This was probably the worst place to plan on opening a café, Mae thought. And also, who was she kidding, the best place. She was proud of herself for coming up with the idea, although her friend claimed he came up with it. Either way, it was finally the opening day of the café and her friend had screwed up the name sign. And the table arrangements. And the cup sequence.
“Did I, or did I not specifically ask you to be careful with the spellings, Ahaan?” Mae asked, frantically dialing the sign maker’s shop number. She was at least thankful the maker did not already deliver the sign and cared enough to send a photo first. It might have cost them more when they couldn’t even afford a beer without thinking twice at this point.
Ahaan, arms crossed, lips pursed, kept staring at Mae, and that just fuelled her more. She waved at the randomly arranged tables and chairs. “And what’s this, huh? The customers will feel overwhelmed and turn around and go back the way they came. If that’s what you wanted, then bravo, you got it!”
Mae was a control freak, if you didn’t gather that yet, but god forbid if she ever admit it. Opening a queer café was her and Ahaan’s dream ever since they both were in college. Being Architects by degree, these two best friends had travelled all over India and abroad when they worked in a company called Kreative Blocks Inc. in Jaipur. And god, did they hate that name.
It was a tough decision for them to leave the company and start something from the scratch. Mae’s grandparents used to live in Goa. They had a place and reputation of their own which helped Mae to talk people into renting her this old art gallery.
Ahaan was a sucker for paintings, so they had kept some of the good ones for themselves and discard the rat eaten, damaged ones.
“Mae, you need to calm down,” Ahaan said once she slammed the receiver on the already ancient telephone. “And careful, we don’t want to destroy stuff before the café has opened.”
Mae exhaled and leaned her hip against the counter, just like Ahaan. “You are the most stupid person I know. I mean, who can’t spell Room?”
Ahaan took offence to that, his bracelets jingling as he pointed a finger at her. “I did not misspell it, okay? The maker did.” He said. “I can show you the message I sent him.”
“Yeah, whatever.” She dismissed him with another one of her famous hand wave and walked behind the counter. She opened a drawer and pulled out the paper, which had table arrangements drawn on it. She passed it to him. “Now un-cluster the mess and please do not put five chairs for a table.”
“You are not gonna help?”
“No, it’s your mess. Sort it out yourself.”
“Well, it’s our café,” he said and did not budge when Mae glared at him.
They had only a few hours before the opening, and she did not want to play who-is-the-boss-here right now. She grunted, threw her head back in exasperation, and walked towards the tables.
Ahaan smiled, like a child with surrounded with stuff toys, and she was done sulking for the day. She wouldn’t say it out loud, of course, but one smile from him could make her warm and cheerful again.
* * *
For the ribbon cutting, they both had gone through dozens of options on who should do it. They had a few options—elders from the neighbourhood, the owner of this former art gallery, Mr Sen, Ahaan’s parents who had generously sponsored the first month’s coffee beans and beverage supplies.
In the middle of the night last week, Ahaan had woken her up at the risk of getting kicked in the guts. He suggested why don’t they themselves do the ribbon cutting. It took Mae less than a second to agree to this. After all, they were the ones who put all the efforts to make this place what it is, from repairing the electrics and plumbing to selecting the colour of the chalk they will write their ‘Today’s Special’ with. They even tied the goddamn ribbon.
Back at their place, Mae twirled in front of the mirror. She could see nothing below her chest in it. It was a tiny mirror, yet she felt compelled to do the twirl. They both were living in her grandparents’ house not far from their new café. It wasn’t a big house, and half the things never worked. There was only one bedroom and the only room there was an AC.
They both shared the closet and Ahaan took the couch in the living room to sleep. When the nights got hotter, Ahaan would sneak into the bedroom and sleep on the floor right below the AC. Later on, Mae told him they can share the bed.
Had she known her kindness will cause her sleeping in the twenty percent space with a grown-ass child snoring loud as a volcano and stealing her blanket, she would have stapled her lips before giving the permission.
She heard the door creak open and twirled again, her stunning black dress putting on a great show.
“Okay, there, princess,” Ahaan whistled.
Mae smiled with her whole face, eyes, cheeks, mouth. “How do I look?”
He chuckled. “Like a pain in the ass.”
She dropped her smile and crossed her arms. “At least I don’t look like a fucking Christmas tree.”
Ahaan had on his signature horizontal stripped sleeveless green-white sweater, white pants and white pearled necklace.
“Hey, I look better than you, okay?” He pushed her aside and checked himself in the mirror.
