Jaimi had taken the 19th of August off due to her not feeling well. Jaimi freshens up by 8 in the morning on the 20th. She dries her hair and lets it down in its natural wavy form. She slips into a grey plaid dress that has ruffles on its tank sleeves and at the bottom of the dress. The dress reaches a few inches above her knees giving it a formal look with casual-chic vibes. She pairs her outfit with black stilettos and a beige Saint Laurent bag. 

She steps out of the building through a gate in the back, avoiding everyone. She walks a bit away from the building and takes a seat on the small concrete wall. She looks at the Sabarmati River and then the road where people are running around to get to their destination. She looks at the river and thinks about her life in India for the past few months. Her phone rings after some time. She looks at the name and answers the call. 

Jaimi: Hello?

Darshan: Mein tumhari building ke paas hoon. Tum building mein ho?

Jaimi: Nahi. Building ke kuch hi doori pe hoon. You'll see me. 

Darshan: Ok. 

He drives further up and sees Jaimi walking towards the edge of the road. He hangs up the call as she approaches the car. She sees Rajendra uncle in the front passenger seat, so she opens the door to the backseat. She sees his cousins she saw two days back. She slides in and sits behind Rajendra uncle's seat. She nods at Darshan and he nods in return. 

RU: Jay Shree Krishna!

Jaimi: Jay Shree Krishna!

Darshan starts driving. Jaimi is working on something on her iPad while his cousins are chatting. Rajendra uncle and Darshan are chatting about some issue with faint music playing in the background. 

Darshan: Jay?

Jaimi hums in response as she looks up. He looks back at her through the rearview mirror. 

Darshan: Tumne organizer se baat ki?

Jaimi: Yeah. I had a brief chat with them. They should send the final quote to your and Naushad Bhai's email today. 

Darshan: Ok. I'll forward it to you so tum check kar sakho. 

Jaimi: That's fine. 

Jaimi's phone rings again. She looks down to see the name, Hulk, flashing on her screen. She answers the call. 

Jaimi: Hey Jax! 

Jaxon: I need help. 

Jaimi: What happened now?

Jaxon: I am stranded in the middle of nowhere and don't know how to communicate with anyone. And, there is a police officer who thinks I'm cursing him out right now because I slightly raised my tone out of frustration. 

Jaimi: What did I tell you about not getting in trouble?

Jaxon: Can you help me?

Jaimi: Yeah. Are you still staying at the same hotel? 

She hears a soft hum before she is greeted by a deep male voice with a thick Spanish accent. 

Jaimi: ¡Hola! Mi amigo necesita que lo lleven al Hotel Preciados. ¿Puedes ayudarlo a conseguir un taxi o algo para ir al hotel? El no habla español. (Hello! My friend here needs a ride to Hotel Preciados. Can you please help him get a cab or something to the hotel? He doesn't speak spanish.)

Cop: Por supuesto señorita. (Of couse miss.)

Jaimi: Gracias y lo siento si pareció grosero. Solo tiene problemas de mal genio de vez en cuando. (Thank you and I'm sorry if he came across as rude. He just has short temper issues occasionally.)

Cop: Ya lo vi, pero no hay problema. (I saw it already, but no problem.)

Jaimi: Gracias Señor! (Thank you sir!)

 Jaxon: Jay, what did you tell him?

Jaimi: Why?

Jaxon: He just looked at me and said Casco. What does it mean?

Jaimi chuckles at his confused tone. 

Jaimi: In literal terms Casco means helmet, but in the current situation he called you a hulk. 

Jaxon: What?

Jaimi: Even he knows, Jax!

Jaxon: Carebe- Nevermind! He got the taxi. Gotta go. Bye!

Jaimi: Bye.

She hangs up the call and looks ahead of her to see Darshan staring at her through the mirror. She looks away and out of the window. 

Esha: Jaimi, tum kaha se ho?

Jaimi: Ahmedabad se hoon. Why?

Bhakti: Tum abhi konsi bhasha bol rahi thi?

Jaimi: Spanish. 

Esha: Nahi tum Spanish bol rahi thi tab jaise tumhari pehli bhasha woh ho waise bol rahi thi. Tum English bolti ho tab bhi woh Indian accent nahi hoti issi liye. 

Jaimi: Mein language change karti hoon tab uss language ki hi accent hoti hain. Meri strong Gujarati accent nahi hain. 

Bhakti: Waisa kyu?

