Simi decided not to mention that she had a throbbing headache and it didn’t help that when they were driving Tia was very excited and wouldn’t stop talking.
‘We will pick up Hari and head out to see the video guy. I have a feeling everything is going to be OK today.’
Over at Hari’s house, since Tia had called him ahead of time, he was sitting ready when Chitthi went into his room.
‘How are you, Hari?’ he asked.
‘I am feeling great, Chitthi, how are you?’ Hari had gotten up and hugged him like a long-lost brother.
‘Whoa, that is some hug. OK, now why don’t you sit down.’ Chitthi had him sit on the bed.
‘Hari, it’s been sixteen days since your engagement. You do remember what happened that night, right?’
‘Of course; I got engaged to Simi, finally.’
‘Look around you Hari, what do you see in your room?’
‘I see a happy man’s room.’
‘You see the woman in all these pictures? On the walls, on your desk, on the table next to your bed, on the screensaver on your laptop, in your wallet? You see, that woman is Tia and not Simi.’
‘I know that.’
‘And do you know why you have so many pictures of Tia, and none of Simi?’
‘Because I was in a relationship with Tia, but now I am dedicated to Simi.’
Hari paused before finishing his sentence.
‘I am waiting till I have enough pictures of Simi so that I can replace them.’
Chitthi felt creepy, worried and amused all at once.
‘OK dude, one last question. Are you seriously hypnotized?’
‘I don’t know if you can call it hypnotized, but since that night after that old guy on stage told me to love Simi, I only love Simi.’
‘And what about Tia?’
‘I have no feelings for her.’
‘You’re joking right? You’re just messing with her right? Messing with all of us right? You’re faking it right?’
Before Hari could answer, Tia had stormed in without knocking.
Chitthi was grateful for her timing, throwing his hands in the air.
‘Take him. He is useless in the office.’
‘Boss, you are ill,’ he said to Hari. ‘Please take your time to recover. I’ll handle everything at the office.’
Tia had literally pushed and shoved and dragged Hari like he was a dog who needed to be cajoled. She even used Simi as sweet bait.
‘Sim-Sim, you walk ahead, he’ll follow you.’
One hour later — The videographer’s studio
Tia sensed that Carlos, the Cuban-American videographer and perpetual hippie whom Tia had only hired only because he came highly recommended by three different sources, was probably high on something even at ten-thirty a.m. The studio reeked of weed and he was unnecessarily jubilant.
Tia made Simi and Hari sit with her as they watched hours and hours worth of footage on Carlos’ Mac computer. Sure enough, he had recorded Xavier having the attack and trying to say the release word, and sure enough he was trying to say something beginning with the letter “O”.
Tia made Carlos rewind and replay that part of the footage several times as they all guessed what he was trying to say. But it was to no avail.
‘Let me see if I can isolate the audio,’ Carlos said finally.
For the next ten minutes he did some tinkering to isolate Xavier’s audio. As they all leaned forward towards the speakers, they could faintly hear Xavier saying ‘Otta …’.
Tia was frantically noting down the possibilities. She had even brought along a Webster’s dictionary. Another round of words was tried, but again to no avail. Tia had gone through the entire “O” section of the alphabet.
At one point, Tia made Hari sit on a chair and ran all the words by him as he sat there. Then she made him face a mirror and say all the words to himself. Simi started to feel sorry for Hari. He was being very cooperative but was getting tired.
Carlos had lit up one of his special cigarettes and was watching them while blowing smoke rings in the air when something suddenly occurred to him.
‘Hey, you know, why don’t you have him dance as you say the word … in a booming voice like that crazy magician?’
‘How will that help?’ Simi asked.
‘I don’t know, I remember he made someone do a crazy dance, right?’ Carlos shrugged his shoulders. Tia thought for a moment and then pulled Hari up onto his feet.
‘Yes, physical movement may jolt him out of the spell,’ she said. Hari looked at Simi in a pleading way. She simply nodded.
