Hita

by Anita Claire

  Well that answered why he has the dog, but not whose dog it is. After mulling it around for a few minutes, it finally hits me. Mark must have a girlfriend and this is her dog. No guy would be taking some other dude’s dog to work because it’s barking. What is it with guys and their inability to tell pertinent information?

  Chapter 15 – Girl Talk

  Right before Labor Day, Savi tells me about one of the teas her mom arranged. She then bites her lip as she says, “We went to this family on Sunday. The son was born in the US.”

  Perplexed by this story I ask, “Why are you telling me this?”

  She looks rather sheepish as she says, “He’s really cute and he gives off this really nice vibe.”

  “Savi?” I question.

  “Hey, he kind of liked me too. He invited me to one of his cricket games.”

  “Savi, why does an American guy play cricket? My brother played baseball. Don’t forget, this is not some guy you met at a party who’s asking you out. He might be cute, but how does he treat you? Is he respectful? Is he going to be a partner or is he going to make you do all the work? Even more importantly, what about the mother? How controlling do you think she’s going to be? The Indian network in Chicago is rather tight. Before you agree to go on a date with this guy, make sure you do your homework.”

  Savi gets annoyed with me. “You have no romance gene.”

  Feeling totally frustrated with her refusal to see the reality in the situation, I blast her with, “Savi, this is the beginning of an arranged marriage. Romance has nothing to do with it. The moms are looking at connecting you up to the right kind of family.”

  ***

  Leaving my frustration with Savi behind, I meet up with the princesses for another fun celebration at Nola’s in Palo Alto. Olivia, who went as the princess Jasmine, is back from a gap year setting up a refugee camp in Jordan. After parking I run into Sam and Meredith.

  As we walk to the bar together, I ask Meredith, “Have you and Olivia talked about her dating your brother?”

  Meredith gives me an alarmed look before saying, “Don’t say anything, Hita.”

  “What is it with you two? I thought you were best friends?”

  “Olivia likes intrigue. She gets off on secretly dating my brother. I’m afraid she’ll lose interest if she finds out I know.”

  “Do you even listen to yourself sometimes?”

  I look over at Sam and he shrugs before saying, “Don’t look at me. I don’t understand half of the stuff you princesses do.”

  ***

  The following night Juliette has us all over to her parents’ for a pool party. I invite Anil; we walk in together. He immediately spots Carter and heads over there. The two of them start talking business, so I take off to help Juliette in the kitchen.

  Juliette gives me a smirk, “Are things finally heating up with the guy you met at Xhan?”

  I sigh before answering, “Actually, I find him confusing. He’s taken me to dinner the last couple of Saturday nights. He texts me on Wednesday to see if I’m available, picks me up, and pays. But he hasn’t tried anything, nothing, just holds my hand and kissed me on the forehead, like he’s my nice uncle, and I’m eight.”

  “Really? Could he be like that since he’s Indian?”

  I shrug as I answer, “I’ve never dated an Indian guy before. I have no idea.”

  We both look at each other. She finally volunteers, “Maybe he’s like John Corbett from Sex in the City. You remember, he really liked Carrie and wanted to take it slowly. No sex until they got to know each other better.”

  “You think?” I ask.

  Juliette shrugs in response.

  As I walk out to the back patio I spot Gray. My stomach churns with turmoil, he was my first hook up. He looks up and spots me checking him out. I smile and nod. He gives me a small nod. I walk over and in what I hope isn’t in too strained of a voice, I say, “Gray, nice to see you, how was your summer internship?”

  He gets a remote but polite look on his face. “Hita, the summer internship was fine.”

  The air between us is thick, and awkward. Yeesh, another reason not to hook up, it’s really weird to see the guy afterwards.

  Later that night, as Anil walks me to my apartment, he holds my hand and tells me, “I look forward to our Saturday nights. It’s my one night off. I’m so busy at work. I’m still writing code, trying to hire people, while in my free time I’m setting up the office.” As we reach the door he kisses me on the forehead and says, “Goodnight, Hita. I’ll see you next Saturday.” Then he takes off.

