'Yes, I have been in love.' When Kabir began to speak, it was in such a sad voice I would not have recognized him if I wasn't looking at his face.
I was as surprised by his tone as by his admission. 'Who is she? What is her name? Where is she?' I couldn't stop myself questioning him.
'Her name is Nisha. She used to visit this café long before either of you two came here.'
'What happened? Why does she not come to this café any longer?' I asked.
Vivaan was silent, listening to Kabir through both his body language and his voice. I wasn't that disciplined; I was demanding, thirsty for the information. I wanted to know the story, and—as I got excited about it—itched to know the details. Kabir's story wasn't the love story I'd pictured him having, at least not in terms of causing the pain I could hear in his voice when he spoke of it.
'Meera, calm down! Let Kabir speak,' Vivaan said softly, flashing me a smile.
I nodded. 'Sorry Kabir,' I said in a quieter tone. 'I want to know everything about you and Nisha. Please go on.'
Kabir took a deep breath and looked down at his hands as he let out a sigh.
'I was brought up in a lower middle class family along with my younger sister. My father was a teacher in a government school, but he had to retire after he suffered a heart attack.'
'Oh,' I said quietly, but did not interrupt.
'Our savings went into his treatment. It was pretty hard for my family. My mother and younger sister both tried to do the household chores, feeding our family while managing his medical expenses. I decided to give up my college education and search for a job. My mother argued at first that she didn't want me to drop out of college, but I told her we didn't have much of a choice.'
He broke off, and Vivaan muttered, 'No, I can't imagine that you did.'
Kabir shook his head and continued. 'I immediately began looking for work, and fate brought me here. They needed a new person on their staff who spoke English well and, luckily, I was interviewed. It was by God's grace that I got this job.' He smiled happily. 'I became the manager in three years. Things have been good for my family since then, and every single day I thank God for the job He gave me.'
I had never known Kabir had it so rough. He was so friendly on the outside that I never guessed he held such sorrow in his heart. I wanted to scream 'Kabir, stop it!' because my eyes were already filled with tears. I deliberately bit my lip to keep from speaking.
'It was also because of your dedication and hard work,' Vivaan said.
'I never knew you went through such tough times. You never shared this with me. You are always so happy and smiling,' I pointed out.
Kabir sighed and shrugged his shoulders. 'You never asked me, Meera,' he said.
'What does this have to do with Nisha?' Vivaan asked, bringing the conversation back to Kabir's love.
Kabir's expression was distant as he began to recall the rest of the story.
~
After a few months of working here, I saw a beautiful young girl crying in the corner of the café. It made me quite sad that such a pretty girl was crying instead of smiling. I prepared a nice cold coffee with ice cream for her and placed it on her table. She looked up, stunned, and she wiped her tears. She said, 'I didn't order anything.'
I smiled and nodded. 'I know, but I thought maybe this will make you feel better.'
I could tell she was trying hard to smile as she thanked me. She came many more times after that. She was always alone, upset and distraught. Every day, I would do my best to try to make her feel better with different types of coffee, even though she didn't order anything. I never charged her. At the end of each day, her bill was deducted from my salary. It was then I realized that love makes you do crazy things.
One day, I finally gathered some courage to ask her about her sorrow. 'If I may ask, what happened?'
She looked shocked at my intrusion. 'None of your business,' she replied shortly. She stood up so quickly, she almost knocked the chair over. Then, she walked away. She stopped coming to the café after that.
~
'How come she was so rude? How could she just walk away?' Vivaan was annoyed.
'Look who is talking,' I responded, looking pointedly at him. He instantly realized what I meant.
'Did she come back again?' I asked.
'Yes, she did. My cold coffee brought her back,' Kabir smiled.