Namaste New York: A Novel
Page 15
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Raj arrived at the restaurant the following day a few minutes early, and Manpreet was already waiting to greet him. She walked up to him, her arms outstretched, and hugged him tightly.
"Oh, Raj. I heard from Dalbir what happened last night, and I must apologize for my husband's behavior. Please, sit," she said, pulling out a chair for him. Raj sat down reluctantly.
"Dalbir and I had a long, long talk," Manpreet said, scooting her chair near Raj and placing her hands on his knees. "I want to assure you that Pankaj will never do that to you again, and if you have any problems with him, you will come directly to me and I will handle it." She reached up and smoothed back Raj's hair, then ran her finger down his cheek. Raj shifted uncomfortably in his seat, but he didn't move away, because he thought it best not to insult her. He was grateful that he could turn to Manpreet if Pankaj got out of control again, but he was beginning to wonder who he could turn to when Manpreet got out of control. Raj knew that having a husband like Pankaj couldn't be easy for any woman, and he did sympathize with Manpreet, but her intentions weren't right. But for now, Raj knew he was just going to have to put up with her behavior, because until he could find another option, he needed this job.
At lunchtime, Manpreet went down to the basement to eat with Raj. "Do you have girlfriend?" she inquired over a dish of butter chicken. Raj was not surprised by the question.
"Yes," he lied.
"Where is she?" Manpreet asked. Raj knew he had to be careful with his lies so that they didn't seem unbelievable. He had told so many lies since he arrived in America, and not just to Manpreet.
"My girlfriend is in India," Raj replied, figuring that the existence of a girlfriend wouldn't matter to Manpreet. He was right.
"It must be very hard for a young, handsome guy like you to be alone, all by yourself," Manpreet said as she took Raj's hand in hers. Raj thought it would be best to keep quiet, but unfortunately Manpreet interpreted his silence as encouragement to continue.
"I understand your pain. My husband is always drunk and I am so tired of him. Do you understand?" Manpreet asked, her long eyelashes fluttering as she blinked back tears that Raj guessed were only for effect. She brought Raj's hand up to her chest, placing it over her heart. His fingers grazed her breast, and Raj's pulse raced. There was no doubt that Manpreet was a beautiful woman, and Raj was a virgin. These sensations were new to him, and too much to handle. Although emotionally he didn't like her behavior, his body's physical reaction to her was a different story.
"I need water," he managed, and removed his hand from hers to grab his water glass. Manpreet laughed, her tears suddenly gone. She knew there was no girlfriend, and judging from his reaction, she guessed that Raj wasn't very experienced. That was fine with her; it made the game so much more enjoyable.
Raj quickly finished his lunch and excused himself to go upstairs. Dalbir was in the kitchen, and Raj thought briefly about talking to him, but he was almost twice as old as Raj, and he was Manpreet's relative, so Raj decided against bringing up the issue with him.
When Pankaj came for the dinner shift, his attitude towards Raj had improved slightly. He didn't shout at Raj, but he didn't stop harassing him completely. Pankaj ordered him to do lot of the heavy, physical work, and even thought it was Nitu's job, Raj had to clean the tables. Whenever Pankaj didn't think Raj was working hard enough, he would insult him in front of the other staff, but Raj seemed to be accustomed to such abuse, and it didn't bother him all that much. He just kept quiet and continued to go about his work, and at the end of the night, just like the previous night, Dalbir made sure he took home a lot of leftover food that Raj shared with Vijay and Lucky. As Raj ate dinner that night, he thought a lot about Pankaj, and promised himself that he wouldn't let a man like Pankaj ruin his plans.