The Two-faced Boss

‘Could you please pass me the stew?’ T.P Mishra asked the lady who was sitting next to him and whose name he knew not.

‘Of course!’ the pleasant-faced lady said, rather enthusiastically.

Let your imagination draw a vivid picture in your mind - a vegetarian hotel named ‘WELCOME’, a special table in the corner with four chairs and beside it were several other tables too, under the open sky. Why, if you ask me that the table with four seats is special is because there sit, T.P Mishra and the pleasant-faced lady, our main characters.

‘Are you celebrating or is it just usual for you to come every Sunday with your family like this?’ the lady asked. And as she said family, she pointed out the young woman who was sitting next to T.P Mishra and a small girl of about 7 years.

‘Well, it is all because of Minnie. Yesterday I got a job in a company, but, I had to join today, you see. But my little daughter cried and told us that she wanted to go out for dinner. I can’t refuse my Minnie. She is our only one, you see. So I thought that the job could stay there and I took Minnie and Kamakshi out with me.’

‘Oh! I see your little Minnie is spoilt!’ the lady said with a most pleasing smile for Minnie, the kind of smile you show to small kids. ‘Your name?’ she asked Mr T.P Mishra.

‘Tanhaji Mishra.’ The young man pleased enough that he was being paid attention to. The pleasant lady gasped as she remembered something.

‘Yes?’ T.P Mishra asked as though he was slightly annoyed because she gasped right when he said his name.

‘No no. I didn’t mean to offend you. I suddenly remembered something.’ And she stood up.

‘Oh, I see!’ T.P Mishra said.

She suddenly took her cell phone which seemed like her company phone because appearances were rather against her, that she could never own such a small phone when she herself was wearing expensive clothes and shoes and was having the most expensive dinner in the hotel.

‘You must excuse me for one minute.’ She said.

‘Oh yes. Why not?’ Kamakshi spoke for the first time. 

She went far away from her table as though she did not want the family to hear what she wanted to speak on the cellphone. She took the contacts and she came across the number who was named as Mr T.P Mishra. She dialled the number of T.P Mishra. She heard T.P Mishra’s phone ringing a few tables away from where she was standing, it was very loud with a pop song for the ringtone. He saw who was trying to contact him and his red cheeks became white. First, he disconnected the phone. Then she called again. He took it with shaking hands and his wife had also gone a bit white after seeing who was calling them.

‘Y-yes? M-madam, I could not come because I was very sick. I was having my porridge right now. Can I call you after ten minutes m-mam?’ ‘Or are you having a fancy dinner of stew and naan in the ‘Welcome’ hotel? I am Richa Daniel your boss. May I know why you did not come for your first day at the office?’

‘M-mam! I told you I was sick.’

‘No-no I know! It was because dear Minnie refused to let you go to your first day at the office!’ He became whiter. ‘We will meet tomorrow Mr T.P Mishra, morning sharp 8:30!’ saying this she cut the call.

And then she pretended as she was still talking and let out large laughs in between because she was sure the young man would turn to look at her and see if she was his boss. So after a good ten minutes, she came to her seat, finished the last piece of naan with some stew and said goodbye to the family and as she turned around T.P Mishra asked her ‘Your name, young lady?’ She turned around smiled and said ‘Richa, Richa Daniel.’ And she shook Kamakshi’s trembling hand and the even more trembling T.P Mishra’s hand and patted Minnie on her head and with a sharp turn, she paid the bill and was swallowed by the dark.