Do this last thing, please.
Carlos fired up some music and Hari started dancing. Gradually Carlos started dancing next to him. The studio was booming with music and he even urged Tia to join in.
‘Create an ambience, a mood like that night.’ He was just bullshitting, he was definitely high and probably just wanted to dance.
‘C’mon Hari, shake that booty, shake it, shake it,’ Tia said, gyrating next to Hari.
When she saw that Hari was not putting his all into the dance, Tia dragged Simi to the dance floor.
‘You shake your ass and he will dance like a puppy.’
She made Hari and Simi dance like they were rehearsing for a reality show.
‘C’mom, we can do it. You can do it!’
An hour later Tia, Hari and Simi were sitting in her car exhausted and sweaty. When Carlos had passed out on the studio floor from all the weed dancing, it was time to go.
‘Tia, I think it is clear now that only Xavier can bring him out of the spell. Barry Uncle said that his vitals were strong now and he could recover consciousness soon,’ Simi said, again trying to be supportive.
‘Let’s hope so. But I was thinking that maybe I should rent that hall again; ask Minto to replicate the entire evening just like that night, we can even call all three hundred guests back. You know they’ll come for the food and booze. And we’ll create the same feeling, the spotlight and all, and then have Hari walk from the stage towards me and then … then …’
Hari interrupted her as he wiped some serious sweat from his forehead.
‘Why can’t you just accept that I love her?’
That silenced Tia who simply put the car into gear and as it picked up acceleration, so did her tears.
She didn’t know what else to do.
Both Hari and Tia could have used a handkerchief. Simi gave hers to Hari, who gratefully used it to wipe clean his sweat.
Two days later
Stephan was planning a trip to New York again and wanted Tia to accompany him. The committee wanted to look at their work-in-progess reports and discuss a further plan of action. Tia had told him she was ready from her end, and whenever it was decided, she would go.
Simi was regularly writing emails to Mausaji to lie that she was doing great and enjoying her stay in L.A. with Tia. She didn’t even know how to begin to tell them what had actually happened and whatwas going on. She would send her regards to her mother via him, as well as lie that Tia missed them as well.
Everyone’s only hope and prayer was that Xavier would recuperate soon and bring Hari out of the spell to restore some sanity.
That night after dinner Mary went into Hari’s room. He stood up from his desk.
‘What are you up to, Hari?’ she asked.
‘Nothing, Mom, just doing some work from home, haven’t been to the office lately.’ Hari was standing there as if he was in the principal’s office with his hands behind his back.
‘Why don’t you go to the office, it’ll be a nice change from sitting in your room all day long.’ Mary was being equally cautious. Hari didn’t respond but just nodded.
She took his hand and sat him down on the bed.
‘Hari, your father is downstairs and the news is not good. Xavier has slipped into a coma and your father thinks the chances of him recovering are almost nil.’
Hari’s expression changed to sadness.
‘
Tch … too bad, he was a nice man. I really liked him.’
‘Yes he was, Hari, but your wedding is in a week and you, you, you are supposed to get married to Tia but you’ve been after Simi …’
‘I am not after Simi, Mom, I am her fiancé,’ Hari responded.
‘No you are not, bete. You and Tia have been together for six years. It was all planned. Here, see this invitation card? It has yours and Tia’s names on it.’ Mary showed him the card.
‘I know, Mom, it’s not like I have forgotten anything, but I just don’t feel the same towards her now. She could be my friend but I will marry only Simi.’
‘Why?’
‘Because I love her!’
‘How?’
‘Mom, why was it so easy for you to believe that I was in love with Tia, but difficult to believe that I could be in love with Simi? What’s wrong with Simi? She is a nice girl, why can’t you believe that your son wants to be with a girl like her?’
‘You can’t fall in love with someone just like that, in a day?’ Mary was trying hard to not throw a fit here.
‘You did.’
‘What?’