Jaimi: Hume school mein aise hi padhate the issi liye. 

RU: Tum Ahmedabad mein konsi school mein gae thi?

Jaimi: Meine Ahmedabad mein padhai nahi ki hain. Mein North mein ek boarding school mein padhti thi. 

Esha: College kaha se ki? Aur kaunsi degree hain tumhare paas?

Jaimi: Meine Harvard University se bachelors in business administration, masters in business administration, aur bachelors in architecture ki hain. 

Bhakti: Oh. Wow. Tab bhi India mein job kar rahi ho? I mean Darshan ka bada Bhai, Anup, bhi USA mein hi settle hain after studies. 

Jaimi: Mein India sirf internship ke liye aae thi. Phir, kuch dino baad India se chali jaaungi. 

Esha: USA?

Jaimi: Abhi tak decide nahi kiya. 

There's silence for the rest of the ride to the destination Darshan is driving to. After some time, Darshan drives through a stone carved-out gate that has a welcoming message on it. He sped through it not giving Jaimi a chance to catch the name of the place. After driving around the roads of what looks to be a suburban city, Darshan puts his car to park. Jaimi closely monitors her surrounding to see an old house standing in front of them. She steps out of the car with her purse. There are houses surrounding the house they are standing in front of. Darshan walks around and stands beside her as his cousins and father walk through the gate into the house. 

Jaimi: Hum kaha hain?

Darshan: Vijapur. Mere grandparents ke ghar pe. Chale?

Jaimi nods and follows him through the gate. There is a concrete floor before the house. Darshan gets rid of his shoes and socks. Jaimi carefully slips off her heels. He opens the wood door and they walk into the living room. There are two Divan's placed against both walls and there's a tv on the wall beside the door. The walls are painted white. All the eyes are on them. Jaimi steps behind Darshan. 

Darshan: Jay?

Jaimi hums in response. 

Darshan: Mask nikaldo, please. Sab ko weird lagega. 

Jaimi scans the room before taking off her mask. She places it in the bag. She looks down and fidgets with her fingers under their scrutinizing gaze. Darshan moves to the side and closes the door behind her. He greets and hugs his grandparents. Jaimi is quietly standing there rooted to her place. 

Darshan: Jay?

She looks up at him. 

Darshan: Come here. 

She nods a bit and moves towards him. He introduces her to his grandparents. 

Jaimi: Jay Shree Krishna!

She touches their feet after greeting them out of courtesy. 

Bhakti: Dadi, hum Nisha ke ghar jaa rahe hain. 

Grandma: Thik hain par khaane ke waqt wapas aa jaana. 

Esha: Ji. 

The two sprint out of the house. Darshan nudges Jaimi to take a seat with him on the Divan across from where his dad and grandparents are sitting. After some time, they are joined by a few others who Jaimi assumes to be neighbors or family friends. Darshan's grandma leaves the living room and proceeds to the kitchen. Darshan sees Jaimi fidgeting in her spot as a male around his age is gawking at her. 

Darshan: Jay, tum Dadi ke paas jao, please!

Jaimi nods and gets up. She moves towards the direction where his grandma went. She searches a bit and finds her in the kitchen. 

Jaimi: Aap ko koi madad chahiye?

Grandma: Nahi-nahi beta. Mein kar lungi. 

There's a brief silence before she speaks again. 

Grandma: Tum Darshan ke saath kaam karti ho?

Jaimi: Haan. 

Grandma: Tum kaha se ho?

Jaimi: Ahmedabad se hi. 

Grandma: Tum abhi Ahmedbad mein hi rehti ho?

Jaimi: Nahi abhi toh Mumbai mein. 

Grandma: Tum waha akeli rehti ho?

Jaimi: Haan. 

His grandma starts pouring the tea into the cups. Jaimi places them on the tray. She grabs one tray while his grandma holds the other one. She follows her through the living room and serves the tea. Darshan clenches his teeth seeing the male check Jaimi out as she serves him. 

Darshan: Jay?

She turns around and looks at him. 

Darshan: Can you call Naushad bhai and finalize the terms and conditions with him? Also, ask him about the meeting we had when you guys were shooting Hardik's song?

Jaimi: Ok. Excuse me. 

She moves away from them towards the kitchen. She does the tasks he assigned then, just chills in the kitchen not wanting to intrude. She starts working on some architecture designs out of boredom. Lunchtime rolls around by the time the guests leave. His two male cousins and aunt join them. Jaimi and Darshan are discussing a few things when everyone is called for lunch. 