Mae picked up her heels and sat on the bed, struggling to put them on. She hadn’t dressed up in a long time, working every day to make today a success.
Ahaan bend down and slapped her hand away. “Ask for help when you need it.”
He glided the heel on her foot and strapped it. Then the other one. After he was done, he sat down on the floor and looked at her.
There was the soft lingering smell of coffee in the air, or maybe they both had been at the café all day that it was itched in their nostrils. A large window opposite the AC was open. The January cold and sea waves crashing near made this whole moment feel like a dream. A dream they had dreamed but never expected to feel so real one day.
Ahaan took her hands in his and whispered. “We did it.”
Overcome with emotions, Mae hugged him. She was crying and didn’t want him to see. “We did.”
“Let’s go live our dream.”
She was quick to jump to her feet, wipe away her tears and head towards the door. She picked her handbag and cell-phone.
“Come on, let’s find you a boyfriend.” She yelled behind her.
She heard Ahaan scramble to his feet. “Hey, that’s not why I wanted this café.”
“Sure.” She smiled.
* * *
People had already started to gather around the front yard of the café when they both reached. Ahaan parked the bike he and Mae came on further away than he usually did. Their potential customers and guests had taken up all the space.
When they approached the crowd, cheers erupted. Everybody clapped as they both navigated their way to the front. Mae couldn’t help the big smile spreading on her face. All her thoughts boiled down to the praises falling on her ears. The name of the café, The Rainbow Room, flashing in brilliant vibrant colours above them.
Ahaan could not believe the number of people that showed up just for the opening. He expected the publicity to grow gradually through word-of-mouth. Except for the people they had invited today, there were at least twenty more people present.
They stood in front of the crowd, on the set of steps leading up to the red ribbon they had put on just before going home to get ready for today’s evening.
The front yard glowed with lights and balloons and a last-minute addition of chairs and tables.
Mae looked at Ahaan and mouthed, ‘I’m so happy.’ For him to lean in and whisper in her ear, ‘Not more than me.’
Mae recognized a few faces, like the owner of the old art gallery, Mr Sen, the Barista they had hired, Maria, some friends they had made when they first came here.
She cleared her throat, and everyone quieted down. “We both are so happy to see you guys here today, on the opening ceremony of our café. Though ‘ceremony’ sounds a bit formal, which this place definitely isn’t.” She drew a few laughs, even Ahaan chuckled beside her.
“This is a place where,” she continued, “you can relax, meet new people. Where you can lose the disguise you have created to entertain the outer world and just be yourself. We want you to feel like this place is like your true home. Where everyone loves you and wants nothing but for you to be happy.”
Mae felt a tear slide down her cheek. She brushed it away and glanced at Ahaan. He put his arm around her, kissing her temple, as she couldn’t stop the tears.
“Many of you asked us why we wanted this café,” Ahaan started. “And we said it was our dream to create a safe space for every person, irrespective of their identity. But I would be lying if I take credit for this idea, as it was Mae’s dream first.”
Mae sensed what he was about to say next. She put her hand on his chest. ‘You don’t have to.’ She whispered. He smiled at her and continued.
“When I was in college, no one really wanted to be friends with the weirdo who wore sleeveless crop tops, bracelets, and skinny jeans. Except Mae. No one liked her straight-ass either, by the way.” She slapped him on his arm. “But she was the only friend I had. When I came out to my parents, they were quite shocked. It took them years to understand and accept me completely. Even now, they sometimes struggle to talk to me.”
“When we both travelled around the world for work, we visited many such coffee shops and bars. The atmosphere there was so uniquely different and inviting and homely that you didn’t want to leave.” He gestured behind him. “Mae wanted to build a place like that for me and many people like me.”
Someone from the crowd shouted, “So, are boring people allowed or not?”
Laughter erupted, taking away the tense air engulfing them. It was the woman who lived next to them with her husband and three cats. “Of course, Mrs. Dias, we welcome everyone to The Rainbow Room. I won’t call you boring, though.”
Mr. Dias said, “I agree.” She blushed and hugged him.
“Shall we cut the ribbon, then?” Mae asked. Everyone voiced their agreement and, as planned, they both held the scissor and cut the ribbon.
“We welcome you all to our new café. Please feel free to look around and help yourself to the food and beverages.” Ahaan said. “Let’s get this party started, yes?”
Slowly, everyone scattered around the place, and the chattering began. Mae and Ahaan worked the crowd, engaging themselves in the conversations. More people kept coming. Some were loudly curious about the new talk of the town, and some were shy to even wrap their head around the fact that they were at a queer café. Ahaan ordered more beverages, as the total number was around forty now.
