“Do you want your drink hot or cold?” the server at the cafe asked Swami last weekend. We had decided to a try a new one.
“Hot,” he said. And I said, “Cold.”
Then she went on to another question.
“A latte or a cappuccino for you, Sir?” she asked Swami.
When he replied, “Latte,” she turned to me and asked “Would you like an ice cold Frappuccino or a vanilla cream cold brew?” I found myself confused. So I replied, “The first one.”
She made a note of it, and confirmed, “An ice cold Frappuccino for you, Sir.”
Then she turned again to Swami and asked, “Would you like your latte with whipped cream?” Swami shook his head.
Finally, she turned to Jigneshbhai and asked him, “Would you like your drink cold or hot, Sir?”
Jigneshbhai let an awkward pause of silence dwell for a few moments. Swami and I started wondering if he had heard her. But eventually he did reply. “None. I just want your chocolate muffin. That one,” he said pointing at the menu on the wall.
After the server went away, Swami and I gave a common sigh of relief. We noticed Jigneshbhai smiling.
“It is assumed that you want to take the test,” he said. Swami and I didn’t quite understand what he was talking about. “A multiple choice test. It is presumed that you have to make a choice in the options provided,” he added.
“Not just here. It is the case everywhere. Everyone wants us to make a choice,” Jigneshbhai said. Swami and I couldn’t agree more.
“Nothing open-ended. All multiple choice,” Jigneshbhai remarked.
“Like we had in those entrance tests. At least they had a none of the above option,” the academically inclined Swami reminisced.
Jigneshbhai broke into a smile. “Make a choice out of the above. But you don’t have to. Not making a choice is also an option,” he said.
“Like you just did,” Swami said. The coffee we had ordered now arrived, and while we were taking the sip in silence searching for a topic to start, the wealthy old man in the sprawling bungalow who had been listening to our conversation walked across to our table.
“In test cricket, a good batsman often leaves the ball alone. Well left, the purists used to say,” he said. “Sometimes, you should make that choice.”
***