Darshan: Let's go!

Jaimi: Mujhe bhukh nahi hain. 

Darshan: Subah kya khaya tha?

Jaimi: I had a coffee. 

Darshan: Woh khana nahi hain. Chalo!

He forces her to the kitchen where everyone is sitting on the floor serving themselves. Jaimi looks down unsure.  He stands in front of her pretending to talk as she carefully sits with her legs folded behind her. He places his jacket on her lap. She mouths him a thank you to which he nods. She takes two Rotis and a little bit of curry. They all eat with light conversation. She is the first to finish. 

RU: Jaimi, thoda aur lo!

Jaimi: Nahi. Mein isse zyada nahi khaa sakhti. 

Esha: Dieting chal rahi hain kya?

Jaimi: Nahi. Mein regularly itna hi khaati hoon. 

Darshan looks at her more like glares at her. She carefully stands up and washes her plate and hands. She helps them clean up before making her way to the living room. She continues to work on her designs. Around four in the afternoon, she gets a message from Aishwarya about the concert. 

Jaimi: Can you forward me the organizer's email?

Darshan: Yeah. 

He was so engrossed in the conversation that he sent the first email he saw without looking. Jaimi wraps up her designs. Darshan's grandpa and dad go on a stroll while he and his cousins go to the roof. She is sitting in the living room with his female cousins, aunt, and grandma. 

Aunt: Tum America se aae ho?

Jaimi: Haan.

Aunt: Waha toh college ki fees zyada hogi na?

Jaimi: Haan. 

Aunt: Tumhari kitni thi?

Jaimi: 80 hazar dollar ek saal ke. 

Aunt: Itni saari fees. Tum kaise deti thi itne saare paise?

Jaimi: Mujhe scholarships mili thi toh meri teeno degrees ki fees college hi chukaati thi. 

Aunt: Oh. 

Bhakti: Tumhe kitne band aae the scholarships ke liye?

Jaimi: ACT mein mujhe 35 mile the out of 36.

Esha: That's good. 

Jaimi simply smiles. She opens the email he sent. She looks through the email and her jaw clenches. She looks up to see the others looking at her. 

Jaimi: Mr. Raval kaha hain?

Esha: Terrace pe!

Jaimi nods and gets up. She stuffs her iPad in her bag before making her way to the stairs she saw earlier. His cousins pass her on the way. She narrows her eyes seeing him on the top of the stairs. She meets him midway and he sees that her face has turned red.

Darshan: Jay, kya hua?

Jaimi: You're asking me that?

Darshan's grandma, aunt, Esha, and Bhakti are going to the kitchen when they overhear Jaimi's stern voice. His other three cousins are moving towards the kitchen to get something to eat when they stop seeing the others. 

Jaimi: Who the hell gave you the right to investigate me?

Darshan: W-what? What are you talking about?

Jaimi pulls up the email on her phone and shows it to him. 

Jaimi: You took my medicine out of my purse and sent it to the lab?

Darshan: Kisne kaha ki yeh tumhari medicine hain?

Jaimi: Toh mera naam iss report pe kyu hain? And, the lab has also attached the pictures you gave them of my medicine. 

Darshan utters a few curses under his breath. He looks down into her rage-filled eyes. He audibly gulps and takes a few steps back towards the terrace. 

Jaimi: Where do you think you're going, Mr. Raval?

Darshan: I'm just going to make a call. 

She grabs his shirt and pulls him down. He loses his balance at her unexpected action and falls over her and cages her between him and the wall behind her. 

Jaimi: I don't think so, Mr. Raval! Not until you're done explaining. 

Darshan: I- I- was cu-rious. 

Jaimi: Does that give you a right to search my personal property and investigate me?

Darshan: N-no. I was just trying to figure you out. 

Jaimi: Pardon me?

Darshan: Tum mujhe kuch batati nahi ho! Ahmedabad aae tab se sick ho. Aur, meine tumhe kitni baar medicine lete hue dekha hain. I was just worried about you! Tumse kuch puchta toh tum batati nahi. 

Jaimi: Because I do not like to put my life out in front of others!

Darshan: Why are you like this, Jay?

Jaimi: Because this is how I am, Raval! I can't change it. And, why do you fucking care? Three days and I will be out of your life. 

