Chapter 24
Chapter Twenty-Four
K iki’s was busy for a Thursday night.
Dan slid into the booth, wielding twin tiki tumblers in each hand. “One for you,” he said, handing one to Arjun, “and one for me.”
The tumbler contained some sort of blue slushie that reminded Arjun of the Icees from the SuperAmerica in Iowa. It was delicious.
“So,” he said, with a satisfied exhale, “how was Japan?”
Dan grinned. “Amazing,” he said. “We had to have a short honeymoon because of Erica’s residency, but we made the most of it.” He leaned in and whispered to Arjun: “ We did it in a capsule hotel. ”
Arjun snickered as Erica arrived from the restroom. “What are you laughing about?” she asked, sitting down.
“Nothing,” said Arjun, giggling into his drink.
Erica’s head whipped towards Dan. “You told him about the capsule hotel, didn’t you?”
Dan shrugged. “I thought he should know.”
Erica shook her head. “I’m married to a child.”
Dan grinned. “Aw, babe. You said ‘married.’”
She smiled indulgently, then turned her attention back to Arjun. “So, what’s new with you?”
“Nothing,” said Arjun, which was unconvincing even to himself. Erica noticed his tone immediately, like a bloodhound on a fresh scent.
“You have something juicy,” she said, her eyes widening. “What is it?”
“It’s nothing,” said Arjun, trying to put more conviction into his voice.
Still, Erica wasn’t having it. “You know about the capsule hotel,” she said. “It’s only fair that you tell us your secret.”
“It’s not a secret,” said Arjun. “Really, guys, it’s nothing.”
Dan glanced over at Erica. “I know what it is,” he said with a sly smile. He turned to Arjun. “You slept with Sophia. It’s about time.”
Arjun felt the color rush to his cheeks. “No,” he said. “I didn’t sleep with Sophia.”
“…but you slept with someone,” said Dan.
Erica’s eyes widened even further. “What? Who?”
Arjun shook his head. “You guys aren’t going to drop this, are you?”
Dan and Erica replied in unison this time: “Nope.”
Arjun sighed. He looked down at the table and scratched at the vinyl edging around the tabletop. “It was Nisha,” he said finally. “I slept with Nisha.”
It was as though a bomb had gone off. “You didn’t ,” gasped Erica. “Where?”
“At the hotel, after your wedding,” Arjun said. “But I didn’t have sex with her. We literally slept together—like, in the same bed.”
Erica shook her head. “I can’t believe you!” Arjun braced for one of her lectures—or, worse, another kick. “I mean, what did I tell you last time?” she continued. “This was a bad idea , Arjun. But did you listen? No, of course not.” She seemed to realize something. “How did Sophia take the news? Are you two still together?”
Arjun avoided her gaze. “I didn’t tell her.” Before Erica could protest, he continued: “And I’m not going to. It’s not like we meant to fall asleep together. We were just sitting, and it was late…we drifted off. Is that so bad?”
Erica was incredulous. “Are you serious?” she asked. She took a deep breath, preparing for the torrent of profanity she was about to unleash across the table. “Arjun,” she began, “you and Sophia are getting married. I mean, honestly?—”
There was a shrill beeping noise underneath the table. Erica unclipped her pager from her belt and checked the message on the tiny display. “ Shit,” she groaned. “I have to go to the hospital. But this isn’t over, Arjun.”
She moved to leave, and Dan stood, as well. He hung back for a moment as Erica made her way to the door. He drummed his knuckles on the table and sighed. He looked down at Arjun. “You’re my best friend,” he said, “so I have to give it to you straight. This is a bad look. I’m not going to debate whether or not you crossed a boundary with Nisha. But it’s not fair to string Sophia along if you have feelings for someone else. You need to make a decision.”
Arjun shook his head. “That’s the thing,” he said miserably, tracing his fingers over the ridges of his tiki cup. “I have.”
