If you want to read the story from the beginning click here. (https://wp.me/p2b25R-fw)

February 14, 2007

Today is Valentine’s Day. Vijay does not have any classes to teach this afternoon. He leaves after a meeting with a graduate student at 4.30 pm. On the way home he stops at a florist in the University Mall across from the campus and picks up a rainbow tulips bouquet. He remembers Sharada was not a fan of red roses. As he drives along Braddock Road he, out of nowhere, remembers the movie The Guide that he had seen in India. He was a college student then. Vijay adored the hero played by Dev Anand and had a crush on the heroine played by the beautiful Waheeda Rahman. This sentimental and romantic film had won many accolades. Vijay starts humming the song Tere mere Sapne ab Ek rang hai (Our dreams have the same color and we will always be together).

Growing up in India he had never seen his parents reveal affection in public. His mom and dad never went to movies or restaurants together by themselves. Maybe that was the norm in India at that time. After coming to America Vijay got to like Valentine’s Day—a day when couples get a chance to show their affection for each other in some way.

As he enters the kitchen Vijay notices how quiet it is. He wonders if anybody is home. He is expecting Sharada to talk on the phone or voices from the HGTV program while she sits in her favorite chair in the family room, knitting. He would walk over to her and present the flowers with Valentine’s Day wishes. Silence.

“Anybody home?” he calls out.

No answer.

Vijay places the bouquet and mail he has picked up on his way in on the breakfast table. He walks over to the counter with the telephone and picks up the letter opener from the ceramic pen holder. He comes back to the breakfast table. Shuffles through the mail. There is nothing special — a brochure from Wegmans, a catalog from Macy’s, and a couple of invitations for credit cards.

“Where’s everybody?” He raises his voice as he glances around the living room again.

“I’m here, upstairs,” Sharada says in a sleepy voice.

A few minutes later, she comes down.

She notices the flowers.

“Oh, how nice, thank you,” she says as she walks over and picks them up. She approaches Vijay and plants a kiss on his lips.

“Happy Valentin’s Day,” Vijay says giving her a slight hug and reciprocating the kiss.

Sharada takes out a tall glass vase, fills it with water, and places the flowers in it. She keeps the vase in the center of the breakfast table.  

“You want tea?” She asks. “You came early today.”

“Yes, please.” Vijay replies and adds, “Well, I didn’t have afternoon classes. So, I might as well be home with you.”

“That’s so sweet,” Sharada says with a smile.

She places a tea bag in a cup, adds half a spoonful of sugar, places it under the Breville coffee maker spout, and pushes the “Brew” button. She waits with one hand on the counter as the hot water pours in instantly. She likes the convenience of making tea this way. Before, she had to boil the water in a pot that required waiting at least five minutes. It was a gift from Vijay for Mother’s Day. 

Sharda dips the tea bag in hot water a few times, pulls it out, and throws it in the compost bin. She puts the cup with hot tea in front of him with a bowl of Chiwada, a spicy snack that his brother Mayur had brought from India on his last visit.

“Where’s everybody?” Vijay asks. “The house is never this quiet.”

“Arjun left early to practice for the concert. His band is playing tonight at the celebration they are having at the school. Lakshmi is getting ready for a party she is attending with her friends. ”

“What’s his band’s name again?” Vijay asks sipping his tea and taking a mouthful of Chiwada.

“It’s DAN the Band. Named after Dan, Arjun, and Naomi.”

“I’m glad he is getting to play in front of an audience,” Vijay looks concerned and adds. “I would rather have him play the sitar or violin. Then he can play when we celebrate Indian festivals, in front of our friends, or in the Temple.

“Daddy, sometimes you are too much,” Sharada disagrees, at the same time, she does not want to annoy him. “If he likes to play the guitar then he should play the guitar.”

“Okay. But the idea of forming a band, getting together for practice and all. I know what happens with a band. The kids get into bad habits; they smoke and take drugs.” Vijay says, sounding serious.

Sharada hopes this does not turn into an argument, especially today. She doesn’t want to spoil the remainder of the day.

“Well, I can tell you for sure that Dan and Naomi are good kids. You don’t have to worry about them. Besides we have been good parents, and we should trust our son.”

