Page 181 of One Indian Girl
‘I do. And you are not just one Indian girl. You are one special Indian girl.’
I smiled and gestured a thanks to him. He nodded.
‘I still blame myself. A lot. For making you look bad in front of your relatives.’
‘Don’t. I don’t even think about my relatives when I think about Goa, actually.’
‘That’s good. No regrets?’ I said.
‘Not really. Okay, just one regret.’
‘What?’
‘You remember that night at the police station?’
‘Oh yes. When we went to Anjuna? That inspector. Our parents rescuing us. Terrible.’
‘Yeah. And all that we did, the grass, driving without a licence—I would have never done all that without you.’
‘Well, I am bad company. That was a mad, crazy night.’
‘Yeah, so the thing is, I had begun to look forward to a mad, crazy life with you. That didn’t happen so, oh well...That’s the regret.’ He shrugged and smiled.
Our eyes met. I didn’t have a suitable response for him. I decided to change the topic instead.
‘Your shoulders. You look fitter,’ I said.
‘I joined a gym. Try to go every day.’
‘It’s showing.’
‘Thanks. You look relaxed too. Your face seems...clearer. More peaceful.’
‘So is my mind. A month of travel helps calm you down.’
‘Yeah, I’m sure. You look nice,’ he said.
I smiled. We sipped our coffee.
‘How is work?’ I said.
‘Good. But my business idea is taking shape. A service provider for developing Internet of Things or IoT apps. IoT is the next big thing. A company that helps make IoT apps has scope.’
‘Of course it does.’
‘Just that I need this formal business plan to raise money from VCs. It is a pain. They want financial models and projections and what not.’
‘I could help if you want,’ I said.
‘Really?’
‘It’s what I do on a daily basis,’ I said and smiled.
‘Oh yeah, of course.’
‘I will need to understand the business. And turn it into a spreadsheet full of numbers. I do it all the time.’
‘I will share the details with you. How long are you here for?’