Mr. Sen appreciated they had kept some of the paintings. When Ahaan told him how much he loves them, Mr Sen promised he will introduce us to some of the underrated painters in Goa who can use some publicity provided by the café.
After an hour or so, Mae and Ahaan had talked to everyone there was to talk to. Mae took a seat at the counter stool and Ahaan stood beside her.
“Tired because of the heels, aren’t you?” Ahaan asked, sipping his cold drink.
Mae glared at him. “I’ve been walking continuously, of course I’m tired.”
They both were almost 30. Except for a few casual boyfriends, Mae never dated someone more than five months. No one was intellectually on the same level as her, she would claim. But the real problem was, no one understood her. Her dreams never mattered. Her job was losable according to them.
Ahaan is always worried about her. He never says that to her, but she knows he is. Her parents would rather cater to the problems her two brothers have in life than their under-achieving daughter. She never once complained about it. Like she said before, the disguise she wore all the time around her parents had become so heavy on her shoulders when she first met Ahaan. He was all she had.
“You should get married, you know,” Ahaan said, as she removed her heels for the much needed relief.
“So you can get rid of me?” she asked. “Who’s going to supervise you? You think you can take care of yourself?”
“I can. What’s so difficult about it?” he asked.
“You can’t even fold your clothes, or turn off the geyser after shower oR...”
“Okay, okay, mom, I got it. I will grow up and… fold my clothes.”
They both laughed and shook their head at the child that still lived in them and peaked out once in a while. This was going to be difficult for them, the café, the hectic lifestyle they were so committed to adapt. They will have to do all the things themselves for a while. Ahaan knew a thing or two around the kitchen, so he had decided to assist the Barista. Mae would wait the tables. Although the hype of the café was growing so fast, they would have to hire someone to help her soon.
But all this combined could not beat the smiles they would see on people’s face when they enter the space.
Someone entering caught Mae’s eye, and she nudged Ahaan. “Oh, my god, that’s one hell of an eye candy walking in.”
Ahaan followed her eyes and saw a woman, smiling, her long hair gracefully framing her face. “Is this your sexual awakening or something?” he asked.
Mae frowned and looked between him and the door. She saw the woman then. “No, silly. I wasn’t talking about her. But she is very beautiful.” She said. “Look behind her.”
Ahaan looked and froze. The man walking behind the woman was what Mae perfectly described as an eye candy. Mae knew Ahaan’s type well, and this man ticked all the boxes.
The woman and man spotted Mae first, recognizing her as one of the people behind this café. They waved and began walking towards her.
“Act cool and smile,” Mae whispered to Ahaan. “Show the dimples.”
Mae hugged the woman as she introduced herself as Monica, the daughter of Mr Sen. “And this is—” she pointed at the man. “My brother, Matthew.”
“Matthew.” Ahaan said. It took him a second to realize he said it out loud and now has grabbed attention to himself. He cleared his throat and forwarded his hand to Matthew. “Hi, I’m Ahaan.”
Matthew worked in a law firm, Monica told them. He was the one who asked their dad to rent this place to Ahaan and Mae when Mr. Sen was still hesitant to do so.
They shook hands, and Mae jumped in at the opportunity of playing matchmaker. “Ahaan and I together will be running this place.”
“That’s great,” Matthew said, unable to look away from Ahaan. Mae knew this was her queue to leave them alone.
“Hey,” she said to Ahaan. “Why don’t you show him around? After all, he will visit quite often now, won’t he?” she glanced at Matthew.
“Of course.” He said almost instantly, drawing a chuckle from Ahaan.
As they walked away, she pulled Ahaan back and said, “Ask him if he has any hot friends.”
“For you?”
“You already got one for yourself. Let me have some now.”
He laughed and ran to catch up with Matthew’s pace. She watched them from a distance and something healed inside her. Seeing Ahaan do something that means so much to him, seeing him grow into this wonderful person, seeing him content.
“I know what you did,” Monica said beside her. “And I’m glad you did. Matthew begged me to go with him here and talk good about him in front of the cute café runner he saw talking with our dad.”
That made Mae smile even more. Ahaan was showing him one of his favourite paintings and talking non-stop as if Matthew didn’t grow up around this place. But still, there was a smile in his eyes and curiosity on his face as he listened to Ahaan.
Her best friend, her brother, was finally in a happy place in his life. She couldn’t ask for anything more.