Vijay does not continue with the conversation further.

Arjun visited Dan’s house when they had to practice for their performance. Naomi was their lead singer. She had a soft, rhythmic, melodic voice and she sang songs made popular by Katy Perry, Taylor Swift, and Beyoncé. Whenever they performed, their friends cheered her. Arjun didn’t talk about the Valentine’s Day concert at school with his dad because he knew he would get into an argument. He told only his mom.

“Be careful. Don’t stay too long. Do you want us to pick you up at school?” Mom had said.

“No. Dan’s dad said he’d bring us back,” Arjun replied.

“That would be great. Have a great time,” she said.

Lakshmi has left for the party with her friends. With both kids out of the house, Vijay and Sharada are alone. Vijay has finished his tea and has moved to the family room to watch TV. A while later, she fixes scotch on the rocks for Vijay and sits beside him on the sofa in the family room.

“I wish the town of Fairfax would broadcast Arjun’s concert on local TV,” she says as Vijay is engrossed in watching the news.

“Yes, I wish too.”

When the news ends, Vijay turns off the TV as they walk over to the kitchen.

“Umm. Do you want to go out for dinner? The Bombay Tandoor is offering a special menu for Valentine’s Day.” Vijay has been planning to say this from the early afternoon. Sharada has other plans.

“Good idea,” she says earnestly. “But all restaurants are going to be busy today. Why don’t we stay home? Open a bottle of wine. I will prepare a nice dinner. It will be just the two of us after a long time.”

“Okay. I’m all for that.”

Vijay brings a bottle of Cabernet from the basement. He lights the fireplace and places extra logs to start a roaring fire. While Sharada is occupied with cooking, he arranges the plates on the breakfast table next to each other facing the flowers. He thought of using the formal dining hall for their dinner but changed his mind. It will be more intimate to sit close to each other today. For background music, he turns on the radio and selects WETA Washington, DC’s classical music station. 

Sharada has made simple special Indian dishes that she knew Vijay savored —  varan Bhat, homemade phulka, okra bhaji, and coconut chutney. The Bombay Café had a special on sweets that she picked up earlier; the Almond pastry and Jilebi. She lights two candles and places them next to the bouquet. This is turning out to be just the quiet romantic dinner she was hoping for. They make a toast for each other and talk about how their life is shaping up. What’s in the future? What would have happened if they had stayed back in India? Their life has been good so far and they hope it will continue to be so. Vijay is a professor on track to get his tenure. With Krishna planning to be a doctor and hopefully Arjun an engineer future looks bright. They were so involved in the talk that they didn’t realize it was half past nine. Arjun’s concert may be over. They didn’t know when Lakshmi would be back. We don’t have to worry about them Sharada had said. They both have keys to the front door.

“Aah. That was a good dinner. Thank you.” Vijay says as he burps.

Sharada starts cleaning up the table. Vijay helps in loading the dishwasher.

“This was a great Valentine’s Day. Thank you my dear for all you do.” Vijay says.

He kisses her lightly and starts going upstairs. Halfway to the stairs he turns to Sharada and asks “You coming?”

“Yes. Go right ahead. Be there in a minute.” Sharada answers as she starts storing the leftover food in the refrigerator.

“Okay.”

Vijay goes upstairs. Sharada can hear water flowing from an open faucet. Vijay is probably getting ready to brush his teeth.

Sharada has finished cleaning up after dinner and is about to go upstairs when the phone rings. Who could be calling at this hour? She thinks.

“Hello.”

“Sharada, it’s Vicky, Dan’s mom.” Vicky’s agitated voice makes Sharada inquisitive.

“Hi, Vicky. What’s up? Everything Okay?”

“Well, NO.” Vicky’s voice is quivering.

“Tell me, please.”

“Sharada,” Vicky says.  “There’s been a shooting at the school where the kids’ band was playing. I don’t have the details, but Dan just called saying there was a shot fired during their performance. Don’t know if anyone was injured. I’m driving there now. I advise you to do the same. See you there.”

Sharada is suddenly afraid that something terrible has happened to Arjun. Vicky hangs up before Sharada can say anything more. 

