Chapter 3

Pavan:

I'm on the way. Please be ready.

As soon as I received a text message from Pavan, I felt so anxious. I've never done something like this in my whole life. Kung sa mga interview ko nga ay kinakabahan ako, ano pa kaya itong haharapin ko lang si Pavan for a casual date?

Hinihintay ko sa labasan ang pagdating ni Pavan. Paghahanap dapat ng trabaho ang inuuna ko, pero nandito ako ngayon sa sitwasyon na 'to. Sa isip-isip ko, na-mention niya na may mga business siya ngayon. Hindi man iyon malapit sa kursong tinapos ko at kagustuhan ng pamilya ko para sa akin, pero kung wala na talaga akong choice ay hindi na ako magiging choosy pa.

Hindi rin katagalan nang matanaw ko ang sasakyan na huminto rin sa akin kanina. Tumayo ako nang maayos hangga't sa pumarada ito sa tapat ko.

Bumukas ang pinto ng driver's seat at lumabas do'n si Pavan. Natulala pa ako nang makita ko ito dahil sobrang pormal din ng hitsura nito. Nakasuot siya ng puting long sleeves at itim na slacks. I also noticed he got a new haircut. Mapapansin ko talaga iyon dahil nag-shave rin siya ng balbas niya.

"Aap kaise hain?" tanong nito sa akin at hinalikan ako sa magkabilang pisngi bilang pagbati. (How are you?)

"Mujhe achchha mahasoos ho raha hai. poochhane ke lie dhanyavaad," sagot ko naman sa kanya. (I'm feeling good. Thank you for asking.)

"Mujhe yah jaanakar khushee huee. main bas itana kahana chaahata hoon ki aap bahut khoobasoorat lag rahee theen," he complimented and that made me feel good. (I'm happy to know that. I just want to say, you looked so gorgeous.)

"Aapaka bahut-bahut dhanyavaad! aap bhee kar rahe hain. aap daishing lag rahe the!" pagbati ko rin naman sa kanya. I couldn't deny, even though I don't share the same admiration for him, he always put on his best dressed. Nakakapagtaka lang din talaga kung bakit hanggang ngayon ay single pa rin siya. (Thank you so much! You are, too. You looked dashing!)

"Dhanyavaad, kaash. kya aap jaane ke lie taiyaar hain?" he asked. (Thank you, Kash. Are you ready to go?)

Tumango ako. "Yes, I'm ready to go."

Inalalayan niya akong pumunta sa kabila side ng sasakyan at saka niya ako pinagbuksan ng pinto. He was being so gentleman to me. Pumasok ako sa loob at saka niya ito sinara. Tumuloy naman siya sa kabilang side at umayos sa pagkakaupo sa driver's seat. Before he started the car's engine, he checked on me if I was wearing my seatbelt. As soon as everything is good for him, he drove the car away.

"How long will you stay in Mumbai?" he asked while focusing on driving.

"Indefinite," simple kong sagot sa kanya.

"Is that true?" he queried. "So, you're staying here for good?"

I shrugged off. "That I can't answer. I'm not sure about everything yet so there's no concrete answer I can give to you."

"Ah, yeah. I understand. Don't pressure yourself into answering me," he said, laughing a little. "It's nice to see you back in Mumbai, Kash. I think you've missed a lot of things when you were away."

I chuckled. "I'm sure my cousin, Priti, kept me updated with all the crazy news happening in this country."

"Ah, yeah, Priti," he said, and I noticed as he mentioned her name with a slight bitterness in it. Hindi na naman ako nag-follow up pa ng tanong dahil mukhang may something sa kanilang dalawa. "I can fill you in with a lot of things. Just ask me and I might have the answer for you."

"It seemed like you were busy when I was away."

"I am," he said, nodding his head. "I've been busy. A lot. I will tell you all about that when we get there."

"Alright. . ."

It didn't take us long when we reached the place where we'd have our dinner. Nang i-park niya ang sasakyan niya ay pasimple akong humugot nang malalim na hininga. Nang inanunsiyo niyang bababa na kami, hindi niya ako hinayaang buksan ang pinto sa tabi ko at siya mismo ang nagbukas no'n para sa akin.

Pavan made me put my hand on his arm. Sabay kaming pumasok sa loob ng restaurant. A staff asked us for our reservation and Pavan told them about it. As soon as they confirmed it, they assisted us at our table and introduced themselves who would be our servers for the night. They handed us over the menu and when I started flipping to check what meals I could have, I swallowed so dry when I found that almost each meal was so expensive for someone like me.

I tried looking for the cheapest ones. Hindi ko naman sigurado kung ako ba ang magbabayad nito. Kung separate bill kami ni Pavan, I wouldn't have to worry about the prices, pero ganitong wala pa akong trabaho at umaasa lang sa binigay na allowance ng parents ko bago ako pumunta ng India ay hindi na makaka-survive.

We're not poor. I just didn't take all the money they want me to have going all the way to Mumbai. I told them na kailangan ko lang ng sapat na allowance until makahanap ako ng trabaho. And I thought getting a job here in Mumbai would be so easy. Nagkakamali pala ako.

"What do you want, Kash?" he asked.

I panicked. Hindi ko alam kung anong pipiliin ko. As I wasn't sure of what to pick, napansin niya iyon kaya siya na mismo ang pumili para sa akin. Tango na lang din ang naging sagot ko bilang  pagsang-ayon sa suhestiyon niya. I let him pick the rest of them for me. Saglit lang din ay tinawag niya ang waiter at saka nito ni-recite ang mga order namin. As he was reciting them all, gusto ko siyang pigilan dahil parang napakarami no'n para sa aming dalawa.