  As I plop myself down on the couch, Kristi turns around, takes one look at my face and says, “What’s up?”

  I sigh before telling her, “You were at the party. Did Anil and I look like a normal dating couple?”

  She gives me a blank stare before saying, “Yeah, I guess so. I really wasn’t paying attention.”

  “I’m totally confused. I’ve seen Indian guys with non-Indians, and they act like normal dating people. Is it Anil, is it me, are we dating? I get that he’s busy, and I appreciate that he’s taking time out for me. I’m confused on where we stand.”

  “Then ask him if you’re dating.”

  “But I’m afraid of that conversation. At some level I don’t know him any more than I did the day we met. When we have dinner together we talk politely about work, food, and school. We don’t really talk about anything else. When I asked him about hobbies, he laughs and says guys in start-ups better not have any hobbies or their company will fail. He’s the perfect gentleman. I’m twenty-three; I’d like a little less gentleman and a lot more heat. Could I be giving off the wrong signals?”

  Kristi listens intently to me, then says, “Why don’t you take the lead. Next time he asks you out, jump his bones.”

  I find this advice strangely uncomfortable. I think back to the beginning of the summer as I tell Kristi, “Gray was real interested. Then again, he jumped my bones. Did you see him at Juliette’s party tonight?”

  She shrugs.

  “We said hello, and then it was awkward. What is it with guys?”

  ***

  I’ve been spending my free time looking at cars, even though I’ve saved less money than I had hoped; or rather I’ve spent more than I’d thought. It’s strange, I don’t know why I spend more money working than I did going to school? Then again, if I look at the corner of my bedroom where the Warhammer set sits, I realize I never would have bought it if I was still in school.

  I want a cute, fun, sporty car. All my friends have given me suggestions. This decision is becoming much more stressful than I ever thought.

  ***

  After playing ping pong with Colin, he reaches the refrigerator first, “Let me guess, you want an orange Mineral Water.”

  “Am I that easy?”

  He chuckles as he fishes into the refrigerator and finds my preferred drink. Turning around he says, “Easy…probably not, but predictable.” He winks as he hands me the drink.

  I ask him, “Do you know anything about cars?”

  He shrugs as he answers, “Some.”

  “I’m looking to buy my first car. There’re so many choices. I have it narrowed down, but I’m still not sure.”

  “Which ones are you looking at?”

  “My first choice is the Jetta, but I also like the Honda Fit and the Mini.”

  “Hita, they’re all good cars. It’s like a job interview. No one can tell you what you like. You need to make your own decision. Have you test driven each car?”

  I shake my head.

  “You’ll know once you’ve driven them. The one that feels right is the one you should get.”

  ***

  At lunch Caroline tells us, “This weekend I met this guy, Bobby. Man it got hot fast. He didn’t leave at three in the morning. He stuck around most of the weekend and we had quite a bit of up front and personal, if you know what I mean.”

  “Was this a weekend thing, or are you going to see him again?”
Kami asks.

  “We had a great time. He said he’d text. He must be real busy since I haven’t heard from him yet. But I sent him a few texts.” Then she gives us a big smile, “Including some texts that should remind him of our weekend. I also checked him out online. Friended him on Facebook, and subscribed to his tweets. Last night on the way home, I drove past his place. I didn’t see his car. I guess he must have been working late.”

  “You think you might be going overboard? Maybe you should wait and see if he texts you back,” Kami says.

  “Kami, you need to make things happen. If you wait….”

  She looks me up and down. “Has your new guy made a move yet?”

  I slowly shake my head.

  Caroline points at me. “If you don’t push guys, you’ll turn into Hita. Dinner and then nothing. Anyway, what’s wrong with that guy? Do you think his libido doesn’t work?”

  I shrug. I have no idea about Anil, but Caroline sounds a little overboard, even stalky. I have a feeling that she isn’t someone I’d want to take dating advice from. Now I wonder how to get Anil moving without turning into Caroline.