“VIJAY!” Sharada yells, forgetting that she never calls him by his first name.

She runs upstairs, shouting his name all the way and huffing and puffing when she reaches the second floor.

“Come on,” she says, frequently stopping to catch her breath. “Get dressed. We are going to Arjun’s school.”

“What? At this hour? What happened?”

“Vicky just called. There’s been a shooting at Arjun’s school. Please hurry.”

“A shooting? What the hell? Any casualties?”

“She didn’t say. Let’s go. I’m worried about Arjun.”

As they pass the kitchen cabinet adjacent to the door that leads to the garage, Sharada bows to the idols she keeps there. It’s her way of praying on the run. Oh, please, God. Let Arjun be safe.

The drive to the school usually takes twenty minutes. Today it seems like it is taking forever. They are getting all red lights. When a red light turns green it turns red again by the time their car approaches the light. There are so many cars ahead of them. Sharada is upset.

“Do something, Daddy,” she says. “It is taking so long. I want to see Arjun. I want to know that he is safe.”

“There is not much I can do,” Vijay responds.

He is as frustrated as Sharada. At the crossing of Main Street, an ambulance comes from behind Vijay’s car, with flashing lights and a blaring horn. He moves to the extreme right to let it pass. As he turns on the WPTO, the all the news all the time station, the reporter is describing the scene at the school.

“I was watching an episode of “24” and heard this loud noise like a car backfiring,” one woman is telling the reporter. “I first thought it was in the show, but when I heard the ambulance sirens, I knew it was something else.”

“What did you do then?” the reporter asks.

“I grabbed my coat and walked across the street and saw the commotion in the school parking lot. I am curious to know what happened. I hope no one is injured. This is a peaceful neighborhood. I’m sure something bad has happened.”

“We don’t know that yet.”

The reporter describes that the area surrounding the school is inundated with parents trying to get to their kids. Everyone has heard about the shooting on the radio and it is the latest breaking news on TV. The streets are crowded.

“What are we going to do?” Sharada asks Vijay. She is listening to the radio. She can barely speak clearly. She is crying. “Isn’t there any other way to go to the school?”

Vijay turns on Main Street and makes a left turn on Old Lee Highway. It is an alternate route. The traffic on this road is just as bad. Some drivers are shouting at the cars ahead of them to move faster. Vijay keeps his cool. They inch forward, slowly. Sharada is fidgeting in her seat. As they approach a strip mall two blocks away from the school Sharada points to the parking lot.

“Let’s Park here.” She suggests.

“But it’s a bit of a walk in the snow.”

“I don’t care. I don’t want to take a chance at the school parking lot.

The snow from a week ago is still piled up in corners. Sharada is right. There is no parking left at the school parking lot. The police are escorting students to a nearby church. They are requesting all parents to meet their children at the church. A yellow barricade tape is placed at the front entrance and surroundings. There are several police cruisers with headlights on and two ambulance vans nearby.

Vijay and Sharada fight their way through the crowd of parents. An officer stops them as they try to enter through the front door.

“The school is on a lockdown, sir, ma’am. We are not allowing anyone to enter.” The officer says softly, blocking them with arms stretched.

“But we are parents. Our son was performing today. We have to see him. Please,” Sharada pleads.

“Nobody is allowed in at this time. All students are at the church in the next block. We are requesting everyone to walk over to the church and wait. We’ll let you know when you can come in.”

Vijay and Sharada have no choice. As frustrated as they are they walk over to the church in the snow. They are quiet all the way. Students are waiting for their parents, but they don’t see Vicky. They try to maneuver through the students looking for Arjun. They don’t find him, nor can they locate Dan and Naomi. A shiver passes through Sharada’s body. Vijay feels it and squeezes her hand in reassurance. 

Vijay approaches the police officer guarding the entrance to the church. He asks him if they have all the students at the church. The officer calls someone.

“No sir,” he replies. “We are holding the members of the band in a secure location at the school. Are you the parents of one of them?”

“Yes. Our son is one of the performers. When can we go see him?” Arjun asks.

“We have detained the three members of the band for security and preliminary questioning. We want to know if the shooter knew any of them. We will take you there soon. Just be calm and wait here please so I know where to come to get you.”