Dan nodded. “Okay,” he said. “Call me if you need to talk to someone.” He squeezed Arjun’s shoulder and followed Erica out of the bar.
Arjun decided to stay at Kiki’s for a bit longer. He sat at the bar, hoping the alcohol would dull his racing thoughts enough for the walk back home. He knew he needed to take a hard look at himself—but there was no better way to procrastinate than with a stiff drink.
Halfway through his second scotch, he heard a voice that made his heart go cold. “I think it’s ridiculous,” a woman was saying to her friend, just down the bar. “The VCs in Menlo Park are children. Dumping a hundred million into that company is the same as setting it on fire.”
The woman’s back was turned to Arjun. She had shiny black hair that fell just past her shoulder blades, and she wore a thin beige trench coat. Arjun stood. The other end of the bar was on the way to the exit. If I’m quiet, I can sneak right by her , he thought. He treaded silently, keeping his head down and moving as quickly as possible. Finally, he slipped past her. The door was only a few feet away…
He felt a hand on his shoulder, and his stomach did a backflip. “Arjun?” came a voice. Her voice.
He turned to face the woman. She looked completely different but exactly the same. “Vicky Chang,” he said, forcing a smile. “How nice to see you again.”
She smiled back at him. The corners of her eyes crinkled, just like they had all those years ago. Arjun used to love that about her. “I thought I recognized you,” she said. “But I didn’t want to accidentally mistake you for the wrong Indian guy.”
He chuckled, then hated himself for chuckling. “Well, tonight’s your lucky night,” he said.
Her smile disappeared when she saw his jacket under his arm. “Wait, you’re not leaving, are you?” she asked.
He nodded as casually as he could. “I was going to,” he said. “I need to take the dog out.”
She raised an eyebrow. “You have a dog? I thought you were allergic.”
Arjun shrugged. “I got a hypoallergenic breed.” He pulled out his phone and showed Vicky the screensaver: a picture of Sally wearing a onesie (Nisha’s idea). “Her name is Sally.”
Vicky took his phone and practically melted. “What a cute name ,” she gushed. She glanced over her shoulder at her friend. “Can we meet her?”
Against his better judgment, Arjun piled into an Uber with Vicky and her friend, a cherubic blonde woman named Callie. “So, how do you two know each other?” Callie asked. Arjun was sitting in the passenger seat, and he exchanged the quickest of glances with Vicky through the rearview mirror.
“It’s a long story,” Vicky said, her cheeks reddening. Callie nodded smugly, and Arjun knew what she was thinking: he was an old flame of Vicky’s, a one-night stand, maybe. If only you knew… he thought.
They arrived at his apartment, and Arjun climbed the steps and let them inside. He heard the patter of little paws on the hardwood floor, and he kneeled to receive Sally, who, as usual, leaped up on her hind legs and started licking his face as though it were covered in peanut butter. “Hey, girl,” he cooed, rubbing her soft yellow ears. He stood. “This is Sally,” he said as his dog padded over to the two women, sniffing inquisitively at their trouser cuffs. Then, Sally laid down, rolled over, and permitted the women to lavish her with belly rubs.
“What a sweetie,” said Vicky, standing up again.
“Yeah, she’s the best,” said Arjun, smiling despite himself. That evening’s series of events was almost unbelievable: that he would see Vicky Chang again. That he would invite her to his home. That they were now bonding over his dog. Maybe next time, we’ll go ice-fishing , he mused. “Can I get you two something to drink?” he asked.
“I have some work to do, actually,” said Callie. “Vicky?”
She shook her head. “I’m fine to stay here.” She turned to Arjun. “If that’s all right with you?”
“Sure,” he said, his Midwestern manners programmed so deeply that he couldn’t have refused even if he’d wanted to. Callie gave Vicky a sideways look, but she only shook her head. I’ll be fine , she seemed to communicate. Callie gave a terse nod and went outside to call her ride.
