street Journal in the pouch in front of
me. Just to keep myself engaged, I pulled it out and started
browsing. There was one news item that caught my
attention.
It was about Northern Electronics of Seattle. It said there
was an unknown film personality from Bombay, India who
had shown keen interest on buying majority stock holding
in this company. With infusion of such large capital, this
company was predicted by the financial analysts to do
extremely well. It continued further, by saying that this
Investor made the financing conditional to the company
restructuring its R&D division by hiring a younger and
more energetic manager. However there was no mention of
who this ‘film personality’ Investor might be. I could only
make a very well educated guess.
After a couple of days, I got another phone call from the
CEO of Northern Electronics of Seattle. Their Board had
approved my appointment. They wanted me to come
aboard, as soon as I could get away from the present
contract. They wanted to know my joining date.
I wanted to sleep over the whole matter. There were too
many decisions and choices to be made. Each one would
have far reaching effects. Each course of action would lead
my further life in an entirely different direction.
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It was obvious to me that Archana had read my
correspondence with Seema while rearranging my room.
She realized that she could help save my marriage by
arranging a job in Seattle. But I loathed this whole idea of
others manipulating my life and taking any help from this
Benefactor from Bombay. I did not like the idea of going to
Seattle even otherwise, especially after knowing what
Seema had been up to.
I called Northern Electronics and told them I was unable to
accept their offer and move to Seattle.
Next morning I called Don and told him I was willing to
take him on his offer. That was by far the best choice I
could have made from both personal and career objectives.
This was a job that I had got on my own merits. I could still
keep my ego and self-respect intact in every way. In terms
of the two ladies in my life, I could look at my face in the
mirror next morning not feeling rotten about myself.
I came to my apartment from work. I wrote to Seema saying
that I had accepted this new job offer in Raleigh and it is
entirely up to her if she wishes to get a Separation from the
Court. I further told her, if she did, I was sure to fight for
Munni’s custody. It was plain to me that she had written
that ultimatum under the tutoring of her mother. My
defiance might have surprised her parents. But with
>
whatever little brains or guts she had, Seema would not
have expected or wanted me moving to Seattle. But that
was a choice they had made. Ball was now in their court.
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Having changed into my swimming trunks, I headed to the
swimming pool and dove into that crystal clear cool water.
It gave my head much needed cooling off.
Before turning in that night, I checked my Email. There was
an electronic Thank You card, signed ‘yours Archana’.
THE END
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COMING TO AMERICA
93
On the 9th of October 1977 I departed New Delhi for
moving to the United States. On the 13th of October 2000, I
completed 23 years since arriving here.
My stint at spending some months in Europe a few years
earlier made my transition to the ‘American Way’ of life
somewhat less of a ‘Culture Shock’. Still quite a few things
seemed strange.
My host at that time watching a Baseball game on the TV
told me with great excitement, that it was the ‘World
Series’ going on, expecting me to share that ecstasy. That
was a game being played between a Club in one part of the
country with another Club a few hundred miles away. I told
myself if that is your “World”, I must be an alien from outer
galaxy! This month, ‘World Series’ is being played between
2 Clubs in same city called ‘New York City’. If ‘Shivaji
Park Cricket Club’ should play the ‘Bombay Gymkhana’,
would you call it the World Cup?
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