True to his word, about a month after Kumar had dinner with the extended Rosenbaum family at their country club in Northern New Jersey, his mobile phone rang. Kumar was deeply engrossed in a book he had picked up from the college library, and so the sound of the ring made him jump. His initial reaction was to curse himself for not turning off the ringer as he normally did. But after picking up the phone and recognising the number, he was somewhat glad he hadn’t. Maybe the universe was telling him something.

Stanley was very apologetic for not having called earlier, however offered no frivolous excuse which was appreciated by Kumar. He thanked him profusely for joining the extended Rosenbaum family and congratulated him for adeptly navigating the family politics. Kumar was much amused. They talked for a few minutes or so, neither man saying anything of any real importance. Finally, Stanley told Kumar he had to go but agreed to stay in touch. Kumar found the call to be confusing.

“Why would he call me to apologise for not calling me earlier and then not saying much?” His question was directed at the wall in front of him, which like the other walls in his room was devoid of any character. Kumar went back to his book and then a moment later leaned over and silenced his phone. Now he could be lost in the book which had been recommended to him by numerous sources. Kumar enjoyed fiction as much as the next man. However, he felt if he just read those and his textbooks, he would not get an immersive course in what made America great, and Americans filled with the entrepreneurial spirit. He consequently devoured all such books; anything from Napoleon Hill to Zig Ziegler, in the hope he might learn a few secrets. But in the end, he realised the difference between those who succeeded and those who didn’t, was simply application and commitment.

His eyes were growing heavy. It was getting late, and he had an early class the next morning. But before he turned out the light, he picked up the last letter from his parents written by a neighbour, because both his parents were illiterate, and was amused by the question his mother asked in each and every letter. ‘Bhetta (child),’ she wrote, ‘Manju is growing into a very beautiful girl every day. There are other men in the village who have approached her father and asked for her hand in marriage, but he sends them away telling them she has already been promised to you and the two of you will get married as soon as you finish your studies in America. You are coming home when you finish, correct?’ He smiled whenever he read that line and as much as he had told them that he had no plans to remain in America, it was as if they wanted to drive the point home. He folded the airmail and put it in the top drawer of his bedside table with all the other letters he had received over the years. He laid the book on the top of the table, turned his phone over and immediately noticed a miss call from Stanley. He wasn’t in the mood to call him back. He turned off the light and a few moments later was fast asleep.

The next day Kumar got up early and went for his fast two mile walk around the neighbourhood and then got ready for a full day of classes. It wasn’t until nearly the end of the day, around 3, that he decided to return Stanley’s call.

The phone rang a couple of times before Stanley answered. It was obvious he wasn’t in his office as he could hear traffic in the background. “I’m on my way back to my office from court,” explained Stanley, “I’ll call you as soon as I get there.”

Kumar for his part, was on his way to the cafeteria to get a cup of putrid tea, but as it was a nice day, decided instead to sit on a bench and watch people walking by. Kumar always felt one could tell a lot about people from the way they walked and their mannerisms. He found it to be a generally amusing pastime. The phone rang. It was his turn to apologise for not answering the phone the night before, but he did have an excuse.

Stanley laughed, “I do the same thing. It’s the only way I can get work done.” There was another uncomfortable pause, maybe a carry over from the night before, but this time Kumar was determined to end it.

“Maybe I’m wrong,” he began, smiling as he watched a young woman untangle herself from the leash of her overly excited dog, “but it seems to me that you had a reason to call last night.”

Stanley took a deep breath, “yes, you’re right. The reason for my call was because we have an issue in our Hyderabad office, really with the partner there and we, that’s Mr Sherman and I, thought it might be a good idea and good experience for you to go over there.” He paused for a second to get Kumar’s reaction and then added, “all expenses paid.”

Kumar was lost for words. He didn’t know what to say. “I can’t,” he finally replied, stuttering slightly, “I would love to go home, but there are two reasons why I can’t. The first is that I’m still in college, I have year to go, and more importantly I have a commitment to Mr Levy. I have basically guaranteed him that I would work for his company, especially because he intends to do charity work with the untouchables.” Kumar took a deep breath to steady himself before he continued, “I don’t know if you’ve been told this or not, but I come from the class of person in India called an untouchable.” His admission appeared not to faze Stanley.

“That’s means nothing to me at least. Here in America, we are basically a classless society, even though here are some who believe they belong to the so called ‘upper classes,’ so I don’t think that matters. You wouldn’t be going until classes are over and as far as Mr Levy is concerned, Mr Sherman talked to him. Apparently, they both agree it could be a brand new venture for him as well as for us.” He paused for a second during which time Kumar struggled to comprehend what he had just been told. He was going to tell Stanley he needed time to think, but he was beaten to the punch. “Look Kumar, why don’t you and I, just the two of us, go out to dinner tonight here in the City. I know a great place where we can talk in private and besides, they have wonderful Greek food. What do you say?”

“I can’t tonight,” replied Kumar quickly, “I have plans.”

“Oh,” Stanley sounded a little amused, “and what’s her name?”

“It’s not a her, it’s a guy,” blurted Kumar completely unprepared for the question posed to him. He needed to recover quickly. “His name is Rohan Sethi, he’s a taxi driver. He and his family live in Jersey City and he invited me to dinner.”

Stanley laughed at Kumar’s clarification. “How about next Wednesday then? I’ll be staying in the City because I have a court case early the next morning.”

“You’re on!” replied Kumar getting up from the bench. He finally decided he needed that mug of putrid tea after all.