Darshan: Because I care for you! Goddamn it! How many times do I have to prove that I care for you and only wish the best for you? You have been constantly taking these goddamn medicines and who knows what they cause? I just don't want something bad happening to you!

Jaimi: Stop caring for me, Raval!

Darshan: I can't, Patel! 

Jaimi: Why? What am I to you? I am just a mere employee that works for you. You shouldn't care for me!

Darshan: But I do! It's not like I can suddenly stop caring for you. What happened that night was wrong on my side and I apologize for it, but-

Jaimi: You're not going to get anything out of it!

Darshan: Who said I was doing this to get something in return?

Jaimi: Raval, don't involve yourself with me!

Darshan: Why?

Jaimi: Because it's for the better!

Jai got fed up with it, so he walks towards the kitchen. Darshan and Jaimi turn their head hearing his footsteps. The others follow right after him. 

Jaimi/Darshan: Shit!

Jaimi walks down the stairs with Darshan in tow. They walk into the living room and see Rajendra uncle and his grandpa chatting. She gathers her things and turns to Darshan. 

Jaimi: Do you have anything for me?

Darshan: No. 

Jaimi: Then, I'm leaving!

RU: Aaj yaha ruk jao!

Jaimi: Nahi nahi. Mein aap sab ko disturb nahi karna chahti. 

RU: Koi disturb nahi kar rahi ho hume!

Darshan: Mein tumhe drop kar deta hoon. 

Jaimi: No need! I'll get a cab or something. 

Darshan: It's not safe!

Jaimi: I will be fine. You don't have to worry about me. 

RU: Jaimi, aaj rickshaw aur taxi ki strike hain! Aur, buses bhi band hain. 

Grandma: Aaj yaha hi ruk jao!

Jaimi weighs out her choices then reluctantly nods. She drops her stuff back and follows his grandma to the kitchen with him following behind. They help with cutting the vegetable and mangoes.

Aunt: Jaimi, tum daal ko tadka maar do!

Jaimi's face turns blank. 

Jaimi: Mujhe Indian khana banana nahi aata. 

Aunt: Tumne kabhi banana sikha hi nahi?

Jaimi: Nahi. 

Grandma: Choti thi tab ghar pe banate dekh dekh ke nahi seekha?

Jaimi: Mein zyada tar hostel mein hi rehti thi toh waha kabhi sikha nahi. 

Esha: Ab kya khaati ho?

Jaimi: Sandwiches, salad, waffle, toast, ya microwaveable. 

Bhakti: Maze hain! Yaha toh mummy ne daat daat ke sikhaya tha. 

She gives then a faint smile and helps Esha make small balls of the dough. They eat dinner by 8. Darshan's aunt, Amit, and Nikhil leave right after dinner. Jaimi helps his grandma clean up the dishes and the house. They all sit in the living room while Darshan grabs two bags out of his car. 

Grandma: Sab kaise soenge?

RU: Mein idhar hi so jaunga!

Jai: Mein bhi!

Esha: Hum dono andar ke room mein so jaaenge! 

All the eyes are on Jaimi are Darshan who are sitting on either end of the divan with enough space to fit Antarctica between them. 

Darshan: Hum uppar so jaaenge! Waise bhi aaj bahot garmi hain. 

They all slowly nod. Esha and Bhakti skip around the house and make all the sleeping arrangements. They come back and have changed. 

Grandma: Esha, tum dono ke kapdo mein se kuch Jaimi ko abhi dedo taki woh bhi so sakhe. 

Esha: Dadi mein toh ek hi pajama laae thi. 

Bhakti: Mein bhi. Baaki sab toh anarkali dresses aur sab hain. 

Jaimi: Koi baat nahi. Mein thik hoon!

She moves towards the restroom. Darshan drops his bag in the room and takes out a black tank top. He waits outside the bathroom. 

Darshan: Change karlo! Dress mein neend nahi aaegi. 

Jaimi: Thank you. You didn't have to. 

Darshan: Meri wajah se yaha rukna pada so I can at least do this for you. 

Jaimi nods and goes back into the bathroom. She changes into the tank top and puts her dress on top of his bag hoping he wouldn't mind. She makes her way to the terrace not wanting to face others. She sees two charpoys placed side by side with a small table fan in the corner. They have put up a mosquito net over the charpoys. She ties her hair in a loose bun before laying down on one of the charpoys. She stares up at the sky and lets sleep embrace her. 

**********