‘You have told me so many times that you fell in love with dad the instant you saw him.’
‘But, but … it was arranged. I told you … in a manner of speaking. I mean, regardless, I was going to marry him. He was already chosen by my parents. When I saw him for the first time everything was already arranged.’ Mary was regretting telling him her story.
‘But you did fall in love just like that! Why can’t I?’ Hari had no desire to win this argument. It sounded like Buddha speaking calmly and knowingly.
‘Because, because … bete, I am lost, I don’t know what to tell you.’
‘Don’t be sad. Since the engagement night everyone has been treating me like I am some mentally challenged man, but I am not lost, in fact I am more certain of marrying Simi than I ever was about Tia. That I clearly know!’
Mary got up defeated.
‘We don’t know how to tell Tia about Xavier’s coma so I have invited her and Simi over for dinner tonight so we can break the news to her then. Please let’s not have any drama when Simi is here, at least not tonight!’
Hari nodded as Mary left his room.
9
Tia Unleashes a Dark Secret on Hari
When news of Xavier’s coma was broken to Tiashe was shell-shocked and full of self-pity at first.
‘What will happen to my wedding then?’ was her first question.
‘Maybe we should postpone the wedding,’ Mary suggested.
‘Maybe, we should cancel the wedding!’ Hari said out loud.
Everyone looked at him. Mary was frantically signaling him with her eyes to keep quiet.
‘I mean, we need to reprint the invitation cards now with Simi’s name, plus, I don’t think Simi and I want a big wedding. We’ll probably get married in a mandir or in a court,’ Hari continued.
‘Hari!’ Barry piped in sternly. ‘You are not marrying Simi, now be quiet.’
‘I am marrying Simi, or no one else,’ Hari declared.
‘You have taken leave of your senses, boy. You’ll do as you are told,’ Barry thundered.
‘Hari, listen to your dad,’ Mary said, backing him up.
‘I am sorry, Mom, but I’ll only marry Simi,’ Hari said sincerely, again.
Tia was listening to them so far.
‘You can’t marry her, Hari’ Tia said, cutting all of them off from speaking.
‘Because you say so?’ Hari asked after taking a couple of steps towards Tia.
‘No, because your wife says so!’ Tia shot back. She was getting angry now.
‘What wife?’ Hari asked.
‘Me wife, you asshole. I am your wife. We got married two years ago in the registrar’s office. Do you remember?’ Tia announced to everyone’s shock. ‘What’re you talking about?’ Barry asked Tia.
‘Why don’t you ask your son?’ Tia had never spoken to Barry in that tone before.
‘That’s right, ask him! Here, take a look at our marriage certificate. Look at the date and the seal of the State Of California. We have been married for two years now! Tell them Hari!’ She took out her marriage certificate and handed it to Barry.
Hari staggered back as he remembered …
… that night, two years back, when he had so memorably proposed marriage to Tia outside the bathroom of the Formosa café.
Tia had walked out of the bar and into the parking lot, and boy was she disappointed! Hari was trying to catch up to her.
‘Tia, Tia … wait, yaar!’
Tia stopped. When he reached her, he noticed that she had tears in her eyes. She was hyperventilating — not in an angry way, but rather in a feeling lonely way. She would have to explain to him why she felt so disappointed and that’s what was making her feel lonely. She always had to spell it out for him.
Poor Hari was clueless.
‘What happened, Tia? You didn’t like the ring?’
She looked at the ring. Her other hand covered the ring as if to protect it. How could she not like the ring? After all it was given to her by her man, the man she had fallen for hook, line and sinker. A man whom she adored, made part of her life and had planned her life around. She wanted to tell him she would have been happy with a verbal proposal without any ring. That wouldn’t have been the ideal thing, but in the current context, it would have been much better.
Meanwhile, like most men do when they see a woman cry, Hari was panicking internally. He tried harder. He held her in his arms and was genuinely concerned.
