Rahul and Moksha had just got married, in fact about a week ago before they took that long flight to San Francisco. No, it wasn’t one of those Bengali men getting a dutiful wife from Calcutta. They both were on a L1 visa to work for a software company.
Moksha was taller compared to the average Indian women. At 5 feet 7 inches with a petite structure could easily pass off as a model. She had high cheek bones and her cute nose separated her wide eyes evenly. Her upper lip protruded a bit in contrast to the lower, perfect for a face that was oval. The Auburn hair added to the overall appeal. In short she was an attractive woman.
Much like Moksha, Rahul was tall about 6 feet and lanky. He had a sharp aquiline nose and small watery eyes with thin eyebrows that arched evenly on either side. His complexion was wheatish which lent him that Middle Eastern look. The long dark hair which hid his forehead at the front was parted in the middle. If one had to comment on how he looked the answer would be – good looking!
They had known each other for about 5 long years before they finally decided to get married and eventually set foot on this faraway land. She came from a very conservative Gujarati family and he was a product of a conservative-corporate mix. The announcement of their marriage hadn’t gone very well with either of the families so they decided that staying away from their respective families would be good in the long run.
After taking a right on N. Mathilda they hit California Street, driving further down the road they finally reached Briarwood apartments; Their final destination for the day. It had taken them about an hour to cover the 35 miles from SF Airport on a Bay area shuttle van that they had finally managed for $80.
The company that they worked for had arranged for their stay. The apartment was quite spacious; it had two bedrooms, one with an attached bath, on either side of the living room. The kitchen separated out from the living room at the far end and next to it was a common bath. Well, the only catch was that apart from Rahul and Moksha there would two more people living with them.
Minakshi a stunning 28 year old Bengali girl and Jignesh a 24 year old Gujarati guy who could easily be mistaken for a Bollywood hero till he spoke. Both were from Calcutta. They were acquaintances from back home and worked for the same company. But the idea didn’t gel well with Moksha.
“How can we all stay in the same apartment?” Moksha questioned Rahul when they had a private moment.
With a bit of persuasion Rahul convinced her that this was a temporary arrangement as they would be having their own apartment very soon.
So there they were, two Bengalis and two Gujaratis all set to live the American dream. The arrangement was simple the bedroom with the attached bath went to Rahul and Moksha, the other bedroom Minakshi had already claimed. What remained of the apartment belonged to Jignesh; the kitchen too!
