PART 8: Mujhse Dosti Karoge?
"Good morning, Sir!", an exuberant Anandi got into Shiv's jeep.
"Good morning, Anandi." He was bemused that her excitement mirrored his own.
"I'm so excited to be going on my first official trip! Oh, Jaitsar ke liye kaam karna maine kitna miss kiya!", she exclaimed.
"Well, aapka utsah dekhkar mujhe bhi bahut achcha laga.", he gave her a beautiful smile and began to drive. "But getting back to business, yeh Bheem Singh ka planner hai, iss mein unhone aaj ki poori itinerary bana di hai. Kal se yeh aapka kaam hoga."
"Ji Sir.", she began going through the day's work and asked him important questions. He was pleased to see her diligence and understanding of his job.
"Waise aap mujhe Shiv bula sakti hai.", he said to her as they were turning into the gate of their conference building.
"Nahi, Sir," she smiled and shook her head. "Aap humare family friend hai but office ke kuch codes hote hai. Unhein follow karna zaruri hai."
"Toh main sirf family friend hu? Aapka friend nahi?", he asked.
Anandi opened her mouth to answer but was interrupted by the welcoming committee. Shiv was an active participant in the conference while Anandi was on the sidelines with the other assistants. His zeal for her village made her admire him even more. She could see herself in his role, doing good for people. After the conference, they left soon. They didn't even eat the sponsored lunch. She was hungry but couldn't bring herself to tell him that. In the few minutes that she had left him alone to get herself some water, something had happened that had killed his mood. He was angry.
"Sir? Kya hua, kya baat hai?", she asked him after 15 minutes of agonizing silence.
"Kuch nahi.", he grunted. "Aapko conference achcha laga?"
"Yes, it was very interesting.", she answered without zest.
She seemed offended. Shiv left like kicking himself for transferring someone else's anger onto her. He took a deep breath. She turned towards him in expectation.
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