16-12-2022, 09:49 AM
And sure enough, fifteen minutes later, Apara came to the front desk.
"How many rooms left?" she casually asked me.
"About half of them." I said, also casually.
"So we are not sold out?"
"No, why would you say that?"
I looked at her pretty but expressionless face. I could read the signs of come confusion and doubt. Did she know that I knew? Would confirming what had happened not confirm that this guy was her lover? How would she treat this? Well, as I discovered then and later many times, Apara was a cunning and expert liar with the ability to think quickly.
"The maid said she overheard you turn a customer away because we are sold out."
What a skillful lie. This way she could get the information she needed without confessing anything. Now I had a choice. Do I confront her with what I had seen or not? For some reason, I decided to play along with her lie, and figure things out later. So I responded with my own lie. Something she could not confirm or reject.
"Oh right, that. Well, it was this big burly guy. I didn't get a good vibe from him. Seemed like a criminal or something."
"So you just turn a customer away for that flimsy reason?" she sounded annoyed.
"It's not a flimsy reason. It is a very genuine thing your Uncle taught me. Many times we will get unsavory or criminal guests. the smart thing is to just send them away. If they check in and do something dastardly, we will be on the hook."
She just glared at me and walked away.
After that I waited to see if she would make some excuse to leave the hotel again and meet up with her lover. But it didn't happen. Guests kept streaming in and checking out, so it was a busy shift. In the middle though, I kept thinking about what I should do next. I was confused. In the past when I had any major issues in life, I always relied on the advice of friends. But all the way out here in Texas, I had no friends. No one to talk to.
I felt sad. Maybe I should call up one of my friends in India. But I looked at the time and it was too early in the morning. And that's when I remembered Amit. My childhood friend and former business partner from our gym venture. He had followed the same path as me, but a few years before. Married a Gujarati woman from America and moved. He was in the retail business and lived in New Jersey. He was not able to attend the wedding. We had talked in short a couple of times on the phone since I came to the US, but no long conversations had happened. He was busy and so was I. But on this, he was the only one I could reach out to.
"Hitubhai! How are you?" he said in a delighted voice when I called.
"Hi Amit. I'm good. Are you...busy with something?"
"No, nothing major. Just watching TV with the kids. What's up?"
"I am in the middle of a problem, my friend. I need to talk to you about it."
"Haha, what happened? Immigration folks giving you trouble over your green card?" he said.
"No man, I am serious. It's a big crisis."
"Shit, sounds serious. Okay, let me step away from the kids and then tell me."
"How many rooms left?" she casually asked me.
"About half of them." I said, also casually.
"So we are not sold out?"
"No, why would you say that?"
I looked at her pretty but expressionless face. I could read the signs of come confusion and doubt. Did she know that I knew? Would confirming what had happened not confirm that this guy was her lover? How would she treat this? Well, as I discovered then and later many times, Apara was a cunning and expert liar with the ability to think quickly.
"The maid said she overheard you turn a customer away because we are sold out."
What a skillful lie. This way she could get the information she needed without confessing anything. Now I had a choice. Do I confront her with what I had seen or not? For some reason, I decided to play along with her lie, and figure things out later. So I responded with my own lie. Something she could not confirm or reject.
"Oh right, that. Well, it was this big burly guy. I didn't get a good vibe from him. Seemed like a criminal or something."
"So you just turn a customer away for that flimsy reason?" she sounded annoyed.
"It's not a flimsy reason. It is a very genuine thing your Uncle taught me. Many times we will get unsavory or criminal guests. the smart thing is to just send them away. If they check in and do something dastardly, we will be on the hook."
She just glared at me and walked away.
After that I waited to see if she would make some excuse to leave the hotel again and meet up with her lover. But it didn't happen. Guests kept streaming in and checking out, so it was a busy shift. In the middle though, I kept thinking about what I should do next. I was confused. In the past when I had any major issues in life, I always relied on the advice of friends. But all the way out here in Texas, I had no friends. No one to talk to.
I felt sad. Maybe I should call up one of my friends in India. But I looked at the time and it was too early in the morning. And that's when I remembered Amit. My childhood friend and former business partner from our gym venture. He had followed the same path as me, but a few years before. Married a Gujarati woman from America and moved. He was in the retail business and lived in New Jersey. He was not able to attend the wedding. We had talked in short a couple of times on the phone since I came to the US, but no long conversations had happened. He was busy and so was I. But on this, he was the only one I could reach out to.
"Hitubhai! How are you?" he said in a delighted voice when I called.
"Hi Amit. I'm good. Are you...busy with something?"
"No, nothing major. Just watching TV with the kids. What's up?"
"I am in the middle of a problem, my friend. I need to talk to you about it."
"Haha, what happened? Immigration folks giving you trouble over your green card?" he said.
"No man, I am serious. It's a big crisis."
"Shit, sounds serious. Okay, let me step away from the kids and then tell me."
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