  ***

  Olivia and I take a hike at the Stanford dish. I tell her about Anil.

  “He might really like you, and that’s why he’s not touching you. You know, he thinks you’re a good girl, wife material, so he’s acting proper.”

  “Wait a second, you’re implying if he didn’t like me, we’d be sleeping together?” I respond in dismay.

  “Maybe?”

  “Why is everything always so confusing?” I wonder.

  “Or he could be so busy with work he’s stringing you along,” she says.

  “Do guys even do that?” I ask bewildered.

  Olivia’s now rooming with Juliette. Changing the subject, she asks, “What do you think of Stephan?”

  Grimacing in reply she follows up with, “That bad?”

  “I’ll give him hot,” she nods, “and sexy. He also is a perpetual motion machine. He’s always on another adventure.”

  She nods volunteering, “Any guy would have to be if they wanted to date Juliette, she’s always doing something.”

  “And in some ways he’s good for her. You know how Juliette and Isabelle are always off doing some type of insane event.”

  “Yeah, the Pioneer Women spirit.”

  “With Isabelle off having adventures across Asia, Stephan fills the void.”

  “But?” she says with a raised eyebrow.

  “But, he’s such a pretentious dick. I can’t figure out if it’s what he says or how he says it. Whatever, he has this way of saying things like he’s the Lord of the castle and we’re the stupid American girls. It’s really irritating.”

  Olivia nods as she answers, “Yeah, I wouldn’t have put it that way. But yeah, he’s kind of dickish. Has Juliette said anything?”

  “She’s deaf to it. When I tried to bring it up, she laughed and said he has an educated British accent. You’ve watched too much Downton Abbey.”

  We walk for a bit before I ask, “What about your guy in Jordan?”

  Olivia gets a tight look around her mouth before answering, “He’s still in Jordan.”

  “I don’t think that’s what I’m asking.”

  She gives me a wan smile and shrugs. “Jordan was a transformative experience. But my guy is over there.” She shakes her head and gets a pained look. She then puts her hand dramatically over her heart. “He’s special, but I can’t see that there’s a future for us. I’m here now and he’s in the wind.”

  Olivia is usually so glib and in control when it comes to men. I wonder what went down. She’s yet to admit to me that her guy is Meredith’s brother. She’s letting us all believe it’s some Canadian guy she worked with. Now we’re all playing along with this strange game. What’s really bizarre is the princesses are so close, but now we’re keeping secrets from each other. I too have a secret. Why haven’t I told any of the princesses about my fling with Gray?

  ***

  At my next dinner with Anil, I don’t ask him what he thinks is going on between the two of us, but I do ask him his opinion on cars. He’s surprisingly dictatorial telling me to buy a Ford Fusion Hybrid, since it’s a top ranked car. Now I’m adding it to my car list while I’m kind of concerned by his attitude. I wonder if spending the day telling everyone what to do makes you overbearing in your personal life.

  Chapter 16 - Car

  Savi Skypes me all excited, “Hita, I went to Arav’s Cricket match.”

  “Slow down, who’s Arav?”

  Her tone gets exasperated, since I’m not following her story she says, “The cute guy I had tea with.”

  I gasp and tell her with conviction, “Savi, you need to be careful. This isn’t casual dating. The moms will have you engaged at the next dinner.”

  She pouts, and then shoots back at me, “And why would that be so bad?”

  With alarm I tell her, “You see a cute guy and now you want to get married. You have no idea what he’s really like. You have no idea what his family is like. You could be stuck in hell for eternity. I thought you would only date Americans?”

  She crosses her arms and says, “He is American. Anyway, I never realized how unsupportive you could be.”

  Totally frustrated with her, I shoot back, “This is your life, check him out before this thing goes any farther. You, too, can use the Indian network.”

  We wind up with both of our arms crossed finally saying we’ve got to go. I know she thinks I’m raining on her parade, but living with a jerk or becoming a single mom doesn’t sound like a good alternative.

