My Dad's Best Friend

Chapter 2: Harsh/Narrator

I opened the door and found a cute girl. She was definitely in her mid-twenties and shorter than a person should be of her age which is not more than five feet. She had long hair and a cute smile and was staring at me without blinking.

I smiled back and said, "Can I help you?" She didn't respond. So I repeated my question. This time she took some time and stuttered, "E ae Eggs, Grocery store".

"What?", I frowned.

She took a deep breath and explained that she moved to the apartment right across mine just then and wanted to know where the nearest grocery store is. The way she was staring at me and the way she was explaining the situation with nervous gestures and her body language made it quite obvious that she knew me. I gave her the directions. She thanked me and began to say, "I am a huge fan of your..." I slammed the door shut.

My name is Harsh Chabra. I do give an impression of the boy next door but I am also a celebrity. I am a soap-opera actor. Acting has not just been a passion but it gave me a meaning to my life. I did only selective roles and took some time off after every project and work on myself for the next one and the cycle goes on. It's not steady, but I do earn well. And while I am not working I do not intend to interact with fans. Some might call it rude, but I am on my break and I would not like to be disturbed even if it is for two minutes. If people are to be involved, I'd rather invest my time in friends and family.

If the girl who knocked on the door did not get nervous and simply asked what she wanted without explaining much and then told me she was a fan, then I would have at least considered asking her details which she simply gave away. I understand situations like these could be intimidating, but jeez! she's not eight. In addition to that I am in quite a bad mood today because of my dad.

I live with my dad, brother, sister and a dog. My dad and I aren't much close but I was close with my mother. Somehow I never quite understood him. It did not bother me much. Four years back my mother passed away. Since then things have become complicated. It took me a great deal of time to come to terms with it. I realized I don't talk to dad much and I find him weird. All these years it never bothered me because of my mother. Now that she is gone, I feel that he is a stranger to me. He can be happy at times and become glum all of a sudden. Though I greet him in the morning before leaving to gym and say good night before bed, there are certain things I observed. Being young and having a happening life, I never bothered to get addicted to social media. As a matter of fact, up until few years my best friend managed my account and later I started posting random pictures and my gym videos from time to time to stay connected to my fans. That's the least I do. Lately, I've observed my dad getting glued to his phone or sometimes to my sister's old laptop. Even though it went on for the past few years, I did not ask him anything as he looked happy. I figured it could be his coping mechanism of my mother's demise as it is really hard for few people, say like me. I was glad at the beginning that he is working on himself even by connecting with random people. But then things got weird when chatting escalated to phone calls and sometimes even video calls.

One day I went to his bedroom to call him for dinner. He was facing the laptop screen smiling and talking to someone with head-phones on. I asked him to come to the dining table at once to eat. His expression changed as he sensed the seriousness in my tone. He said good night to the person on call and followed me.

I wondered while we all were having this routine quiet dinner since my mother's death, that I never had a normal conversation with my father. I mean, seeing him growing up was tough as he was always strict. I was a quiet child. I never got into any trouble, while my siblings always did. He always told them to behave properly and learn some manners from me. That's it, that's the only special treatment I got. He showed no affection towards me or my siblings, not that it bothered me. Maa used to say that it is the way he is. Which is the reason seeing him chirpy and happy is kind of disturbing. I was still processing my mind to confront him, when he said, "I need to tell you kids something."

While he addressed everyone on the table, his eyes were fixed on mine.

"What is it dad?", Raj said.

"I have a best friend!", he said with a glee.

He was looking for some reaction, but none of us gave any. We simply looked at each other's faces.

So he continued, "I know this is weird. But I met this person online three years ago who was ambitious but for some unknown reasons she felt lost. She had this zeal to have her own business set up and she never let her personal life intervene with her work which is how she is now a successful business woman. For the past three years we've been helping each other to face our demons. I lost my wife and she lost her passion for life. Ever since we've been helping each other to cope. I know this is a lot to take in for you guys, but I had to share this with you. Now that I am finally going to meet her."

I was shocked to hear that. I mean he coped up all these years seeking help from a stranger online was fine. But now meeting with her, made no sense. To be honest, it is quite uncomfortable for us, at least for me. It could be that they're more than friends. Who knows after a year or two he might want to marry her.

My sister finally spoke, "so dad, ahem! This friend of yours is a woman. Right? Are you sure that she's just a friend?"

"Well actually she's my best friend", he responded innocently with a smile.

My sister who's got a natural tendency to suspect everything, actually made sense for the very first time and I was glad I'm not the only one to be paranoid. But I was really curious to know his side of the story. This could actually give me a chance to know my father, so I kept quiet.

"So dad, why do you want to meet her? If she's just a friend why even bother tell us? Unless you have something else in mind.

"I want to meet her because she's important to me. I am telling you because all this time you've been important to me. Nothing has changed", he said with a frown. "I have sensed what you meant by something else in mind. Well, there is actually something. She's in the city as a part of her coping mechanisms and took a break from work on my advice. That's right, it was my idea. She's just 28 and I worry about her at times. Now that she'll be in the city, I plan on meeting her regularly and that is not going to be something disgusting as you are thinking Heer," with that he stormed into his room.

Dad usually spoke less and expressed less as well. But today it was different. He expressed. Not just that, I think that this girl will help me understand him better, without actually indulging myself with him much. That's something my mom would want me to do, so I need to find more about her.

First thing's first, "Lay the foundation." This is going to sound incredulously out of character. Well that's what I do for a living on camera. I'll take it as a study before I get back to another role. I will pretend to like this person who claims to be my father's friend, which will make my father divulge information about her. When I meet her, I will learn more about her this time only to remove her from his life. After all I need to look out for my father, whatever her intentions might be.