‘Tia, if you think the ring is small we can exchange it, you know I don’t like to see you cry, yaar.’
Tia saw his heart through his eyes. It was true that Hari’s eyes would automatically well up whenever he saw tears in her eyes. It was something that could not be faked, she knew. She calmed down.
‘It’s not the ring, Hari. It’s the way you proposed, in there, near the urinals. The place smelled of liquor and piss. On top of that, I was not dressed for the proposal.’
‘It was a surprise proposal … honey,’ Hari said meekly.
Tia didn’t like surprises she was not part of, and she let him know it.
‘Ha, what a surprise! This was not the day or the way I wanted to get proposed to, Hari. I haven’t showered since this morning, I was working all day, my deo has probably worn off (smells her armpits), yep it has. I couldn’t hear you even. I wanted to, I wanted to remember your exact words when you proposed to me, can you understand that, sweetheart? It was loud in there, people were smelly and rude, I was just not ready and on top of that my period started today. Gosh, Hari, you could have just hinted to me, na? I would have come prepared!’
She stopped to breathe and was sniffling, unable to finish off her thought. She wanted
him to understand the importance, no; she wanted him to feel the importance this moment had for her.
Hari had genuinely felt bad. He hugged her.
‘I am sorry, Tia. I wanted to surprise you. If you want, I can propose to you again, this time at a place and time of your choosing. I promise no surprises. You can come bathed. We’ll shower together even.’
She had smiled at the suggestion. Seeing her coming around he continued.
‘See, Tia, I know that your student visa has expired and you’ll have to go back soon and I also know that you really don’t want to go back to India right now. I don’t want to go to India either; neither do I want to stay away from you. And I know you don’t want to stay away from me. So, my proposal to you, with that ring, is that we get married tomorrow. Since I am a citizen of the United States of America we can start your immigration process. Whatcha say?’ Tia was stunned. She did not know how to react.
‘I know you are too proud to ask for help but I want to do this. I know you are a self-made woman and do not want to be seen as someone contributing to your success, but I want to do this for myself and not for you. Soon you’ll have your Gr
een Card and you can focus on your career!’ Hari Malhotra was down on one knee.
Oh what a proposal that had been, on the one hand it had been a disaster and on the other, it had ended up so beautifully.
Tia Galhotra and Hari Malhotra had secretly got married two years back at the downtown Los Angeles registrar’s office. Their immigration lawyer, Jenny Schabowski, was the only witness.
In the U.S., when someone enters the country on a student Visa (F1), their stay in the country is limited to the period of their education only. After that they can apply for a work permit which changes the visa status to H1, and the permission to stay and work in the country is limited to the length of employment. As this severely limits both career and personal life choices, people want a Green Card, which is as good as being a citizen, except for having the right to vote. Getting married to a U.S. citizen is one of the fastest ways to secure a visa, albeit that since 9/11 the vetting process is very stringent. Today, Green Cards can take anywhere from eight months to two years to process. But in the meantime a person is allowed to live and work with a temporary card.
Since both Tia and Hari were in love and the marriage was real, they didn’t have to worry about the scrutiny of the INS — the Immigration and Naturalization Services.
It was decided that this marriage was only to ensure Tia’s immigration status and the news was never shared beyond Tia, Hari and Jenny. Neither his family nor hers had any clue. Tia had told herself that as they were going to marry each other anyway and that this would help her stay in the country, it was not necessarily a bad thing.
Their lives went on as normal after the wedding. They didn’t act as if they were already married, and they both considered their real marriage would be the one that happened publicly — because Indians didn’t believe marriages should happen in a courtroom. Indian marriages happen in big pandals with buffets, and with band baja baratis, in front of thousands of guests, and loudly so that the entire world comes to know about it.
This was Tia and Hari’s private secret.
Like a flashback in a movie the memory of them getting married played out vividly in Hari’s head. They were indeed married, at least legally speaking.
When Hari Met His Saali Page 24