Wala naman akong pambayad? Baka pwedeng maghugas na lang ng pinagkainan namin. Mag-volunteer na kaagad ako.

"So, tell me Kash, what's the reason that brought you here back in Mumbai?" he asked.

Before I could answer him, we were interrupted by our server serving us some cold water and bread. Gusto ko sanang kumuha at ngumata na, pero na-corner na ako ni Pavan sa tanong niya.

"Do you want me to be honest?" I asked.

"Sure," tipid nitong sagot sa akin. "It's okay if you're not comfortable answering it."

"No, it's okay. . . I think," I said, biting my lower lip. "Okay, so I came here for my career. I'm a licensed pharmacist in the Philippines. I just passed the board exam actually and it was the most fulfilling part of my career, but then I've got a little struggle because my parents don't want me to have a job in the Philippines, but get a job here in India. I came here for that."

"Oh, I see. . . Anyway, congratulations to you! I know you would always make it."

"Thank you, Pavan. It was hard, but I made it. But I think what's harder now is to look for a job here," I admitted painfully. "Before you saw me earlier, and that I was arguing with the driver, I didn't really have so much money to pay. I came straight from the company who told me they were offering a job for me, but then they said it was a mistake. It wasn't me who was supposed to receive that call, but another applicant. It wasn't for me but for someone else."

"Oh. . . Wow. . ." he uttered as he couldn't believe my confession. "That's a bit harsh, Kash. They could've told you about it before you could even get to their office. You know, sometimes it's really hard to find a job here that will suit your skills and career path because a lot of people are doing the same thing. We're all after one thing, to make our parents proud, and if we failed them, it's like we also failed in life."

I put a thin smile on my face as I knew he was spitting facts. 

"Let's forget that tonight," he said. "Have some fun and wash all those negativities away. They won't do a good thing."

"You're right, Pavan. . . Thank you so much for inviting me here."

"No worries. I should be the one who should be thankful to you because you accepted my invitation," he said, smiling widely. "I thought I was lucky to meet you today and maybe there was a reason for us to meet, don't you think?"

My face scrunched and shrugged my shoulder off. "I don't know about that. Maybe?"

He smiled. "Maybe, Kash. . ."

A moment later, the first meal has been served to us. Nanlaki pa ang mga mata ko dahil hindi ko inaakala na ang daming serving kaagad nito. There's only the two of us and I have no idea how we would be able to finish all of them.

"Don't be shy to me, Kash. Just enjoy your food and don't worry about anything," he said, assuring me that maybe I don't have to think about paying for my share. Tango na lang din naman ang naisagot ko sa kanya.

While we were in the middle of our dinner, we heard a group of people celebrating just a few tables away from us. Napalingon lang ako sa direksyon nila to observe what was happening. Gano'n din naman si Pavan dahil tiningnan niya kung anong nagyayari. Saglit lang ay nag-cheers silang lahat at aalisin ko na sana ang tingin ko nang may mapansin akong pamilyar sa akin doon.

"Was that Rajendra?" tanong ni Pavan.

Kibit balikat na lang din ang naging sagot ko. "Hindi ko alam. . . Baka? O baka kamukha lang. . ."

"I've seen Rajendra around, I'm sure that's him," paninigurado pa nito. "Look. I'm not sure if you've seen him yet, but he didn't change much. You would recognize him."

Ginawa ko ang sinabi ni Rajendra. Lumingon ako sa table nila at saktong pagkatingin ko ay nahuli ako ni Rajendra. He was looking straight at our direction. Kinawayan pa kami nito nang makompirma niya kaming dalawa ni Pavan ang nakita niya. I quickly put my attention back to the person I was having dinner with. Hindi ko pa rin mapapatawad si Raj kung paano niya ako pinahiya kanina. Hindi ko rin inaasahan na siya ang makakausap ko. He could've said it in a nice way, pero sa pagkasasabi niya sa akin ay parang hindi talaga ako belong sa company na 'yon. It was painful and I can't look at him the same way.

"So, it's Rajendra," Pavan said, nodding his head. "It seemed like they're having a good celebration. . . Oh, he's coming to us. Be ready."

Umayos pa ako nang pagkakaupo ko dahil saglit lang ay lumapit si Raj sa table namin at kinamusta kami. Hindi ko siya nililingon. Nagpatuloy lang ako sa pagkain ko kasi ayoko siyang bigyan ng pansin.

"Hey, Kash," pagtawag nito sa akin. Uminom muna ako ng tubig bago ko iniangat ang tingin ko sa kanya. "How are you?"

I smiled bitterly. "I'm good. . . I'm having a good time with Pavan right now."

"Oh, nice to know that! I'm happy for you. . ." he said, and I thought he wasn't happy for me at all. "I'm with my colleagues. We're having a small celebration because one of my teammates just got promoted to a Director role. He's treating us today. Oh, Kash, regarding your application, I think we've still got a role available and we'll give you another call. . . Anyway, I gotta go back. It's nice catching up with both of you."

"Yeah, Raj. It's nice. . ." Pavan said.

Bumalik si Raj sa table nila at nang tingnan ko si Pavan ay hindi siya makapaniwala na ang tinutukoy ko lang na company kanina ay ang company na kung nasaan si Raj. He was disappointed of him, but I told him to let it go because after all, hindi na ako maghahabol sa mga bagay na una na akong binitawan.

Kainin mo na 'yan nang buong-buo, Raj. 'Wag mo na akong paasahin.