Word comes after an hour that parents of the kids held at the school can visit them. The hour had felt like an eternity.

“Follow me,” the officer says.

Vijay and Sharada almost run behind him. The parking lot has cleared from what it was an hour ago. Dan, Arjun, and Naomi are sitting together on a sofa, in the principal’s office, relatively calm. Vicky and Dan’s dad have just arrived, but Naomi is waiting for her parents. Sharada rushes to Arjun and hugs him.

“How’re you, Beta? We came as soon as we could.” She pulls him close, tears in her eyes “They wouldn’t allow us to come in. We had to wait in the church. What happened? Please tell us what happened.”

Vijay is right behind her. He extends his hand and touches Arjun on the head, ruffling his hair. His eyes are moist and he wants to hug him too.

“Are you okay?” he asks softly sounding as if he’s about to sob.

Arjun nods his head in affirmation.

Naomi’s parents arrive. They had gone to a movie and heard about the shooting at the school on the radio.

“Officer, tell us what happened?” Asks Vicky.

“We don’t know all the details, ma’am. All we know is that a couple of shots were fired as the band was playing and the kids were dancing. A bullet went past the stage and hit the ceiling. It didn’t hurt anyone, but a boy in the audience got hit on his arm by the other bullet.”

“Someone called 911,” the officer continues. “When we arrived, kids were running every which way, shouting and crying. Some in the vicinity of the perpetrator had held him to the floor. They took the gun away from him. One student told us that he heard the perpetrator shout ‘Send that Muslim home. We don’t need them here.’”

Vickie looks at Arjun.

“Yes. That’s true,” Dan interjects. “We were in the middle of a set when I was really hitting the drums in a crescendo and Arjun here had jumped with a high note on his guitar when KABOOM. There was a loud noise. Something whizzed past the stage. We stopped playing immediately.”

“Oh, dear,” Vicky says. “What did you do then?”

“The whole place was in chaos,” Arjun says. “We ducked behind the curtain and didn’t notice what was happening in the hall.”

“Do you know who the shooter is?” Sharada asks.

“We’re not allowed to release the identity of the gunman, ma’am.” The officer replies. “He’s being held for questioning and psychiatric evaluation.”

“Was anyone else injured or hurt?” It is Dan’s dad.

“Fortunately, there were no casualties. Someone took the boy who was hit on the arm to the Fair Oaks hospital. We are told he is safe and his injuries are not life-threatening.”

“This is unbelievable, you know,” Vijay gets a chance to speak. “You think your kids are safe in school.”

“There’s always some nut in every society,” the officer replies.

“Can we take our son home?” Sharada is anxious to get out of the place. 

“As soon as we finish our preliminary investigation, ma’am, we’ll let you go home,” the officer says politely.

On the way home, Vijay asks Arjun if the shooter was addressing him.

“It appears that way, Dad,” Arjun replies calmly.

“But, you are a HINDU.”

“It doesn’t matter. They think all brown people are terrorists.”

“I don’t get a good feeling. I never liked you joining that band. I told your mom so many, many times.”

“What does my being in a band has to do with anything? He could as well have targeted other brown kids, anywhere in the school.” 

“But still. Today he seems to have singled you out. You could have been killed!”

“Only because I was out there on the stage, openly visible, and he had an opportunity to make a bold statement.”

“What are you going to do about it?” Vijay asks.

Arjun looks at his dad with a puzzled expression.

“What am I going to do about it? If you think I’m going to leave the band, that’s not going to happen.”

“Your dad is right, Arjun,” Sharada adds. “This is scary.”

“I’m afraid, Arjun,” Vijay says, choking as he continues driving and his voice indicates he is scared, really scared. “We’re afraid. We never imagined this would happen to us, here, in America.”

The streets are not as crowded as they were on their way in. Sharada is sitting in the back seat next to Arjun, to his right. She holds his right hand in both of her palms and looks at him with moist eyes. She brushes the back of her left palm across his cheeks as she tightly squeezes his hand with her other palm.  

If you want to continue reading chapter 7 click here.https://wp.me/p2b25R-go