Chapter 17 - Seen on Purpose
Three days after the private call, Ishu sent a message to Naina and Priya.
**Would you both come home for tea on Sunday? There is something I want to try.**
Priya replied first.
**Work discussion or personal?**
**Personal.**
Naina asked the more important question.
**Do you want us to see you as Ishu?**
He read the message twice.
**Yes. Properly this time.**
They agreed to come at four.
On Sunday afternoon, Ishu placed two rules in the private chat before they left their homes.
**No photographs. Nothing from today enters any office conversation. If someone calls from work, use Ishan.**
Naina replied:
**Understood.**
Priya added:
**Private flat, private name, no camera.**
The clear answers steadied him.
Ritika was home, but she did not arrange the meeting or choose what he would wear.
"Do you want help?" she asked.
Ishu considered it.
"Only with the lipstick edges after I finish."
"Call me when you are ready."
He closed his bedroom door.
The maroon and plum kurtis now had their own place in his cupboard. Ishu chose the plum one with black leggings because it reminded him of the first complete reflection he had created.
He combed a side part, twisted one front section backwards, and crossed two bobby pins above his ear. The rest of his shoulder-length hair remained loose around his other cheek and over his shoulders.
He applied the rose lipstick slowly.
The result was more even than his first attempt. One corner still extended slightly too far, so he called Ritika.
She stood at the doorway rather than taking the lipstick from him.
"This side," she said, pointing towards her own mouth.
Ishu corrected it with a tissue.
"Now?"
"Even."
He added six maroon and gold bangles to each wrist and used one light spray of perfume near the kurti's neckline.
No kajal. No bindi. No formal dupatta.
He wanted Naina and Priya to see the feminine home presentation he actually enjoyed, not a larger look created only for their visit.
At three-fifty, Ishu stood before the mirror.
The plum kurti followed his softened shape without pulling. His slimmer waist gave the cloth a gentle fall before it opened around his hips. The side-parted hair framed his smooth face, and the lipstick added enough colour to make the hairstyle and kurti feel connected.
He looked complete without looking formal.
The doorbell rang at four.
Ishu's confidence disappeared.
Ritika came into the hall.
"Do you want me to open it?"
He almost said yes.
Then he remembered why he had invited them.
"No. I will."
The bangles sounded as he crossed the room.
Ishu placed his hand on the lock, took one breath, and opened the door.
Naina and Priya stood outside carrying nothing except their handbags.
Both women became still for one brief moment.
Ishu noticed it.
They had known him for years as a dependable software developer in T-shirts and office shirts. A private explanation could not fully prepare them for the plum kurti, lipstick, bangles, and softly styled hair.
Naina recovered first.
"Hi, Ishu."
The name mattered more than the pause.
"Hi."
Priya smiled.
"Are you going to make us stand outside after giving so many privacy instructions?"
Ishu stepped aside.
"Come in."
Ritika greeted them and brought water to the table. She remained long enough for the first awkward minute to pass, then returned to her room.
Ishu sat across from Naina and Priya.
For several seconds, nobody spoke.
"You can look," he said finally. "Pretending not to look is making this more uncomfortable."
Priya laughed softly.
"Fair."
Naina looked at his hairstyle first.
"You did the side twist yourself?"
"Yes. Two crossed bobby pins."
"It is neat."
Priya noticed the bangles when he moved the water glasses.
"Those must feel very different from typing with bare wrists."
"They do. I am still learning how far they move."
He lifted one wrist slightly, and the glass circles settled closer to his hand.
The conversation became easier once they could acknowledge what they saw.
"How do you feel?" Naina asked.
Ishu thought before answering.
"Nervous because you are here. Comfortable because of what I am wearing."
"Both can be true," she said.
"Apparently."
Priya leaned back in her chair.
"Do you want comments on how you look, or do you only want us to treat this as normal?"
The question surprised him.
"A little of both."
"Then the colour suits you," she said. "And your lipstick is more even than mine was the first ten times."
Ishu smiled.
"Ritika checked one corner."
"Quality review," Naina said.
"Do not bring office language into this."
They laughed, and the remaining tension loosened.
Ishu went to make tea.
He had expected the kitchen to feel strange with two colleagues sitting nearby while he wore a kurti. Instead, the familiar actions helped. He measured the water, added tea leaves, and listened while Naina and Priya argued about which of them had given him the worst cooking advice during Ritika's assignment.
When he returned with the tray, Priya looked at the cups.
"No spilled tea. Bangles passed the practical test."
"I have practised."
The discussion moved towards food, weekend plans, and a series they were all watching. The feminine presentation remained visible, but it stopped being the only subject in the room.
That ordinary shift affected Ishu more than praise would have.
They had seen him.
They had asked respectful questions.
Then they had continued being his friends.
Before leaving, Naina returned to the boundaries.
"At work tomorrow, you are Ishan and he."
"Yes."
"In our private chat, Ishu and he."
"Yes."
"Nobody else hears about today."
"Correct."
Priya raised her empty hands.
"And there are no photographs."
Ishu nodded.
"Thank you."
He opened the door for them.
This time, the movement did not frighten him.
After they left, Ritika came into the hall.
"How was it?"
Ishu looked at his reflection in the narrow mirror beside the cupboard.
The lipstick, bangles, kurti, and styled hair were unchanged. Being seen had not turned them into somebody else's decision.
"Better after the first five minutes."
"That is usually how first meetings work."
"They already knew me."
"They knew one part of you."
Ishu touched the bobby pins above his ear.
"Now they know this part too."
He did not remove the kurti after the visit.
He wore it through dinner, no longer because he had something to prove or someone to impress.
The first deliberate presentation had ended.
The clothes remained part of his evening.
Discussion (0)