Hita - Anita Claire Page 0,2
girl’s family to tea. If you’re both interested in meeting again, it’s three dates and you’re engaged.”
“You mean three figurative dates.”
“NO. If you see the guy three times, the moms are looking for auspicious dates for the wedding.”
“I can see why that would be a problem.”
Chapter 2 – Savi
As I labor away on my homework assignment to create a kernel patch, Skype goes off. I’m relieved, my brain was going nuts trying to get this sequence right. My childhood friend, Savi’s, picture comes up. We’re both from Chicago. Our families are real close. We went to the same high school, attended the same Hindi class, and took Indian dance together.
“Hita, how goes it?” she casually says with a smile.
Making a deep sigh I drone out, “I’m trying to get this assignment done. I have so much to do before I graduate.”
She nods with understanding then says, “Have you figured out what you’re doing after graduation?”
“Actually, I’m interviewing at Apple tomorrow.”
She tips her head in that way that shows me this news makes her a little sad. “You’re not coming home?”
“To Chicago?” I say in disbelief. “Weren’t you thinking of coming out here?”
She frowns then shakes her head before saying, “No, I think I’ll live with my parents this summer. I’m still on the fence. I need to decide if I want to work before starting my PhD.”
“Won’t living at your parents be a little…stifling?”
She frowns. “Yeah, of course. But they have the pool in the backyard and my grandparents aren’t staying there this summer…so it won’t be as bad.”
“But what about guys?”
She barks out a laugh. “If I had a boyfriend it would be terrible. You know how my parents are.”
I nod in agreement since our families are so similar. “But your mom? Is she starting to talk about…teas?”
“There’s no way in hell I’m going to have an arranged marriage. My mom might be persistent, but I’m even more stubborn. Anyway, I don’t date Indian guys.” She raises her eyebrows as she asks, “What about you?”
“I’m not dating anyone either,” I say with regret.
“No, I mean your mom. Is she pushing for an Indian guy?”
“My mom’s always pushing something. But I live two thousand miles away. It’s hard to be a matchmaker from a distance,” I say with relief.
“But your parents are coming out for your graduation?” Savi pushes.
“Well, yeah.”
“I bet your mom is working overtime to set up some ‘teas’ with the right sort of families.”
I nod, then groan at the thought. “Having tea at someone’s house sounds so innocuous.”
“Yeah, it would be if our mom’s weren’t busy using them to parade us in front of single, eligible, Indian men and their mom’s.”
“I might not be doing well finding a guy on my own, but my mother choosing a guy for me, now that would be a complete disaster.”
Savi nods her head in agreement. “I’m American, I’ll choose my own man, and live my own life. I know my mom would hate to hear this, but I’m never going to date an Indian. It’s Americans all the way for me. Anyway, good luck on your interview,” she tells me before we both sign off.
Chapter 3 - Interviews
As I sit on a black leather and chrome modern chair in the austere white lobby, my nerves are amped up to the point where it feels like I’ve had five cups of coffee, not the one cup I drank. I watch as people come and go through the large automatic sliding glass doors.
Finally I hear my name, “Hita Chamarthi.” Taking a deep breath, I give what I hope is a warm smile and extend my hand to the Asian guy in his late thirties. He bends his head slightly in response telling me his name is Chéng-gong Chan. Repeating his name multiple times in my head, I follow him past a simple modern courtyard into a white minimalist conference room. He sits down across from me. With a perfunctory smile he looks at my résumé. Scanning it up and down he says, “I see you are about to graduate with a Masters in Computational & Mathematical Engineering.”
I’m not sure if this statement requires a response as he continues to read my résumé stating out loud, “You’ve spent the last few summers working at Google, developing in Pig for a Hadoop system.” I’m still unsure if this statement requires any response as he has yet to give me eye contact.
Finally looking up he says, “We’re looking for people to work on our big