  ***

  Leaving Savi and her stupid choices behind, Kristi and I head over to the dealerships to test drive some cars. After driving them all, I think about what Colin said. The car that felt the most comfortable was the Jetta.

  I pick my car up at lunch on Friday. I drive back to work all nervous. I feel like a teenager that just got their license. It’s my first car and the first time since I left home, almost six years ago, that I have a car at my disposal. At ping pong I tell Colin about it.

  He puts his paddle down and says, “Hey, show me the new ride.”

  When I walk out to the parking lot I’m all excited. My car looks so pretty and shiny. I show it off like I’m some model on a game show. Colin pulls out his phone and takes a picture of me.

  “Hita, I’ll send this over to marketing. Maybe they’ll give you booth duty at the next trade show.”

  “Yeah, they never let the engineers in front of the customers. They’re afraid we’re going to be too blatantly honest.”

  He nods as he says, “Get in, and give me a ride around the block.”

  Before we start driving we sit in the front seat playing with all the different buttons programming my Bluetooth and radio.

  ***

  On Saturday, I want to drive someplace fun. Jennifer and I head for Santa Cruz. On the ride down she starts telling me what’s going on in her life.

  “Things aren’t going so well with Carter.”

  This is surprising, so I ask her, “How so? You looked happy when I saw you heading off to one of your croquet parties.”

  She gets a pinched look on her face. “He treats me like an accessory. You know, pretty girl, dresses nicely, went to the right schools, as he hob nobs with the other elitist young VC’s and entrepreneurs.”

  “He’s dresses very meticulously. I guess he would want his girlfriend to look nice,” I reflect.

  “We both like to dress up. That’s not what bothers me,” she says with a sigh. “It’s deeper than that. He actually told me that if all I wanted to be was a teacher, I should have saved a lot of money and gone to some state school. Like state schools are to be looked down on.” Shaking her head, she continues, “Even worse, he actually said I wasted my Leland education on becoming a teacher.”

  I respond by gasping. Jennifer replies, “Exactly, I told him that teaching our next generation is one of the most important
things we can do.”

  She’s quiet for a bit as I can feel her anger rising.

  “He then arrogantly said, how much can a teacher actually make?” She grits her teeth and continues. “He was dissing teachers because the financial upside isn’t grand, like for financiers and entrepreneurs.”

  I’m not sure what to say as Jennifer looks out the window. After a bit of a break, she says, “His other favorite thing to do is to rail against lazy government workers living off his taxes.”

  Briefly looking at her face I can see her teeth are still clenched. She then continues with, “I’m student teaching in a San Jose public school. It’s a community with a lot of hard working parents, many of which have two or three jobs. The teachers are wonderful. I haven’t met anyone who doesn’t care about the kids. No one is calling off their job. They’re all working nights and weekends, correcting papers and creating education to inspire kids. It really pisses me off when some guy who hasn’t been near a classroom since he graduated calls us lazy and living off the dole.”

  I nod in response. Rethinking Carter, he looked pretentious when I first met him, but he seemed nice and friendly, maybe my initial take was correct.

  As we stroll down the boardwalk Jennifer asks me, “What’s going on with you and Anil?”

  “I have no idea,” I glumly respond.

  “What does that mean?”

  “He asks me out for dinner on a Saturday night. We never do anything but dinner. He never tries anything. I feel like I’m his cousin. I’m not sure what he’s thinking and I’m afraid to ask.”

  “The whole Indian three dates and you’re married thing?”

  Relieved that she gets it, I respond, “Precisely.”

  “Maybe you should change the venue. Ask him to your place for dinner. Remember the meal you made last year for us, with your grandmother’s recipes?”

  Nodding my head she continues, “Make it a night when Kristi is out. Since you have no idea what kind of movies he likes, play a Bollywood movie or something like Slumdog Millionaire or Million Dollar Arm. You know, something with an Indian take on things. It will give you a chance to sit on the couch together. It might be a way to talk about your culture without talking about marriage.”