Vicky sat on the couch while Arjun got them a couple of Perriers from the fridge. Sally slinked off to her crate and began wrestling with her favorite toy, the Gumby that Nisha had purchased for her. The sight of the toy was a bit painful for Arjun; he’d called and texted Nisha several more times over the past few days, but he’d still received no response.
“It’s nice to see you again, Arjun,” said Vicky, unscrewing the cap on her bottle. “I’m glad you’re doing so well.”
He looked down at his lap and smiled softly. “Yeah,” he said, trying not to betray his inner turmoil. He glanced at Vicky’s hand and noticed a thin silver band across her ring finger, studded with a small diamond. “Congratulations,” he said.
“Thanks,” she replied, working the ring around her finger with her other hand. “It’s new. We only met six months ago, actually. I was still in New York, and he proposed right before I got on the plane to San Francisco. We’ve been doing long-distance ever since then.”
“Is that difficult for you two?” he asked—and, to his surprise, he wanted her to say, No, we’re actually very happy together.
She shrugged. “I guess I never had the sense of really being with him, you know? We were only together—like, in the same place—for two months, and we didn’t ever cohabitate. So, yeah, the FaceTime dates are weird, but not as weird as they could be.”
Arjun considered this for a moment. “You’ll get through it,” he said, and Vicky chuckled. “What?” he asked.
“Nothing,” she said. “It’s just…me freaking out about something, and you coming in and being all reassuring. It’s like old times, huh?”
Arjun said nothing. To acknowledge their relationship, his greatest disappointment, would be like a knife to the heart.
It seemed, though, that Vicky did not want to let it lie. “Did you ever get my voicemail?” she asked.
He debated whether to answer truthfully. “I did,” he replied finally.
She nodded. “I’m sorry for contacting you out of the blue like that. Sometimes five years feels like so long ago that I forget how painful everything was for us.”
Painful for us ? Arjun thought incredulously. Vicky had been the one to leave him , to tell him that she loved him but did not want to marry him, to cause him to sabotage all of his subsequent relationships…and she was telling him how difficult it was for both of them?
“Anyway, I know I probably made you feel very awkward just now,” she continued. “But maybe it was all for the best. I mean, I’m engaged now, and you’re doing so well here in SF.”
He nodded. He felt the anger building up in his chest, the hurt , five years of repressed emotion bubbling over like boiling milk.
“I’m not doing well, Vicky,” he said. Stop it, he told himself, wanting desperately to put on a stoic face, for her not to know how deeply she’d wounded him. But the dam had broken, and he did not know how to stop the flow. In an unbroken stream, Arjun spilled everything to her: his string of failed relationships, his decision to pursue an arranged marriage, meeting Nisha and then agreeing to marry Sophia. He told her about his night in the hotel room with Nisha, how she had told him that she loved him…and how he’d replied that he would marry Sophia, anyway.
By the end of this recounting, Arjun felt raw with emotion. He couldn’t believe he’d said all of this to Vicky—and, more than that, he couldn’t believe that she was still here beside him.
He sank into the couch and closed his eyes. Vicky put her hand on his shoulder. “What’s wrong with me, Vic?” he asked, leaning back and gazing at the ceiling.
She sighed and took his hand. “Look at me. I want to tell you something, Arjun.” She stared deep into his eyes. “To be honest, I probably should have told you this a long time ago. Our breakup: it wasn’t about you. You didn’t do anything wrong. I just…I wasn’t in the right place for it at that time.” She paused. “You’re a romantic, Arjun. You can try to deny it, but you’ve always been one. So, I’m betting that this difficult decision of yours…well, it probably isn’t so difficult, after all.”
“What do you mean?” he asked.
She only smiled. It was a wistful expression, mysterious and wise. “Only you know the answer to that,” she said, standing. She embraced him, and as quickly as she’d reappeared in his life, she disappeared once more.